Gómez & Rosales Family of El Paso, Texas

On the frontier of Nueva Vizcaya most adult males were citizen/soldiers. Juan de Castilla was an officer (Lt or Captain, reports differ) of spanish forces who was sent with his family to Santiago Papasquiaro in present day Durango, which was assumed to be a pacified part of the frontier. However in 1616, in a complete surprise to the clergy and civl authorities, the Tepehuan Indians revolted in multiple sites in Nueva Vizcaya resulting in many spanish deaths and destruction of their properties. Papasquiaro was the site of the most destruction and death. Over 200 spaniards were killed and all their homes were burned. Very few of the spanish men, women and children escaped; most were killed after surrendering but some of the young were taken captive by the Indians. The spaniards and their supporters had retreated into the church and, after a day of fighting, the Indians burned the church forcing the spanish to surrender. Lt Juan de Castilla, his wife Maria de Niebla, the two priests and others were killed after exiting the church under promise of safe passage from Papasquiaro. It is not clear how many children the Castilla family had but there were at least two female children (including our ancestor Gerónima de Castilla) who were taken captive. We know these facts because contemporary civil and clerical reports give some details of their surrender, death and recovery of two daughters of Lt. Juan de Castilla. In addition a 1653 document produced for their descendant Cristobal de Aguilera y Castilla also reported some details including the fact that Gerónima de Castilla was rescued by the same military man who wrote the reports - GENERAL Don Gaspar de Alvear y Salazar.

One of the best reports is contained in an annual letter written by clerics and military authorities in Nueva Vizcaya. Below is an extract from one of those letters which appears in pages 609-620 of the book:

DICCIONARIO BIO-BIBLIOGRÁFICO DE LA COMPAÑÍA DE JESÚS EN MEXICO, TOMO 3