I

CC:.`rOss,

Writs issued by the Govrerno,r and Cap,tai,n G.eneral

of this Provinc,e, D,o,n Angre,l de 14artos y Nauarrete, at

the request of Dro,n J.os,ecDh, Curbelo, a request, inclu-

ded in these tTrits,.

Year of

1 62

San Fernando 1762

n.In Fnglish, Civil process upon petition of D. Joseph

Antonio Curbelo, relative to the will of his father, D. J.

Curbelo.

1762

2

.Cross,

In the Villa of Sra,n Fernan,do on the eighth day of

the month of July of the year one thousand seven rhundr,ed

and sixty-two, before me, D,o,n Ang,e,l de Martos y

Nauarrete9 Lieurtena,nt Golon,e,l of the R,oya,1 Arrmi,es9

Gov,ern,or and Gaprtai,n G^ene,ral of this Provrinc,e of

the Tejas, New Philippines, its F_res,idi,os9 Conversions,

and Frontiers, with the military commnand of Panzacola and

Coaguila, and with the asscistanc,e of the New Kingdom of

Leon, by K,is, M,ajesty, (may Gro,d prcotect him)' was

presented this writ because of its contents,-etc.

Seior Gov,erno,r and Captain G.ene,ral:

r.I,, D,o,n Jossepl^ C^^rbelo, citrize,n of this Villa of

San Fernando, in the best form to be found at law and con-

venient to me, present myself before Y,our, Lrordship, and

state that during the past year of seven hundred and fifty-

nine, by Ycpur, L,ordship's, order, Lieu,tenan,t Don Juan

Galban issued the writs which.Ycour, Lrordship, requested

in s,aid order, in order to give just, complete, and prompt

fulfi.llr.me,nt to the will and last disposit,io,n made by

my deceased father, Don Juan Curbelo. The sca,id Lieu-

rtenan,t Galban eYecuted all. But, when.said writs were

almost complete, the s.a,said Lieurten.an, t was forced to

remit them to Y^our, Lrordsh.ip, at the Fres,idi,o of La

Eahia del Espiritu Santo9 where Yr our, Lrordshi,p was to

be found about to return to Los Adaes.

His remittance originated frorm the untimely rejec-

t ions of the notary D,o,n Franciseo de Arocha.. On the

fourteenth of, Soprtemb,er of t.a,id year Y,our, L,ord-

ship,, in view of the writs and, rejections, provided that

all the property which finally remained at the death of my

sra,id father be put up for auction by Lieurtenan,t Galban.

Those :possessions, put up for auction would all be sold

to the highest bidder. After the charges against the

estate, had been paid from the remainder of the estate,

an inventory of -oartition was to be made in order to informlv

each //one of the heirs of his inheritance. Thus was all

this done by s,a,id Lieurtenan,t. Everyone was notified

(-far thus was it ordered by Y^our, Lrordship, in the cited

writ) that anyone who should have anything to ask or demand

concerning the affair, could do so before Yrour, LCord-

shir, during your General Visita. Having sold all the pos-

sessions to Fie as the highest bidder and having paid, as

was directed by the said writs; the receipts and bills?' it

only remains now, for Y,ou_r, Lrordship, to conclude the

s,a,id nroceedings in order to prevent subsequent suits

and litigation.

4

,For this reason I should Dresent to Yrour, Lrord-

ship, how, of the Setores who had charge of the keys to

the Archive since the s ,tat, ed year of fifty-nine until

the present, someone or others took the writs from sra; id

Archive maliciously, yielding all ractions, of mine to

grave doubt. Because of this, I humbly entreat Yrour,

L,ordship, in justice, that you impose the most severe

charge which justice demands upon all those who had said

keys since the cited year, and especially upon the nersons

who, it is feared, made the removal, harra;ssi.ng th.e persons

of them all urtil such time as the said writs ap^ear, and

proceeding against the one who should have them in a r^.n.anner

which corresponds to the crime.

By all of this I ask and entreat Y.our. L.orc'ship,

that you have done what I have requested, that I may receive

mercy and right with justice, which is what I ask. rI

ask and entreat, that this writ. :be admitted on this comTi2,on

paper, since there is none stamped. I swear I act without

malice, I nrotes.t costs, and in what is necessar.y9 etc.

For my frathe,rl Dro,n Joseph Curbelo:

Jph. Ant. Rafael Curbelo

(Rubric)

,ADS 1-lv in E.8-14-1'756,

I have taken cognizance of the prececting petition,2

and have accepted it as presented and admitted on. //this

common nane,r for the expressed reasobs. In attention to

what has been asked by this' party9 and having looked in the

Archive of this villa for the writs and acts referred to

in sraid petition and not having found them; and since

Lieurtena,n.t Dro;n Juan Galban, who issued said acts as

cor^,mand,er of the Presidio of ^ra,n An.tr-oni,o and justicia

maior of this above mrention,ed villa, has arrived from the

Pres,idi,o of San Sava; I should command and do command.

that s,a,id LieuCtena,nt Galban appear before me. In case

he does not submit sEa,id writsi he shall prove in due

form whether he filed them or not, -vkTho saw him rdo it,it,

and who accepted them for the Archive, in order that, in

view of everything, I may procede with justice.

Thus I provided, coim-nanded9 and signed, acting as

recentoria according to law for lack of puEbl,ic and

R,oya,l norta,ryj of which there is none in all this

provr-inc,e. To all of wchic,h I certify:

nD. Angel de _Marto s y Navarrete Witness:

or(Rubric) Santtiago Villa S.

Witrze s s :co O

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(R.ubric )

(Rubric)

,DS lv-2 in E.8-14-175b.

In s.a,id Villa of Sca,n Fern,an,do^ on sca,id day,v

month and year, there appeared before //me, s.aid Gov-

,ern,or, De.o,n Juan Galban, to w.hom I read the preceding

writ. Having understood its contents, he said that. being

ill, he had summoned the rexidor, at that time Do,n

Alberto. Lopez, and had given him the expressea writs in

orde,r that he might take them to the Royal Houses and

place them in the Archive, since they were of the cauil.do.

He gave this as his reply. He signed,it with -nie,

s,a,id Gov,ern,or, and the witnesses -vith whom I act as

receDtoria. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juan Galban

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 2-2v in E.8-14-1756Z

Immediately, sa,id day, month and year, I, s,a,id

Gov,ern,or, in view of the reply made by D,o,n Juan Galban,

should co-Armand and did com,rand that Dr-o,n Alberto Lopez

appear before me. Under the solemnity of an oath9 and

after rhaving tahen, this, he shall swear and declare3

whetYier that which //sra,id Dieurtena,nt states is true or

not; also, he will state, in the presence of whom he

placed the 7rrits in sEa,id Archive.

Thus I provided' commanded and signed, with those

assristin,g me. To all of which I certify::

nD. Angel de Martos y Kavarrete

(Rubric) Witness:or

Santtiago Villa S.Wi tn e s s:

co 0Fran._ Ant.'Soliz

(Rubric)

(Rubric)

DS 2v-3 in E.8-14-1756,

tImmediately upon appearing before me, s,a,id Gov-

,ern,or, under the solemnity of an oath which he made

to G,o,d, Our Lor,d, and a K,oly Cross, D,_o,n Alberto

Lopez said he had placed the before-mentioned writs in the

Archive ,,rhen he was with the alcalde D,on Martin Lorenzo,

D.o,n Marcos de Castro, D,o,n Jrose,ph Paciron, Deo,n J,ua,n

Man^ue,l Ruis, and Dr_o,n Igrnaci,o Lorenzo de Armas. In

order to record this he signed it with me, s,a,id Gov-

,ern,or, and the witnesses.with whom I act acctordin,g to

law. In witness ,t7hereof I certify: --bet,wee,n lines,

said, valid--

raD. Angel de Martos y 1Lavarrete Aluertto Lopes

(Ftubric) (Rubric)

Witness:: Witness:co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

DS 3 in E.8-14-17563

3vIn sra,id //villa9 on.the s^a,id eighth day of July,,

I, sra,id Govern,or, in view of that which was expressed

by the individuals mebtioned in the preceding -Writs, should

have coranlanded and did cor ,̂^rand that the per sond cited by

s^a,id Dro,n Alberto appear before my court. Under oath,

they shall swear and declare if what Don Alberto, says

is true, where s,a,id writs rest, and whether or not they

delivered them to the subsequent cabildo, so that by their

reply I may determine justice.

Thus I decreed and signed, acting with attrestin,g

witnesses. I certify to all:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Witness:

or(Rubric) Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric)Witness:

co 0Fran.. Ant.Soliz

(Rubric) ,DS 3-3v in F.8-14-1'756,

10

In sra,id Villa of Sca,n Fern,an,do, on the ninth day

of the month of July of the year one thousand seven rhun-

dr,ed and sixty-two, D,o,n Martin Lorenzo, one of the set-

tlers from the Canary Islands and first-ranking alcalde at

that time C17159,j appeared before me. I certify I know

him. I administered an oath to him,- which he took in the

name of God,, Gur.L,o,rd, and the sign of the Hro,ly Cross,4

under penalty of which./%he promised to tell the truth

insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

Upon being informed of the contents of the statement

made by Dro,r Alberto Lopez, who was r.e:7idor at th^a,t same

time, he said he does not recall whether, he ,Don Alberto,

did or did not put the writs in s,a,id Archive, bru,t that

one day he did see sra,id D,o,n Alberto Lopez put in a

memorandum concerning gunpowder which D.o,n J,ua,n Galban

had given him. Once he says it, there is no doubt that he

,Don Alberto, put them in, (though he Don Martin, cannot,

prove it). This is what he can say under the oath taken,

ra statement, he ratifies one, two and three times.

He gave this as his reply and signed it with me, sra,id

Govr_ern,or, and with those assrzstin,g me. In witness

whereof I certify: --betr-wee,n lines, Lopez, valid--

11

tn

D. Angel de %vIartos y IvTavarrete Martin Lorenso

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0 or

Fran.. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 3v-4 in E.8-14-17563

Immediately; on sra,id d.ay7 month and year9 Dro,n

Jrose,rh Padron' a reiidor at that time .1759, appeared

before me? sLa,zd Govr.ern,or. I administered an oath toI+v

him, which he took in the name of Gr o,d, //Our L.o,rd9

and the sign of the Holy Cross, under penalty of -J,;hich he

Dromised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and might be

questioned.

Upon being in_formed -of the tenor of the statement

made by D,o,h Alberto Lopez, he saic?. that art the ti,me

the individuals mentioned by s ra, id Dro, n Alberto 1,,,7er-e

alcaldes' and thour-g,h he was a reiJidoZ, he was not here

but in the 111.iss,i,on de la Consepsri,dn. Because of that

which he has just stated, he does not know if the cM>rPressed

writs were nlaced in the Archive or not. An inventory of

the Archive was not made w,h,en the sucrceedi,ng cabildo

took possession, for which reason he does not know if said

w_r. its reposed in it. Since that time until now he has not

seen them, nor heard them read, nor knoU,m about them.

He gave this as his reply and. signed it with me 9 s ,,a, id

Gov,ern,or 9 and wi tnesses. To all of which I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Jof. padorn

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witnesssco 0 or

Fran. lnt. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DG 4-LFV in E.8-l4-1756,

13

IIn said Villa of Gra,n Fern.an,do9 5 on the tenth day

of s,a,id month and year'^=D.^o,n Harcos //de Castro, who was

second-ranking alcalde at that time rl759,1 appeared before

me, s.a,id Gov.ern,or. I certify I know him. I adminis-

tered an oath to him, which he took in the name of G,o,d,

Our Lro,rd^ and the sign of the HC6,ly Cross, under penalty

of.which he promised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and

might be questioned.

Upon being informed of the tenor of the statement

made by Don Alberto Lopez,r,in reply he said that although

he knows that several papers have been placed in the Archive

while they were together' he was never acqUainted with the

writs about which he is being quesr-tion,ed. No inventory

was made wrh.,en the Archive was placed.into their hands, and

the same thing happened wrh,en they transferred it to the

suc.ceedi,ng cauildo. Since he did not have a key to the

file box caxa, of s,a,id Archive, he did not know irhat

was inside.

He gave this as his reply and signed it with me, sra,id

Gov.ern,or, , and those ass.istin;g me, wi th:"^whom I act as re-

ce^toria acctc)ording to law. To all of sAnich I certify<

--corrrect,ed--they transferred--valid--

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Marcos de castro

(Rubric)Witness:.Co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Witness:or

(Rubric) Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric)

,DS 4v-5 in E.8-14-1756^

15

5VIn s.a,id Villa of Sra,n FernEan,do, //s,a,id day,

month and year, D.o,n Igrnaci,o Lorenzo, w,ho,m I certify

I knotinr, appeared before me, s.a,id Gov.ern,or.. I adminis-

tered an oath to him, which he took in the name of God, Our

Lro,rd, and the sign of the Heo,ly Cross, under Denalty of

which he promised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and

might be questioned.

Upon being informed of the contents of the statement

made by D,o,n Alberto Lopez, he said he does not know, nor

has he heard read, nor has he seen the expressed writs

about which he is being questioned. The Archive had no

inventory, either when- they received it or when they

trans_,ferred it to the succee,di,ng cabildo.

He gave this as his reply, and signed it with me,

s,a,id Gov,ern,or, and witnesses. To all rsic, of w,hic,h.

I certify:

^D'. Angel de Martos y.Vavarrete Ynasio loreno

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Wi.tness::co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

r-DS 5- 5v in E.8-14-1756,

16

IIn the Vil1a of S,a,n Fernan;do, on the fourteenth day

of the month of J^ly of the year one thousand seven hundred

and sixty-tvo, //D,o,n Jrua,n Man,e:ue,l Ruizq wr-ho,m I cer-

tify I know, appeared before me, sra.id Govrern,or. I ad-

:nini.stered an oath to him, which he took irn the name of

God7 Our Zro,rdl and the sign of the Holy Cross, under

penalty of which he promised to tell the truth insofar as

he knew and might be questioned.:

Upon being informed of the contents of the statement

made by D,on Alberto Lopre,z, he said it is true that the

writs belonging to s.a,id Curbelo, about ^,rhich he is being

questioned, were brought and placed upon the table in the

R,oya,l Hou,se,s. D,:o,n Alberto Lopezq Dro,n J.ose,ph

Padron, and the witness were present. He d.oes not recall

who the others were, n,:o,r does he know who brought them.

The Archive was not received w.it,h, an inventory, no.r was

it transferred to the sucrceedi,ng cauildo with one,

br_ecaus,e their offices of absolute power were taken from

them. He remembers that the fol,lowing were members, of

the municipal cabildo: alcaldes, D,o,n Alberto Lopez and

D,o,n Juan J,oseph Padron; rejidor.e,s, D,o,n Jrose,ph

Padron, D,o,n Marcos de Castro, Dro,n Jua,n Granados7

D,o,n Ign.acio, Lorenzo, and the witness; and Drocurador'

Dro,n J,ose,ph Sisneros. He does not know who met that

1'7

6vday' for //everything was made useless by having received

and transferred the Archive writ,h an inventory.;^

He gave this as his reply, and signed it with me,

s,a,id Gov,ern,or, and the witnesses with whorn I act

according to law. To all of which I certify: --bet.wee,n

lines, he gave, valid--

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juan PTanuel Ruiz

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:.co 0 or

Fran.. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 5v - 6v in E.8-14-1756,

'This sentence has been translated exactly as it appearsin the original. However, after studying the previous state-ments and the context of this statement, I feel that the sen-tence should read as follows:

"He does not know who met that day, for everythingwas made useless by having received and transferredthe Archive without an inventory."

14ary Fstes ? Translator

is

in s,a,id Villa of S,a,n Fernean,do, on s.a,id day,

month and year, I. s.a,id Govrernor7 in view of the

statement made by D,o,n Juan Man.ue,1 Ruiz, should conr_r_iand

and did com.mand that Dro,n Alberto Lopre,z and D,on

J,ua,n J,ose,ph Padron, who were alcaldes at th,a,t time

.1759, , and Dro,n Juan Granados, who was reiidor at that same

time, be summoned. S^inc,e the second two are mentioned by

.to those cited by Donthe aforesaid Ruiz in addition r

Alberto,, alth,oug,h he does not know whether they were

presre,nt that day, I shall administer oaths to them,

under the solemnity of which they shall state what they7

//know. Do,n Alberto shall state the reasons for his

omitting these individuals from his statement and for his

.o,n. Mart,i,n Lor,en,zoperson being named as rejidor while Dr

was named, as alcalde. Their replies shall determine

justice.

Thus I decreed , commanded and signed with those ass.ist-

in,¢ me, with whom I act before myself as 'uez rece^ptor.

To all of which I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witne s s :or

Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric)

,DS 6v - 7 in E.8-14-1756,

19

In s=a,id Villa of Sr-a,n Fern,an,do9 on the sixteenth

day of the month of July of the year seven rhundr, ed and

sixty-two, D^o,n J.ua,n J,ose,ph Padron, wrho,m I certify

I know, appeared before me9 sraid Govrern,or.. I administered

an oath to him,, ^-.hich he took i,n the name o,f God, Our

Zr_o,rd, and the sign of the H,o,ly Cross, under penalty

of which he nromised to tell the truth insofar as he knew

and might be questioned.

Upon being informed of the statement made by D.ro,n

Juan Man,ue,l Ruiz, he said he does not know of the afore-

said writs about which he is being questioned, f ,o r s

thou.g,h he signed two or three of the documents, he does7v

not know of their whereabouts. He was not //pres,e,nt here

the day s,a,id Ruiz says they were placed in the Archive,.

He is certain the writs had be,e,n issued because he heard

the property mentioned in them being auctioned. When the

Archive rcaYa del Archivo, was transferred to the sucrceed-.

i,ng cabildo, it was done so without an inventory, the same

thing that had occurred w^h,when they received it.

He gave this as his reply, and signed it with me9

s,a,id Gov,ern,,or, and witnesrse,sl as has been stated. To

all of which I certify:

nD,. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juan JoseDh Padron

(Rubric) (Rubric)

IWitness: Witnesso

Co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

GDS 7 7v in E.^-l4-1756,

t

21

In sra,id Villa of S,a,n Fern,an,do, on the nineteenth

day of the month of July of s,a,id year, D,o,n J,,uan Gra-

nados , t1.r, ho, m I certify I?Pnow, appeared before me 9 s ra, id

Gov,:ern,or. I administered an oath to him, which he took

in the name of God, Our Lro,rdl and the sign of the

H,o,ly Cross, under penalty of which he promised to tell the

truth insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

Upon being informed of the contents of the statement

made by Dr o,n Juan Man,ue,l Ruis, he said he does not know

if said writs about which he is being questioned had beenfl

brought, and if they have been brought, he has //not seen

them in the Archive nor anywhere else. He does not know

if the Archive caka del Arch.ivo, was transferred with an

inventory w,he,n the suc.ceedi,ng cabildo came into office,9

for he was abs.e,nt. They had received the Arc'rlive,

under the same conditions.

He gave this as his repl.y and signed it with me, sLa,id

Govrern,orl and.witnesses, as has been stated. To all of

^.:r,h.ic, h I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juan Granados

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Wi tne s s: Wi tn e s s:co 0 or

Fran. Ant+ Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 7v--8 in F.8-14-17563

22

In the s.aid Villa of S.a,n Fernran,do^ on s,a,id

day, month and year, Dro,n J,ose,ph Sisneros, W , h^am I

certify I knowl appeared before me., scaid GovCern,or. I

administered an oath to hi^^, w,hic,h he took in the name

of God, Our Lro,rdl and the sign of the Hro,ly Crossy under

penalty of which he promised to tell the truth insofar as

he knew and might be auestio.r.,ed.

Upon being informed of the statement made by Dro,n

.Juan Han,ue,l Ruiz and of its contents, he said he retnefr--

bers having seen the writs of sra,id Curbelo9 about which

he is being questioned, on top of the table, bru,t he does

not know their whereabouts nor who..waspresent wrh,en they8

were brought. Wrh, en ,they received //the Archive, it was

without an inventory^ and the same thing occurred wrh,en

they transferred it to the sucrceedi,.ng cabildo.

He gave this as his reply, but did not affix his sig-

nature b,ecaus,e. he did not know how. I, sca,id Gov,ern,or3

signed it with those ass,isting me, With whom I act before

myself. To all of w,hic,h I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos yHavarrete

(Rubric)

Wi tn e s s:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:or

Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric)

,DS 8-8v in E.8-14-17563

23

IIn the Villa of San Fernan,do, on the twentieth day

of the month of July of the year one thousand seven rhun-

dr,ed and sixty-tir,ro, I, DEo,n Angel de 11artos yNauarrete,

Lieur_tena,nt Golonre,l of the R,oya,1 Arrmi,es9 Gov.ern,or

and GaPrtai,n Grene,ral of this Provrinc,e of Thejra,s, New

Philippi.ne,s, its Pres^idi,os, Conversions.and Frontiers,

with the military- comti,^and of Panzacola and Coaguila, and.

with the rass.istance of the New Kingdom of Leon by His

Maj,es t,yY (may G,o,d pr,otec, t him) _

Having seen the depositions of the witnesses taken in

the _preceding judic.ial formaliti,es, and the variations in

them, I should comr^and and do corn,,and thiat sra,id witnesses

ratify their oaths by taking them anew. They shall be

asked if it is or is not Dublic and well known that Lieu-9

rtena,nt D,o,n J,ua,n Galban issued //the writs cited in

the petition ti1Trhich began these Proceedings, and to who;m

the Prop,ert,y was sold at auction, sro tha,t, with every-

thing in view, I may provide with justice.

Thus I provided, comr^.^anded and signed according to

law. In witness ^3qhereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:or

Santtiago villa S.

(Rubric)

rDS 8v-9 in E.8-14-1756,

24

In the Villa of Sa,n Fern.an,do, said day, -month and

year, I, s.a,id Cov.ern,or, by virtue of the command issued

by me in the preceding writ, had D,o,n Juan Granados, w.ho;'m

I certify I know, appear before me. I administered an oath

to him, w.hic,h he took in the name of God, Our L,o,rd, and

the sign of the H,o,ly Cross according to law, under penal-

ty of which he promised to tell the truth insofar as he

knew and night be questioned.

After having read to him his statement, contained on

rage eight, he said it was the same he had made.

As for the.other matters about w,hic,h he is questioned

in the other decree provided by me, he replied by saying

trha,t he is sure, and that it is public and well-known,

t^ha,t Dro,n Juan Galban issued the aforesaid writs wrhic,h

are cited. All the property beloinging to the deceased

D,o,n Juan Curbelo was -out up for auction and sold to D,o,n

Jrose,Dh Curbelo, his son.. 9v

//The sanctity of the oath is not destroyed even

rthoug,h the witness is covered by the general exemptions

of the law. He stated, t.that all he has sra,id and de-

clared is the truth under penalty of the sra,id oath taken'

w,hic,h he affirms and ratifies one, two, three, and ars

m, any times as the law allows. He said he was thirty-one

years of age. He signed. it with m.e, sra, id Gov,:ern,or 9

and witnesses, as sr tat, ed before. To all of which I

certifyc

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juan Granado

(Rubric) (Rubric)

W1 tn e s s s Wi tne s s aco 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 9-9v in E.8-14-1716,

Immediately on s,a, id day, month and year, I, s,a,id

Govrern,or9 by virtue of the co-mmand issued by me in the

preceding writ, had D,o,n J,ose,ph Fadron7 wrho,m I certify

I know, appear be-fore me. I administered an oath. to him

wrhic,h he took in the name of God, Our L,ord, and the

sign of the Hro,ly Cross according to la.w' under penalty of

which he promised to tell the truth insofar. as he knew and

might be questioned.

Having read his statement, contained on nage four, to

him word for word, he said it was the same he had made.

As for the other matters about wrhic,h he is questioned

in the other decree provi d^d by Pa.e, he replied by saying10

t.h.a,t it is //public and vvTell-known that Lieurtena,,nt D,o,n

Juan Galban issued the aforesaid writs w.hic,h are cited,

t .ha, t he had heard tell all the property had been put up

for auction, and that it was sold to the family. This is

what he has heard tell.

He said, everythin.g he has sr-tat,ed is the truth,

under penalty of the oath taken, wrhic,h he affirms and

ratifies one, two and three times and ar-s m,any rtimnes, as

he is permitted by law. He said he was fifty years of age.

He signed it with me 7 s ra., id Gov,ern,or 9 and witnes.se, s,

as has been srtated. To all of which I certify: --be-

tween lines--preceding--val? d--

27

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Joh padorn

(Pubric) (Rubric)

Wi tn e s s: Wi tne s s::co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz . Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS qv-l0 in E.8-l4-1756,

281

In the s^a,id Villa of Sra,n Fernran,do, s,a,id day,

month and year' I, sca,id GovEern,or9 by virtue of the com-

mand issued by me in the preceding writ, had D,o,n Ygnracio,

Lorenzo, w.ho,m I certify I know, appear before me. I

administered an oath to hirn, w.hic,h he took in the na_m.e

of God, Our Zro,rd' and the sign of the H. oly Cross accor-

ding to law, under penalty of which he prorAised to tell the

truth insofar as he knew and m_ght be quest s oned.

Having read his statement, contained on page five and

its verso, to him word for word, he said it was the same onelt}v

//he had made.

As for the other matters about whic,h he is questioned

in the other decree issued by me, he replied by saying

t,ha,t he has heard tell Lieur_tena,nt Dro,n Jrua,n Galban

issued the aforesaid ip^rits w,hic,h are cited because this

is purbl.,ic and well-known, t,,hat he has also heard tell

all the prop.erty belonging to the deceased, D,o,n Juan

Curbelo, was put up for auction, and that he does not

know of any other who possesses and obtained land and other

propr_ert,y belonging to sra,id deceased other than his son,

Dro,n Jrose,ph.Curbelo.

Everything he has s.a,id and stated is the truth,

under penalty of the oath takeni wrhic,h he affirms and

ratifies one, t-vo, and three times, and as m., any times,

29

as he is rermitted by law. He said he was .fifty-two years

of age. He signed it with me, s.a,ic'=. Govrern,or9 and l4rit-

nesses, as has been srtat,ed. To all of wrhi.c,h I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Ynas2o Lorenso

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Wi tn es s s Wi tne s s.co 0 or

Fran. A:_^t. Soliz Santtiago. Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

.DS l0-l0v in E.

8-14-1756:3

so

In the Villa of Sra,n Fernran,do, s.a,id day, month

and year, I, s.a,id Gov.ern,or and Gapetai,n Gr_ene,ral, by

virtue of the command issued by me in the preceding writ,

had Don J,ose,ph Gi sneros, w,ho,m I certify I know,11

appear //before me. I administered an oath to him w,h.ic,h

he took in the na^.ne of G;^,o,d^ Our T^ro,rd, and the sign of

the Hro,ly Gross,. under r.enalty' of which he oromised to

tell the truth insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

Having read to him his statement, contained on Dag,e, s

eight and its verso, word for word, he said it was the same

one he had made and that he had nothing to add or withdraw.

As for the other matters about which he is questioned

in the other decree issued by me, he replied by saying

t.ha,t it is public and well-known t,ha,t Lieu,tenant

D,o,n Juan G4lban issued the aforesaid writs which are

cited, that he knows all the property belorgin°g to the de-

ceased, I?,o,n JuanCurbelo9 was put up for auction9 b,u,t

that he does not know, to w,ho,m it was sold.

Er_verythi,ng he has s.a,id and stated is the truth,

under penalty of the oath taken, wr_hich he affirms and

ratifies one, two and_. three times, and as m, any times,

as he is permitted by law. He said he was fifty-one years

of. age. He did not sign it because he did not know how.

sr_a,id Gov,ern,or7 signed it with the witnesses

as.s,istin,g me. To all of which 3 certify:

nD. Angel de Martos vNavarY ete

(Rubric)

Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

Witness:or

Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric)

(Rubric)

,DS lOv-11 in E.8-14-175b,

32

In the se-a,id Villa of San Fern,ando, on the twenty-liv

first day of the //month of July of sra, id year g I, s a, id

Govrern,or and Ca?aCtai,n Grene,ra19 by virtue of the com-

mand issued by me in the preceding writ, had Dro,n Ylarcos

de.Castro , w.ho,m I,certify I know, appear before me. I ad-

ministered an oath to him wr'nic,h he took irn the name o,f.

Godj Cur Lro,rd1 and the sign of the H.o,ly Crossi under

penalty of which he promised to tell. the truth insofar as

he knew and rnight be questioned.

Having read to him his statement, contained on page

five, word for word, he said it was the sai',q e one he had

made, with nothing to add or withdrata.

As for the other matters about wrhic,h he is ques-

,tion,ed, he has heard tell that Lieu,tena,nt D..o,ra. Juan

Galban issued the aforesaid writs wrh.ic,h. are cited, and

has also heard tell that all the property belonging to the

deceasedl Dro,n. Juan Curbelo' was put 1^n for auction and

came into the ownership of his son, Dr.o,n J,oseph Curbelo.

Erverythi,ng he has sra,id and stated is the truth9

under penalty of the oath taken7 wrhich. he affirms and

ratifies one? two and three times, and. as. rnany times, as

he is permitted by law. He said he was thirty-one years

of age. He signed it with me, s a, id Gov,ern, or , and

witnes^se,s^ as has been srt.at',ed. To all of w,hic,h I

U

certify: --Galban--cor,rect,ed--Valid--

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete ^^^arcos de castro

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

.(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 11-llv in F.8-14-1'756.

U..

I12

In the s=a,id Villa //of Sra,t? Fernran,do^ sra,id day,

month and year, I, s,aid Govrern,or9 by virtue of the com-

mand issued by me in the preceding writ, had Don Juan

Jrose,ph Padron9 wrho,m I certify I know, appear before

me. I administered an oath to him7 wr_hic,h he took in the

name of God, Our Leo,rd' and the sign of the Holy Cross,

under Penalty of which he promised to tell the truth in.so-

far as he knew and might be questioned.

Having read to him h? s state3ent ^ contained on page

seven and its verso 9word for word, he said it was the

. same one he had. made, with not one thing to ad.d. or with-

draw.

As for the other imatters about w,hic,h he is questioned

in the other decree provided by me' he replied by saying

t.ha,t he has heard tell Lieu,tena,nt Uo,n Juan Galban

issued the aforesaid writs which are cited, and that, as he

sra,said 2n. his statement' he knows the nroperty belonging to

the deceased, Dr.o,n Juan Curbelo, was put up for auctson..

He does not know to weho,m it was sold, br_u,t he does r_know,

trha,t Dro,n. J,ose,ph Curbelo, his son, owns everything

that belonged to his deceased father.

Everything he has sra,id and stated is the truth9 under

penalty of the oath taken' which he affirms and ratifies

one' two and three times, and as many times, as he is

35

Spermitted by law. He said he is twenty-four years of age.

12v//He signed it with me, s^a,id Gov,ern,or, and witnesses,

as has been s,tat, ed. To all of which I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juan Joseph Padron.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness::co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

JS llv - 12v in E.8 -i4 -1.7563

36

In the s,a,id Villa of Sra,n Fernr-an,do9 on the twenty-

fourth day sic, of the month of July, I, sr_a,id Gov,ern,orl

had Dro,n Martin Lor.en,zo, w,,ho,m I certify I know, appear

before me.. I administered an oath to hir^,il wEhic,h he took

in the name of God.9 Our Lro,rdl and the sign of the H,o,ly, .

Cross, under penalty of which he promised to tell the truth

. insofar as he knew and might be questioned..

Upon readihg to him his statement, contained on pag re, s

three verso and four, he said it was the same he had made.

As for the other matters about wr-hic,h he is ques-

r.tion,ed in the other decree provided by me9 he replied say-

ing t,hat he has heard different persons say that Lieu-

,tena,nt Dr-o,n Juan Galban issued the aforesaid writs whic,h

are cited, and that the property was sold to Do,n J,ose,ph. 13Gurbelo,rson of the deceased' //Dro,n Juan Curbelo.

Everything he has sra,id9 and his having heard tell as

public and well-known t,ha,t the property was put up for

auction as well, is the truth under penalty of the oath

taken, whic,h he affirms and ratifies one, two and three

times, and are m,any ^times, as he is permittedby law.

He said he was fifty-on.e years of age. He signed it with

me, s,a,id Govrern,or^ and witnesrse,s7 as has been s.tat,ed.

To all of which I certify:

37

nD. Angel de 114ar vos y Navarrete Martin Lorenso

(Rubric) (Rubr. ic )

Witness: Witness:co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

r.DS 12v-13 in E.8-14-17,^6^

38

ItIn the s ,a, id Villa of G a, n Fern.an, do , on the twenty-

seventh day of the month of July of the year one thousand

seven hla.ndr, ed and sixty- two , I, s ,: a, id Gov,ern, or 9 by

virtue of the command issued by me in the precedin.g wr. i.t ,

had Dro,n Alberto Lopez, wrho,m I certify I know, appear

before me. I administered an oath to him, w.hic, h he took

in the name of God' Our Lco,rd, and the sign of the Hr o,ly

Cross, under penalty of which he promised to tell the truth

insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

Having read to him his statement, contained on page.13v

//three, word for word, he said it was the same he had made,

with nothing added nor withdrawn.

Reg,ard, ing that which I provided following the state-

ment made by D,o,n Juan 12anrue,l Ruisl he replied by saying

teha,t when D,o,n Jrose,ph padron, senior re&idor at the

time, had been elected alcalde, the position of senior

regidor had immediately devolved upon the witness. There-

fore, when the second-ranking alcalde Dro.,n Antr-oni,o del

Rio was absCe,nt, all authority rested with the witness,.

This must be the reason for Dro,n Juan Man,ue,l Ruis' say-

ing that he was an alcalde propeT.. As for, the other two

additional persons cited by sea,id Ruis, either they must

have been absent, or it is a mistake. Regarding the other

matters about whic,h he is ques,tion,ed in the other decree

I

39

issued by me, he knows that the property of the decreas,edi

Dro,n Jrua,n Curbelo9 was put up for auctior, but not to

wrho,m it was sold, He does know trha,t said proprert,y is

now under the o=pn7nership of Do,n Jr ose,ph Cur^^elo' son of

s ra, id deceased.

Erverythi,ng he has s.a,id and declaredis the truth,

under cenalty of the oath taken, w,hi.c,h he affirms and

ratifies one, two and three ti^I-Iles , and ars m,any rtim,es,

as he is permitted by law. He said he was fifty-eight

years of age. He signed it with me, s.al, id Govr ern, or 7 and

witnes ,:se, s, as has been s^ tat, ed_. To all of w,hic, h I

certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete ^luertto Lopes

(Rubric)

Witne s s :co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:or

Santiago villa S.

(Rubric)

(Rubric)

,DS 13-13v in E.8-14-1756,

40

14Ir the srg,id Villa of SL;an FernCan,do //on the thir-

tieth day of the month of July of s e a, id year l I, s,,.a id

Gov,ern,or9 had Dro,n Juan Man,lle,l Ruisl Ta?rho,m I certify

I know, appear before me. I administered an oath to him,

w,hic,h he took in the name of God, Our Lro,rd, and the

sign of the Ho,ly Cross9 under nen.s.lty of which he promised

to tell the truth insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

Having read to. him his statement9 contained on page

six and its verso, word for word, he said it was the same

he had made, with nothing to add nor withdraw.

As for the, oth,e,r matters about wr_hs.c,h. he is ques-

tioned in the other decree provided by me, he repl,i,ed by

saying t,ha,t it is true 'Lieutena,nt Dron Juan Galban

issued the writs wrhic,h are cited and that the prop^erty

belonging to the d.eceased. D.o,n Juan Curbelo was put up

for auction, but he does not know to wr_ho,m said pro-

p,ert,y was sold.

Everything he has s ra,id and declared is true, under

penalty of the oath taken, whic,h he affirms and ratifies

one, two, and three times, and as many tiries, as he is

permitted by law. He said he was thirty-three years of

age. He signed it with me, sra,id Gov^ern,orj and witnes-

ses. To all of wrhic,h I certify:

41

an

D. Angel de Martos y Navar --Pete Juan Manuel Ruiz

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Wi tn e s s s Wi tn e s s:co 0 or

Fran. Ant. Soliz Santtiago Villa S.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS l3v-14 in F.8-14-1756,

42

l4vIn the Villa of San Fern an, do , //on s ,a, id day, roonth

and year, I, sr-a,id Gcovern,or and Caprte.i;n G.ene,rall in

view of the stater-!ents and ratifications made by the witnes-

ses, should command and do co;^qand that these original pro-

cecedan,gs be given by trasZado to D.on J,ose,ph Cu.rbelo,

so trha;t wi:thin a period of three days he may s,ay whs:t

more is to be done in his favor. Thus I provided, ordered9

and signed, with those ass^istin,g -me, as has been s.tat.,ed.

To all of which I certifvo

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Wa.tness:

Witness:co. 0

Fran. .Ant. Soli z

(Rubric )

orSanttis.go Valla S.

(Rubric)

,DS 14-14v in E.:8-Z4-y756.

On the a.forementioned day,.these proce.edin,gs, on

fourteen used pag,e, s including this raffidavit, , were de-

livered to Dr-o,n Jrose,ph Curbelo in conformity.with tha,t

which was ordered. In order to certify this, I place my

rubric upon it:

(Rubric of Governor ikrartos )

43

,Cross,

In the Villa of G,a,n Fern.an,d.o de Vejar, on the third

day of the month of Au,gu st of the year one thousand seven

hundred and. sixty-two, the fol,lojJri,ng writ, by reason of

its contents, was Presented before me, Dro,r? A.ngr_e,l de

Martos y Nauarrete, Lieu,tena,nt Colonre,l of the Rroya,l

Arrmi,es, Govrern,or and Cap,tai,n G,ene,ral of this.Pro-

v,ihc,e of Tejas, New P1,i1iPpirnes, its Presridios7 Cozi-

versi ohs and Frontie,r, s, with the military combY,iand of

Panzacola and Coaguila, and with the ass,istance of the

New Kingdom of Leon by his Majresty (may God T-)rrotec,t

h.im_) :

Setor Gov,ernor and. Caprtai,n. G.eneral:

I, D,o,n Josseph Curbelo, a citrize,n of this

Villa of San Fern nd.o9 present myself before Y,our,

L.ordsh.ip, in the best form to be found at law and

convenient to me and. say that, in view of the Pro-

ceedings placed into execution by Y,our, LrordshiP,l

it has been sufficiently.Proved that in addition to

.1%hav ing conducted.the sales, auctions and other cir-

cumstances nertaining to the sale of the property b

longing to my deceased father, the Commander and

Justicia Maior delivered the instruments to D,o,n

Alberto Lopez for insertion in the Archive. It has

44

also been proved from said depositions that the in-

struments, were taken to the 1^uniciral House 9where

they were seen on the table. Dro,n A3berto Lo-pes

swears he locked them in the file rcaxa, of the Ar-

chive. Therefore, since.said Archive could not have

been transferred minus an inventory without special

means, it is required by justice, and I ask Y.our,

Brordship's, support in this,, that you,nroceed to

the following measures in order to better prove the

malicious removal of s,:a; id -i nstrL^x,^ents e

l.. Fir st 9 let Don Juan Galban, to i-.Thom an oath shall

be administered, be called, and under penalty of

this ^oath, let him declare to whom the property

of the deceased, my father, was sold; for what

amount; what persons made bids; what attesting15v

w itnesses joined him in for-mulating said //writs;

whether or not all the joint heirs were summoned;

and -vahether they were summoned, only one time,

or more. G .a, id Galban shall.. also declare if,

at the time of the u,,a.^ta of the Setor Bishop,

sra,id Galban advised. D,on Visente Travieso,

executor of the deceqsed, my father, to oresent

the will to His Illrizstriousne,ssj and the reply

given by Travieso. The decla.ration noted with

45

regard to what it imparts, oaths shall be adminis-

tered witl:,. every ritual to all nersons mentioned

by sra,id Zieutenant, in order to learn about the

writs, auctions, sum;.onses, and 'oidders, and the

sale of said Property. All this they shall de-

cl.are in addition to the amount for which it was

sold, and to whom it was sold, .

2. Second, Don Cri,stobal de los Santos shall declare

whether or not the handwriting of the will is his;

his reason for placing the clause expressed in

,the will, pertaining to the suerte of land be-

tween the.lines; who ordered him to put it into

the will, ;who directed the writing of, the will;

and, since the clause was placed between the lines,

why he did not make a notation of the inclusion,

at the end of s, a,s aid tiy ill .

3. Third, let Dr,o,n Antonio Rodrigues Mederos declare

t:^hether or not he sold me a suerte of land which

IPossess in the cultivated fields of this villa

by virtue of a deed he gave :^e; and, once he has

seen s.a, id deed, let him declare whether or not

the signature is his.

46

Fourth, let my mother, D,ot,a Graci a Perdomo,

declare whether or not all the clauses in my

father' swiwill are valid; vrhether or not she knows

and is certain I paid the receipts which. I present

with due solemnity; whether or not she kn,ows I

paid other of my father's affairs in. a:ddition to

the receipts; and whether or not I'paid for the

suerte of land I bought fro:^^^ Do,n Antonio

Rodriguez with my own holdings, and if I bought

rsic, it with her.ner:rnissi_on and that of my father.

She.shall also state the conditions by which I

possess the piece of land that belonged to my

deceased brother; among whom the holdings of16

mules, horses, corn, chile, cotton, //and what-

ever else is contained in sra,id ti•rill, including

the cattle' were dispersed, or where they have

come to rest; and if she knows whether or not I

paid in full the one hundred and eighty-six

preso,s remaining due to the mortuary house of

Dro,n Prudencio Bazterra. Although the latter,

has been sufficiently proved by the receipt I

pr.esent, Y,our, T,rordsh.ip, can make more certain

of the falsity of the rumor, that sra,id debt

had been remitted if Yrour, LrordsYiip, will call

47

it

5

to oath C:aptain Don Thoribio. de Vrrutia, who re-

ceived power of attorney to collect sra,id debt.

Fifth, with regard to that recorded in the pro-

ceedings instituted.by Yrour, Zrordship, concern-

ing the Archive's having been transferred without

a suitable inventory, will y,our, L.ord ship, be

pleased to call the new rexidores and have them

state, under the holiness of.an oath, if any of

them saw the referred instruments in s ,a, id

Archive. This having been done, their malicious

removal should be investigated with.the persons

in whose hands the keys have rested, since it is

generally k.noien among us trha,t several other

instru.ments which are missing have been reiroved,

a fact Yrour, l,,ordship, will be able to verify.

Their context is not such that those attentively

interested would conceal them with those instru-

ments, af_fecting. me, for, since they do not harm

any person, their removal by those who were not

parties to them appeared fruitless. Once said

proceedings have been terminated, whether the

extracted instru.ments, appear or not, without

having been able to agree on others, nor will I

agree to any others than those ordered by Yeour,

48

Lr.ordship, on the date of the fourteenth of

Seprtem,ber of seven hundred and fifty-nine, I

beg Y ,our, Lrordshi p, will be Dleased to leave.

me in . the quiet and peaceful possession of the

land and property soldr to me as the 1egitim^ate

and. h:tghest bidder, so that no rerson wi1l dis-

turb-me in what I so justly possess.

16vTherefore, //I ask and beg Y,our; L,ordship,

to order what I have requested, since what I ask

for is justice.. I reayuest, this writ be admit-

ted, along with the return of the proceedings,

on this common paper since there is none stamped.

I swear I do not act with malice and to Tsrhat is

necessary, etc.

For my father D,o,n Jrose,ph Curbelo

0Jph. Ant. C'urbelo

(Rubric)

,DS 15-16v in E.8-14-17563

49

SHaving seen the preceding writ, I accepted it as Pre-

sented and admitted on this Present com_f«on paper Csic,.

Conseq_,uentl,y, I should order and do order that all persons

mentioned in the aforesaid writ be called, irn orde,r

t,ha,t the will, and the bill of sale of the suerte.of land

mentioned therein, may be taken from the Archive. Under

oath, they shall make decla_rat-Lons concerning the Points

mentioned, sro th.a,t, in view of everything, I may proceed

with justice,

Thus I decreed, ordered and signed, acting before my-

self as 'ues recertor with attrestir?, gwitnes se, s for lack

of public and Rroya,l norta,ry and on this nresent common

paper. To all of which I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

Wi tne s s :co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:

Domin Garsia

(Rubric)

,DS lbv in E.8-14-17563

50

In sra,id Villa'of Sra,n Ferncan,do, on the sixth day17

of the month of Au,g,st /%of one thousand seven hundr,ed

and sixty-two, I, s^aid Govcern,or and Caprtai,n G,ene,ral,

by vir-tue of that ordered by me in the preceding writ, had

I,ieurtena,nt Do,n J,ua,n Galban appear before me. To his

self-same person, w,ho,m T certify I knowyin the presence

of my att,estin,g witnesses, I administered an oath, w.hic,h

he took in the name of God, our l; o, rd 9 and a sign of a

cross in the prescribe,d manner of the 1.atir' under penalty

of s,rhich. he promised to tell the truth insofar as he knew

and might be questioned.

Guided by t,h.a,t which D,o,n Jros,e.ph, Curbelo requests,

he said tha, t since the time, he had placed into execut:ion

the procecedin,gs which I, sa,.id Govrern,or, intrusted to

him for the auctioning of the prop,ert,y of D,o,n Juan

Gurbelo,^he remembers trha,t after conducting public auc-

tions on three successive holidays he sold all the proprert,y

to D,o,n Jrose,ph Curbelo. Sra,id Dro,n J.ose,ph Curbelo

exhibited thre,e hundr,ed and fiv.e pesos, the amount, for

which the property, was sold, in a draft supplied to him,

by the.R,everen,d Frathe,r Presid,e,nt of these missiorn,s

F.ray, Mariano Fran=cis,co de los Dolores. None of the co-

heirs, other than s,a,id Curbelo, either came out or made

bids. The sef-o,r curate of this villa Dco,n Juan Ygnacio

51

ade Gardenra.,s and Don Franrcis,co Delgado were two others,

who made bids.'

Joaq Cui,n de 114'edina accompanied the witness as an at-

tr-estin,g witnessi but he does not recall who. tYie other

witness was. All the joint-heirs were summoned to these

proceedirn,gs, as were they also notified of the orrde,r

wrhic,h I:I.s,a,id Gov.ern,or9 intrusted.to him rLieutenant17v

Galban, fro,r these //proceedings concerning the fact,

t,ha,t anyone who had something to ask or demand should

do so before sra,id. Govrern,or during his Gene,ral Visita,

all of whi_ch may be verified not only in sra,id writs, but

also in a testimonio_held by Do,n Jose,ph Curbelo. When

His Illrustriousne,ss came for his visit, sra,id "Lieutenant

went by D,o.,n Visente Abares Trauieso's house and told him

t,ha,t as executor of his deceased father-in.-lw,&T, D,on

Juan Gia.rbelo, he should present the will of sra,id deceased,

his father-in.-law, to His Ill,ustrious Lordsh,ip, br-u,t he

does not remember nor can he call to reason any of what he

.Don, Visente, replied.

He said this was the truth insofar as he knew under

penalty of the oath trak,en., He affirmed and ratified his

statement upon its being read to him word for word. He

said he was sixty-seven years of age, little more or less.

He signed it with me, s,a, id G,overno, r, and the zyzitnes,se, s

52

I use, as has been s,tat, ed. In sdvitnes swhereof I certify:

--corrrecte,d-- according -- Valid --- between lines --

holidays --. Valid --

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete. Juan Galban

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 16v-17v in F.8-14-1756,

53

Immediately I, sra,id Gov,ern,or, on s,a,id day, month

and year, had D,o,n Christobal de los Santos appear before

me. To his self-same person' w.hom I certify I know in the

presence of my att.estin,g witnesses, I ad:-,.inistered an oath18

w.hic,h he took in the_name of G.o,d, //our L,o,rd, and a

sign of the Cross in the prescribed manner and according

to law, under penalty of wrhic,h he promised to tell the

truth insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

Upon being informed of the nature of the second point

in Dro,n Jrose,ph Curbelo's writ, he said that. the will

which.Dro,n Juan Curbelo declared and which is being showm

to him is in his owm handwriting. He remembers and recalls

that he wr6te all of it. He likewise recognized the hand-

writing of the clause exhibited to him.between lines as his,

bru,t he does not remember the cause or motive fro,r its

being placed as it appears, nor does he know if it was in-

cluded after the S-=Till, was made or at the time it was de-

clared. The deceased Dro,n Jrose,ph Bueno de Roxas, son-

in-law of D,o,n J,ua,n Curbelo, was the one who directed

and framed the will. Gaprtai,n Vrrutia attested it. Just

as he does not recall how that clause came to be placed

in the will,, so ;,he cannot recall, why the inclusion

between lines was not noted at the end.

He said this was the truth insofar as he knows and. is

54

certaini under penalty of the oath tE.ak,en. He affirmed

and ratified his statement upon its being read to him word

for word. He said he was f-i ft-,T-three years of age, little

more or less. He said, that even though the general.r ex-

emptions, of the law apply to . him because he is married to

the widow of Dro,n Jrose,ph Bueno c?e Roxas, a sister of18v

Dro,n JCos,errh, Gurbelol not because of //this would he

fall bnck on the sanctity of the oath. He.signed it with

me, sra,id Gov^ern,or, and.witnesses9 according to law.

I certify: .

nD. Angel de Iflartos yNavar. rete

(Rubric) Christoval de los Sari.tos Coy

(Rubric)Witness:

co 0Fran. Ant. Soliz Wi tn e s s e

Domingo Garsia

.(Rubric )

,Dg'l7v-l8v in E.8-14-1756,

55

Immediately thereafter I, sra,said Gov r_ern, or g in the pro-

secution of these proce,edin,gs, had.D.o,n A..ntro:ci,o Rodri-

gues 1--federos appear before me. To his self-sa^a::e person,

w,ho,m I certify I know, I administnred an oath w,h.ic,h he

took in the prescribed manner and accordingto law, under

penalty of which he promised to tell the truth insofar as

he knew and }night be questioned.

Upon being informed of the request. made by. D,o,.r_•. J,ose,ph

Curbelo, he said it is true he sold a suertE of land to Dro,n

J,ose,ph Curbelo, a citr_iz,en of this villa, for which the

deed of sale.was executed in the presence of Do,n Franrcis,co

de Arocha' deceased nota,ry of cabildo. After I, sra,id

Gov,ern,or, had shown him the aforesaid deed and after he

had closely examined his signature, he said it was the same

one he was accustomed to make and acknowledged it as such.

He said this was the truth, under penalty of the oath

trak;en' a statement he affirmed and ratified upon its being19

read to hom word for word. He . said he was //fifty-two years

of age, little more or less. He signed it with me, sra,id

Gov,,ern, or 9 and witnes rse, s. In Ti.? tness 7,,rhereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)Antonio rrodriges y mederos

(Rubric)

Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness o

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

,DS 18,v-19 in L.8-14-1756^

56

SOn s,a,id day, month and year, I, sa,id Grovernor,

had DroP^,a Gracia Per•do;.no9 widow of Dr_o,n Juun Curbelo,

appear before me. To her self-same person, w,ho,m I certify

I know, I administered an oath whic,h she took in the com-

plete prescribed manner of the law, under penalty of whic;Ih.

she promised to tell the truth insofar as she. kne4v7 and

might be questioned.

Guided by that wrhic,h her son, Don J,ose,p'ri Curbelo,

requests, she said that the first four clauses are and were

determined by the deceased9 beca,us,e he told her so. As

for- the other clauses, she does not know about them because

she was not Present at the time her deceased husband made

,that part of, the will, for she had been ordered to s:aith-

dra.Ua. She heard tell t^ha.,t sra,id will was in Captain

Vrrutia's house for a long time and subse.q,uent,ly was, in

the house of Dr-o,n Bisente Albares Trauieso, the witness'

son-in-law. Its clauses.were never read to her, nor does

she know ^.T.ha,t it comprises, for whic,h reason shel9v ,

//1?.umbly begs that all of it be read to her in order that

she may testify.

After I, s,a,id GovEern,or9 had complied T,aith this

requ:est,, she replied to the fifth clause and said that the

debt of Dota Ana Maria de Almandos was valid. An attempt

was made to pay this debt to Dro,n Joaquin de Grobio y

57

SBasterral cap=tai,n of the.r roya,l P.resridi,o of La Bahia^

in corn, but he did not wish to accept it. Later, sra,id

s.eto^ra sent a power of attorney to s,aid Captain Vrruti.a9

^r,h,o did not want to accer)t corn either. However, she

knows her soni Dro,n Jros,e.rph, Curbelo, paid the d.ebt,.

She is not acquainted with, nor does she know.anything

about the sixth clause.

Concerning the seventh, she knows that the fane a of

corn was paid to Juan Delgado.

Concerning the eighth clausel.she does not know if there

were more goods from the interior o,ther th.a,n two empty

boxes. This clause must have been spontaneou^§ly included

by the one who directed the will, thinking the boxes

were full.

With regard to the nihth, she states trha,t as for the

two houses, they are nothing but rooms today, fallen down

and without roofs. She has not observed two plots with.

said rooms, but only one,

As for the tenth clause, she says it is true.

With regard to the eleventh, she says t.ha,t she never

knew the deceased, her husband, to have more trha,n two oxen,

the ones the king gave him; and as for that, one ox called20

El Vesitador was killed within the lifetime of her //hus-

band. If there had been as many oxen as the clause states'

Sit would have been foolish to lease oxen from Lieu.tena,nt

D,o,n 14atheo Peres in return for a small -piece of land.

Wztr-h regard, to the cows, she cannot state the numberg

but she does know t.ha,t some were killed by indians and

some were killed in order to serve as sustenance for the

witness. Also, some were sold by s,a,id witness to help

pay for her needs. D,,o,n Fran,cisco de Arocha, deceased'

took the few remaining, she does not know their number,

back to the ranch. Even though the co-heirs charge her son

with a number of cows w.hic,h they say Ignacio, de la Gar7a

took, her s,a,id son ought not to be charged, fCo,r sra,id

Ign,acio, only took four cows, three of which belonged to

her daughter-in-law Raphaela, and the other, called La

GachuPina9 belonging to her son Jcos,e,Ph,9 given to him

by his f.athe r when he was alive, which wandered ata7ay.

Concerning the four horses, she does not know about,

nor does she know of any other tha,n two colts wr-hic,h Lieu.-

rtena,nt Galban gave to her son Jros,erph,. Of the two mules,

one, after having been taken from the indians who had sto-20v

len it, was found dead in the Paso //de Tejas, and the

other was found dead, in the ford of this river w,hic,h

leads to the ILIis,sion of Or-a,n Antroni,o.

The clause, concerning tools, land and -,rater attached

to the piece of horse pasture is true, as it appears.

g

WitrY% regard, to the two hundrr,ed fanKeg®as of corn,

the deceased neither planted, nor saw, nor -gathered them.

Thus she knows trha,t the one wrho directed the writing,

of the will directed to his own taste, for the deceased

could not put in that about w.hic,h he did not know.

She thinks her son must have paid the debts to Captain

Vrrutia, D.o,n Juan Leal, and the 5'ref1-,or Curate Recio,

since they have not tried to collect.

It is true her daughter, DzoP,a Maria received the cows

noted in the clause conrcer,ning her inheritance.

After having read and made known to her all the receipts

presented by Dro,n Jrose,ph Curbelo, which comprise fourteen

paid by his deceased frathe,r and brotrhe,r7 she said they

were valid, as was also true his having paid she does not

know what quantity to Bernardo Jrose,ph^ and given twenty

or twenty-five fan,e^7,as of corn to Treuifio and she does

not remember hro,w much to Maria Jrose,pha TreuiP^oj even

t.houg.,h there are no receipts. D^o,n Antron.i,o de los

Saritos was naid what was due him for the construction of

the house. Also true and valid, she said., was the sale of

three hours of water 9 sold by D.,ona Maria Curbelo, her

daughter, to her Dota Maria, brot.her Jose,ph Curbelo;21

//the receipt given by Lieut,ena,nt Dr o,n J^ua,n Galban for

what was given him as his judicial fee•, the list of proprert,y

60

Sbelonging to the deceased, her husband, which was sold to

her son, Dron Jrose,Dh Curbelo, as best bidder for said

property; and the power of attorney w,hic,h the witness

granted to D-,o,n. Antroni,o Rodriguez Mederos.

She is certain trha,t sra,ia Rod_riguez sold a suerte

of land witk its watep to her son, Dro,n

Jros,erph:; Ciarbelo, who bought it with the express permis-

sion of his frathe,r and of his m.other, and who gave for.

it a waistcoat of yellow satin, a bull ox, and no more, as

the deed will state. Her soh Jrose,ph bought the piece of

land of the horse pasture after the death of his fr athe,r

from his brotr-he,r, may he rest in peace, and. paid him with

a horse, saddle, spurs, tWo v.ara,s of cloth of Cholula,

and six v,ara,s of cloth w,hic,h her son J,oseph gave to

his sister D^ota Maria Ana Curbelo. He also.-Daid several

bills, for the grave-clothes as well as for the funeral,

burial, other affairs, and the obligation of a prayed mass

to the Szefo,r Sra,n Roque every year.

She declares tha,t about ten strings of chile and a

little cotton in a hat box was divided among everyone, both21v

p.aren,ts and children. Only one arroba of cotton //in the

hull was given to Frathe, rFrray, Miguel for amass. When-

ever the witness killed a cow she divided the meat and lard,

as well as the candles which were made, among all her

61

daughters. The corn, except for the twn.nty-five fans eg,as

given as gifts, was eaten by all her children.

Finally, she states t,:ha,t none of the joint-heirs of

her decr_eas,ed husband have any reason for making accusations

against her son, Dco,n Jrose,ph Curbelo. She has repro-

duced the instruments she presented in the procecedin,gs of

D,o,n Juan Galban, f,o,r her son, Dro,n Jcoserph, Curbelo,

did nothing with the property of his frathe,r without the

consent and advice of the witness. She has not been in-

fluenced, advised, or rewarded for making this stateLra.eht.

She has made it of her free-will because she was called and

she wished to ease her conscience.

She said this was the truth under penalty of the oath

t,ak,en, which she affirmed and ratified after this state-

rnent had been read to her word for word. She said she was

more than seventy years of age. She did not sign it because

she said she did not know how. I, said Governor and Cap rtai,n22

General, signed it, //with my ass r-istin, gwitnes ,se, swith

w.ho,m I act according to law. In, witness whereof I cer-

tify: -- Those present at the time this statement was read

to Dron^a Grasia Perdomo, in addition to those asscistin,g

me and irn orde,r trhat at no time I, s,a,id Govrern,or,

be accused of bowing to external influences while acting

officially to avoid rash judgments between parties, were

62

Sthe first-ranking. reiidor D,on Luis AntConi,o Menchaca.)

Nicolas QuiPiones and Ser, grea,nt Balthasar Peres, former

comrmand,er of the Fres,idi,o of S,a,n Antconi,o and

iustica.a m.aior of this Villa of S^a,n Fernr.an,dos In order

to record this, I comman.ded that a writ be issued, wrhic,h

they signed with me and witnesses, as has been sr-tat,ed.

I certify: --testate--with its correspnndci,ng water,

not valid. -- between lines--empty--be--valid--

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Baltasar peres

(Rubric)

Wi tn e s s :co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

0l,u i s An t t . Men c ha c a

(Rubric)

Nicolas quifiones

(Rubric)

Witness:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

,DS 19-22 in B.cJ-ly-1f 563

63

SrCross,

♦

D,o,n Angel de Martos y Nauarrete, I,ieu,tena,nt GolonCe,1

of the h,oya, l Ar,zni, es, Govrern, or and Captain Gr-ene, ral of

this Prov,inc,e of Thejas, New Phili.ppi.ne,s9 its Presridi,os,

Conversions and Frontiers rsic, 9 with the military command

of Panzacola and Coaguila, and with the assristancre of the

New Kingdom of Leon by His, Mrajesty, (may God pr,otec, t

him):

Inasmuch as I have a petition of Dro,n Jrase,ph Curbelo

in w.hic,h he requests, since some writs made at my co,mman,d

by Dro,n Juan Galban, former cozn,mand,er of this pres.idio,

were removed from the file of the Archive, trha, t Captain

D,,o,n Thoribio de Vrrutia appear in this my court of justice

and swear if he had rower of attorney from Dr ,ota 'Maria de

Almandos to collect the sum of one hundred and eighty-six

pesos, and. since sra,id cap,tai,n was unable to appear in

my s,aid court, I should have commanded and did command that

he be notified personally of this my decree and t,ha,t fol-

lowing it (he shall return the original to me) he certify if

it is true or not,he held sra,id power of attorney, and, if

he keeps it, to submit it to me.

So I decreed, commanded and sighed. 9 on the seventh day23v

of the month.//of Aurgu,st of the year sic, one thousand.

64

Sseven hundred and sixty-ttdo, acting before-:-.myself as 'ues

receptor with attrestin,g witnesses for lack of public and

Rroya,l nortaries and on this conr^_on paR^e,r. In witness

whereof I certify to all:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran., Ant. Soliz Nicolas quifiones

(Rubric) (Rubric)

CD1JG3-G3v in E.

8-14-1756,

Having seen the preceding decree issued by the Sre?^,or

Governor and heedful of its contents, Dro,n Thoribio de

Vrrutia9 canCtai,n of this Dresirdi,o, says he does not

have, nor has had, power of attorney from Do fla 14aria de

Almandos, and that he had only had a certain recommefidation,

with list of creditors, from Dro,n Diego de las Cortes, ad-

ministrator of s,aid Cefiora, so that he might charge and

collect for them. I bear in mind the affair of Do,n

JuL a, n Curbelo as having appeared in s,a, id recommendation

and list. Sra,id recovery of debts having not had the

desired effect, I tried to notify sra,id Dro,n Diego, re-'

turning to him his list and papers.- 24

Because //rit, is there true I explain and certify this

in the best form to be found at law. In this P.coya,l

Presir_di,o of C,a,n Antroni,o de Bejar on the sixth day of

the mohth of Au,gu, st of the y,ea, r one thousand seven

r,hundr,ed and sixty-two.

Thoribio de Vrrutia

(Rubric

rDi 23v-.24 in E.18-14-1756^

66

On sra,id day, month and year, I, sra,id Govrern,or,

having seen the preceding certificate given by Caprtai,n

Dro,n Thoribio de Vrrutia, should have commanded and did

command these decrees be filed. So I decreed, commanded,

and signed. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Witness: Witnessco 0

Fran. Ant. S:oliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 2.4 in E.8-1?+-1756,

67

SOn sra,id day, -month and year, I, s,,a,id Govrern,or9

in nrosecution of these proceredin,gsl had appear before me

^,D,o,n ^!^n.t,oni,o Rodriguez ==-ederosi wrh,o served as attres-

tin,g witness for Zieu.tena,nt D,:on.Juan Galban in the

writs placed into ex.ecution by my or,de,r. To his person,

wrho,m I certify 1 krow, I administered an oath wr-hic,h he24v

took in the form of and //conforming to the law. Beneath

the charge of this roath, he promised to tell the truth of

that w.hich he should know and. would be asked.

Being informed of what Dro,n Jrose,ph Curbelo reauests

in his writ, the witness said that, as attrestin,g witness

for T.,ieu,tena,nt Dron Juan Galban, he knows and is certain

t.ha,t Lieutenant Galban, first notified Dro,n Bisente

Albar,e,s Trauieso, as first executor, of the or,de,r

t,ha,t I, sra,id Govr_ernorl dispatched to Lieur-tena,nt

Galban from La Bahia, so that rDon Bisente, might give to

everyone a complete, due account regarding his office, and

the cause or motive for his not having executed sra,id will

in twenty years or more. G,aid Trauiesci replied tha,t

,Lieutenant Galban, should address everything to D,o,n

J,:ose,ph Curbelo, his brotrhe,r, inasmuch as sra,id Trauieso

had desisted, and did not wish to manage sra,id. office of

executor.

In the same manner9 sr.:a,id Dro,n Vis.ente, as well as

68r

aall the other co-heirs, had been su_mmoned to attend the

auctio.n,s, pay the charges whic,h appear in the ^vill, and

bid on the property auctioned after the charges had been

paid. However, not one of the c.o-heirs.either bid or ap-25

peared., and the only bidders were, in //first place, Dro,n

Frari.-cis, co Delgado; in second .place, the S^e^ or Curate

and Carlos

was one

other bidder, he does not recall w:c,^h,o it was. Since D,on

J,ose,ph Curbelo was an heir, he was preferred in the sale

of this villa Dro,n Juan Ignra.cio, Cardenra,s;

Beles de la Torre. Thou,g,h. he believes there

of sa,id property9,rthe

thre.e hundr,ed and five

not appear personally at

at the request of s.a,id

delayed for fifteen days

removed for auction, and

property, having 'peen sold for

pesos. The other co-heirs did

any time, despite the fact t,,ha,t'

Curate Cardenra, s 9 the sale was

more after the proprert,y had been

that for every slimmons of the co-

heirs Bieur_tena,nt Galban had acted i-.rith so much courtesy

trha,t w.hen,ever he notified them he did not have them

called to his house but went to each of the houses, of

the co-heirs, wh.ere he gave them the notificat,i,on and

citatr?,on.

This :depdsition,, he said, was the truth, by the oath

wrhic,h he tro,ok.. He affirmed and ratified this, his de-

clarat.i,on, upon its being read to him word for lA7ord. He2 ^v

said he was fifty-two years of age, little more //or less.

69

He signed this with me, sra,id Groverno,r9 and the aforesaid

witnerss,es. In z.,ritness ^,rhereo.f I certify:

nD. Angel de i,=^artos y Navarrete

(Rubric)Antonio rodriges y mederos

(Rubr=ic )

Wi tn e s s aco 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

.DS 24-25v in F.8-14-1756,

70

SImmediately therea.fter, I, sr_a,id Govrern,or9 had

Joaqrui,n de 1,1edina9 an attrestin,g witness for Lieutenant

D,o,n Juan Galban, appear before me. To his self-same. per-

son, who,m:I certify I knaw, I administered an oath

w.hic,h he took in the name of Go,d9 our Lr o,rd, and the

sign of a Gross. Under charge of this roath, he nromized

to tell the truth of that wrhic,h he should know and

would be asked.

Upon being informed of the writ presented by D,on

Jrose,ph Gurbelol he said that not only had he served as

att.estin,g witness for D,on Juan Galban but he had also

been the clerk for s^ a.,said rgentlemen, in all the writs put

into execution regulating the or,:de,r ia-,hic,h I9 sra,id

Gov,ern, or g sent to him for the frapning of decrees which

were issued because of the end and death of D,o,n Juan

Curbelo. In this way he knows and is certain t,ha,t26

Lieu,.tena,nt Dro,n Juan Galban9 after being //refused

admittance by D,:o,n F-ran.cis,co de Arocha' deceased,

notified Do,n Bisente Albare,s Trauieso and the other

co-heirs of Do,n Juan Curbelo of the or.d.e,r wrhic,h I7

s.a,id Gov,ernor, had newly intrusted to the aforementioned

Lieurtena,nt around the month of September of the year

cseventeen hundred and, fifty-nine. Sra,id Trauieso did

not wish to comply with anything9 and thou,g,h he was

71

Ssummoned to the auctiorns and sale of propert,y, as

werethe other co-heirs, they neither attempted to bid nor

out-bid others. Those who did bid were D.o,n Franrcis,co

Delgado, the ^^en,or Curate Cardenas, and Carlos Beles. In

behalf of s.aid Curate Cardenra,sl the final sale of nro-

p.ert,y was postponed for about fifteen days, although pub-

lic auctiorn,s had been held on three holidays in the

Reoya,l Houses of this villa, because he r-Curate Gardenas,

had heard D,-o,n Bisen.te Albarre, s Traui eso say he had not

heard tell of any such auctior_n,s, thou.gh he lived next to

the R,.oya,l Houses and had been summoned to everything.

Finally said prop,ert,y was sold.for thre.e riundr,ed and

five peso,s to Dro,n Jros,e,ph, Curbelo. filthroug,h Dro,n

Franrcis,co Delgado had bid the same quantity, the,^pro-

perty, was sold to sra,id Curbelo, who was an heir and26v

therefore preferred, and whose money was //presented.in a

draft supplied to him by the Reeveren,d Frathe,r, Presi-

d.e,nt of Missions, Frray, I,-lariano Franrcis,co de los

Dolorre,s. The tiltitness, continued, saying tr_ha,t when

Lieu,tena,nt Galban rnade a charge against Dro,n Bisente

Albar^e,s Trauieso, informing him of the coem,,^rian,d. of the

Sr. eP^^ or Govrern, or demanding the reason for his not having

fulfilled in over twenty years his duty as he was obligated

to do as first executor of Dro,n Juan Curbelo, s,:a,id

72.

irauieso.replied t.ha,t he had never had the will in his

possession until the year rseventeen hundred and , fifty-

eight, the year, it was given to him by-Cap,tai,n Dro,n

Thoribio de Vrrutia, in whose possession it had been and

who was leaving for Mex_ri, co r-City, .

This rd.eposition,, he said, was the truth, by the oath

wrhic,h he tr-o,ok. This, his declarat.i,on, he affirmed

and ratified upon its being read to him word for word. He

said he was forty-five years of age. He signed this with

me, s,a,id Govern,or, and the aforesaid z.-itnesrse,s. In

witness 7^,rhereof I certify:

x^ .D-. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juachin de medina

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 25v-26v in F.. 8-14-1756,

78

•

27In the Villa of San Fernando on the ninth day of //the

month of Aurgu,st of the year one thousand seven hundr,ed

and sixty-two, I, said Govern,or and Cap,tai,n G,ene,ral,

in prosecut.i,on of these proc,eedir,gs, had appear before me

Dro,n Andres Ramon, second-ranking_alcalde of this afore-

mentioned villa. To his person, whom I certify I know, I

ad^in:istered-an,oath, which he took in the name of God,

our Z,o,rd' and a sign of the Hro,ly Cross according to law.

Beneath the charge of this roath, he promised to tell the

truth of that which he should. know and would be-asked.

Upon being informed of the request of Dco,r? J,os,er.ph,

Curbelo' he said, that he does hot know nor does he have

information of the dec rees about which he is being q„ues-

tioned. He has only heard Dro,n Jr oseph IV1an,ue,l de

Sran, ta 1ilaria l re ' iaor of this villa say that said decrees

were in the Archive9 but the witness had never seen them.

He does not know if other papers are missing from the

Archive of this villa. The keys to the rArchive, were

placed in the hands of Dro,n Juan Jros,eph, Flores9 first-

ranking alcaide and Dr-o,n Luis Antonio T•!enchaca, first

rejidor' at the time it was accepted. Another r-key was

;iven, to the senior alguacil9 Dr_o,n Bis,:en,te Albares

Trauieso. The witness, knows that during the absence of

Dco,n Juan Jrose,ph F-lorce,s and Dro,n Luis Menchaca, at

74

S times when they have been at their ranches, the keys were

left rhere,, as is the custom, but he does not knoz-rnor

recall to whom of the cabildo they were given.27v

This, he said, was the truth, by the //oath taken..

He affirmed and ratified this, his declaration, upon its

being read to him. word for word. He said he was forty-two

years of age, little more or ?ess. He signed this with me,

said. G.overno,r, and the aforesaid witnesses. In witness

whereof I certify:.-- corrrected -- declared -- valid --

nD. L-:igel de 14artos y Navarrete Andres Ramon

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 26v-27v in E.B-14-1756,

75

On said day, month and year, I9 said Grovern,orl had

appear before me Do,n.Franr-cis,co Delgado, reiidor of this

villa, and to his Derson, whom I certify I know, I adr-ninis-

tered an oath which he took in the name of God, our Lro,rdl

and a sign of the H,o,1y Cross according to law. Under

charge of this roath, he promised to tell the truth of that

which he should know and would be asked.

Upon being informed of the statemenr-t,s of D-o,n. Juan

Galban, Dr-o,n I^.ntroni,o Rodriguez, and Joaqrui,n de Medina,

and.of the w-rit of Dro,n J^ose,ph Curbelo, he said it was

true he was a bidder for the property of D,o,n Juan Curbelo.

He does not remember what amount he bid, but he does re-

member that, as the sale was about to be made to the28

//witness, Dco,n Jros,erph, Curbelo appeared in such a

manner that the sale went to him for the same amount the

witness had bid in competition with Carlos Beles and the

C.et.,oiZ Curate Cardenas. He declares that, although. as

reiidor he was present at the ti.-f:ne the Archive of this

villa was received, he did not see the decrees about which

he is being questioned, but that Dro,n Jrose,ph Man,ue,l de

Sran,ta Maria assures the witness he saw them in the Archive.

Of the keys to the Archive,g one was given to the first-

ranking alcalde9 Dro,n Juan J,ose,ph Florres9 another to

the first re:^idor, DCo,n Luis Antonio I-#enchaca9 and the

76

other to the sreni,or alguacil? Dro,n Bisente Albares

Trauieso. He knows that D.o,n Luis Menchaca' on one of

the occasions in which he, absented himself to his ranch,

gave said key to the sr-eni,or alguacil Dro,n Bisente Albares

Trauieso' reco:c^.^^ending that he9 in turn,, give it to the

witness, but he does not know the number, of days that

passed between the time, Don Luis gave it to said D,o,n

Visente and the time,.the latter;rgave it, to the witness.

.He does not know if decrees other than those framed by Dro,.n

.Juan Galban are missing from the Archive, since, even

though they have been searched for, they have not been found.

This, he said' was the.truth of that which he knows,

under charge of the oath trak,en. He affirmed and ratified

this, his declarat,:i, on ,. upon its being read to him word28v

for //titirord. He said he was forty-six years of age, little

more or less. He signed this with me, said Govrern,or,

and the attrestin,g witnress,es with whom I act... In wit-

ness:whereof I certify: -- witnre,ss, I saw -- not valid --

n coD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Fran. Delgado

(Rubric) (Rubric)'

Wi tn e s s: Wi tn e s s:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 27v-28v in E.

77

SImmediately thereafter, I, said Gov,ern,or, had appear

before me Dro,n Pedro de Ocon y Trillo, reiidor of this said

villa. To his person, whom I certify I know, I administered

an oath which he took in the prescribed manner and according

to law. Under charge of this roath, he promised to tell the

truth in that i,rhich he should know and would be asked.

Upon being regularly informed of the writ of Do,n

J.os,e,ph, Gurbelo' he said that although it is true they

received the Arclhive, he does not know about, nor did he see

the decrees about which he is being questioned, but he does

know they are missing from said Archive. Also missing is a

preparatory proceeding issued against the witness by D,o;n

Alberto Lopes by a mandate given to the latter, by Don29

11'artin Lorenzo, then alcalde. If //the cited writs are mis-

sing, it might be that others are missing. The keys of the

Archive were placed into the hands of Dro,n Jrua,n Jros,er-ph,

Flores, alcalde; Dro,n Luis'Menchaca9 re:iidor; and Dro,n

Visente Albares Trauieso, s,enior alguacil. He also knows

that when they absented themselves to their ranches, DCo,n

Juan Jrose,ph Flores left this his key to Dro,n Sir.non de

Arocha, a nephew of Dron. Visente^ and Dro,n Li.is Menchaca

left his to Trauieso so that he might give it to Dro,n Fran-

rcis,co Delgado. On this occasi,on the three keys remained

gathered in one house, since the house, of Trauieso is the

78

same as that of D,o,n Simon.

He said this is the truth, under charge of the oath

trak,en. He affirmed and ratified this, his declaration,

upon its being read to him word for word. He said he was

fifty-eight years of age, little more or less. He signed

this with me, said Gov.-ern,or, and the aforesaid witnes.se,s.

In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

Redro de Ocon Y ttrillo(Rubric)

(Rubric)

Witness:co 0 Witness:

Fran. Ant. SolizDomingo Garsia

(Rubric)(Rubric)

eDS 28V-29 in E! .8-l4-17563

79

SIn said villal said day, month and year, I, said G,ov-

ern, or, had appear before ine P.o, n Lui s Ant,oni, o Ilenchaca,29v

//first-r.anking rejidor) and to his person, whom I certify

I know, I administered an oath which he took in the pre-

scribed manner,of the law. Under charge of this•^oath, he

promised to tell the truth in that which he should know and

would be asked.

Upon being informed of the writ of DCo,n Jose,ph Cu.r-

belo' he said that at the time the Archive of this villa

was received and while he was taking an inventory of the

Superior Dispatches, the witness saw that D,o,n J,ose,ph

Manrue, l de. Sran, ta iiaria. was . reading some decrees which

appeared to the witness to be the same ones about which he,

is being questioned. He states this with hesitation how-

ever, since said Sr-an,ta Maria had told him this after they

had left the RLoya,l Houses and quite a few days had inter-

vened. The witness judges they were the same which said

S.an,ta Maria t^,ras reading. He does not know if other decrees

are missing from the Archive.

At the time the Archive, was received, one of the keys

was placed into the hands of D,o,n Juan Jros,e,ph, Florre,s9

first-ranking alcald4, another was placed in the hands of,

D,o,n Visente Albares Trauieso, and the other was received

by the i•r_itness. Having occasion to go to his ranch, where

8 0

he was detained for about two mor^ths, he left this key, to

said D,o,n Visente Albarre,s Trauieso when he left, since

Dro,n Fran.rcis, co Delgado, to whom said key would belong,

was not in this villa. jravieso, was to deliver it to said

Dro,n Franr_cis,co Delgado as soon as he should arrive, but30

//he does not know if he delivered it then or not. The key

was not delivered to the witness after he had returned from

his ranch, nor did he hear of it.until a long time after

the arrival of the Ssefi_aor Grovern, or, when it was sent to

him from the house of D,o,n Franrcis,co Delgado.

He said. this was the truth, ubder charge of the oath

which he tro,ok. He affirmed and ratified this, his decla-

rat,i,on, upon its being read to him word for 7,tirord. He

said he was forty-two years of age. He signed this with

me, said Gov,ern,or, and the aforesaid witness,es. In

witness whereof I certify:

0.D. .AngO_l de Martos Navarrete Luis Antt. Menchaca

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 29-30 in E.8-14-17563

In"said Villa of San Fernran,do on the eleventh day of

the month of Au,gu, st of the year one thousand seven rhun-

dr,ed and sixty-two, I, said Grovern,or and Caprtai,n G,eneral,

in prosecut,i,on of these proce.edin,gs, had abpear before me

D,:o,n Juan J,ose,ph.Flores; first-ranking alcalde of this

said vill.s.. To his persong whom I certify I kn.ow^ I adminis-

tered an oath L^rhich he took in the name of God, our Zro,rd,

and a sign of the Ho;ly Cro.ss according to law. Under charge34v

of this roath, he promised to tell //the truth,of that which

he should know and vtould be asked.I

Upon being informed of the writ presented by D,o,n

Jrose,ph Curbelol he said he does not know of, nor did he

see in the Archive the writs about which he is being ques-

tioned. The witness knew afterward that although the writs

were searched for in all the Archive, they were not found

anywhere.

The witness received one of the keys at the time said

Archive was received, D,o,n Luis Menchaca another and Dro,n

Bisente Albares Trauieso another. Of the two different

occasiorn,s in which.the witness found it imperative to leave

this vill.a, the first time he gave the key to Dro,n Simon

de Arocha, and the second time, not wishing to give it to

anyone,' he left it secured in his house. Upon being asked

the reason for his leaving the key, secured in his house

.62

athe sec.,o,r_d time after having given it to someone else,

the first tsr^e9 he replies that he did not have time to de-

liver it to someone else, because of the urgency of his

departure. He adds that D,o,n J,ose,ph Manrue,l de S.an,ta

i,',aria has assured the ZAfitress, of his having had the writs

in his hands at the time the inventory of the Archive was

madel an 'C.inventory, made of the dispatches only, and not31

of the other judicial and //extrajudicial papers9 as said

inventory should consist of.

He said this was the truth under charge of the oath he

tro,ok. He affirmed and ratified this sic,, his statetnent,-

upon its being read to him word for word. He said he was

firty-nine years of age. He signed this with me, said Grov-

ern,or 9 and witnesses, according to law. I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juun Jph. floes

(Rubric) (Rubric

1;;ii tne s s: Wi tne s s:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

.DS 30-31 lri>'E.8-14-17563

IrLmediately, I9 said Govrern,or9 had appear before me

Dco,n Simon de Arocha, re'idor of this Villa of Sra,n Fer-

n,ando. To hi s-oerson9 Whom I certify I know, I adminis-

tered an oath in the presc.ribed manner and according to law.

Under charge of this oath, he promised to tell the truth

. in that.which he should know and would be asked.

Upon being informed of the writ of D,:o,n Jr.os,etph,

Curbelo, he said he does not know cabovt, nor did he ever

see in the Archive the writs about which he is being ques-

tioned.

Of the keys to the Archive, one was given to D,o,n Juan3lv

JCose,ph Florre,sl //first-ranking alcalde, another to D,o,n

Luis Menchaca, first-rank,_ng r. e'idor 9 and the other to D,o, n

Visente Al bar e, s Trauieso, uncle of the witness. Of the

occasio,n,s that Dro,n Juan Jrose,-oh Florre,S and DCo,n Luis

Menchaca went to their ranches, D.o,n Juan Jrose,ph Florre,s

left rhis, key to the witness once, so.that he, in turn,,

might give it to the second-ranking alcalde9 Do,n Andres

Ramon, to whom the witness. gave it with very little delay.

. He does not know to whom D,on Luis Menchaca gave his key.

He said this was the truth under the oath tcak,era. He

affirmed and ratified this, his declaration, its having been

read to him word for o.4ord. He said he was thirty-one years

of age. He signec, this with me, said G.overn,or9 and the

84

aforesaid witn,ess,es. In witness whereof I certify: -

one9 between lines, valid --

nD. An^el de Martos y Navarrete co

Simon Fran. de arocha(Rubric)

Witness:co 0

Fran. Pmt. Soliz

(Rubric)

(Rubric)

Wi tn e s s:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

,DS 31-31v in F.8-1f+-175b^

In said Villa of S.a,n Fernan.,do, on the twelfth day2^

of said month //and year,, I, said Governoror and Captain

Grene,ral, had apDear before me the sr-eni,or alguac;l Don

. Bisente Albares Trauieso. To his -?erson 9'whom- I certify I

know, I administered an oath which he took in the name of

G,o,d9 our Lo,rd9 a'nd a sign of, the Cross according to law.

Beneath its charge he promised to tell the truth of that

which he should know and would be asked.

Upon being informed of the contents of the writ pre-

sented by B,o,n Jose.ph, Curbelo, he said that he did not

see the writs about which he is being questioned in the

Archive, nor does he know of nor has he received any infor-

mation about them.

When the Archive was delivered into their hands, one

of the keys was given to the witness, another to the alcalde

Dro,n. Juan J,ose,ph Florre,s9 and the other to D,on Luis

Menchaca, first-ranking reiidor. Of the occasio.ns that

D,o,n Luis Menchaca went to his ranch, he left the key with

the witness once so that he might give it to Dro,n Fran-

,cis, co Delgado, which he did as soon as he saw said Delgado.

He does not know to whom Dron Juan Jrose,ph Florres left

his key when he went to his ranch, but that on one of these

occas:iorn,s Dro,n Juan Jr-oseph Flore,s either tried to -

give the key to the witness or asked the thritness, to whom

86

he should give it, though he does not now recall which of

the two it was. He does remem'i-.er that he told him he should32v

deliver it to his colleague, the //second-ranking alcalde.

Upon being questioned by me, said G.overnor, about

the reason for their not delivering all of the paper.s rest-

ing in said Archive for a gene,,ral inventory in considera-

tion of the fact, that there.z:las no no,ta,ry in this villa,

he said they did not pay,attention to other than the dis-

Datches because, everything else had been received in great

quantity in two tied bundies of papers.

aIe said this was the truth under charge of the oath

t,ak;en. He affirmed and ratified this, his declaratri,on9

upon its being read to him word for word. He said he was

sixty years of age, little more or less. He signed this with

me, said Grovern,or, and witnesses according to the law.

I certify:

D. Angel de Martos y lTavarrete teBiz. Alvares ttravieso

(Rubric)(Rubric)

!FIitness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

,.DS 31v-32v in E..8-14-1.7%,

In the Villa of S,a,n Fernan,6o de Vejar, on the

thirteenth day of the month of Aurgu,st of the year one

thousand seven rhundr.,ed and sixty-twol I, said Gov,ern,or^

had appear before me Do,n J,ose,ph Manrue,l de Santa Maria,

rejidor of this said villa. To his person, whom I certify

I know' I administered an oath, trrhich he took_. in the name

of God, our L,o,rd9 and a sign of the Hro,ly Cross according

to law. Under charge of this oatYi,, he promised to tell theq3

truth in that which he should know and would //be asked.

Upon being informed of the writ of Do,n J,ose,ph Cur-

belo, he said it is true he had in his hands, read, saw,

and again returned to the Archive the writs about which he

is being questioned. His reason for looking for them was

his having heard D.o,n Visente Trauieso say that papers were

missing from the Archive through fault of the re lidorre,s

and the othe,r persons who ran around with the keys to said

Archive. He was also looking for said writs because of the

many pesos which he paid out of his own pocket not only for

the sale of prop,ert,y to Don J,ose,ph Curbelo but also for

the charges ragainst the estate, now, in the form of receipts,

all of which was at the witness' e^^pensee

The keys to the Archive were placed into the hands of

Dro,n Juan J..,ose,ph Flore,s, first-ranking alcalde, D,o,n

Luis Menchaca' first re.'i" and the. s=ens,or aigus.cil

8

Dro,n Bisente Albares Trauieso. He heard Dro,n Luis Men-

chaca say that upon one occasion when he had gone to his

ranch, he had left his key to Dro,n Bisente Albar.e,s

Trauieso so that the lati,er, might pass it on to Dro,n

Fran,cis,co Delgado, and the witness, knows that rTravieso,

did this, but he does not know if he delayed in delivering

it or not. It seems to the witness that Dro,n Juan Jroseph

Flores left his key to D,o,n Simon de Arocha, nephew of

D,o;n Bisente.

He said this is the truth of what he knows under charge33v

of the oath //trak,en. He affirmed and ratified this, his

declarat,i, on, u-on its being read to him word for if.rord 9 for ^

though he is a com-oradre of Dron Jros,e^ph,. Curbelo^ not

because of this would he fall short of the sanctity of his

oath. He declared he was forty-eight years of age, little

more or less. He signed this with me' said GovEern,or9 and

witnesses. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete tta

Jo seph Manuel de S. Maria(Rubric)

(Rubric)

Wi tne s s :co 0 Witness:

Fran. Ant. SolizDomingo Garsia

(Rubric)(Rubric)

rDS 32v-33v,- in E.8-14-175b3

89

SIn the Vil7_a of Sra, n Fernando on said day, 9month and

year' I, D.o,n Angel de hifartos y Yauarrete, Lieurtena,nt

Colonre,l of the Rroya,l Arrmi,es, Gov,ern,or and CaT),tai,n

G,ene,ral of this Rrovrinc,e of Tejas, have studied the pre-

ceding depositions. Since the rexidor D,o,n Simon de Arocha

states that the alcalde D,o,n Jcose,ph Florre,s gave him the

key to the Archive at the time he was going to his ranch only

once and rthis, so that said Arocha might give it to the al-

calde D,o,n Andres Ramon, and since.the latter neither states

that he received said key nor gives information about whom34

it was given to, and since D,:o,n Juan //Jrose,ph Flores does

not state in his declaration that he left any orde,r for

the key's, being given to Dro,n Andres Ramon, but states

only that he gave it to D.o,n Simon de Arocha, I command that

all the withesses ratify their depositions and that the al-

caldes Dro,n Juan J,ose,ph Flores and Dro,n Andres Ramon make

statements under oath of all they might knoti,r, in particular,.

about this affair, so that with sight, on .al1. , I may provide

that which would be just. So I decreed, commanded 9 and

signed, with those assristiri,g mel with whom I act as recep-

toria according, to law. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

( Rubri: c )

Wi tn e s s:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

Witness:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric).

(Rubric) rDS 33v-34 in E.8-14-1'?%:,

9u

i

♦

Immediately thereafter, I, said G.overn,or, by virtue

of the command in the preceding decree, had appear before

me the first-ranking alcalde D,on Juan J,oseph Flores, a

witnres,s previously examined in these proce.edings. To

his person, whom I certify I know, I administered an oath,

which he took in the nrescribed manner and accarding to law.34v

Under charge //of this roath, he promised to tell the truth

in that which he should know and would be asked.

His declarat.i,on, made in these proceedings and con-

sisting of pages thirty and thirty-one, having been read

to him, he said it was the same he made and that it was

written in conformity with the way he stated it.

,He said, that in said declarat,i,on he forgot to re-

late the fact that the key to the Archive which he gave to

D,o,n Simo,n de Arocha was given with the condition that

he deliver it to D,o,n Andres Ramon, secro,nd-ranking alcalde.

Upon being asked again by me, said Govern,or, from which

of the two he had received said key in return,, he replied,

after a long pause during which he was trying to remember,

that he did not know which of the two, Dro,n Andres Ramon

or Dro,n Simr_o,n de Arocha, had delivered it to him. He

adds also that he carne into possession of the key at the

file in the Archive, for, when the witness was called upon

to nut the dispatch concerning the mourning for our Queen

and L.a,dy and the escutcheon of our King and Lo,rd in

.the file,, the keys had already, been placed in the locks

of said file. He does not know which of the two mentioned

put it rthere, , but at the time when said file was closed,

he took the key, from it.35

//He said this was the truth under charge of the oath

t.ak,en. All r,this statement, having been read to him word

for word, he said he would affirm everything and ratify it

one,two 9 three or whatever number of times are required by

law. He said he was forty-nine years of age. He signed

this with me, said G^overno,r, and the aforementioned wit-

nesses. I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Juun J-ah. Flores

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Pran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 34-35 in E.8-14-17563

4In said villa9 said day' month and year, I, said Gov-

ern,or9 had appear before me D,o,n Andres Ramon, second-

ranking alcalde, awitnres, s nreviously examined in these

nroce.edin, gs . To his person9whom I certify I know, I ad-

ministered an oath which he took in the prescribed manner

of and according to the law, tu?der Penalty of =>.Thi ch he pro-

mised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and might be

qtaestioned.

Upon being read the statement which he made and spin3ch,

is contained on pages twenty-six verso to twenty-seven verso

3[5vof these proceedings, he said it was the same which he //made

and that it is written in the same rcanner in which he sta-

ted rit,. He added that looking back, he reca,l,ls that

on one occasi,on; he did receive the key, but he does not

know if it was from the hand of Dr_o,n GiTmon or from the h,an,d

of Do,n :C'ran.cis,co Delgado. The witness actually does not

remember which of the two delivered it to him. Upon being

asked by me, said GovCern,or, upon how many occasiorn,sI after

the Archive had been delivered' said Archive was operled before

my arrival, he replied he does not recall how many times it

was, but it seems to him that upon the first occarsi,on he

had the key said Archive was not opened.

He said3 that all that he has stated is the truth,

under penalty of the oath trak,en. Everything having been

read to him word for word, he affirmed and ratified it one,

two, and three times, and. as many tirnes, as are required

by law. He said he was forty-two years of age, little more

or less. He signed this with me, said G.overn, or, and the

aforementioned witn r-es s, es . I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Andres Ramon

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,D8 35-315v in R.8-14-1756.

S J6

In said Villa of //S,-a nFern , an, do , said d ay' ',nnonth

and year, I, said Govrern,or, had appear before me D,o,n Luis

Menchaca, first rejidor, a SATitnres,s previously examined in

these proceedings. To his person, whom I certify I know, 1

administered an oath which he took in the name of Gro,d^

our Zro,rd7 and a sign of the Hro,ly Cross according to law'

under penalty of which he promised to tell the truth inso-

far as he knew and rnight be questioned.

After his statement, included on pages twenty-nine

through thirty, had been read to him, he said it was the

same one he had made, that it was written in the same

manner in which he had stated it, and that he had nothing to

add or withdraw.

He said this was the truth concerning what he knows,

under penalty of the oath t,,ak,en, which he will affirm and

ratify one, two and three ti<res, and-as many times, as he

is allowed by law: He said he was forty-two vears of age.

He signed this with me, said G#,:overn,or, and the afore-

mentioned witness,es. In witness whereof I certify:

n 0D. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Luis Antt. Menchaca

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:Co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 3 5v-36 in E.8-l4-17563

95

36vIn said //villa, said day, month and year, I, said Gov-

,ern,or, summoned before me D,o,n Pedro de Ocon y Trillo, a

witnres,s previously examined in these proceedings and a

re i idor of this vslla, whom I certify I krow. To his own

person I adrii-inistered an oath which he took in the pre-

scribed manner of and according to the law, under penalty

of which he promised to.tell the truth insofar as he knew

and might be questioned.

His statement, found on pages twenty-eight verso to

twenty-nine, having been read to him, he said it was the

same he had. decl.ared. He adds that at the time.the .Archive

was received, he saw that when D,o,n Bisente Albares Tra-

uieso asked Don Jr oseph Manue,l de Sran,ta Maria about

D,o,n Antroni,o Rodrigues' title, said Santa Maria replied

they should look for it because it should be there some-,

where, and that he was reading what was important to him,

the writs mentioned in these proceedings put into execution

by Dro,n Juan Galban, since these had cost.him his own pesos.

He said this is the truth concernin.g what he knows,

under penalty of the oath trak,en, which he affirms and rati-

fies on^^ two and three times, and as many times as the law

will //permit. He said he was fifty-eight years of age.

He signed this with me, said Gov,ern,or, and the.afore-

mentioned witn.ess,es.. In witness whereof I certifyo

S nD. Angel de ^^Tartos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Pedro de Ocon Y ttrillo

(Rubric)Witness:

co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Witness:

(Rubric) Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

rDS 36-77.in E.

•

aImimediately thereafter, I, said Gov,error, sU-mmoned

before me Dro,n Jrose,ph Man^ue,1 de Santa Marial rejidor

of this villa and a witness previously examined in these

procbedings. To his self-same person, whom I certify I

know, I administered an oath which he took in the prescribed

manner of and according to the law, under penalty of which

he promised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and might

be questioned.

.His statement, found on page,s thirty-two verso to

thirty-three verso, having been read. to him word for word,

he said it was the same he had made and that he had nothing

to add or withdraw from it, for it was written just as he

had told it.

He said this was the truth under penalty of the oath

tr-ak,eni which he affirms and, ratifies one, two and three37v

times, and as many times as he is permitted by law. //He

said he was forty-eight years of age. He signed it with

me, said Gov.ern,or, and witnress,es7 as has been stated.

In witness ^-^hereof-I certifyo

n

D. Angel de Martos y Navarrete ttasJoseph Manuel de S. Maria

(Rubric)(Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 37-37v in E.8-14-1756,

On said day, month and year, I, said Govern,or, sum-

moned before me Dro,n Ant,oni,o Rodrigues Mederos, awit-

nres,s previously examined in these; proceedings. To his

self-sa-me person, whom I certif;T I know, I administered an

oath which he took in the name of Gro,d, our Lro,rd, and a

sign of the h,:o,ly Cross according to laatiT, under penalty of

?^yhich he promised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and

might be questioned.

After his statement, found on pages twenty-four to

tli,yenty-five verso, had been read to him word for word, he

said it was the same one he had made, and that he had no-

thing to add or withdraw , for it was in conformity with

what he had told. He. said this was the truth under penal-38

ty //of the oath tCak,en. He said he affirms and ratifies

it one, two and three times, and as many times as are

permitted him by law. He stated he was fifty-two years of

age. He signed it with me, said Gov.ernor, and witn,ess,es,

as has been stated. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Antonio rodriges y mederos

(Rubric)Witness:

co 0Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

E DS 37v- q,8 in E.

8-14-175b2

3mmediatelyI I9 said Govrern,or, had aDpear before me

Joaq.,ui,n de Medina, a witn,es, spreviously examined in

thesQ ;croceCedin,gs. To his self-same person I adminis-

tered an oath wh.ich he took in the prescribed manner of

the law, under penalty of which he prom.ised to tell the truth

insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

After his statement, found on pages twenty-five verso

to tir-ienty-six verso, had been read to him, he said i twas

the same one he had made and that he had nothing to add or

withdraw, for it was just as he had stated it.38v

He said this was the //truth under penalty of the oath

trak_,enq which he affirms and ratifies one, two and. three

times, and as many rtimes, as are per^itted him by law.

He said he was forty-five years of age. He signed. it with

me, said Gov,ern,or, and witn,esses, as has been stated.

In witness vThereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Juachin de medina

(Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 38-38v in E.8-14-1756,

1Q-0

In the Villa of San Ferncan,do, on the sixteenth day

of the month of AuCgu, st of the year one thousand seven

chundr,ed and sixt^T-tzr;o, I9 D.o,n A.:-ge,l de Martos y

Nauarrete, Gov,ern,or and Caprtai,n Gr-ene,rall had D,o,n.

Ch_ristobal de.los Santos Coi appear before me. To his own.

person, whom I certify I. knoctT, I administered an oath which

he took in the prescribed manner of and according to the

law, under penalty of which he promised to tell the truth

insofar as he knew and. might be questioned.

After his statement, found on pages seventeen verso to

eighteen verso, had been read to him, he said it was the

same one he had made and that he has nothing to add or with-29

draw' for //it is in the same form in which he stated it.

He said this was the truth under penalty of the oath

t.ak,en, which he affirms and ratifies one, two and three

times, and as manv rtimes, as are permitted him. He said

he was fift.v-three years of age, little more or less. He

signed it with me, said Grovern,orl and 14,,itnresses9 as has

been stated. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Ma.rtos 37 Navarrete

(Rubric) Christoval de los Santos Coi

(Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

^DS 38v-39 in E.8-14-17%:,

101

Immediately, I, said Govrern,or, said day, month and

year,,had appear before me Dro,n Franrcisco Delgado, a

Uritnres,s previously examined in these nrocer_edin,gs. To

his self-same person, thrhom I certify I know , I adr^qinis-

tered an oath which he took in the name of God, our L:o,rd,

and the sign of the Holy Cross, under penalty of z^rhich he

nromised to tell the truth insofar as he knew and: r;ight be

questioned.

After his statement, found. on pages twenty-seven verso

to tvTenty-eight verso, had been read to him word for i^7ord,

he said it was the exact one he had made, that it was iTrit-

ten in conformity with the r2anr_er in which he had stated39v

it, and that he had no thing. to //ad.d or withdraw.

He said this was the truth under penalty of the oath

t rak, en, which he affirms and ratifies one, two and three

times and as many times as are conceded to him by law. He

said he was forty-six years of age. He signed on his state-

ment with.me, said Gov.ern,or, and witnress,es, as has been

stated. In witness whereof I certify:

n coD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete fran. Delgado

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

r_DS 39-39v in E.8-l LF-1'756,

102

Immediately thei eaf ter, I, Said Gov,ern,or, said day,

month and year, had tiieurtena,nt D,o,n Juan Galban appear

before me. To his self-same person, ^.Thom I certify I know,.

I administered an oath which he took in the prescribed r-o-an-

ner of and according to law.

After his statement^ found on rages sixteen verso. to

seventeen verse, had been read to hia11, he said it was the

same one he had made and that now that he again cotisiders

^the time, when he told D,:o,n. Visente to -Present the will

to his Tllosrt Ill^strio,us Lrordshi,p, he does not know if.o

it was in the //14unicipal Houses or in the house of said

Trauieso.

In this way he said he had nothing more to add or with-

.draw because.it is the truth, under penalty of the oath

t.ak,en, which he affirms and ratifies one, two, and three

times, and as many rtimes, as are permitted him. He said

he was sixty-seven years of age. He signed it with me, said

Govicern_,or, and witnesses, as had been stated. In t^ritness

z,Thereof I certify:

nD. Angel de PTartos y Navarrete Juan galban

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Wi tne s s: Wi tne s s:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Do.mingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 39v -t+a in E.8-14-1756,

On said day, month and year, I, said Gov,ern,or, had

D&ot ,a Grasia Perdomo, whom I certify I kno^x, appear be-

fore me. I administered an oath to her which she took in

the.prescribed manner of and according to law, under penalty

of which she promised to tell the truth insofar as she knew

and might be questioned.

After her state_ment, found on pages nineteen to twenty-

two, had been read to her, she said it was the. same one she

had made. She added.that the debt to Sergrea,nt Razo had

been paid by her son, Dco,n Jcos,eeph,, and that in order40v

that the business with the house //of D,o,n Prudencio de

Orobio y Basterra might be shown to be true, the power of

attorney which was given to him by D.o,n Juan Angel de Inda

after the death of said Dro,n Prudencio and DoPi,a Anna

=^aria AZrnandos might be requested of Dro,n Jose,ph Man,ue,l

de Sran,ta Maria. She reiterates that none of her children,

now or at any, time, have reason for making any charge

against her said son D,o,n Jros,erph, Curbelo.

She said this was the truth under penalty of the oath

tr-ak,en, which she affirms and ratifies one, two and. three

time.s, and as many rtiires, as are permitted her, in the

presence of those who appear as signers of her said ^origi-

nal, statement. She said she was more than seventy years

of age. She did not sign because she.said she did not know

104

how. I, said Gov,erno,r, signed it, with those ass,:istin,g

me and those cited in the above-mentioned statement. In

witness whereof I certify:

n 0D. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Luis Antt. Minchaca

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Baltasar peres Nicolas quitones

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 40-4Ov in F.&-14-1756,

6

In said villa, said day, month and year, I, said Gov-

,ern,or, had //appear before Fie D,on Visente Albares Tra-

uieso, s,eni,or alguacil of this villa and awitnres,s pre-

viously examined in these proceedings. To his self-same

person, whom I cert i fy I know, I administered an oath which

he took in the name of God, our L.o,rd, and the sign of the

Holy Cross, under penalty of ,=rtaich he promised to tell the

truth insofar as he knew and might be'questioned.

After his statement, found on.pages thirty-one verso

to thirty-two verso, had been read to him, he said it was

the same one he had made, that it was ^.%Tritten according to

the way he had told it, and that he had nothing to add or

withdraw.

On account of the latter, under penalty of the oath

t.ak,en, and because it is the truth, he affirms and rati-

fi.es this one, two and three times, and as many as are per-

mitted him by law. He said he was sixty years of age, little

more or less, and consequently signed it with me, said Gov-

,ern,or, and witnesses, as has been stated. To all of which

I certify:

nD. Angel de Ifartos y Navarrete te

Biz. Alvares ttravieso(Rubric)

(Rubric)Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Witness:

(Rubric) Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

S 44v-4l in L. -- 8-l4-17%,

106

In said Villa of San Fernando, on the seventeenth4lv

//day of the month of AuCgu,st of said year, I, said Gov-

,ern,or, had appear before me Dro,n Simon de Arocha, a wit-

nres,s previously examined in these procer-edin,gs. To his

self-samie nerson sic,, whom I certify I know, I adminis-

tered an oath in the prescribed manner of and according to

the lata, . under penalty of -which he promised to tell the

truth insofar as he knew and might be questioned.

After his statement, found on bage:, thirty-one and its

verso, had been read to him, he said it was the saime one he

had made and that it was written , accordi ng to the way he

had told it, for which rea.son, he had nothing to add or

withdraw.

He said this was the truth, under penalty of the oath

t.ak,en, which he affirms and ratifies one, two and three

times, and as many r-times, as are -perzni:tted him by law. He

said he was thirty-one years of age. He signed it with me,

said Govrern,or, and witnress,es, as has been stated. In

witness whereof I certify:

n coD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete Simon fran. de arocha

(Rubric) (Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. .Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

,DS 4l- 4Iv in E.8-14-1756,

In the L'illa of Sra,n Fern,:an,do de Vejar, on the eight-

eenth day of said month and year, I, said Govrern,or and Cap-42

rtai,n Grenerall //had abpear before me DCo,n Antroni,o Ro-

driguez Mederos^ a witness previously examined in these pro-

ceredin, gs. To his person, whom I certify I know, I adminis-

tered an oath which he took in the name of Gro,d, our Lr o,rd,

and the sign of the Hr_o,ly Cross accrordin,g to law, under

penalty of which he promised to tell the truth insofar as he

knew and might be questioned.

After his statement, found on pages eighteen verso to

nineteen vepse, had been read to him, he said it was the same

one he had made and declared and that he had nothing to add

or withdraw.

He said this was the truth, under the oath t.ak,en.

After his statement had been read to him word for word, he

affirmed and ratified it one, two and three times, and as

many times, as, are permitted him by law. He said he was

fifty-t-^,ro years of age. He, signed it with me, said Gov-

ern,or, and Vaitn,ess,es, as has been stated. I certify

all: -- testate -- verso, not valid --

nD. Angel de Martos y Havarrete

(Rubric) Antonio rrddriges y mederos

(Rubric)

1a8

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 41v-.42 in E.3-14-17!56^

109-

On said day, month and year, I, Don Angel de Nartos42v

y//Nauarrete, Govr_ern,or and Cap^:tai,n Grene,ral of this

provrinc, e of Thexra, s, New Philippi.ne, s, having seen the

preceding proceedings, should have commanded and did c_om-

mand that everything be transferred to Dron iroseph.Cur-

belo so that if they have something more to ask or demand,

in view of everything, I may definitely conclude these pro-

ceedings.

Thus I provided, ordered and signed, with those assr-is-

tin, g me, with whom I act as recentoria according to law.

To all of which I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric) Witness:

Domingo GarsiaWitness:

co o (Rubric)Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

.DS 42-42v in F.8-^^--1756^

110

On said day, these writs were delivered to Dr on

Jrose,ph Curbelo on forty-two used pages of common paper,

so that within the period of three days he may reply con-

cerning ^^,That more he would find in his favor. In order to

record it, I place my rubric upon it.

.Rubric of Governor Ma_rtos,

rD42vinE.3 - l4- l'7 56,

111

4rG_ross,

In the Rroya,l Presidio of Nuestra Seora de Loreto y

Bahia del Fspiritu SCan,to, on the fourteenth day of the

month of 5eptember of the year one thousand seven hundred

and fifty-nine, I 9 D,o, nAngel de Martos y Nabarrete, Gov-

rern,or and Gapt.ai,n General of this Province of Texas and

New-Fhilippines by the King, our L,o,rd (may God protect

hi:Y_); having received the writs which DCo,n Juan Galban,

commander of the R ro77a, l Presidio of San Antonio de Ve j ar

and usvicia or of the Vil1a of San Fernando de Austria,

has remitted to me because D^on Fran(c"cis,co Jrose,ph de

Arocha, former notary of said villa, refused twice to admit

them, as is perceived from the i,,mits, ; having read them,

and having thoroughly informed myself about them, did com-

mand and should command, although there is not suffieient

cause for such recusation since no inferior may recuse his

legitimate judge, according to law, but in order to better

succeed in providing justice sic, to both -oar. ties with all

irn.partiality with regard to charges and costs on both sides,

that the matter be reserved until my visi t 9 for, since all

the judgesin that place have recused and I am already on

the way to my P.roya,l Presidio of Los A.dais9 there is no

possibility of providing zrTith promptitude someone to con-

tinue these proceedings.

112

Inasmuch as, from the writs issued, it has been suffi-

ciently -!^,rovec^-- by D,o,n Antroni,o Rodrio-ues' deed and by the

long, peaceful possession of more than ten, and even twenty

years during which Dro,n Jrose,ph Curbelo, with a just title

of sale authorized by the self-same notary, has possessed,

the sierte of land sold to him by Rodrigues, and since, the

eatria p-otestad expired seventeen years after the death of

his father, it has been recognized by said Dro,n J,:ose,ph

Cur'k-elo that, though he bought it when he was under the

patria potest_d, it has always been his, for the children

have the right of possession over the vienes castrenses and

casi castrenses, and with regard to the adven.tic-los, the

usufruct is consolidated with the former as soon as the fa-

ther dies. Because of this, by no means should any party be

heard. concerning this matter, nor the just possessor be dis-

turbed on said suerte of land, for, even if the purchase

should be void, if the right of un.interrupted possession is

accepted by those present after ten years h.ave passed, how

much more so since it has been twenty ^years, since it was

bought For this reason those absent and. rresent should be

refuted.

Therefore, I command Dro,n. Francisco de Arocha not to

take this matter as something judged casually by one man

,jusgado en boca,. Whether or not the clause belongs in the

113

a will of D,o,n Juan Curbelo, a supposi.ti on which is imma-

terial to this patent right of his son Dro,n Jeose,ph since

the pasture land belonged, by an express clause e.nd with

the obligation of a mass to Sra,n Roque' to his brotrhe,r9

the deceased Juan Curbelo, who died after the father of

both rhad died „ and since only the mother, D,o-,F^a Gracia de

Vmpserres9 would be his requisite heir; and since she ac-

knowledges her son Dro,n Jrose,ph's having bought it from

his brotrhe,r Dro,n Juan after the_jzjtria notestad had ex-

pired; once the father was dead, and even though the son is

a bachelor, it is already In Juriss once puberty has been

passed, by the laws of the kingdom, in order to dispose of

one's things with permission, which the widoz.red mother would

give, and does not express tacitly . . . . I also command

that this land be acknowledged as the property, of said

D^o,n Jrose,ph, his sons and heirs, and that said pasture

land not be mentioned, for it is not of the group of hold-

ings belonging to the deceased Dro,n Juan Curbelo. Rather,

it was his will that it should belong to his son, Don Juan,

with the obligation of a mass to San Roque every year, as

he expresses it in .the clause of his will, by which rpro-

vision, said Tpasture land passes to Dro,n J^ose,ph Curbelo,

his sons and heirs.

With regard to the other property which is in the willI ^ V

of D,:on Juan //Curbelo, I should cor:zrnand and do command that

Li.eutenan,t D,,:o,n Juan Galban investigate that property,

which is extant and, having put it up for public subsitaccion

114

or auction, that he knock it down to the best bidder, with

preference toward the litigants. He shall make and compel

the executors to pay the debts of said deceased which they

cannot establish as having been justly satisfied. If any-

thing is left, he shall make a division of the remainder,

r g^^_ided, , according to law, by the hz iuela, among the heirs

which said will exDresses, taking into consideration that

which Dr,ot, aMaria Curbelo has received in the way of cows

and their natural increase so that the iclaims, of the

others to what remains not be impaired.

He shall charge D.o,n Visente.Albares Trauieso with.

omitting to fulfill his obligation, for, as principal execu-

tor, he should have fulfilled the desire of the deceased

within a year and a day, his not having exercised the office

not being sufficient cause since it.is not certain he re-

signed from it.. His plea and reply shall be filed with the

judicial decrees, so that during my said visita I may pro-

vide with justice with regard to this omission and the other

charges D,o,n Franrcis,co Arocha and Don Jrose,ph Curbelo

are making against one another.

Commander Don Juan Galban shall have made a.copy of, the

original will, included alorg.with them r.judicial decrees,,

and shall place it near these proceedings. He shall place

the original in the Arc^:ive of the villa so that when his

115

sIll,ustriousne,ss comes all the legacies contained in it

shall have been paid. He shall also command the alcaldes

to deliver to the Archive, of said villa all the pertinent

papers belonging to said Archive which are in the possession

of D,o,n Francis,co Jose,ph de Arocha.

Thus I decreed, ordered and signed ?^iith, those assis-

tin, g me, as has been stated. In witness whereof I certify:

nD. gel de Martos y Nauarrete

e oWitness: Ph. Antt. Peres

Witness: Santtiago Vi_llasefior

.c. 43-43v in E.8-14-17563

11a

rI°he above, was taken from its original for the party

,mentioned above,. It is certain and true, corrected and

adjusted. For observing its transcription the witnesses

were Joseph Ximenes and Dro,n Ant,oni,o Rodrigues Tlederos,

citizens of this Villa of S,,a,n Fernando, where it is done

on the twenty-eighth day of the month of November of the

year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, and on this

present common paper since stamped rpaper, is not habitually

used in this Drovince. Its original was left in the proto-

col I reriit to --rizyself at the Archive of this billa, acting

before myself and the witnesses ass risti n, g me for lack of

public or R,oya, l. notary, of which. there is none within the

boundary of the law. I signed it with said ass ri stin, g

witnesses. In witness i-rhereof I certify: .

,:ftubric,

Jvan galban

(Rubric) Pedro duran

u

Witness: J ph Juaguin urandai

(Rubric)

(Rubric)

,DS 43v in F.8-14-17563

117

a,Cross,

On the sixteenth day of the month of Nrovemb, er of one

thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine:

Let it be known to all those who see this bill of sale

how I' D ro,n Juan Galban, Li,eutenan, t' commander of the

R,oya,l Presidio of Sra,n Antroni,o de Bejar and uusticia

mior of the Villa of S,:a,n Fernando, proceeding according

to the good administration of justice and because of the

decree of the Sxeflaor Govrernor, put up for auction the

property of the deceased D,on Juan Curbelo, to tiuitl two

suertes of lan,dwith their cor.responding water, public land

by right and law r.ejidos de accion y derecho,; two resi-

dences; the cows with their natural increase ^proc?ueos,.

This property was auctioned on the days which the law pro-

vides, the bidding by Dro,n. Francis,co Delgado readhing

three hundred and five pesos against which Dro,n Jeose,ph

Curbelo competed in preference as legitimate heir of said

deceased.

Inasmuch as I am advised in the decree of the Sren, or

Gov,er.n,or that said heirs are to be preferred°, in order

that this deed of sale in three hundred and five preso,s,

which said party displayed in payment and satisfaction of

them the properties,, may have just value in all the courts;

and for the purpose of which I am advised in the said decree

1iB

iof the S.efl,or Governor; in the name of the King, our Z,ord9

I give possession of all the before-mentioned property to

DCo,n J,ose,ph Curbelo, for himself, and his wife, and those

,sic, who shall proceed from them, without any person's dis-

quieting or perturbing them. They shall be protected and

confirmed in the possession of reelectos, said nroperty in

all courts and tribunals as are Rroya,l deeds of sale, in

consideration of ^^uThich I issue this with the same force and

value with which all the others are given and have been given.

In order to certify this, I, said judge, authorized it

acting before myself as jues recentor with two ass r istin, g

witnesses, and on the present comr<^+_on paper for lack of pub-

lic or R.oya_,l notary9 of which there is none within the

boundary of the law. in witness trhereof I certify:

Juan galban Witness:

(Rubric) Juachin de medirna

(Rubric)

Witness:

paulo aluarado

(Rubric)

r.DS 45 in E.8-14-17563

,Cross,

I, Maria Curbelo, a citizen of this Villa of San

Fernando, say that by this I acknowledge having sold to my

brother, Joseph Curbelo, to wit: three hours of water, with

their corresponding rpi eces of land ^ tahich belong to me by

paternal inheritance' leaving the maternal inheritance,

free until the authority to decide about it belongs to me.

I desire that this extrajudicial contract and sale, which I

am making in his favor, should have the same force it would

have, if it were a ZPorrit made before a judge or not,-a, ry with

the necessary and exact clauses of the law, in order that

all the justices and judges of his Majesty, wherever this

should be presented' may be able to compel me, and my chil-

dren and heirs, to fulfill this sale. I renounce all laws

and rights which may be in my favor and that of my heirs

and desire that they be of no use to me, now or anytime.

In order that all may be certified, I give the present

rdocument, in this said villa on the seventeenth day of the

month of April of the year one thousand seven hundred and

fifty-seven' and sign it together with my husband, Chrris-

tobal de los S,an,tos Coi:

Xpthobal de Los Santos Coi

Maria Curbelo

r-C. 47 in E.8-l4-17563

126

,The above, was taken from its original for the party

,mentioned above,. It is certain and true, corrected and

adjusted. For observing its transcription the witnesses

were D^.,o,n Antroni,o Rodrigues and Juachin de Medina, citi-

zens of this Villa of Sa,n Fernando, v^here it is done on

the fifteenth of,December of the year one thousand seven

hundred and fifty-nine, and on the present common paper since

stamped ^paper, is not used habitually in this province. Its

original was left in the protocol I remit to snyself at the

Archive of this villa. acting before myself and those ass r-i s-

tin,g me for lack of public or R,oya,l notary, of which there

is none within the boundary of the law. I signed it with

said ass.i stin,g witnesses. In witness whereof I certify:

Juan galban

(Rubric)

Wi tne s s ouJ ph Juaguin Vrandai

Pedro duran

(Rubric)

(Rubric)rD547inF®

8-1z1- 1756,

121

•cCross:,

I, Juan Joseph de Rosas, say I received from DCo3n

Josec!h Curbelo the sum of ten pesos for which I repaired

the roof and built a stone fence ??retil, around the house

of his deceased father Dro,n Juan Curbelo.

Since this is true, and in order that it be evident

at any time, I gave this in this Villa of Sra,n Fernando

on the 9 day of this month of August of the yr-ea,year 1759.

Since I do not know how to sign I entreated Dro,n Pedro. de

Ocon y Trillo that he do it for me.

At the request of Juan de Rosas:

Pedro de Ocon Y ttrillo

(Rubric)

^ADS 49 in E.8-14-1'756,

,Cross,

Il Dro,n Biz,ren,te Travieso, say that I received from

D,o,n Joseph Curbelo the quantity of twentv-eight vreso,s,

the same which the deceased, his father, owed in 111"exico

over the lawsuit which D,o,n Franrcis,co de Cos rrosecuted

as his attorney.

Si{ice it is true, I give this in this Villa of Sra,n

Fernando on the 14 of August of the year 1756. In order

to certify it I signed it:

teBiz. Aluares ttrauieso

(Rubric)

r-ALDS 50 in E.8 -14-17563

tFragment, :

rCross,

I9 Dro,n Marzelino Martines9 a citizen of the Villa

of San Fernando, say

123

,C-ross,

•

In the Villa of S.a,n Fernando, capital of the Province

of Thexas and New Philippines, on the tenth day of the month

October of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty? I,

Dco,n Juan Galban, hi'eutenan,t, com.mand,er of the R. oya,l

1--'residio of Sa,n Anttroni,o de Vexar and,ijusticia maior of

this said villa, acting by the order of the Sef^or Gov-

rern,or Dco,n Px-gel de Martos y Nabarrete, finalized some

legal proceedings of D,o,n Jrose,ph Curbelo vs. Dro,n

Frranrcis,co de Arocha and the other heirs which are evident

in said proceedings. This preparatory proceeding cost

seventy p ,eso, s which I, said judge, have received and with

which I have paid in full the -people who have occupied them-

selves in said proceedings. The money, was presented by

Dro,n Jrose,ph Curbelo as is evident in the notification

made to him in said proceedings.

In.order to certify this I gave this to serve as secu-

rity in any colarta of his having presented the money,, of

my having paid in full, and of the workers having been paid.

I give this signed in my hand 9with two witnesses, on

the tenth day of the month of October of this present year

of one thousand seven hundred and sixty. In witness whereof

I certifyd

rRubric,

Juan galban

(Rubric)

124

Wi tn. e s s s

Juachin de medina

( Rizb _r_ i c )

Witness:

Antonio rodriges 7, mederos

( F.'ubr i c )

DS 51 in E.8-14-i7563

125

a,Cross,

I am satisfied with D,o,n voseDh Manuel de Santa

14"laria's Providing for Dop, Joseph Curvelo, a citizen of

the Villa of Sra,n Fernan,do, one hundred and eighty and

six preso,s, the same ones still owed by the estate of Dr_o,n

Juan Curvelo, the latter's father, to the mortuary house of

the General Dron Prudencio de Orovio Bazterra. The money,

is evident on his account and I shall credit him with it by

this nrader and the receipt of the above-mentioned Santa

Maria following it.

In order that this may be evident at all times, I give

the Dresent :instrument, in this Villa of Sra,ntiago de el

Saltillo on the twenty-fifth of October of the year one

thousand seven hrund,_red and sixty.

CoFran. de Furundarena

(Rubric)

^ LDS 53 in F.8 -14-1'7563

126

a 53v//I say that I received from Dro,n Joseph Curbelo the

quantity mentioned on the reverse side today9 the twenty-

fourth of March of the year one thousand seven hundred and

sixty-one.

In order that it may be evident at all times I signed

this in this Villa of San Fernando on said day, month and

year.

ttaJo seDh Manuel de S. Maria

(Rubric)

r-ADS 53v in E.8-14-17r^h3

127

ccrOss,

Sefior Gov,erno, r :

rT,, Dto,n Josseph Curbelo, a citizen of this Villa

of G.a,n Fernando, present Myself before Yrour, Lr.ordship,

in the best manner to be found at law and convenient to me

and say that it has been sufficiently proved by the state-

ments.of Lieurtenan,t D,:o,n Juan Galbanq and the ones of

Dro,n Aritonio Rodriguez Mederos and Joaquin de 14edina, the

latter two having been assisting vritnesses for said I,ieu-

,tenan,t Galban, that all the joint-heirs of my deceased

father were summoned to and. notified of all the proceedings

placed into execution by said Lieurtenan,t pertaining to

the auctions; bids and sale of the property belonging to

my said father. The same witnesses declare that none of

said joint-heirs wished to contribute to anything. It has

.also been proved by the stateme,nt of Dro,n. Franrcis,co

Delgado, who was one of the bidders for the said property

of my father, as were also the Seior Curate Don Juan Ygnacio

de Cardenas and Carlos de la Thbrre, that said property was

sold to me for the amount rbid, because of the Dreference

I have over them as heir. It is evident from all the men-

tioned depositions that said Lieurtenan,t notified all the

said'joint-heirs of that ordered by Y,our, Lrordship,9 in54v

order that at the time //of YCour, Lrordship,'s gCene,ral

128.

aVisita said joint-heirs might request justice. And what

is most inuportant of all, although my brother Dro,n

Vizsen,te Trauieso was first executor of my deceased father,

not only did he not give complete, due fulfillrme,nt to

said will in over twenty years, but neither did he value

the many summonses nor ever -renounce the executorship. I

believe this will be the basis for The creation of new

litigation in.time, for which reason I entreat Y^our, Lrord-

ship, to make a suitable charge against said Trauieso, as

well s,s all the joint-heirs, for the omis,:sio,n they have

made and the lack of obedience to Royal justice, and warn

them agairist losing the justice they might claim, so that

from now on and in future times everything pertaining to

said property, incidental and coincidental to it, may con-

tinue with the established-force and stability of a matter

judged and cleared in terms of justice so that at no time

they, their children and successors may attempt and endea-

vour to alter the possession of said property now lodged

in me.

It is evident from the depositions of Dro,n Juan

Joseph Flores and Don Luis 14enchaca9 and from the ones of

Don Vizente Trauieso and Dro,n Simon de Arocha, that the

three keys to the Archive were gathered in the house belong-

ing to Trauieso, for, although in one Cdeposition, Dro,n

129

Simon states the key, did not leave his possession until

he delivered it to Don "ndres Ra?n-on, since Dro,n Simon

is Trauieso°s nephew, one would assume that they, and not

others, removed the proceedings from the Archive, for their

removal by those not parties to the litigation, would be55

considered idle. //Homever, the declaration of Dro;-n Andres

Ramon gives not a little motive for suspecting that he

might be included in the removal of said instrurnents, and

not Dro,n Simon. Ramon states he knows that Dro,n Juan

Jrose,ph Flores and Don Luis --Menchaca leave the keys, as

is the custom9 on the occasions when they absent themselves,

but he does not know to t}rhoru. Soon thereafter, questioned

again in the ratificat,ie,n, he confesses he received the

one key, but he does not know if from the hand of Don.Sir.lon

or from Don F ran rcis, co Delgado, nor does he know to whom

or how he delivered it. True, the absence of memory of this

Setor .A.lcalde is a lamentable thing, but omitting what T

might say about the matter, I entreat Y^our, TCordship, in

justice and for the expressed reasons that Y,:our, Lrord-

ship, impose upon them the punishment you find most justi-

fied9 that they pay the cost of all these proceedings, and

that' any time there is reason or said instruments should

appear, they be proceeded against with all severity for the

lack of faithfulness and the excess .of stealing from an

130

Archive, thus, "alling back on the confidence which should

be vested in them because of their offices, with all the

other penalties expressed by the law.

In consequence of having made to Yrour, Lrordship, the

lawful presentatrio,n of the same decree Yrour, Lordship,

sent to Lieutenant Galban from the Pres.idio of La Bahia

in which you are pleased to command that which is contained

therein and the testimonio of the sale and posserssio,n of

all the property belonging to my said.father' I entreat

Yrour, Lrordship, be pleased to order that they be inserted

in these writs, as znrell as the receipts which I likewise

present, paid with my fortune, sweat and work in.order to55V

fulfill the last //disposit,io,n of my father, since the

first executor did not wish to do it. Having seen their

value' that is to say including the quantity of three hun-

dred p.esos for which the property was put up, bid and sold,

I shall be quick to exhibit a current draft until each one

is informed about that which corresponds to him as inheri-

tance' Yrour, L,o_rdship, keeping in mind that half belongs

to my mother and the other half is divided among the five

heirs. However, not only does my ..portion, belong to me

as legitimate heir, but also belonging to me by law is the

,:portion, belonging to m.y deceased.brother Juan Curbelo on

. account of the many receipts paid by me and other affairs

131

awhich I shall justify if necessary, as well as the portion

,oi'i.a Maria, wife of D,o,n CCr,is-belonging to my sister D.

tobal de los Santos, who sold it to me as is evidenced by

the writ which I manifest to Yrour, Irordship,, for which

reason they should not contribute in anything to these pro-

ceedings. Only Dro,n Vizren,te Trauieso and the children

heirs of Dro,n Franrcis,co de Arochal children of my sister

Juana (may she rejoice in God), should enter into the par-

tition. I also entreat Y,our, Lrordship, that I be cre-

dited with twelve preso, s which I paid from my own fortune

to Uncle Santos' a forced bequest of two preso,s to Frather,

Frray, Juan de los Anxeles, and the other things my mother

stated in her denosit,io,n®

Yrour, L,ordship, will not find receipts for the funeral

shroud and burial.at the end of the year, nor the forty fa-

e^as of corn paid in full ^pagados al raso,, twenty-five56

given, and another twenty-five //paid to the deceased D,o,n

Juan Leal. All this was paid from the body of property be-

longing to my deceased father and, just as this property was

not included in the body of rproperty, put up for auction

and sold to me, so neither was it taken from the three hun-

dred and five rpesos, for which was sold to me that property,

which remained and existed at the time it was sold to me

as best bidder and the one, with the most right.

132

And, once these proceedings have been cor:cluded, I

entreat Yrour, L^ordship, be pleased to command that the

originals be delivered to me for the purposes which might

be advan±ageous to me, as ^„7ell as the measures your dis-

tinguished justice should find convenient. Thus, I shall

be left in the quiet, legitimate and peadeful possession

of the above-mentioned property, manifesting the rights

which assist me so that I am recognized as legitimate owner

of all the expressed in all the courts and, as such, able

from now on to dispose of irhat I wish by my own judgment

and choice, with.out-any person's attempting'.endeavouring

or insisting, directly or indirectly, against the freedom

which encircles me as legitimate owner and possessor. Yrour,

Lrordship, shall impose the penalties you should find con-

venient upon the offenders against your orders, and shall56v

warn against future malice in case an //alteration of my

rights is attempted in the future.

Therefore, I ask and entreat Y,:our, i,r-ordship, order

done what I reauest, in which way I shall receive favor with

justice, which is what I ask for. rI reryuest, this writ,

with the return of instruments, be admitted on this common

paper for lack of stamped. I swear I act without malice

and in tirhat is necessary, etc.

For my fcathe,r, D,o,n J,:ose,ph Curbelo:

0Jnh. Ant. Curbelo

(Rubric)

.D8 54-56v in E. -- 8-lL-17563

133

•

In the Villa of Sca,n Fernra-rado de Vejar on the twenty-

sixth day of the month of Au,gust of the year one thousand

seven hundr,ed and sixty-two, I, D,:o,n Angre,l de Martos

y Nauarrete9 Lieurtena,nt Colonre,l of the Rroya,l Are-r.ni,esl

Gov,er.n,or and Captrai,n G,eneral of this Provrinc,e of

Thejra,s, New Phili-ppirne,s, etc.

By virtue of the preceding writ and the proceredin,gs

presented with the other receipts and docum,:e,nts9 I should

command and do command, having inserted all the expressed

instrumenrt,s into these preceredin,gs (they make evident.

the requisite summons to auctiorn;`s, bids and other judicial

acts rissued, to the heirs and legitim,at,e tiarties of the

dec,eas,ed Don Juan Curbelo for the auctions and sales which

were concluded in due form in favor of Dro,n Jros,ecph,

Curbelo and prove through the depositions that not one of57

the other heirs attended //the bidding or bid, for which

reason, since said D.o,n Jros,erph., Curbelo was^ of rall,

the group, in the best circumstances, and because of this

and the other rights concentrated in the expressed, the

ownership of said propr-ert,y was awarded to him) in order

that this ownershi.p, 9 in addition to the rights which

make it valid, firm, permanent and stable, shall at no time

be disturbed by the joint-heirs, that these be notified

and U,rarned rsic, by me that, in consideration of all the

134

ajudicial conditions and pre-requisites ordained by law and

observed in the lics,uidationi auctio,n,s and sales, and of

their not having appeared before me, said G,overn,or7 during

the present visita in order that I might assist sic, then

towards justice in the case of some co;mplaint, demand or

damage concerning all that has been placed into execution

incident or dependent upon said propert,y, they shall lose

the rights they might claim in the future and shall be

charged, adjudged and -,pen,-ali2e,d in case they should mali-

ciously attempt to create sinister obstacles with the

usurped writs which would har?n9 disquiet or disturb the

peaceful and legitimate possession of all the said prop.ert,y

which should be vested and is vested in Dro,n Jros,ecph,

Curbelo now and in future times.

In the same manner, the quantities comprised in the57v

receipts, //presented by Dro,n J^os,erph, Curbelo and shown

to excede the final amount bid fo_r'the property, shall be

made clear to them. Because of this,) and because there

. tsas an attempt, with malicious. and depraved intent, to charge

that the receipts, amounted to more than the value of the

property sold, said heirs shall be advised that there are

no hi 'uelas of parti t? on.

Inasmuch as the removal of the prior judicial rinstru-

ments, from the Archive has been proved by the depositions

135

in the proce,edin,gs placed into execution by virtue of

which we proceeded to the auctiron,s and from which we in-

ferred the identity of, the guilty person as a result of

the vivid indications, it remains now, to eYpress the

measures which I should take concerning the matter with-

out harming' directly or indirectly, the legitimate pos-

serssi,on of said prop,:ert,y which is vested and should be

vested in Dro,n JCos,erph, Curbelo. ahis,, to take the

measures empowered by justice, rests reserved in me.

Once everything I have advised and ordered has been

done, all these original instrumre,nts shall be delivered

to Dco,n Jros,erph, Curbelo in order that as legitir_nate

and Deaceful Possessor he may use and dispose of all said

prop,ert,y at his will m d pleasure.

With regard to the indications and //results concerning

those who appear in these 1'3roce.edin,gs as guilty, since

these should pay the fees for everything written in this

process and since it is not my intention that anyone should

be prosecuted for damages nor that I should be thought of

as prejudiced in favor of any one of the parties, I declare

that these decrees shall be issued without cost to any of

the said parties. Thus with this decree I, said Gov,ern,or,

provided, ordered and signed, acting before myself as 'uez

recgptor with att restin, g ZAritnes rse, s for lack of a no,ta, ry

136

Dublic oi-i F,oya,l and on the present common papre,r for

lack of stamped. To all of which I certify: --to take,

corrrect,ed--valic'--

.nD. Angel de t'Iartos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Witness: Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 56v-58 in E.8-l4-1756^

aIn this V1_lla of Sca,n Ferncan,dol on the thirty-first

day of said month and year, I, said Govvernor' in view of

that determined by me in the above decree9 had Do,n Simon

de Arocha appear before me. I read and notified him of said

decree, as tutor and guardian of his brothers who are minorsF8v

and in the place of those_who //are absent.

Having heard and understood it, he said that he hears

and obeys it and that as for himself he has nothing to add

or demand, now or ever, but that he cannot reply in any way

for his minor, brothers even though he is their guardian,

nor can he do so for his absent brotrhe,rs.

He gave this as his reply, which he signed with m.e 9

said Govr-ernor and witnesses as has been said. In witness

whereof I certifyo

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

co(Rubric) Simon fran. de arocha

(Rubric)Witness:

co 0Fran. Ant. Soliz Witness:

(Rubric) Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

rDS 58- ^8v in E.8-14-175E.

13S

Immediately thereafter, I, said Governor' had DCon

ECrist,obal de los Sran,tos9 husband of Dot,a Maria Cur-

belo, appear before me. To his own person I read and made

knot.m the decree Drovided by me and the other circumstances

provided therein.

Once he had understood everything he said he hears

and obeys, and that he has nothing to request with. respect59

to the //sale of the paternal portion of the cultivated

land by virtue of the writ he, with his wife' granted in

favor of Do,n Jos,e,ph, Curbelo. Since there are no

paternal properties he has nothing to request, and in case

there should be, his wife and children_will have to make

the request,.

He gave this as his reply, which he signed with me,

said Grovern,orl and witn,ess,es, as has been stated. In

witness whereof I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y l^zavarrete

(Rubric) Christoval de los Santos Coi

(Rubric)Witness:

co 0Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

Witness:

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

,DS 58v- 59 in E.8-14-1756,

139

sOn said day, month and year, I, sai d G.overn,or, in

prosecut^i,on of these proceredin,gs, had D,o,n Visente

Albar.e,s Trauieso appear before me. I read and made known

to his oz^m person the decree which I provided and the other

affairs included in it.

Having understood everything, he.says he hears and

obeys. He said, that everything his mother-in-law^L._-ofI,a

Grasia Perdomo, has stated is out of context because said

D,,on.,a Grasia is senile and what she says now is not so59v

later. Her daughter, DMaria //Curbelo, knows where

all the holdring,s of corn and other things, are and to

whom they were given, as well as that which is owed the wit-

ness for having dressed the befcre-mentioned Dra P?aria

from foot to head. To the others would belong that which

their dec,eas, ed. frathe, r might have given them from that

which the witness gave him when he came from Mexri, co.

He gave this as his reply, which he signed with me,

said G,.overnor, and witnLess,es as has been stated. To

all of which I certify:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric).te

Biz., Alvares ttravieso

(Rubric)

lolitness: Witness:CO 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz Domingo Garsia

(Rubric) (Rubric)

cDS 59-59v in E.

8-1.4-175b,

141

On said day9 month and year' I, said Grovern,or and

-o,nCaptrai,n GCene,rall having seen the reply given by Dr

Visente Albarre,s Trauieso, should cor^rand and do command

that he be notified, with resPect to his not having appeared

before me in all my GC ene, ral Visita as he was notified;^ c to

do, by D,o,n Jua,n, Galban by virtue of my writ of the

fourteEnth of September of .E,one thousand seven hu^.dred, and

fifty-nine inserted in these -proceredin,gs and his rot

having fulfilled the office of executor in more than twenty

years, that he subject himself to that which has been

ordered.60

//s,lith respect to his having been executor, having

been present during the formatri,on of the will, and not

.o,n Juan Curbelo at thathaving charged the decreas,ed L`r

time with the quantity he now says was owed to him in

order that a clause concerning it might have been included

in said w3_ll,. nor having. afterUrard claimed satisfaction

from D,o,n Jros,erPh, Curbelo or Droft,a. Grasia Perdomo de

Vmpierres9 from which the nullity of the same he expresses

is inferred and known; rtArith respect to, his wishing to

infer fraud in the judicial Proceredin,gs placed into

execution only on the tenuous basis of said Drona. Grasia's

being senile when it is evident to me and to everyone else

that she is completely sound of mind, as can be proved in

142

acase it should be necessary; and in respect to, his saying

that D,;ota Maria Curbelo ^ her daughter-' knows where all

the holdings of corn and other things have come to rest, as

if their destination had not been proved by these proce<<ed-

in,gs' depositions, consumptions, receipts, payments and

other instrumre, nts 9 and C as if,, in case it were true,

they would be annulled by one srtateme,nt to the contrary

by L, o^, aMaria Curbelo, a fact, which contradicts the

law; he shall be notified a secro,.nd time ths:t he obey that

which has been ordered by R,:oya,l justice, warning him that

if he does not relinquish the captiousness demonstrated on

other previous occasions from which, it has been suffi-

cienr_t,ly proved7 result and have resulted the continual

vexations in this villa, I shall proceed to take those pro-6ov

visions //corresponding to justice which I should place

into execution for the quietude and tranquillity of this

villa.

Thus I decreed, ordered and signed with those assris-

tin, g me with whom I act according to law for lack of a

nor_ta,ry. In witness whereof I certify: --between--lines

--by--valid--

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Witne s s: Witne s s :co 0

Fran. 1?nt. Soliz Domingo Garsia.

(Rubric) (Rubric)

rDS 59v-60v in E. -- 8-14-1756,

143

In said Villa of Sra,n Fernando on the second day of

the month of Sept,em,ber of said year, I, said Grovern,or

and GaptCai,n GCene,rca,l; by virtue of that ordered in

the above decree, had Dr-on Visente Albares.'Irauieso ap-

pear before me and r. ead , made kroF,in, and notified him of

said dedree.

Upon comprehending all of its contents, he said that

he had al,ways said he had nothing to request while

renynter, I?,ot, a Grasia Perdoma lived and that he was not

present when the will was made as the same one who made it61

can state. If this //does not avail him, he will obey what-

ever is command ed.

He gave this as his reply 9 which he signed with me,

said Grovern,or ard witnress,es as has been stated. To

all of which I certify:

nD. gel de Id1artos y Navarrete

te

(Rubric) Biz. Alvares ttravieso

Witness:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

(Rubric)

(Rubric)

Witne s s e

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

rDS 60v-61 in F.8-14-1756,

144

In said Villa of S,a,n rern,an,do de Vejar, on said

day, month and year, I, said G,^overn,or and Capt,ai,n

GCene,ral of this ProvCinc,e of Thejas, New Philippirne,sl

in consea,,uenc,e of that cited in the preceding reply

given by D,o,n Visente Albare,s Trauieso and since said

reply (since it is of no value) does not infer change,

damage or harm to the legitimate posserssion of all and

each of the prop,ertie,s comprised in these instru.m.e,nts

which should be vested in Dro,n J6os,erph, Curbelo, Cstate

that Don Joseph Curbelo, may and should possess them the

properties, as only legitimate and true owner without any-

one' s troubling or nerturbing the free property and despotic

will he should have over them9 subject to the penalties

contained in the decree of the twenty-sixth of last Au-

r_gu, st and the others arranged by law and depending upon

the discretionary power of the judge to whom he should appeal.

,Don Visente, has manifested in this reply, that he

has nothing to request while D,ofl_,a Grasia Perdomo de

Umpierres lives, as he has always said (though it is not

proved)9 rthus, disclosirag the hope he harbors of pos-

sessing, the remainder of the prop,.ert,y belonging to the

deceased Dro,n Juarn, Curbelo or that which he supposes

Dota Grasia enjoys during her lifetime. rSince, it has

been proved by the depositions, receipts, pa,lments' distri-

145

a

sCistin,g me, with whom I act according to law for lack of

no,ta,ry purbl,ic and Rroya,l and on the present common

papre,r for lack of stamped. To all of which I certify:

shall obey all that has been cited as he was commanded t

do if his said reply should be valueless.

These proce.-edin,gs shall be delivered to D,on

J,os,e,ph, Curbelo as has been ordered in order that he62

may dispose of said proprert,y //at will as legitimate

owner and possessor.

Thus I decreed, ordered and signed.with those as-

butions and other instrum,e,nts which circumstantiate as

complete these judicial proceedings that not any Guantity

of the exoressed urop.ert,y6rl^r^.ain,s (for on the contrary

it has resulted lacking) //with which to effect an hijuela

of Dartition and that the above-mentioned DLofl,a Grasia

does not keep some of the property or goods, as her poverty

will make evident and well known, one cannot perceive nor

comprehend the basis for the hope harbored by said D.on

Disren,te for an inheritance, claim or demand. What is

patent, clear and manifest is the malice and nullity of

that cited in his reply, for which reason, his reply,

having been rendered without value or effect by justice, he

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

Wi tn e s s:co 0

Fran. Ant. Soliz

Wi tn e s s :

Domingo Garsia

(Rubric)

(Rubric) r.DS 61-62 in F. -- 8-14-1756,

On said day, month and Irear, by virtue of that or-

dered by me in the preceding writ, these original decrees

were delivered to D,o,n Jros,e,ph, Curbelo on fifty-eight

used pagre,s including this one, with the receipts and

other instrume,nts presented by said Curbelo inserted,

and four blank rpages,, all on common paper for the reasons

expressed in all these decrees. In order to certify it

I place my rubric upon it:

nD. Angel de Martos y Navarrete

(Rubric)

DS 62 in E.8-l4-1756,

At the reu.uest of D,ota Rafaela Garza, widow of

DEo,n Jose Curvelo, I ordered that these original Pro-

ceedi,ng,s be filed in the Archive of the government under

my jurisdiction.

Bexar' 10 of Dec,emb, er of 1776.

Ripperda

(Rubric)

rADS 62. in E.8-i 4-17563