Call Number:

C0867

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 11 boxes
• 4.20 linear feet

Language:

Spanish; Castilian

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Records of Colonial Tlalpujahua (Michoacán, Mexico), Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1562-1903 (inclusive) and 1720-1830s (bulk)

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections

Form:

Account books -- Mexico -- Tlalpujahua., Court records -- Mexico -- 19th century., and Ledgers.

Abstract:

The Records of Colonial Tlalpujahua (Michoacán, Mexico) consists of papers pertaining to the Convento de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, as well as miscellaneous papers that document matrimonial and criminal legal cases, land transactions in Tlalpujahua and Toluca, and genealogical information compiled by Austacio Rulfo. Additional papers to the collection include documents, accounts, religious petitions, assorted documents, and correspondence, many pertaining to the Benavides family.

The collection consists of papers of the Convento de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, a Franciscan monastery established in 1703. There are various administrative documents ( libros de patentes and libro de inventorio) that date from 1724 to 1849; account ledgers ( libros de cargo y descargo) that date from 1719 to 1839; and a significant number of ledgers (a libro de institucion, a libro de determinaciones y constituciones, and several libros de asientos de recepciones y profesiones) belonging to the Third Order Secular of St. Francis that date from 1686 to 1832.

There are also miscellaneous ledgers from Tlalpujahua and Toluca that contain information regarding various land transactions and title transfers, last will and testaments, and a ledger regarding a general store ( casa de comercio). Moreover, one ledger was used to record legal proceedings during the mid-1740s in matrimonial and criminal cases in Tlalpujahua. In addition, there are papers that belonged to Austacio Rulfo (1820-1903) that trace the genealogies of the Rayón and Rulfo families, relatives of independence leader Ignacio López Rayón.

Furthermore, there are additional papers that include account ledgers and accounting documents (receipts, inventories, appraisals, and expenses) (1599-1901); religious petitions (1722-1882); documents relating to estates, houses, land, livestock, and other topics (1660-1898); and correspondence (1774-1901). While the majority of these documents pertain to the Benavides family, some relate to the Third Order Secular of St. Francis, and others to the Rayón and Rulfo families.

A second group of additional papers includes documents (receipts, testaments, account ledgers, and land transactions) (1751-1900); correspondence (1782-1901), and undated miscellaneous materials. The majority of these documents pertain to the Benavides, Rayon, and Rulfo families.