Back On The Genealogy Horse Again

Pursuing the Breaking Bad location grail in 2010, I stopped in at the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center (HGRC: the old Albuquerque Public Library at Edith and Central, near the houses of Mike Ehrmantraut and Duane Chow in the Huning Highlands neighborhood) and struck up a conversation with a fellow named Jose Trujillo. He had been doing genealogy for years and years, and he realized we had to be distantly related, so he provided me with some information. I'm only now starting to look at it closely.

I grew up in Corrales, NM, but I'm surprised to find I'm distantly related to Juan Gonzalez Bas, one of the principal founders of Corrales (born there in 1668), and also an Alcalde of Alburquerque (as it was known then) for an amazingly-long half century (1680 to 1735). As an online history of Corrales relates:

"In 1710 the king of Spain awarded the Alameda land grant to Francisco Montes Vigil, a soldier in the Spanish army, stipulating that he must settle the land. Within two years he had sold a large portion of the grant to Captain Juan Gonzales BAS. Juan Gonzales was the Alcalde Mayor of Albuquerque. He had married Maria Lopez del Castillo and had many children, seven daughters and at least two sons. ....

The Gonzales family would dominate Corrales for the next two centuries and members of the family still live in the area. Historic Gonzales homes now house the Casa San Ysidro museum and Casa Vieja restaurant."

Let's see, he would be my 7th great-grandfather. Alternatively, my grandfather's grandmother's great-great-great grandfather. Deep time! He lived almost forever and had 17 kids, so for all I know, by now, he may be related to almost everyone in northern New Mexico.

Another curious detail. Juan Gonzales Bas I would have become Alcalde of Alburquerque at age twelve, in the portentous year of the Great Pueblo Revolt, 1680, when all Spanish subjects were forced to flee NM, and linger through a depressing decade as refugees at El Paso. I imagine the demoralized populace indulging a kid's fantasy by naming him Alcalde. Alternatively, maybe there was no other choice. It made for a great tale, I'm sure, with which he bored everyone as a crusty old Alcalde many years later.

[UPDATE 05/20/15: And to no surprise, Juan Gonzales became the Alcalde Mayor of Albuquerque much later than 1680: 1712, according to ‘Origins of New Mexico Families’ by Fray Angélico Chávez.]