Álvaro García Holgado and his wife, Juana de los Reyes, have long been regarded as common ancestors for people with deep roots in New Mexico. But evidence based on documentation does not provide the genealogical link that was supposed by Fray Angélico Chávez with regard to Catalina García, wife of Pedro de Leyva.
Catalina García and Pedro de Leyva are common ancestors for many people, and it is known that Pedro de Leyva was a brother-in-law of a man named Francisco García, but there are no known records that provide the names of the parents of Catalina García and Francisco Gracía, who were apparently sister and brother. And there are no know records in which Holgado was included in their surnames.
Also, Fray Angélico Chávez made a supposition that Álvaro García Holgado was a father or grandfather of the Lucía López de Gracia, but this was a misreading of a statement in an archival document. There is no documentation indicating that Álvaro García Holgado and Juana de los Reyes were progenitors of the López de Gracia family. In addition, there is no know documentation linking Juana de los Reyes and her sister, Juana Sánchez to the Mondragón-Sánchez de Monroy family.
Regardless, Álvaro García Holgado and Juana de los Reyes have an interesting history as early settlers of Spanish New Mexico.
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Álvaro García Holgado was a mulato born circa 1578 who came to New Mexico in 1600 as a soldier with the group of settlers recruited in Mexico City as reinforcements for the colony in New Mexico). His place of origin is not known and the names of his parents are also unknown. He was not accounted for on the muster roll of August 1600 because he had been sent to New Mexico ahead of the group of recruited settlers in June 1600 with several other soldier to get cattle and other food provisions to the Oñate colony, which was in dire need ((Hammond and Rey, Don Juan de Oñate: Colonizer of New Mexico, 578).
In October 1601 he was one of the soldiers who expressed support of Oñate in a letter written to royal officials in Mexico City denouncing those who had left the colony (Hammond and Rey, Oñate, 701-702).
In 1609 Álvaro García Holgado was one of the soldiers who accompanied incoming governor don Pedro de Peralta from Mexico City to New Mexico ((Hammond and Rey, Don Juan de Oñate: Colonizer of New Mexico, 1082).
As a mulato, García Holgado was more likely part African and part Indian. The fact that he could sign his name and that he held positions as a regidor and procurador general (councilman and legal counsel) of the cabildo (town council) of the Villa de Santa Fe in 1643 indicates he was literate and very likely received at least a small level of education (AGN, México, Inquisición, t. 304, exp. 27, ff. 191v-192r; and AGI, Patronato, leg. 244, ramo 7, f.75v).
In his politics, García Holgado was a supporter of the governors as the primary governing authority in New Mexico in opposition to the Franciscans who contended their authority superseded that of the governors. In 1626, when the Franciscan leadership denounced Governor don Juan de Eulate to the Inquisition for his disrespect of the Franciscans and for undermining their authority in New Mexico, they also denounce García Holgado, a supporter of the governor, for saying many times that married life was better than living a life of religious vows (AGN, Inquisición. t. 356, f. 260r). Inquisition officials in Mexico City gave no credence to the accusation and there was no action taken against either Eulate or García Holgado.
Also denounced at that same time was a brother-in-law of Álvaro García Holgado named Juan Gómez, an interpreter and an encomendero of the Pueblo de San Lázaro (AGN, Inquisición. t. 356, f. 260r). In addition to also stating that married life was better than that of the clergy, he also told the Indians that the Franciscans were their enemies, especially for making them give up their “idols,” and that the Catholic king did not want the Indians to give those up (AGN, Inquisición. t. 356, f. 260v).
Captain Álvaro García Holgado was summoned to appear before fray Alonso de Benavides, the comissario of the Inquisition in New Mexico, and he presented himself on the morning of June 1, 1626, in the Villa de Santa Fe. He declared he was married and was a vecino of the villa and gave his age as 48, indicating an estimated year of birth as 1578 (AGN, Inquisición. t. 356, f. 316r). When asked if he knew the reason he was called forward, he stated that three years earlier Governor Eulate had left the villa with thirty soldier to castigate the Indians of Jemez Pueblo and that while on the journey, which was during the time of Lent close to Holy Week, Eulate and a few of his top commanders ate meat, which wasn’t necessary since they had beans, biscocho, and other provisions to eat. One of those commanders was Captain Juan Gómez, whom García Holgado identified as his brother-in-law. None of the other men ate meat and García Holgado later reprehended his brother-in-law for having done so. García Holgado signed his statement, indicating he was literate.
Álvaro's wife was Juana de los Reyes, a mulata born circa 1581-1591.
In 1632, Álvaro García Holgado mentioned his son, Diego García, who was age 27, indicating he was born circa 1605 (AGN, Inquisicón, t. 304, exp. 27, f. 190r). In that same year, Diego referred to a brother named Juan García, born circa 1612, who was identified as a soldier and a mulato and was also known as Juan García Holgado and resided in the jurisdiction of Isleta in 1638 (AGN, Inquisición, t. 304, exp. 27, ff. 190v and 191r; and AGN, Inquisición, t. 385, exp. 15, f. 518v)
Another man by the name of Juan García Holgado was interviewed at the Pueblo of Socorro on 24 April 1667 (AGN, Inquisición, t. 608, exp. 6, f. 427r). He was identified as “justicia mayor destas fronteras” and said he was a native of New Mexico, forty-two to forty-three years of age (born circa 1624-1625). The name of his parents are not known. His wife was named as Ana Pacheco.
Also, in September 1632, soldier named Francisco García provided testimony in which he declared he was a vecino of the Villa de Santa Fe, age 22, indicating he was born circa 1610 (AGN Inquisición, t. 304, exp. 27, f. 193r). But there are no records that identify his parents. In 1662, a man named Francisco García was identified as a brother-in-law of Captain Pedro de Leyva and José Nieto, “todos son cuñados” (AGN, Inquisición t. 512, exp. 1, f. 158v). The wife of Pedro de Leyva was Catalina García, but there is no known record that provides the names of her parents (AGN, Inquisición, t. 507, exps. 1 y2, f. 303v). It appears that Catalina García was perhaps a sister of Francisco García. José Nieto (b.ca. 1620, Villa de Santa Fe) with was married with Lucía López de Gracia and it appears that a sister of Lucia was married with Francisco García.
In 1665, there was a man named Captain Francisco García, a widower, who declared he was a native the Villa de San Gabriel and age 57, indicating he was born circa 1608 (AGN, Inquisición, t. 507, exps. 1 y 2, f. 305v).
Fray Angélico Chávez presumed that Francisco García was a son of Alvaro García Holgado (see Chávez, Origins of New Mexico Families pages 32-33), but there are yet no known records that identify the names of the parents of Francisco García. And there are no known records that identify the parents of Catarina García, wife of Pedro de Leyva, both common ancestors for people with deep family roots in New Mexico.
Álvaro García Holgado was still living in 1643 when he was serving on the town council of the Villa de Santa Fe as regidor y procurador general, councilman and legal representative of the council (AGI, Patronato 244, Levantamiento de Nuevo México, f. 76r). However, there is no clear documentation on the descendancy of Álvaro García Holgado in New Mexico, even though he has been generally accepted as a common ancestor through the Leyva-García family, but this is not based on a documented connection of Catalina García to the García Holgado family.
Researcher: José Antonio Esquibel