The progenitors of the Baca family of New Mexico were Cristóbal Baca (Vaca) and his wife Ana Ortiz. Cristóbal was a military captain who arrived in 1600 with his family in order to help reinforce the Spanish colonial Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (colonial México). At the time, they had three grown daughters and a small son. The Bacas had another son while living in Nuevo Mexico. the family then moved to grants new mexico
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Family history
Cristóbal, the son of Juan de Vaca, was born in colonial Mexico City around 1567. His wife, also from that city, was the daughter of Francisco Pacheco. Their children born in Mexico City were Juana de Zamora, Isabel de Bohórquez, María de Villanueva, and Antonio Baca. Of the daughters, Juana married Simón Pérez de Bustillo, Isabel was the wife of Pedro Durán y Chaves, and María married Simón de Abendaño.
Antonio Baca was born c. 1600. He was married to Yumar Pérez de Bustillo who was born c.1591. They had three daughters: Gertudris, who married Antonio Jorge; Ana, who married Francisco López de Aragón, and Antonia, who was the wife of Antonio de Albizu. It does not appear that Antonio had any sons to carry on the Baca name. Antonio was executed on 21 July 1643 for treason against the colonial government.
Alonzo Baca, born in Nuevo Mexico, was the youngest sibling. Although he took part in the same conspiracy that resulted in his brother Antonio's death, Alonzo survived the affair. He may have had at least one son, another Cristóbal Baca. It appears that the Baca surname may have continued through Alonzo’s progeny, including the second Cristóbal Baca.
The Pueblo Revolt occurred in 1680. Subsequently, many Spanish families fled Nuevo Mexico as refugees. When the Spaniards re-conquered the territory in 1693, a Manuel Baca and his family were among those who returned to Santa Fe. Manuel was born c. 1653 and was the son of the second Cristóbal Baca. Manuel apparently had at least eight children with his wife María de Salazar. After arriving in New Mexico, they soon began living on land in Bernalillo previously owned by Manuel‘s father.
Cabeza de Baca family
The Cabeza de Baca family is an offshoot of the Baca family. The progenitor of this family is Luis María Cabeza de Baca. He was born as Luis Maria Baca on 26 October 1754, the oldest son of Juan Antonio Baca and Maria Romero. He had over 20 children by three different wives. The Cabeza de Baca family are often known by the abbreviated surnames of either C. de Baca or de Baca.
Possible origin of the surname
The surname "Baca" is often assumed to be a variation of the name "Cabeza de Vaca." Cabeza de Vaca means "head of a cow" in Spanish. There are two possible origins of this name:
Ortiz/Pacheco line
Some researchers have discovered an erroneous link between Crístobal Baca’s wife Ana Ortíz and Christopher Columbus, among others. As noted previously, Ana Ortíz was the daughter of one Francisco Pacheco. At least three separate articles published in genealogical journals have identified this man as Francisco Pacheco de Cordóva. Not only have researchers found that Pacheco de Córdova had an impressive lineage, but so did his wife Juana de la Cueva y Toledo Colón.
Ana Ortíz has also been shown to be related to the famed explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and Francisco Enriques, the Duke of Alburquerque. The problem with this finding is that Francisco Pacheco de Córdova, and presumably his wife, would have been too young to be the parents of Ana Ortíz. Pacheco was born in 1573, while Ana Ortíz’s daughter Isabel de Bohórquez was born c. 1586. Thus Pacheco would have been only 13 years older than the woman who would supposedly have been his granddaughter.
Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
One assumption is that famed Spanish explorer Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca was an ancestor of Juan de Vaca and, consequently, Cristóbal Baca. In 1988, Dr. Eric Beerman reviewed the research that had been done on Cabeza de Vaca, and did not discover any information that this explorer had any direct descendants. However, he did not completely rule out that possibility. Another researcher, George C' de Baca, did extensive research but was unable to find a connection between the New Mexico Baca family and the Cabeza de Vaca family in Spain. However, it is still generally assumed that the Baca surname originated from this noble family.