The Impending Insurrection in Conejos Colorado Territory, 1862

 I attended the lecture "The Impending Insurrection in Conejos Colorado Territory, 1862" as part of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America virtual conference. Presenter and author Virginia Sanchez recently published a book on the topic called Pleas and Petitions: Hispano Culture and Legislative Conflict in Territorial Colorado. 

Colorado miners annexed part of northern New Mexico, using the already settled Hispano population to meet the population requirements for Colorado territory status. However, little to no effort was made to include this Spanish-speaking population in any of the legislative processes. There were big problems with interpretation and new tax laws that required cash payments the Hispano population was unable to meet. One Hispano representative was lynched. Anglos had fears the Hispanos were planning a rebellion, but it turns out the Hispanos were actually meeting to discuss petitioning the return of the land to New Mexico. The New Mexico legislature was bilingual and had material published in both English and Spanish; additionally, the Hispanos in the new Colorado were more culturally aligned with New Mexico. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

In the 1856 map below you can see a northern portion of New Mexico that juts up into modern-day Colorado. This was the section that was annexed into the Colorado territory.

JO

Research in the Colonial Southwest

The Advanced Hispanic Research workshop offered at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy had a class on research in the Colonial Southwest, taught by Henrietta Martinez Christmas. Here are some tips: 

•  All records were burned during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt; the previous century had to be recreated from other sources. 
• Santa Fe was the only villa starting 1605. After 1692 two new villas - Santa Cruz and Albuquerque. 
• Had to have permission to move up and down the Camino Real (royal road). Immigration was rare and was strictly monitored; sanctioned traveled was allowed on the Santa Fe trail and the Chihuahua trails. Merchant caravans were allowed with taxes and are not well documented. It was against the law to be a foreigner in Spanish land. 
• For Santa Fe research, the New Mexico Genealogical Society website is better than FamilySearch.org, primarily because the records are better labeled.  On FamilySearch some records are under “Miscellaneous.” 
• Best places for research: Albuquerque Public Library, 2nd floor; New Mexico State Records Center and Archives; University of New Mexico - Center for SW; Rocky Mountain online archive https://rmoa.unm.edu/; New Mexico State University in special collections 
• You can find wills and probate in land grant records. 
• Southern Colorado was part of New Mexico, their land grants are part of the New Mexico record group. Arizona land grants are in New Mexico. El Paso was part of New Mexico until 1821. 

JO