Jojola

The Jójolas first appeared in Bernalillo, then Belen and finally in their historic stronghold of Isleta. The Jojola surname treated along with the Lente surname in Origins of New Mexico Families (page 205) makes reference to some Jójolas in the late 1700s. These baptismal records should serve to treat the Jójolas as residents of a jurisdiction outside of the traditional Isleta area.

Raymundo Jojola, Indio, was baptized in extreme necessity on 6 June 1703, Bernalillo. He was a son of Juan Jójola and María de los Reyes. His padrinos were Francisco de la Candelaria and María Francisca.

Joseph Jójola, Indio, was baptized 25 May 1706, Bernalillo, the son of Juan Jójola and Maria de Leiba. His madrina was identified only as "Josepha." There was also a Josefa, India, baptized the same day, but this Josefa and the above Joseph Jójola do not appear to be twins, as the entry makes reference to Josefa as being in the care of Francisco de la Candelaria and Francisca Montoya. The madrina for the Josefa was the same as the madrina as for Joseph Jójola.

The above mentioned Raymundo Jójola, baptized in extreme necessity on 6 June 1703, Bernalillo, must have survived his extreme baptismal conditions as he appears to be the Raymundo Jójola that married Francisca and lived in the Isleta area. They are listed in the 1750 census of Isleta as follows: “Jójola, Raymundo; wife, Francisca; six children: Juan Pedro; Thomas; Juana Maria; Juana Ascension; Maria Magdalena; Juan Joseph, infant” (Olmsted, Spanish and Mexican Censuses of New Mexico, 1750-1830, p. 89, entry no. 1).

Additional information on the children of Raymundo Jójola and Francisca is found in the Isleta records of baptisms and in records of pre-nuptial investigations, known as diligencias matrimoniales:

Juan Pedro Jójola, baptized 16 October 1730, Isleta.

Maria Dorotea Jójola, baptized 20 May 1733, Isleta.

Tomás Jójola, baptized 20 September 1738, Isleta. Tomás gave his age as twenty in 1760 when he sought to marry Juana Luz Gonzales. He identified his parents as Raymundo Jójola and Francisca, indios of Belen. Juana Luz Gonzales, age sixteen, was a daughter of Antonio Gonzales and Juana Jaramillo, also indios of Belen. (AASF, DM 30 October 1769, no. 8, Belen).

Juan José Jójola, born circa 1743, gave his age as thirty in 1773. When he sought to marry María Josefa Ribera, he declared he was from the Pueblo of Isleta and named his parents as Raymundo Jójola and Francisca, indios vecinos, both deceased. María Josefa, age twenty, was a daughter of Francisco Ribera and Candelaria (no surname), españoles, both deceased (AASF, DM 7 June 1773, no. 5, Belen).

Raymundo Jójola and Francisca also acted as sponsors for two orphaned children, Andrés baptized 24 July 1729, Isleta, and Bernardina baptized in 1730.

This information establishes the Jójola family as an Indian vecino (tax-paying citizen) family in New Mexico, with the Catholic Church records documenting their historic journey to Isleta, their ancestral home for many generations.

Researcher: Yolanda Romero Chávez

Sources: AASF, Roll 3, Bernalillo, Baptisms, B-13, 1700-1712; AASF, Roll 5, Isleta, Baptisms, B-57, 1730-1776.