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The Archdiocese of Santa Fe original baptismal records
were used by the extractors of these records. These records
are closed to the general public. The microfilmed copies
of these records are Reels POS (positive film) numbers
118 and 119, which are available only at the Archives
of the Archdiocese and the New Mexico State Records Center
and Archives. (See Records
on this web site for addresses.)
The records in Reels #118 and #119 were
filmed without frame numbers and with few page numbers.They
were also filmed out of order.
Fortunately, someone did number the pages
in the original records after they were filmed. Apparently,
some of the records were in loose sheets most of which
have now been put in chronological order and bound. Also,
most of the 1856, 7, 8 , and 9 records were grouped together
for filming. Most of the 1860 records are also grouped
together within the years filmed, but some did get mixed
in with the 1850s. See below. The 1870 records were filmed
mostly in order.
We have published the records in the order
in which they were filmed, considering that an individual
record might be easier to find if published in the order
it appears in the film. This decision was made with agreement
of the committee with whom we work. These records were
very frustrating to work with because of the strong desire
to put them in order. Most of the dates are extremely
clear.
Both POS Reels 118 and 119 are also
wound backwards.
Reel 118 begins with the end of June 1867, and beginning
of July 1867, goes to May 1867, etc. May 1860 is followed
by April 1856. . . Baptisms are followed by a list of
first communicants and a list of those in Los Cofrados
de Nestra Senora del Carmal (The Confraternity of Our
Lady of Carmel), followed by baptisms May to January 1855,
and so on. The rest of the reel is filled with records
for St. Peter's in Roswell, New Mexico, and Truth or Consequences,
New Mexico.
Reel 119 (also wound backwards) is identified as beginning
with Confirmations from Tome 1888. It actually begins
with Tome Marriages in January 1888 to January 1857.
There is much more step by step information
about these two confusing reels in this section.Use the
book as your guide. The reels were featured in an article
titled "Treasure Hunt" written
by this author which was published in the March 1999 New
Mexico Genealogist, 38:l, p. 9.
Introduction
(from Vol I)
by Margaret Espinosa McDonald, Ph.D
November, 1998
Tomé, as it is known today, was originally settled
about 1660 by Tomé Dominguez de Mendoza, the son
of a Spanish officer of the same name who had come north
to Nuevo Mexico with Juan de Oñate in 1598. The
younger Tomé was commissioned into the Spanish
Army and eventually achieved command as Lieutenant Governor
of the New Mexico Colony. About 1659, he received from
Governor Lopez de Mendizabel an encomienda to the
area south of Isleta. This placed the local Indian population
under his control. He was responsible for their safekeeping
and Christianizing, and, in turn, he could use their services
as partial compensation for their dept to the crown for
protection and other services that the crown performed.
The Dominguez family established an estancia west
of El Cerro de Tomé and appeared to have good relations
with the Isleta Indians. However, during the Pueblo Revolt
of 1680, thirty-eight members of the Dominguez family
were killed and the survivors were forced to flee south
to El Paso del Norte. Although Tomé chose not to
come back, his son Juan attempted to return with Governor
Otermin but retreated when the entrada failed.
The Dominguez family did not return after the reconquest
by de Vargas in 1680 and the lands remained vacant.
In 1739, a group of Genízaros, Indians who had
adopted Spanish ways, culture, and language, petitioned
Juan Gonzales Bas, the alcalde mayor of Alburquerque,
for permission to settle the area known as "Lo de
Tomé," or Tomé's Place. The grant was
aproved July 30, 1739.
The first order of business was to build a church. Permission
to build the church was granted in 1742 with the structure
being completed in 1750 and dedicated in 1754.
Tomé, as it came to be known, continued to develop
as a community. The area was largely dependent on agriculture,
though with the Camino Real traveling through Tomé,
the community was albe to keep abreast of events and material
culture outside of the area. Additionally, many of the
men of the area became employed as drivers, herders, etc.,
initially on the Camino Real and later on the Santa Fe
Trail.
With the American takeover of New Mexico in 1846 came
not only political change but also a religious jurisdictional
change as well. Until the Anglo-American takeover, New
Mexico had been under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction
of the Mexican Synod and the Bishop of Durango. In 1850,
jurisdiction was transferred to the Council of Baltimore
in the United States. Pope Pius IX appointed a young French
priest, Fr. Jean Baptiste Lamy, to be the bishop of the
newly formed New Mexico province.
Bishop Lamy, realizing the lack of priests in New Mexico,
brought many young French priests, including Father Jean
Baptiste Ralliere, "El Padre Eterno." Ralliere
took over the parish of Tomé in 1858 at the age
of 23 and continued to serve the parish for the next 55
years! Father Ralliere was active in local, state, and
diocesan politics and helped the people through births,
marriages, floods, droughts, and deaths, to say nothing
of their religious development.
Throughout the years, Tomé was a political center
of the Rio Abajo. It was the county seat for Valencia
County, a county that stretched from Texas to California.
It was also the postal distribution center for settlements
from Alameda to Socorro during the Mexican period.
Today, though no longer the powerful community it once
was, Tomé remains a thriving close-knit agricultural
community whose strong religious character continues to
encure.
The author, Dr. McDonald, greatly appreciates the works
of John M. Taylor, "Our Lady of Guadalupe History
Project, 1990," on which this introduction is based.
Other books by John M. Taylor are available through this
web site at Bookstore. |
