| This volume consists of two hundred
and fifty-six diligencias matrimoniales, or prenuptial investigations,
from the microfilm collection of the Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado
de Durango at the Rio Grande Historical Collections, New Mexico State University
Library. The period this work covers was a tumultuous time in New
Mexico history. Mexico achieved its independence in 1821. In
1822, Rafael Acosta, a resident of San Elizario, described himself as an
español mexicano, the first individual to refer to himself as a
Mexican in these diligencias. Three years later, Guadalupe Mora
of El Paso stated that he was a citizen of the Estados Unidos Mexicanos.
Still, it was far more common for individuals to identify themselves as
españoles. The arrival of the French and Anglo-American
trappers and traders in the far north was an event that had lasting repercussions
on the Hispanic people of New Mexico. In 1824 and 1825, prenuptial
investigations for some of these Frenchmen took place in Taos. The
upheaval caused by the United States occupation of New Mexico is clearly
reflected by a gap in the documentation. There are no records in
Durango for New Mexico marriages after September 1846. Thereafter,
all the diligencias pertain to the El Paso del Norte, Chihuahua
area. Since the redrawing of political boundaries under Mexico did
not separate the families in the El Paso area from their relatives in New
Mexico, they are included in this second collection of marriage investigations. |
