Site Contents The Conquistadors - A list of almost 2000 individuals that served the King with Cortes and stayed in Mexico (with some notable exceptions). The conquest of the Mexico lasted from 1519 to 1521. 5 pages. Coats of Arms - Conquest of Mexico - A list of 145 of the individuals that received coats' of arms for their part in the conquest of Mexico from 1525 to 1589. 1 page The Conquistadors of the Yucatan - A list of 160 of the individuals that served the King with Francisco de Montejo from 1526 to 1546. 1 page The Conquistadors of Nueva Galicia - A list of 280 of the individuals that served the King with Nuno de Guzman in 1530. Many went on to settle the area and had links to the earlier Conquistadors. 1 page Early Settlers of Nueva Galicia - 137 settlers arriving after the conquest of the area. Some had links to the earlier Conquistadors. 2 pages The Coronado Expedition - A list of 322 settlers that served with the Captain Francisco Vazquez de Coronado. The expedition set out for New Mexico and Arizona but made it as far north as Kansas from 1540 to 1542. 1 page The Luna Expedition - A list of the 251 settlers that served with the Captain Tristán de Luna y Arellano. The expedition set out to settle Florida in 1559- 1564. 1 page The Onate Expedition - A list of the 336 settlers that served with the Captain General Juan de Onate. The expedition set out to settle New Mexico in 1598- 1600. 1 page New Spain - 433 surnames of the early settlers making their way north into Northeastern Mexico. Many descendants of the early Conquistadors. Their date of first mention in public records for the area is listed in most cases. 8 pages 1700-1726 - New wave of settlers to Northeastern Mexico. Some details are given on 81 surnames. 2 pages California 1769-1800 - A list of names of over 1,700 of the earliest recorded male settlers of Alta California. 1 page Surname Research - Here are Hispanic resources traceable to 320 surnames found in the American Southwest or Mexico. 3 pages The Genealogy of Mexico DNA Surname Project - Find relatives using DNA technology. With DNA it is possible to find out if you share a common male ancestor within 7 generations at a probability of 50% or 23 generations (around the time of the Conquest) at a 90% probability. This project is open to anyone with ancestors in Mexico along their father's father's .... line. 1 page Genealogy of Mexico Mitochondrial DNA Page. Genealogy of Mexico Family Finder DNA Page.(old data) See how we are all related to each other using autosomal DNA. Click here for more information Family Finder Personal Genealogy - Personal family surnames of Felix, Loera, Santoscoy, Moran, Vejar and Castro are discussed or mentioned. Additional links of cousins doing research on these names are provided as well as other links. 1 page Photo Gallery - Old family photos. 1 page Introduction Since the dawn of man people have always traveled in groups, with those founders of the group having the most descendants within the group. The population of Mexico has seen wide historical changes. At the time of the conquest in the early 1500's the population was estimated to be 20 million. By 1600 due to disease and war effecting the Native American population of Mexico, the population dwindled to 1 million. In the mean time, prior to 1620 or so, it is estimated that half the male population of Iberia came to settle the Americas. It is this founder population that this website will focus on, as there is genealogical and scientific information allowing us to link back to them. As late as 1910 the population of Mexico was still only 15 million after almost 400 years. With the population now estimated at over 125 million. This accounts for an amazing degree of inter-relationships considering there was relatively little immigration to Mexico during this time. This website is organized for the most part, by founder groups. First the Conquistadors of Mexico. Next, a list of those that distinguished themselves during the Conquest. Next, a list of the earliest settlers of the Yucatan. Followed by a list of the earliest settlers of Nueva Galicia (parts of Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, Jalisco and Zacatecas). Followed further by a list of those exploring the furthest reaches of the north of New Spain (Coronado Expedition). Followed by a list of those attempting to colonize Florida from Mexico (Luna expedition). Next a list of the earliest colonizers of New Mexico (Onate expedition). Next is a list of the earliest recorded surnames of Northeastern New Spain (Mexico). Followed by a list of subsequent surnames found in Northeastern New Spain. California is then examined with a list of the surnames of its earliest recorded male settlers. Followed by a library of references pertaining to research of the most common surnames of Mexico. This is followed by new scientific research using DNA linking ourselves to those at the time of the conquest. Finally there are links used in my own research and my family photo page. This website is provided as a gateway to our ancestrial past and is organized to allow us to discover them from the conquest forward. Gary Felix * Source of some of the above statistical information. "Mexico - population"
Updates
    
Online   01/20/98 Counter set to zero (over a 1.25 million visitors before 
                                        counter version was disabled)
Update   02/25/01 Added new page of the names of the earliest recorded
                               settlers of California.
Update   04/08/01 Added "The Last Will and Testament of Hernando Cortes"
                               This link can be found on this page under Cortes
Update   04/21/03 Finished adding more Cortes Conquistadors names. 
                               Added 1100 newly discovered Cortes Conquistadors.
Update   04/21/03 Added New links on Personal Genealogy page on
                               new ways to research your ancestry through DNA.
Update   05/20/03 Added many more Biographies of Cortes' Conquistadors
Update   09/07/03 Added DNA Surname Project page
Update   01/02/04 Added Coats of Arms page
Update   01/01/11 Added Mitochondrial and Family Finder pages
 

Bibliography

Thorough Amazon you can support the research on this site by purchasing some of the 
following books, using the book cover link above the description. A safe, easy and convenient 
way to buy books or anything else.


by Carl Laurence Duaine.
This book brings to life the story of our ancestors from Northeastern
Mexico. The Author identifies the founders and this is backed up by 
our study on Y-DNA. This book was the inspiration for this website.
The author spent over 20 years tracing his mothers side of the family 
to some in a group of over 150 families of Iberian decent that 
settled Mexico from the time of Cortes. Much of the book documents 
the lives and descendants of these people. Includes land grant and 
coat of arms information. Recommended for your genealogical library. 
346 8 1/2 X 11 pages.
    
  

Many details relating to the conquest are from the first hand 
account in the book "The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico 1517-1521"
by the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo (translated to english).
The Author viewed the writings of others who were not there and 
wanted to set the record straight. 468 pages



by Robert Himmerich Y Valencia. Excellent source of genealogical and 
historical information on the early settlers and much more information 
on the conquistadors. Recommended for your genealogical library. 
506 settlers are profiled. 304 pgs.   



by Hugh Tomas. A comprehensive study and an excellent book. See the 
online reviews posted on amazon.com. 602 pages.



by Patricia de Fuentes. Accounts by Juan Diaz, Andres de Tapia, Cortes, 
Francisco de Aguilar, Pedro de Alvarado, Diego del Pilar and "the 
Anonymous Conquistador". All give you a feeling of what it must have been 
like during the conquest as well as information on the cultures and life 
in those days. 208 pages.



FUNDADORES DE NUEVA GALICIA, GUADALAJARA, TOMO I by Guillermo 
Garmendia Leal. Excellent source of information on the early settlers 
of Nueva Galicia. Covers the years 1529 to 1650. Recommended for your 
genealogical library. Spanish text. 165 pages.



Sumaria Relacion De Las Cosas De La Nueva Espana 
by Baltasar Dorantes de Carranza. Excellent source of genealogical 
information on the Conquistadors. Recommended for your genealogical 
library. Spanish text. 419 pages.


"Relacion Secreta de Conquistadores informes del archivo personal del Emperador 
Carlos I" by Mariano Gonzalez-Leal. 



"Indice Geobiografico de Cuarenta Mil Pobladores Espanoles de America en El 
Siglo XVI" Tomo I 1493-1519 and Tomo II 1520-1539 by Peter Boyd Bowman. 
List and some details of the first conquistadors to the New World. 


"Don Juan de Onate, Colonizer of New Mexico 1595-1628" 

by George P. Hammond And Agapito Rey (also available through your libraries book 
exchange program). Currently out of print. 



New Mexico's First Colonists
New Mexico's first colonists: The 1597-1600 enlistments for New Mexico under Juan de Oñate
by David H. Snow. A compilation of what is known genealogically, of these 
early settlers. 131 pages. 


Diccionario Heraldico, Apellidos y Nombres Propios by Lander Munoz
Excellent source of Heraldry information with coat of arms information on those 
coming to the Americas and family histories. Recommended for your 
genealogical library. Spanish text. 417 pages.




A very interesting book with an excellent Epilog. 
Very easy reading.

Books on others researching their culture and personal history



A best seller by Victor Villasenor. Follow the history of the authors family for several 
generations. This history could easily be our own. This bestselling 
non fiction work easily reads like a novel. See the reviews on 
Amazon.com by following the link above.



by John Phillip Santos. The Author John Santos (de los Santos) is a Rhodes 
Scholar. He traces his family history by retracing the route Cortes 
took to Tenochtitlan and visits the great pyramids of Mexico. He 
introduces the reader to his family in Texas and traces their history 
for several generations. He brings to life his family history that is 
often times lost when we are removed from the old country. See the 
reviews on Amazon.com by following the link above. 



by Hugh Thomas the author of "Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall 
of Old Mexico". Biographies of over 2000 of Cortes' Conquistadors. From 
previously unpublished materials of Mexico and Spain. See more by 
following the link above. Hardcover - 464 pages. 



by Bryan Sykes a leading world authority on DNA and human evolution. The book that
started it all. 
The science of finding our ancestors through DNA. Now, utilizing the information 
in this book we can find our ancestors using mitochondrial DNA or Y 
chromosome research. Hardcover - 320 pages. 



by Michael Wood. In his latest series, he walks in the footsteps of 
Cortés, Pizzaro, and their fellow conquerors to explain what happened 
when two cultures met for the first time. Michael Wood brings history 
alive as he relates this story of conquest, heroism and greed and shows 
us how the Conquistadors have changed the way that we see the world, in 
terms of history and civilization, justice and human rights. Wood's 
passion for the story he's telling makes Conquistadors compelling viewing.