Conquistador General Don Diego de Vargas led hundreds of Spanish pioneers to resettle New Mexico after the 1680 Indian Revolt. This little-known colonial period brought peace and prosperity to settlers and Native Americans in what later became northern New Mexico and parts of surrounding states. Spanish Royalty awarded many faithful soldiers and settlers with grants of land to establish farms; ranches; and ultimately to populate villas that became cities such as Albuquerque; Santa Fe and Taos. U.S. Navy Master Chief of 30 years; Elmer Eugene Maestas set sail on a serious study of his family’s roots after his late brother’s trip through Spain years earlier had failed to turn up even one Maestas. Learning his Maestas surname was originally spelled Mestas; Elmer found his ancestors had come from Spain with General de Vargas — and that he was a 10th generation Spanish descendant whose forefathers had been awarded not one; but two land grants! He and his family knew nothing about them and; not much more about New Mexico’s “stormy†history.Could your family have a fascinating history or maybe a land grant or two? Answer these questions: Does your surname sound Spanish? Do you have relatives in northern New Mexico; southern Colorado and beyond? Does someone you care about have these family traits? Do you know about New Mexico’s “stormy†history? This book takes you on a trip through the ages in the Land of Enchantment; and reveals the names of many early Spanish settlers and soldiers. Even if you don’t discover your land grant (which you might wish you hadn’t); you will learn much about the fascinating history of the great state of New Mexico.
#1337935 in Books 2012-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 10.00 x .56 x 8.00l; 1.27 #File Name: 0982970528246 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Battlefield Tour NecessityBy lahaskapaAlthough Showdown at Antietam can be used as a battlefield guide. Its details of the battle and the various units is best read cover to cover before visiting the battlefield and then used again to follow the location by location tour integrated into the book.Having read it shortly before the recent anniversary; we were then able to follow the battle without either standing around reading or skipping though pages to save time during our time spent at the site. Perfect for the detail oriented Civil War buff or the casual tourist trying to quickly understand the significance of America's bloodiest day.More dead than the Revolutionary; 1812; Indian and Spanish American Wars combined. Four times the deaths at Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day. A sacred site worth visiting and with this book in hand.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating and riveting civil war travel guideBy Rainy HorvathI ordered this book for my Kindle last night just before bed and planned to leaf through it for a few minutes... but instead; I found the book so fascinating and well written that I ended up reading it under the covers (to not wake Husband) until late into the night. Mr. Kunkel's dry wit; cool and well-researched battle commentary and interesting; easy-to-understand maps put this guide up there on the shelf next to the most respected historian's books about the Civil War.I also couldn't take my eyes off his 'Then and Now' photos. I highly recommend it for arm-chair travelers; and plan to actually follow his thoughtfully laid out route to tour this battlefield this summer.Buy this book; you'll be transported to another time. Can't wait to get the one on Gettysburgh now.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Book seems to offer a lot of insight into this ...By CustomerBook seems to offer a lot of insight into this battle.Pictures of battle scenes and current photos is helpful in visualizing the battle.
