Romero-Mestas and Romero-Martín

Romero-Mestas and Romero-Martín

Ynes Romero, age 30 in June 1692 (b,ca, 1662), was identified as a daughter of Capitán Diego Romero and Sebastiana Mestas. She first married Blas Griego and lived in the Villa de Santa Fe before August 1680. Blas Griego died around April 1692 and was buried in Senecú near the El Paso area. She then married Juan de Dios Lucero de Godoy, son of Pedro Lucero de Godoy and doña Francisca Gómez Robledo shortly after June 6, 1692 (DM 1692, June 6, Real de San Lorenzo, see Fray Angélico Chávez, “New Mexico Roots, Ltd., An Addendum, Part III,” in New Mexico Genealogist, 49:3, September 2010, page 147).

The summary of the prenuptial investigation made by Fray Angélico Chávez gives a quote from the prenuptial investigation document that Diego Romero and Sebastiana Mestas were “naturales de la probincias del nueba mexico en la Cañada,” which indicates that Romero and Mestas were from the area that is today the Santa Cruz River Valley between Chimayó and Española.

One other aspect that makes this information interesting is that it appears there was no impediment of consanguinity. If Ynes’ father, Capitán Diego Romero, was the same person as Diego Pérez Romero (ONMF: 87), then Ynes and Juan de Dios would have been second cousins, which would have been an impediment for marriage requiring a dispensation. Also, there is no indication that Ynes was a natural daughter of Diego and Sebastiana.

Perhaps the record that Fray Angélico consulted is incomplete and thus there is no information about an impediment. Or, perhaps Ynes was not a descendant of Bartolomé Romero, and thus no impediment existed. This would mean there were two men named Diego Romero who were contemporaries that lived in New Mexico in the mid-1600s.

Romero-Martín

Was Sebastiana Mestas the same person as Sebastiana Martín?

On January 4, 1683, at San Pedro de Alcántara in the jurisdiction of El Paso del Río del Norte, Salvador Romero sought to marry María López de Ocanto. Salvador declared he was 22 years old, born circa 1661, a vesino de las probincias de la nueba mexico residente en esta juridicion de San Pedro de Alcantara, and identified his parents as Capitán Diego Romero and Sebastiana Martín, both deceased.

María López de Ocanto declared that the names of her parents were not known and that she was also a native of New Mexico. The witnesses as part of the prenuptial investigation were: Luis Maese, 30 more or less, Agustin Luján, 29, single of New Mexico and presently living San Pedro de Alcántara, Alonso MAESE, 49, vesino of New Mexico, Domingo Martín Barba, 44, $ also a vecno of New Mexico and living at SanPedro de Alcántara.

There was no impediment to the union and the couple received the sacrament of Marriage on 17 January 17, 1683 and entered in the book of marriages by Father fray Diego de Mendoza with Cristóbal Tapia and his wife, Juana de Valencia as sponsors.

Researcher: Fray Angélico Chávez; summary by José Antonio Esquibel

Source: Fray Angélico Chávez, “Addenda to New Mexico Roots,” in New Mexico Genealogist, 49:4, December 2010, 188.