When the Spanish settlers returned to New México after thirteen years of exile in El Paso del Norte, they moved into the lands that had been given to their families before the revolt. Much of the settlement of New México had taken place in the area know as the Río Abajo. The Río Abajo stretches south of Cochiti Pueblo to Isleta Pueblo. Among these families were those who become the founders of the Villa de Alburquerque in 1706. We know their names because Francisco de Candelaria left a list of twenty-three families who were among the earliest of settlers.
Duque de Alburquerque
In the year 2006, we celebrated the beginnings of Alburquerque three-hundred years ago. In celebration, The New México Genealogical Society published an amazing book full of the genealogy of these families titled Aqui se Comienza, a Genealogical History of the founding Familes of La Villa de San Felipe de Alburquerque. I have been pleasantly surprised to find many of my father's ancestors among these first families of Alburquerque.
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