White Mountains cities in Arizona were founded
by American (Spanish speaking U.S. citizens from New Mexico)
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Manuel Antonio Candelaria is recorded on the
Moqui (called Hopi today) NE Arizona census
1850 . (Spanish speaking families had lived on Hopi land as did
the Navajo up to 1850).
(These families, along with about 100,000 other Spanish speaking
persons were in the southwest at the time the U.S. annexed the northern
part of Mexico)
Don Manuel Antonio Candelaria was in the Concho area in the
1840's as a captive of the Mascalero Apaches. He remained a captive for
several years. While still a small child he was given to an elderly Apache
woman who adopted Manuel as her son.
He learned the Apache language as well as their customs.
When Don Manuel Antonio became a young man he joined the Apaches
in several raids. He referred to the Apaches as brothers. Later, he decided
to leave the Apaches; he bid his Apache mother farewell and headed back
to Cubero, New Mexico USA.
Manuel Antonio returned to his people at Cubero, and from there after
he was called "El Cautivo", the Captive.
When Manuel Antonio Candelaria returned to Concho the second time
in 1861 there were but a handfull of pioneers living along the Concho Creek.
The earliest Concho settlers were Don Manuel Antonio Candelaria,
Don Presiliano Archunde, Don Casimiro Padilla, Don Desiderio Gallegos,
Don A.D. Romero (his parents), Don Cornelio Atencio, Don Benito Baca and
Don Victoriano Chavez.
A little later came Don Tomas Perez who was a civil war veteran;
Don Jose Antonio Chavez, Don Jose Ramon Martinez, also a civil war veteran.
Don Idefonso Olivares, Don Jose Padilla, Don Francisco Romero, Don Begnino
Lopez, Don Roman Ortiz,
Don Jose Antonio Ortega, and the Peraltas.
Arriving soon after came Don Pedro Candelaria (no relation to the
Don Manuel Antonio Candelaria family), Don Donifacio Sanchez, Don Trancito
Garcia family and his father-in-law Don Santiago Marquez also a Civil War
Veteran, Don Ben Marquez, his brother, along with other members of his
family, Don Francisco Anzures, Don Pedro and Teodoro Dominguez; the Sandovals;
Nasif Tamer and Elia.
The first settlers in Concho, Arizona, were of Spanish speaking extraction,
most of the settlers came from the New Mexico USA Territory. they came
from Cubero, Blanco, Los Lentes, Seboyeta, San Mateo, San Miguel, Dona
Ana County and from many other Spanish settlements in New Mexico USA.
Many of these settlers were descended from pioneers in the 16th century
and earlier.
This information was obtained from personal records, the Concho
Historical Society, personal documents, and the (Hopi land documents);
census documents, marriage and other documents
