Maria Martín de la Paz (abt. 1665 - bef. 1716)

Born about 1665 in Nuevo México, Nueva España

Descendants

Died before 1716 before about age 51 in Santa Fé, Nuevo México, Nueva España [uncertain]

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Biography

María was married to Luis de Ledesma (abt.1665-bef.1716) and they had one known daughter, Maria^[1] and possibly a son, Juan.^[2] According to their children's prenuptial investigations, they were all natives of New Mexico but there is no record of Luis in the 1680 survivor list or in the 1693 census of returning colonists. It is confirmed in María's daughter's prenuptial that "both parties are free and not slaves." If Luis was a servant or a slave, he wouldn't have been mentioned by name.

Both Luis and María were most likely dead by 1716 when Juan married.

Research Notes

1. "De la Paz" is rarely seen on New Mexico records around the time of the Recolonization, especially used as a surname. Ledesma was also very rare which is why I think it is likely that Juan de Ledesma's parents are the same as María de Ledesma, even though their mother's have different names. Women in colonial New Mexico would often use different surnames on their children's records. They would use their father's name, or their mother's, or a grandmother's, or even a padrino. María's name was more likely María de la Paz / Martín or María de la Paz / López. However, with the massive loss of records during the Pueblo Revolt and the loss of the Santa Fe church books until 1747, it is doubtful that we will ever know her true LNAB.

Sources

1. ↑ Chávez, Angélico. New Mexico Roots Ltd: a demographic perspective from genealogical, historical and geographic data found in the diligencias matrimoniales or pre-nuptial investigations (1678-1869) of the Archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. PDF image copy, UNM Digital Repository, http://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cswr_reference/5 : 1983, Vol. #3, p. 497; Cayetano Fajardo and Maria de Ledesma.
2. ↑ Chávez, New Mexico Roots Ltd, Vol. #5, p. 900; Juan de Ledesma (18) and Juana de la Vega (20).