Raquel

I had asked this same question some time ago. Like you I had originally thought that this mark was for a person who had died at some point. If the child had died a birth (or was stillborn), he or she would not have been baptized, as only a living person could have been baptized.

Bill Figueroa provided the following reply to my query:

The cross or plus sign in early records of Aguascalientes is merely a check
mark to indicate whether the person was "español" and not of mixed race.
The explanation is noted in one of the first record books, I don't remember
which one. The cross was used for several years, until the priest or his
assistant started noting the race or caste as "espl." "indio" "mestizo"
"negro" "mulato" etc. In some baptismal records the priest wrote "que dicen
ser español", probably because the color of the child's skin indicated
otherwise, but in general the priest knew his parishioners and probably
their racial background. I have no doubt that some errors were made, but in
general the markings are accurate.

George Fulton
Pleasanton, CA