Last Will and Testament of Diego Vásquez Borrego, 1753

Diego Vásquez Borrego, a vecino of Rio Abajo, made his will in Santa Fe, at the home of Vicente Martín, on the 5th of May 1753. It is a rather short document, as Vásquez Borrego’s illness and the short time he had left prevented him from making a more complete record of his wishes. Thus, it was done hastily and not as formally as other wills. He named Felipe Tafoya as his executor, who was unfamiliar with judicial procedures and his role as executor. Therefore, Tafoya went to great lengths to prove the validity of the will and show that he had the authority to execute it.

The will and accompanying documents reveal several genealogical pieces of information:

• Diego Vásquez Borrego was married twice. From his first marriage, he had a son, Manuel, a vecino of El Paso del Rio del Norte. From his second marriage to Rosa de Altamirano (who was still living), he had two sons, Agustín, who had died in Mexico City, and Juan Diego, who was at that time living in Toluca.

• He also claimed two sons (unnamed) in the will, but we know from other sources that neither of these two sons are the sons named above. They were both ‘natural’ sons born in New Mexico, vecinos of Bernalillo, Francisco and Diego Felipe.[i]

• Vicente Martín, age 36, was Felipe Tafoya’s son-in-law. From other records, we know he was married to Felipe’s daughter, Isabel Tafoya.

• Antonio Armenta, another vecino of Santa Fe who served as a witness, age 54, was compadres with Felipe Tafoya, which means one or the other (or perhaps both) served as padrino for the other’s child, although we don’t know which one.

Vásquez Borrego’s second wife, Rosa de Altamirano, was not a native of New Mexico or related to the Tafoya Altamirano family, as claimed by Fray Angélico Chávez in the Origins of New Mexico Families. María Rosa Tafoya Altamirano, a New Mexican native, was born circa 1707 whereas Vásquez Borrego and his wife Rosa de Altamirano baptized their son Agustín at the Sagrario church in Toluca (a city about 45 miles west of Mexico City) on September 1, 1711.[ii] Clearly, they are not the same person. Furthermore, Felipe Tafoya (Altamirano) never mentioned any familial relationship with the deceased, and when he was questioned later regarding claims upon the estate, he stated that the only proof he had of Vásquez Borrego’s marriage to Rosa de Altamirano was a letter from her among the deceased’s papers.[iii]

The original manuscript of the will is in the Spanish Archives of New Mexico. I have translated it into English. You can read more about the Ojo de Borrego land grant in this blog post.

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Year 1753, will of Diego Vásquez Borrego and proceedings to its continuance

Let all who see this letter know that I, Diego Vásquez Borrego, resident of Rio Abajo, being bedridden and very unwell but in my full natural judgment, and fearing death, make this record in the presence of my confessor, who is the very Reverend Father Vice-Custodian of this Holy jurisdiction, Fray Tomás Murciano de la Cruz, as well as in the presence of three witnesses as required and because the alcalde mayor is not presently here in this jurisdiction.

If God had granted me a longer life, I would have made it with more care; however, I make this record in the following manner:

Firstly, I declare as my assets five hundred breeding sheep;

Item, one hundred goats, making a total of six hundred heads, which are in the possession of different people in Rio Abajo, as will be seen and acknowledged by a record I leave, and the said livestock should be delivered to me in October;

Item, I declare as my assets two horses, and a shotgun with its case;

Item, two bridles;

Item, a yoke of oxen, and seven pairs of leather straps;

Item, a new cart and four short planks;

Item, a ranch between San Felipe and Jemez, and as one of the settlers, a land grant given to me by the king, my lord, in the place of Belén;

Item, two axes;

Item, three shovels (or hoes);

Item, I declare having paid the genízaros of Belén 17,500 stacked adobe bricks and some beams;

Item, I declare that although I delivered, as ordered by royal justice, the amount of 300 pesos to Salvador Martínez, who sued me, I confess not owing him even a real, and it is confirmed that he has already received them by his receipt, which is included in the records to which I refer. I attest that I do not owe him that money, and thus I claim as my assets the said 300 pesos and grant power to my executor to claim the right I have and that is owed to me in justice.

It is my will that if God chooses to take me, Felipe Tafoya shall take charge of all my assets, for I have great confidence in him. For these reasons, I appoint and leave him as my executor and custodian of my assets, from which he shall pay for my burial, masses, and all other obligatory funeral expenses.

Item, I declare owing three masses, which I order to be paid from my assets;

Item, I declare owing a heifer, which I order to be paid;

Item, I declare having two boys whom I acknowledge as my sons, and they have cared for the livestock and for this reason, it is in the condition in which I leave it;

Item, I declare that the estate of the deceased Barrera owes me a yoke of oxen, a horse, and eight goats, which I order my executor to collect;

And for it to be demonstrated as true, I requested the said very Reverend Father Vice-(Custodian) to sign it for me along with the three witnesses who were present, and it is done in this town on the fifth day of May of the year 1753.

Fray Tomás Murciano de la Cruz {rubric}

Witnesses: Antonio Armenta {rubric}, Francisco Guerrero {rubric}, at the request of Vicente Martín, José Maldonado {rubric}

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Felipe Tafoya, as executor, then asked the governor to formalize and declare as valid Vásquez Borrego’s last will and testament.

In Santa Fe, on the 25th of May 1753, Governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín authorized the alcalde mayor, Nicolás Ortiz, to receive witnesses to attest to the validity of the will. The order appeared to have been dated and formalized after the actual collection of testimony, as follows.

On the 7th of May 1753, Nicolás Ortiz received the witness Vicente Martín, vecino of Santa Fe, age 36. Martín stated that three days before Borrego died, he had appointed Felipe Tafoya as his executor. He also stated that Vásquez Borrego had declared that he had been married in the Church and from his first marriage (the witness could not remember the name of the wife) he had raised one son, Manuel Borrego. From his second marriage, with Rosa de Altamirano, he had two sons, one of whom died, and the other who is still living and is of age, named Juan Diego Borrego. Juan Vásquez Borrego had been staying in Vicente’s home since before he became ill. He verified the truthfulness and accuracy of the will and also mentioned he was the son-in-law of Felipe Tafoya, but that this did not impact the truthfulness of his testimony.

On the same day, Francisco Guerrero, vecino of Santa Fe, age 58, provided his testimony. He likewise stated that everything presented in the will was true and accurate, according to Vásquez Borrego’s wishes. (Interesting side note: Fourteen years later, as alcalde mayor of Santa Fe, he validated the sale of Borrego’s land from Felipe Sandoval Fernández to Nerio Antonio Montoya).

On the same day, Antonio de Armenta, vecino of Santa Fe, age 54, provided his testimony. He described the arrival of Francisco Guerrero and subsequently the vice-custodian to the home of Vicente Martín, and that Vásquez Borrego had named Felipe Tafoya as his executor. He did not hear everything that was stated in the will, but verified that Francisco Guerrero was the one who wrote it. He affirmed that the deceased had been married twice, that he had not mentioned the name of his first wife, but his second wife was Rosa de Altamirano, who was still living. During the first marriage, he had a son, Manuel Borrego, who he heard was a vecino of El Paso del Rio del Norte. From his second marriage he had two sons, one who had died in Mexico City named Agustín Borrego and the other who was currently living in Toluca. He acknowledged that although he was compadres with Felipe Tafoya, this did not affect the truthfulness of his testimony.

On the 30th of May 1753, Nicolás Ortiz submitted the testimony to Governor Vélez Cachupín and on June 2nd validated Felipe Tafoya as the executor of Vásquez Borrego’s estate and imposed his authority so that the will could be executed. On the 2nd of June, Nicolás Ortiz acknowledged the governor’s order and communicated it to Tafoya in person. On the 4th of June, the documents were placed into the official government archives by order of the governor.

Source: “New Mexico, U.S., Land Records of New Spain, 1692-1916,” Collected Spanish Land Files, Serial 10252 Items 53-104, No. 98. Available on Ancestry.com.

[i] New Mexico, U.S., Land Records of New Spain, 1692-1916, Collected Spanish Land Files, Serial 10289 Items 13, 31, 103, and 177, No. 103, Image 347/530. Available on Ancestry.com

[ii] "México, México, registros parroquiales, 1567-1970," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-3MF9-P?i=42&cc=1837908), Toluca de Lerdo > El Sagrario > Bautismos 1709, 1742 > image 43 of 435; parroquias Católicas, Estado de Mexico (Catholic Church parishes, Estado de Mexico).

[iii] New Mexico, U.S., Land Records of New Spain, 1692-1916, Collected Spanish Land Files, Serial 10289 Items 13, 31, 103, and 177, No. 103, Image 416/530. Available on Ancestry.com