Urrutia de Vergara Family Papers, 1565-1769 | Special Collections & University Archives

Title: Urrutia de Vergara Family Papers, 1565-1769

ID: MS-0533

Extent: 0.42 Linear Feet

Don Antonio Urrutia de Vergara (1598-1667) was a Spaniard of Basque descent and one of New Spain's most prominent merchants. In 1664, he acquired a mayorazgo (an entailed estate) in the San Miguel Tlaixpan region of Mexico. This plot of land served as the foundation for the family’s expansive landholdings. Nahuas (indigenous Nahuatl speakers) owned parcels of land that later formed portions of the Urrutia de Vergara family's estate.

Don Antonio and his wife, Doña Maria Bonilla Bastida, founded three other mayorazgos. The first was for his eldest daughter, Ana Urrutia de Vergara and her husband, Alfonso Flores de Valdez. The second mayorazgo went to Don Antonio’s second daughter, Juana. And the third mayorazgo was bequeathed to Ana’s eldest son, Don Augusto and his heirs upon Ana’s death.

Creators

Urrutia de Vergara Family (1575-1754)

Subjects (links to similar collections)

Languages of Materials

Administrative Information

Acquired: 01/01/1965.

Restrictions: This collection is open for research.

Rights: These materials are in the public domain. However, the nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

Acquisition Note: Purchased by Louis A. Kenney

Preferred Citation: Identification of item, folder title, box number, Urrutia de Vergara Family Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.

Collection Material Type: Personal Papers

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Scope and Contents:

The Urrutia de Vergara Papers are a collection of Spanish colonial manuscripts that document the land holdings of the Urrutia de Vergara family in the eastern part of the Texcoco region of Mexico. The collection dates from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century and includes land deeds, rent and tribute payments, and maps of the property. Several of these documents pre-date the family’s holdings and were probably passed on to the family when it acquired the land.

The papers consist of 248 manuscript leaves which were compiled and divided into nineteen folders by Miguel Cervantes, a possible descendant of Don Ignacio Cervantes who married Anna Maria Urrutia in the mid to late eighteenth century. The folders are clearly labelled with titles, possibly written by Cervantes in the nineteenth century. These folders are arranged into two volumes. Each volume’s pages contain stamped numbers in numerical order on the upper-right corners of the manuscript leaves.

Of particular interest are thirty-five pictorial manuscripts illustrated in a mixed indigenous and European style that document plots of land as well as rent and tribute payments from the greater San Miguel Tlaixpan area. These cadasters include symbols for orchards, rivers, towns, fields, people, and roads.

All materials in this collection are written in colonial or 19th century Spanish. The folder descriptions in the finding aid are taken from the original descriptions, possibly written by Cervantes. As such, spellings may differ from modern Spanish.

This collection has been digitized and is available here.

Finding Aid with Box List
Box 1