After the Treaty of Guadalupe ended the Mexican-American War, the area that would become the state of New Mexico became part of the United States. It had been part of Mexico, and before that, part of New Spain. Which means that there had been Catholic missions to the area for many years. However, after Mexico cedes the area to the United States, the area becomes part of the archdiocese of Santa Fe, under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in the US. The area had been under the archdiocese of Durango in Mexico.
This book is a fictionalized account of the two French Catholic priests who were sent to this new archdiocese, their journey from Ohio to New Mexico, and their lives from that point on. Apparently, Cather was inspired by the autobiography of one of the real life priests. Her story reviews their lives among the people they find in the New Mexico diocese. They work with the “Mexicans”, Native peoples, and “Americans”. The story is told from the point of view of Bishop Latour, who was inspired by Jean-Baptiste Lamy, and as such, leaves out a number of other perspectives. In other words, we have an idea of what the Bishop thought of the land and its inhabitants, but not what they thought of him.
One of the best parts of this book is Cather’s description of the land. If there is a color name she doesn’t use to describe the soil, sky, weather, or foliage, I don’t know what it would be. While Cather changes the names of the many of the historical people in her novel, she does not change the name of Kit Carson, who lived in this area at the time. Mr. Carson, according to the book, was well respected among all groups living in the area. I am not sure if other characters and incidents in the book are real or fictionalized, but it should not take too much research to determine which is which.
If this was your family, how would you research them? The time frame of this story is right after this area came under American governance, and official record keeping, both before and right after, might have been spotty. Many vital records, at least for those following the Catholic faith, may be in the church’s records. Depending on the ethnicity of the family being researched, and the time frame, you might need to check records held in Mexico as well. This is definitely an example of people staying in the same place, and the borders moving around them! And an example of why knowing the history of a location is important.