by Don Bullis
Other Information About New Mexico’s History and Statehood
BIBLIOGRAPHY ON NEW MEXICO
HISTORY
INDEX OF NOTABLE NEW MEXICANS
IN HISTORY
MAP OF NEW MEXICO
COUNTIESNew Mexico: An Historical Time Line
(excerpted from New Mexico: A Biographical Dictionary, Vol II)
Introduction
No time line can be complete. There are literally
thousands of dates in New Mexico history that might be
important to people interested in the subject, whether
they be professional historical researchers, hobby
historians, or simply folks with a general interest in
the Land of Enchantment. The relative importance of each
entry, too, is subject to debate, but each has been
included here because the author thought the event to be
of some importance, or at least some interest, to the
general reader. As the Biographical Dictionary is updated
for future editions, the Time Line will also be updated.
Readers are invited to submit for consideration dates
which they may deem appropriate.
9500 to 5500 B.C.
New Mexico was occupied by its first settlers. Their
appearance in what is now the American Southwest may have
been the result of a long migration from Asia. Spear
points from this period survive. This is the Paleoindian
Era, which is divided into three broad periods:
Clovis, 9500 to 8900 B.C., in which the people may have
been hunter-gathers who hunted mammoth and mastodon.
Folsom, 8900 to 8000 B.C., in which the people were
hunters, primarily of extinct species of bison.
Plano, 8000 to 5500 B.C., in which the people were
hunter-gatherers, with focus on modern bison.
5500 B.C. to 400 A.D.
The Archaic Period during which New Mexico’s earliest
settlers became less nomadic. They began growing crops
and building pit houses. They also began using pottery
and developed and used other tools.
400 to 1540
In modern parlance, this era is called the Ancestral
Pueblo Period. It was previously called Anasazi Period.
This was when the ancestors of modern Pueblo Indian
people occupied western and central New Mexico. These
people developed an even more settled society and began
living in communities, the remains of which are with us
today. The name was changed because the Navajo word,
anasazi, means “ancient enemies,” in reference to the
Pueblo Indians.
Literature abundant
900 to 1300
The ancient ones constructed the large and multistoried
dwellings at Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. One
source reports that Pueblo Bonito there was completed by
1130 A.D. Four stories high, it contained about 700
rooms, and 33 kivas. Estimated population figures range
from 1,200 to 3,000. It was abandoned by 1300.
Chávez, New Mexico, Past and Future
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
1300 to 1450
The so-called Regressive Pueblo Period during which the
large dwelling
in Frijoles Canyon (now called Bandelier National
Monument) near modern-day Los Alamos, was constructed.
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
1450 to 1540
The Pueblo Renaissance during which the decline
associated with the Regressive Period was reversed; and,
while building was not as extensive, there was a cultural
rebirth that included advances in arts and crafts.
(Note:
the Museum of New Mexico, Office of Archaeological
Studies, James L. Moore, Project Director, provided much
of the above information.)
September 22, 1534
After being shipwrecked and living among Indians as a
captive,
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
(c. 1490-1557) escaped and began his trek from what is
now East Texas to Culican in western Mexico, arriving
there on April 1, 1536. He arrived in Mexico City on July
25, 1536. He was accompanied by two other Spaniards and a
Moor,
Estevánico.
Álvar Núñez and his party were the first Europeans to
visit “The Unknown Interior of America” and may have
traversed southern New Mexico during their travels.
Covey, Cabeza de Vaca’s Adventures in the Unknown
Interior of America
March 7, 1539
Fray
Marcos de Niza
departed San Miguel de Culiacan en route north into what
is now Arizona and New Mexico. He was in search of the
cities of gold that had been described by
Cabeza de Vaca,
and the Moorish slave,
Estevánico.
Niza was accompanied by Estevánico and a military
detachment.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
c. May 23, 1539
The Moor,
Estevánico,
was killed by Zuñi Indians at the village of Hawaikúa in
what is now western New Mexico. Historians have offered a
number of reasons for the slaying.
Fray Marcos de Niza
advanced to within eyesight of several Zuñi villages
(perhaps seven of them) before he returned to Mexico. He
may have alleged that the villages were made of gold, but
that is not certain. Contemporary writers, Coronado and
Castañada in particular, referred to Niza as the “lying
monk.” Later writers, Twitchell in particular, point out
that he reported what he thought he saw, and that he had
nothing to gain by lying.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1540
The Historic Pueblo Period began with contact between
Spanish Europeans and the Pueblo Indian people.
February 22, 1540
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
set out from Compostela on the West Coast of Mexico to
search for the Seven Cities of Cibola, a search that led
him into what is now Arizona, New Mexico, Texas,
Oklahoma, and Kansas. He and his troops and other
expedition members spent the winters of 1540-41 and
1541-42 at Tiguex, near the present-day town of
Bernalillo.
Flint and Flint, Coronado
July 7, 1540
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
fought a battle against Zuñi Pueblo people at Hawaikúa,
and was wounded, but survived.
Flint and Flint, Coronado
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
December 1540 to March 1541
The so-called Tiguex War between the indigenous Pueblo
Indian people of north central New Mexico, near present
day Bernalillo, and the newly-arrived Spaniards occurred.
In reaction to Spanish excesses, the Pueblos killed some
of the intruders’ horses. The Spaniards took a number of
the Indians captive, and prepared to burn 50 of them at
the stake. When the Indians became aware of the extreme
punishment, they resisted, but to no avail. The Spaniards
had superior weapons and horses. Hundreds of Indians were
killed by fire and by being driven into the freezing
waters of the nearby Rio Grande or “by lancing and
stabbing.” This event would have far-reaching effects on
the Spaniards in New Mexico for many generations.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
August 15, 1541
El Turco, “The Turk,” a Pawnee Indian slave living at
Pecos Pueblo, who served as a guide for Coronado, was
executed by garrote when the Spaniards learned that he
had not led them to the cities of gold. He was accused of
leading the explorers into the plains in the hope they
would be become lost and die of starvation; or, failing
that, they could be set upon and killed by Pecos Pueblo
Indians.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
April 1542
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
departed from Tiguex, near the present town of
Bernalillo, and returned to New Spain, arriving in the
autumn of the same year.
Flint and Flint, Coronado
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
May 1544
An investigation of
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
and the management of his expedition to the north was
initiated. He was charged with waging war against the
Indians at Hawaikúa, setting dogs on the Pueblo chiefs at
Tiguex, executing El Turco, and other offenses. On
February 19, 1546, The Royal Audiencia at Mexico City
ruled that the charges were not proven and Coronado was
absolved of any blame.
Flint and Flint, Coronado
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
1550
The Emperor of Spain, Carlos V (also known as Charles I),
member of the house of Hapsburg), decreed that no further
expeditions would be allowed into the Indian country of
the New World—now the American Southwest—until it could
be determined that such an effort would do no injustice
to the inhabitants.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
September 22, 1554
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
died in Mexico City at the age of 44.
Flint and Flint, Coronado
McGovern, Chambers Biographical Dictionary
1573
Spanish King Felipe II (also Philip II, a Hapsburg)
restated Spain’s doctrine of human rights in the
Ordinances for New Discoveries. The word conquest was
replaced with pacification.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
June 6, 1581
Fray Augustín Rodríguez
and
Captain Francisco Sánchez Chamuscado
began their expedition into New Mexico for the purpose of
Catholic missionary work. Chamuscado returned to Mexico
in early 1582, and three churchmen, who elected to remain
behind, were soon killed by Pueblo Indians.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
November 10, 1582
Antonio de Espejo and Fray Bernardino Beltrán set out
from San Bartolomé, Mexico, en route north to learn the
fate of Fray
Augustín Rodríguez
and the other churchmen—padres López and Santa María—who
stayed behind near present-day Bernalillo when Chamuscado
returned to Mexico earlier in the year. Perhaps Espejo
only wanted to prove the martyrdom of the padres. The
party returned to San Bartolomé on September 21, 1583.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
July 27, 1590
Gaspar Castaño de Sosa
began his expedition from Nuevo Leon into what is now New
Mexico. He was accompanied by about 170 settlers. They
reached Pecos Pueblo in December where they forced the
residents into retreat and confiscated a large quantity
of corn. Sosa visited 30 or so other Pueblos.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
January 1591
Gaspar Castaño de Sosa
was arrested by Captain Juan Morlete for entering New
Mexico without a license, placed in chains, and returned
to Mexico along with all of his “settlers.” Sosa was
condemned to serve as a galley slave and died en route to
the Moluccas (the Spice Islands of modern Indonesia).
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
September 21, 1595
Juan de Oñate
was awarded a contract for the colonization of New Mexico
by Viceroy Luis de Velasco, who represented King Felipe
(Philip) II. Francisco de Urdiñola was Velasco’s first
choice, but he was in jail, charged with murder, by the
time the contract was let.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Simmons, The Last Conquistador
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
January 25, 1598
Juan de Oñate,
with a party of about 850 people, departed from Santa
Barbara in New Spain, traveling north into New Mexico.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
April 30, 1598
Juan de Oñate
reached the Rio Grande and there took possession of all
the kingdoms and provinces of New Mexico in the name of
King Felipe II.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610
July 4, 1598
Juan de Oñate
and his party reached a small Pueblo called Okhe. He
renamed the village San Juan de los Caballeros. This
would mark the beginning of the Spanish Colonial period
that would endure until 1821.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610
August 11, 1598
Work began on the first Spanish irrigation ditch in New
Mexico.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
September 8, 1598
Construction of New Mexico’s first church was completed
at San Juan and was dedicated to San Juan Bautista.
Franciscans were assigned to missions in seven Pueblos
the next day.
Sheehan, Four-Hundred Years of Faith
1598 to 1608
Administration of Spanish Governor
Juan de Oñate.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
December 4, 1598
Spanish troops under the command of Juan de Salvidar
(Zaldivar) were ambushed and assaulted at Acoma Pueblo
with considerable loss of life, including that of
Salvidar.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610
January 22-24, 1599
The Battle of Acoma, during which the Spaniards defeated
the people of Acoma Pueblo, who were accused of killing
Spanish soldiers the month before. This was the
confrontation after which it was alleged that
Juan de Oñate
ordered the removal of the feet of captured Indian men.
Many historians do not believe the punishment was carried
out, although the Acomas were otherwise punished for
their resistance to Spanish occupation.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610
December 24, 1600
The new capital, San Gabriel de Yunque, was established
sometime before this date on the west bank of the Rio
Grande, across from San Juan Pueblo.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
June 23- November 24, 1601
Juan de Oñate
searched for Quivara, during which he probably reached
eastern Kansas. He probably followed the same approximate
route traveled by
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
some 60 years earlier.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610
April 2, 1602
María de Jesús de Agreda
was born at Castile, Spain, and became a Franciscan nun
at age 16. While she never left Spain in her physical
life, she is reported to have made as many as 500
spiritual trips (bilocations) to New Spain, where she
spoke to nomadic Indian groups, each in its own language,
urging them to convert to Christianity. She reported
dreams of her visitations, beginning at age 18, and the
Indians confirmed them. She died in 1665.
Chávez, New Mexico Past and Future
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610
April 16, 1605
New Mexico’s first governor, the Spaniard
Juan de Oñate,
visited what is now El Morro National Monument long
enough to note his passing. He inscribed, in translation,
“Passed by here the Adelantado Don Juan de Oñate, from
the discovery of the Sea of the South,” and he dated it.
This was the first entry by a European on what came to be
called Inscription Rock.
Dodge, The Story of Inscription Rock
Robinson, El Malpais, Mt. Taylor, and The Zuni Mountains
August 24, 1607
Juan de Oñate
resigned as the first Spanish colonial governor of New
Mexico by means of a letter to Mexico City. Another
source says that he resigned on February 1, 1608.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1608 to 1610
Administration of Spanish Governor Cristóbal de
Oñate.
New Mexico Blue Book 2005-2006
1610 to 1614
Administration of Spanish Governor
Pedro de Peralta.
New Mexico Blue Book 2005-2006
1610
Santa Fe established as administrative capital of New
Mexico by Governor
Pedro de Peralta.
The exact date is the subject of some debate, but
historian
Marc Simmons
reports that construction began in the late spring. The
complete name of the new seat of government is La Villa
Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Assisi, “The
Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi.”
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Insiders’ Guide to Santa Fe
Simmons, New Mexico
1610
Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá’s
epic poem, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610, was
published at Alcalá de Henares, Spain. This is generally
considered the first history of New Mexico.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
Villagrá, Historia de la Nueva México, 1610, (1992
translation by Encinias, Rodríguez and Sánchez)
1614 to 1618
Administration of Spanish Governor Bernardino de
Ceballos.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
May 13, 1614
Juan de Oñate
is judged guilty of 12 charges filed against him, which
related to his administration of New Mexico. They
included the unjust hanging of two Acomas, great severity
in battle, and trial against the Acoma people, adultery,
swearing falsely, and others. He was banished for life
from New Mexico, and for four years from Mexico City, and
assessed a large fine.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
August 11, 1623
After years of appeal, including directly to the King in
Spain,
Juan de Oñate
is exonerated of the previous charges, and reimbursed his
monetary fine. He was also named Spain’s mine inspector.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1618 to 1625
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan de Eulate.
Historian
France V. Scholes
wrote, “[he was] a petulant, tactless, irreverent soldier
whose actions were inspired by open contempt for the
Church and its ministers and by an exaggerated conception
of his own authority as representative of the royal
Crown.”
Márquez Sálaz, New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1625 to 1629
Administration of Spanish Governor Felipe Sotelo Ossorio.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
January 24, 1626
Fray
Alonso de Benavides
formally assumed the office of custos (regional
supervisor) of New Mexico’s Franciscan missions. He
brought with him the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption
which became, popularly,
La Conquistadora,
later changed to Nuestra Señora de la Paz (Our Lady of
Peace). Ironically, Fray Benavides also represented the
Holy Office of the Inquisition.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
June 3, 1626
New Mexico’s colonizer and first governor,
Juan de Oñate,
died while inspecting a mine in Spain.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1629 to 1632
Administration of Spanish Governor Francisco Manuel de
Silva Nieto.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1630
The Memorial written by Fray
Alonso de Benavides
about his New Mexico observations was presented to King
Philip IV of Spain in Madrid. It was popular in Spain,
and Fray Alonzo became New Mexico’s first promoter.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Márquez Sálaz, New Mexico
Simmons, New Mexico
1632 to 1635
Administration of Spanish Governor Francisco de la Mora y
Ceballos, who was investigated for shipping horses, cows,
sheep, and goats to Mexico, thus depriving New Mexicans
of breeding stock and food supplies.
Márquez Sálaz, New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
February 12, 1634
Fray
Alonso de Benavides
presented his Memorial, a report on the missions of New
Mexico, to Pope Urban VIII. It offered a positive picture
of Pueblo Indian conversions to Christianity.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Márquez Sálaz, New Mexico
Simmons, New Mexico
1635 to 1637
Administration of Spanish Governor Francisco Martínez de
Baeza.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1637 to 1641
Administration of Spanish Governor Luís de Rosas.
Historian
Marc Simmons
describes him as a man who “…ruled New Mexico with an
authoritarianism that bordered on tyranny.”
Historian
Joe Sando
writes, “[Rosas] had a well-earned reputation for
violence and corruption.” Rosas expelled the clergy from
Santa Fe in 1640. He was placed under house arrest in
1641.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Sando, Po’pay
Simmons, New Mexico
1641
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Flores de Sierra
y Valdés. Governor Sierra y Valdes died soon after taking
office.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
January 25, 1642
Former New Mexico Governor Luís de Rosas murdered by
Nicolás Ortiz, husband of a woman who spent time with
Rosas while he was under house arrest.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1641 to 1642
Administration of Spanish Governor Francisco Gómez.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1642 to 1644
Administration of Spanish Governor Alonso de Pacheco de
Heredia.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
July 21, 1643
After an investigation of Governor
Rosas’
murder by Governor Alonso de Pacheco de Heredia, it was
determined that eight men were responsible, including
Nicolás Ortiz. All eight were beheaded on this date.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1644 to 1647
Administration of Spanish Governor Fernando de Argüello
Carvajál. It was during this period that much religious
persecution of the Indian people was reported, which
resulted in outbreaks against the Spanish. Retaliation
against the Indians was harsh; many were imprisoned or
flogged and, in one case, 40 men were hanged for refusal
to join the Catholic Church. In another instance, the
governor hanged 29 Jemez Pueblo men for treason, alleging
they conspired with Apaches and Navajos to oppose the
Spaniards.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Sando, Po’Pay
1647 to 1649
Administration of Spanish Governor Luís de Guzmán y
Figueroa.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1649 to 1653
Administration of Spanish Governor
Hernando de Ugarte y la Concha.
It was during this administration, in 1650, that Apache
Indians allegedly conspired with several Pueblo tribes to
foment an uprising against the Spanish interlopers, to
drive them out. Nine of the leaders, from Jemez Pueblo,
were hanged and others were sold into slavery.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Sando, Po’pay
1653 to 1656
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan de Samaniego y
Xaca.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1656 to 1659
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Mansso de
Contreras.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1659 to 1661
Administration of Spanish Governor Bernardo López de
Mendizábal. Governor Mendizábal is noted for commenting
as he watched a Tesuque Pueblo dance, “Look there, this
dance contains nothing more than this hu-hu-hu and these
thieving friars say it is superstitious.” His attitude
perpetuated the friction between the crown and the church
in Spanish colonial New Mexico. After he left office, he
was convicted of illegal use of native labor and fined
3,000 pesos.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Sando, Pueblo Profiles
Simmons, New Mexico
1661 to 1664
Administration of Spanish Governor
Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa Briceño.
A native of Peru, Governor Peñalosa exacerbated the
dispute between church and state in Spanish Colonial New
Mexico, and, while visiting in Mexico City, he was
arrested and charged with 230 counts of misfeasance in
office. His reputation ruined, he fled to England, then
France.
Chávez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1664
Administration of Spanish Governor Tomé Domínguez de
Mendoza.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1664 to 1665
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Durán de Miranda.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1665 to 1668
Administration of Spanish Governor Fernando de
Villanueva.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1666-1670
New Mexico suffered a severe drought which resulted in
near-famine conditions.
1668 to 1671
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan de Medrano y
Mesía. During this administration, Apache Indians
conducted a series of raids on the Pueblos of southern
New Mexico, along with those at Salinas. They also
attacked commerce on the Camino Real (the Royal Road).
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1671 to 1675
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Durán de Miranda.
During his term, Apaches attacked Zuñi Pueblo and killed
many people. They burned the village and looted what was
left. Padre Avila y Ayala was among those killed.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1675 to 1677
Administration of Spanish Governor
Juan Francisco de Treviño.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1677 to 1683
Administration of Spanish Governor
Antonio de Otermín.
Governor de Otermín had the misfortune to be in office
when the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico revolted.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
August 10, 1680
The
Pueblo Revolt began on the Feast Day of San Lorenzo. The
Spanish abandoned Santa Fe on August 21, leaving New
Mexico to the Pueblo people until the re-conquest in
1692.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
Sando, Po’pay
Simmons, New Mexico
November 1, 1681
Governor
Antonio de Otermín
began an attempt to reoccupy New Mexico and reached
Isleta a month later. He also sent patrols to several
Pueblos and determined that his force was too small to
succeed in reconquest.
Chávez, New Mexico
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1683 to 1686
Administration of Spanish Governor Domingo Jironza Pétriz
de Cruzate.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1686 to 1689
Administration of Spanish Governor Pedro Reneros de
Posada.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1689 to 1691
Administration of Spanish Governor of Domingo Jironza
Pétriz de Cruzate.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
None of the Spanish governors appointed between 1683 and
1691 governed from Santa Fe, although Governor Cruzate
made an unsuccessful attempt at reconquest during his
second term.
1691 to 1697
Administration of Spanish Governor
Diego de Vargas Zapata y Lujan
Ponce de Léon.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
August 16, 1692
Diego de Vargas
began his march north for the reconquest of New Mexico by
the Spanish, who had been expelled by Pueblo Indians in
1680. With him were 50 soldiers, ten armed citizens, 100
Pueblo Indians, and, of course, three Franciscan friars.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
September 11, 1692
Governor
Diego de Vargas
recaptured Santa Fe for the Spanish. He marched unopposed
into the capital. He visited a number of other Pueblos
before he returned to El Paso in December of the same
year.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
December 16, 1693
Diego de Vargas
recolonized New Mexico with 70 families, 100 soldiers,
and 17 Franciscans. Some of the Pueblos had reconsidered
their acquiescence to the Spaniards (they feared they
would be punished for the 1680 rebellion), and de Vargas
was obliged to retake Santa Fe by force of arms.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
June 4, 1696
A final revolt against Spanish rule by the pueblos of
Taos, Picurís, Cochití, Santo Domingo, Jémez, and others,
resulted in the deaths of five missionaries and 21
soldiers. The rebelling pueblos were not all subdued
until December 1696. Several Pueblo governors were hanged
for participating.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1697 to 1703
Administration of Spanish Governor
Pedro Rodríguez Cubero.
In collusion with the cabildo (council) at Santa Fe,
Cubero brought charges against his predecessor,
Diego de Vargas,
accusing him of mismanagement which resulted in the 1696
rebellion, embezzlement, cruelty to Indians, and other
changes. De Vargas was imprisoned for three years before
officials in Mexico City ordered his release. By 1703 he
had been exonerated of all charges and reappointed
governor. As he marched north, Governor Cubero fled,
claiming he had business to attend elsewhere.
Ellis, New Mexico, Past and Present
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1703 to 1704
Administration of Spanish Governor of
Diego de Vargas Zapata y Lujan Ponce de Léon.
In the spring of 1704, as he led a military expedition
against Apache Indians, de Vargas became ill and was
taken to the town of Bernalillo where he died on April 8,
perhaps of dysentery. He was interred at Santa Fe.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
1704 to 1705
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Páez Hurtado.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1705 to 1707
Administration of Spanish Governor
Francisco Cuervo y Valdéz.
He expressed his attitude about New Mexico when he wrote
to King Philip V in 1705, “I have never seen so much
want, misery, and backwardness in my life. I suspect this
land was better off before the Spanish came.” He is
credited with founding Albuquerque the following year. It
was Cuervo y Valdéz who first reported that Comanche
Indians were making their presence known in northern New
Mexico.
Julyan, Place Names
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, Hispanic Albuquerque
April 23, 1706
Alburquerque founded by Governor
Francisco Cuervo y Valdéz.
The villa along the Rio Grande between Isleta and
Bernalillo was named for Don Francisco Fernández de la
Cueva Enríquez, Duke of Alburquerque.
Julyan, Place Names
Simmons, Hispanic Albuquerque
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
1707 to 1712
Administration of Spanish Governor Jose Chacón Medina
Salazar y Villaseñor,
Marqués de la Penuela. Chacón purchased his position,
which was not an unusual way to receive such an
appointment. In 1709, he waged a vigorous war against the
Navajo, in which, according to Twitchell, he was
victorious. It was Chacón who made a grant of land to
Captain Francisco Montes Vigil (called the Alameda
tract), north of Alburquerque, in 1710.
Julyan, Place Names
Simmons, Hispanic Albuquerque
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
September 16, 1712
The Santa Fe Fiesta was established to honor the
re-establishment of Christianity in New Mexico, which
came with the reconquest of 1692.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
1712 to 1715
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Ignacio Flores
Mogollón. Raids on New Mexico’s northern Pueblos by Utes
and Navajos in 1713 required the governor to take
military action. He was charged with malfeasance in
office, but not tried, in absentia, until long after he
had left office. He was assessed costs, but court
officials were not able to find him.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1715 to 1717
Administration of Spanish Governor Félix Martínez.
According to
Twitchell,
“He was a man of very quarrelsome disposition….” After
Martínez left office, Pecos Pueblo people were obliged to
sue him for work they had done in “cutting, dressing, and
hauling more than 2,000 wooden planks to be used for
construction purposes.” A judge ordered Martínez to pay
up. He visited Inscription Rock in 1716.
Dodge, Inscription Rock
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1717
The brief administration of Spanish Governor Juan Paéz
Hurtado. When the Viceroy ordered Governor Félix Martínez
to return to Mexico City, he turned the government at
Santa Fe over to Captain Hurtado, who assumed the
governor’s chair on January 20, 1717. He governed until
late in the year, when Governor Antonio Valverde y Cossio
assumed the office.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1717 to 1722
Administration of Spanish Governor Antonio Valverde y
Cossio. In 1719, Governor Valverde led an offensive
against Ute and Comanche Indians. His troops amounted to
more than 100 Spaniards and 30 or so Indian auxiliaries.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
August 13, 1720
Pedro de Villasur,
New Mexico’s Lieutenant Governor under Governor Antonio
Valverde y Cossio (1717-1722), was killed, along with
nearly 50 other soldiers and Indian auxiliaries, when
Pawnee Indians attacked his camp on the North Platte
River in what is now northern Colorado.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
March 2, 1722
Some historians report that for a short time, Juan de
Estrada y Austria served as acting governor of Spanish
Colonial New Mexico.
Twitchell
suggests that it was unlikely. Estrada did, however,
preside over the trial of Governor Juan Ignacio Flores
Mogollón.
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1722 to 1731
Administration of Spanish Governor Juan Domingo de
Bustamante. It was during Governor Bustamante’s term of
office that trade with the French in Louisiana was
forbidden by royal decree. The edict was issued after
word reached Madrid that some New Mexicans had made
sizable purchases in the French territory. Bustamante
also regulated trade with non-Christian Indian tribes.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1731 to 1736
Administration of Spanish Governor Gervasio Cruzat y
Góngora. In 1732, Governor Cruzat ordered that Apache
Indians captured by the Spanish or Pueblo Indians could
not be sold into slavery. According to
Twitchell,
not much else of note occurred during his five-year term.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1735
Juan Bautista de Anza
was born at Fronteras, Sonora. Historian
Marc Simmons
describes Anza as a frontiersman comparable to Daniel
Boone, Davy Crockett, or
Kit Carson.
He served as governor of New Mexico from 1778 to 1788.
Anza died on December 19, 1788.
Simmons, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1736 to 1739
Administration of Spanish Governor Enrique de Olavide y
Micheleña. During this administration, the Comanches made
their presence felt. Using French guns, they displaced
the Apache of northeastern New Mexico, and attacked
Spanish frontier communities. They also attacked Pecos
Pueblo.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1739 to 1743
Administration of Spanish Governor Gaspar Domingo de
Mendoza. Nothing momentous occurred during this
administration, and the governor left office with no
complaints pending against him, although the Franciscans
had complained that he had not aided the missionaries to
the extent that might have.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1739
French traders Paul and Pierre Mallet visited Santa Fe,
and were well-received by the Spanish population.
Governor Mendoza, with instructions from Mexico City,
however, reminded the citizenry that commercial
intercourse with foreigners was forbidden. The Mallet
brothers returned to New Orleans.
Simmons, New Mexico
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
1743 to 1749
Administration of Spanish Governor Joachín Codallos y
Rabál. The governor learned in 1743 that the people of
Taos Pueblo were consorting with Comanche Indians and
providing them with information concerning the movements
of Spanish military units. Governor Codallos ordered the
practice halted, upon pain of death.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1746- 1748
The Pueblo of Sandia is re-established along the Rio
Grande near the town of Bernalillo. The village was
abandoned in 1692 as the Spanish marched north to
recapture New Mexico in the wake of the Pueblo Revolt 12
years earlier.
Ferguson, The Acculturation of Sandia Pueblo
Julyan, Place Names
1749 to 1754
Administration of Spanish Governor Tomás Veles Cachupín.
Governor Veles Cachupín was aggressive in fighting
Comanches, and won a victory in which more than 100
Indians were killed. Peace between Spanish and Comanche
forces existed during the remainder of the Veles Cachupín
administration.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1754 to 1760
Administration of Spanish Governor Francisco Antonio
Marín del Valle. Near the end of this administration,
Comanches attacked the town of Taos and killed many
Spaniards and carried off 50 or so women, with a loss of
nearly 50 Indians. Retaliation occurred under the
administration of Governor Manuel del Portillo y
Urrisola.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1760
Administration of Spanish Governor Mateo Antonio de
Mendoza.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1760 to 1762
Administration of Spanish Governor Manuel del Portillo y
Urrisola. In retaliation for a raid on Taos under an
earlier administration, Governor Portillo y Urrisola led
an expedition against the Comanches in which, by his
account, 400 Indians were killed.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1762 to 1767
Administration of Spanish Governor Tomás Veles Cachupín.
During his second administration, he continued to
maintain peaceful relations with the Comanches, and he
unsuccessfully encouraged his successor to do the same.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1767 to 1778
Administration of Spanish Governor Pedro Fermín de
Mendinueta. Governor Mendinueta did not choose to follow
the advice offered by his predecessor, and Indian raids
reached all-time high numbers, by Utes, Apaches, and
Navajos, as well as the Comanches. Attacks were even made
on the outskirts of Santa Fe. The situation was so bad,
one historian opined, that Spain’s New Mexico colony was
threatened with extinction.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
c. 1776
Famed Navajo chief
Narbona
was born in the Navajo homeland. He believed in peace
between his people and the white man. At a meeting with
Colonel
John M. Washington
in 1849, where a treaty was to be negotiated, a dispute
arose over a horse race and Narbona was killed by U. S.
Army artillery fire.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
March 28, 1776
Juan Bautista de Anza
reached what became San Francisco, California. (He is
considered the founder of San Francisco). Two years later
he became governor of Spanish colonial New Mexico. He
served until 1788.
1778
Administration of Spanish Governor Francisco Treból
Navarro. This governor’s term lasted only a few months.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1778 to 1788
Administration of Spanish Governor
Juan Bautista de Anza.
Anza “subjugated and forged peace treaties with most of
the hostile tribes in the province (New Mexico).”
Historian Marc Simmons compares Anza, as a frontiersman,
with Daniel Boone, Davy Crocket and
Kit Carson.
He identified the site for the presidio that became San
Francisco, California, in 1776.
Jack August, New Mexico Historical Review, April 1981
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Simmons, Spanish Government in New Mexico
Simmons, New Mexico
September 3, 1779
Comanche chief
Cuerno Verde
“Green Horn” was killed in a battle with Spanish troops
under the command of
Juan Bautista de Anza
in southeastern Colorado. Also killed were Cuerno Verde’s
son and several sub-chiefs. The loss of this battle led
to a peace that lasted for a number of years.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
November 10, 1787 to 1793
Administration of Mexican Governor
Fernando Simón Ignacio de la Concha
(1744-after 1794). Other sources give his term of office
as 1788-1793, and one states that he didn’t arrive in
Santa Fe until 1789. Governor Concha, following in the
footsteps of Governor
Anza,
through careful diplomacy, maintained peace with
Comanches, Utes, Navajos and several bands of the Apache
during his entire term in office. Suffering ill health
and near-blindness, he left New Mexico in 1793 and never
returned.
Jack August, New Mexico Historical Review, April 1981
New Mexico Blue Book
Simmons, New Mexico
1780-1781
A smallpox epidemic swept across New Mexico, killing more
than 5,000 people, or about 25 percent of the population.
No one knows how many people were afflicted and did not
die.
Bancroft, History of Arizona and New Mexico
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, Spanish Pathways
May 21-October 6, 1792
Pedro (Pierre) Vial, José Vicente Villanueva and Vicente
Espinosa made what is considered by many the first trek
across the Great Plains, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to
St. Louis (in what is now Missouri). They returned the
following year. Part of the Santa Fe Trail, opened in
1821, followed the route established by Vial. Vial was a
Frenchman in the employ of the Spanish government.
Chávez, New Mexico
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
January 16, 1793
Antonio José Martínez
was born at Abiquiú. He was baptized four days later.
Padre Martínez, churchman, educator, and politician, was
one of the most important men in Mexican and American New
Mexico for more than 40 years before his death in 1867.
Chávez, But Time and Chance
Padre Juan Romero, “Begetting the Mexican American: Padre
Martínez and the 1847 Rebellion,” Seeds of Struggle
Simmons, New Mexico
Steele, Archbishop Lamy
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
November 19, 1793
At some time just before this date, noted Comanche
chief
Ecueracapa
(Leather Jacket) died of wounds suffered in battle with
Pawnees. The Comanches held a council on this date to
replace him, and named Encaguane as successor.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1794 to 1805
Administration of Spanish Governor
Fernando Chacón.
Governor Chacón reported New Mexico’s population at more
than 35,000, one-third of which were Pueblo Indians.
Commerce was completely dependent upon caravans traveling
from Santa Fe to points south in Mexico, and back again.
Governor Chacón also reported that farming methods were
somewhat backward, and he requested manuals to improve
that situation.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
September 16, 1804
Hundreds of Navajo Indians attacked the village of
Cebolleta (Seboyeta) in what is now eastern Cibola
County, near Mt. Taylor. The village, established in
1800, served as a base from which Spanish raids against
the Navajos could be organized. A siege lasted for
several days, during which
Doña Antonia Romero
saved the day by killing a warrior who had breached the
walls and was attempting to open the main gate. The
Navajos withdrew after suffering numerous casualties:
more than 20 dead and another 40 or so wounded. The
Spanish also suffered several casualties.
Peña, Memories of Cibola
Simmons, Little Lion of the Southwest
1805 to 1808
Administration of Spanish Governor Joaquín del Real
Alencaster. The governor was bent on enforcing government
rules and regulations, especially those having to do with
trade between Spaniards and Comanches. Efforts along
those lines, however, led to riots when a couple of
citizens were arrested and confined at Santa Fe. It was
Governor Real Alencaster who received
Zebulon Pike
after the American’s incursion into Spanish territory in
the early 19th
century.
Hart and Hulbert, The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon
Pike, 1806-1807
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
July 15, 1806
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
(1779-1813) departed from Belle Fontaine, near St. Louis,
Missouri, and began a trek which would take him into what
became the states of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, New
Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. He was accompanied the 21
soldiers, an interpreter, and a surgeon. He was among the
earliest Americans to visit Spanish Santa Fe.
Hart and Hulbert, The Southwest Journals of Zebulon Pike,
1806-1807
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
February 26, 1807
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
(1779-1813) and his soldiers were captured by 100 or so
Spanish troops on the Rio Conejo, well inside Spanish
territory. They were conducted to Santa Fe.
Hart and Hulbert, The Southwest Journals of Zebulon Pike,
1806-1807
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
March 5, 1807
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
(1779-1813) and his troops arrived in Santa Fe, New
Mexico. They were subsequently escorted to Chihuahua,
where they were freed.
Hart and Hulbert, The Southwest Journals of Zebulon Pike,
1806-1807
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Marc Simmons, “Trail Dust,” Santa Fe New Mexican, April
14, 2007
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
July 1, 1807
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
(1779-1813) reached Louisiana after his release by
Spanish authorities at Chihuahua.
Hart and Hulbert, The Southwest Journals of Zebulon Pike,
1806-1807
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1808
Administration of Spanish Governor Alberto Maynez.
Twitchell reported that Maynez may not have actually
served as governor, but “merely acted as such….” Kessell
agrees that he was acting governor, on a couple of
occasions between 1808 and 1816.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2007
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
1808 to 1814
Administration of Spanish Governor José Manrique.
Governor Manrique served at the time when unrest in the
New World against Spanish rule began (September 16,
1810).
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2007
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
December 24, 1809
Frontiersman and soldier
Christopher Houston “Kit” Carson
was born near Richmond, Kentucky. He died on May 23,
1868.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
August 11, 1810
Pedro Bautista Pino of Santa Fe was chosen by los ricos
to represent New Mexico at the cortes, or parliament, in
Spain. This was an effort at democracy in Spain and its
empire that came too late. Two years later, Pino
published a book titled, A Concise and Candid Exposition
on the Province of New Mexico. Pino was sincere in his
effort to improve the quality of life in New Mexico, but
nothing came of his efforts. Spain was in no position to
help because ties to New World colonies were on the brink
of revolution.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, New Mexico
September 16, 1810
The Mexican revolution against Spanish rule, led by Padre
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, began at the village of
Dolores, in Guanajuato. His cry was, “Long live our Lady
of Guadalupe, death to bad government and Spanish
authorities.” While he enjoyed some early successes, he
was captured on March 21, and executed on July 31, 1811.
The seeds of the revolution against Spain, however, had
been planted. Hidalgo County, New Mexico, is said to be
named for Padre Hidalgo.
Chambers, Dictionary of World History
Julyan, Place Names
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
May 1813
William Frederick Milton Arny
was born in Washington, D. C. He succeeded
Kit Carson
as Indian agent at Taos and served as Territorial
Secretary of New Mexico. He died on September 18, 1881
and was buried at Santa Fe.
Arny, Indian Agent in New Mexico, Wm. Arny’s Journal,
1870
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1814 to 1816
Administration of Acting Spanish Governor Alberto Maynez.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. I
October 11, 1814
Jean Baptiste Lamy,
the first bishop and archbishop of Santa Fe, was born in
France.
Chávez, But Time and Change
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
Steele, Archbishop Lamy
October 15, 1815
Padre
José Manuel Gallegos
was born at Abiquiú, in what was then Spanish Colonial
New Mexico. He served as parish priest for Albuquerque
from 1845 until 1852 when Bishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
removed him.
Chávez y Chávez, Wake for a Fat Vicar
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
1816 to 1818
Administration of Spanish Governor Pedro Maria de
Allande.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1818 to 1821
Administration of Spanish Governor
Facundo Melgares.
This was the final gubernatorial administration of New
Mexico under Spanish rule.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
October 18, 1818
Manuel Antonio Chaves,
known as the Little Lion of the Southwest, was born at
Atrisco, near Albuquerque. A man of many parts, and the
survivor of many adventures, New Mexico observer
Charles Lummis
wrote of him: “[he was] a courtly Spanish gentleman,
brave as a lion, tender as a woman, spotless of honor,
and modest as heroic.” He was also the father of New
Mexico’s first Superintendent of Schools,
Amado Chaves.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
Peña, Memories of Cíbola
Simmons, The Little Lion of the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
Twitchell, Old Santa Fe
June 1819
David Meriwether,
who would later become governor of New Mexico in 1853,
set out on a trading mission with villages in Spanish New
Mexico, accompanied by a band of Pawnee Indians. He was
captured and kept in Santa Fe for many months before he
was released and allowed to fend for himself as he
travelled east, toward the American settlements. He
arrived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in March 1821.
Meriwether, My Life in the Mountains
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
October 14, 1819
Samuel Beach Axtell
was born in Franklin County, Ohio. He served as
Territorial Governor of New Mexico from 1875-1878, during
the early days of the Lincoln County War. He also served
as chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court from
1882-1885. He died in New Jersey in 1891.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II)
September 11, 1821
In Santa Fe, Governor
Facundo Melgares
acknowledged the independence of Mexico from Spain, based
on orders he had received from his superior, General
Alejo Garcia Conde, in late August.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
September 27, 1821
Mexico
gained complete independence from Spain
when Agustín de Iturbide captured Mexico City.
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
November 16, 1821
William Becknell,
considered by Twitchell as the “Father of the Santa Fe
Trail” trade route, and his companions arrived in Santa
Fe with pack animals loaded with trade goods from
Missouri (see May 21-October 6, 1792).
Governor Melgares
welcomed the visitors since old Spanish regulations
against foreign trade had been discarded in favor of
Mexican free trade.
Duffus, The Santa Fe Trail
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Simmons, On the Santa Fe Trail
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
April 27, 1822
A Mexican provisional deputation resolved that
ayuntamientos, town councils, should complete the
formation of primary public schools “according to the
circumstances of each community.” This was New Mexico’s
first public school law.
Mondragon and Stapleton, Public Education in New Mexico
July 25, 1822
Agustín de Iturbide (1873-1824) had himself crowned as
the emperor of Mexico, Agustín I. (Some sources report
that he became emperor on May 18.) His reign lasted less
than a year before he was overthrown, and he fled to
Italy. The Mexican government paid him a generous pension
to stay in Europe, and actually proscribed him from
returning to Mexico. He returned, however, in 1824, in an
effort to resume power. He landed on July 14 and was soon
arrested. Iturbide was executed by firing squad for
violating his proscription, on July 19, 1824. He said,
moments before his death, “Mexicans, in this last moment
of my life I recommend to you the love of your country,
and the observance of our holy religion. I die having
come to aid you; and depart happy because I die among
you. I die with honor, not as a traitor….” The power
struggles in Mexico City did not bode well for the
administration of New Mexico, many miles to the north.
Chambers, Dictionary of World History
Kessell, Spain in the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1822
Administration of New Mexico’s first governor under the
rule of an independent Mexico, Governor Francisco Xavier
Cháves. He was a native New Mexican, born at Belen. His
administration was short (two months), but he was the
patriarch of a family which included two governors and
four congressmen.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1822 to 1823
Administration of Mexican Governor
José Antonio Viscarra.
Some sources indicate that Viscarra was the first
governor under Mexican rule, but the New Mexico Blue
Book, 2005-2006, shows him as second to Francisco Xavier
Cháves. A military man, Viscarra took aggressive action
against the Navajos of western New Mexico.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
June 18, 1823
New Mexico Governor
José Antonio Viscarra,
a military man by training and experience, led a force of
1,500 men against the Navajos of western New Mexico. The
effort took 74 days, and resulted in the deaths of 33
Navajos, including eight women. About 30 others were
captured, and an unspecified amount of livestock was
confiscated. The incursion reached Canyon de Chelly in
what is now eastern Arizona.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
June 29, 1823
As a result of a public resolution, both the church and
the Santa Fe city government adopted St. Francis of
Assisi as patron of the capital city.
Four Hundred Years of Faith
1823 to 1825
Administration of Mexican Governor Bartolomé Baca.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 31, 1824
Prior to this date, New Mexico was one of the Provincias
Internas (Internal Provinces) of Mexico. On this date,
New Mexico was joined to the provinces of Chihuahua and
Durango, which created Estado Interno del Norte. This was
not a popular arrangement.
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
July 6, 1824
New Mexico became a territory of Mexico. Chihuahua and
Durango became states of the Republic of Mexico.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
May 19, 1826
Father Sebastian Alvarez opened the College of Santa Fe.
Mandragón and Stapleton, Public Education
July 23, 1826
Padre Antonio José Martínez was
installed as pastor at Taos. He opened a school there in
the same year. This marked the beginning of a
distinguished and controversial career.
Chávez, But Time and Change
Mandragón and Stapleton, Public Education
1825 to 1827
Administration of Mexican Governor Antonio Narbona.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
April 10, 1827
Lewis “Lew” Wallace,
who would become New Mexico Territorial Governor
(1878-1881) was born in Indiana.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1827 to 1829
First administration of Mexican Governor
Manuel Armijo.
Twitchell
wrote, “A regular price was paid for the scalp or ears of
the hostiles [Indians], and it was customary, during the
time of Manuel Armijo, to decorate the walls of the
executive office ….with these barbarous trophies….”
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
August 5, 1828
Baronet Antoine Francois Vasquez died of cholera. He
accompanied the
Zebulon Pike
party as an interpreter, and reached Santa Fe in 1807. He
later served as an officer in the U. S. Army.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1829 to 1832
Administration of Mexican Governor José Antonio Chaves.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
November 19, 1830
Saturnino Baca was born in Valencia County. He would
distinguish himself at the Battle of Valverde (February
21, 1962) during the Civil War. He also served in the
Territorial Legislature from Socorro and as sheriff
(1875-1876) and probate judge of Lincoln County in the
days leading up to the Lincoln County War.
Ball, Desert Lawmen
1832 to 1833
Administration of Mexican Governor Santiago Abreú. Four
years after he left office, he became a victim of the
Chimayó Rebellion of 1837. His execution by insurgents
was most brutal: he was literally dismembered before he
was allowed to die (August 10, 1837).
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1833 to 1835
Administration of Mexican Governor Francisco Sarracino.
During Governor Sarracino’s administration, military
forces sent into the field were made up of about ten
percent regular army personnel, and the remainder
volunteers. They were more often than not armed with bows
and arrows, while their Indian foes were acquiring guns.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1835 to 1837
Administration of Mexican Governor
Albino Pérez,
certainly the most hated gubernatorial administration
during the 25 years of Mexican rule of New Mexico
(1821-1846). Governor Pérez was, first of all, a Mexican
army officer, and not a New Mexican, and that did not sit
well with established political insiders. He was also
fond of Santa Fe’s gaming tables, and is reported to have
participated in illicit romantic trysts. Most of all,
though, he attempted to impose taxes on people who had
not previously been taxed. The Chimayó Rebellion of 1837
was the result. (See August 3, 8, 9, and 10.)
Chávez, New Mexico
Horgan, Great River
Marc Simmons, “Rebellion makes quick work of ‘outside
governor’,” Santa Fe New Mexican, March 11, 2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
November 1835
Padre
Antonio José Martínez
began publication of pamphlets and school books on a
press that had been moved to Taos.
Chávez, New Mexico
Hemp, Taos Landmarks and Legends
December 3, 1836
New Mexico was made a Department of Mexico. This change
in status was one of the causes of the Chimayó Rebellion
of the following year.
Keleher, The Maxwell Land Grant
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
August 3, 1837
The Chimayó Rebellion began when insurgents marched on
the jail at La Cañada and released Alcalde Juan José
Esquibel, who had been arrested by the minions of
Governor
Albino Pérez.
The Chimayó Rebellion was a part of widespread opposition
to the Mexico City administration of
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
Chávez, New Mexico
Jenkins and Schroeder, A Brief History of New Mexico
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts
August 8, 1837
The militia, under the command of Governor
Albino Pérez,
was defeated by rebels near San Ildefonso Pueblo, and the
governor fled the field and returned to Santa Fe.
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
August 9, 1837
Pueblo Indians, who were a part of the rebellion against
Governor
Albino Pérez,
captured the governor, beheaded him, and used his head as
a football.
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
August 10, 1837
Rebel forces selected
José Angel Gonzáles
as governor to replace the assassinated governor,
Albino Pérez.
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Simmons, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1837 to 1844
Second administration of Mexican Governor
Manuel Armijo.
He replaced the slain
Albino Pérez.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 27, 1838
Mexican troops under the command of Governor
Manuel Armijo
marched first on La Cañada and then on Santa Cruz where
they defeated the remaining insurgents, thus ending the
Chimayó Rebellion.
José Angel Gonzáles
was executed, as
Twitchell
writes, “without the least form of a trial.”
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
August 21, 1839
Jean Baptiste Lamy,
who would become bishop and archbishop of Santa Fe (see
November 24, 1850) first arrived in the United States at
Long Island, New York.
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
September 2, 1840
(some sources report 1841)
The killer who called himself a “shootist,”
Clay Allison,
was born in Wayne County, Tennessee. Allison was a
participant in New Mexico’s Colfax County War in the
1870s. He died on July 3, 1887, when he was run over by
his own freight wagon near Pecos, Texas. (Parsons, Clay
Allison)
June 19, 1841
The so-called Texas-Santa Fe Expedition left Austin on
its way to New Mexico. It was commanded by General Hugh
McLeod. Ostensibly, the group’s mission was peaceful, but
New Mexicans wondered why the Texans were heavily armed.
Simmons, Little Lion of the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 1841
Members of the Texas-Santa Fe Expedition were captured by
Captain Damasio Salazar after they lost their horses on
the Llano Estacado of eastern New Mexico. They were
subsequently marched off to Mexico City.
Simmons, Little Lion of the Southwest
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
May 27, 1843
A force of Texans under the command of “Colonel” Jacob
Snively reached the Santa Fe Trail in western Kansas.
Their purpose was to raid commerce along the trail in
revenge against New Mexicans for the defeat of the
Texas-Santa Fe Expedition nearly two years earlier. They
managed kill and capture some members of a Mexican
military detachment, but spent most of their time
harassing traders.
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1844
Administration of Mexican Governor Mariano Chaves.
Historian Sálaz Márquez quotes Governor Chaves: “We are
surrounded on all sides by many tribes of heartless
barbarians, almost perishing; and our brothers in Mexico
instead of helping us are at each other’s throats in
their festering civil wars.”
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1844
Administration of Mexican Governor Felipe Sena.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1844 to 1845
Administration of Mexican Governor Mariano Martínez de
Lejanza. The governor received a party of Utes in the
Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. A perceived insult
resulted in a general melee in which several people died
on both sides, including the Ute Chief, Panasiyave.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
1845
Administration of Mexican Governor José Chaves y
Castillo.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
1845 to 1846
Third administration of Mexican Governor
Manuel Armijo.
This was the last of Armijo’s three terms as Mexican
Governor of New Mexico. He held the office at the time
New Mexico was invaded by the United States “Army of the
West.” Early on, Armijo indicated that he would
vigorously oppose the Americans, but ultimately left the
field of battle, which allowed them to capture and enter
Santa Fe without a shot being fired on either side.
Chávez, New Mexico
Lavish, A Journey Through New Mexico
Meketa, Legacy of Honor
Simmons, New Mexico
1845 (?)
Frank Warner Angel
was born in New York State. President Rutherford B. Hayes
dispatched him to New Mexico in 1878 to investigate the
murder of
John Tunstall
in Lincoln County (February 18, 1878). Angel died in New
Jersey on March 15, 1906.
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
May 13, 1846
United States President
James Knox Polk
announced that the U. S. Congress had declared war on
Mexico in response to an alleged incursion of Mexican
troops into Texas. Illinois Congressman
Abraham Lincoln
opposed the declaration, and the war.
Simmons, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1846
Administration of Mexican Governor Juan Bautista Vigil y
Alaríd. It fell to Governor Vigil y Alaríd, during his
very short tenure in August of 1846, to surrender New
Mexico to U.S. General
Stephen Watts Kearny,
on August 19. He was eloquent in doing so.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
August 18, 1846
General
Stephen Watts Kearny
(1794-1848) and the Army of the West occupied Santa Fe
without firing a shot.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
August 22, 1846
General
Stephen Watts Kearny
declared that New Mexico was henceforth a part of the
United States. He introduced the Kearny Code as the first
step in “Americanizing” New Mexico.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 22, 1846 to January 19, 1847
Administration of pre-Territorial Governor
Charles Bent.
General
Stephen Watts Kearny
made an effort to establish civil government in New
Mexico, and to that end he appointed Bent the first
governor in the period of the American Occupation.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Simmons, New Mexico
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 1846 to March 1851
Donaciano Vigil
served as pre-Territorial Secretary of New Mexico, the
highest-ranking civilian member of the government. He
became civil governor upon the death of Governor
Charles Bent
(see January 19, 1847). When military governors replaced
civil governors, Vigil returned to the office of
Secretary.
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Marc Simmons, “The Forgotten Donaciano Vigil,” Socorro
Defensor Chieftain, June 19, 1999
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1847 to 1848
Administration of pre-Territorial Military Governor
Colonel
Sterling Price.
Colonel Price arrived in Santa Fe after the departure of
General
Stephen Watts Kearny
in late 1846. He became Military Governor after the
murder of Civil Governor
Charles Bent.
Congressional Biography
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 19, 1847
The Taos Revolt began. Mexican nationalists and Taos
Pueblo Indians who objected to the American occupation of
New Mexico rebelled, killing Governor
Charles Bent,
Taos County Sheriff
Stephen Louis Lee,
and other Americans and American sympathizers.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
February 3, 1847
U. S. Army Colonel
Sterling Price
and a contingent of Missouri Mounted Volunteers and
mountain men reach Taos. They began shelling Taos Pueblo.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
February 5, 1847
The leaders of the Taos Revolt sue for peace, and the
rebellion ends.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
April 5, 1847
Trials for those charged with crimes relating to the Taos
Revolt begin.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
April 9, 1847
Executions of those convicted of crimes relating to the
Taos Revolt begin.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
May 7, 1847
Executions of those convicted of crimes relating to the
Taos Revolt are completed.
Crutchfield, Tragedy at Taos
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
February 2, 1848
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, negotiated by
Nicholas P. Trist
(1800-1874), which ended the Mexican War, was signed. The
U. S. Senate ratified it on May 30, 1848.
Commager, Documents of American History
May 30, 1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ratified. It was proclaimed
at Santa Fe in August.
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
June 17, 1848
Frank Springer
born at Wapello, Iowa. He became one of the most
important men in New Mexico in the last quarter of the
19th
century, serving as attorney for the Maxwell Land Grant,
legislator, scientist, newspaperman, and rancher.
New Mexico Historical Review, vol. 2, 1927
David Caffey, Frank Springer and New Mexico
August 29, 1848
George Frederick Ruxton
died at St. Louis of dysentery at the age of 27. Ruxton
was an Englishman who visited Mexico at the time of the
Mexican War. He generally held Mexicans and many
Americans in low esteem, and he is one of the writers who
maligned New Mexico Governor
Manuel Armijo.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 17, 1848
François Xavier Aubry
arrived in Independence, Missouri, five days and 16 hours
after leaving Santa Fe, setting a record for travel on
the Santa Fe Trail that has never been beaten. He came to
be called “Telegraph Aubry.”
Marc Simmons, “Incredible Journeys,” Prime Time, November
1999
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
October 1848 to May 1849
Administration of Military Governor Colonel
John Macrea Washington.
Washington was unpopular for his opposition to civil rule
for New Mexico. He was also unsuccessful in negotiating a
lasting peace with the Navajos of western New Mexico. He
was in command during a parlay with Navajos when tribal
headman Narbona was killed.
Susan Landon, “The Hidden History of Washington Pass,”
Albuquerque Journal, December 4, 1988
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
May 1849 to March 1851
Administration of Military Governor Colonel John Munroe.
A military man, Munroe never understood New Mexico’s
politics, and he received no help from his predecessor,
Colonel
John Macrea Washington.
Munroe’s administrative efforts were therefore generally
flawed. He was the last military governor of New Mexico.
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Lamar, The Far Southwest
June 5, 1850
Famed New Mexico lawman
Patrick Floyd Garrett,
and
Billy the Kid’s
killer (July 14, 1881), was born in Chambers County,
Alabama. He died on February 29, 1908, when he was shot
in the back near Las Cruces.
Metz, Pat Garrett
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 9, 1850
The Texas and New Mexico Act, a part of the Compromise of
1850, created the Territory of New Mexico, which included
what is now Arizona.
Commager, Documents of American History
October 17, 1850
New Mexico lawman, banker and rancher
John W. Poe
was born in Mason County, Kentucky. He was present when
Sheriff
Pat Garrett
killed
Billy the Kid
at Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881. Poe died at Roswell, New
Mexico, on July 17, 1923.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Metz, Pat Garrett
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Wallis, Billy the Kid
November 24, 1850
Pope Pius IX named
Jean Baptiste Lamy
the first Bishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bishop Lamy was
consecrated in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio,
on this date.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
March 3, 1851
James S. Calhoun (1802-1852)
was sworn in as the first Territorial Governor of New
Mexico. He was appointed by President
Millard Fillmore.
Fitzpatrick, New Mexico
Simmons, Albuquerque
Fritz Thompson, Albuquerque Journal, September 27, 1987
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
July 1851
General
Edwin Vose Sumner,
called “Bull of the Woods,” was assigned to the military
command of New Mexico. He made himself so unpopular that
Governor
William Carr Lane
(1789-1863) challenged him to a duel. Sumner declined. He
was relieved of command in New Mexico on June 26, 1853,
and died at Syracuse, New York, in 1863 at the age of 66.
Keleher, Turmoil in New Mexico
Tharpp, Encyclopedia
August 9, 1851
Jean Baptiste Lamy
arrived in Santa Fe to take over the newly created
dioceses. This marked the beginning of the French line of
Santa Fe bishops and archbishops which would not end
until 1918.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
January 1852
Doña
Gertrudis Barceló,
better known as La Tules or Doña Tules, a Santa Fe
gambler and benefactor, died. Bishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
led her funeral procession.
Don Bullis, Rio Rancho Observer, April 3, 2005
Chávez and Chávez, Wake for a Fat Vicar
Etulain, Western Lives
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
January 9, 1852
Bernalillo County was created. It was one of the seven
partidos established during Mexican Rule. It may have
been named for the Bernal family that had lived in the
area going back to the 17th
century. Doña Ana County was created. It may have been
named for Doña Ana Robeledo, or Doña
Ana María de Córdoba.
Rio Arriba County was created. The name means “upper
river.” San Miguel County was created, named for San
Miguel del Bado (St. Michael of the Ford), a Santa Fe
crossing on the Pecos River. Santa Fe County was created,
named for a New Mexico’s long established capital.
Socorro County was created. Don
Juan de Oñate
(c. 1552-1626) so named a pueblo in the area in 1598.
Taos County was created, named for the nearby Indian
Pueblo. Valencia County was created, named for a Spanish
official in charge of the area, Francisco de Valencia.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
June 30, 1852
James S. Calhoun,
New Mexico’s first Territorial Governor, died near
Independence, Missouri. The location of his gravesite has
been lost.
Fitzpatrick, New Mexico
Simmons, Albuquerque
Fritz Thompson, Albuquerque Journal, September 27, 1987
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 26, 1852
The Sisters of Loretto arrived in Santa Fe. They opened
Our Lady of Light Academy the following year.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
1852 to 1853
Administration of Territorial Governor
William Carr Lane,
appointed by President
Millard Fillmore.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
“William Carr Lane, Diary,” New Mexico Historical Review,
July 1964
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
December 7, 1852
In his message to the territorial legislature on this
date, Governor
William Carr Lane
advised his constituents to learn English and to adopt
American customs. Then he added: “But I do not advise
them (the Mexican people) to change any of their
beneficial or praiseworthy customs, nor do I advise them
to forget their parent stock, and the proud recollections
that cluster around Castilian history. I do not advise
them to disuse their beautiful language, to lay aside
their dignified manners and punctilious attention to the
proprieties of social life…. True it is, that the Mexican
people have been always noted for their distinguished
manners and Christian customs, it is only to be regretted
to see that some of their good usages are disappearing
little by little before what is called progress in our
days.”
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
1853 to 1857
Administration of Territorial Governor
David Meriwether,
appointed by President
Franklin Pierce.
It was Meriwether who had been held prisoner by the
Spanish in Santa Fe (1819-1820). As Governor, Meriwether
believed in military action against hostile Indians, but
he also favored the negotiation of treaties. He made
several pacts with various Indians tribes, only to have
them negated by the Congress at Washington, D. C.
Meriwether left Santa Fe in May of 1857, five or so
months before his term expired.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
Meriwether, My Life in the Mountains
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
December 9, 1853
Manuel Armijo
died. Armijo, who served as Mexican Governor of New
Mexico three times, was the Mexican Governor of New
Mexico who declined to oppose the entry of the American
Army of the West in August 1846. His date of birth is
unknown.
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Fergusson, New Mexico
Janet LeCompte, New Mexico Historical Review, July 1973
Marc Simmons, “Trail Dust,” Santa Fe New Mexican,
February 4, 2006
December 30, 1853
James Gadsden,
representing the United States, and President
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
representing Mexico, agreed on an exchange that came to
be called the Gadsden Purchase (Venta de La Mesilla in
Mexico). It called for the purchase of nearly 30,000
square miles of land in southern New Mexico and Arizona,
by the United States, for $10,000 (see June 24, 1854 and
November 16, 1854).
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Lamar, Far Southwest
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
June 24, 1854
The Gadsden Purchase (see December 30, 1853) was ratified
by the United States Senate and signed by President
Franklin Pierce.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Lamar, Far Southwest
Roberts and Roberts, New Mexico
August 18, 1854
Richard Weightman,
a former delegate to Congress, stabbed
François X. Aubry,
a Santa Fe Trail freighter and record-setting horseman,
to death during an altercation in a Santa Fe saloon.
Weightman was acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
Marc Simmons, “Incredible Journeys,” Prime Time, November
1999
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
November 16, 1854
New Mexico Territorial Governor
David Meriwether
occupied the land added to the territory by the Gadsden
Purchase.
Meriwether, My Life in the Mountains
1857 to 1861
Administration of Territorial Governor
Abraham Rencher,
appointed by President James Buchanan. Rencher was the
last of the four territorial governors to serve during
the 1850s.
James S. Calhoun,
William Carr Lane
and
David Meriwether
preceded him. Historian Howard Lamar lumps them together
and notes that little was accomplished during the decade,
generally due to neglect by the federal government.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 20, 1858
Juan Felipe Ortiz
died. He was the Vicar at Santa Fe when Bishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
arrived in 1851. In spite of his best efforts, Padre
Ortiz was unable to maintain an amiable relationship with
Bishop Lamy.
Chávez and Chávez, Wake for a Fat Vicar
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
November 28, 1859
Considered by many to be the birth date of
William H. Bonney,
aka Antrim and McCarty—Billy
the Kid—in
New York City. Others have suggested that he was possibly
born on September 23, November 20 or 23, and others; and
perhaps in some place other than New York: Ohio, Indiana,
Kansas, New Mexico are sometimes mentioned. Bonney is
reliably reported to have died at the hand of
Sheriff
Pat Garrett
on July 14, 1881, at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Burns, Billy the Kid
Cline, Alias Billy the Kid
Utley, Billy the Kid
Wallis, Billy the Kid
(and a plethora of other books and articles)
December 26, 1859
The Historical Society of New Mexico was created, making
it the oldest historical Society west of the Mississippi
River.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Historical Society of New Mexico
February 1, 1860
Mora County created. It may have been named for the Mora
family which resided in the area; or, since the Spanish
word mora means “mulberry,” the county may have been
named for the large number of such trees growing there.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
April 30, 1860
An estimated 800 Navajo Indians under the direction
of
Manuelito
and
Barboncito
attacked U. S. Army troops at Fort Defiance, in what is
now eastern Arizona (then a part of New Mexico). One
soldier and six warriors were killed.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts
1861 to 1866
Administration of Territorial Governor
Henry Connelly,
appointed by President
Abraham Lincoln.
President Lincoln did not trust Connelly’s
predecessor,
Abraham Rencher,
a native of North Carolina. Connelly, a resident of
Mexico and New Mexico since the 1820s, was a staunch
Union man. He served through the Civil War in New Mexico.
Alberts, Battle of Glorieta
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
February 15, 1861
Twenty-four Navajo Indian chiefs, including
Manuelito
and
Barboncito,
signed a peace treaty with Major
Edward R. S. Canby,
which resulted in very little peace.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
February 28, 1861
The territory of Colorado was created, which somewhat
reduced the geographic size of New Mexico.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
April 26, 1861
Paula Angel,
aka Pablita Martin, was executed by hanging for the
murder of her lover. She was the only woman to be legally
hanged in New Mexico, and she is the only one obliged to
pay for her own trial and execution.
Bullis, Rio Rancho Observer, July 21, 2005
Bryan, Wildest of The Wild West
Gilbreath, Death on the Gallows
Tórrez, Myth of the Hanging Tree
June 11, 1861
Colonel
Edward R. S. Canby
took command of the U. S. Army’s Department of New
Mexico.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, Frontier Regulars
July 27, 1861
Early in the U. S. Civil War, Confederate army forces
under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
John R. Baylor
invaded New Mexico from Texas.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Melzer, Buried Treasures
Marc Simmons, “John R. Baylor Cast an Ugly Shadow in New
Mexico,” Socorro Defensor Chieftain, February 18, 1995
August 1, 1861
Confederate Lieutenant Colonel
John R. Baylor
appointed himself governor of what he called the
Territory of Arizona, which included all of New Mexico
and Arizona, from Texas on the east to the Colorado River
on the west, and south of the 34th
parallel.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Melzer, Buried Treasures
Marc Simmons, “John R. Baylor Cast an Ugly Shadow in New
Mexico,” Socorro Defensor Chieftain, February 18, 1995
December 14, 1861
General
Henry H. Sibley
assumed command of Confederate forces in New Mexico,
relieving Lieutenant Colonel
John R. Baylor.
Baylor remained civil governor until the Confederate
retreat from New Mexico after the defeat at the Battle of
Glorieta Pass.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Melzer, Buried Treasures
Marc Simmons, “John R. Baylor Cast an Ugly Shadow in New
Mexico,” Socorro Defensor Chieftain, February 18, 1995
February 21, 1862
Union troops faced invading Confederate forces in the
Battle of Valverde, north of Fort Craig along the Rio
Grande. Confederate forces were successful and continued
their march to Albuquerque, which they captured on March
2.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Simmons, Albuquerque
March 10, 1862
New Mexico Territorial government moved from Santa Fe to
Las Vegas as the Texas Confederates marched toward the
capital. The capital returned to Santa Fe the following
month.
Alberts, Rebels on the Rio Grande
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Marc Simmons, “Confederate Flag Flew over Santa Fe in
1862,” Santa Fe New Mexican, September 22, 2001.
March 26, 1862
After Confederate troops had captured Santa Fe, they
advanced to the east, with the intention of capturing
Fort Union. On this date they were stopped at Apache
Canyon, and the Battle of Glorieta followed two days
later. There, the Confederates were defeated when their
supplies and ammunition were captured and destroyed by
Union forces, forcing a return to Texas.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Simmons, Albuquerque
April 15, 1862
The final skirmish of the Civil War in New Mexico
occurred at Peralta, south of Albuquerque. New Mexico’s
leading Confederate sympathizer,
Spruce Baird,
was obliged to join the retreating army for his own
safety.
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Simmons, Albuquerque
July 15-16, 1862
The Battle of Apache Pass (not to be confused with Apache
Canyon, above) in which Apache Indians, probably led by
Cochise and
Mangas Coloradas
with about 700 warriors, faced the 1st California
Volunteer Infantry, called the California Column, led by
Captain Tom Roberts, and 126 soldiers. The soldiers
prevailed in two skirmishes because of their effective
use of cannons. Magnus Coloradas was wounded in this
battle. (Apache Pass was in New Mexico at the time of the
battle. Arizona became a separate territory the following
year.)
Trimble, Roadside History
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
September 18, 1862
General
James H. Carleton
takes command of the U. S. Army’s Department of New
Mexico. It was Carleton who came up with the plan to
confine Apache and Navajo Indians as Bosque Redondo, near
Fort Sumner, in eastern New Mexico. He was commander in
New Mexico until 1867.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, Frontier Regulars
February 24, 1863
New Mexico and Arizona became separate territories of the
United States. Both would become states in 1912, New
Mexico on January 6 and Arizona on February 14.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
World Almanac, 2006
March 21, 1863
General
Edwin Vose Sumner
died at Syracuse, New York at the age of 66. Called “Bull
of the Woods,” he was assigned to the military command of
New Mexico in 1851. He made himself so unpopular that
Governor
William Carr Lane
(1789-1863) challenged him to a duel. Sumner declined. He
was relieved of command in New Mexico on June 26, 1853.
Don Bullis, “New Mexico’s Bull of the Woods: Col. E. V.
Sumner,” Rio Rancho Observer, July 22, 2004
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 1864
During the final campaign against the Navajos,
Colonel
Kit Carson,
along with New Mexico volunteers and Pueblo Indian
auxiliaries, penetrated deep into Navajo Indian country
and reached Canyon de Chelly in what is now eastern
Arizona. There he encountered a body of Navajos
(Marc
Simmons
says it was “…a large body…” while Hampton Sides reports
it as “… a small group…”). The Navajos agreed to
surrender and accept relocation, and thus began the “Long
Walk” from the Navajo homeland to Bosque Redondo near
Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Many Navajos (and
Apaches) were held there until a new treaty was
negotiated and signed on June 1, 1868; after which they
were allowed to return to their ancestral country in
northwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona.
The Navajo Treaty—1868
Sides, Blood and Thunder
Simmons, New Mexico
1866 to 1869
Administration of Territorial Governor
Robert B. Mitchell
appointed by President Andrew Johnson. Historian Howard
Lamar says of him, “…Despite a violent temper and a
contempt for the legislature, [he] made little impression
on the territory.” He ultimately abandoned the governor’s
office and returned to Kansas.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Jane C. Sanchez, “Agitated, Personal and Unsound…” New
Mexico Historical Review, July 1966
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
July 4, 1866
Thomas Benton Catron
(1840-1921) arrived in New Mexico. He would become the
territory’s largest landowner, and the state’s first
United States Senator. He was also a founder and leader
of the famed Santa Fe Ring.
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Chávez, New Mexico
Lamar, The Far Southwest
Simmons, Albuquerque
October 11, 1866
Charles “Charlie” Littlepage Ballard
was born in Hayes County, Texas. Charlie served as deputy
sheriff, and sheriff, in Lincoln and Chaves counties, and
deputy U. S. Marshal for New Mexico in the 1890s. He was
involved in the pursuit of several outlaws, including
George Musgrave. He died on April 16, 1950 at Duncan,
Arizona.
Ball, Desert Lawmen
Don Bullis, Rio Rancho Observer, June 16, 23, 30, 2005
Tanner, Musgrave
July 14, 1867
The cornerstone of St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe was
laid. Actual construction did not begin until two years
later. This date is given by Carl Sheppard in The
Archbishop’s Cathedral. Other sources give other dates,
including July 14, 1869, and October 10, 1869.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Sheppard, The Archbishop’s Cathedral
December 15, 1867
New Mexico political figure
William Logan Rynerson
(1828-1893) shot and killed Supreme Court Chief
Justice
John P. Slough
(1830-1876). He was acquitted upon a plea of
self-defense.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
Utley, High Noon
January 30, 1868
Grant County created, named for General
Ulysses S. Grant.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
May 28, 1868
General William Tecumseh Sherman and Colonel
Samuel F. Tappan
met with Navajo leaders, among them
Barboncito,
to discuss the terms by which the Navajo could return to
their homeland in western New Mexico and eastern Arizona.
The treaty was signed on June 1.
Martin A. Link, Introduction, The Navajo Treaty—1868
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1869 to 1871
Administration of Territorial Governor
William A. Pile,
appointed by President
Ulysses S. Grant.
Pile’s single claim to fame was that he sold as waste
paper—some say unintentionally—a significant portion of
the old Spanish and Mexican archives he found in the
Palace of he Governors in Santa Fe. Not all of the
records were lost, in spite of Pile’s blunder.
Congressional Biography
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 16, 1869
Lincoln County created, named for President
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865).
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
January 19, 1869
Famed New Mexico writer
Eugene Manlove “Gene” Rhodes
was born at Tecumseh, Nebraska. He moved to New Mexico at
a young age.
Keleher, Fabulous Frontier
C. L. Sonnichsen, “Gene Rhodes and The Decadent West,”
Book Talk, New Mexico Book League, September 1990
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
January 25, 1869
Colfax County created, named for
Schuyler Colfax
(1823-1885), Vice President of the United States in the
first administration of President
Ulysses S. Grant.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
October 28, 1870
Frontiersman, merchant, and soldier
Cerán St. Vrain
died at Mora, New Mexico, at the age of 68. St. Vrain, an
associate of Governor
Charles Bent,
led a troop of volunteers against the insurgents in the
January 1847 Taos Revolt in which the governor was
killed.
Crutchfeld, Tragedy at Taos
Lamar, The Far Southwest
Remley, Adios Nuevo Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
1871 to 1875
Administration of Territorial Governor
Marsh Giddings,
appointed by President
Ulysses S. Grant.
A tool of the Santa Fe Ring, Giddings left virtually no
impression on territorial New Mexico.
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
March 1, 1873
Catherine McCarty
and William H. Antrim were married at the First
Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe. She was the mother of
William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid.
Mullin, Chronology
Wallis, Billy the Kid
December 1, 1873
Lincoln County constable
Juan Martínez
was shot and killed by Dave Warner on the street in
Lincoln. Warner was in the company of
Ben Horrell
(Harrold) and
Jack Gylam
at the time. Martínez’s deputies promptly killed all
three. This marked the beginning of the so-called Horrell
War, which ended the following year.
Bullis, New Mexico’s Finest
Nolan, Bad Blood
Wilson, Merchants
December 20, 1873
Isidro Patrón, Isidro Padilla, José Candelaria, and Dario
Balazan were shot to death by members of the Horrell clan
in the Horrell (Horrold) War. Two women, Pilar Candelaria
and Apolonia Garcia, were badly wounded; Garcia crippled
for life
Bullis, New Mexico’s Finest
Nolan, Bad Blood
Wilson, Merchants
January 7, 1874
Chunk Colbert (or Tolbert) was killed in a gunfight with
famed “Shootist”
Clay Allison
in a Cimarron, New Mexico, eating house.
McLoughlin, Encyclopedia
Metz, Encyclopedia
Parsons, Clay Allison
February 2, 1874
Lincoln County Sheriff
Alexander Hamilton (Ham) Mills
(c. 1837-1882) and County Clerk
Juan Patrón
(1850-1884) met with Territorial Governor
Marsh Giddings
(1816-1875) to ask for help in dealing with the violence
of the Horrell (Harrold) War. They got none.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Nolan, Bad Blood
February 12, 1874
Bishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
was promoted to Archbishop of Santa Fe, according to Carl
Sheppard in The Archbishop’s Cathedral. Archbishop
Michael J. Sheehan, in Four Hundred Years of Faith
mentions only that Lamy became archbishop in 1875. Horgan
and Steele give the date as February 12, 1875. Also see,
December 21, 1874.
June 3, 1874
Lawrence G. Murphy
(1831-1878), in partnership with Emil Fritz, opened a
mercantile establishment called L. G. Murphy & Co. in
the town of Lincoln. It came to be called the “The House”
or the “Big Store.” It dominated the economy of Lincoln
County until the Lincoln County War (1878-1881).
Mullin, Chronology
Frederick Nolan, True West, February 2007
Wilson, Merchants
June 26, 1874
Emil Fritz, the partner of L. G. Murphy in a Lincoln
County mercantile, died in Stuttgart, Germany. The
dispute over his estate was one of the causes of the
Lincoln County War.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Wilson, Merchants
Utley, High Noon
September 16, 1874
Catherine McCarty Antrim
died at Silver City of a lung ailment, probably
tuberculosis. She was the mother of
William H. Bonney,
aka Billy the Kid.
Alexander, Sheriff Harvey Whitehill
Wallis, Billy the Kid
October 21, 1874
Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff
Lyon Phillipowsky
was shot and killed on the street Lincoln, New Mexico, by
William Burns, a store clerk. Phillipowsky was drunk at
the time.
Bullis, New Mexico’s Finest
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Wilson, Merchants
December 21, 1874
Pope Pius IX created the Catholic Province of Santa Fe
and Bishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy...
“was raised to the dignity of archbishop,” according to
Father
James H. Defouri
in Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in New
Mexico. Also see, February 12, 1874 and February 12,
1875.
1875 to 1878
Administration of Territorial Governor
Samuel B. Axtell,
appointed by President
Ulysses S. Grant.
Axtell’s administration was not well-regarded. A
newspaperman of the day wrote, charitably, “… [he was]
influenced more by weakness and want of intellect than by
intentional criminality.” He served as chief justice of
the territorial supreme court after leaving office.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
February 12, 1875
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe was created.
Jean Baptiste Lamy
was named the first archbishop of Santa Fe. See February
12, 1874 and December 21, 1874.
March 4, 1875
A vote in the United States House of Representative nixed
an opportunity for the Territory of New Mexico to become
a state of the Union. Many believed that the defeat came
on the heels of the so-called Elkins handshake. This
incident occurred a few days earlier when New Mexico’s
representative to the Congress,
Stephen B. Elkins,
made a point of congratulating Michigan Congressman
Julius C. Burroughs after the latter made a stiring
speech which contained “a flood of invective” that was
particularly objectionable to southern Democrats. Support
for statehood by that group was lost, and so was the
chance for entry into the Union. Several theories have
been proffered to explain why Elkins made such a gaffe.
One is that it was simply an honest mistake; another is
that he acted purposely because he wanted to kill the
statehood bill without appearing to do so.
Curry, Autobiography
Keleher, Fabulous Frontier
Sálaz Márquez, New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
March 15, 1875
Alexander
(c. 1843-1878) and
Susan
(1845-1931)
McSween
arrived in Lincoln, New Mexico. They would both be
pivotal characters in the Lincoln County War (1878-1881).
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Wilson, Merchants
Utley, High Noon
August 2, 1875
Rancher
Robert Casey
was murdered, shot down on the street in Lincoln
by
William Wilson,
some said over an $8.00 debt. Wilson was hanged for the
crime on December 10. Some historians believe that
Lawrence G. Murphy
was involved in the crime.
Keleher, Violence
Wilson, Merchants
September 14, 1875
Rev. F. J. Tolby was murdered near Elizabethtown, in
Colfax County, early in the Colfax County War.
Keleher, The Maxwell Land Grant
Pike, Roadside New Mexico
Twitchell, Leading Facts vol. II
September 15, 1875
(Other sources cite September 20 or 21 as the date of
this shooting.) John Riley shot
Juan B. Patrón
(1850-1884) in the back with a rifle, inflicting a
serious, but not fatal, wound. Mullen reports that Riley
was indicted by a grand jury, but never tried for the
crime. Nolan indicates that he was tried and acquitted
upon a plea of self-defense. In any event, Patron was
made a cripple for the remainder of his life
Mullen, Chronology
Nolan, Bad Blood
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
September 23, 1875
Henry McCarty,
known as Billy the Kid, was arrested and jailed for the
first time in Silver City by Sheriff
Harvey Whitehill
(1838-1906), for the theft of clothing from a Chinese
laundry. He escaped two days later by climbing up a
chimney..
Alexander, Six-Guns and Single-Jacks
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Tuska, Billy the Kid
Wallis, Billy the Kid
December 10, 1875
William “Buffalo Bill” Wilson was hanged at Lincoln for
the murder of rancher
Robert Casey,
a crime committed
on August 2 of the same year. Many believed that Lawrence
Murphy paid Wilson to kill Casey.
Keleher, Violence
Klasner,
My Girlhood Among Outlaws
Nolan, Bad Blood
March 24, 1876
David Crockett
(1853-1876), a descendant of the Tennessee frontiersman
who died at the Alamo, killed three Buffalo Soldiers in
Cimarron, New Mexico. He was convicted of “carrying arms”
and was fined $50.00.
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Keleher, The Maxwell Land Grant
Parsons, Clay Allison
July 18, 1876
José Segura
was arrested in Lincoln County for horse stealing. Bound
over for trial, a mob took him away from deputies while
they were en route to the jail at Fort Stanton. Segura
was killed.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
October 19, 1876
Josiah Gordon “Doc” Scurlock (1849-1929) married Antonia
Miguela Herrera (1850-1912). Together they had ten
children. Scurlock, though married, was an associate
of
William Bonney,
aka Billy the Kid, during the early years of the Lincoln
County War (1878-1881). He hung up his gun in the fall of
1879 and spent the remainder of his life as a farmer and
poet residing at Eastland, Texas.
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
November 6, 1876
Englishman
John Henry Tunstall
(1853-1878) arrived in Lincoln. He would become a pivotal
figure in the Lincoln County War. He was 23 years old at
the time, and would be dead in fewer than two years.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
March 14, 1877
Lawrence G. Murphy
(1831-1878) sold his interest in “The House” in Lincoln
to J. J. Dolan, J. H. Riley, and
Billy Mathews.
The store's name was changed to J. J. Dolan &
Company.
Mullin, Chronology
August 17, 1877
Henry Antrim, best known as
Billy the Kid,
killed his first man, F. P. “Windy” Cahill at Camp Grant,
Arizona. News accounts refer to him for the first time as
“Kid.”
Mullin, Chronology
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Utley, High Noon
1878 to 1881
Administration of Territorial Governor
Lew Wallace
(1827-1905), appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Wallace arrived in New Mexico on September 30, about two
months after the climactic gun battle at the town of
Lincoln (July 15-19, 1878). His conduct during the
Lincoln County War was somewhat contradictory: he
promised
Billy the Kid
amnesty, and then signed the Kid’s execution order.
Notably, he finished writing his famous novel, Ben Hur,
while serving as governor.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
February 18, 1878
Englishman
John Henry Tunstall
was shot and killed by members of Sheriff
William Brady’s
posse. He was not quite 25 years old. This incident was
the precipitant cause of the Lincoln County War.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
March 9, 1878
Frank Baker (c. 1856-1878) and William “Buck” Morton
(1856-1878), killed, probably by
William H. Bonney—Billy the Kid—after
they had been arrested for the murder of
John Tunstall
(February 18, 1878). Journalist Ash Upson described Baker
as “the worst, most beastly murderer this country ever
saw.”
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
March 26, 1878
Colonel
Nathan A. M. Dudley
assumed command of the Fort Stanton, near Lincoln.
Dudley, a notorious drunk, would tip the balance of power
in the Lincoln County War less than four months later.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
April 1, 1878
Lincoln County Sheriff
William Brady
(1829-1878) and his deputy,
George Hindman,
were shot and killed on the street in Lincoln, by
Billy the Kid
and several of his friends. This is the only murder for
which Billy would ever be convicted (April 13, 1881).
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
April 4, 1878
Early in the Lincoln County War, a major gunfight took
place at Blazer’s Mill in which
Dick Brewer,
leader of the Tunstall faction, was killed, as was
Andrew “Buckshot” Roberts,
who killed him.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
April 18, 1878
William H. Bonney,
aka
Henry Antrim
and
Billy the Kid,
was indicted for the murder of Sheriff
William Brady
and Deputy
George Hindman
(see April 1, 1878). The Kid was also indicted for the
murder of
Andrew “Buckshot” Roberts
(see April 4, 1878). The only killing for which Bonney
was ever convicted was that of
William Brady
(see April 13, 1881).
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
April 29, 1878
Frank McNab was killed and Ab Sanders was badly wounded
by a gang of cattle rustlers, or sheriff’s posse,
depending on the source. Both were members of the
Tunstall faction in the Lincoln County War.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
July 15-19, 1878
The Five-Days Battle in the town of Lincoln, involving
members of the Tunstall faction on one side and the
Murphy/Dolan faction on the other. This was the major
fight in the Lincoln County War.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
July 19, 1878
On the final night of The Five-Days Battle, members of
the
Alexander McSween
faction attempted to escape from McSween’s house, which
had been set on fire. McSween, along with Francisco
Zamora, and Vicente Romero, were shot and killed.
Yginio Salazar
was severely wounded.
William H. Bonney—Billy
the Kid—escaped. Robert Beckwith, of the Sheriff’s party,
was also killed.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
August 24, 1878
Frank Warner Angel
(1845-1906), an investigator sent to New Mexico by
President Rutherford B. Hayes to look into the violence
in both Colfax and Lincoln counties, returned to New York
to write his report after a four-month visit to the
territory.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
October 20, 1878
Lawrence G. Murphy,
one of the leading participants in the Lincoln County War
(1878-1881), died at Santa Fe. Upon the occasion of his
passing,
Frank Coe
of Lincoln County said this: “[He] was sick and was put
in the hospital and the Sisters of Charity would not let
him have whiskey, and that cut his living off. He died in
a short time and everybody rejoiced over it.”
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
December 7, 1878
Avery Turner drove the first Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe Railroad train into New Mexico at a point 15.7 miles
south of Trinidad, Colorado.
Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads
April 4, 1879
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached Las
Vegas, New Mexico.
Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads
April 14, 1879
The Southern Pacific Railroad Company of New Mexico was
incorporated.
Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads
January 10, 1880
William H. Bonney,
Billy the Kid, killed braggart Joe Grant in a Fort Sumner
saloon. Note: Mullin, and others, show this as the date
of the killing. Metz in Pat Garrett gives the date as
July 10, 1880.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Metz, Pat Garrett
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
January 14, 1880
Patrick Floyd Garrett
and Apolonaria Gutierrez were married at Anton Chico, New
Mexico, by Father A. Redin. Garrett’s friend,
Barney Mason,
and Juana Madril,were married on the same date, and at
the same place. The two brides were not sisters, as some
have suggested.
Metz, Pat Garrett
Mullin, Chronology
February 9, 1880
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached
Galisteo, near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads
Simmons, Albuquerque
April 5, 1880
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached
Albuquerque, New Mexico, ushering in a new era.
Everything changed in New Mexico after the arrival of the
railroad, from the economy to communications and
architecture.
Simmons, Albuquerque
April 30, 1880
Outlaw
Dave Rudabaugh
(1854-1886) attempted to free J. J. Webb from the Las
Vegas, New Mexico, jail, but failed. He did manage to
kill the jailer,
Antonio Lino Valdez.
Bullis, New Mexico’s Finest
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
October 15, 1880
Mimbres Apache Chief
Victorio
took his own life rather than face certain death at the
hands of Mexican troops under Lt. Col.
Joaquin Terrazas
at Tres Castillos in Chihuahua.
Robinson, Apache Voices
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
November 19, 1880
Outlaw
Tom O’Folliard
was shot and killed by a posse led by Lincoln County
Sheriff
Pat Garrett
at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
November 27, 1880
James Carlyle
was shot and killed by a band of outlaws led by
William H. Bonney,
Billy the Kid, at the Greathouse Ranch near the
present-day town of Corona in Lincoln County. Some
sources give November 30 as the date of this event.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
December 23, 1880
As a result of a gunfight at Stinking Springs, east of
Fort Sumner, a posse led by Sheriff
Pat Garrett
killed
Charles Bowdre
(c. 1848-1880) and captured outlaws
William H. Bonney,
aka Billy the Kid,
Dave Rudabaugh
(1854-1886), and
Billy Wilson
(1861-1911).
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
December 24, 1880
Socorro newspaper editor
A. M. Conklin
was shot to death as he left a local church by the Baca
brothers, Abran and Enofre. Abran was tried and
acquitted, but banished from New Mexico. Enofre was
lynched by vigilantes (Los Colgadores) on March 30, 1881.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Gillett, Six Years With the Texas Rangers
December 28, 1880
Pantaleon Miera and Santos Benavides were lynched, hanged
from a cottonwood tree at Bernalillo, for horse stealing.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
1881 to 1885
Lionel A. Sheldon
was appointed New Mexico Territorial Governor by his
personal friend, President James A. Garfield. Historian
Lamar writes, “A genial, affable man…he had no great wish
to change the status quo in New Mexico.” He was an ally
of the Santa Fe Ring. He was also responsible for the
construction of New Mexico’s territorial prison. It
opened on August 13, 1885.
Harrison, Hell Holes and Hangings
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
January 10, 1881
Noted New Mexico gunman and killer
William Porter “Port” Stockton
was shot and killed by rancher Alfred Graves near
Farmington, New Mexico. A second source alleges that
Stockton was killed by a sheriff. He was 27 years old.
Adams, Six Guns
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Pike, Roadside New Mexico
January 31, 1881
Escalastico Perea, Miguel Barrera, and California Joe
were lynched in front of the Bernalillo County jail,
having confessed to participation in the murder and
robbery of Col.
Charles Potter
in the Sandia Mountains in October 1880.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Simmons, Albuquerque
March 8, 1881
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad joined the
Southern Pacific Railroad at Deming, New Mexico, creating
the second transcontinental railroad in the United
States.
Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads
March 30, 1881
Enofre Baca was lynched at Socorro for the murder of
newspaper editor
A. M. Conklin,
who was shot down on Christmas Eve 1878.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Simmons, Albuquerque
May 19, 1881
The Southern Pacific Railroad reached El Paso, Texas,
from New Mexico.
Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads
April 13, 1881
William H. Bonney,
aka Billy the Kid, was found guilty and was sentenced at
Mesilla to hang for the April 1, 1878, murder of Lincoln
County Sheriff
William Brady,
the sentence to be executed on May 13, 1881. Bonney
escaped from custody on April 28, 1881.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
April 16, 1881
James J. Devine was lynched, hung from a pine tree, near
Raton, for a series of crimes he had committed the day
before, among them murder, assault, and attempted rape.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
April 28, 1881
William H. Bonney
aka Billy the Kid, escaped custody, for the last time,
from the Lincoln County courthouse, killing
deputies
J. W. Bell
(c. 1842-1881)
and
Bob Olinger
(c. 1841-1881).
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
April 31, 1881
The following reward notice was published and widely
distributed in New Mexico:
Billy the Kid
$500 Reward
I will pay $500 to any person or persons who capture
William Bonny [sic], Alias the Kid, and deliver him to
any sheriff of New Mexico. Satisfactory proofs of
identity will be required.
It was signed by Governor
Lew Wallace.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Metz, Pat Garrett
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
June 18, 1881
Charles D. Campbell was murdered, shot in the back, by
Albuquerque town marshal
Milton J. Yarberry,
who was executed for the crime in February 1883.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Simmons, Albuquerque
July 14, 1881
William H. Bonney,
aka Billy the Kid, was shot to death by Lincoln County
Sheriff
Patrick Floyd Garrett
in the residence of
Pete Maxwell
at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Bonney was buried there the
following day.
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Mullin, Chronology
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, High Noon
Wallis, Billy the Kid
Wilson, Merchants
August 18, 1881
A band of Apaches under the leadership of
Nana,
then believed to be 80 years old, raided the mining town
of Hillsboro. No one was injured. Later the same day,
they attacked Perry Ousley’s ranch and killed him. Later
yet they attacked Absalom Irwin’s ranch and ran off his
wife and five children.
Daniel D. Aranda, “Warriors and Chiefs,” Wild West,
December 2006
Don Bullis, “Nana’s Raid, 1881,” New Mexico Stockman,
March 2008
Melzer, Buried Treasures
Robinson, Apache Voices
Marc Simmons, “Old Apache’s last raid covered thousands
of miles,” Santa Fe New Mexican, June 15, 2007
Utley, Frontier Regulars
August 19, 1881
A troop of 9th
Cavalry Buffalo soldiers and a posse of civilians took up
pursuit of the Apache
Nana
and his band, in retaliation for the raids of the
previous day. They walked into an ambush and several were
killed, including Lt. George Washington Smith and
civilian George Daly. The number of Apaches killed or
wounded is not known.
Daniel D. Aranda, “Warriors and Chiefs,” Wild West,
December 2006
Don Bullis, “Nana’s Raid, 1881,” New Mexico Stockman,
March 2008
Melzer, Buried Treasures
Robinson, Apache Voices
Marc Simmons, “Old Apache’s last raid covered thousands
of miles,” Santa Fe New Mexican, June 15, 2007
Utley, Frontier Regulars
September 27, 1881
New Mexico gunman and killer
Isaac T. “Ike” Stockton
died after being shot by a Colorado sheriff, Barney
Watson, and/or his deputy, Jim Sullivan, the day before
in Durango. Stockton was 29 years old.
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
October 7, 1881
Frenchy” Elmoreau and Butch” Clark were lynched by Los
Colgadores at Socorro. They were accused of robbery and
horse theft. A sign attached to the backs of the dead men
read, “This is the way Socorro treats horse thieves and
foot pads.”
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
November 7, 1881
William Rogers Tettenborn,
better known as
Russian Bill,
was lynched at Shakespeare, New Mexico, allegedly
“because he was a damned nuisance.” Legend also holds
that death resulted “from a shortage of breath due to a
sudden change in altitude.” A second man, Sandy King, was
lynched at the same time.
Alexander, Six-Guns
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
May 23, 1882
Jesse Evans,
a partisan of the Murphy-Dolan faction during the Lincoln
County War (1878-1881), escaped from a Texas prison and
thereafter disappeared from history. Evans may have been
the man who actually fired the shot which killed
John Tunstall
in February 1878.
Don Bullis, Rio Rancho Observer, May 4, 1988
Fulton, History of the Lincoln County War
Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Utley, Four Fighters of Lincoln County
June 25, 1882
Gus Mentzer
was lynched, hanged from a telegraph pole at Raton, for
the killings of Hugh Eddleston and John Jackson, which he
had committed earlier the same day.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
February 9, 1883
Albuquerque town marshal
Milton J. Yarberry
was executed by hanging for the murder of Charles D.
Campbell, on June 18, 1881 on First Street in
Albuquerque. Campbell, a railroad carpenter, was unarmed
when Yarberry shot him. Yarberry had previously killed
one Harry Brown, but had been acquitted of murder in that
case.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Metz, Encyclopedia
Simmons, Albuquerque
November 24, 1883
A Southern Pacific passenger train was robbed near Gage
in southern New Mexico and the engineer, Theopholus C.
Webster, was shot to death. The thieves were later
identified as
Christopher “Kit” Joy,
Frank Taggart, George Washington Cleveland, and Mitch
Lee. Except for Joy, all were dead—shot or hanged—by
mid-March of the following year.
Alexander, Lynch Ropes and Long Shots
Metz, Encyclopedia
December 8, 1883
A clothing salesman named James Cade was stabbed to death
in the barroom of the Grand Central Hotel in
Socorro.
Joel Fowler
was lynched for the crime in January of the following
year.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Metz, Encyclopedia
January 22, 1884
Joel A. Fowler
was lynched by Los Colgadores at Socorro. Fowler was
believed to have killed several people, but he was hung
for the December 8, 1883, stabbing death of James E.
Cade, a clothing salesman who was visiting Socorro.
Fowler had been convicted of the crime, but Los
Colgadores became impatient and hurried the execution
process along.
Bryan, Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Metz, Encyclopedia
March 10, 1884
Train robbers
Kit Joy,
Frank Taggart, George Washington Cleveland, and Mitch Lee
escaped from the jail at Silver City. Cleveland was shot
to death during the flight, and the posse hanged Taggart
and Lee. Joy escaped, only to be captured on March 21 of
the same year. He lived to old age.
Alexander, Lynch Ropes and Long Shots
Metz, Encyclopedia
April 1, 1884
Juan B. Patrón,
a partisan on the side of the McSween-Tunstall faction
during the Lincoln County War, was shot in the back and
killed by a drunk Texan at Puerto de Luna. His killer,
Mike (or Mitch) Maney, aka Mike Manning, escaped
punishment for his crime.
Nolan, Bad Blood
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
April 3, 1884
Sierra County was created, named for Sierra de los
Caballos, a mountain range in the region.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
October 29-31, 1884
The so-called Mexican War took place. This was an affair
that pitted a young deputy sheriff,
Elfego Baca
(1865-1945), against an estimated 80 Texas cowboys at
Frisco Plaza (now Reserve) in far western Socorro County
(now Catron County). Baca survived unscathed but a couple
of the cowboys—Young Parham and William Hearne—were
killed. Baca was tried and acquitted of all charges.
Bryan, Incredible Elfego Baca
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
November 17, 1884
Christopher “Kit” Carson Joy
was convicted of second-degree murder for his part in the
Gage, New Mexico, train robbery of November 1883, and
sentenced to life in prison. He actually served about 12
years.
Alexander, Lynch Ropes and Long Shots
Metz, Encyclopedia
December 20, 1884
Pioneering New Mexico cattleman
John Simpson Chisum
died at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, probably of cancer. He
was buried at Lamar County, Texas.
Curry, Autobiography
Larson, Forgotten Frontier
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
July 19, 1885
Near midnight, a eastbound passenger train left
Albuquerque. Unknown to the crew, a spate of rain in the
Sanda Mountains had washed out a section of roadbed a few
miles north of Bernalillo. Headlines the next day
proclaimed “A Railroad Horror.” The engineer and fireman
were killed, but all passangers survived. The matter was
dismissed as an act of nature.
Albuquerque Evening Democrat, July 20, 1885
Albuquerque Morning Journal, July 21, 1885
Simmons, Albuquerque
August 13, 1885
New Mexico’s Territorial Penitentiary opened for business
on this date. On the same day, three prisoners escaped
and were never recaptured. Four convicts had absconded on
February 20, 1885, while the facility was under
construction.
Harrison, Hell Holes and Hangings
Simmons, When Six-Guns Ruled
August 18, 1885
Jean Baptiste Salpointe
(1825-1898) became Archbishop of Santa Fe upon the
retirement of Archbishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
on the same date. Archbishop Salpointe served until his
retirement in 1894.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
Steele, Archbishop Lamy
1885 to 1889
Administration of Territorial Governor
Edmund G. Ross
(1826-1907) appointed by President Grover Cleveland.
Edmund Ross was significant in the history of the United
States as the U.S. Senator who cast the single vote in
1868 that prevented the conviction of President Andrew
Johnson after his earlier impeachment. As the first
Democratic governor in New Mexico in 24 years, Ross faced
considerable opposition from the entrenched Santa Fe
Ring.
Kennedy, Profiles
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book, 2005-2006
Simmons, Ranchers, Ramblers and Renegades
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
March 7, 1886
Though unfinished, the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe
was blessed on this date. Retired Archbishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
was present for this event. He did not live to see the
cathedral completed; it was consecrated on October 18,
1895.
Sheehan, Four Hundred Years of Faith
August 23, 1886
Confederate Army
General Henry Hopkins Sibley
died at Fredericksburg, Virginia, at age 70. Sibley was
the commanding officer of the Texas Confederates who
invaded New Mexico in the early days of the American
Civil War. He was successful at Valverde (February 21,
1862), but was turned back at the Battle of Glorieta Pass
near Santa Fe (March 26-28, 1862). His drinking habits
were legendary. (Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley
(1816-1886) should not be confused with Union General
Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891).)
Alberts, The Battle of Glorieta
Alberts, Rebels on the Rio Grande
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
September 4, 1886
Chiricahua Apache leader
Geronimo
and fewer than 40 warriors surrendered to U. S. Army
Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon,
near the Arizona/New Mexico border, marking the end of
the Indian wars in New Mexico.
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Robinson, Apache Voices
Thrapp, Encyclopedia
November 20, 1886
Albuquerque Town Marshal
Bob McGuire
and his deputy, E. D. Henry, were shot and killed in
Martíneztown, northeast of Albuquerque’s New Town, by
outlaws John “Kid” Johnson and Charlie Ross. Neither of
the outlaws was ever prosecuted for their crimes.
Bullis, New Mexico’s Finest
Simmons, Albuquerque
January 24, 1887
San Juan County was created, named for the river that
flows through it.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
July 3, 1887
Robert Clay Allison,
a participant in New Mexico’s Colfax County War
(1875-1877) during which he is believed to have killed
several people, died at age 46 when he fell under the
wheels of a freight wagon and was crushed, near Pecos,
Texas.
Bullis, 99 New Mexicans
Parsons, Clay Allison, Portrait of a Shootist
Simmons, When Six Guns Ruled
December 25, 1887
World famous hotelier
Conrad Hilton
was born at San Antonio, New Mexico. He began his
business career there, working in his father’s store. He
also founded a bank in Socorro County, and he served in
the first New Mexico legislature after statehood in 1912.
He opened the Hilton Hotel in downtown Albuquerque in
1939.
Hilton, Be My Guest
Simmons, Albuquerque
February 13, 1888
Santa Fe Archbishop
Jean Baptiste Lamy
died in Santa Fe at the age of 74. He is buried under the
floor of the Santa Fe Cathedral.
Horgan, Lamy of Santa Fe
Steele, Archbishop Lamy
1889 to 1893
Administration of Territorial Governor
L. Bradford Prince
(1840-1922), appointed by President Benjamin
Harrison.
Twitchell
wrote, “There was great opposition to this action
[Prince’s appointment] of the president among the leaders
of the republican [sic] party in New Mexico, but Governor
Prince, backed by the great financial interests of the
[E]ast, and by the president of every great railroad
company in the [W]est, as well as by a great majority of
the representative business men of New Mexico, was
appointed and confirmed.”
Lamar, The Far Southwest
New Mexico Blue Book
Twitchell, Leading Facts, vol. II
February 25, 1889
Chaves County was created, named for Col.
José Francisco Chaves
(1833-1904), a prominent political leader of New Mexico.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
February 25, 1889
Eddy County was created, named for
Charles B. Eddy,
(1857-1931), a rancher and businessman, largely
responsible for the creation of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Beck and Haase, Historical Atlas of New Mexico
Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico
New Mexico Blue Book, 2003-2004
July 26, 1889
In a gunfight over the possibility of smallpox contagion,
Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriff Warren Moore was shot
and killed near the town of Wallace, between Albuquerque
and Santa Fe. His assailant, Joseph Chacha, was killed by
outranged townsmen.
Don Bullis, Rio Rancho Observer, January 21, 2007
February 5, 1891
On the evening of this date, an assassination attempt was made on territorial legislators Joseph A. Ancheta of Silver City, Thomas B. Catron of Santa Fe, and Elias Stover of Albuquerque, when shots were fired through the window of Catron’s law office in Santa Fe. Ancheta was wounded by buckshot to the neck. Catron, protected by a stack of law boo