San José Cathedral, Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. If this same building dates back to 1883, it is where my 2nd great-grandparents married.1
Family Ties to Villa Hidalgo
In my last post, I mentioned that my 2nd great-grandparents Refugio Nieto (1863-1908) and Aurelia Compean (1864-1963) were married on 18 October 1883 in the parish of San José, located in Villa de Yturbide (now Villa Hidalgo), a municipality in the state of San Luis Potosí.2 Until finding that record back in May, I had never heard of an association between my ancestors and Villa Hidalgo.
About Villa Hidalgo
Villa Hidalgo is both a municipality and a town (similar to a county seat) in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It was elevated to the civic administrative designation of municipo in 1854 and named after Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest and leader in the war for independence (1810-1821) against Spain, who is considered the “padre de patria” (founding father) of Mexico. By the end of that same year, however, the municipality and village were renamed to Villa Iturbide.3 Iturbide was the name of the royal house of Mexico, during the short-lived post-independence first Mexican Empire period from 1822-23.4 In 1928, the local legislature changed the municipo seat name back to Hidalgo.5
Two parishes serve the municipality of Villa Hidalgo–Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in the nearby town of Peotillos, and San José in the actual municipo seat.6 San José is where my 2nd great-grandparents Reguio Nieto and Aurelia Compean married in 1883. The archdiocese website notes the parish founding as “28/08/06,” but with just an “06” I cannot determine the century. It would have to be 1806 at the latest, due to the marriage year of my 2nd great-grandparents. FamilySearch has parish records dating back to 1850. From what I am able to tell from Google Maps Streetview, photos, and videos, San José cathedral is located right on the town plaza. A festival is held each year on March 19 in honor of San José.
San José Cathedral, Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. If this same building dates back to 1883, this is the view my 2nd great-grandmother saw when she walked down the aisle to marry her husband.7
Another part of the exterior facade of San José Cathedral, Villa Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.8
Virtual Tours
These videos show quite a bit of footage of Villa Hidalgo, including the cathedral where my 2nd great-grandparents married in 1883.9,10 The town looks quite poor, but is full of color and historic architecture. I find it a bit humorous that the opening scene of the first video is an exterior shot of a cantina–perhaps Dad and I will enjoy a cold drink there next year.
Sources
- “Parroquia San Jose Villa Hidalgo,” Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/parroquia.sanjose.5283/photos : accessed 19 July 2015). ↩
- Iglesia Católica (Catholic Church), San José, Información matrimonial 1880-1886, p. 218, Refugio Nieto and Aurelia Compean, 18 October 1883; Archivo Diocesano (diocesan archive), de San Luis Potosí; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search : accessed 6 May 2015) > Mexico > San Luis Potosí, Catholic Church Records, 1586-1977 > Villa Hidalgo > San José > Información matrimonial 1880-1886 > image 491. ↩
- “Villa Hidaldo,” La Secretaría de Finanzas de Gobierno del Estado de San Luis Potosí (http://www.slpfinanzas.gob.mx/secciones/informacion/municipios/villaHidalgo.asp : accessed 19 July 2015). ↩
- “House of Iturbide,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Iturbide : accessed 19 July 2015). ↩
- “Villa Hidalgo.” ↩
- “Busqueda de Parroquias,” Arquidiocesís de San Luis Potosí (http://www.iglesiapotosina.org/Iglesias.php?s=1&Ciudad=Villa+Hidalgo&Nombre=&Decanato=&CP=&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 ” accessed 19 July 2015). ↩
- “Parroquia San Jose Villa Hidalgo.” ↩
- Ibid. ↩
- Cristian Martinez, “Pasando por Villa Hidalgo S.L.P. 2014,” YouTube (https://youtu.be/vKpynLVjo9I : accessed 19 July 2015). ↩
- YYSKA, “Villa Hidalgo S.L.P. …. ‘Centro Comunitario y Pastorl’,” YouTube (https://youtu.be/JLY3f1DXV3w: accessed 19 July 2015). ↩
I was raised in Villa Hidalgo. Thank you for this blog.
Thanks for that kind comment, Ana! I look forward to visiting Villa Hidalgo next year.
HI COLLEEN MY NAME IS ALFRED NIETO VIRUEGAS MY MOTHERS NAME IS MARIA ELENA NIETO SHE WAS BORN IN LONG BEACH CA. HER FATHER NAME WAS REFUJO NIETO HIS FATHER NAME WAS RAFAEL NIETO I HAVE COUSINS IN LONG BEACH I NEVER MET THEM RIGHT NOW I DO REINACTMENT IN SAN DIEGO IN OLD TOWN AS A CALIFORNIOS AS JOSE MANUEL NIETO IN THE 1832 I THINK WE ARE RELATED TO THE NIETO FAMILY PLEASE E-MAIL ME ON THE NIETO FAMILY REUNION I WOULD LOVE TO GO TO IT THANK YOU
Hi Colleen and Alfred – My name in Maria Rendon Nieto and I’m a professor at the University of California, Irvine and starting a research project on migration of our families from San Luis Potosi. I would love to connect with you. I just came back from San Luis Potosi and met with some elderly great uncles who still remember some of these relatives you mention, at least by name. It would be wonderful to connect. I also wonder if the first Nietos’ to settle in California were linked to the Nietos that settled in Long Beach in the early 1900. Please email me: mgrendon@uci.edu.
Thank you so much for this post!
I, too, have been on a journey with the Mexican parish records on FamilySearch and came across this blog post while searching for the same area. My great great grandparents, Juan Alfaro and Ponciano Meza, were married in this same church just a few years before yours, 1878. This virtual tour is wonderful.
My Mom was born in Villa de Hidalgo. The Family name is Valerio Coronado. I plan on going in late September. Any info about where to stay and eat would be great!!
Love this picture Mi Pueblo hermosos mis xv anos los celebre en Villa hidalgo una fiesta inolvidable ase 24 años