Huerfano World – February 11, 1993 Conquistadore Genealogy Available

Ida (Quintana) Cordova Foraci, daughter of Ann Vigil and Isidore Quintana (Cordova) of Walsenburg, has written the genealogy of the Quintana family who came to New Mexico with Vargas in 1693.

The books are the result of five years of exhaustive research.

Her genealogy is being released in 10 volumes, each weighing five pounds and measuring two inches thick. The books contain the history of every Conquistadore who came to the New World with Onate in 1597 and their descendants who settled in New Mexico.

Foraci became interested in her family’s history when she learned her father had been raised by a step-father and used his name. She became curious about the Quintanas and began researching in Pueblo, later moving on to the archives in Santa Fe. She returned to the Colorado records, however, because they are equally as good as Santa Fe’s.

The series is dedicated to her father who died in 1988. He was the grandson of Blas Felipe de Jesus Quintana and Maria Dolores Bustos who settled in Aguilar around 1860.

The books contain photocopies of original documents in Spanish, including land grants, wills and marriage certificates, photographs and other personal information, as well as fold-out lineage charts for each family.

Also included are stories about the Conquistadores, especially Hernan Cortes.

Volumes 1, 2 and 3 are shelved at the Denver Public Library. The next four are in the process of printing. The final three will be available to public libraries in the fall.