Indigenous Mexico

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Moctezuma’s Descendants in Aguascalientes

John Schmal

For many years, Aguascalientes and Nueva Galicia researchers have agreed that one branch of Moctezuma’s descendants ended up in Aguascalientes. However, the paper evidence for this theory has been difficult to assemble. And, at this point in time, there are still some gaps. It is believed that the researchers Guillermo Tovar de Teresa and Mariano Gonzalez-Leal have put together more detailed analysis on this lineage, but at this time, we will present what we have, which present parts of the picture.

GENERATION 1: MOTEZUMA II XOCOYOTSIN (1480-1520)

MOCTEZUMA II XOCOYOTSIN II was born about 1480 as the son of AXAYACTL TLATOANI (Water Mask” or “Water Face”), who was the sixth Emperor of the Aztecs, reigning over Tenochtitlán from 1469 to 1481. Axayactl was himself the grandson of Emperor MOCTEZUMA I (reigned 1440 to 1469), the monarch that he succeeded. Moctezuma II became the Emperor of the Aztec Empire in 1502 and was killed on June 29, 1520 during the fall of Tenochtitlán.

In May 2010, Margo Tamez, in submitting a dissertation to Washington State University, discussed the Moctezuma-Esparza lineage and the fact that female descendants of Moctezuma were granted “significant encomiendas in perpetuity” by the Spanish Crown.[i] In fact, three of Moctezuma‘s children were awarded special legal recognition, privileges and rights for themselves and their descendants.[ii]

GENERATION 2: MARIANA LEONOR MOCTEZUMA (1505-1562)

MARIANA LEONOR MOCTEZUMA was one of the daughters of Moctezuma II. It is believed that she was Moctezuma’s daughter by a noble Mixtec woman of Acatlan, a town and province that was in alliance with Tenochtitlán at the time of the Spanish invasion. Leonor was Christianized by Hernán Cortés and was then endowed with the encomienda of Ecatepec.[iii] The fact that Moctezuma was the father of Leonor (alias Marina) and father-in-law of X’poval [Christoval] de Valderrama is confirmed by a segment of this 1574 chart in Mexico’s Archivo General:[iv]

Marianna was married in 1527 to Juan Páez,[v] a conquistador who died by late August 1529. Two years later in 1531, Mariana married her second husband, Cristobal de Valderrama. Don Cristobal, a native of Burgos, España, was a conquistador who served in Michoacán, Colima and Zacatula. The History of Tarímbaro (Michoacán) states that Cristobal de Valderrama was given the encomienda of Tarímbaro (1526-1537) and of Ecatepec, and he is mentioned in the text of Michoacán’s early history during the 1530s until his death in November 1537.[vi] Mariana and Don Cristobal had only one daughter, Leonor de Valderrama y Moctezuma, who was baptized sometime around 1532.

GENERATION 3: LEONOR DE VALDERRAMA (born 1532 – died 1562)

Doña LEONOR DE VALDERRAMA Y MOCTEZUMA, the second encomendera of Tarímbaro and Ecatepec, was probably born around 1532 and died in 1562 when she was only 30 years old. Leonor de Valderrama y de Moctezuma was married to DIEGO ARIAS DE SOTELO, a native of Zamora, España, who was born around 1525. It is believed that Diego was the son of Fernando de Sotelo and Maria de Villasenor.

The relationship of Leonor (alias Marina) and X’poval [Christoval] de Valderrama to their daughter Leonor de Balderrama who married Diego Arias Sotelo is confirmed by a segment of the 1574 Archivo General chart referenced earlier:[vii]

Diego Arias de Sotelo came to Nueva España in 1550 as a waiter of Viceroy Luis de Velasco and served as Alcalde Ordinario de Méjico in 1561. Diego and Leonor were involved in lengthy law-suits which consumed the rest of their lives and which, according to Chipman, involved the disputed properties in Ecatepec and Tlatelolco.[viii]

During the late 1560s, Diego Arias Sotelo got into trouble with the Vice Royalty, along with his brother, who was executed for his alleged crimes against the state. Diego Arias Sotelo was exiled to Spain in 1568 for his participation in the plot of Don Martin Cortes, but his son Fernando stepped in to take over the encomienda of Ecatepec from him.

Leonor Valderrama and her husband Diego Arias de Sotelo had the following children:

Don Fernando de Sotelo, the third encomendero of Tarímbaro and San Cristobal Ecatepec. He later became the Mayor of Colima and died sometime after 1604.

Don Cristobal de Sotelo Valderrama was married Juana de Heredia Patino in 1594 in Mexico City and is believed to have died in 1607.

Dona Ana de Sotelo Moctezuma, baptized Sept. 7, 1553 in Asuncion Parish, Mexico City. She became a nun.

Petronila Moctezuma (Montezuma). She was married to Martin de Gabay, also known as Martin Navarro.

On September 7, 1553, in the Asuncion Parish records, Diego Arias de Sotelo and his wife, Doña Leonor de Balderrama baptized their daughter Ana. The baptism is shown below:[ix]

The 1574 Archivo General chart refers to Leonor de Valderrama and Diego Arias Sotelo as the parents of Fernando Sotelo de Moctezuma and “otros hijos [other children] de Diego Arias Sotelo.” Unfortunately, the other children are not named.[x]

However, this excerpt from a 1594 matrimonio informacion document from the Archdiocese of Mexico City provides the following information: “X’poval [Christobal] Sotelo Valderrama natural de esta ciudad hijo legitimo de Diego Arias Sotelo y Don Leonor —- [unreadable] – difuntos [deceased]. This is the brother of Petronila Sotelo alias Petronila Moctezuma. This document was the result of diligent research in Mexico City’s information matrimonios by Mercy Bautista Olvera.[xi]

It is believed that Leonor died in 1562. Her husband, Diego Arias de Sotelo died four years later on July 7, 1566.

GENERATION 4: PETRONILLA MOCTEZUMA (born 1552)

PETRONILA SOTELO MOCTEZUMA was probably born around 1552 in Mexico City. It is believed that in 1571 she was married to MARTIN GABAI DE NAVARRO, also known as MARTIN NABARRO. A marriage record of Petronila and Martin has not been located yet, however, they were referenced several times as an ancestral married couple Martin Nabarro and Petronila Montesuma in a 1703 Diocese of Guadalajara informacion matrimonio document for a marriage that took place in Nochistlán as seen below:[xii]

In an earlier section of the same document, the following relationship is outlined: Theresa Ponze, the daughter (hija) of Nicolas Ponze, the granddaughter (nieta) of Doña Juana de Siordia, great-granddaughter (bisnieta) of Maria Gabai, and great-great-granddaughter (terzera nieta) of Martin Nabarro and of Doña Petronila Montesuma.[xiii]

The known children of Petronila Sotelo (alias Moctezuma) and of Martin Gabai de Navarro are shown below:

Mary Gabay, who married to Pedro Fernandez de Vaulus

Ana-Francisca Gabay, born circa 1573-1577, married circa 1594-95 to Lope Ruiz de Esparza, died March 30, 1652, Villa de Aguascalientes – married LOPE RUIZ-DE-ESPARZA. He died 14 Aug 1651 in Aguascalientes.

GENERATION 5: FRANCESCA GABAI (1573-1652) – WIFE OF LOPE RUIZ DE ESPARZA (1569-1651)

According to the doctorate dissertation Margo Tamez, when Lope Ruiz de Esparza (1569-1651), a Basque colonist, married Ana Francisca Moctezuma Gabay (1573-1652), “high status was secured, and certain facets of aboriginal title through his wife‘s ancestral lineage, recognized by the Spanish Crown as a direct line descendent of Moctezuma II, facilitated the acquisition of lands and wealth for his heirs vis-à-vis intermarriage with an Indigenous woman with immense social and political capital.”[xiv]

Lope Ruiz de Esparza

Lope Ruiz de Esparza – a native of Pamplona, Navarra – is documented by the Catalogo de Pasajeros a Indias (Vol. III – #2.633) as having sailed from Spain to Mexico on Feb. 8, 1593. Lope, who was the son of Lope Ruiz de Esparza and Ana Días de Eguino, was a bachelor and a servant of Doñ Enrique Maleon.[xv] After arriving in Mexico, Lope is said to have married Francisca de Gabai Navarro y Moctezuma somewhere in Mexico City in 1595. This marriage has not been located.

Aguascalientes

At some point, Lope and Francesca made their way to Aguascalientes in the Spanish colony of Nueva Galicia. The town of Aguascalientes had been formally established by a decree of October 22, 1575 during the height of the Chichimeca War (1550-1590). As a result, the small villa got off to a bad start and during the height of the hostilities (1582-1585), the population of the villa was reduced to only one caudillo, two vecinos [residents] and 16 soldiers. However the last Chichimec raid took place in 1593, after which the threat from native peoples quickly diminished. At this point Spanish settlers – mostly cattlemen and farmers – began arriving in Aguascalientes.[xvi]

By 1610, the small town of Aguascalientes had some 25 Spanish residents, about fifty families of mestizos, at least 100 mulatos, twenty Black slaves, and ten Indians.[xvii] It is likely that these twenty-five Spanish inhabitants probably included persons with the surnames Ruiz de Esparza, Alvarado, Tiscareno de Molina, Luebana, and Fernandez de Vaulus. The Registros Parroquiales (Parish Registers) for La Parroquia de la Asunción (Assumption Parish) in Aguascalientes began at various points around this time: marriages in 1601, baptisms in 1616 and deaths in 1620. And the vast majority of the people who were baptized or married in this church in the early years were mulatos, mestizos and indios (as indicated by the 1610 tally).

The first evidence we have of Lope’s presence in Aguascalientes is an October 8th, 1611 marriage of two people who are described as servants (criados) of Pedro Fernandez de Vaulus (most likely a nephew of Francesca Gabai de Ruiz de Esparza). This marriage was performed in the presence (en presencia) of three people, one of whom was Lope Ruiz de Esparza.

GENERATION 6: THE RUIZ DE ESPARZA CHILDREN OF AGUASCALIENTES

Lope Ruiz de Esparza and Francisca de Gabay had the following children:

  1. Salvador, born in 1595, died in Aguascalientes on Sept 29, 1679. He was married about 1618 to María de Vielma, born circa 1600

  2. Anna Tomasina, born about 1597. She was married on Nov. 25, 1618 to Francisco Sánchez de Montes de Oca, a native of the Kingdom of Castilla. They lived in Morcenique

  3. Martín, born about 1600. He was married about 1625 to Doña María López de Elizalde y Becerra, the widow of Don Juan de Luévana (a peninsular). He died in 1662 in Aguascalientes.

  4. Lorenza, born about 1602. She was married in the Hacienda de Morcenique, Aguascalientes, on May 16, 1623, with Capitán Luis de Tiscareño de Molina y Márquez, originally from the Barrio of Triana en Sevilla; Luis was the son of Juan de Tiscareño de Molina y de doña Elvira Márquez.

  5. Jacinto, born about 1604. He was the Escribano Real de Aguascalientes. He was married about 1629 with Doña Juana López de Elizalde, who died in Aguascalientes on May 21, 1682 (she was the daughter of Juan López de Elizalde y de Leonor Becerra y Sánchez de Mendoza). He died in Aguascalientes on July 27, 1679.

  6. Bernardo (who also used the surname Salado) was born in 1608. He was married in the Estancia de Morcenique to Doña Catalina Lozano Isla, the daughter of Don Cristóbal y de Doña María (Lozano-Isla)

  7. Pedro, was born in 1611. He was married on April 12, 1636 to Isla Juana Lozano, the daughter of Don Cristobal and Dona Maria, already mentioned. His second marriage in Aguascalientes, on March 13, 1688 was recorded as follows: “13 de marzo de 1688: Pedro Ruis de Esparza español vecino de esta villa y vudo de Juana Lozano con Margarita española vecina y natural de esta villa hija lexítima de Luis González y Beatris Gallegos ya difuntos.” He had fathered a child by her. Margarita was baptized on Nov. 24, 1625 in Aguascalientes.

  8. María, born in 1613 and married about 1630 with Don Nicolás de Ulloa, who had been born in 1605. They were vecinos de Teocaltiche, where their descendants lived.

  9. Capitán Cristóbal, born in 1616. He was marred on August 18, 1646 to Doña Isabel de Alcaraz, o Pérez

  10. Don Bernabé, baptized en Aguascalientes on June 17, 1618 and died on October 21, 1672. He was married on May 11, 1643 with Doña Anna Ortiz Ramírez, a native of Sierra de Pinos and daughter Pablo and de Doña Catalina. They had no descendants.

  11. Don Lope Ruiz de Esparza y de Gabay, born in Morcenique and baptized in Aguascalientes on August 21, 1620. Lope was also known as Lorenzo Ruiz de Esparza. His first marriage was to Doña Antonia del Castilla (daughter of Juan del Castillo de Contreras and Doña María Ruiz de Aldana) on May 2, 1647. His second marriage was on August 1, 1677 to Doña Josefa de Sandi, widow of Juan Martínez Calvillo, daughter of Alonso de Aguilera y de Josefa de Sandi.

  12. Both Lope Ruiz de Esparza and his wife Francesca served as padrinos at numerous baptisms and marriages in the Aguascalientes during their long lives. However, their own children were not baptized in the Aguascalientes parish church until 1618. It is possible that records were kept in their private chapel in Morcenique and that these records were never turned over to the parish or may have been lost at some point.

LORENZA ESPARZA (The fourth-born child of Lope and Francesca) (1602-1690)

LORENZA RUIZ DE ESPARZA, the fourth-born child of Lope and Francesca, was probably born around 1602. On May 16, 1623, in Morcenique, Lorenza was married to Luis Tiscareno de Molina, a native of Triana, across the river from Sevilla in Castilla. Their marriage is shown below:[xviii]

The approximate text of this marriage reads as follows:

En la estançia de Morçenique desposé…a Luis Tiscareño de Molina hijo de Juan Tiscareño y Elvira Márquez naturales de Triana en Sevilla en Reynos de Castilla con Lorença Ruiz de Esparza hija legítima de Lope Ruiz de Esparça y Francisca de Gabadi, su muger, vecinos de esta villa. Fueron testigos Martín Fernández de Vaulux y Francisco Maçías Valadez y Salvador Ruiz de Esparça, cuñado del dicho Luis Tiscareño de Molina. Fueron padrinos: Francisco Sánchez Montes de Oca y Ana Ruiz de Esparça, su muger, cuñados del dicho Luis Tiscareño de Molina.

The known children of LORENZA RUIZ-DE-ESPARZA and LUIS TISCARENO-DE-MOLINA-Y-MARQUEZ were:

  1. Juan Tiscareno de Molina

  2. Luisa Tiscareno de Molina – married on Sept, 3, 1652 to Andres Lopez de Nava in Aguascalientes

  3. Francesca Tiscareno de Molina, baptized March 4, 1625, Aguascalientes

  4. Elvira Tiscareno de Molina, baptized May 11, 1627, Aguascalientes

  5. Maria Tiscareno de Molina, baptized March 13, 1634, Aguascalientes

  6. Margarita Tiscareno de Molina, baptized June 27, 1642, Aguascalientes

  7. Juana Tiscareno de Molina, baptized August 20, 1644, Aguascalientes

According to the Aguascalientes Parish Book, Lorensa Ruis De Esparsa, the widow of Luis Tiscareño, was buried on June 3, 1690 (Aguascalientes Film 299856, Book 2, page 150).

GENERATION 7: MARIA TISCARENO DE ROMO DE VIBAR (born 1634)

MARIA TISCARENO was born eleven years after the marriage of her parents, Lorenza Ruis de Esparza and Luis Tiscareno de Molina. Her baptism on March 13, 1634 described María as “hija de Luis Careño [Tiscareno] y Lorenza Ruis.” The actual baptism from the Aguascalientes film was located on Family History Library Film 299421 and has been reproduced below:

Several sources have reported that on May 5, 1658, in the Chapel of Los Tiscareños, CAPITAN JUAN ROMO DE VIVAR (born around 1632) married María de Molina Tiscareño, the daughter of Luis de Molina and Marquez Tiscareño.

We do not have a copy of this marriage. However, from 1658 forward, Juan Romo and Maria Tiscareno are frequently listed in the baptism book of Aguascalientes, both as padrinos and as parents. Although they were the parents of several children, only some of those children were baptized in Aguascalientes. Others may have been baptized in the private family chapel, and the records may not have been transferred to the Parish of Aguascalientes.

Juan Romo de Vibar and María de Tiscareno are believed to have had several children including:

  1. Teresa Romo de Vibar, born circa 1662

  2. Antonio Romo de Vibar, baptized Aug 12, 1664, Aguascalientes Parish

  3. Domingo Romo de Vibar, baptized Sept. 13, 1666, Aguascalientes Parish

On December 18, 1691, according to the Aguascalientes Parish Book, Juan Romo de Vivar – the husband of Maria de Tiscareño – was buried at the Convento De Nuestra Señora De La Concepsion (Aguascalientes Film 299856, Book 2, page 160). The death record for his wife has not been located.

GENERATION 8: THERESA ROMO DE VIBAR (1662 – 1691)

Aguascalientes research specialists, including Mariano Gonzalez, have stated that Juana Teresa Romo de Vibar was born about 1662, possibly baptized in the private Tiscareno chapel or in another parish. What is known is that Doña Juana Teresa – when she was about 17 years old – was married to CAPITAN DON JOSEPH DE LA ESCALERA Y VALDES on September 10, 1679. The two page document for their marriage (Aguascalientes Film 299823) is reproduced below:

The known children of Jose de la Escalera and Teresa Romo who were baptized in the Parish of Aguascalientes are listed below:

  • Margarita, baptized Sept. 1, 1680

  • Juan, baptized March 24, 1682

  • Joseph, baptized July 4, 1684

  • Mariana, baptized May 27, 1687

  • Christoval, baptized Oct. 23, 1689

According to the Aguascalienes Parish Book, Teresa Romo De Vivar – the wife of Joseph de la Escalera – was buried in the Church of Aguascalientes on Dec. 24, 1691 (Aguascalientes Film 299856, Book 2, page 160). She was probably only 29 years old at the time.

Copyright © 2022 by John P. Schmal.

[i] Margo Tamez, NÁDASI‘NÉ‘ NDÉ’ ISDZÁNÉ BEGOZ’AAHÍ’ SHIMAA SHINÍ’ GOKAL GOWĄ GOSHJAA HA‘ÁNÁ‘IDŁÍ TEXAS-NAKAIYÉ GODESDZOG [Translation: RETURNING LIPAN APACHE WOMEN‘S LAWS, LANDS, & POWER IN EL CALABOZ RANCHERÍA, TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER] (Program in American Studies, Washington State University: May 2010), p. 76. Online: http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Spring2010/m_tamez_050410.pdf

[ii] Donald E. Chipman, Moctezuma‘s Children: Aztec Royalty Under Spanish Rule, 1520-1700, (Austin: The University of Texas Press, 2005).

[iii] Ibid., pp. 75-95.

[iv] Mexico Archivo General – AGI – MP – Escudos: 211.

[v] Hugh Thomas, Who’s Who of the Conquistadors (Cassell & Co.: London, 2000), p.222.

[vi] Enciclopedia de los Municipios y Delegaciones de México, Michoacán de Ocampo: Tarímbaro.

[vii] Mexico Archivo General – AGI – MP – Escudos: 211.

[viii] Donald E. Chipman, op. cit., p. 77.

[ix] Family History Library, Asunción Sagrario Metropolitano (Centro), Bautismos de españoles 1536-1546, 1552-1589 (Film 35167, Page 24, Slide 219). Available at:

<https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-9758-14785-61?cc=1615259&wc=M99K-KMB%3An2101203779>

[x] Mexico Archivo General – AGI – MP – Escudos: 211.

[xi] Family History Library, Mexico Distrito Federal Church Records, Aquidiocecis de Mexico (Centro), Film 1512017, Image #96. Online: <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-17760-104704-6?cc=1615259&wc=M99K-K95:507747687>.

[xii] Family History Library, Diocese of Guadalajara Matrimonios Film #168605 (1700-1705), Images 318-320. Online: <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18377-19648-67?cc=1874591&wc=M99L-KS2:1242667025>

[xiii] Ibid.

[xiv] Margo Tamez, op. cit., p. 329.

[xv] Archivo General de Indias, Sección de Contratación, Pasajeros a Indias: Libros de Asientos (Sevilla, Spain: Imprenta Editorial de la Gavidia, 1940), Vol. VII, 1586-1599, III-163, #2.633.

[xvi] Peter Gerhard, The North Frontier of New Spain (University of Oklahoma: 1993), pp. 63-65; Philip Wayne Powell, Solders, Indians and Silver (Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University: 1975), pp. 144, 154-155.

[xvii] Peter Gerhard, op. cit., p 65.

[xviii] Family History Library Film 299421, Aguascalientes Bautismos & Matrimonios (1616-1662).