The division of property of the estate of Monica Tomasa Martin by the alcalde, Antonio Armijo, in Taos.
Monica Tomasa Martin a resident
of the Valley of St. Geronimo of Taos, died on 20 May 1770, and died without
making a testament. The Alcalde and War Captain
went to examine the property mentioned in a clause of a testament which she
made on the 11 April 1768 and having ordered Jose Bustamante, the husband,
executor and guardian of the property of the said deceased to appear before me.
One house containing six rooms
and a porch, less the lot of land.
Four picture frames, Our Lady of
Sorrows, St. John, Our Lady of Bethlehem and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Eleven vellums. Two copper
kettles. One comal.
One iron spoon and one spit, two
bottles, one without a neck, four small bottles, one silver spoon, one brass
spoon, one silver fork, on silver salt-cellar, on copper cup for drinking
water, one small cauldron, one copper frying pan, one china chocolate cup, six
chacuales (covers used on the head by women for carrying their earthen ware),
four in existence, two mixed silk mufflers, one cloth cover, another cover red colored,
one muffler from Cuapastle, the red colored cover, the blue satin short veil,
and a pair of inset silver buckles, one velvet crimson short veil, one pair of
blue silk embroidered stocking, one rich silk flesh colored petticoat, one pair
of blue serge skirts, which she took as a shroud, two strings of beads, one jet
and the other of corals. One pair of pearl earrings, two pairs of shoes, one
box of Michoacán, one wooden box with its locks, one adze, one chisel, one hand
saw, one mattock, four sickles, one bed stead with railing, one table, one
bench, two mattresses, one bed blanket, two pillows, one with linen covers, and
the other of cotton stuff, one white sieve second hand, one ready cart, with
two yoke of oxen, four pigs, thirty four head of cattle, all ages, one cow and calf,
two year old calf and the little one for the Blessed Sacrament. Three hundred varas of land, one black velvet
waist coat, two door locks complete, three varas of narrow silver lace, one
mortar with its hammer, two pair of scissors, three Navajo baskets one thimble,
on silk winder, one snuff box, on stitching needle.
Juan Mirabal owes one three year
old cow bull.
Luis Cruz a resident of Chimayo
owes one folding door.
Cristobal Tafoya, resident of
Santa Clara, owes sixteen varas of sackcloth.
One cane silver pommel. One cow and calf due by Jose Antonio Naranjo,
about twelve sacks of corn, one handle.
On the last day of the month of
June 1770, appeared before me, Jose Bustamante and Julian Lujan, as having
represented the property of their deceased wife and mother-in-law.
On July 3, 1770, before don
Domingo Benavides, Chief Alcalde, on 11 April 1768, and the receipt given by
Julian Lujan, the husband of Maria Antonia Romero, daughter and heir of the
said Monica Martin, executed before the alcalde on July 18, 1769. If the forced legacies have been paid, this
is understood in orders made to her maidservants and other persons, not
including those made to her daughter, because those ceased by the said receipt
nor those made to her husband, Jose Bustamante, known as Mirabal, or all of the
said bequests should not have been paid, you will compel the said Jose to pay
without delay. Then he may dispose of
the same at his will as his own. Pedro
Fermin Mendinueta, rubric.
Julian Lujan, resident of the
valley of Taos, do say that I received from Jose Mirabal, and from Monica
Martin, both of them residents of Taos, twenty head of cattle from one year up,
two broken mares, one with a colt, and on broken mare, for the inheritance
belonging to Maria Antonia Romero, daughter of Monica Martin and Francisco
Romero, deceased; that at the time of her death, the said Julian Lujan nor his
wife, Antonia Romero, will have nothing to ask from what may be left to Jose
Mirabal and to his wife Monica Martin. I
also received two rooms one above the other, one blue cloak, one pair of blue
cloth pants from Castile garnished with lace, one velvet waistcoat, for a gun
which he lost when he went to the Comanche’s, given with a receipt. Signed July 18, 1769 at Taos. Nicolas Leal for Julian Lujan, rubric. Domingo Benavides, judge.
continued...
Reference: Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Series I,
Twitchell 590, Reel 3, Frames 1210-1228.
©Henrietta M. Christmas
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