4th of July

Today, July 4th, the United States celebrates Independence Day. in In 1776 the Continental Congress declared the 13 American colonies to be a new nation. The USA was no longer part of the British Empire. That seems like a great reason to celebrate! 

Let me tell you a little about what was going on in my personal history in the 1700's and beyond. The majority of my ancestors are from the western side of what is now known as the United States of America. In 1776 it was not yet part of the USA. It was New Spain. 

So picture this. 28 years before the Declaration of Independence my paternal 4th great-grandmother, Maria Micaela Padilla, was born in the high mountain valley of El Rito in Rio Arriba County, New Spain. It is now present day New Mexico. The exact location is 14 miles south of Abiquiú, 18 miles northwest of Espanola, 15 miles northwest of Ojo Caliente and 56 miles northwest of Santa Fe, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east. 

With those very detailed directions being given, the present day locals will tell you, tongue in cheek, the very small community of El Rito is about 300 years northwest of Santa Fe because much of the current day population lives off of the grid. 

Maria Micaela was born into the prominent founding Padilla family of New Mexico in 1748. It was common for men to migrate from the east and marry into the large wealthy Hispanic families in the west. In 1765 a handsome 27 yr old doctor, Dominique Labadie, who had been born in Veloc, Gascony, in the southwest of France. migrated from St Louis to New Mexico. He and Maria Micaela were married on November of 1766.Ten years before the Declaration of Independence. The marriage took place at La Parroquia Church in Santa Fe, NM which was built between 1714 –1717. The very popular present day Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi was built on the site of La Parroquia church between 1869 and 1886 . Maria Micaela and Dominique Labadie had 15 children and they were all baptized in that church.

Fast forward to January of 1795, the French were lobbying for the return of Louisiana to France. Spain was fearful of the encroachment of the United States and France. Since Dominique was French and married to Maria Micaela Padilla, who was Spanish, their property was inventoried and the couple and their 15 children were confined to their residence for a period of time.

Because the information that's been written in our history books and taught in our schools is extremely slanted, I have had to dig deep for my personal history. In 1776 King Charles III of Spain gave my maternal 5th Great Uncle, Captain Antonio Montoya, 50,000 acre Piedra Lumbre Land Grant in New Mexico. Did you read anything about that in your history books? Probably not. The 21,000 acres that comprise Georgia O'Keefe's Ghost Ranch is part of the Piedra Lumbre Land Grant and is now owned by a Presbyterian Church. I won't go into how it went from being a family land grant to being owned by a church. 

I would rather tell you a little more about the Labadie family. Lorenzo Labadie was the grandson of Micaela and Dominique Labadie and my 3rd Great-Uncle. He is one of my ancestors that I have grown to know and love through my research. Lorenzo was described as a handsome, honorable man who wore many hats. 

Lorenzo Labadie

In 1851 he was the Sheriff in Valencia County where he served 3 terms. Like his friend Kit Carson, he was a sympathetic and a loyal friend of many Native Americans. In 1855 he was appointed as a U.S. Indian Agent for 15 years and gained respect and confidence seldom obtained by the Native Americans as an Agent. Under his watchful eye, the Native Americans worked side-by-side with soldiers, damming the Pecos River to irrigate crops, planting trees, and building a slaughter house. this is very close to my heart because I watched my uncles work that land as a child, growing chile and raising cattle. Under Lorenzo's watchful eye in the late 1800's they had 94 gardens spread over a 100 acre area and grew melons, pumpkins, chile and green beans. 

Lorenzo was removed as an Indian agent because he protested against the Native Americans being furnished unwholesome food by the government. I picture him in my minds eye as a honorable man, much like my father, someone who could never fully retire. In 1871 Lorenzo took out merchants license and opened a wine shop. There were vineyards and orchards in Puerto de Luna. I can only imagine how beautiful and lively it was when my parents were born there in the early 1900's.

Here are photos of the Labadie Ranch in Puerto de Luna, NM as it looks today. Lorenzo's daughter, Beatrice Labadie and her husband, Juan Patron lived in this house. It is no longer owned by the Labadie family.

Labadie Ranch House
In Puerto de Luna, NM

Labadie Ranch House
In Puerto de Luna, NM

Labadie Ranch House
In Puerto de Luna, NM

Labadie Ranch House
In Puerto de Luna, NM

Labadie Ranch House
In Puerto de Luna, NM

Labadie Ranch House
In Puerto de Luna, NM

Lorenzo Labadie was the census taker of Puerto de Luna and the surrounding areas during 1880, 1890 and 1900. Because of his excellent record keeping abilities, it made it very easy for me to become very familiar with Puerto de Luna when it was an active, thriving community. I have never seen any other census taken with such precision. There's so much family history in these documents, including records of Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney) living and working on my great-great uncle's ranches. 

During the day he kept land and cattle rustlers at bay and in the evenings when the work day was done, he taught my Great Uncle Hilario Valdez to speak and read English at the age of 7. That tells me he probably wasn't the bad guy that the history books make him out to be. Instead he was loyal to the Hispanic families who had taken him in and treated him like family. There is a book written about Lorenzo Labadie's son-in-law called "Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid." 

Juan had moved his family back to Puerto de Luna from Lincoln County during the Lincoln County Wars only to be shot down in cold blood in Puerto de Luna. The killer was Mitchel E. Maney, a cowboy from a wealthy Texas ranching family. 

Juan had raised the money to build the Nuestra Señora del Refugio Church in Puerto de Luna. Sadly, the first mass held in the church was was his funeral. His was buried in the church. I hope to some day write a book based on the information that Lorenzo collected in the pages of his census.

The Nuestra Señora del Refugio Church
Puerto de Luna, NM

So there you have it. A very condensed version of what was going on with just a couple of branches of my family tree in the west when the original 13 eastern colonies became the United States. It wasn't until January 6, 1912, 3 years before my father was born that New Mexico actually became the 47th state. In 1776 it was New Spain.

I had a few ancestors who were in 13 colonies. I just discovered in the past couple of years that my family tree has a couple of branches who are direct descendants of the United States founding fathers. My children are 2nd cousins 8 times removed from President Thomas Jefferson on their dad's side. William Randolph I and his wife, Mary Isham are my children's 9th great-grandparents in the in the Ethridge lineage. I had an Aunt Marcelina Padilla Page who was also married into that lineage so there are some Page/Nelson/Dodge families that cross back and forth from my mom's side of the family to my ex-husband's family. This is very typical for those of us in New Mexico but my ex-husband was born in Houston, TX. I'll save that story for another blog. The funny thing is, my mother moved me far, far away from New Mexico so I wouldn't marry a distant cousin and I married a distant cousin anyway. hahaha!

This Independence Day, I am just going to visualize independence from this modern day madness we call our government. I'm praying for many, many needed miracles. Women's healthcare is at the top of my list.

The Parallels of Family History and Current Events

When I was young, my mother would sometimes proudly talk about her uncles and great uncles who were politicians in New Mexico. When she spoke the surnames of her family, she did so with such pride. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough about New Mexico history to show interest in the conversation or to ask important questions. I didn't have a clue that my family, on both sides were the founding families of New Mexico. Throughout the four centuries that my family had lived in New Mexico, each generation had experienced a very different New Mexico. 

It wasn't until after my parents had passes away that I feverishly became interested in my family history. In a very small way, I've seen a similar interest from my son and grandson for the events I experienced in the early 70's in Austin when Willie Nelson moved to Austin from Nashville and the hippies and the cowboys collectively created the cosmic cowboy scene at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Ecstatically, I offer up as much information as possible when they ask about a particular song or artist because I realize my missed opportunity of gathering information from my parents. I've had to rely on what has been written about my family in books, newspapers and on the internet. 

I've mentioned in past blogs that I started doing ancestry research partially because I felt there was a lack of information about women in our history books. I wish to change that, at least for my family. I then started to realize that even though there's a lot of history written even documentaries filmed, the stories are told with a slant that I'm not in the least bit satisfied with. Therefore, I have made an effort to enlighten myself and those who care about the truth that isn't often mentioned in whitewashed history books.

Over the past 10 years of research, I have found the Padilla and the Labadie families to be the most interesting in my direct lineage. It's not surprising that both surnames are deeply embedded on both my mother and my father's side of the family, which is a common phenomenon in the founding families of New Mexico. In my 10 plus years of research I always circle back around to the Padilla and the Labadie lineage. My mother's maiden name is Padilla and my father's mother was a Labadie.

This week it became a bit surreal as I was digging around into my family history. Unpleasant current day events mirrored events that I was reading about in my family's history. What were the chances that I would decide to reread the book "Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid" just the day before the attempted coup at the United States Capitol by the white supremacists Trump supporters? Seriously! The night before I had been reading a parallel story about my Great-Uncle Juan Patron. In April of 1884 Juan Parton was the Speaker of the House in New Mexico. He was assassinated in cold blood by a white supremacist.

January 6, 2021 should have been a great day in American history. The Democrats in Georgia had won the runoff for the US Senate. Instead that day turned into one of the darkest days of the Unites States history. It marked the first time the US Capitol building had been breached since the early 1800's. It wasn't a demonstration, it was a desecration of our democracy incited by the president.

I watched in disbelief as our Capitol was being vandalized. I was shocked when I saw a photo of a man sitting at the desk of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, taking selfies of himself with his feet on her desk. Again, it was so very surreal that the night before I had been reading a parallel story about my Great-Uncle Juan Patron. In April of 1884 Juan Parton was the Speaker of the House in New Mexico. He was assassinated in cold blood by a white supremacist, Mike Maney. Eleven years prior, Juan's father had been murdered at Juan's younger sister's wedding reception. Much like our present day Capitol being broken into, the white supremacists of the 1800's knew the Patron family would be gathered for a wedding in Lincoln, New Mexico and they broke in and started randomly shooting. Juan Patron's father looked like his son in the dark so he was murdered. Patron had been targeted because he had been fighting for democracy against the Santa Fe Ring. If you are remotely familiar with New Mexico history, you know New Mexico held unadulterated opportunity. The land-grant legacy in New Mexico made the region attractive for the members of the Santa Fe Ring.They were politicians, lawyers, military officers, ranchers and retailers who had power, money and few scruples. They were infamous for public corruption, with varied skills and their goal was to take land from the Hispanic land owners. Illegally. Needless to say, my Great-Uncle Juan Patron, was standing in their way. 

It's no surprise that you won't find much about this horrific shadow government in history books any more than you will read about the shadow government of today. It infuriates me that justice was never served for the assassination of my Great-Uncle Juan Patron. Mike Maney went to trial yet he was acquitted because the prosecutor, Thomas B. Carton was one of the most active members of the Santa Fe Ring. He had stolen more land from the Hispanic population than anyone, acquiring title to more than 3 million acres, making him the largest land owner in New Mexico.

Juan Patron isn't just a New Mexico hero. He stood for everything I stand for. He was a blood relative on both sides of my family. His mother and my mother were Padillas. He was married to Beatriz Labadie, daughter of my Great Great Grandfather Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Labadie on my dad's side of the family. The Labadies and Padillas were well respected families who owned thousands of acres of land and cattle in New Mexico. Juan was born and raised in Santa Fe. He was in the first graduating class at St Michael's Catholic School in Santa Fe. He graduated with honors. He became a school teacher, he owned a store and he became a politician. Always working for the better of his community with his main goal was to tame a frontier plagued with greed and violence. 

The Patron family had moved from Santa Fe to Lincoln, New Mexico and opened a store, built a school and a church. In 1878, when his father was killed in Lincoln, the president called the one mile main street in Lincoln "the deadliest street in America." Juan decided to move his family to his wife, Beatriz's home town of Puerto de Luna. This was my mom and dad's hometown too. Upon their arrival, Juan Patron and his father-in-law, Lorenzo Labadie raised money to have the church, Nuestra Senora del Refugio (Our Lady of Refuge) built in 1882. 

Nuestra Senora del Refugio

I've mentioned many times in past blogs how important this church is to me. My parents were baptized and married there. I used to attend Spanish Mass there as a child. It absolutely breaks my heart that the first church service at Nuestra Senora del Refugio was my Great-Uncle Juan Patron's funeral service. I didn't learn until recent years that he's buried under the nave of the church. He could have very well become the governor of New Mexico but instead he was needlessly assassinated before the age of 30.

Beatriz Labadie Patron
and Juan Patron

This week, feeling the ongoing grief of the year long, worldwide pandemic and the events at our Capitol, I was reading Juan's story from a different perspective. I wondered what happened to Juan's widow, Beatriz after her husband was assassinated in cold blood in Puerto de Luna. He had merely gone to Moore's Saloon for a single beer to never return home. I discovered that Beatriz married again and then after her second husband died she owned a house in Santa Rosa and lived with her younger siblings Roman, Lorenzo Jr. and Josefita. One thought lead to another and I started thinking about some of the women in the Labadie family that had never been written about. Just as the male names repeat in families, generation after generation, so do the female names. My sister is going to hate this part of my blog but I think it is kind of special so I am just going with it. My sister, Nita's given name at birth was Josie Ann. She was named after our grandmother Josefita Labadie. We never met our paternal grandmother because she died during the last pandemic at the age of 24 when our father was only 3 years of age. He had a younger sister named Anita. For whatever reason, in the second grade, my sister started going by the name Anita and then dropped the A and started going by Nita. Here's the cool part. Josefita is an old family name and I never put it all together because again men are named "Senior" and "Junior" or I, II, III and so on. Women are not and the lineage gets lost in the shuffle because they also have to change their last name when they get married. So below is the the lineage of the Josefita Labadies in our family.

Our 4th Great-Grandparents Dr Dominique Labadie and Maria Micaela Padilla had a daughter named:

Josefa Labadie    Born 1783 Died 1810

She is our Great-Great-Great-Aunt

Our Great-Great Grandfather Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Labadie and his wife Maria Rayitos Giddings Gutierrez Labadie had a daughter named:

Josefita Labadie    Born 1864 Died 1941

She is our 1st Cousin 3 generations ago

Our Great-Grandparents Captain Juan Labadie y Sanchez and Dorotea Maria Chavez had a daughter named: 

Josefita Labadie Born 1894 Died 1918 

She is our Paternal Grandmother

My sister: Josie Ann Fajardo AKA Nita Fajardo  Born 1951

Recap: Dr Dominique Labadie born in 1738 Gascony, France first settled in St Louis, MO and the arrived in New Mexico in 1775, He married Maria Micaela Padilla, the daughter of one of the founding families of Albuquerque. They had 15 children, among them was a daughter named Josefa, One of their grandsons was Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Labadie. Not only was Lorenzo a Lieutenant Colonel, he was a sheriff in 3 New Mexico counties, he served as an Indian Agent for 8 years and then in his old age, he became a census taker. When I first started doing ancestry research, most of my important information came from the census he recorded in Puerto de Luna and surrounding areas in the late 1800’s and in 1900. He too had a daughter named Josefa Labadie born in 1864. She was the sister-in-law of Juan Patron who was the first speaker of the house in New Mexico. Then there was our grandmother Josefita Labadie. This is the sad part of the story. She died at the age of 24 during the last pandemic of 1918. My dad was only 3 years old and he had a younger sister. My heart has always ached for my dad because it was so obvious that he missed having his mother. I have an adorable portrait of my him when he was a baby and I am sure there would have been many more photos and stories about his life had his mother not died at such a young age. The current pandemic has made that pain much more real to me.

My grandmother Josefita Labadie Fajardo

To my sister Josie Ann, AKA Nita, I hope you know deep in your heart that you come from a very long line of beautiful souls who walk with you daily and give you strength.

Thank you Kimberly Harris, who now owns the Juan and Beatriz Labadie Patron's ranch for sharing with me stories and photos. I will forever send you, your horses and rescued animals love and light.

Juan and Beatriz Labadie Patron's
Ranch House in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico

Juan and Beatriz Labadie Patron's Bedroom
at their Ranch in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico

Spanish Influenza of 1918 - Coronavirus 2020

I haven't written in my blog since August, 2019. No reason in particular. Now that I have been sitting in quarantine with my thoughts for 6 weeks, due to the world wide pandemic, COVID-19, I've decided it's time to write about how deeply I feel about our situation.

When the quarantine began, I approached it with fear and grief. Fear because I am over 60 with a heart condition and grief because I couldn't get my grandmother, Josefita Labadie Fajardo off of my mind. She died 102 years ago due to the Spanish Influenza of 1918 when an estimated 1/3 of the world’s population was infected  – resulting in at least 50 million deaths worldwide. I never imagined with the incredible advances we have made in medicine that we would be facing a pandemic in 2020.

My grandparents - Josefita Labadie Fajardo and Doroteo Chavez Fajardo

My father, Felipe Montoya Fajardo, was only three years old when his mother died. This I know, he spent his whole life with a huge hole in his broken heart, looking for his mother's grave. He never found it. After my dad had passed away, I read  that so many people had died in the winter of 1918 that the victims had to be buried in unmarked group graves. It was too risky to have funerals.

My Father, Felipe Montoya Fajardo when he was a baby

My Father,  Felipe Montoya Fajardo when he was a boy

The Spanish Influenza had showed up on the west coast of the United States in the Spring of 1918. Then the curve had flatted, however when WWI ended, on November 11, 1918, people came out of quarantine to celebrate and the second and worst wave of the flu hit in the winter of 1918. That is when my grandmas died. It didn't stop there, it hit again in 1919. 

Have you ever wondered why it was called the Spanish Influenza? It was a misnomer. It didn’t start in Spain. During WWI Spain was neutral so censorship wasn't impose the press. France, England and the United States newspapers weren’t allowed to report on anything that could harm the war effort, including news that a crippling virus was sweeping through and killing the troops. Since Spanish journalists were some of the only ones reporting on a widespread flu outbreak in the spring of 1918, the pandemic became known as the “Spanish flu.”

Notice the cat had a mask on as well

As fate would have it, just a few weeks prior to the COVID-19 quarantine, I was chatting on Facebook with my friend/prima, Jasmine Baca, who lives in Santa Rosa, NM. A friend of hers, Kimberly Harris, chimed in on the conversation and we ended up chatting for a long time. It felt like another one of those God sends that I happen onto once in a while. 

Kimberly said "I think I have read your blog about your ancestry. You are descended from the Labadie family, right?" I said "Yes!" She said "I'm fascinated by that family. I live on a piece of their property, between the hemp farms in Puerto de Luna."  I replied "Oh Wow! Yes, my paternal grandmother was Josefita Labadie. I didn't know there were hemp farms in Puerto de Luna! I am totally fascinated by that lineage of my family tree as well. I never knew anything about them until I started doing research because my grandmother Josefita died of the Spanish Influenza in 1918 when my father was only 3 yrs old. I discovered so much of my ancestry from the census taken in Puerto de Luna in 1900 by Lorenzo Labadie. He was the census taker that year, at the age of 75, but he had such an amazing life in his younger years. He was a Lieutenant Colonel. His daughter, Beatriz was married to Juan Patron, another very interesting person. There is a book written about him called "Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid." 

Beatriz Labadie Patron and Juan Patron

Then Kimberly wrote "That was the best book! Sadly the Labadie homestead was bought up. They have built a huge four story CBD processing facility. They have basically destroyed the beauty of the ranch. However, Lorenzo’s original Adobe is still there. Plans to tear it down were abandoned. Now they know they historical significance of it. The people who owned this land and who sub-divided it, were obsessed with Lorenzo Labadie as well. The wife did a ton of research on him and passed it on to me. It is all stuff you have found, Im sure. Richard Delgado said my place is where Juan Patron and Beatrice lived. I found Roman’s grave and Beatrice’s next to him at the cemetery on Reilly Road."

Beatriz Labadie's Grave

Kimberly continued "Lorenzo's grave is in in the El Calvario Cemetery in Puerto de Luna. I am trying to find the truth about my house. It was a ruin that someone enlarged in the early 2000’s. It makes sense it was Beatrice and Juan's house. Most of the old families of Puerto de Luna have a presence here. I’ve often wondered where all the Labadie family scattered to." She went on to say "The location of Lorenzo’s Adobe is the second drive way coming from Santa Rosa on the west side of the highway before Blue Jay Rd which is where Richard and Julie Delgado live. There are county dumpsters at the gate." I wrote back "Oh my goodness, this is very touching! I have lived in Texas most of my life so I haven't had the opportunity to do much physical research. It is really very cool that you live there. Why do you live there? I would love to see photos!" She answered that she worked in the movie industry and was working on a movie in New Mexico. She decided she just had to live there. She found the ranch on 'Craig's list' and bought it.

Present day Labadie Ranch
Now the Kimberly Harris Ranch

Kimberly Harris

Kimberly posted this iris photo on
Easter Sunday, April 12,2020

Not knowing what it would mean to me.

It was the 15 year anniversary of my mom's passing.

Mom and Dad always had iris plants in their yard.

Mom and her iris plants - Amarillo, TX

My mother used to mention the Labadie family on occasion when she talked about her uncles who were politicians in New Mexico. I wish I had paid closer attention to the stories she told. After my grandmother Josefita died, my grandfather, Doroteo remarried and started another family so my grandmother's memory was all but erased, except from the heart of her only son Felipe. When he was in the service he had a tattoo on his upper left arm with a heart that read "In Memory of Mother"

So I started doing my own research about 10 years ago. My Great-Great-Great Uncle, Lorenzo Labadie was the census taker in Puerto de Luna and surrounding areas in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. I discovered some of the most important information from these documents. I always felt like I had hit a jackpot of information if I found a census taken by Lorenzo because all of his census documentation was very accurate and legible. He not only knew everyone in each household, he was related to all of the ones that I was researching. I felt like I grew to know him, late at night as I drank tea while I combed through his well recorded documents.

Lorenzo Labadie's House as it looks today
Nobody lives there.

The census in Puerto de Luna in 1900 was a huge find for me. I found that my Grandmother Josefita Labadie and her sisters were living with her mother Dorotea and her stepfather, Antonio Montoya in Puerto de Luna. Up to that time I thought my grandma Josefita was a Montoya but it listed all the children as step-children to the head of the household, Antonio Montoya and they all had the last name Labadie. This was a HUGE find.

A Portion of the 1900 Puerto de Luna Census

Lorenzo Labadie lead a very active life. He was born August 10, 1825 in the Rio Grande Valley, south of Albuquerque. In 1851 he was the sheriff of Valencia County, On February 16, 1852, he married Maria de los Reyes Refugio Rayitos Giddings-Gutierrez. (A very colorful personality herself) In 1854 there is documentation of him being a sheriff of Santa Fe. He then became an Indian agent for several tribes. In 1855 he was an Indian agent for Utes. In 1856 he was an Indian agent in Abiquiú. In1862 he was an Indian agent at Anton Chico. In 1863 he was an Indian agent in Bosque Redondo, just out side of Fort Sumner. The present day address is 3647 Billy the Kid Rd, Fort Sumner, NM. There was a lot going on there at that time and I am still doing research. In 1865 he was an Indian agent for the Jicarilla Indians near Agua Negra present day Santa Rosa. In 1867 he was sent to Texas to get Indians to release white captives, another cool story I need to research. Then my favorite part of Lorenzo's life.... In 1871 He got a merchant's license and opened a wine shop in Puerto de Luna. It's not hard for me to imagine the grape vines and orchards along the Pecos in Puerto de Luna.And then at last in 1880 he was the census taker. Billy the Kid was on the census, confirming the stories I had heard that Billy the Kid had taught my great Uncle Hilario Valdez how to read and write in English when he was 7 yrs old. Lot of history here also. Then on May 8, 1884 he became the Post Master of Santa Rosa until Dec. 14, 1898. April 20, 1885 he signed a petition to get Rifles for Puerto de Luna. On February 2, 1893 won case against Celso Baca for cheating on Election for seat on the 30th. Legislation Assembly of N.M. as representation for Guadalupe Co. Lorenzo died on August 10, 1904, in Puerto De Luna, New Mexico and was buried there in the El Calvario Cemetery.

My thoughts now, six weeks into quarantine. I am so grateful to have a safe home and groceries. I thought I loved HEB before but I love them even more now because they have provided curbside pickup for groceries. I have been impressed with most of my family and friends and our effort to flatten the curve by staying home. I think with greater awareness of how viruses and pandemics work, along with better healthcare, we have a better chance than they did in 1918, even if we are working against a president who urges us to not trust the press and has followers who believe the pandemic is a hoax. I feel badly for those areas with dense populations like NYC who rely on public transportation. I am grateful to all my musician friends for the streaming concerts on Facebook and ZOOM conversations with friends. I am grateful for everyone who has checked in on me by phone, text or Facebook. I am grateful for the essential workforce who has continued to work such as healthcare workers and those who work at the grocery stores and pharmacies. I pray that this pandemic takes a downward turn by May 15 so my son can reopen his restaurant. For now I am home, watching lots of movies, eating lots of home cooked meals and feeling grateful that in this moment I feel healthy and I have a cat. And to all that read this please stay safe, stay home as much as possible and be grateful in every moment.

The Labadie Family

It's been over a month since I've written a blog post and my ancestry research has become sporadic. Mainly because I solved the mystery surrounding my paternal grandmother, Josefita Labadie Fajardo. I have traced all the other branches of my family tree as far back as the 1500's, some even further. The search for information about my paternal grandmother had become a personal challenge so when I found it, it was time for a break.

Josefita Labadie Fajardo and Doroteo Fajardo

According to the Nuestra Senora del Refugio Church records in Puerto de Luna New Mexico, my grand parents, Doroteo Chavez Fajardo and Josefita Labadie Fajardo were married on May 12, 1915 in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico. I find this to be interesting because my father, Felipe Montoya Fajardo was born two weeks later on May 26, 1915 in Puerto de Luna (Also listed as Juan De Dios, New Mexico which is about 8 southeast of Puerto de Luna) I have never found a birth certificate and I am guessing that is because he was born in a remote ranching community. Doroteo and Josefita also had a daughter named Anita , but I haven't found her birthdate or date of death. In the winter of 1918, when my father was only 3 years old, his mother, Josefita died of the Spanish Influenza  The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than World War I. "The Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" was a global disaster.

Read more about it here ----> Infuenza

While I searched for information about my grandmother Josefita and Aunt Anita, I found another Felipe M. Fajardo family. In the 1800's there seemed to be a lot of Fajardos around the Socorro, NM area. That particular Felipe M. Fajardo family moved to the Hatch, NM area. He was my dad's 2nd cousin and he also had a son named Phillip and a daughter named Anita. When I discovered them on Ancestry.com, I thought I had hit a jackpot but it ended up just being a cousin with many family names in common.

So back to my father's given name, Felipe Montoya Fajardo .... I was always told that Montoya was my grandmother Josefita's maiden name, however, I was ecstatic when I finally found the census from Puerto de Luna, New Mexico from the year 1900 that changed my whole life as I knew it! 

It showed: 

Antonio Montoya as head of household

Dorotea Montoya my great-great grandma was listed as his wife

There were six children listed ... 

BUT ... the children were all listed as step-children to the head of the household, Antonio Montoya! 

All six children had the last name Labadie!  

I looked down the list of children and the next to the last name wasmy grandmother "Josefita Labadie."  Mystery Solved At Last! 

1900 Puerto de Luna Census
Taken by Lorenzo Labadie

Close up of 1900 Puerto de Luna Census
Taken by Lorenzo Labadie

My great-grandmother, Dorotea had been married to Juan Labadie y Sanchez, (I haven't figured out the y Sanchez part of his name) So Dorotea and Juan had six children and then he died in 1898 at the age of 64 in Fort Sumner. Cause of death unknown for now. 

My mother had always told us that my father's mother was a Labadie but never explained the situation. Anyway, 2 years after Juan's death, when Dorotea was 47, she married Antonio Montoya. While searching for Juan Labadie's records, I discovered books of interesting history on the prominent Labadie family in New Mexico.

This was no surprise because throughout this journey of my ancestry research, coincidences have occurred all along the way. Now I sort of just expect the synchronistic discoveries to occur. 

The week I discovered that my grandmother was actually a Labadie, my friend Marcia Ball (who's a well known piano player, blues singer in Austin)  mother passed away. Marcia posted her mother's obituary on facebook. The obit mentioned that she was from Labadieville, LA. What are the chances that information would show up the same week that I discovered my Labadie connection?

So here's the breakdown: 

My 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Dominique Labadie was born in France in 1738. He first settled in St Louis, MO and then in Santa Fe in 1765. 

As a young medical doctor, the 27 year old married My 4th great-grandmother, Maria Micaela Padilla. She was the daughter of one of the original founding families of Albuquerque. 

They married in Santa Fe on November 2, 1766. and had 15 children. 

Their son, Juan Pablo Labadie was born on May 24, 1784 in Santa Fe. He is my 3rd great-grandfather. He married Maria Rosa de Reyes Cisneros my 3rd great-grandmother and they had a son, Juan Labadie, born in 1817. He is my 2nd great-grandfather. He had a son, Juan Labadie y Sanchez, born in 1834, he is my great-grandfather. He was my grandmother Josefita Labadie's father but he died when she was 7. She took her stepfather Antonio Montoya's name and later gave my dad the middle name, Montoya.

My great-great-grandfather, Juan Labadie y Sanchez had a younger brother, Lorenzo Labadie. Lorenzo's immediate family are some of the most colorful characters I have read about in my family research. There are conflicting stories as to who founded Santa Rosa, NM. As far as I can tell both Lorenzo Labadie and Celso Baca were foundational figures in the early development of Santa Rosa, which was originally settled in 1865 as Agua Negra Chiquita. Nonetheless, they have both been named as two of the first settlers. 

Lorenzo Labadie was described as a handsome, honorable man who wore many hats. In 1851 he was the Sheriff in Valencia County where he served 3 terms. Like his friend Kit Carson, he was a sympathetic and a loyal friend to many of the Native Americans. In 1855 he was appointed as a U.S. Indian Agent for 15 years and gained respect and confidence seldom obtained by the Native Americans as an Agent. Under his watchful eye, the Native Americans worked side-by-side with soldiers, damming the Pecos River to irrigate crops, planting trees, and building a slaughter house. They had 94 gardens spread over a 100 acre area and grew melons, pumpkins, chile and green beans. He was removed as an agent because he protested against the Native Americans being furnished unwholesome food by the government. Go figure, the government was treating people of color unfairly.

Lorenzo married Rayitos Giddings, a beautiful blue-eyed 14-year-old called "one of the fairest daughters of the territory," on Feb. 16, 1852. Rayitos, (born María Consuelo de los Rayos Gutiérrez in 1838) was just as colorful in her own right. She was raised and educated by her great aunt, Maria Gertrudis Barcelo, AKA Madame La Tules, an intriguing, free-spirited woman who dominated Society in Santa Fe. She was known as the best professional gamblers in New Mexico. Rayitos later became a well known doctor. On the day of their wedding, as a wedding gift, Lorenzo received a commission from Governor James S. Calhoun as colonel of the territorial commission.

Then I don't know what happened to my great-grandfather Juan Labadie y Sanchez's father, Captain Juan Cisneros Labadie. I don't know if I am reading the document below correctly (it's in Spanish) but I think it says his brother Lorenzo Labadie adopted his children... so Lorenzo Labadie ended up being my great-great adopted grandfather?

I am still researching this information.

Later in life, Lorenzo became a census taker for at least 10 years. In 1880 he sat with Billy the Kid in Ft. Sumner and Billy gave him the name William Bonney and said he worked in cattle. He was also the census taker in 1900 in Puerto de Luna when he recorded Antonio Montoya as head of household with wife Dorotea. I've often wished I could have been a fly on the wall to watch the interaction between Lorenzo and Dorotea, his deceased older brother's widow and mother of his nieces and nephews who are listed as Montoya's stepchildren

In 1893 Lorenzo was elected to the legislation assembly of New Mexico as representative for Guadalupe County, NM. Lorenzo died on his birthday, August 10, 1904, in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico. He was buried there in the El Calvario Cemetery. This cemetary's location is past the church in PdL, over the bridge and then right on the road past the bridge, past what used to be the senior center on the left.

Lorenzo Labadie's Grave

I just found this. I had written it on Ancestry years ago. I will have to edit it later.

Lorenzo Labadie was born on August 10, 1825, in Tome, Valencia Co, New Mexico, located in the Rio Grande Valley, near Belen, south of Albuquerque. He lead a very active life. I have felt sometimes that I knew him personally because he was the census taker in Puerto de Luna and the surrounding areas in the late 1800's and in 1900. All of my ancestors were living in these thriving little communities and he and I were related to all the same people. So his amazingly accurate census taking skills have been a huge help to my ancestry research. It was the starting point for my personal ancestry story.

I first felt a connection to that time and place in history when I saw the movie, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" not knowing that Billy the Kid had actually worked on the Valdez and Gerhardt ranches in Los Ojitos. The movie was released in May of 1973, the year after I had lived there with my grandma. It starred Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Rita Coolidge.

So as fate would have it, many years later, I was chatting on Facebook with my friend/prima, Jasmine Baca(Nelson) who lives in Santa Rosa, NM. A friend of hers chimed into the conversation and we ended up chatting for a long time and it felt like another one of those God sends that I happen onto once in a while.

Her name is Kimberly Harris and she said "I think I have read your blog on your ancestry. You are descended from the Labadie family. I am fascinated by that family. I live on a piece of their property, between the hemp farms." I realized later that Kimberly was in the movie industry and was from Los Angeles. She had worked on a movie in Santa Fe and decided she had to buy so land in New Mexico and stay there. I replied to her "Oh Wow! Yes, my paternal grandmother was Josefita Labadie. I didn't know there were hemp farms in Puerto de Luna! I am totally fascinated by that lineage of my family as well. I never knew anything about them until I started doing research because my grandma Josefita died of the Spanish Influenza in 1918 when my dad was only 3 yrs old. I discovered so much of my ancestry from the census taken in Puerto de Luna in 1900 by Lorenzo Labadie.

Lorenzo had such an amazing life before he became a census taker late in life. I can just imagine that he wanted to continue to socialize so he took it up as sort of a hobby. He had been the sheriff of Valencia County and in Santa Fe. He was an Indian agent and he was a Lieutenant Colonel. My favorite story was that in 1871 he got a merchant's license and opened a wine shop in Puerto de Luna. And then at last in 1880 he was the census taker. Billy the Kid was on the census, confirming the stories I had heard that Billy the Kid had taught my great Uncle Hilario Valdez how to read and write in English when he was 7 yrs old.

Then on May 8, 1884 he became the Post Master of Santa Rosa until Dec. 14, 1898. April 20, 1885 he signed a petition to get Rifles for Puerto de Luna. On June 29, 1896, he wrote letter concerning the Agua Negra Land grant. Juan Patron, his son-in- law owned part of it, by this time Patron had been killed in Puerto de Luna. His daughter, Beatriz was married to Juan Patron, another very interesting person in New Mexico history. There is a book written about him called "Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid."

Then Kimberly wrote:

"That was the best book! Sadly the Labadie homestead was bought up. They built a huge four story CBD processing facility. They have basically destroyed the beauty of the ranch. However, Lorenzo’s original Adobe is still there. Plans to tear it down were abandoned. Now they know the historical significance of it. The people who owned this land and who sub-divided it, were obsessed with Lorenzo Labadie as well. The wife did extensive research on him and passed it on to me. It is all stuff you have found, I'm sure. Your cousin Richard Delgado lives across the road and he said my place is where Juan Patron and Beatrice Labadie Patron lived. I found Roman’s grave and Beatrice’s next to him at the cemetery on Reilly Road. And Lorenzo's grave is in Puerto de Luna. I am trying to find the truth about my house. It was a ruin that someone enlarged in the early 2000’s. It makes sense it was Beatrice and Juan's house. I’ve often wondered where all the Labadies scattered to. Most of the other old families have a presence here. The location of Lorenzo’s Adobe is the second drive way coming from Santa Rosa on the west side of the highway before Blue Jay Road, which is where the Delgado’s live. There are county dumpsters at the gate." I wrote back "Oh my goodness, this is very touching! I have lived in Texas most of my life so I haven't had the opportunity to do much physical research. It is really very cool that you live there. I would love to see photos!" My mother used to mention the Labadie family in passing once in a while when she talked about her uncles who were politicians in New Mexico. I wish I had paid closer attention to the stories she told. My grandfather, Doroteo Fajardo remarried after my grandma passed away and started another family so my grandmother Josifita Labadie Fajardo's memory was erased, except from the heart of her only son Felipe, my dad. So I started doing my own research about 10 years ago. I discovered that the very informative man who was my Great-Great-Great Uncle Lorenzo, had actually becoe my Great Great Grandfather because he adopted his brother's child.

Lorenzo was the census taker in Puerto de Luna and surrounding areas in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. I discovered some of the most important information from these documents. I always felt like I had hit a jackpot of information if I found a census taken by Lorenzo because all of his census documentation was very accurate and legible. He not only knew everyone in each household, he was related to all of the ones that I was researching. I felt like I grew to know him, late at night as I drank tea and combed through he well recorded documents. The census in Puerto de Luna in 1900 was a huge find for me during my ancestry research. I found that my Grandmother Josefita Labadie was living with her mother Dorotea and her stepfather, Antonio Montoya in Puerto de Luna. Up to that time I thought my grandmother was a Montoya but it listed all the children as step-children to the head of the household, Antonio Montoya and they all had the last name Labadie.  

In 1851 he was the sheriff of Valencia County, NM. On February 16, 1852, he married Maria de los Reyes Refugio Rayitos Giddings-Gutierrez. (A very colorful personality herself) In 1854 there is documentation of him being a sheriff of Santa Fe. In 1855 he was an Indian agent for Utes. In 1856 he was an Indian agent in Abiquiú. In1862 he was an Indian agent at Anton Chico. In 1863 he was an Indian agent in Bosque Redondo, just out side of Fort Sumner. The present day address is 3647 Billy the Kid Rd, Fort Sumner, NM. There was a lot going on there at that time and I am still doing research. In 1865 he was an Indian agent for the Jicarilla Indians near Agua Negra present day Santa Rosa. In 1867 he was sent to Texas to get Indians to release white captives, another cool story I need to research. Then my favorite part of Lorenzo's life.... In 1871 He got a merchant's license and opened a wine shop in Puerto de Luna. And then at last in 1880 he was the census taker. Billy the Kid was on the census, confirming the stories I had heard that Billy the Kid had taught my great Uncle Hilario Valdez how to read and write in English when he was 7 yrs old. Lot of history here also. Then on May 8, 1884 he became the Post Master of Santa Rosa until Dec. 14, 1898. April 20, 1885 he signed a petition to get Rifles for Puerto de Luna. On February 2, 1893 won case against Celso Baca for cheating on Election for seat on the 30th. Legislation Assembly of N.M. as representation for Guadalupe Co. To say these two men were not friends would be putting it lightly. It wasn’t long after this Celso (a big man) said something about Lorenzo at a pubic meeting and Lorenzo heard it jumped up and got hold of Celso and the men there had to pull him off. They were both up in years. On June 29, 1896, he wrote letter concerning the Agua Negra Land grant. Juan Patron, his son-in- law owned part of it, by this time Patron had been killed in Puerto de Luna. Lorenzo died on August 10, 1904, in Puerto De Luna, New Mexico and was buried there in the El Calvario Cemetery. This cemetary's location is on the little road past the church, past the bridge and right on the road past the bridge, past senior center on the left.

I will continue with Lorenzo's daughter Beatriz Labadie and her husband Juan Patron at a later date. This is another interesting story.