Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period

Angelico Chavez

1 THE book for New Mexico family and regional history.
I was priviliged to make the aquaintance of the author a few years prior to his passing in Santa Fe NM. He was a true Renaissance Man - a painter, a poet, an historian, an author, etc. in addition to his lifetime of service in the Franciscan order. His prose and poetry have won literary prizes in the U.S. and Europe.

This book is THE starting place for anyone having family history ties to New Mexico, and a must-read for those interested in the history of New Mexico. Well before Jamestown and the Pilgrims, New Mexico was settled continuously beginning in 1598 by Spaniards whose descendents today still make up a major portion of the population of New Mexico.

This book has been reprinted numerous times and sells out every time. I recommend you get it now before it goes out of print and distribution again. This newer edition reprint was launched by the nephew (Dr. Thomas Ch?vez)of the author and the edition includes important new material.

I recognize some the other reviewers above, who are experienced genealogists specializing in New Mexico. We all agree - this book is essential for every New Mexico genealogist and historian.

John E. Chavez (aka: El Profe Loco)

2 A MUST HAVE Book for tracing your New Mexico Roots!
This is the book to have to begin tracing your Spanish heritage in New Mexico. Fray AngŽlico was a blessing sent to New Mexico genealogists. His years of dedicated research have aided those with roots in early New Mexico find their lineages. And a big thank you also goes to JosŽ Antonio Esquibel for going "Beyond Origins" and updating Fray AngŽlico's research.

Primos, find your roots and remember your ancestors with pride!

3 Origins of New Mexico Families, by Fr. Angelico Chavez
This book stands out in genealogical research for the commom person who is just beginning to do research. Although, I found that there were some errors after doing more detailed research, it certainly gave me enough information to lead me to documents that corrected them for me. I highly recommend this book to all New Mexicans who have lines to the early colonists of New Mexico. I am happy to say that it contained much information about my ancestry. I recommended this to all my NM cousins who
were doing their own research into New Mexico settlers and I certainly thank Fr. Chavez for doing most of my research for me.

4 The Bible of New Mexican Hispanic Genealogy
I am an amateur genealogist who belongs to a couple of genealogy groups in New Mexico. I have found Fray Chavez's book, "Origins of New Mexico Families" to be an extremely useful book.

Although present-day genealogists have found a few errors in Chavez's work, for the most part he did very sound research. All the New Mexican genealogists that I know refer to this book consistently. The book is well referenced, so the researcher can check the facts himself. The serious New Mexican genealogist should have a copy of this book in his collection.

5 A great starting point
For the purist needing to cite sources, this is a wonderful place to get started in order to locate the original document. However, it is not a source in and of itself that can be cited. Citing of evidence in the book is minimal, but useable. The ancestral family trees don't include dates, but by carefully following the text, one can deduce the information. The sorting of material by century makes lookups a bit tedious, as one must search 17th century, then 18th century, and then several addendums to the original 1954 edition. Still, given how much time it takes to research historical and governmental records, I would highly recommend this book. For every hour of microfilm research you do, I'm sure this book will save you ten.

6 Great genealogy book of New Mexico.
This book is a find for anyone doing research or genealogy in the New Mexico region. It's contents takes you back to the 14th and 15th centuries as well as the 16th and 17th centuries. A must have book for any Genealogist or Historian.