In Santa Fe on April 9, 1784, don Jose Maldonado will
take the testimony of the soldier Matias Sena.
Deposition of Matias Sena-
On May 5, 1784. Asked
if he was present when his father, Tomas Sena delivered the sheep that his
grandfather, Bernardino de Sena left his niece, Maria Francisca de Sena, wife
of the deceased Juan Antonio Fernandez, he answered: That he never went with his father to the Rio
Abajo to receive or deliver any sheep. He did know that his father delivered to
J. A. Fernandez 900 ewes, 700 as principal and 200 as increases; that his said
grandfather had been gathering at different times and had given them in the
possession of Tadeo Garcia. He also knew
that Fernandez was happy with the delivery of the 700 sheep but unhappy with
the increases. He was 36 years old. Signed Jose Maldonado, wit/ Pablo Sandoval and Ignacio Alan
Juan Pablo Salazar testifies that he wasn’t exactly sure of
the amounts of sheep delivered, but Fernandes had told him that he had received
500 ewes belonging to his wife.
Payment for the funeral-
I, Fray Juan Bermejo, chaplain of the royal presidio,
received from Maria Francisca Sena widow, on account of the funeral for her
husband, 74 pesos in silver. This was
for the funeral high mass and the vigils, novena of low masses with the bell
tolling.
Memorandum
Items of inventory that doña
Luisa Tenorio stated that Juan Antonio Fernandez took at the time of his
marriage:
Nine pieces of Brittany cloth. Two varas of linen. One bold of chintz. Three varas of fine linen. One patter of silk cloth for a skirt. One patter of silk veiling with narrow
tape. Twelve blankets of Villa Alta. Two all silk mantillas. Four varas Flanders lace. Fourteen varas of
ribbon. Two silk handkerchiefs. Six
patio blankets. Four pairs of stockings, two embroidered and two plain. Regarding the ranch property, she states that
her son, Santiago Jose Ortiz, who was a servant of the deceased, Juan Antonio
Jose Ortiz, declares that there were 25 cows, 10 horses and one mare, 30 yoke
of oxen.
Deposition of Juliana Fernandez-
On May 8, appeared Juliana Fernandez, mentioned by doña Luisa Tenorio; what affects her
brother brought to the marriage. She
answered that what she knew and was aware of was a chest full of goods and two
mantillas, one muffler with fringe, a bolt of Brittany cloth, and other goods that
she does not remember. She was 35 years
old. Signed Jose Maldonado
Year 1766-
I, Apolonia Casados, the legitimate wife of Antonio
Guerrero, soldier of this royal presidio, say: that in my first marriage we had
a daughter named Maria de Sena, who being a forcible heir of the property of
the said, her father, don Bernardo de
Sena, the said daughter, fell heir to the chattels she was entitled to, which
by order of the court were converted into sheep, and for security and
management were received by her great-grandfather, now deceased, Bernardino de
Sena, who was her appointed guardian.
The said Bernardino had the sheep on shares in the Rio Abajo and upon
his death of November 12 of last year, the grandfather of the said, my
daughter, Tomas de Sena, administrator of the estate, held the mentioned
papers. Because her grandfather, Tomas
de Sena, has other business to attend and is unable to comply in this
particular; he has shown lack of interest and carelessness in the matter of the
inheritance of my daughter. He’s also
failed to deliver to my daughter, two Michoacán chests, a few dishes, he does
not even want to deliver the bed she sleeps in and I want to know the reason
why. Signed Polonia Casados, Santa Fe,
June 3, 1766.
Deposition of Tomas de Sena-
I, Tomas de Sena, resident of Santa Fe, have read the
charges that Polonia Casados has made, wife of my deceased son, Bernardino de
Sena; regarding the papers of my father there is only one regarding the
sheep. I present that paper now as
requested. The increases were spent on
clothing and other matters as he was her guardian. I was going to present those chattels to you
at the end of this year, but the shepherds are far away and the water is high
in the river. Last week I started to
find a crossing in order to bring the sheep, but I could not find a safe
crossing. In regards to the other, that
she did not have a bed because she was so small she always slept with her
grandmother, who raised her, and is with her still. Regarding the dishes, there
are only two chests and two small pictures which is which is what my father
said and they are still held by my mother. Of the property belonging to my
deceased son, nothing has been collected at the present time. Signed Thomas Antonio de Sena
(Copy of the agreement)
Certificate of Marriage-
I Fray Jose de Burgo, parish priest of the villa of Santa Fe,
have the following record: In this
mission of our Patron Saint Francis of the villa of Santa Fe, on the 24th
day of the month of January 1768, in virtue of the order given by the Vicar
General, don Santiago de Roybal,
having read the banns three times as ordered by the Holy Council of Trent, and
having presented no impediment, I married according to the writ of the Catholic
Church, Juan Antonio Fernandez with Maria Francisca de Sena, the nuptial
witnesses being Alcalde Mayor don
Felipe Tafoya and Teresa Fernandes.
Father Patricio Cueller.
Estate Valuation-
The property that Francisca Sena brought was hers to keep;
the remaining was her husbands and their increases in property they
shared. She retained her portion and the
rest was divided amongst the minor children.
Francisca Sena’s share was $30,462.6 pesos and the five minors each
received $474.5 pesos. Concluded on May
29, 1784, Signed Antonio Jose Ortiz
References: Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Series I, Twitchell #280, Reel 8, Frames 811-877
©Henrietta M. Christmas
No comments:
Post a Comment