1

[Cross]

Yea r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of .° . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i . . 1778

Proceedings conducted in the matter of the opposition

raised by Jose Mig[ue]l and Fran[cis]co de Sales Games,

and by Carlos and Pedro Hernan[de]s, [the first two being]

uncles [of] and [the second two being] brothers of Maria

de la Trinidad H[e]rn[ande.]z, to Maria's effecting matrimony

with Vrbano Ynojosa, Indian from the mission of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o. Said opposition is consistent with what was

resolved by His Majesty in the Pragmatic Sanction issued the

23rd of March, 1776, and [reissued] the 7th of April, 1778.

Number 51

[Following four lines in English:]

Process

In consiquence [sic of the-oposition [sic of the uncles

& brothers of Maria de la Trinidad to her'projected matrimony

with an Indian of the Mission San Antonio.

v// [ Blank]

1// Writ At the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o

de Bexar and villa of S[a]n Fernando on the

fourth day of the month of June in the year

seventeen eighty-one, I, Don Dom[ing]o

[Cabello], colonel in the royal armies, governor and comman-

dant of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions,

conquests, and frontiers, captain of the cavalry company

of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar, and

inspector general of militia units and presidial troops

of said province by commission conferred by the lord

commandant general of the Interior Provinces of this king-

dom of New Spain, state [the following]: Yesterday at seven

o'clock in the evening the following persons appeared before

me: Jose Mig[ue]l Games, private in the ymbalidos that

are attached to the cavalry company of this presidio;

Fran[cis]co de Sales Games, brother of Jose Miguel Games

and private in the de cuera troops of said company; and

Pedro Hernan[ de] s, [who appeared] on behalf of himself and

his brother Carlos H[e]rn[ande]s, both of whom are also

privates in the aforesaid company. Carlos [Hernandez]

did not appear personally, due to his being on detached

service with the horse-herd guard. Informing me that the

first two, Jose Miguel and Francisco de Sales Games, are

uncles of Ana Maria Trinidad Games and that the second two,

Pedro and Carlos Hernandez, are her brothers and neighbors,

3

.the three men [present] told me that on that day at this

parish church the first banns had been published and posted

in order for Vrbano Ynojosa, Indian under the wardship oflv

the mission of S[a]n // Ant[oni]o Balero and son of

unknown parents, to marry the afore-mentioned Ana Maria

Games . Gertrudes Peres, mother of the said Ana Marfa.

Games, had promoted this match, contrary to the wishes of

and without the consent of either Jose Miguel and Francisco

de Sales Games, who are uncles of the said female party about

to contract marriage, or of Pedro and Carlos Hernandez, Ana

Maria's brothers, who have always supported their sister

from their pay, Pedro at present being the one who is

supporting her due to Carl:os' having gotten married. Jose

Miguel and Francisco de Sales Games, having learned that

their sister-in-law was determined [to see the projected

matrimony carried out], remonstrated with her the day

before yesterday in hopes that she might desist from her

resolve in this matter in view of the dishonor that would

accrue to them and their families if their niece, the sister

of their nephew, should wed an Indian, from a mission and

of unknown parents. And having given her word that she

would desist from promoting the marriage, Gertrudes Peres

had done just the opposite, this dishonesty being the

reason for the three men presenting themselves before me:

that I might help them in consequence of the royal Pragmatic

Sanction that was published at this presidio in the month

of March of the proximate past year. They wanted that the

two remaining marriage banns not be published during the

two days following Pentecost, because of the collusion that

has obtained in this matter: The said Gertrudes Peres is

a fatuous woman, of very poor conduct, and an incredible2

spendthrift; Padre Fray // Jose de Salas, minister of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o Mission, has made her various promises in order

to persuade her to give her daughter in marriage to the

aforesaid Vrbano, Indian under his charge, and her covetous-

ness and avarice have made her agree to the union, sacrificing

her daughter, who, being very young, has given her own

consent, deceived by the promises and gifts that the before-

said three men know the said'padre minister of the above-

named mission has made or offered to her. And so they

begged me to remove their niece and sister from the clutches

of their sister-in-law and mother, placing said niece in

the home of a person of good morals and conduct who might

teach her how to pray, for she did not know how; thus she

might learn prudence, and she would then recognize the

error she was about to commit. The three men would then be

able to arrange her marriage to some soldier, to some

companion of theirs. Consequently, it behooves me to heed

the just petition of these four soldiers. These four

men are engaged in the honorable profession of serving His

5

Majesty in'a presidial company that enjoys the same honors

as the most distinguished unit in the army; they are inces-

santly involved in the intense war being waged on this

frontier by Indians hostile to the royal crown, having

distinguished themselves by their proven and well-known2v

valor in the continual encounters that have // occurred

and are occurring with the enemy; and they have been serving

His Majesty for the past twenty years without interruption:

these circumstances make them entirely worthy of every

courtesy, including coverage under article 1 of the royal

Pragmatic Sanction that was issued the seventh day of April

in the year seventeen seventy-eight, which [document] was

[issued] subsequent to the one dated the twenty-third of

Ma.rch, seventeen seventy-six, both [documents] having been

published by bando at this presidio on the seventh day of

March of the proximate past year of seventeen eighty.

Therefore, I should order and do order [the following]:

Since I sent an official communication yesterday evening ,to

the padre priest, vicar of the parish church of this

presidio and villa, for him to suspend publication of the

banns pertaining to the effectuation of wedlock between the

Indian Vrbano de Ynojosa and the girl Ana Maria Games, let.

a copy of the contents of said official communication be

placed below this writ. That done, let the afore-mentioned

Ana Maria be placed in the home'of Don Jose de la Santa,

6

citizen of this presidio; that gentleman's family is one of

virtues, and has concern for spiritual values, and will teach

Ana Maria the Christian doctrine and other principles of

which she is ignorant. By this means, this irregular

marriage can be avoided, as can other offenses against( 3

God that // might originate from the said Ana Maria Games '

remaining in the power of her mother, Gertrudes Peres;.

for it has been evident to me, before this occasion, that

the said Gertrudes Peres is a woman of very poor behavior

and conduct, and she is now capable of remaining firm in

her intention of bringing about the marriage of her daughter

to the previously mentioned Indian Ynojosa, particularly

when this woman is very likely being goaded by the promises

and presents with which Padre Fray Jose Salas, minister of

S[a.]n Ant[oni]o Mission, is undoubtedly persisting so that

he can complete the spiritual entrapment and conquest of

the aforesaid Ana. Maria Games. I thus dispose and command,

and I affix my signature hereon in the presence of attendant

witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary,

proceeding during this holiday period,due to the exceptional

nature of this cause, and on this ordinary,pa.per, for no

stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest.

Dom[ing]o Cabello[Rubric]

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 1-3 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

My dear Sir:3v

Jose Mig[ue]1 Games, private // in the cavalry

company at this presidio and now in the class of ymbalidos

,by virtue of his years of service; Fran[cis]co de Sales

Games, de cuera private in the aforesaid company; and Pedro

H[e]rn[ande]s, on behalf of himself and his brother, Carlos

Hernandes, both also privates in said company [have just

appeared before me]. Informing me that the first two are

uncles of Ana Maria Trinidad Games and that the second two

are her brothers and neighbors, the three men stated [the

following]r They have learned that today is the occasion

of first publication of the marriage banns for the said

Ana Maria Games to contract matrimony with an Indian from

the mission of S[a]n Ant[oni]o. Gertrudes Peres, mother of

the girl about to be married, had promoted this match,

contrary to the wishes of and without the consent of her

brothers-in-law and sons. Reproached [about this marriage

matter] by Jose Miguel and Francisco de Sales Gamez yester-

day afternoon, Gertrudes Peres promised to desist from

8

marrying her daughter to the said mission Indian. But4

all the aforenamed soldiers have witnessed just // the

opposite:, today the first banns of marriage have been

made effective, and the said men therefore infer that the

remaining two banns will be posted tomorrow and the day

following, after which the wedding will take place. This

union is so inconsistent with respect to the calidad of the

four previously-mentioned soldiers, and I have in mind so

strongly my own duty--set forth in the royal cedula that

was issued at the king's country residence of El Pardo on

the seventh of, April in the past

year of seventeen seventy-eight

and published at this presidio on

the seventh of March of the proximate

past year of seventeen eighty--that

it is requisite for me to help these

vassals of the king and at the same

time to concern myself about their

situation, for they are the uncles and brothers of the

female about to contract marriage and are in the current

service of His Majesty. In view of the collusion that has

obtained in this matter and considering that Gertrudes Peres,4v

mother of the female who is contracting matrimony, //

is a fatuous, imprudent woman and that the afore-mentioned

Nlaria Trinidad Games is a very young child, not even twelve

9

years of age, and since the mother is so disposed to commit

such an absurdity as to marry her daughter to a mission

Indian, I have taken the interim step of exhorting Your

Grace in the name of the king, and of beseeching and imploring

you on my own part, to suspend publication of the banns

pertaining to this marriage, in the knowledge that those

who desire its effectuation are violating the wishes and

.the royal dispositions of our sovereign--wh.ich I must

uphold in every circumstance imaginable. And since it is

not possible at the present moment for me to prepare

judicial proceedings other than this communication, I address

myself to Your Grace, insisting with all firmness //5 that

this protest serve as an injunction in due form required

by law for the suspension of the afore-mentioned marriage1

banns until such time as the corresponding judicial proceedings

can be carried out in accordance with what His Majesty has

disposed God protect Your Grace many years. Government

house at the presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar at seven

o'clock in the evening of the third of June, seventeen

eighty-one Your Grace's most devoted and faithful servant

kisses your,hand Dom[ing]o Cabello The Senor Parish

Priest, Vicar of the presidio of Bexar and villa of S[a.]n

Fernando,.B[achille r Don Pedro Fuentes

[ C. C., 3-5 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

10

The foregoing copy agrees with the original [letter],

which was sent yesterday evening to the padre priest, vicar

of this presidio and of this villa of S[a]n Fern[an]do,

Don Pedro Fuentes. From said original I, Don Dom[ing]o

Cabello, colonel in the royal armies, governor and commandant

of arms of theprovince of Los Texas and its missions,

conquests, and frontiers, captain of the cavalry company

of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar, and

inspector general of militia units and presidial troops of

said province by commission conferred by the lord commandant

general of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New

Spain, ordered the above copy made. Having been proofread

and emended, it is accurate and free from errors, and it is

on two sheets of ordinary paper. And present to see it5v

written, // corrected, and compared with the original

were Don Fernando Beramendi and Pedro Texada, both of whom

are citizens and residents of this royal presidio of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o de Bexar, wherein this certification is executed

on the fourth day of the month of June in the year seventeen

eighty-one, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with

whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, proceeding

during this holiday period due to the exceptional nature of

the cause, and on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper

is available; in witness whereof I attest.

Dom[ ing] o Cabello[Rubric]

11

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del[Rubric] Castillo

Attendant Witness [Rubric]Attendant Witness

[D•S•, 5-5v PP•, in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

12

46--

Lord Governor:

Jose Miguel Games, private in the cavalry company

at this presidio and who by virtue of his many years of

service is now in the class of ymbalidos; Fran[cis]co

de Sales Games, de cuera private in the afore-mentioned

company; and Pedro Hernandes, on behalf of himself and

his brother Carlos Hernan[de]s, both being privates in

the said company: we [three men] appear before Your

Lordship with the greatest respect and, in the form of

a grievance, state [the following]: Jose Miguel Games

and Francisco de Sales Games are uncles of Ana Mar^a

Trenidad Games, and Pedro Hernandez and Carlos Hernandez

are her uterine brothers. On Pentecost, the 3rd day

of this current month, the banns were published at

this parish church for the said Ana Maria to be united

in matrimony with Vrbano de Ynojosa, Indian from S[a]n

Ant[oni]o Balero Mission. This state of affairs arose

from Gertrudis Peres, mother of the said Ana Maria,

having persuaded her daughter to agree to the afore-

mentioned union because of the many promises and gifts

made and given to the two women by Padre Fray Jose de

Salas, minister at said mission and interested in effec-

tuating the said marriage. Learning about these promises

13 '

and gifts, we the petitioners remonstrated with our

sister-in-law and mother in hopes that she might desist

from promoting this marriage in view of the difference

in station between Vrbano Ynojosa and our family: for6v

// he is an Indian; whereas we, although poor, have

devoted ourselves to the honorable profession of serving

the king our lord, having risked our lives in as many

actions as have occurred during the past twenty odd

years at the presidio of Los Adaes and at this presidio

of Bexar--as Your Lordship will be able to confirm with

the officers, sergeants, corporals, and privates of the

company at this presidio. Our sister-in-law and mother,

realizing the justness of our remonstrance and the

soundness of the arguments that we put to her, gave her

word on Saturday afternoon, the 2nd day of the current

month, to desist from promoting the afore-mentioned

matrimony. Then, when she went to San Antt[oni]o

Mission to return the gifts that she had been given by

the minister at that mission, Fray Jose de Salas, this

padre used the greatest ardor to persuade her to proceed

with the effectuation of the afore-mentioned marriage,

protesting that she could not shrink from it, because of

the presents that her daughter had received. The covet-

ousness of both women and the fatuousness, prodigality,

and bad conduct of our sister-in-law Gertrudis Peres

l4

having been cultivated by gifts, the latter allowed

herself to be carried off by the padre's persuasions.

And so, the very next day the first marriage banns were

published; and the two remaining banns would have been

published on the two following days if we the petitioners

had not hastened to Your Lordship's protection in order

that you might be pleased to help us, in view of His

Majesty's cedula that was published in the month of March7

of the proximate past year. // Your Lordship's zeal

and the love you have for the royal service--which honor

and distinguish all subjects of the king who have the

honor of serving under Your Lordship's well-taken orders

and which keep us in such willing and grateful thralldom

that we all of one voice choose to give our lives in

obedience of Your Lordship's orders in service to the

king--have been well proved. Your Lordship was pleased

to send your official communications to the padre priest,

vicar of this parish church. Publication of said marriage

banns was suspended by reason of your communications and

of our having begged you to remove Ana Maria Trinidad

from the clutches of our sister-in-law and mother Gertrudis

Peres and place her in an honorable and safe home wherein

she could not be suborned or beguiled by the Indian Vrbano

Ynojosa or by Padre Fray Jose`de Salas, minister of the

said Indian's mission; for de Salas boasts that he will

15

bring about said marriage irrespective of what it.may

cost him, and he has even on occasion offended me, Jose

Mig[ue]1 Games, principal petitioner, believing me to

be the prime mover in obstructing this matrimony

Therefore

We humbly beseech Your Lordship to accept our petition,

deigning to consider the merits we have acquired during

the time we have served His Majesty--in as many actions7v

and campaigns as we have taken part in // against the

enemies of the royal crown. In view thereof, and

considering that we,(although poor soldiers, are honorable

men, it is not fitting that a niece and sister of ours

should marry a mission Indian. When she has reached the

appropriate age to marry, there will be no deficiency

of soldiers like ourselves, and she can then marry one

of them. In all of the foregoing we hope to receive

justice. We swear that we are not acting from malice;

we are making this petition on this ordinary paper for

want of stamped paper; and we do not sign, for we do not

know how, Marcos de Aguilar, magistrate, doing so at

our request.

At the request of the petitioners, I signed, I,

Josef Marcos de Aguila.r[Rubric]

[L.S., 6-7v pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

16

Decree In view of the foregoing presentation, it is

manifest that the petitioners, in the just memorial

which they have interposed, have sought protection;

wherefore the above proceedings have been carried out.

Therefore, let the intentions and wishes of Ana Maria

Games be examined, despite her extreme youth mentioned in8

the preceding petitions. Writs // issued. I thus dispose

and command, and I affix my signature hereon, I, Don Dom[ing]o

Cabello: colonel in the royal armies; governor and commandant

of arms of the province of Los Texas, its missions, conquered

lands, and frontiers; captain of the cavalry company of

the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspe-ctor

general of militia units and presidial troops of said province

by commission conferred by'the lord commandant general of

the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain. [Done]

in this presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the sixth

day of the month.of June in the year seventeen eighty-one,

in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am

acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper,

for no stamped paper is available; in witness whereof I attest.

Cabello[Rubric]

Jose Plazido de Monz6n Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness8v

// [Blank] [D.S., 7v-8 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

17

9// [ Cross]

Senor Vicar:

Vrbano de Ynojosa, Indian from the mission of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o Valero, [is] prostrate at the feet of Your

Grace. With the most humble respect, in the most correct

manner provided by law, and pursuant to his own rights,

he states [the following]: The undersigned appeared

before Your Grace the second day of June of the current

year of [seventeen] eighty-one--since which date two

months and twenty-three days have elapsed--in order to

give the required statement of his being single and

free to contract matrimony with Maria Trenidad Games

(who is a mulatto), citizen and resident of Your Grace's

parish. On his part [i.e., that of the undersigned

said matrimony would be with the consent of the minister

of his mission, who is his surrogate father, or guardian;

on her part [i.e., that of Ana Mar,ia], it would be with

the consent of her mother, Gertrudis Peres, because her

father, Yldefonso Games, is deceased. Your Grace, pleased

to take the declarations of the parties to the projected

matrimony.and to accept their statements to the effect

that they were single and free to contract matrimony,

examined sufficient witnesses for one and the other

party and found nothing that would disqualify said

parties--nothing canonical (for this aspect is what should

be first scrutinized in order for marriage contracts to

be valid and licit) and nothing civil (for this aspect,

when there is cause, should be considered only as punitive

and preventative); whereupon Your Grace proceeded to

make known the banns at the solemn mass of the following

day, the third [of June], Pentecost Sunday.9v

// From this first publication of the banns, it

turned out that on that same day the uncles and brothers

of the aforenamed petitioner [Ana Marla] interposed an

unjust obstacle, claiming that the proposed marriage was

against their wishes. And to better promote their depraved

intention they have taken advantage of their rights as

soldiers and together, of one voice (without appealing to

Your Grace), have presented themselves one and all before

the lord governor of this province, Colonel Don Domingo

Cabello, in order that he, by virtue of the petition of

said soldiers and of a cedula from His Majesty;(which

appears to have no bearing on this projected matrimony),

might discontinue publication of the banns and suspend

the marriage (as',Your Grace has in fact done). The

principal reason given for the action of the afore-

mentioned uncles and brothers was that of determining

whether their niece and sister was of competent age to

contract matrimony, for the marriage was planned without

their consent. In fact they were opposed to it. Therefore

19

it was decided that their petition was worthy of attention

and careful examination, so as to proceed with prudence

and intelligence in the matter.

But since the above-mentioned petition consisted of

badly-founded flippancies, it behooves the undersigned

to say to Your Grace that, by virtue of absolute natural

law, neither pride--rational or irrational--of parents or

of guardians that legitimately take the place of parents,

nor differences in the ages of sons or daughters contracting

to marry (provided they are of competent age), nor

disparities of race or of material worth of such sons or

daughters are or can be diriment, or even impedient,

impediments to marriage contracts, as Your Grace knows

very well. And the foregoing is certain and firm

doctrine, of such a kind that he who pertinaciously makes

assertions to the contrary must be denounced to the Holy

Office of the Inquisition. Hence, statutes or acts of

civil law are not and cannot be impedient or annulling

impediments to the afore-mentioned marriage contract;

for civil law can only assess penalties, either for dis-

obedience on the part of sons or daughters contracting

marriage, or for irrational determination on the part of

parents or guardians.. This [conclusion] is clearly

ineluctable from [reading] the Pragmatic Sanction of

April 7, 1778, issued from the king's country residence

20

of El Pardo, and from [reading] many of the most expert

writers in one and another branch [of law]. It is also

Catholic doctrine, uniformly accepted.

The only detail that the undersigned had to know10

in the matter of his solicitation--which is the same //

as his petition for the afore-mentioned matrimony to be

effected--was whether the said matrimony was in accordance

with the wishes of the female petitioner's mother,

Gertrudis Peres, upon whom the rights, actions, and wishes

of her deceased husband, Yldefonso Games, have exclusively

devolved. In this case, during the life of the said

Gertrudis Peres every class of relative or offspring of

the deceased is categorically excluded [with regard to

said devolution]. Furthermore, sons are obliged to

please their-parents and to comply with their wishes,

and in case of the death of a parent, as in the present

instance, to conduct themselves in the same way with the

remaining parent. Therefore the wishes of the aforesaid

Gertrudis Peres being what they are--namely, that her

daughter M[ari]a de la Trinidad Games should contract

matrimony with the petitioner--the brothers, still more

the uncles, should not have interfered in this matter,

since it was not their responsibility; and in case they

did meddle or enter protests, they should not have been

heard or heeded, for it is as clear as day that their

21

obstruction and protest are to be regarded as irrational

and unjust.

The principal cause of this irrationality is that

the consent and wishes of parents categorically take

precedence over those of brothers and other relatives.

Indeed, without parental consent (if such consent is

just) sons or daughters would be committing a mortal sin

in contracting matrimony; and if parental consent is

given and granted, even though that of brothers and other

relatives is withheld--for sound reasons or not--sons

or daughters contracting matrirn.ony would not be committing

a sin, even a venial one. But in this projected matrimony

the doleful consequences to which the previously-cited

cedula justly adverts in order to present obsta.cles-

cannot be feared, for the stations of neither the

individuals seeking to marry nor of the other persons

[involved] are notable9or worthy of esteem; and in case

they were and the marriage were effected, justice would

be satisfied and the offense punished by making known

to the couple the penalties provided.

In addition to the foregoing circumstances, the

above-named kinsmen (who can be given the title of

deceivers) made false statements concerning three

particulars, for each one of which they deserve the

harshest punishment, harsher still when [the statements

22

are] considered in their totality. The first [false

statement] was that the afore-mentioned Maria Trinidad

Games was not of competent legal age to validly contract

matrimony. But the previously named kinsmen deceivedlOv

themselves, or, // better to say, they maliciously

deceived the lord governor: not only from her appearance

and from the statement of her mother could one.clearly

know that she was of the required age--which was sufficient

evidence in itself--but also from her baptismal record,

which is surplus proof, it is clear that she is thirteen

years, five months of age; wherewith it is seen that the

imputat°ion [of her being too young to marry] was false.

The second [falsestatement] was that she did not

know how to pray. At the outset the before-mentioned

kinsmen started to insinuate that for the said Maria

Trinidad to marry it was necessary<for her to know all

the orisons and mysteries of Christian doctrine as well

and as clearly as a theologian might know them. Now if

they believe such knowledge to be necessary before one

can get married, since neither they nor innumerable

married persons have it, it would be necessary to revali-

date every marriage that has ever been contracted under

circumstances such as these--a manifest misapprehension.

Moreover, the said [Maria.] Trinidad does know the Lord's

Prayer, the Ave Maria, the articles of faith, the command-

23

ments, the sacraments, and the principal mysteries of our

Holy Faith; this is sufficient for her to contract

matrimony. Thus the issue should be taken as settled,

since on different occasions she has fulfilled the annual

requirements of confession and communion, on which occasions

it is ineluctable that she was examined with respect to

the said orisons and mysteries. Now he who is capable in

the greater part is by inference considered to be capable

in the lesser part; wherefore it is evident that she has

been falsely slandered. Even if it were conceded that

she does not know how to pray, by marrying she will be

going every day to a place where the Christian doctrine

is read and frequently explained; hence the reservations

of interested persons can be put aside and sensitive

consciences can be relieved.

The third and last [false statement] is that she

[Maria] was deceived or enticed into her intention of

contracting the afore-mentioned matrimony. But this was

an even greater imposture or calumny: neither with witnesses

nor with any documents whatever can it be proved that

there was indeed deceit or enticement. That she was not

deceived or enticed is evident in the most authentic

form that could be desired or demanded: her own statement,

sworn to by herself. At the hearing [held on the matter],

three witnesses that were summoned also [gave statements

24

to the effect that she was not deceived]. She was asked

specifically whether she had been deceived or enticed, and

the witnesses were asked whether they knew of or had °

heard mention of any such deception or enticement, as is

recorded for Your Grace in the proceedings that were11

carried out on that occasion in this matter. // In

addition to what is set forth above, the said Maria

Trinidad, having been under the care of another party for

some time ( it is now two months and twenty-three days since

she was so placed) in order that she might freely consent

[to be married], remains firm until the present in her

resolve; consequently it is incontestably deduced that

she was not enticed or deceived. This conclusion will

be even further substantiated below.

To all of the foregoing, the said brothers and uncles

of Maria Trinidad added [mention of] the supposed blemish

that would accrue to them; for, being soldiers, it supposed-

ly would not be suitable for their niece and sister to

marry an Indian. Now it is very clear that this blemish

is fictitious, for the said relatives did not consider,

nor did they advert to, what they themselves are or [the

racial status of the women] to whom they are married.

It is well-known, public knowledge, that they are mulattos--

by all four bloodlines; and being mulattos, their being

soldiers does not make them esAanoles or persons of better

caste or of better or cleaner blood than that of an

Indian. They themselves carry the blemish which gives

them their own existence, and they will carry it to

theirrgraves. Therefore no stain whatever accrues to

them if a person of better caste or bloodlines than

themselves should enter their family; just as no stain

accrued to them from the marriage of Felipa Games (aunt

of the said Mar,ia Trinidad) to J[ose]ph Maria Camberos,

an Indian who was so newly converted that his baptism

and marriage were performed in the same ceremony. Indeed,

the couple, as true Catholics, did not stop living a

Christian life, and the Indian was the best liked of the

fathers-in-law.

Finally, the undersigned should say that the supposed

blemish, together with the deceit that Gertrud[i]s Peres

perpetrated on them beforehand with the pretense

that her daughter would not be married, plus other

misrepresentations not mentioned here, is altogether

insufficient cause for the one or the other woman to

be punished or to be placed in the•care of another party

for a lengthy period, as has happened. These women

have been intimidated by other punitive measures and

threatened with so much suffering that if the structure

were not founded on such good intentions and just ends,

the entire edifice would have collapsed to the ground by

26

now: they would have yielded to pressures and, beingllv

women (and hence of limited strength), // would have

lost their resolve. But persisting as they have in

their first intent, they have given the most irrefragable

and certain proof, not only of their prudence and good

intentions and objectives, but also of their not having

been deceived by convenient promises. For, during the

long period of Maria's stay in another home, her brothers

and uncles witnessed no trickery whatever with respect

to what was decided. Furthermore, the deceitful per-

suasions of these complaining impostors have been

unsuccessful in their attempts to extinguish the discretion

of these women. And so the said brothers and uncles

could have and should have opened their eyes and recog-

nized their error and the extremely grave sin that they

committed. For, besides unjustly meddling in what is

not their concern, they leave Maria Trinidad exposed to

being stripped of her pretense, in which case she might

take to the woods to live as a heathen, or else give

herself up to the vice of unchastity--with illegitimate

childbirths on the public stage (as experience teaches),

with contempt for religion and consequent licentiousness

throughout the commonwealth, and with vilification and

revilement of those who interfered with her choice of

such a holy sacrament [marriage], [in so interfering]

perhaps endangering their own eternal salvation. For

all of which:

I humbly beg and entreat Your Grace that, if the parties to

the projected marriage,deserve to be penalized (by virtue

of the above-cited cedula of His Majesty's) despite what

has been argued and reasoned, such penalties should be

imposed at once. But in no way should this marriage

be hindered, just as marriages between persons of higher

class have not been hindered. May whatever difficulties

that are encountered be done away with so that the

'intention of the undersigned can be realized; and if it

cannot [be realized], may Your Grace dispose what may

be to your pleasure, in order that the undersigned might

pursue his petition, wherefrom he will receive kindness

and mercy, justice interceding, et cetera.

Vrbano de Ynojosa[Rubric]

[A.L.S., 9-llv pp., in E. 5/4/1781-11/29/1781]

Villa of San Fern[an]do, royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o

de Bexar, August 27, 1781.

By virtue of the circumstance whereby the petitioner

Marfa Trenidad G4mez--mentioned in the preceding petition

.from Urbano Ynojosa, Indian from S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Valero

28

12Mission--was placed in the care of another party // by

order of the lord governor of this province, Colonel Don

Domingo Cabello, let the preceding appeal be forwarded to

the said lord governor. Thus if he should find that the

appeal is based on reason and fairness, as the sound

arguments advanced indicate it is, he might be pleased

either to command that the said petitioner be freed [from

the care of the third party] so that the previously suspended

banns can be again published and the marriage effected,

or, in the event of a contrary finding, to order that the

corresponding writs be prepared in accordance with [article]

number 9 of the before-cited royal Pragmatic Sanction. Or

may His Lordship dispose what may be to his greater pleasure,

for it is just to take action with respect to this petition.

Thus did B[achill er Don Pedro Fuentes, parish priest in

charge of said villa, vicar, and ecclesiastical judge of

this province and its districts, dispose and order; and he

signed before me, the current notary public; in witness

whereof I attest.

B[achille]r Pedro Fuentes[Rubric]

Joseph Antonio'de Bustillo y Zeuallo:s

N[otari o[ del N[ tumer o[Rubric]

[D.S., llv-12 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

29

Decree [The foregoing] has been examined. Let a

a copy thereof be furnished to Private Jose

Mig[ue]l Games, ymbalido attached to the cavalry

company at this presidio, in order that he--a.s the principal

interested party in this cause, and on behalf of his brother

Fran[cis]co de Sales Games and of Carlos and Pedro Hernan[de]s,

[who are] privates in the same company--might set down what° 12v,

he believes to best correspond to his rights. He

may thus present his case, but he shall make certain that

he speaks for the other interested parties as well, for

they are not present, by virtue of their being currently

engaged in the various functions of the royal service that

are continually occupying the troops of the afore-mentioned

company in the defense of this presidio and [this] province

of Texas due to the-unceasing war being waged upon us by

Indians rebellious to the royal crown. I thus dispose and

order, and I affix my signature hereon, I, Don Domingo

Cabello: colonel in the royal armies; governor and comman-

dant of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions,

conquered lands, and frontiers; captain of the cavalry

company of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar;

and inspector general of militia units and presidial troops

of said province by commission conferred by the lord

commandant general of the Interior Provinces of this king-,

dom of New Spain. Done in this royal presidio of S[a]n

30

Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the twenty-ninth day of the month

of August in the year seventeen eighty-one, in the presence

of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence

of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for no stamped paper

is available; in witness whereof I attest.

Cabello[ Rubric]

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 12-12v pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

31

Lord Governor:

Private Jose' Mig[ue]l Games, .Ymbalido attached to

the cavalry company at the royal presidio of S[a]n

Antt[oni]o de Bexar--and on behalf of his brother Fran[cis]co

de Sales Games and of Carlos Hern[ande]z and Pedro

Hern[ande]z, all [four being] privates in the afore-

mentioned company, the first two being interested parties

in this cause by virtue of their being uncles of Ana

Marla Games, the second two by virtue of their being

her uterine brothers--in order to prevent the marriage

that Padre Fray Jose de Salas, minister at the mission

of San Antt[oni]o, wants Ana Maria to contract with

Vrbano de Ynojosa, Indian from said mission,°appears

before Your Lordship. Speaking, according to law, for

and on behalf of the aforenamed interested parties by

virtue of their being currently engaged in actions of the

royal service, and in response to the copy which Your

Lordship was so kind to give me of the slanderous peti-

tion above; I state [the following]: To Padre Salas'

demurrer of my being mulatto, I am ready to give a report

to the contrary. And even if I were mulatto, to my rank

must be added the excellence of having shed whatever

[impure] blood I might have had, in service to the king

32

my lord. To,this must be added the service of my brother

and the other [two] interested parties. And so weti

deserve that our niece be held and regarded in greater

esteem than the Indian Vrbano Ynojosa, in whom is found

the grave defect of illegitimate birth, as well as that

of being a boarder, like all mission Indians. Doubtless13v

his padre minister has been // the instrument of this

[projected] matrimony, just as that religious has been

the agent of the preceding letter, for the entire

discourse, from the first word to the last is in the hand

of Padre Salas. Although Padre Salas is the said Indian's

teacher of Christian doctrine and his surrogate father,

he might better have written the letter in his own name

and not in that of the said Vrbano, in which His Reverence

goes so far as to criticize Your Lordship's sterling

conduct and dispositions in this matter.

The said Padre Salas argues that I have no right to

complain in this matter, because my niece's mother, who

has been the agent with whom the aforesaid matrimony

has been contracted, is still living. But it should be

borne in mind that my sister-in-law Gertrudis Perez is

a woman of poor conduct and a notorious spendthrift;

she believed that by means of this marriage she would

come out ahead; and so she agreed to this irregular

match. It was for these reasons that the petitioner

33

remonstrated with her the day before the first publication

of the marriage banns.

The bad conduct--hence the bad reputation--of the

mother of the female party to the marriage contract

sustains our right to hinder this marriage. For legiti-

mate cause, the rights of the mother devolve upon all of

us. This is especially so in view of Carlos Hern[ande]z

having supported his mother, Gertrudis Peres, and his

sister, Ana Maria Games, out of his soldier's pay until

last year, when he got married. Pedro Hern[ande]z has

now assumed this obligation, also with his soldier's

pay, not only feeding his mother and sister, but also14

clothing them--// as best he can on what a private

receives. Also, Jose Mariano Games, likewise a son of

the said Gertrudis Peres has helped, with his entire

daily ration, to feed and sustain his mother. With this

it is evident that we have a legitimate right to raise

the impediment that we have raised. But since the before-

mentioned Gertrudis Peres is a wasteful woman, without

the least household economy, it is no wonder that all

the assistance I have mentioned above is still insufficient

for her and that she has picked up the notion that she

will be able to enjoy all these benefits plus those

promised her by the before-mentioned Padre Salas.

The marriage that is cited as a precedent, that of

34

Felipa Games, aunt of Maria Trinidad, to Jose Camberos,

Indian neophyte, brings up two points. The first is the

jumbles that have been made in these missions with

persons of higher station. The second is that the

royal Pragmatic Sanction, of which we are availing

ourselves and to which we are appealing, was not yet in

effect. But it is well known how much effect these

royal dispositions have: Padre Salas could marry his

Indian to one of many Indian women from the other missions;

His Reverence tries instead to marry him to the above-said

Ana M[ari]a, giving rise to the present dissension.l4v

I will omit any response to the clauses //

contained in the penultimate paragraph of the petition

made by the Most Reverend Padre Salas on behalf of his

Indian, concerning the punishment and threats that my

sister-in-law and niece are supposed to have suffered;

for they are all falsehoods--quite appropriate to the

said Indian Ynojosa, but quite foreign to Padre Salas.

Despite the fact that the writing was done in its entirety

by His Reverence, he should have kept in mind that he is

a clergyman and a follower of our founder the Senor

St. Francis. And since the opposite of what was claimed

is evident to Your Lordship the lord-governor, I will

not bring forward the proof. Concerning the claim that

by impeding this marriage we leave Maria Trinidad

35

exposed to being stripped of her pretense, whereby she

might take to the woods to live like a heathen, I say

that with regard to her being stripped of her pretense,

because of that very possibility we begged Your Lordship

to put her in another home, the which you were pleased

to do, placing her in the home of Don Jose de la S[an]ta,

whose virtuous and model family is teaching her what

she never before knew. And concerning the claim that

she might take to the woods, it would not be strange if

the Indian Ynojosa should betake himself to the woods

to live like a heathen among the heathen, as did the

Indian Arcon from the same mission, and as many others

of his race have done and continue to do every day, for

he is the epitome of what the mission Indians give us

as the fruit of what these Indians produce. And in virtue

of my having treated all that which presents itself in15

the copy that you have been pleased to give me: //

I beg Your Lordship to be so kind as to help me and to

consider as legitimate the complaints and protests that

I made in my first representation. And since the Reverend

Padre Salas has hastened to support this matter in every

way, as the preceding letter presented on behalf of Vrbano

de Ynojosa proves, and [since] neither I nor those of my

party can answer in like terms [as Salas], may Your Lord-

ship be pleased to exempt me from having to make any other

36

reply--Your Lordship being aware of the detriment that

the said Reverend Padre Salas will be able to cause me,

doing me injustices and carrying out threats that he

has made against me. In all the foregoing I hope that

I may receive justice and mercy. I swear that I do not

act from malice and [that I will defray] what is necessary

[as respects court costs], in due form on this ordinary

paper, for no stamped paper is available. I do not sign

this paper, for I do not know how, M[inis tro Jose

Marcos de Aguilar signing it at my request.

At the request of the petitioner, I affixed mysignature hereon,

Josef Marcos de Aguilar[Rubric]

[L.S., 13-15 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

37

15vDecree The above having been presented, and

in view of the circumstances that prevail

in this case, let Don Pedro Jose de

Furundarena, licentiate residing in the villa of El Saltillo,

be consulted in order that he might draw up his opinion con-

cerning whether--consequent to the spirit of the Pragmatic

Sanction that was issued by His Majesty--there is any basis

for the cause put forward by the uncles and brothers of

Maria de la'Trinidad Games to prevent the effectuation of

matrimony between Maria de la Trinidad and Vrbano de Ynojosa,

Indian from the mission of the Senor S[a]n Ant[oni]o. I

thus dispose and command, and I affix my signature hereon,

I, Don Don[ing]o Cabello: colonel in the royal armies;

governor and commandant of arms of the province of

Los Texas and its missions, conquered lands, and

frontiers; captain of the cavalry company of the royal

presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspector general

of militia units and presidial troops of said province by

commission conferred by the lord commandant general of the

Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain. Done at

this presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the sixth day

of the month of September in the year seventeen eighty-

one, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I

am acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary

paper, for none stamped is available; in witness whereof

I attest.

Cabello[Rubric]

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric) [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 15 v p., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

38

39

16// _.. Royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de

Bexar, September 20, 1781

On this date a copy of the foregoing proceedings was

prepared and dispatched with a consultatory letter,.con-

sequent to what is ordered in the immediately preceding

decree. And that it may be on record, I make this a part

of these proceedings, whereto I attest.

Ca bello[Rubric]

16v// [Blank] [D,S., 16 p., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

40

[Cross]

Lord Governor:

Vrbano Ynojosa, Indian from-the,mission of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o Valero, appears before Your Lordship in the

most proper manner provided by law and states [the fol-

lowing]: Whereas he is currently thinking of contracting

marriage with a woman from his own mission; and since

there is pending before Your Lordship a petition concerning

the matrimony that he intended to contract a little less

than six months ago with Maria Trinidad Games, citizen

of this villa; and since the relatives of the said Maria

Trinidad did hinder the projected matrimony: now therefore,

he begs Your Lordship with all humility and submissiveness

to be pleased to order that the wishes ofthe said Maria

Trinidad be explored, so that, if she should desist [from

wishing to marry the undersigned], he could proceed to

the marriage [to another] that he aspires to. For all

of which:

I beg and entreat Your Lordship to be so kind as to dispose

and order done what is solicited above, for therefrom

will the undersigned receive mercy and justice et cetera.

Vrbano Ynojosa[Rubric]

[A.L.S., 17 p., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

41

17vDecree The above has been presented. This //

case has not yet been concluded, because a copy

of these proceedings was remitted for consult-

atory purposes to the villa of El Saltillo in order to

resolve certain questions of law raised in them about

the effectuation of the aforesaid matrimony. Such remission

was made despite what is provided in article 10 of the

royal Pragmatic Sanction that was issued the twenty-

third of March of seventeen seventy-six and [despite] the

first and the eighth [articles] of the royal cedula of the

seventh of April of seventeen seventy-eight. Accordingly

it has not been possible to proceed to the determination

of the case. But in view of the relinquishment made by

the petitioner, let action be taken by myself, in the

presence of the attendant witnesses with whom I perform

judicial acts, to explore the wishes of Maria de la, Trinidad

Games, who was placed in and who remains in the home of Don

Jose de la Santa. She will be informed of the contents of

the preceding petition in order that appropriate action may

be taken, according as she may respond. I thus dispose and

order, and I affix my signature hereon, I, Don Dom[ing]o

Cabello: colonel in the royal armies; governor and commandant

of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions,

conquered lands, and frontiers; captain of the cavalry

company of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar;

42

and inspector general of militia units and presidial troops18

of said province by commission conferred by the lord //

commandant general of the Interior Provinces of this king-

dom of New Spain. Done at this royal presidio of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o de Bexar and the villa of S[a]n Fern[an]do on

the twenty-third day of the month of November in the year

seventeen eighty-one, in the presence of attendant witnesses,

with whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, on this

ordinary paper, for none stamped is available; in witness

whereof I attest.

Cabello[Rubric].

Jose Pla`zido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric] , [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 17-18 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

Writ At the royal presidio of San Ant[oni]o de

Bexar and the villa of San Fernando on the twenty-

fourth day of the month of November in the year

seventeen eighty-one, I, Don Domingo Cabello: colonel in

the royal armies; governor and commandant of arms of the

province of Los Texas and its missions, conquered lands and

frontiers; captain of the cavalry company of the royal

43

presidio of San Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspector general

of militia units and presidial troops of said province by18v

commission // conferred by the lord commandant general

of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain

[state the following]s In consequence of the immediately

preceding decree, I duly proceeded, together with the

attendant witnesses with whom I perform judicial acts in

the absence of a notary, to the home and residence of Don

Jose de la Santa, citizen of this community, in which [home]

Maria de la Trinidad Gamez was placed. At the request of

her uncles Jose Miguel and Fran[cis]co de Sales Gamez

and her brothers Carlos and Pedro Hernandez, all [four]

whom are soldiers in the cavalry company at this royal

presidio, she had been placed in the said home, while in

the meantime it was to be determined what the said four

relatives could adduce or establish in opposition to the

effectuation of the marriage which Gertrudis Peres, mother

of the said Marfa de la Trinidad Gamez, intended [for her

daughter] with Vrbano Ynojosa, Indian from the mission of

.San Ant[oni]o Valero--all of which is recorded in detail

in the papers prepared for the record. Therefore, and in

view of the petition presented by the said Indian Vrbano

Ynoxosa--wherein he forbears said marriage because he wishes

to contract matrimony with another, an Indian woman from his

own mission--I commanded that the before-mentioned Nlaria de

44

la Trinidad Gemez appear before me. And when she did so

appear I read her the petition presented by the afore-

mentioned Indian Vrbano Ynoxosa, and I advised her of its19

contents. I also explored // her wishes concerning whether

she would stand firm inwanting to marry the said Indian, or

whether she would give up that intention--so that he could

freely and openly contract matrimony with the Indian woman

upon whom he has decided. She replied and does reply

that the said Indian Vrbano Ynoxosa can marry, that he has

her very best wishes, and that she does not wish to marry

him and has nothing to demand from him. And on account

of her not knowing how to sign, the previously mentioned

Don Jose de la Santa did so at her request, since he was

in her presence. And I affix my own signature hereon, in

the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting

in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for

none stamped is available; in witness whereof,lI attest.

Dom[ing]o Cabello At the request of [Maria de la][Rubric] Trinidad:

Jose de la Santa[Rubric]

Jose Plezido de Monzon Pedro Dfas del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 18-19 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

45

Decree In consequence of what is set forth in thelgv

// immediately preceding writ in respect to

exploring the wishes of Maria de la Trinidad to

see if she wishes to create any impediment to Vrbano Ynoxosa's

entering into marriage in the manner indicated in his

petition, let the said Vrbano Ynoxosa be notified,by one

of the attendant witnesses with whom I perform judicial

acts in the absence of a notary, of what the above-mentioned

Maria de la Trinidad Gamez has replied. In virtue of her

reply, he may proceed to the effectuation of his matrimony

with a woman from his,own mission of San Ant[oni]o, for

he is free and released in every way from the obligation

that he could have incurred with the said Maria de la Trinidad

Games. After he has been so notified, let the remaining

proceedings be carried out in consequence thereof. I

thus dispose and order, and I affix my signature hereon,

I, Dori Domingo Cabello: colonel in the 'royal armies; gover-

nor and commandant of arms of the province of Los Texas

and its missions, conquered lands, and frontiers; captain

of the cavalry company of the royal presidio of San Ant[oni]o

de Bexar; and inspector general of militia units and presid-20

ial troops of said province by commission conferred //

by the lord commandant general of the Interior Provinces

of this kingdom of New Spain. Done at this royal presidio

of.San Ant[oni]o de Bexar on the twenty-fourth day of the

46

month of November in the year seventeen eighty-one, in

the presence of attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting

in the absence of a notary, on this ordianry paper, for

none stamped is available; in witness whereof I attest.

Cabello(Rubric)

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 19-20 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

[Record of]Notification

On the aforesaid day, month, and

year, I. Josef Plazido de Monzon,

one of the attendant witnes°ses with

whom the lo"rd governor of this province performs judicial20v

acts, being at the mission of San // Ant[oni]o Balero

where Vrbano de Ynoxo[sa] has his domicile and residence,

did--in compliance with what is ordered in the immediately

preceding decree--to his person inform the said Urbano de

Ynojosa of what was stated by Maria de la Trinidad Gamez.

And having been read her statement, he stated that he had

heard it. This being all he said in this matter, at his

request Felipe Hernandez signed this paper. And that it

may be on record, I have made this document a part of

47

these proceedings.

Jose Plazido de Monzon[Rubric]

At the request of Hurbano:Felipe Hernandez

[Rubric]

[A.D.S., 20-20v pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

Decree The suspension of the matrimony that Vrbano

Ynoxosa, Indian from San Ant[oni]o de Valero

Mission, wanted to effectuate with Marfa de la

Trinidad Gam.ez, [resident] of this community, depended on

the official communication that was sent by me to the Senor

B[achill er Don Pedro Fuentes, priest in charge of this villa21

// of San Fernando and vicar and ecclesiastical judge of

this province. The aforenamed Indian, having seen the

suspension of publication of his marriage banns, appealed

to the above-named senor priest and vicar, seeking publica-

tion of the remaining banns. Fuentes then forwarded the

petition to this tribunal. Then, in virtue of other proceed-

ings that were carried out in the matter--specifically, for

the reasons manifested in the decree of the twenty-third

of the current month--this case was suspended. But now it

has been concluded for reasons that have obtained by virtue

48

of another petition-made by the afore-mentioned Indian

Ynoxosa. Therefore, let these proceedings be delivered

to the said Senor B[achill er Don Pedro Fuentes, priest,

and vicar and ecclesiastical judge of this province, in

order that he might be so kind as to acquaint himself with

them and to affirm that the parties [that originally wanted

to contract matrimony] are free and exempt from any obliga-

tion they might have incurred, for purposes that are

appropriate or that may become appropriate. May Fuentes

also be so kind as to enter his record of having been

informed of this decree. Proceedings [have been] concluded.

I thus dispose and order, and I affix my signature hereon,

I, Don Domingo Cabello: colonel in the royal armies;2lv

governor and commandant of // arms of the province of

Los Texas and its missions, conquered lands, and frontiers;

captain of the cavalry company of the royal presidio of

San Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and inspector general of militia

units and presidial troops of said province by commission

conferred by the lord commandant general of the Interior

Provinces of this kingdom of New Spain. Done in the royal

presidio of San Ant[oni]o de Bexar and the villa of San

Fernando on the twenty-sixth day of the month of November

in the year seventeen eighty-one, in the presence of

attendant witnesses, with whom I am acting in the absence

of a notary, on this ordinary paper, for none stamped is

49

available; in witness whereof I attest.

Cabello[ Rubr ic ]

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro D.ias del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 20v-21v pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

0

Villa of S[a]n Fern[an]do and royal presidio of S[a]n

Ant[oni]o de Bejar, twenty-sixth of November, seventeen22

// eighty-one. The Senor B[achille r Don Pedro Fuentes,

priest in charge of this aforesaid villa and vicar and

ecclesiastical judge of this province and its districts

[sets down the following]: The foregoing proceedings have

been examined, as have the contents of the immediately

preceding decree. And insofar as this ecclesiastical

tribunal is concerned, it is acquainted with this entire

case file and is aware of the mutual demission that the

parties involved--[namely,] Vrbano Ynojosa, Indian from S[an]

Ant[oni]o de Valero Mission and permanent resident thereof,

and Maria de la Trinidad Games, [resident] of this community--

ha.ve effected in!..,due legal form, as is on record. Therefore,

the said parties are in every way free, and the petitioner

can freely contract the matrimony he newly solicits. It

50

was thus disposed before me, the present notary public;

in witness whereof I attest. [Note: Entire document is

in Fuentes' hand.]

B[achille r Pedro Fuentes[Rubric]

Joseph Antonio de Bustillo y Zeuallos[Rubric]

N[otari o [del N[umer o

[A.D.S., 21v-22 pp., in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]

Decree In view of the mutual demission that Vrbano

Ynojosa and Maria de la Trinidad Games have made,

each one on his own behalf, to desist from

effecting the matrimony which they had previously arranged,

and in view of other steps that have been taken on the part

of relatives of the said Maria de la Trinidad, these

proceedings are considered terminated, concluded, and22v

closed. This proceedings file shall be kept in the

archives of this governorship for purposes that are appro-

priate or that may become appropriate. I thus dispose and

order, and I affix my signature hereon, I, Don Domingo

Cabello: colonel in the royal armies; governor and comman-

dant of arms of the province of Los Texas and its missions,

conquered lands and frontiers; captain of the cavalry company

51

of the royal presidio of S[a]n Ant[oni]o de Bexar; and

inspector general of militia units and presidial troops of

said province by commission conferred by the lord comman-

dant general of the Interior Provinces of this kingdom of

New Spain. Done at this presidio of Bexax on the twenty-

ninth day of the month of November in the year seventeen

eighty-one, in the presence of attendant witnesses, with

whom I am acting in the absence of a notary, on this ordinary

paper, for none stamped is available; in witness whereof

I attest.

Ca bello[ Rubric]

Jose Plazido de Monzon Pedro Dias del Castillo[Rubric] [Rubric]

Attendant Witness Attendant Witness

[D.S., 22-22v pp.,-in E. 6/4/1781-11/29/1781]