PEDRO BENITO

Hola prim@s,

It’s amazing how much serendipity can play into family research. The other day, I was looking at this website, which offers transcriptions of testamentos and autos de bienes de difuntos of residents of 16th century Zacatecas. I didn’t see any of my ancestor’s names among those listed, but wanting to read something while I enjoyed my morning coffee, I decided to open one. The name “Pedro Benito” caught my eye, because I know that one of the founders of San Luis Potosí was named Pedro Benito. Though this testamento was dated 16 Jun 1575, I thought I’d take a look, to see if there was a connection.

This Pedro Benito was a miner (of course!); born in Valencia de Alcántara, located in Cáceres, Extremadura, he was the son of Juan Benito and Mari González, both deceased. He says that he had a sister named Mari González Benito, and if she were still alive, he wanted to send her 200 pesos. She obviously lived elsewhere. I didn’t recognize any of the other names, until he named his executors. The first one leaped out at me:

Antonio de San Martín, “su yerno.”

I almost spilled my coffee when I saw that, because I have in my lines an Antonio de San Martín cc Mari González, early residents of San Luis Potosí, both of whom I was still brick-walled on. According to the testamentos of their children, they had lived previously in Zacatecas. Is it possible that Pedro Benito was the father of my Mari González?
I quickly scanned through the rest of the document, to where Benito named his children and heirs, and BINGO! His daughter was Mari González! I could not believe my eyes! What are the odds, right?
Pedro Benito also had two sons, Pedro Benito and Alonso Benito, and they were all his hijos naturales. Their mother is not named.

With this new information, I went to check it against what I knew about Pedro Benito founder of SLP, and what I had already found in the SLP archives, regarding him, Alonso Benito, and Mari González, my ancestor:

• Pedro Benito cc doña Isabel Enestrosa y Quisado, padres de Lorenzo Benito, Alonso Benito y doña María Vásquez Benito (casada con Juan de Arteaga).
• Doña Mari González cc Antonio de San Martín, padres de: doña Isabel de Parraga cc Geronimo de Cabrera, doña Beatriz de Parraga beata, Licenciado Alonso de San Martín Presbitero, doña Antonia de Sosa cc Diego de Cespedes, Antonio de San Martín (sastre), Manuel de San Martín, doña Mariana de Sosa cc Juan López de Ávila (mis 9o abuelos), doña Agueda de Sosa cc Martín Ramos Casado.
• Alonso Benito cc doña Isabel López, padres de doña María y doña Leonor López.

Pedro Benito “el Mozo” was a soldier from Zacatecas; he was a lieutenant of Capitán Miguel Caldera, and his inseparable companion - he was with Caldera when he founded San Luis Potosí in 1592, and was even with him when he died in San Juan del Río in 1597.

In a clause in his testamento of 2 Nov 1596, Capitán Miguel Caldera declared that, “to the daughters of Juan Gutiérrez, and to those of Antonio de San Martín, nieces of Pedro Benito, that 4,000 pesos from my goods be distributed among them, to help with their marriages.” (source: “Colección de documentos para la historia de San Luis Potosí, Tomo I” por Primo Feliciano Velásquez).
On 8 Aug 1597, Isabel Lopez, widow of Alonso Benito, granted power to Pedro Benito, her brother-in-law.
On 6 Jan 1610, Manuel de San Martín (son of Antonio de San Martín cc Mari González) registered mines, and donated “a su tio Pedro Benito, 10 baras.”
On 31 Dec 1614, Juan de Arteaga, husband of María Vásquez Benito (daughter of Pedro Benito), was a witness for Mariana de Sosa, a daughter of Antonio de San Martín cc Mari González, and he identified Mariana de Sosa as a “prima hermana” of his wife.

I think this is enough to support that the three children of Pedro Benito, minero y vecino de Zacatecas, are the same whose families were amongst the earliest settlers in San Luis Potosí. I was thrilled to have knocked down one more brick-wall, and totally by accident!

On a whim, I decided to check PARES, to see if there were any other records on Pedro Benito, and I found the original probate documents transcribed on that webpage. There was also a document from contratación, dated 26 Jan 1538:

“Pedro Benito, hijo de Juan Benito y de María González, vecino de Valencia de Alcántara, a la Florida.”

It was the same Pedro Benito! I was floored! 1538!! And to FLORIDA F-L-A!!

I was able to find his entry at family search. And I received another surprise, when I noticed that on the header of the folder which holds his entry, written is: “La gente q pasa a la florida con el adlᵈº don hᵈº de soto”.

“The people going to Florida with the adelantero Hernando de Soto.”

Jo. Lín. Not only do I have a record of a European ancestor who stepped foot on North American soil as early as 1538, he apparently arrived with one of the most famed explorers!

I quickly started looking for chronicles of De Soto’s expedition through what would become the Southeastern US, to see if Pedro Benito’s name is among the participants. According to the “Final Report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission,” Pedro Benito was with the first group of 140 passengers to set sail on 26 Jan 1538. Though his name doesn’t appear on any of the lists of known survivors, none of them claim to be definitive. It’s obvious that he did survive, and that he’s the same Pedro Benito, born in Valencia de Alcántara and son of Juan Benito and Mari González, who lived in Zacatecas and who wrote his will in 1575. And his son would go on to be one of the founders of San Luis Potosí.

Again, genealogy is NOT boring!

I hope you all enjoyed this. And for those of you who descend from the López de Ávila/ Dávila of San Luis Potosí and Sierra de Pinos, Pedro Benito is your ancestor.

Manny Díez Hermosillo