Don Manuel Gallegos and "Cajetito"

Don Manuel Gallegos and “Cajetito”

While I have established that my paternal surname is an adopted name, it’s still my family name, descending from a long line of Gallegos men – at least eight generations to Manuel Gallegos, who served as Alcalde Mayor of Santa Fe in 1761-63, shortly before his death.

I always assumed that since he held a prominent position in the local Spanish government of the capital city, there had to be more records about the Alcalde Mayor. No doubt, he must have been a descendent of the first Gallegos men who came to New Mexico in the mid-1600s, before the Pueblo Revolt. But I haven’t determined the identity of his parents.

I found a handful or records about Manuel’s time as mayor. But I recently came across more detailed estate records related to his death in 1763, thanks to the transcription of the Spanish Colonial records posted online by researcher Henrietta Christmas. Those estate records confirm my assumptions that Manuel Gallegos left plenty of material goods – worth about 1,075 pesos -- to his wife, Juana Maria Baca, and nine heirs when he died.

What I didn’t expect is one of those possessions was a servant named Joseph Antonio, known by the alias “Cajetito,” an Indian genizaro. I’m note sure of the origin of the nickname, which basically means little bucket. But the designation as Indian genizaro meant he was an Indian slave or servant, probably captured or purchased from a nearby tribe or pueblo.

That news on its own wasn’t a major surprise. Many prominent Spanish families in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, including my own Chavez ancestors, had servants. I have been meaning to write about the capture and trade of Indian children, and sometimes children of Spanish colonists. It is a complicated subject, and I have seen examples of both sides of the practice in my family tree.

The surprise in this case was two-fold: first it was a shock to see Joseph Antonio listed as a possession after the death of Manuel Gallegos; and second, the name Joseph Antonio suggests that perhaps this servant is the father of my own ancestor, Jose Antonio Gallegos, who was raised in the home of Manuel’s son, Manuel Gallegos Jr., in the early 1800s.

I know – it’s confusing. My paternal family tree, starting with myself, goes like this:

1.     Gilbert Gallegos, Jr.

2.     Gilbert Gallegos Sr.

3.     Carlos Gallegos

4.     Luis Gallegos (raised in the home of Manuel Gallegos)

5.     Manuel Gallegos

6.     Gregorio Gallegos

7.     Jose Antonio Gallegos (“criado” or raised in the home of Manuel Gallegos)

8.     (possible) Joseph Antonio, aka “Cajetito” (genizaro in the home of Alcalde Mayor Manuel Gallegos)

I can’t be certain whether my Gallegos line extends to Indian ancestors or the Alcalde Mayor Manuel Gallegos. And as I said, I already know through my DNA that my paternal heritage is linked to the original Duran y Chaves family. My Great-Grandfather Luis Gallegos was raised by a Gallegos family, but his own paternal ancestry is not known.

What is clear is that Luis Gallegos, and his ancestors before him, were raised with the Gallegos name – the same surname my grandfather, my father and I inherited.

While I have not determined the parents of Manuel Gallegos, the Alcalde Mayor of Santa Fe, this is what I know about him:

He was born about 1720, based on records that identified his age later on in life. Without his baptismal or marriage records, I have not found records identifying his parents or his place of birth.

He married Maria Josefa Baca, and they had nine children, including Manuel Antonio Gallegos, who was born in 1753. Manuel Jr. married Maria de la Luz Ortiz, and gave his Gallegos surname to Jose Antonio, my ancestor who was either Indian or a mix of Indian and Spanish.

Manuel Sr. served at Lt. Alcalde Mayor of Santa Fe in 1751 and 1752. A decade later, he was Alcalde Mayor and War Captain from 1761 to 1763.

Manuel Gallegos died on Dec. 29, 1763, according to the estate record transcribed by Henrietta Christmas. The next day, the Lt. Governor took an inventory of his holdings, followed several months later by the completed inventory, which was valued at 1,075 pesos:

Ø  One house that consists of four rooms, one large hall, one room, one kitchen and one store room,(150 pesos)

Ø  Built upon 30 varas of land with all its agricultural lands lying adjoining the house, that consists from north to south 400 hundred and some varas and from east to west 200 varas (100 pesos)

Ø  One old saddle with its equipment (40 pesos)

Ø  One old rifle with its case “San Miquelena.” (30 pesos)

Ø  One pair of spurs (6 pesos)

Ø  One leather jacket with six button holes (40 pesos)

Ø  One coat of Spanish cloth and pants of the same (45 pesos)

Ø  One pipe with an old gold stem (8 pesos)

Ø  One old hat (3 pesos)

Ø  One cloth cloak from “Queretaro” (15 pesos)

Ø  One axe (4 pesos)

Ø  One weaving frame (15 pesos)

Ø  Fourteen male mules and one unbroken mule (460 pesos)

Ø  One female burro (15 pesos)

Ø  One male mule that is to be paid by a servant of Vicar Santiago

Ø  Five pesos due him by Roque Lobato

Ø  Three pesos due him by the Indian Antonio Vigil

Ø  Joseph Antonio, alias “Cajetito” Indian genizaro

Ø  Due by Miguel Romero, deceased one cow and a calf (25 pesos)

Ø  Due by the deceases six varas of cloth to Bicente Martinez, soldier (6 pesos)

Ø  Due by deceased, to Pedro Rendon, three peso

The inventory was completed several months later:

Ø  Five male mules and serge cloth with trimmings (30 pesos)

Ø  Four pairs of shoes (8 pesos)

Ø  Two handkerchiefs (3 pesos)

Ø  One piece of cloth sufficient to make a cape (24 pesos)

Ø  One peso in soap (1 peso)

Ø  Two pounds of chocolate and two pounds of sugar (6 pesos)

Ø  One-half pound of bluing (2 pesos)

Ø  Three varas of ribbon (1.5 pesos)

Ø  Three canvas sheets for the patio (24 pesos)

Ø  One cotton shawl (5 pesos)

Said property being acquired by the sale of two male mules and six fanegas of piñon nuts, also five pesos in silver, which were delivered in good to the widow of the deceased Manuel Gallegos, six equipment’s with riata lassos (24 pesos)

Juana Maria Baca, the widow of Manuel Gallegos testified that she brought with her to the marriage: 156 ewes and a part in two ranches farming land that she inherited from her father and sold for 196 pesos

Gallegos Genealogy

One of my biggest frustrations since I started researching my family tree has been the confusion surrounding my paternal Gallegos line. In fact, at one point about a year ago, I was even having dreams about a certain Manuel Gallegos – my great-great grandfather. I couldn’t find him, even in my dreams.

But alas, I’m about 90 percent certain that I finally found him, and sorted out at least a portion of the Gallegos lineage. First, I’ll start from the beginning of my journey, for perspective.

I am Gilbert Gallegos, Jr., which obviously means my father is Gilbert, Sr. His father – my grandfather – was Carlos Gallegos, who died in his hometown of Las Vegas in 1980 when I was just 11 years old. I still remember getting the news while I was attending Taft Middle School in Albuquerque. For most of my life, that’s about all I knew, or remembered, about the Gallegos family tree.

As I started my research, my Dad told me that his grandfather was Luis Gallegos. I soon learned from Census records that Luis was the son of Manuel Gallegos…yes, that elusive Manuel of my dreams. But that appeared to be the end of my search, because I couldn’t find Manuel’s baptismal record, or any other record that showed where he came from. The 1900 Census showed him living with his wife of six years, Maria Francisca, their five children, including Luis, and a Cordova father and son, who appear to have been his father- and brother-in-law. It later occurred to me that because of Luis’ age, he probably wasn’t the son of Manuel and Francisca. Sure enough, after searching the baptismal records, I found a record for Luis Cordova, which matched the date of the man who was later raised as Luis Gallegos. I checked with my father and my grandmother, who confirmed that there were always rumors of a Cordova connection, but that Luis was raised as a Gallegos. And as far as my Grandma Rise, who married into the Gallegos family, we as a family have always been Gallegos. Period. No argument from me.

But that still raised many questions for my genealogy research. Manuel, regardless of whether he was the blood father of Luis, was a Gallegos, and I still hadn’t figured out his family tree. Until now. I knew from Manuel’s marriage record that he was the son of Gregorio Gallegos and Dolores Padia (or Padilla). According to church records, Gregorio was born in Santa Fe in 1832 and the 1841 Santa Fe Census shows him living with his family in the San Francisco barrio. He married Dolores Padilla in 1850. Manuel appears to have been born in Santa Fe, although I haven’t found his baptismal record. He lived in Santa Fe with his mother, Dolores, and grandmother, Guadalupe, according to the 1860 Census. However, there is no mention of Gregorio in that Census, which along with other records, makes me think he may have died at a relatively young age, prior to 1860.

Manuel is next mentioned, along with his mother, grandmother and others in the 1870 Census for Los Tecelotenos, also known as San Ignacio, a small mountain village north of Las Vegas. Also living with the Padilla/Gallegos family is John Kirschner, a 40-year-old farmer from Bavaria, who curiously, lived with the family 10 years earlier in Santa Fe and was identified as a musician. In 1871, Dolores and John Kirschner were married in the nearby village of Sapello. The marriage record says that Dolores was the widow of Gregorio Gallegos.

So, with that mystery of Manuel Gallegos seemingly resolved, I have also confirmed that his father, Jose Gregorio, was the son of Jose Antonio Gallegos, who married Maria Luiza Esquivel in Santa Fe in 1825 and was raised in the home of Manuel Gayego (or Gallego) and Maria de la Luz Ortiz. So, apparently Jose Antonio was not the son of Manuel Antonio Gallego, but mostly likely an Indian child, raised by the Gallego family. Interestingly, Jose Antonio was listed in the 1850 Census as a musician.

Manuel Antonio appears to have been the son of yet another Manuel Gallegos. But this Manuel should be easier to find. He was apparently the Alcalde Mayor of Santa Fe in 1778. I still have some research to do on all of these Gallegos family members – at least two of whom were Gallegos by name, but not by blood. But as my Grandma would say: They are still Gallegos.