To be honest with you, Alice, I haven't come across any records with that name. Have you looked on the free Family Tree website and tried both spellings? Marge:)

> On Sep 13, 2018, at 11:45, Alice Blake wrote:
>
> Hello Marge,My mother was from Zacatecas and her maiden name is Onate.I've researched my Onate family, who all hail from Zacatecas and have found thatat times Onate was of course, de Onate, but what was surprising is that my greatgrandfather andhis predecessors used Donate. I never thought to search Donate, but it yielded other family members.Have you come across this use of the last name?Thanks so much,Alice BB
>
> On Thursday, September 13, 2018 1:42 AM, M Vallazza wrote:
>
>
> My paternal grandmother was a descendant of Juan de Oñate. The Zaldivars intermarried so frequently that it is very difficult to distinguish among them. A book on them that I found very helpful is Moctezuma's Children by Donald Chipman. Marge
>
>> On Sep 12, 2018, at 19:20, rmfpdx@mac.com wrote:
>>
>> I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. Your kindness and thoughtfulness
>> is tremendous. I'm still ploughing my way though these names, but I am a bit
>> puzzled by something. I wonder if anyone else has info that could help
>> provide context and clarification. This has to do with Francisco de Zaldivar
>> Mendoza, beginning on p. 47. In my records, I had Francisco's parents as Juan
>> de Zaldivar y Onate and Marina de Mendoza and that he had eight siblings
>> (sources: http://newmexicohistory.org/people/juan-de-zaldivar and Mil
>> Familias III by Rodolfo Gonzalez de la Garza). I'm confused by the language
>> in part b. on that page: who is "Juan de Zaldivar el mayor", who states that
>> he is the brother of Francisco? I know Francisco had 2 brothers named Juan:
>> Juan de Zaldivar y Onate and Juan de Zaldivar y Mendoza. (He refers to them
>> as his brothers on p. 52 10 lines from the bottom of the page, where he also
>> called Juan de Zaldivar Onate the "alcalde mayor desta provincia de
>> Tamazula.") But I don't know which of these this Juan is and who is older.
>> Also, is the Juan de Zaldivar y Onate the same person before whom Juan
>> appeared (referred to there as "Juan de Zaldivar Onate")? In other words, was
>> one of Francico's 2 brothers named Juan also the Corregidor of Zapotlan?
>> Since it says the brothers (hermanos) of Francisco signed, then it would make
>> sense that both the Juan de Zaldivar el mayor and Juan de Zaldivar Onate were
>> those two brothers. I have no information about either of those two brothers.
>> On p. 50, eight lines from the bottom of the page, Francisco refers to a
>> Diego de Zaldivar, his cousin, three times. I have no information on him. The
>> only Diego I know of is his father's brother, Diego de Zaldivar y Onate, born
>> about 1546 in Mexico. Does anyone know to which Diego Francisco is referring?
>> Interesting, on p. 55, he refers to a Doctor Santiago del Riego, whom he
>> wishes to be the principal executor (albacea) of his estate. This was his
>> brother-in-law by marriage to his sister, Ana. Fundadores de Nueva Galicia -
>> Guadalajara - Tomo I, by Guillermo Garmendia Leal, p. 70. In various places,
>> Francisco refers to his sister Catalina as Catalina Maldonado. I have no info
>> on her but presumably this was her married name? Anyone know? (Francisco's
>> father, Juan, is my 14th great-uncle.)
>>