One of the original settlers of the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico was Captain Jose Martinez, son of Captain Ignacio Martinez Navarro and Isabel Flores Salazar. He was probably from the Villa de Saltillo in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, where his parents were residents. Today that city is known as Saltillo. Early in th 17th century there were also other Martinez families, the Martinez Guajardo and Martinez de Ledesma, who surely have left descendants in the state of Nuevo Leon. However,many historians believe that Martinez and Martinez Guajardo came from the same roots, as did the Ledesma. Many took the name Martinez and others took the name Guajardo. The double name lost favor because it was fashionable to be anti Spanish during this period and to break with the Spanish tradition of using the double name. Captain Jose Martinez entered Nuevo Leon in the year 1670 and settled in the Valle de Salinas (today the Municipality of Salinas Victoria). He dedicated himself to agriculture and ranching, also serving the king ......." I serve my king at my expense with my arms and horses." He was married in the parochial church of Monterrey, which is now known as the Cathedral. He married Ines de la Garza on 13 February 1673. She was the daughter of Captain Pedro de la Garza, Jr. and Maria de la Rocha A decade later on 20 October 1683, General Alonso de Leon, Governor of northern Mexico, stipulated that he was giving him a grant of land. "en la punta de la mesa que llaman de Ramos, por la parte de arriba ....que en cerania de la dicha loma esta un ojo de aguaque sale de alto de ella." This grant was quite large for it's time in that it covered the Valley de Carrizal, which today would include the cities of Marin, General Zuazua, Higueras, Doctor Gonzalez and Cienega de Flores. Marin became the Municipal center and governing city. A year later Captain Martinez founded la Hacienda de San Antonio de los Martinez, also known as San Antonio of the Aiguales (Aiguales was the name of the tribe who inhabited much of this land grant). Afterwards he purchased surrounding lands form the heirs of Captain Alonso de Trevino. In 1804 the name of the Hacienda de San Antonio de los Martinez was changed to San Carlos de Marin, then Marin. In 1710 Captain Jose Martinez and other early settlers declared, "that we have gained control of the lands inhabited by the enemy, with our blood and resources, which is evident after sixteen years of war against the Caruama Nation. This war has concluded". During his military career, Captain Jose Martinez led an expedition to explore Texas for settlement in 1686 under General Alonso de Leon. Captain Jose Martinez passed away 15 April 1712. He was buried on the 16th of April in Monterrey, in the chapel of San Francisco Xavier, which is located at the northeast corner of the church on the streets of Morelos and Escobedo. In his will dated 11 April 1712 in the Valley of Carrizal he listed his children from his marriage to Ines de la Garza: Rodrigo, Miguel, Ignacio, Damian, Andres, Jose, Maria, Rosa, Luisa and Catalina. Captain Rodrigo Martinez was baptized 5 November 1673 at the Cathedral in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He married in the same cathedral on 19 October 1693, to Maria Tomasa Guterrez, daughter of Diego Gutierrez de Castro and Gertrudis Flores. Church records show that Rodrigo and Tomasa had two offsprings: Francisco Xavier and Maria Antonia. 1. Francisco Xavier Martinez married 5 June 1735, in el Valle de las Salinas, to Maria Feliciana Flores, daughter of Jose Flores and Anastasia Gonzalez de Paredes. 2. Maria Antonia Martinez married 10 January 1740, in el Valle del Carrizal, to Juan de Montemayor, widower of Maria Rosa Ruiz. Maria Tomasa Gutierrez de Castro passed away the last week in September in 1708 and received a Christian burial, on 1 November 1708. After Tomasa death, Captain Rodrigo married for the second time to Maria Rafeala de Trevino, daughter of Juan Trevino and Nicolasa de Escamilla. Cathedral records in Monterrey show that Rodrigo and Rafaela had the following children: Pedro, Ana, Josefa and Juana. 1. Pedro Simon Martinez married Maria Josefa de la Garza, on 2 May 1736, she was the daughter of Blas de la Garza and Maria Magdalena Garcia. 2. Ana Maria Martinez married Jose de la Garza, on 29 October 1732, he was the son of Carlos de la Garza and Luisa de Trevino. 3. Maria Josefa Martinez married Ignacio Guerra at el Valle del Carrizal on 14 June 1744. He was the son of Antonio Guerra and Isabel Buentello. 4. Juana Maria Martinez married Nicolas de Marroquin widower of Maria Josefa De Alanis, on 9 July 1749. In the interest of abbreviating a long long discussion about the other nine children of Captain Jose Martinez and Ines de la Garza. I have decided to withhold that information for a later date, and because these children would be my aunts and uncles, attached to my direct line. My direct line comes from the Rodrigo the eldest of the ten children. However, I will say that all of these children married well and held high positions in society as did their descendants. There were, priests, doctors, attorneys, judges, military men, and mayors of three of four towns. They held high offices in the Spanish government and the Catholic Church. Some of the offices that were held were: Attorneys in the Royal Court of New Spain, Royal Ecclesiastical judge for Valle de Salinas, In Charge of the Inquisition de Santa Cruzada in Northern New Spain, Ecumenical judge of El Valle de Pilon in Nuevo Leon, etc.. Note: Ignacio Martinez Navarro parents and his wife Maria Flores Salazar parents were in the new world probably before 1600. I need documentation like birth records, marriage records, baptismal records, etc. before I can list them as documented files. They may have been born in Spain, and that is why I have been unable to find their records. Any help in this area will be greatly appreciated.
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