Written by Susna Calafate Boyle in the May 2020 Wagon Tracks.
A superb article on the life and times of Nestor Armijo. His association with the Santa Fe Trail, his family and acquaintances. Born in Los Padillas in 1831, he would attend school in St. Louis. His trading took him to California, driving sheep to the gold mines; where he made quite a bit of profit.
Nestor Armijo married Josefa Yrisarri - a beauty as shown in her photograph. They associated with other Santa Fe Trail freighters and traders - names like Perea, Otero and Chavez come to mind. In 1868 they were living in Chihuahua City, Mexico, where they remained for a time.
The couple would later move to Las Cruces, where he owned a store and often sold items to the US Army. They transferred many goods from coast to coast, and often he was leading the wagons. Calafate Boyle writes about Nestor Armijo as a second generation Santa Fe Trail merchant. Meaning his father, Cristobal Armijo (Juana M. Chavez) was already doing business on the SFT when Nestor was a young man.
The one outstanding takeaway for me is that he had his son educated in Pennsylvania and then Germany. His grandchildren would attend schools in California and Denver. He was a product of education beyond the borders of New Mexico as many in his extended family, and so would his own child and grandchildren. He was a vigorous supporter of an educated mind.
Nestor Armijo passed away in 1911. His wife Josefa having died in 1905.