Guadalupe Torres, Buried in the San Miguel Church

What you see below is a memorial for Dona Guadalupe T. de Baca, which states that she was born on born 12 December 1812, and died on 4 January 1901. According to baptismal and burial records, I show that she was actually born on 17 February 1812, and died on 6 January 1900, but we won't quibble on the details.¹ The memorial can be found on the wall of the San Miguel Church in Socorro, New Mexico.


According to F. Stanley's book Socorro: The Oasis, Guadalupe's second husband was buried within the north wall of the church, which is two yards thick. Stanley did not know exactly where Guadalupe had been buried, but her remains were said to be buried in the opposite wall.² Possibly behind the spot where her memorial plaque was placed?

Her maiden name was Maria Guadalupe Torres, and she was first married to Francisco Antonio Garcia. This couple were the parents of my 3rd great grandmother Juana Maria Garcia. She married her second husband Pedro Antonio Baca after her first husband's death.

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I wrote this post in response a post my cousin Maurine Pool posted on her blog. Read her article: Crespin's Aunt Guadalupe.

1. For more information about this woman and her family, read my article "Maria Guadalupe Torres: One Woman's Life in Nineteenth Century Socorro", New Mexico Genealogist, Vol 48: June, 2009, pp. 78-85.

2. F. Stanley, Socorro: the Oasis (Denver, CO: World Press, 1950), p. 45.

Memorial for Confederate Soldiers Who Died in Socorro

Capt. Willis L. Lang - Confederate soldier who died in Socorro, New Mexico

From the memorial on the Find a Grave website (click on this link to see his memorial.)


As you may know, two of my 2nd great-grandfathers were Civil War era Union soldiers (Zimmerly and Bourguignon.) Although historically I side with the Union, (I'm a damn Yankee, what can I say)I do believe in commemorating the lives of those who served on both sides of the war.

Find a Grave has a page dedicated to a possible Confederate Soldier burial site in Socorro, New Mexico. The page lists 32 men who died in Socorro after the Battle of Valverde in 1862.

Please note that the burial site is on personal property, and the owners do not want people to go on to their land. To read more about the controversy, read my blog post on the New Mexico Genealogical Society Blog: Confederate Soldier's (sic) Remains Found in Socorro?