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Finding Aid for the Tulancingo (Hildago, Mexico) Manuscript Collection, 1567-1882
2073
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Table of contents
Title: Tulancingo (Hildago, Mexico) Manuscript Collection
Date (inclusive): 1567-1882
Collection number: 2073
Creator:
Grepe, John H.
Extent:
8 boxes (4 linear ft.)
Abstract: This collection consists of manuscript documents in Spanish and Nahuatl from the town of Tulancingo (Hidalgo, Mexico). The
documents consist primarily of civil litigation case files, but also include a small amount of criminal case files and several
government printed broadsides.
Language:
English
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Selected digitized images from this collection.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
This collection was initially processed by Manuscripts Division staff (date unknown) and was reprocessed in 2006 by Phillip
Ramirez (June 2006) and Erika Perez (August 2006) with assistance from Laurel McPhee and Elizabeth Sheehan of the Center for
Primary Research and Training.
[Identification of item], Tulancingo (Hildago, Mexico) Manuscript Collection (Collection Number 2073). Department of Special
Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
This collection of manuscripts was in the private collection of John H. Grepe of Dallas, Texas from approximately 1957 to
1975. In September 1975, Grepe sold the items as one collection to Gene Hanrahan, president of R & D Books of Salisbury,
North Carolina. In August 1977, this same collection was sold via Libros Latinos of Los Angeles, California to the University
of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In August 1981, more Tulancingo manuscripts were acquired by UCLA from Howard Karno Books,
Inc. and added to the collection.
This collection was formerly known as the
John H. Grepe collection and
A Collection of material about Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico, 1540-1875.
Collection consists primarily of civil litigation case files from the district of Tulancingo, Mexico, dating from 1567-1882.
The collection is interspersed with a few criminal case files and several government printed broadsides. Some case files
also fall under the jurisdiction of Mexico City.
The boxes have been roughly divided according to the date of judgment or arbitration date; however, many files include subsequent
notations entered by civil authorities as it related to outstanding matters towards fulfillment of the judgment.
Case files prior to 1837 are notable for revealing the maneuverings of indigenous communities within the legal system, the
involvement of women in various business and property disputes, the colonial tribute system, tensions surrounding the War
of Independence, and acts of resistance to the colonial regime by native peoples. Some of the more interesting case files
include a property dispute involving Martín Cortés, the son of Hernán Cortés, the investigation of an Indian riot, and an
Indian woman, who had been a traditional healer, being accused of witchcraft. Case files prior to 1837 contain some documents
in Nahuatl.
Case files from 1846 to 1882 deal primarily with probate matters (often including estate inventories and wills), financial
disputes between merchants and creditors, and demands for repayment of liens or mortgages. Researchers will find extensive
documents with respect to four different actions: probate matters pertaining to the estate of Maria Josefa Ortega, a bankruptcy
proceeding against Apolonio Uribarri, a civil dispute involving the Sanchez Hidalgo family, and the dissolution of a commercial
partnership involving Spanish merchants Antonio Gayol and Tomas Urrutia. Scholars interested in researching issues of gender
and sexuality will find several notable cases, for example, a case involving an older male resident who pursued relations
with a younger girl and later denied paternity to their child; cases of mothers seeking legal recognition and assets from
the fathers of illegitimate children; and cases involving allegations of physical abuse and infidelity. In addition to the
aforementioned, scholars will find numerous examples of women's involvement in civil disputes over outstanding mortgages,
as business owners, as estate executors and legal guardians for their children, and in property disputes. Case files from
this period contain very little mention of Indian peoples and no Nahuatl documents.
Arranged in the following series:
- Printed materials (.5 box)
- Pre-1837 manuscripts (2.5 boxes)
- Post-1852 manuscripts (5 boxes).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Indians of Mexico --Legal status, laws, etc. --History --Sources.
Nahuatl language --Texts.
Tulancingo (Hidalgo, Mexico) --Trials, litigation, etc. --Archival resources.
Tulancingo (Hidalgo, Mexico) --History --Sources.
Other Index Terms Related to this Collection
Grepe, John H., former owner.
Byron McAfee papers, ca. 1553-1964 (Collection 339)
. Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
Eduard Seler papers, ca. 1884-1922 (Collection 1449)
. Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
Collection of material relating to Mexico, 1860-1930 (Collection 190)
. Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.