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| Personal Information |
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| Surname: Ruiz de Ael |
Given Name: Santiago |
Sex: M |
| Place of Birth: Castañares, La Rioja, España |
Date of Birth: |
Order: |
| Place of Death: Janos |
Date of Death: |
Cause of Death: |
| Race or Tribe: Español |
Residence: Castañares; Mátape; Terrenate; Janos |
Title: Notario de Santo Oficio; Soldado de Terrenate - capitán; Soldado de Janos - capitán; Hijo de Domingo de Ael; Transferred to Janos and was on his way there when the Pima uprising of 1751 broke out; Buried in the Janos Presidio Chapel. (BPIGA) |
| Place of Service: Terrenate; Janos |
Burial Place: Janos-in the presidio chapel, in the sanctuary on the Epistle side |
Translation: (Spanish) |
Notes:
Santiago Ruiz de Ael was born about 1695 or 1700 in the tiny village of Castañares in Spain's famous "La Rioja" valley, about 30 miles west of Logroño and 5 miles southwest of Haro. He first appears in the records of northern Sonora during the famous silver discovery near Bernardo de Urrea's ranch called "Arizona." At the time he was living in the real de minas of Motepore on the Sonora River where he was a merchant and an official of the "Holy Inquisition." When he heard of the fabulous silver strike he loaded up a large pack string of mules and traveled to the site of the discovery, called San Antonio de Pádua. There he traded supplies for silver and quickly made far more money than most of the several hundred prospectors and miners who were there.
When Captain Juan Bautista de Anza impounded all the silver that had been taken in trade, Don Santiago was one of the first - of dozens that would follow - to file a court case in the matter. He claimed that the miners had consumed the goods he had sold them and, without the silver he had taken in trade, he would soon be destitute. He said, "If my petition is not granted, grave inconveniences to my business will result, which seems unjust to me. Indeed, I would be unable to supply, as I presently am, seven mine owners and their operations, four of whom also operate silver smelters." He eventually lost the case, which was heard in Guadalajara, and had to wait for the decision to be made that the silver did belong to those who found it before he could get his money back. (See "Juan Bautista de Anza: Basque Explorer in the New World, 1693-1740")
Sometime after that, Don Santiago was appointed the second captain of the newly founded (1740) Presidio of Terrenate, to take the place of José Gómez de Silva. Little has been written about his tenure there from 1747-1751, but it is known that he was ordered to scout the dangerous territory between Terrenate and San Miguel de Horcasitas in August of 1750, prior to the beginning of a campaign against the Seris on Tiburón Island. (See "Empire of Sand")
The next summer he was on a campaign against the Apaches, and that fall of 1751, he and some of his soldiers transferred to the Presidio of Janos, Nueva Vizcaya (present-day Chihuahua). His orders were to exchange places with Captain José Díaz del Carpio of that presidio. Unfortunately, Captain Díaz del Carpio was awaiting Captain Ruiz de Ael's arrival at Janos, and Ruiz de Ael still had a day's travel left before he would reach Janos when the Pima uprising of 1751 struck on Sunday, November 21st. Both captains rushed to the Pimería Alta with most of their soldiers when the word was received. However, because of the distance, the panic-stricken settlers fleeing the San Luis Valley, who scurried to Terrenate found themselves in the presence of very few soldiers for several weeks. (See "Pedro de la Cruz: Alias Chihuahua")
After the rebellion was over, Don Santiago returned to Janos where he lived out the rest of his life as captain of that presidio, continuing to lead campaigns against the marauding Apaches of the frontier. He never married, so there are no known family or descendants on this continent. |
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