Genealogy and Family History of Merchant Alférez Ignacio López de Herrera and wife . . .
(1703–1739).
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (39)
Family History of a Spanish Merchant
This book contains 125 manuscript documents, including parish register information, depositions, and coats of arms, that constitute the genealogies and family histories of Ignacio López de Herrera (a Spaniard) and his wife, a criolla (American-born person of Spanish descent), of Mexico. Purity of one’s bloodline was a matter of importance in the multi-racial and highly stratified society of eighteenth-century Mexico. Certification of one’s bloodline as pure Spaniard would have been essential for de Herrera’s children’s inheritance and social status. This hand-painted plate with the López coat of arms includes flourishes and botanical decorations within a gold-painted border.