Por gpf13 |

I have found what may be two death records for the same person. The records are somewhat difficult to read, however, the names are clear. Both of these are from the 1724/43 volume of Asientos, Aguascalientes deaths:

image 189
15 Oct 1738, in Tepesala (Asientos)
Thomas de Villalpando died, widower of Maria de Sotelo

image 194
14 June 1739, Tepesala (Asientos)
Thomas de Villalpando died, widower of Maria de Sotelo

The records are hard to read, and my Spanish is limited. Have I missed something? I would appreciate any opinions on these records.

Maria de Sotelo (aka Maria de Jaen) was Thomas's second wife; Maria de Vargas was the first. They had a large family, with children born in Aguascalientes and Asientos, and left many descendants is Asientos, Calvillo, and Rincon de Romos. I think most of the persons with the Villalpando surname in Asientos were descendants of Thomas.

George Fulton

Hi George,
I think they made a mistake when transcribing the records. I understand some of these books were not written by adding each record as the service was provided, but rather by copying the information form other books or drafts. If you see the entries on images 189 and 194, Thomas de Villalpando widower of Maria de Sotelo is not the only one who appears as a duplicate entry. There are also:
Luisa Ribera Fonseca, española, casada.
Juan Felis, indio, casado.
Maria de los Santos, india, párvula.
Matiana Esquibel, india, casada.

They all appear in the same order, following the previous one, excepting one case where there is an additonal record on image 189 between Maria and Matiana. Chances of 4-5 different persons with the same names and marital status dying in the same order in the same town are pretty slim.

As for which is the real date, I think it is hard to know unless you find some other documents like a Will where they mention whether they are still alive or already passed away.

I have seen at least one similar duplicate entry for a baptism in Parras, Coah. in the 1770's: same three names for the child, same birthday (one year difference), same baptism day (one year difference), same parents and godparents.

Victoriano Navarro

Victoriano

Thank you for the information.

I received an e-mail from Luis who also looked at these records, and he noted that the pastor was absent from his duties in the parish after March 11, 1738, and then ultimately his death. Thus, business in the parish was unsettled, and this led to duplication of the events in the register.

Unless other information is found, the reasonable assumption would be that the first date is likely correct. However, I will make a note of both (with Luis's explanation) in my notes.

George Fulton
Pleasanton, CA

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