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The New Mexico Genealogical Society, founded in 1960, is composed entirely of volunteers. 2010 will be our 50th year of providing research materials and networking opportunities for family historians.

Tricentennial Celebration Events

Honors and Awards for the book: Lansing B. Bloom Award and the New Mexico 2007 Book Award The book was released in 2007. Order NMGS Press Book E-13

 Our gift for Alburquerque's 300th Birthday:
 
AQUÍ SE COMIENZA: A Genealogical History of the
Founding Families of the Villa de San Felipe de Alburquerque

To commemorate Albuquerque's 300th birthday, the New Mexico Genealogical Society published a genealogical history of the known* founding families of the Villa de San Felipe de Alburquerque.

This project, headed by Gloria M. Valencia, was part of that celebration.
José Antonio Esquibel, Robert Martinez and Francisco Sisneros were Project Editors.
We are aware of additional families living in or near Albuquerque at the time of its founding, but whose names did not appear on the list by Juan de Candelaria. In 2009 the New Mexico Genealogist will begin publishing articles received that include the genealogy and stories of additional families. More about that list below.

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February 18, 2006: Newspaper article:

Family Helps Write History.
The Albuquerque Journal of Feb 18th carried the story of one ot those founders, Tomas Garcia de Noriega, with a picture of his descendant, Project Director Gloria Valencia and her family. Albuquerque Journal reporter Debra Dominguez-Lund writes:            

"Gloria Valencia is quite attached to Albuquerque history. So much so that she and a team of volunteers are helping the New Mexico Genealogical Society write "Aqui Se Comienza: A Genealogical History of the Founding Families of the Villa de San Felipe, which is to be published later this year."

"Gloria's own genealogy shows that she is a descendant of Tomas Garcia, who came to the area as a 21-year-old squadron soldier offering protection to the new settlers. He and his wife, Juana Hurtado, started their family in Alburquerque; in fact, their first child, Francisca Garcia, was the first child to be baptised at Old Town's San Felipe de Neri Church, then San Francisco Xavier Church. Included in Gloria's ancestry is doña Bernardina de Salas y Trujillo, a noted matriarch in Alburquerque's history and whose large family is featured in many genealogies. Her son, Martin Hurtado, became Alburquerque's first mayor in 1706."

Founders and Volunteer Researchers

Sources

Founding Families		Volunteer researchers
1.	Cristoval Varela Jaramillo and Leonor Lujan Dominguez. (1st wife: Casilda Cedillo Rico de Rojas)	Richard Sandoval
2.	Juan Varela Jaramillo and Isabel Cedillo Rico de Rojas.	Robert J.C. Baca
3.	Francisco de Candelaria and Francisca Montoya.	Jacqueline Luna
4.	Feliciano (Felix) de Candelaria and Petrona Varela.	Jacqueline Luna
5.	Nicolas Lucero de Godoy and Maria Montoya de Vera.	Rosemary Perea Lucero
6.	Baltazar Romero and Francisca Gongora. (1st wife: Maria Francisca Montoya)	Jose Antonio Esquibel
7.	Juachin Sedillo Rico de Rojas and Maria Varela y Lucero.	Antoinette Duran Silva
8.	Antonio Gutierrez and Gregoria de Gongora.	Nancy Anderson
9.	Cristoval Barela de Losada and Clementa de Ortega.	Richard Sandoval
10.	Pedro Lopez del Castillo and Maria de Ortega.	Estella Garcia Castillo
11.	doņa Bernardina Salas y Trujillo, widow of Andres Hurtado.	Brenda Aragon de Chavez
12.	Juana Lopez del Castillo	Henrietta Martinez Christmas
Governor F rancisco Cuervo y Valdes		Rick Hendricks
1.	don Martin Hurtado and Catalina Varela Jaramillo.	Polly Sisneros de la Serna & Richard Quintana
2.	Juan de Piñeda.	Robert J. C. Baca
3.	Francisco Garcia de Noriega and Maria Ribera.	Antoinette Duran Silva
4.	Pedro Duran y Chavez and Juana Montoya y Hinojos. (2nd wife, Maria Getrudes Sanchez).	Jose Antonio Esquibel
5.	Andres Montoya and Antonia Gregoria Lucero de Godoy. (2nd wife: Maria Sisneros)	Dorothy Chavez Wiskup
6.	Sebastian de Canseco and Maria Anaya.	Henrietta Martinez Christmas
7.	Antonio de Silva and Gregoria Ruiz.	Leonel B. & Eva Ilean Silva
8.	Jose de Salas and Bernardina Hurtado.	Antoinette Duran Silva
9.	Tomas Garcia de Noriega and Juana Hurtado de Mendoza.	Gloria M. Valencia  (Project Director)
10.	Francisco Xavier de Benavidez and Jacinta Romero. (1st wife: Josefa Tamaris, 3rd wife: Valentina Martin.)	Henrietta Martinez Christmas
11.	Fray Juan Miquez (Minguez).	Francisco Sisneros

SOURCES

Only one list of Albuquerque's founding families has surfaced to date, and has been published in at least two journals: the New Mexico Genealogist (Vol. XIX, No. 3, September 1980, p. 67), and the New Mexico Historical Review (Vol. IV #3, July 1929, p. 274/275). Any additional information regarding documented sources is welcome.The Genealogist article, by researcher Gilberto Espinosa, reads as follows: "Albuquerque: First called La Villa de San Francisco Xavier de Alburquerque, was founded as a Royal city by order of Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, Governor of New Mexico, on 7 February 1706. "Juan de Candelaria, most probably one of the original settlers, in 1776 when 84 years of age, wrote the first history of New Mexico. He states that it was settled by twelve families from Bernalillo with soldiers from that garrison. In his report to the Viceroy, Valdez reports that there were thirty families comprising the settlement. The only list we have is that given by Candelaria. There were more, as it is not probable that such a settlement would be made with so few."         The statement was followed by the list of founders' names shown in the table above. The footnote on page one of the article in the New Mexico Historical Review reads as follows: "These reminiscences were therefore recorded in the year 1776. The Spanish transcript was given by Don Federico Gomez de Orozco of Mexico City to his friend, Dr. Sylvanus G. Morley, and the latter kindly sent it to the Review. The translation is by Don Isidoro Armijo of Santa Fe."