Juana Luján

  Noted events in her life were:

• Family Background Information: ⁷⁰
The male descendants of the seventeenth century Gómez families did not return to New México. Many of the early Gómez families dropped the Gómez part of their names and adopted the second part. Of the once prominent Gómez Robledo family, only the daughters of Andrés Gómez Robledo, who was killed in Santa Fé during the Pueblo Revolt, returned with Diego de Vargas.

Early in the 1700s there appears the mysterious family of Gómez del Castillo, represented by the three: Francisco, Juan and Louisa. All three were adults by 1732, they were sometimes called by the name Luján, but mostly by Gómez del Castillo, a name which became prominent. Juana Luján was their mother. According to Angélico Chávez, Juana Luján was the daughter of Matías Luján and Francisco Romero.

Juana Luján had a prosperous homestead near San Ildefonso, including Apache and other Indian servants. She married Francisco Martín, with whom she had no children. Juana declared that the three Gómez del Castillo were her carnal children and heirs. Due to this, Juana Luján is considered the progenitor of the Gómez family of 18th Century New México.

The fact that this is a mystery family arises, not from the mere fact of the illegitimacy, but because there was no other Gómez del Castillo family in New México before or during this time. What seems likely is that Juana Luján had her three children by either Antonio or Bartolomé Robledo, sons respectively of Francisco and Bartolomé Gómez Robledo. The mother of both Antonio and the younger Bartolomé seems to be a Lopez del Castillo woman; for Juana Luján and her children were very close to the family of Igacio Roybal, whose wife was a Gómez Robledo.
~The Origins of New México Families, pg. 187

• Dates & Events:
She returned to New Mexico with Diego de Vargas in 1693.

• Family Background Information:
José Antonio Esquibel raises the possibility that Juana Luján's parents were Matías Luján and Francisca Salazar. Discussion of Esquibel's thoughts can be found at: Beyond Origins

Around the same time Juana Luján, the mother of the Gómez del Castillo children, was living, there is information on a young woman named Juana Luján, a resident of Santa Fe around 1701-02 who had an illegitimate son. This Juana Luján was identified as a daughter of Matías Luján and Francisca Salazar.

Esquibel compares information known about both Juana Lujáns, and questions if they might be one and the same. He also raises the possibility that Matias Luján and Francisca Romero were the same people as Matias Luján and Francisca Salazar. The second Matias Luján's parents were Juan Luis Luján and Isabel del Castillo. This would explain the del Castillo part of Juana Luján's children, but not explain the Gómez part of Juana's children names.
~Beyond Origins, Romero

Juana had a relationship with Antonio Gómez Robledo, son of Francisco Gómez Robledo and Juana López del Castillo. (Antonio Gómez Robledo was born about 1667 in Nuevo Méjico, Nueva España.)