Maria Josefa Garcia de Noriega y Velarde y Cosío de Delgado (1767-1811)

It is still unclear, at the time of this writing, exactly who the grandparents of Maria Josefa García de Noriega, the mother of the entire Delgado clan of New Mexico, were. It is well-documented that her parents were Captain of the Militia Joseph García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde y Cosío, natives and residents of El Paso. Then, however, genealogists commonly give Joseph's parents as having been Juan Esteban García de Noriega and Luisa Gomez del Castillo (of Rio Arriba) and Rosalia's parents as having been Manuel Velarde de Cosío (son of Juan Antonio Perez Velarde and Juana de Velarde y Cosío) and Lugarda Lucero de Godoy (see, for example, Fray Angélico, ONMF, p. 308).

There are problems with both surmises. However, genealogical information supplied in 1822 concerning the purity of the blood of Rafael Ortiz y García de Noriega, the nephew of Joseph García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde y Cosío, and now to be found in the Spanish Archives of the State of New Mexico (The Ortiz Family papers 1960-031, Box F-20), sheds new light on the matter. To be ordained to the priesthood, Rafael had to document the purity of his blood. Though the original Spanish documents are not found in the file, and there are a number of obvious transcription errors, important facts emerge from them. They lead to the conclusion that his paternal grandparents were Lázaro Garcia de Noriega and Barbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara and his maternal grandparents were Manuel Lorenzo Velarde Cosío and Lugarda de Herrera del Villar, who may have been the same person as Lugarda Lucero de Godoy, given the way the Spanish play with names.

The basic, reliable, facts about Maria Josefa's parents are easy to document. Numerous documents confirm that Joseph García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde y Cosío were the parents of Maria Josefa who married Manuel Francisco Delgado. on March 22, 1779 at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in El Paso. For example, in a document found in the New Mexico State Archives, Manuel Francisco explained that he don Manuel Delgado, Teniente of the Presidio of Agua Verde, legitimate child of don Antonio Delgado and of doña Juana Xaviera Chavarría, deceased, and residents of Real de Pachuca, to serve God better, and save his soul had negotiated and agreed to contract marriage with doña Maria Josepha García, legitimate daughter of the Captain of the Militia, don Joseph García de Noriega and of doña Rosalia Velarde Cosío, natives and residents of Our Lady of Guadalupe of El Paso del Rio del Norte.

The well-known pre-nuptial diligencia from the church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, El Paso del Norte for Manuel Francisco Delgado and Maria Josefa García de Noriega, dated December 5, 1778 investigates don Manuel Delgado, Teniente of the Presidio of Agua Verde, the legitimate son of don Antonio Delgado and doña Juana Xaviera Chavarría, both deceased citizens of the Real de Pachuca, and doña María Josepha García de Noriega, legitimate daughter of Captain Of the Militia don Joseph García de Noriega and doña Rosalía Velarde Cosío (Catholic Archives of Texas 3: 780, only a fragment of the DM survives).

None of these documents name María Josepha's grandparents. Let us start with her father's parents, because it proves easier to clear up confusions concerning them.

It is unlikely that Juan Esteban García de Noriega and Luisa Gomez del Castillo could have been the parents of Captain of the Militia Joseph García de Noriega, native and resident of El Paso, who married Rosalia Velarde y Cosío there in 1761. According to the article "The Family of Juana Lujan, Her Legacy and Her Descendents" by Henrietta Martinez Christmas and Patricia Sanchez Rau published in Herencia, (vol. 11, 1, Jan 2003, pp. 31-36), Juan Esteban García de Noriega (circa 1796-1758) was born in El Paso and Luisa Gomez del Castillo (circa 1703-1785) in San Ildefonso. They were married on June 23, 1721 in San Ildefonso. They resided in northern New Mexico and raised their family there.

The authors of that article list 11 children for them born between 1721 and 1759 in San Ildefonso, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Chama. Documentation of the marriages and progeny of 8 of those children is given in the article. The couple did have four sons named José or Joseph.

José Salvador married Maria de la Encarnacion Martin in 1752 and Apolonia Sandoval in 1760. Documentation is given on 5 of his children born between 1755-1760. José Salvador died after 1790 in San Juan.

Joseph Antonio (born circa 1732 in Santa Cruz) married Maria Gertrudis Sandoval in 1764 in Santa Fe. Documentation is given on 11 children for them.

Joseph Juachin married Maria Concepcion Garcia de la Mora in 1761 in Santa Cruz. Documentation is given on 13 children born to them in New Mexico between 1763-1789.

The article does not provide documentation on the marriage and progeny of their son Joseph Anselmo (born 1722 in San Ildefonso), but I think that he must have been the priest of that name in the El Paso area whose existence is so well-documented in numerous documents published on the Mission 2000 web site.

In comparison, from El Paso del Norte, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Marriage and Death Records 1728-1775, extracted by Aaron Magdaleno (henceforth cited as AM), we learn that Joseph García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde y Cosío were married in El Paso in February 1761 (AM 52).

From the above-mentioned documents on the purity of blood of Rafael Ortiz y García de Noriega, we learn that he was the son of Francisco Ortiz y Bustamante and Maria del Carmen García de Noriega y Velarde Cosío, who was the sister of Maria Josefa García de Noriega y Velarde Cosío de Delgado.

On January 12, 1822, in Santa Fe, Rafael's father, attested to the purity of his son's blood and so did three witnesses, Don Pedro Bautista Pino, Don Juan Cristobal Vigil, and Don José Armijo. All four bore witness to the fact that Rafael was the legitimate son of Carmen García de Noriega, who was herself the daughter of Captain of the Militia Joseph García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde of El Paso. In addition, all four bore witness to the fact that Joseph was the legitimate son of Barbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara.

In what must surely be an error of transcription, Rafael's father (who should be the one who knew best) gave Carmen's paternal grandfather's name as being Domingo García de Noriega, while the three other witnesses give the name of Lázaro García de Noriega.

In addition, the expediente matrimonial of Don Pedro de Azcue y Armendariz found at the Archivo Militar de Segovia, which would seem to be a fairly authoritative source, gives Lazaro Garcia de Noriega and Barbara N. Ladron de Guebara and Manuel Velarde y Cosio and Lugarda Lucero de Godoy as being Maria del Carmen García de Noriega y Velarde Cosío's grandparents. 

I know of no evidence that someone named Domingo García de Noriega could have been the husband of Barbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara. However, Lázaro García de Noriega really did exist and really did marry Barbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara. Moreover, the two of them left enough of a paper trail for us to be able document this well.

According to Magdaleno's El Paso del Norte, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Marriage and Death Records 1728-1775, Lázaro García, husband of Bárbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara died on January 23, 1750 (AM, p. 116) and Bárbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara, the widow of Lázaro García de Noriega died March 2, 1773 (AM, p. 155). So far, I have been able to document these children for them.

Manuela (born abt. 1720). According to New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations 1760-1799 (p. 7), on April 7-26, 1760, Manuela García, 39, was a native and citizen of El Paso and the legitimate daughter of the late Lázaro García and Bárbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara, residents of the presidio of El Paso. This indicates that the couple were married by 1720.

Gabriela Marselina (born abt. 1734). According to the Diligencia Matrimonial of March 12, 1760 from Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (cited in the El Paso Census 2 on José Esquibel's Beyond the Origins site), she, 26 years of age, was the legitimate daughter of don Lázaro García, deceased, and doña Bárbara Niño Ladrón de Guebara, citizens of Paso. Gabriela Marselina and Pedro Angel Colmeno wanted to marry immediately as Doña Gabriela Marselina's brothers who were captains at the Paso presidio who wanted their pregnant sister to have the banns dispensed. This indicates that Lázaro and Barbara had sons who were captains at the presidio in El Paso.

Francisca Micaela, who married Manuel Antonio San Juan in 1759 (AM, p. 45, also cited in the El Paso Census 2 José Esquibel's Beyond the Origins site). He died March 17, 1764 (AM, p. 132).

Cayetana, legitimate daughter of don Lázaro García, deceased, and doña Bárbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara (deceased) married Dionicio Fernandez Miranda on September 30, 1774 (AM 94).

It is to be noted that Rosalia does not figure on this list. I have not found any documents other than the purity of blood documents cited above that say that Bárbara Niño Ladrón de Guevara and Lázaro García de Noriega were the parents of Captain Joseph García de Noriega of El Paso.

Let us now turn to the question Rosalia Velarde Cosío's parents. According to the Great New Mexico Database (Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico) a person named Antonio Velarde y Cosío died on December 15, 1728 in El Paso. His mother is identified as Juana de Velarde y Cosío and his father as Antonio Velarde. The database indicates that this person's daughter was Juana de Velarde y Cosio who married Juan Antonio Pérez Velarde, whose son Manuel Velarde de Cosío married Lugarda Lucero de Godoy. This database entry also indicates that Manuel and Lugarda had a daughter named Rosalia who married José García de Noriega, whose daughter María Josefa married Manuel Francisco Delgado.

In material published on José Esquibel's Beyond the Origins site and on my Rancho Pancho web site, I have hypothesized that if Rosalia Velarde y Cosío's parents were named Manuel and Lugarda Velarde Cosío, I would take that to mean: 1) not the son of Juan Antonio Perez Velarde and Juana Valverde y Cosío. All their children were to have died as children and none of them were called Manuel. 2) not Manuel Blas Perez Velarde, son of Juan Antonio Perez Velarde and Jacinta Valencia. He married Casilda de Ydalgo, daughter of Juan Ydalgo and Antonia de Herrera in 1757. Casilda was about exactly Rosalia's age. Perez Velarde's children basically went by Perez Velarde, Velarde or Perez, but didn't use Cosio in their names. 3) probably Manuel Lorenzo Velarde Cosío (died 1754), who married Maria Lugarda de Herrera del Villar (died 1775).

Now, transcription errors notwithstanding, Rafael Ortiz y García de Noriega's father, Francisco Ortiz y Bustamante (who should have known best), testified that his own wife was Maria García de Noriega, the daughter of Captain of the Militia José García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde del Villar (note the del Villar!), herself the daughter of don Mañuel del Villar and doña Antonia Lucero.

According to the Spanish typescript copy of Pedro Bautista Pino's testimony, Rafael Ortiz was the grandson of doña Rosalia Velarde, the legitimate daughter of don Manuel Velarde Cocío and doña Lugarda Lucero de Godoy. The handwritten translation of Juan Cristobal Vigil's Don José Armijo's testimonies record that they testified to the same effect.

Manuel Lorenzo Velarde Cosío and Lugarda de Herrera del Villar also left a paper trail. According to the Mission 2000 database, Manuel Lorenzo Velarde Cosío was a soldier at Janos Presidio. According to Magdaleno's El Paso del Norte, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Marriage and Death Records 1728-1775, Manuel Belarde, husband of Lugarda de Herrera, died on April 30, 1754 (AM 121). Maria Lugarda del Villar, wife of Manuel Lorenzo Velarde, died February 28, 1775 (AM 160). So far, I have been able to document these children:

María de la Encarnacion, buried April 3, 1727, in Janos (Mission 2000)
Ana Manuela, baptized May 3, 1729, in Janos (Mission 2000)
Geronimo Antonio, baptized May 24, 1732 in Janos (Mission 2000)
Juan Pablo, baptized March 15, 1733 in Janos (Mission 2000)
Geronimo Antonio, baptized June 16, 1736 in Janos (Mission 2000)
Maria Antonia de Loreto, baptized February 25, 1739 in Janos (Mission 2000)
Juan Francisco, José Esquibel cites a Diligencia at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe for May 22, 1775 for Juan Francisco Belarde, legitimate son of Manuel Lorenzo Belarde and Maria Lugarda del Villar, both deceased citizens of El Paso. He, the son of Manuel Velarde and Maria Lugarda de Villa, both deceased, married there on June 6, 1775 (AM 97).
Joseph, single son of Lorenzo Velarde, deceased, and Lugarda de Herrera, died on August 7, 1766 (AM 142).
Ana María, daughter of Lorenzo Velarde, deceased, and María Lugarda de Herrera married Joseph García Carvajal in El Paso on June 1, 1756 (AM 37).

It is to be noted that Rosalia does not figure on this list. I have not discovered any documents other than the purity of blood documents cited above saying that Manuel Lorenzo Velarde Cosío and María Lugarda de Herrera del Villar were her parents.

Doña Rossa Velarde, native and citizen of El Paso, married Captain Joseph Garca de Noriega (born about 1741) in February 1761 (AM 52). I have evidence of these children:
María del Carmen, who married Francisco Ortiz y Bustamante in Santa Fe on April 6, 1790 and parented Rafael Ortiz.
Joseph Francisco Faustín, according to IGI batch J600521 on the LDS site Joseph Francisco Faustín García Velardo, son of Rossalia Velardo and Joseph Garzía was baptized on December 18, 1762 at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, El Paso del Norte.
Maria Candelaria, born abt. 1767 (Ancestral File, LDS site).
Maria Manuela, b. 1769, d. January 22, 1834 in Socorro, NM (Ancestral File, LDS site).
Maria Concepcion, b. abt. 1771, who married Francisco García de la Mora in Santa Fe on February 3, 1793 (the parents of Feliz García de la Mora, the father of Benigna García de la Mora who married Felipe S. Delgado, Manuel Francisco Delgado's grandson).
Joseph Mañuel Thunotero, died as a small child on October 10, 1772 (AM 154)
Rosalia Saturnina, baptized February 16, 1777, El Paso (NSG), born on the 11th. Rosalia Saturnina figures on page 19 of the Durango records in Roots. In April 1795 she was 18, Spanish and a citizen of Santa Fe, the legitimate daughter of José García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde. She was pregnant by José Pascual de la Mora, son of Antonio García de la Mora and Maria Josefa Fuentes, both Spanish and deceased. They married in Santa Fe on September 3, 1795.
Josef Romualdo, born abt. 1779, according to the "Spanish Enlistment Papers 1732-1830," published by Virginia Olmstead (National Genealogical Society vol. 67, Sept 1979-June, p. 229), he was the son of Captain don Josef García de Noriega and Rosalia Velarde of El Paso. He was a Scribe, 5'2". Light chestnut hair and eyebrows, dark eyes, fair skin, sharp nose, mole on right side of temple, thin beard, single. Date April 1, 1795.

Maria Josefa's birth date is usually given as 1767, but the only source I know for this is the 1790 census of the presidio of Santa Fe, which lists don Manuel Delgado, 1st Lieutenant, native of Pachuca, 51; wife doña Josefa García de Noriega, Spanish, 23; 2 sons, 5, 1; daughter 11 (That daughter would be Estefana.) This makes Maria Josefa 11 years old at the time of her marriage and would have Estefana born the same year as her mother was married! The sons would be Marcos and Fernando (a service record for him dated both December 29, 1819 and 1818 in the State Archives describes him as Alferez 2nd degree, 30 years of age, from the Capital of Santa Fe, son of Captain, robust health).

The 1784 census for El Paso published on José Esquibel's Beyond the Origins site shows doña Rosalia Velarde, Spanish, widow; 1 son under 7, 2 daughters over 14, and 3 (description lost in binding), 1 male Indian servant over 14. The 1788 census for El Paso published on José Esquibel's Beyond the Origins site shows Rosa Velarde, Spanish from El Paso, 45, Widow, 2 sons 17 and 9; 4 daughters 23, 14, 9, 8. The 1790 census, for El Paso published on José Esquibel's Beyond the Origins site shows Rosalia Velarde, española, 50, two sons, 20 and 14; two daughters, 14 and 12; a female orphan, 8. (1790-607). Rosalia does not seem to figure in the El Paso censuses of 1787, 1803 and 1806.

According to the Santa Fe burials books (LDS microfilm 0016906) Rosalia Velarde, resident of the varrio de San Francisco, the widow of José García de Noriega was buried on April 18, 1822.

Francisco Ortiz y Bustamante testified that "some of our families have been considered to be" (algunas de nuestras familias hallan sidos tenidas por) Spaniards of pure blood, pure of any bad lineage of Indians, Moors, and others. Pedro Bautista Pino testified that it was certain that all the ancestors and descendents of both of Rafael's parents' families "have been considered and are considered Spaniards of pure blood" (han sido y son tenidos por españoles limpios de sangre) and that it had not been "said that any of them descended from Moors, Indians."

According to the handwritten translation of Juan Cristobal Vigil's testimony, the ancestors of "Doña Maria Carmen García de Noriega have been and are known as Spaniards of pure blood, old Christians… he has not heard it said that they descend from Moors, nor Jews…".

According to the handwritten translation of Don José Armijo's testimony, it is known that the family of "Doña Maria Carmen García de Noriega have been and are known as being Spaniards of pure blood and of well-known lineage, and of Christian faith…." and he "has not heard it said any of them are descendents of Moors, Indians…."

None of these are very conclusive statements. It is to be noted that only one of these witnesses states that Rafael Ortiz was not of Jewish lineage. All the others say that his ancestors have been considered and are considered not to be Indians or Moors or others unmentioned not deemed appropriate candidates for the priesthood. And, after all, being considered to be and really being are two different things.

The DNA results, for example those published in "Aragón and Esquibel DNA Research Findings and the New Mexico DNA Project," Herencia, (vol. 14, 4, Jul 2006, p. 40) indicate that the Garcia de Noriegas fall into Haplogroup J2: "Semitic origin. Mostly found in the Middle East. This haplogroup contains the Cohen modal lineage which is found in about 5% of those with this origin. Mostly found in the middle east, Mediterranean and North Africa. About 28% of Sephardic Jews have this origin. 43% of Ashkenazi Jews have this origin….

I, Claire Ortiz Hill, am a direct descendant of Maria Josefa Garcia de Noriega and my DNA results show that I am 0% Jewish, that is 0% Sephardic and 0% Ashkenazi. This would seem to indicate that she was also 0% Jewish.