Hispanic Women of Colonial New Mexico and Land Ownership

Hispanic Women of Colonial New Mexico and Land Ownership. Vega y Coca Sisters – Feliciana, Leonarda, Maria, Apolonia, Francisca, and Isabel c. 1700-1750. , Hispanic Women of Colonial New Mexico and Land Ownership , Hispanic Women of Colonial New Mexico and Land Ownership 1598-1821 Under Spanish law, women in New Mexico could buy, sell, and own property. A woman did not need her husband’s permission to sell property that she brought into the marriage, and further, she could use the court system to adjudicate land claims. Several communities in New Mexico, such as La Cíenega and Pajarito, arose on combined land grants owned in part or whole by women. , Vega y Coca Sisters – Feliciana, Leonarda, Maria, Apolonia, Francisca, and Isabel c. 1700-1750 , The Vega y Coca sisters were born between 1700 and 1712 to Miguel Vega y Coca, a soldier and alcalde in Taos, Santa Cruz, and Santa Fe. His wife was Ignacia Montoya. In 1730 the family moved to La Cienega where Miguel died in 1751. Each daughter inherited property including an extensive plot of land, a large house, and pasturelands. The sisters married soldiers, alcaldes, and landowners, leaving a legacy of prominent Spanish families in New Mexico. Among their descendants are members of the Alire, Baca, Bustamante, Ortiz, and Tenorio families.