José Guadalupe Gallegos (Photograph courtesy Henry Gallegos & Carlos Romero) Born: April 13, 1828, in San Jose, San Miguel Co, NM Died: May 18, 1867 age 39, Colonias, Guadalupe Co, NM Marriage: Josefa Gutierres Nov18, 1843 at San Miguel del Bado Father of Silvano Gallegos & Grandfather of George Gallegos Sr. José's Parents: José Fernando de Jesus Gallegos & Maria Juliana Padilla Parents' Marriage: Apr28 1824, Catholic, Galisteo, Santa Fe, NM NM Territorial Legislature: 1852-3 2nd Assembly Taos Co. representative; 1855-6 & 1858-1861, 5th & 8th-10th Assembly San Miguel Co. representative; 1858-9 8th Assembly House Speaker; 1859-1861 9th & 10th Assembly Council President Mounted Militia of NM: May 20 1854 Captain; July 3, 1854 Brigadier General, 2nd brigade, 2nd division Sep 1857 San Miguel Co. Sheriff 1859-1860 Historical Society of NM President Civil War: Aug 26, 1861-Field & Staff Colonel, 1st Regiment, NM Volunteers, transferred to 3rd Regiment, NM Mounted Infantry Sept 27 1861 - Mar 6 1862 Hatch Ranch Post Commander Nov 22, 1861 Information Following Biography NM Legislative Service Colonel Canby Letter San Miguel del Bado: 1803 Settlers, 1841 Census; Other Census Information: 1860, 1870 ( Jose Fernando, Josefa, Ladislao, Anto. José Families ), 1880; Parents' Marriage Area Maps, Hatch's Ranch; Resources, Notes Biography expanded from Carlos Romero's @ Ancestry.com During José Guadalupe Gallegos' short life of thirty nine years, he succeeded in generating a stellar list of accomplishments. These include prominent participation in the very early Territorial government of New Mexico, advancement from captain to brigadier general during service in the New Mexico Militia to include a skirmish with the Jicarilla and Mescalero Apaches, election to the San Miguel County sheriff's office, Historical Society of New Mexico presidency, Civil War field and staff colonel commission in the U.S. Army to include command of the Hatch's Ranch military post, and an excellent command of the English language. 1828, April 13 Birth: José Guadalupe Gallegos was born on, in San José (San Miguel County), New Mexico. He was the son of José Fernando de Jesus Gallegos and Maria Juliana Padilla. He grew up in the area known as the San Miguel del Vado Land Grant (see map). Thirteen of fifty-two, or twenty-five percent of the men who applied for the original grant in 1794 were genízaros, those Native Americans, captured or sold into slavery, some of whom had complained of poor conditions and were granted lands by the governor for farming, often to provide a buffer of protection for larger towns against enemies. *Genizaros The San Miguel petition presented the partial truth that this was a genízaro settlement in order to win concessions from church and state in the attainment of the land grant. According to the petition, the site was about 20 miles downriver southeast of Pecos pueblo, where the trail to the plains crossed the river, and where there was sufficient space not only for the petitioners but for the destitute of the province. They described the boundaries: in the north the Río de la Vaca from the place called La Ranchería to El Agua Caliente; in the south El Cañón Blanco; in the east La Cuesta and Los Cerritos de Bernal; and in the west the place commonly called El Gusano (South San Isidro). Following a period of about 20 years of development work to prove they were worthy of the grant, individual parcels of land were alloted by don Pedro Bautista Pino in the name of Governor Chacón's verbal order of March 12, 1803. By this time there were 58 heads of family in the plaza, puesto, or población of San Miguel del Vado. To match families to parcels, Pino measured the total distance along the river that was under irrigation with the aid of his assistant José Miguel Tafoya, and divided by the total number of families to obtain the number of suertes or chances, then had them draw lots for the distribution of what he termed as their repartos or shares. *Lots Two days later, he repeated the same procedure at the settlement of San José del Vado, three miles upstream from San Miguel, distributing farm land to the heads of household: forty-five men and two women. In 1794, there were 165 Pecos Indians and no settlers at El Vado; in 1820 only 58 Pecos, and 735 settlers. As the El Vado settlements propagated and Pecos shrunk, the priest moved to El Vado and visited the Pecos less often. In 1801, Father Buenaventura Merino totaled the population of Pecos pueblo at 123, and the settlers downriver at San Miguel del Vado at 182. Hispanos and Indians grew maize, wheat, and a few vegetables in fields irrigated by the Río Pecos, but only enough to subsist, and were characterized as very poor. They ran only a few head of cattle and no sheep or goats because enemies did not allow an increase. He declared there were no industries or commerce, and no bridges. It was not farming that excited the average El Vado man most in the early 1800's, but hunting or trading on the plains. The settlers on the Río Pecos, with or without government sanction, kept on hunting and trading among the Comanches, enjoying generally with the best relations and at peace. In 1811 the settlers finished the chapel of San Miguel del Vado.* SnMglGrnt 1843 Marriage: He married Josefa Gutierres on November 18, 1843. They were married at San Miguel del Bado by the Reverend Father José Francisco Leyba. 1852-1860, Territorial Legislature: A large majority of the members of council and house were naturally Native New Mexicans. About 20 family names include a very large majority of the membership for the whole period, and a few wealthy and influential families in each county controlled the election of representatives and all other matters of the territorial government, with only the slightest interest of the masses. Yet the legislators were as a rule intelligent and patriotic men, rarely accused of corruption and probably superior in respect to representatives of later years. All proceedings were carried out in the Spanish language and also in English translations. José Guadalupe Gallegos represented San Miguel County in the 5th (1855-6), 8th (1858-9), 9th (1859-60), and 10th (1860-1) Assemblies. He served as the House speaker in the 8th Assembly and as Council president in the 9th and 10th Assemblies.* Legislat 1854 Mounted Militia of NM, Captain & Brigadier General: In May of 1854 Acting Governor Messervy called into service for three months a battalion of militia to include 200 volunteers. These were stationed in northeastern New Mexico to protect the settlements "from the invasion of the Indians." In addition to the hostilities of the Jicarillas, the Kiowas, Comanches, and Cheyennes were reported to be raiding in San Miguel County where fourteen New Mexicans were killed. At Fort Union Lieutenant Colonel Cooke declared that the attacks by the plains tribes were reasonably to be expected and were in retaliation of serious depredations committed by the Inhabitants of the territory on them: viz, the annual destruction of buffalo within their country. Department of New Mexico commander Brigadier General John Garland attributed the murders in San Miguel County to the unprovoked killing of plains Indians by buffalo hunters the previous winter. "These Indians," he wrote, "as is their custom took their revenge."* Reveng On May 20, 1854, José Guadalupe Gallegos was commissioned a captain with the Mounted Militia of New Mexico. He organized Company "C" at the town of La Cuesta, now known as the town of Villanueva, New Mexico. Under his command were fifty-six men--officers and enlisted men. He had an encounter with the Jicarilla and Mescalero Apaches on July 3, 1854. This fight took place at the Junction of the Rivers Mora and Sapello. When the battle was over, four Apaches had been killed, one lieutenant was killed, and two soldiers had been wounded, all were from a company out of Fort Union. The Apaches also took twenty-one animals (mules and horses). His rank at the time was brigadier general. In 1854, the Mounted Militia of New Mexico had four ranks; namely, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, and brigadier general. He was in command of the Second Brigade and of the Second Division of the militia, formerly under the command of Brigadier General Manuel Herrera. 1857, Sheriff of San Miguel County: As a result of an election held on the first Monday, September 7, 1857, José Guadalupe Gallegos became sheriff of San Miguel County. He was commissioned sheriff of the county by W.W.H. Davis who was the interim governor of New Mexico. San Miguel County at the time included the present Guadalupe County until 1891 when it was formed from the southern part of San Miguel County. The Sheriff's office was located in Las Vegas, NM. 11 years after Jose Guadalupe's death, railway work crews struggled to build the line between La Junta and Raton, and the first Santa Fe train entered New Mexico December 7, 1878. According to Ralph Twitchell, "without exception, in the days of construction of the Santa Fe railway into the Southwest, there was no town which harbored a more disreputable gang of gamblers, desperadoes, and outlaws than did Las Vegas. They controlled, for a while, the local police officers, and the dance halls, and public resorts were the scenes of many shooting affrays and robberies. In the new town, in the immediate vicinity and in front of the present Castenada hotel, were located some of the most disreputable saloons, dance-halls, and resorts ever in frontier days.