Francisco Montes Vigil and his wife, María Jiménez de Enciso, were living at Zacatecas in January 1695, when they were recruited by Juan Páez Hurtado to move to New Mexico.[1] At the time, Francisco was about 30 years old, a native of Zacatecas, and described as, "sound of body, chestnut hair somewhat curly, with the mark of a scar on the left side of his face below his eye."[1]
Birth
Francisco was born about 1665 in Zacatecas, Nueva Galicia, to Juan Montes Vigil and an unknown Indian or African mother.[2] Though he was illegitimate, his father claimed him in his first will written in 1682, and left him half his assets. Francisco was 16 years old and single at the time.
2 octubre 1682, Zacatecas - Y dexo y nombro por mis herederos universsales de todos mis bienes acciones y derechos que en qualquier manera me portengcan o puedan pertenezer a Francisco Montes Vigil que declaro por mi hijo natural que es de hedad de dies y seis años poco mas o menos y a la dicha Maria de Herrera Cantillana mi hermana.[2]
Marriage
When his father wrote his second will six months later in 1683, he said Francisco was 17 years old and married to María Ximenez. Between Oct 1682 and Apr 1683, Francisco had married María Jiménez de Enciso.
23 abril 1683, Zacatecas - Declaro por mi hijo natural havido con muger soltera como yo lo soy y he sido a Francisco Montes Vigil que hoy sera de hedad de diez y siete años poco mas esta cassado y velado con Maria Ximenes.[3]
Residence
It is not clear where they were living. In 1685 and 1689, two of their children named María[4] and Juan Carlos[5] respectively, were baptized in Aguascalientes but in 1688, his wife María sold an iron brand to a resident of Aguascalientes, claiming she was a resident of Zacatecas.[6] They were definitely living in Zacatecas when they made the decision to move to New Mexico in 1695.[7]
Páez Hurtado Expedition to New Mexico
In January 1695, Francisco signed his family up to move to New Mexico.[7] Though the official record states that he only brought two children, Pedro Policarpio and Juan Carlos, the truth is they had 5 or 6 children.[7] Each family received 300 pesos to cover expenses for the move but if you had 4 or more members, you received an extra 20 pesos.[8] Three of their children, María de la Concepción, Maria de los Nieves, and Domingo, were registered as the nieces and nephew of José Antonio Romero, a single man from Spain, who received 320 pesos.[9]
A sixth possible child is Juan Montes Vigil who was registered as a free mulatto with Diego Camarillo from San Luis Potosí.[10] He was described as a former slave of Francisco Montes Vigil.[11] However, Diego Camarillo was one of the fake colonists that Páez Hurtado added to the list who never left Zacatecas.[12]
The group arrived in Santa Fe in May 1695.
Military Career
Francisco joined the military in Santa Fe by 1697 when he was listed on the payroll.[13] He served off and on until 1720. He was a member of the de Villasur expedition, which left Santa Fe on June 14, 1720, to find evidence of French intrusion into New Spain. In August 1720, near what is now North Platte, Nebraska, the expedition was attacked and almost annihilated by Pawnees and possibly French soldiers. Francisco was one of the few survivors.[14]
Death
Francisco Montes Vigil died 11 September 1730 and was buried at Santa Cruz de la Cañada. His burial record, recorded in 1731, gives his age at death as eighty (born circa 1650).[15]
Research Notes
The only list of survivors from the de Villasur Expedition that I can find does not include Francisco Montes Vigil.[16] The list comes from the testimony of Yldefonso Rael de Aguilar, who named the following fellow survivors: "Manuel Thenorio, Phelipe Tamariz, Matheas Madrid, Joseph Mares, Juachin Sanches, Jacintto Perea, Juan Antonio Barrios, Antonio de Armenta, Joseph de San Tiestevan [Santistevan], Melchiro Rodrigues, and Diego Tafoya."
It is not certain if the free mulato Juan Montes Vigil was a former slave of Francisco's or possibly was his actual son that took after his unnamed grandmother a bit too much for a father trying to pass as Spanish.
It has been confirmed that Juan Montes Vigil, Francisco Montes Vigil's father, is confirmed to be a descendant of Charlemagne (abt.0748-0814), Holy Roman Emperor.[17] He is a "Gateway" ancestor approved by the Order of the Crown of Charlemagne in the USA.[18]
Sources
↑ 1.01.1 Vargas, Diego, and John L. Kessell. Blood on the Boulders: The Journals of Don Diego de Vargas, New Mexico, 1694 – 97 (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1998), Book 1, p. 508.
↑ 2.02.1 José Antonio Esquibel, Beyond Origins of New Mexico Families (BONMF), revised Jan 2019, (https://sites.google.com/site/beyondoriginsofnmfamilies/ : accessed 2 Jan 2023), NM Families A-Z, Montes Vigil family; citing Archivo Histórico de Zacatecas (AHEZ), Notarías, Notario: Laguna, José de la - libro 6 – 1682 Vol II, p. 178.
↑ Esquibel, BONMF, Montes Vigil family, citing AHEZ, Notarías, Notario: Laguna, José de la - libro 7 – 1683, Pg. 172v.
↑ Iglesia Católica, Archivo Histórico del Estado de Aguascalientes, Parroquia del Asunción de María, (Aguascalientes, México), Bautismos, 1684-1691, tomo 4, p. 33, María, bautizada el 3 de septiembre de 1685; microfilme de manuscritos, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-64V7-SNV : 2 Jan 2023), FHL microfilme #299,423, imagen 40.
↑ Iglesia Católica, Archivo Diocesano de Aguascalientes, Inmaculada Concepción, (Ciénega de Mata, Jalisco), Bautismos de Hijos Legitimos, 1670-1692, tomo 1, p. 177, Juan [Carlos], bautizada el 20 de marzo de 1689; microfilme de manuscritos, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-KW9G-XD : 2 Jan 2023), FHL microfilme #640,149, imagen 221.
↑ Esquibel, BONMF, Montes Vigil family; citing AHEZ, Fondo: Notarías, Notario: Ignacio Gonzales Vergara, Caja: 4 , Libro: 4, Fechas: 1 January 1688 – 12 December 1688 , no. 6
↑ 7.07.17.2 Strout, Clevy Lloyd, “The Resettlement of Santa Fe, 1695: the Newly Found Muster Roll.” New Mexico Historical Review, Vol. 53 (March 1978), p. 265.
↑ Vargas, Diego, and John L. Kessell. Blood on the Boulders: The Journals of Don Diego de Vargas, New Mexico, 1694 – 97 (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1998), Book 1, p. 537.
↑ Vargas, Diego, and John L. Kessell. That Disturbances Cease: The Journals of Don Diego De Vargas, New Mexico, 1697-1700 (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2000), p. 159.
↑ Catholic Church, Archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, (Santa Cruz, New Mexico), Burials, 1726 1769, Book Bur-32 Santa Cruz, p. 8, Captain Francisco Montes Vigil died 11 Sep 1730; manuscript on film, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK7-G99W-5 : accessed 2 Jan 2023), FHL microfilm #16,973, image 15.
↑ Benceslado Lopez, Jr. "The 1720 Don Pedro Villasur Expedition," Herencia, Vol. 8 (Jan 2000), p. 6.
↑ Nathan W. Murphy, "Gateway Ancestors," The Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America (https://www.hereditary.us/gateway-ancestor : accessed 9 Dec 2023), Montes Vigil, Juan, MEX.
See also:
Chávez, Fray Angélico. Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period. (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, revised 1992), pp. 311 and 400.
Charles C. Chapman, NEW MEXICAN GENERATIONS--GENEALOGIES OF THE CANDIDO, BARELA, VIGIL & JARAMILLO AND RELATED FAMILIES (Upland, Ca.: CCC Publishing, 1994) at 77-78--they were living at Ranchos de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.
Dispensa Matrimonial de su tataranieto Pedro Antonio Martín con Jacinta Aragón, Hendricks, Rick, and John B. Colligan. New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations from the Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango, 1800-1893 (Las Cruces, NM: New Mexico State University Library, 2000), pp. 43-45.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Francisco by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
Vigil-403 and Montes Vigil-2 appear to represent the same person because: duplicate profiles. The correct surname is Montes Vigil according to Origins of New Mexico Families.