Don Fernando Arquelles was from Asturias. There were a number of Asturians in the general area of Huejuquilla el Alto/Valparais/Mesquitic in the late 1790 time frame. Don Domingo Antonio Felgueres came from Villaviciosa, Asturias in 1790 and served as lieutenant governor of Mesquitic (Mezquitic); he died in 1798 from unknown causes. Domingo's brother, Josef, was a Franciscan friar who came about the same time and you will find him periodically in different records. There were at least two other Asturians, Don Antonio Lopez del Llano, Domingo's best friend, and Don Alonzo Lopez del Campo, a cousin of Don Antonio.

FWIW, in the 1700's the Asturians (and other españoles) came to Mexico looking to marry wealthy criollo daughters (I can give you references/sources if you are interested). The wealthy criollo fathers would prefer a Peninsular son-in-law to a Mexican-born son-in-law even if the Peninsular was not particularly wealthy or not of high social class. Both Domingo Antonio Felgueres and Antontio Lopez del Llano married into the wealthy Martinez family of Mesquitic. The Martinez family's wealth was likely from the silver mines of Bolaños; they also lived near Totatiche. When Domingo Antonio Felgueres died, Antonio Lopez del Campo, married Domingo's widow.

It is all about money. The Spaniards loved God, Glory and Gold (Silver), not necessarily in that order.

Hi ?,

It means don Fernando Arguelles is a native of the Principality of Asturias, a place in northern Spain.

Christopher de Cuellar

________________________________
From: "zacatecano020@hotmail.com"
To: research@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:06 PM
Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] Defunto Don Fernando Arquelles Natural Del Principal de Asturias 1797

I need help from someone please in that you can you tell me what it means when this person that I found in Defuntos in our village of Huejuquilla, Jalisco Mexico in the year 1797.

Says "Don Fernando Arquelles Natural Del Prinicipal De Asturias"

What does it say or mean about Asturias?  I have no relation to him but just curious.

http://oi62.tinypic.com/2jdjkev.jpg

Source:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18449-54312-19?cc=1874591&wc…

Has anyone been hit with the geneology bug?  I am doing lots of research now I got hit with the geneology bug.

Welcome to the fascinating world of history and genealogy! We all catch it eventually. The feeling of desire, intrigue, hunger after genealogy. One door opens three and before we know it, our family tree can span several generations over centuries. Genealogy is truly and art, not a mere hobby.

The document is beautifully written. It should say, "Don Fernando de Arguelles, natural del Principado de Asturias, de veinte anos." What sparks my curiosity is he was only twenty years old and was called Don. It was very common during colonial Mexico for these "youngsters" to be imported by their wealthy uncles to administrate their businesses. He was from Asturias, Spain, de facto, he was "asturiano" by birth. There are numerous Arguelles families in the region, most seem to descend from the main house in Asturias. The ones nearby in Zacatecas were the Arguelles y Miranda who married into the Sanchez de Tagle family who possesed the Marquisate of Altamira the other one of interest are the Arguelles y Quinones who married into the Montes y Vigil family. My question is what was don Fernando, a young twenty year old doing at this location. He did not even live enough to marry and reproduce, which was usually the main objective of these peninsulares along with their businesses.
The peninsulares often seeked to marry wealthy criollas to establish themselves really quickly in the region, which would ensure them, the important family links, etc. Is it not interesting how all these questions came from one simple question? This is what we need to do, brainstorm. What was he doing there? Are there any documents that may give us a lead, was he a landowner, was there a court case he was involved with? Was he residing somewhere else? Why did he come to New Spain? Who were his parents, the list goes on. Document everything.

Then again, this is not really someone you are interested in? Once you become addicted to genealogy you become me!

Daniel Mendez de Torres y Camino