Francisco Afán de Rivera Betanzos

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information: ¹⁵⁷⁹
"María de Leyva y Mendoza maintained an illicit affair with Mexico City native Francisco Afán de Ribera, also a settler of the Villa de Santa Cruz de la Cañada. When Francisco Afan de Ribera dictated his last will and testament on 4 Sep 1721, he ackowledged four children as his heirs, three daughters and a son: Nicolasa del Castillo, Josefa del Castillo, Maria del Castillo and Francisco del Castillo."

"Although Francisco Afán de Ribera did not name the mother of these children, other sources identify María de Leyva y Mendoza as the mother of three of the children: Josefa del Castillo, Maria del Castillo (also known as Maria Rivera), and Francisco Xavier del Castillo. No records have been uncovered that identifies the name of the mother of Nicolasa del Castillo, but it is presumed to be Maria de Leyva y Mendoza. There is a fifth child, not referred to in the will of Francisco Afán de Ribera, known as Antonia Jirón and Antonia Ribera who was another child of María de Leyva y Mendoza by Francisco Afán de Ribera."

Herencia, Volume 25.3, July 2017, p. 14
"Mexico City Roots Jiron de Tejeda, Leyva y Mendoza and Afán de Ribera Families," part 1
By Jose Antonio Esquibel and Robert D. Martinez

• Background Information: ²⁵²
Francisco Afán de Ribera Betanzos was living in Santa Cruz in 1718. He appears to be the Francisco de Ribera who was Alcalde of Santa Cruz in 1705, and is in all likelihood the Francisco de Betanzos who came with his widower father and younger brother in 1693.

A merchant by profession, he figured in a trial for assault and battery in 1724 when his stores of goods were embargoed; here it was mentioned that he was an original settler of Santa Cruz, and, though not married, had a large family to support. For some reason he left New Mexico and died in Nueva Vizcaya sometime before 1728, perhaps on a trading trip. He left an estate at Santa Cruz which was to be divided among the following heirs:

Nicolasa del Castillo, wife of Antonio Romero
Francisco del Castillo, not heard from in twelve years
Josefa del Castillo, twenty years old
María del Castillo, wife of Felipe Nereo Cisneros

The last two girls had been living with the Ignacio Roybal family for the past three years. Josefa married José Manuel Apodaca at Jacona on 21 Jun 1733, and died four years later in Santa Fe.

When Ribera's estate was probated, a María de Leyba was mentioned as the mother of these Castillo people. Moreover, "María de Leyba y Mendoza" had appeared in a land-suit with Francisco de Ribera in 1706. And again, in 1737, "María de Piña" was mentioned as the mother of Francisco Xavier del Castillo.

Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period, p. 266

• Background Information: Web Refernce Afán de Ribera-del Castillo Family. ²⁵⁰
"In Origins of New Mexico Families, fray Angélico Chávez identified Francisco Afán de Ribera as most likely being the same person as Francisco de Betanzos who came from Mexico City to New Mexico in 1694 (ONMF: 148, 266). Following this lead, Francisco Afán de Ribera and his early descendants in New Mexico were placed in the Betanzos family section of The Spanish Recolonization of New Mexico (pp. 124-132). Information extracted and transcribed from the last will and testament of Francisco Afán de Ribera verifies the origins of Afán de Ribera and clearly shows that this man was not a son of Andrés de Betanzos. This new information provides valuable documentation for clarifying and correcting the genealogy of the Afán de Ribera'97del Castillo family of New Mexico.

The last will and testament of Francisco Afán de Ribera has been preserved in the Archivo Histórico de Parral (State of Chihuahua, Mexico).

"Francisco Afán de Ribera made his will and died in New Mexico. Although a copy did not survive among the documents of the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, an official copy of the will was forwarded to the Villa de San Felipe el Real (Chihuahua) in order for don Pedro de Almucena to handle the affairs related to the goods and outstanding business dealing of Afán de Ribera in Nueva Vizcaya.

"The document begins with an official request dated 2 Aug 1725, Villa de Santa Fe, before the alcalde mayor and capitán a guerra of Santa Fe, don Miguel de la Vega y Coca, presented by Capitán don Ygnacio de Roybal, alguacil mayor (chief constable) of the Office of the Inquisition and a vecino of New Mexico who was executor of the Afán de Ribera estate. Roybal was writing to don Pedro de Almucena, a vecino of San Felipe de Chihuahua, for an accounting of the goods of Afán de Ribera in Nueva Vizcaya. The witnesses to this document were Capitán don Diego Arias de Quirós, Antonio de Gruciaga, and don Salvador Montoya, vecinos of the Villa de Santa Fe.

"The will is dated 4 Sep 1721, Villanueva de Santa Cruz, New Mexico. On 11 Aug 1725, the will was copied and notarized as being an exact and faithful copy of the original. It was received by officials in the Villa de San Felipe el Real by 18 September 1725.

"The will begins with an official request dated 2 Aug1725, Villa de Santa Fe, before the alcalde mayor and capitán a guerra of Santa Fe, don Miguel de la Vega y Coca, presented by Capitán don Ignacio de Roybal, alguacil mayor (chief constable) of the Office of the Inquisition and a vecino of New Mexico who was executor of the Afán de Ribera estate. Roybal was writing to don Pedro de Almucena, a vecino of San Felipe de Chihuahua, for an accounting of the goods of Afán de Ribera in Nueva Vizcaya. The witnesses to this document were Capitán don Diego Arias de Quirós, Antonio de Gruciaga, and don Salvador Montoya, vecinos of the Villa de Santa Fe.

"Following the request was an official copy of the will of Francisco Afán de Ribera. The will was dated 4 Sep1721, and the witnesses to this will were fray Manuel de Sopeña, of the Santa Cruz Parish, and Miguel de Quintana, a vecino of Santa Cruz de la Cañada. This information clearly indicates that the will was written in New Mexico, apparently in Santa Cruz. Francisco Afán de Ribera began his will traditionally in the name of the Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and in the name of the Virgin Mary, San Miguel Arcángel, San Juan Bautista, San Pablo, San Pedro, San Francisco, San José, and all the saints of the heavenly court. He next declared that he was a native of the City of Mexico and a vecino of the Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz, New Mexico, the legitimate son of Juan de Rivera and Josefa del Castillo. Being of sound mind and judgment he dictated his last will and testament stating he believed in everything the Holy Mother Roman Catholic Church believed and lived and died in the faith and belief as a Catholic Christian, commanding his soul to God who created it and redeemed it with his precious blood and commanding his body to the ground from which it was formed.

"In the next section of his will Afán de Ribera asked that when he died he desired to be buried in the parish church of the Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz, and the customary requests for the burial were to be paid from his goods. The first items he declared as his belongings were rawhides and elk skin hides worth the amount of 2,430 pesos (approximately $73,000 in modern monetary terms) as accounted for in his book of accounts. He next declared the seventeen mules he owned and described them, and he owned eleven saddle rigs for the mules, including blankets and lassos. He next declared some saddles, an harquebus, clothing made from English cloth (paño de Ynglaterra), a silver plate, spoon and fine china, and a locket of silver. He also owned an iron brand for branding his mules, a cart for two teams of oxen. He next mentioned he owned a rancho that he bought from Joaquín de Atienza, as attested to by the royal bill of sale. The next possession he accounted for was his mirror with a gold frame.

"Afán de Ribera proudly stated that the only person that he owed anything, both in New Mexico and outside New Mexico, was don Ignacio de Roybal, as would be shown in his personal book of accounts.

"His bed and white clothing and the decorations of his house were to be given to his daughters and son. He then ordered that 100 pesos be separated from his estate for two poor and needy young women (unnamed), and asked for fifty Masses to be said for the souls in purgatory and the rest to pay for his funeral expenses.

"Afán de Ribera then named his heirs as Nicolasa del Castillo, Josefa del Castillo, María del Castillo, and Francisco Xavier del Castillo among whom he wished to divide his estate in equal parts, except for the rancho and the ox-cart. He named don Ignacio de Roybal the executor of his estate, and declared he had no other testament or codicil. The witnesses to the will were Santa Cruz de la Cañada residents fray Manuel de Sopeña and Miguel de Quintana. Afán de Ribera signed his name.

"Following the copy of the will is a statement of authenticity of the contents that had been copied to be sent to Chihuahua confirming that it was an exact transcription of the last will and testament of Francisco Afán de Ribera and is dated 11 Aug 1725. Witnesses in Santa Fe testifying to this fact were Miguel José de la Vega y Coca, José Manuel Jiltomé, and Miguel José Laso de la Vega y Vique. Officials in Chihuahua confirmed receipt of the will on 18 September 1725.

"In his will, Francisco Afán de Ribera identified himself as a native of Mexico City and a vecino of the Villanueva de Santa Cruz, New Mexico, and a legitimate son of "Juan de Rivera Y de Josepha de el Castillo." This couple married in the Sagrario chapel of the Catedral de México on 21 February 1672. Their marriage record was located among the book of castas of the cathedral and reads:

"Juan de ribera con Josepha del Castillo velaronsse los Contenidos enesta ss<an>ta'' Yg<lesi>a' en 21 de feb<rer>o' de 1672 En sinco dias del mes de Junio de mil y seiscientos y setenta y dos años con licencia del cura semanero de depose por palabra de presente que hisieron verdadero matrimonio a Juan de Ribera, morisco, con Josepha del Castillo, española, siendo testigos Alonso Saldaña y Francisco de Sandobal
Fr<ay> Diego de villegas [rubric]

"According to this record, Juan de Ribera was a morisco, an individual who was three-quarters Caucasian and one-quarter African, as clearly defined in the casta system of his time period. Josefa del Castillo was identified as española. Because of Juan de Ribera's mixed ancestry, the marriage of this couple was recorded in the book of castas of the cathedral. The witnesses to the union were Alonso Saldaña and Francisco de Sandoval. The presiding priest was fray Diego de Villegas.

"It is not clear from the contents of the will when Francisco Afán de Ribera came to New Mexico. Could he have posed as a son of Andrés de Betanzos, and thus arrived in New Mexico in 1693, or did he come to New Mexico at a later date, perhaps as a merchant? These questions remain unanswered at this time.

"Francisco Afán de Ribera named as his heirs his three daughters and one son: Nicolasa del Castillo, Josefa del Castillo, María del Castillo, and Francisco Xavier del Castillo. Immediately it is clear that the children of Afán de Ribera adopted the surname of their paternal grandmother. He declared that all his belongings were to be equally divided among each of his heirs. No mention is made of the mother or mothers of these children. He asked to be buried in the church of Santa Cruz and named Capitán don Ygnacio de Roybal as the executor of his estate.

"Francisco Afán de Ribera left a large amount of personal goods, which identify him as a merchant and a person of means."

Researcher: Robert D. Martínez. Summary by José Antonio Esquibel
[Sources: Archivo Histórico de Parral, Roll 1725C, Fr. 1893 '96 1899; Asunción Cathedral, Distrito Federal, Mexico City, Matrimonios de Castas, LDS microfilm #0035261]

Francisco had a relationship with María de Leyva y Mendoza, daughter of Gabriel de Leyva and Tomasa Serrano.¹⁵⁷⁹ (María de Leyva y Mendoza was baptized on 14 Jan 1671 in Catedral Ciudád de México, Nueva España.)