La Familia Trujillo Y Reyes Newsletter

October 2008

Ygnacio Trujillo and Hilaria Rivera Life Summary

Ygnacio Trujillo was born about 1811 and Hilaria Rivera a year later. Both were from the Hacienda de la Tinaja.  They were married in the city of Aguascalientes on February 13, 1830 at the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion.  They are known to have had at least six children.  José Andrés, Melitón, Teodoro, María Florencia, José Maria de Jesús and Eusebia.

 

Significant Events in the lives of Ygnacio and Hilaria

Significant events occurred during the lives of Ygnacio Trujillo and Maria Hilaria Rivera. 

In 1817, the Inquisition ends in Mexico.  Also in 1817, the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City was completed. Also in 1817, The Indian Wars began between the Indians of North American and the USA.

In 1821 Mexico wins independence from Spain. In 1821, Moses Austin received a land grant from Mexico to settle Anglo-Americans in the Mexican state of Texas. 

In 1824, the Constitution of 1824 establishes the Republic of Mexico.

In 1828, slavery was outlawed in Mexico. Also in 1828, gold was discovered in the Mexican state of New Mexico.

In 1832, The Texas Revolutionary War began. 

In 1835, Texans fight the Mexican army in the battle of the Alamo.

In 1836, Texas becomes independent.

In 1837, Queen Victoria takes power in England.

In 1845, the USA annexes Texas.

In 1846, the Mexican-American War begins.

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War with the USA purchasing New Mexico through California from Mexico.  Also in 1848, Gold was discovered in California.

In 1850, New Mexico was established as a Territory of the USA.

In 1854, the Gadsden Purchase establishes the current USA-Mexico border.

In 1861, the US Civil War begins and Confederates invade New Mexico from Texas.

  

Dia de los Muertos

For over 3000 years the indigenous people of Mexico have celebrated a month long ritual that mocked death.  When Spanish Conquistadors landed in Mexico they encountered this ritual and tried to eradicate it.  They were unable to eradicate it so they moved it to coincide with the Christian days of All Saints Day and All Souls day on November 1st and 2nd.

Even so the spirits of departed children or “Angelitos” are said to arrive the afternoon of October 31 and depart the afternoon of November 1st to make way for the arrival of the spirits of adults.  On the afternoon of November 2nd all spirits return from where they came.

The holiday was originally  to celebrate the goddess of death the was said to have died during childbirth.

In some places additional days are separated to remember the dead. October 28 is for those who died violent deaths.  October 29 is for those who died unbaptized and October 30 is for the lonely soul.

The Day of the Dead holiday is celebrated with all manner of skeletons, intricate paper cut-outs called “Papel Picado”, candles and fresh, paper and silk flowers, especially marigolds.  There are also many edible candies in the shape of skulls, and coffins.  Also you can find sugary sweet rolls that are called “Pan de Muerto” that come in various sized and are often topped in the shape of bones and human like figures. All of these are often part of the offering to the dead called the “Ofrenda de Muertos”.

In homes relatives often build elaborate alters decorated with offering to the dead and photographs of the departed.  They also include the favorite foods and beverages of the deceased.

In cemeteries, gravesites are cleared of weeds and maintained, then decorated with offerings to the dead.  Vigils are held the night of November 1st.  Incense is lit to help the spirits find their way to their family.

November 1st and 2nd are also the time of great festivities in the towns.  The Day of the Dead is a very special holiday.  So much so that families often choose to be together during these days even if they can only get together one time a year.

Celebrations of the Day of the Dead vary from locale to locale but all celebrations mock death, embrace it and remember those who have passed on.

 

 

Cienega de Mata /Troje

The hacienda Cienega de Mata was founded in 1598 by the Rincón Gallardo family.  In fact it is the only Hacienda in the Americas that still belongs to the same family. 

Our ancestors and relatives lived in and around this hacienda almost from the time of its founding to the time of its abandonment in the early 1800s.  Many of our family records can be found in the books of this hacienda. 

It is located in the Northeastern part of the current state of Jalisco about 40 miles east of the city of Aguascalientes. 

At one time this hacienda was the primary hacienda that managed over 15 other haciendas in an area that covered over 4,000 hectares in the current state of Jalisco, Aguascalientes and Zacatecas.

 

Christmas in Mexico: Las Posadas

In Mexico, as in many parts of the world, Christmas is a very important holiday. 

One of the most wonderful traditions in Mexico is Las Posadas.  Las Posadas parties are celebrated every evening from December 16 to the 24.  They commemorate Mary and Joseph’s difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem and their search for shelter.

At dusk, all the guests gather and make a procession to the house where the party will be held.  They are led by a child dressed as an angel and then children carrying the figures of Mary and Joseph.  People sing songs during the procession while carrying lit candles.

When the house is reached the group divides in two.  One half enters the house and the other stays outside.  At that time a religious song is sung in which the group outside begs for shelter from the people inside.  Once this is over the party begins.

The party often ends with fun of a piñata.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Trujillo Family Coat of Arms

Everyone wants to know what the Trujillo family crest is.  What really are asking is what our coat of arms is?

Searches for family coat of arms often yield many results. This is also true for the Trujillo coat of arms.  The reason for this confusion lays in the fact that a coat of arms be belongs to a specific Trujillo family.  When a marriage occurred a new crest was created to represent this new family and was based on a combination of the husband and wife’s family coat of arms. 

In today’s world we see coat of arms everywhere.  We just don’t realize that the modern equivalent to a coat of arms is a logo. Today just as in the past we see logos/coat of arms that represent countries, cities, businesses and specific families.

With this in mind, please enjoy a few of the Trujillo family coat of arms that have been collected by Louie Albidrez

The large Trujillo coat of arms is recognized as the oldest know version.  I have also included the oldest known version of the Reyes coat of arms.

 

Spelling of Names in Old records

Today spelling of names, and overall words are standardized.  This is not true for historical documents.  Standardization of words is a relatively new invention.  For example, in historical documents we find the name Trujillo spelled a number of ways, including Truxillo, Trugillo, Trujiyo. Sometimes you will find it with an “s” at the end of the name as in Trujillos.

Additionally, paper and ink were a precious commodity and hard to come by.  Therefore, many words were shortened to conserve the ink and paper.  For example the name Maria was written as Ma, and the name Sanchez was written as Shez, Juan was Jn and so forth.  All in all it took me a while to get used to reading the many abbreviated words.

 

Pamplona, Spain

Pamplona is the home town of our ancestors, the Ruiz Esparza family.  Specifically, our ancestor Lope Ruiz Esparza is from this town.

Pamplona is popularly known for the Running of the Bulls during the festival of San Fermín, where the young run through the streets of Pamplona being chased by bulls.  The run ends in the bull ring stadium and is followed by a display of bull fighting. This festival occurs the first part of every July.

Pamplona is located in the very northeastern part of Spain.

I have included the coat of arms of the city of Pamplona.