Telles Jirón (Telles)

Research by José Antonio Esquibel and Theresa Cabrera Menard

Narrative by José Antonio Esquibel

Note: Most of the information presented here was originally published in my article titled, “The Romero Family of Seventeenth-Century New Mexico,” Part 2, in Herencia (Journal of the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico), Vol. 11, Issue 3, 2003, 2-20.

According to his own account, José Telles Jirón was born circa 1631 at Los Altos de San Jacinto in the region of Cuyoacán in Nueva España and came to New Mexico in 1649 as a soldier paid by the royal treasury to accompany incoming governor don Hernando Ugarte y la Concha (John L. Kessell and Rick Hendricks, eds., By Force of Arms: The Journals of Don Diego de Vargas, 1691-1693, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1992, 140).  Telles Jirón served the governor at the casas reales in Santa Fe and was one of eight soldiers who came with Ugarte y la Concha that remained in New Mexico (Kessell and Hendricks, By Force of Arms, 140).

There are currently no know records from New Mexico archival sources that identify the name of the parents of José Telles Jirón. There are websites that list names of his parents, but none of those pages provide a source for that information. There are websites that list names of his parents, but none of those pages provide a source for that information. Until a source can be identified and verified, don’t trust the information on the Internet. Keep researching to locate a record. 

Theresa Cabrera Menard located a baptismal record for a child named Luisa, baptized October 28, 1604, San Juan Bautista Church, Coyoacán, daughter of Fransico Telles and María Zapata (FamilySeach, LDS microfilm #0046565213, Mexico, Distrito Federal, Coyoacán, San Juan Bautista, Bautismos 1604-1674, Image 13).  The significance of this record is that José Telles Jirón had a daughter named María Zapata (wife of Diego de Medina).  We do not yet know if or how José Telles Jirón may have been relate to Francisco Telles ad María Sapata. This information is useful for conducting additional research to confirm if there was a family relationship. Please refrain from adding the names of Francisco Telles and María Zapata to the genealogy of José Telles Jirón. Simply keep the information as a note for research,

A possible relative of José Telles Jirón may have been don Cristóbal Telles Girón, a native of the Villa de Coyoacán and a son of don Bartolomé Telles Girón and doña Juana Sicilia. Don Cristóbal Telles Girón recorded banns of matrimony on May 29, 1642, at the Catedral de México, Mexico City, with Jerónima Ruiz, a native of Mexico City and a daughter of Gonzalo Ruiz and Magdalena de Morales. LDS microfilm #0035254). Additional research is needed to determine if José Telles Jirón and don Cristóbal Telles Girón were members of the same Telles Girón clan. Keep in mind that the spelling Jirón is a variation of the surname Girón.

In New Mexico, José Telles Jirón married doña Catalina Romero. In previous works of New Mexico genealogy, the identity of the parents of doña Catalina Romero, eluded researchers. The preserved testimony of her first cousin, Diego Pérez Romero, offers the documentation that links doña Catalina to her parents, Captain Matías Romero and doña Isabel de Pedraza. Also known as doña Catalina López Robledo and doña Catalina López Romero, doña Catalina Romero was a namesake of her paternal great-grandmother doña Catalina López (AGN, Inq., t. 586, f. 71v; AGN, Inq., t. 608, exp. 6, f. 425v). Very little is known about doña Catalina Romero, mainly because to date no documents have been located among the numerous records of the Inquisition for which she appears as a witness for an investigation.

The earliest historical reference regarding José Telles Jirón is found in a document dated October 16, 1661, in which he was identified with the rank of ayudante (AGN, Tierra, t. 3268, ff. 129-130). On that date he was in the Villa de Santa Fe providing testimony for the Inquisition’s investigation of Governor don Bernardo López Mendizábal. Telles Jirón complained that López de Mendizábal revoked his possession of two grants of encomienda. He explained that during the governorship of don Juan Manso (1656-1659) he was granted the encomiendas of the pueblos of San Felipe and Cochiti, which were parts of the “those of some of the Jémez Indians.” He concluded his statement by lamenting, “I am man who is summarily poor with obligations of a wife and four sons” (“soy un hombre summamte Pobre con obligaciones de muger y cuatro hijos barones”).

In a brief testimony in 1662, Telles Jirón, giving his age as thirty (born circa 1632), identified himself as a vecino de Santa Fe who had known Governor López de Mendizábal for three years (AGN, Galería, Concurso de Peñalosa, vol. 1, exp. 605, leg. 1, no. 9, ff. 17-18). In the same year, López de Mendizábal mentioned he had granted Telles Jirón the encomienda of the Pueblo of Taos, “eche a los Taos a Joseph Telles” (AGN, Galeria, vol. 1, exp. 605, leg. 1, no. 1, f. 164.

On April 20, 1667, Captain José Telles Jirón traveled to the Pueblo of Senecú where he gave testimony in the convento de San Antonio regarding Inquisition’s investigation of heresy charges against Captain Luis López and Alonso Romero (AGN, Inq., t. 608, exp. 6, f. 425v). In his testimony Telles Jirón stated he was thirty-five to thirty-six years of age (born circa 1631-1632) and identified his birthplace as Los Altos de San Jacinto de Cuyuacán. He described himself as an estanciero and a vecino of the jurisdiction of Senecú, named his wife as doña Catalina López Romero, and signed his statement with his name and his personal rubric. 

Signature of Joseph Telles Jirón, April, 20, 1667.

AGN, Inquisición,t. 608, exp. 6, f.425v.

 In 1684 Captain José Telles Jirón served as a regidor (town councilman) of the cabildo of the Villa de Santa Fe in exile at El Paso del Norte (Biblioteca Nacional de México, 19258, photos 2-5).  Giving his age as about sixty in August 1691, Telles Girón provided testimony regarding information about an abundant deposit of ore of cinnabar, or mercury, in the Moqui jurisdiction.

Doña Catalina Romero and Captain José Telles Jirón were still living in early 1693 when they confirmed their intent to participate in the resettlement of New Mexico under the leadership of Governor don Diego de Vargas. This couple was enumerated as the fifth household of El Paso del Norte with four daughters, Jacinta Telles Jirón, María Zapata, and Lucía, and Catalina (Kessell, Hendricks, and Dodge, To the Royal Crown Restored, 39). The last daughter was christened with the name of her mother, which was also the name of her maternal second great-grandmother. A fifth daughter, Juana, resided with her brother, Juan Telles Jirón. In the Telles Jirón-Romero household were five other dependents, all female (Kessell, Hendricks, and Dodge, To the Royal Crown Restored, 39).  In addition, doña Catalina Romero and her husband cared for four orphaned children —María (b.ca. 1686), Josefa (b.ca. 1687), Ramón (b.ca. 1687), and Isidro José (b.ca. 1689) (Kessell, Hendricks, and Dodge, To the Royal Crown Restored, 44).

Researchers: José Antonio Esquibel and Theresa Cabrera Menard

Summary by José Antonio Esquibel