101
Trinidad Area Family Histories
The
Jose' Benigno Torres Family
Century
Family
Written by E. L. Torres
One in a collection by Allen Bachoroski,
Local Historical Writer,
Tales Along the
Highway of Legends
Note: This
is one in a series of historical stories about local families
in the Trinidad region.
Click here to find out more
about how these stories were collected.
Jose' Benigno Torres was born on February 8, 1859 in Ranchos
De Toas, county of Toas Territory of New Mexico. He was
the son of Jose' Tomas Torres and Ma. Del Carmel Cordova,
both parents born in northern province of New Mexico belonging
to the Republic of Mexico. They were descendants of the
conquistadors and re-conquistadors of New Mexico from
Spain. Beginning about 1640 we can trace Benigno's ancestry
beginning with Xptobol de Torres, (b.ca. 1668) who married
Angela Leyba.
They
had an only son, Captain Diego de Torres (b. about 1692)
whose first wife was Ma. Rosa Varela Jaramillo and their
second son was Marcial de Torres, (b.ca. 1712) Marcial
was married twice. His first wife Ma. Luxan and most of
his seven children were massacred by Apache about 1748
and as luck would have it his second wife, Ma. de la Luz
Martin and most of his second family of seven were killed
by another raid about 1760, this time Marcial lost his
life.
One son that survived was Antonio Jose' Torres who married
Ma. Nicolasa Zandobal in 1782, they had a boy that they
named after the father, Jose Antonio Torres b.ca. 1793.
Jose Antonio Torres married Ma. Yssabel Fernadez in 1812
and they became the parents of three boys who grew up
to marry three Cordova sisters. Pedro Antonio Torres married
Ma. Josefa Cordoba, Jose tomas Torres married Ma. Carmen
Cordoba and Jose Francisco Torres married Ma. de Jesus
cordoba, all daughters of Jose Rafael Cordoba et Ma. Guadalupe
Trujillo.
Benigno
grew up in and around the small valley of Tio Chiquito
near Ranchos de Toas, New Mexico. The house that he was
born in, on "La ceja de la Loma" (The crest
of the hill) on the south side od this pristine valley,
still stands and is still occupied. On the north side
of this beautiful valley stands La Yglesia San Francisco
de Asisis, where Benigno was baptized and where his father
and mother are buried. Benigno's ancestors were "Solider-Ranchers"
ny necessity, they had to raise their animals and plant
their crops to survive the harsh winters but they also
were always prepared to defend their properties from the
ever present dangers of marauding Indians who were trying
to reclaim their lands.
Benogno's
school room was the out of doors, his teachers were his
father, mother, brothers and experience. Formal education
in those times and places were rare, but the children
of Don Tomas knew how to rad and write Spanish and some
English. They were taught enough mathematics to conduct
whatever transactions that were necessary.
When
Benigno became marriageable age he went with his father
to a small village, called La Jolla (today is called Verde,
New Mexico) and there he noticed a young girl washing
her long black hair, she was the oldest daughter of Luis
Ma. Garcia and ma. Rafaela Valdez. She had a beautiful
name, Marina and she was born in La Jolla in 1862. Benigno
told his father that he was going to marry this girl with
the long black tresses. And so it was arranged, that the
Garcia family would travel towards Ranchos de Toas and
meet the Tomas Torrres family somewhere between La Joya
and Ranchos de Toas, there Marina and Benigno would be
married and a two to three day wedding fiesta was held.
With Tomas supplying the beef from his Rancho. The wedding
took place and the newly-weds moved into the house of
Tomad in Ranchos de Toas.
It
wasn't long after that, that they moved to El VaLLe de
San Francisco, which is in Colorado now, on the border
of New Mexico just forty five miles west of Trinidad.
It was here that their eldest child was born, in 1884,
named Juan Delfino Torres. Tio Delfino grew up in El Valle
and married first Francisquita Vallejos, with whom he
had no offspring. His second marriage to Manuelita Joaques
proved more fruitful as he fathers twelve children and
built up a cattle ranch in the area of Kim, Colorado,
east of Trinidad.
Jose
Luis Torees, the older brother of Benino was the first
of the Torres family to settle in El Valle, which when
a U.S. Post Office was formed and Luis was the Postmaster,
the named changed from El Valle de San Francisco to Torres
Valley. Sometimes this area was known as El Valle de Los
Rancheros because of the small ranches in the area.
Jose
Emilio Torres, b. 1883 in Ranchos de Toas, New Mexico
was the next born. He grew up and married a daughter of
the prestigious Vallejos family, the beautiful Eufemia
Vallejos from El Valle, together they raised six children
all of whom became teachers in Colorado.
Caterina
Torres b., 1892 in Torres and m. Emilio Vigil, but tragically
died after having only one girl, she died in Dawson New
Mexico in 1920.
Salome
Torres, b. 1898 in Torres grew up and married the enterprising
Tobias Aragon, decedent of other pioneer settlers of El
Valle. Their children numbered two with one other being
adopted. They still are all successful in teaching and
business.
Jose
Eugenio Torres. b. 1901 in Torres, Colorado. Gene was
raised in El Valle but as soon as he could, at the age
of seventeen he joined the Navy, but was mustered out
before he had a chance to go to World War I. He made his
profession a baker, and later married the beautiful irish
girl Addie Rachel Minniss, daughter of Jaduthan Fuller
Minniss and Mary Etta Markham, pioneer farmers in the
area of Sugar City, Colorado. Gene and Addie had three
boys, a Veterinarian, a Teacher and a Minister. Gene later
returned to the occupation of his ancestors ranching in
Colorado, east of Trinidad, where his widow still lives
in 1990.
The
youngest child of Benino and Marina was Ma. Rafaela Torres,
b. 1904 in Torres, Colorado. After going to teacher college
in Greeley, Colorado she married Ricardo Enrique Casados.
They had two loving daughter who became successful in
the teaching field and business.
Beningo
lived for a while in Torres, Colorado until lands were
taken over mostly by big business concerns, at which time
he decided to move on. The Homestead act was in effect
at that time and Benino proved up some land in Northern
New Mexico around Capulin, which he played into more land
in southern Colorado near Villagreen. This is the ranch
where Benino lived out his last days, raising cattle,
just as his Spanish conquisador, rancher-farmer-solider
ancestors did more than three hundred years ago in that
far away land of the Spanish province of New Mexico. Jose
Benigno Torres died February 1, 1941 in Trinidad, CO.
(Note:
if you have Photos of this family or know of anyone that
does, please have them get in touch with us so that we
might share some photos of the family here)
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