First of all, I want to thank all of you for all of the amazing work you've
done: when I began this project at the beginning of the summer, I saved my
maternal grandfather's ancestry for last, because I assumed it would be the
most difficult. We don't know much about our patriarch, J. Refugio G.
Hermosillo, before he crossed the border in 1926; he was 43 at the time,
and had already lived a lifetime. We had no contact with his family, his
parents and siblings dying long before we were born. All we knew was that
he was from a small town in Zacatecas called Montesa, and that, according
to him, he descended from one of the founding families. So, I wasn't
expecting to find much. But was I wrong! I started with his birth
certificate and the 3 generations named on it, and found the LDS website;
by the end of the first weekend, I had traced him all the way back to his
g2 grandparents, and only stopped, because the curas didn't list
grandparents before the late 18th Century (as you all know). But anyway, I
want to thank all of you, because I know SOMEONE had to index those
archives relative to Nueva Galicia, and I have a feeling it was YOU. MIL
GRACIAS A TODOS USTEDES, los nuevosrancheros y los somosprimoseros, for the
trailblazing work you've done and are doing, in regards to researching and
sharing the genealogy and history of Nueva Galicia and colonial Mexico in
general! (and for helping me make my 82 year-old mother and her 8 surviving
siblings very happy, learning about their colorful ancestors!)
A little background on my line: my grandfather, Jose Refugio Gonzalez, was
born in Montesa, Zacatecas, 4 Jul 1883, to Antonio Gonzalez and Susana
Sanchez. He was born with the Gonzalez surname, but some time while still
in Mexico, we figure around 1905, he changed it to "Hermosillo"; we never
knew why he changed it (we've often joked that he obviously didn't want
someone to find him…), nor why he chose "Hermosillo," but that's the name
he gave to his wife, Ana Olivas, of Juarez, as well as to their 11
children, born in California, and it's the name proudly worn by 5
generations of their descendants. "J. Refugio G. Hermosillo" was how he
always signed his name, and is the name on his death certificate and
tombstone.
That said, I started this endeavor not expecting to research the surname
"Hermosillo," since we assumed it had no history in the family prior to
1905 (and not even knowing the history of the surname in los Altos) - that
is, until I found the 1798 marriage record for grandfather's great
grandparents, Rafael Gonzalez & Maria Dolores de Avila, which clearly lists
the groom as:
"RAFAEL GONZALES DE HERMOSILLO, hijo legitimo de VICENTE GONZALES DE
HERMOSILLO y de JUANA DOROTHEA DIAZ DE LEON."
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5FZ-TSC
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-15272-51812-83?cc=1804458&wc…
I was floored! I was thrilled! Alli esta mi segundo apellido! Y sera
alguien de categoria! Who was this GONZALEZ DE HERMOSILLO?? What did he
do?? How are we connected to him? What didn't abuelo tell us??
And that's where my journey really began. I googled the name and was led to
Nuestros Ranchos, amongst other websites, and I began reading through the
message boards. I learned about the conquistador, and his descendants
settling in los Altos, and about Gonzalez Leal's tomes, and the 117 spanish
families identified as the first-comers (and many whose surnames appear in
my tree), and how they intermarried throughout the Spanish Mandate (as I
witnessed, in my tree). And as I continue my research and get to know my
ancestors, I begin to feel a part of that history, that I am a product of
these adventurers, these hacendados, asistentas, capitanes, peones,
esclavos, and maybe even a Tlataoni… I was hooked! I need more! This is
better than a dusty old history book or any old video game!
So here I am, hoping to learn more about who it took to make me who I am,
and how they lived their lives, and hoping to share my findings with others
with the same intention, as well as with the same love for history. Muchos
somos parientes: les mando un fuerte abrazo. Y perdoname por no escribir
en español, pero ya esta tarde y !hablo mucho!
My focus families are the following (I group them because these branches
tend to intermarry or are associated:
En Pinos & Ojuelos & Aguascalientes:
Gonzalez de Hermosillo,
Gil de Esparza
Diaz de Leon
De Avila
Carrillo Lisardi
Gonzalez Murguia
Duron
Alvarado
Martin de Sotomayor, Martin de Camacho, Lozano, de Ruedas y de Islas, and
associated lines
En Pinos & los Altos & Aguascalientes:
Gomez [de Sotomayor]
Tiscareño de Huerta (and the Tiscareño, Ruiz de Esparza and associated
lines)
Ruiz de Villaseñor
Sanchez de la Mejorada
Muñoz de ?
En Pinos & Aguascalientes:
Delgado (Diego & Isabel de Isla Martinez Lozano)
Delgado y Ocampo & Valensuela & Chevarria Merquelan
Gaitan & Arias de Bedolla (roots in SLP & GTO, including Cortes y Galvan)
Rodriguez de Herrera o de Jara
Other surnames I'm working on are Dominguez Samudio & Lopez del Castillo,
Candelas & Buenrostro, Bernal de la Serda, Lopez de los Reyes, Ortiz de
Anda.
And again, thank all of you, for laying down the groundwork, and making it
easier for us newbies, to find our way to our ancestors. .
Gracias y saludos,
