The Genealogy of Francisca de Narváez
28 Oct 1654 - 4 Apr 1739
Doña Francisca de Narvaez was the matriarch of the Sanchez de la Mejorada line, of Sierra de Pinos: even though she never married, from her descend all families, using that surname, born in and around Pinos after 1698. The fact that she never married, makes her a challenge to research, because of the lack of marriage records, and the lack of baptism records for legitimate children. But, with the discovery of the San Luis Potosi padrones, as well as another group of documents, I believe I’ve established the origin of Francisca de Narvaez.
First, some background:
Francisca de Narvaez had at least 4 natural children, all who were born in SLP, and who would raise their families in Sierra de Pinos:
1. Capitan Francisco Sanchez de la Mejorada Narvaez, m1. Ysabel Ruiz de Villaseñor, m2. Margarita de Cuevas, 25 Jan 1720, San Matias, Pinos, Zac.
2. Antonia de Narvaez, b. 26 Jul 1682, Sagrario SLP; m. Miguel Mendez de Sotomayor
3. Antonio Sanchez Narvaez, b. 01 Sep 1692, Sagrario SLP; m. Gregoria Mendez de Sotomayor, m. 31 Jan 1720, San Matias, Pinos, Zac. Carpintero de oficio.
4. Luis Sanchez de la Mejorada Narvaez, m. Antonia Gomez, 04 Feb 1722, San Matias, Pinos, Zac.
According to their marriage records, Francisco Sanchez and Antonio Sanchez were hijos naturales of Francisca de Narvaez and of Cristobal Sanchez, Español. I've been unable to locate Cristobal Sanchez; he might be the same who was married to Simona Torres, and who baptized Angela, 27 Mar 1674, Sagrario SLP, but I've been unable to establish any link. Those 2 drop off the map. Whoever he was, Cristobal Sanchez and Francisca de Narvaez apparently continued their relationship over a long period of time, since Francisco and Antonio Sanchez were born 18 years apart.
On his marriage record, Luis Sanchez is hijo natural of Francisca de Narvaez and father- unknown, yet he and his descendants would use the "Sanchez de la Mejorada" surname. From a dispensa, we know that Antonia de Narvaez is his sister. She also used “Sanchez” on one occasion, so they might also be natural children of Cristobal Sanchez.