well written Daniel..
Linda

________________________________
From: Daniel Mendez de Torres Camino
To: Nuestros Ranchos
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 7:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Montes y Vigil

Joseph and Tricia:

This is my grandmother´s line she was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1929, but was grew up in the San Francisco/Oakland area during the 40-50s. She descends from Francisco Montes de Vigil son of Capt. Francisco Montes de Vigil and María Jiménez de Ancizo, the couple before mentioned. Through their son, Francisco Montes y Vigil who married Lorenza Quintana de Molina Medina married on 28 June 1744 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Through sucession, this line would later marry into Lucero de Godoy, Romero and Chávez y Durán, whom my grandmother descends.

Everyone probably already knows the following, but it never gets too old, One word of caution with FamilySearch Pedigree Resource File, never take it to be the last deciding voice. It seems people like to publish facts without supporting records on certain ocassions. I have found on numerous ocasions errors to these so-called genealogies in which I had to correct and even reconstruct entire genealogical trees. Always support facts with records, the Montes y Vigil famiy is rich in records, familysearch, microfilm, PARES, and various instituitions in Mexico City, Valladolid, Madrid and so on. Various authors have also published numerous articles and books on the New Mexico families that can be of use. I have not followed this line with much attention, but every now and then I get a spark of interest.

The house of Santillana is definately linked to this family, for Montes de Vigil were from Asturias and Santillana was established in this principality and in the nearby Cantabria area at the end of XIV century. From here the family would spread over the Iberian peninsula and the New World.

For example, the 1611 crossing of Juan Montes de Vigil to the new world is compromised of 24 pages, a certain portion was extracted to appear in the search results. How many have read all 24 pages? I know I have finished reading all 24. Through this and other important records, especially the Ejuecutorias de Hidalguía (Proof of Nobility) the earliest we find registered is 24 Nov 1587 in Valladolid, where Pedro Montes Vigil executes before the Chancillery. A quick overview would easily set the Vigil family a family of the Asturian nobility. The name is a bit older than we think it appears somewhere at the end of XV and XVI centuries. Someone compounded this surname, but who? From what I have researched Vigil is the main trunk of the family. It splits into three branches, Montes Vigil, Vigil and de Vigil Quinoñes. Montes Vigil was probably a result of a female member of the Vigil family marrying a man of "lower status" as to hidalguía, and therefore was
to continue to carry on the Vigil surname, a very common trait during this period of research and especially place.

If we were to study the ejecutorias de Hidalguía we would find out that Juan Montes de Vigil married Catalina de Santillana Herrera, (Catalina has nothing to do with Vigil) researchers have attached the Vigil to her. I have not identified her parents, since the ejecutoria only applies to the male line, this is her husband. Juan II would be son of Juan Montes de Vigil and María de Vigil. Juan would be grandson of Lucas Montes de Vigil and Isabel de Vigil and Francisco de Vigil and Catalina de Arguelles y Quinoñes, this last couple being the founders of the surname Vigil y Quinoñes. If we notice, Juan Montes de Vigil has three lines of Vigil, which is very common in this period in Cantabria-Asturias. These families were very old and reknown, mostly descendants of the original Christian warriors from the VIII-X centuries.

The Vigil family was very well established since the XV century, they had proved their lineage, their hidalguía (which is different from those who inherit titles), hidalgos are nobles by birth through their paternal line, on the contrary those titled must depend on titles of their ancestors. They held various postitions in government, notably regidor del consejo, which was strictly for hijosdalgos during the XVI-XVIII centuries. Many descendants entered into various orders of knighthood, Santiago, Calatrava, etc. There is much research to do with this family.

Genealogy is not just a hobby, though it may start out as one. It is a rigorous inestigation process, reports to be complied, records to be archived, books to be purchased, read, analyzed and reported. Deductions based on reason, facts, and many other types of records: wills, land grants, journals, passages, limpeza de sangre, ejecutoria de higalguía, probanza de nobleza. Baptismal, Marriages and Deaths from the Catholic Church are the basic, and very least of records. There are many archives to be accessed. In my family´s home we have an entire room dedicated to genealogy, our archive is enormous, last time I counted it had at least 50 boxes worth of records, each registered and filed, each box with at least 1200 records of some sort. My grandfather initialized this great work. I am now obtaining digitzalied records of everything to store in case of a distaster. For us Latter-day Saints genealogy is much more. It truly is a work and requires
dedication and study and research. But it´s very fulfilling to know who we are and where we come from and where were going.

These are my few lines, now that I have seen I have prolonged this reponse, I hope this helps in some way.

Daniel Méndez de Torres Camino