A deep dive into local genealogy at SCHS meeting

“If I came to Socorro and threw a rock, I’d hit a relative.” Was a line delivered with humor by genealogist and historian Robert Baca, setting the meeting up for his presentation “Love and Death in Small Town New Mexico.” The presentation outlined the history of his family in Socorro County, which amounts to, well, pretty much everyone.

Baca had many stories to tell and had done extensive research into the background of his ancestors in Socorro.

The meeting opened with brief announcements from Paul Harden, Socorro County Historical Society (SCHS) secretary explained the value of understanding history not only through buildings and land, but through the families who lived in them. Harden reminded the attendees that Socorro’s legacy lives not only in adobe walls or on maps, but in the stories of migration, hardship, and the families who passed stories down across generations.

The main event, Robert Baca, is the writer of the Baca/Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog, as well as the Socorro Land Grant Research Project.

Baca used his own ancestry to weave together a compelling portrait of the family history of Socorro County. He himself is descended from the founding families like the Bacas, Montoyas, Torreses, and Zimmerlys. He emphasized the genealogic connections in the community.

“I’m probably related to 90% if not 100% of the Hispanic people here, and half the Anglos too," Baca said.

Baca began his presentation at the very beginning, with archaeological discoveries in the Tularosa Basin that date human presence in New Mexico back 20,000 years. He then walked attendees through Spanish colonization, the naming of Socorro, which means “help” in Spanish, because Spanish settlers were provided with food and water from the early Native Americans. He also explained early land grants, which are all precursors to a centuries-long struggle for property rights and recognition.

Baca’s presentation spotlighted two influential families who helped shape Socorro’s legacy: Estanislao Montoya, a determined civic leader whose decades-long fight for land grant confirmation laid groundwork for future claims, and Samuel Zimmerly, a Swiss-born Civil War veteran who settled in Socorro, married into a local family, and established a flour mill with his wife, Pablita, a vital enterprise in the region’s early economy. This was not without its issues, though, as Baca explained.

“It appears that he did not always get along with the locals. In February 1879, Socorro residents protested during the milling crisis,” Baca said.

The mill was almost burned down by protestors, but in the end Zimmerly’s mill prevailed and continued producing for years.

The meeting concluded with a brief discussion following Baca’s presentation, during which members were invited to ask questions and share stories about their own connections to Socorro’s early settlers. The informal exchange added a personal touch, showing just how connected the community remains to its roots. A quick announcement followed from Chuck Zimmerly, one of Samuel Zimmerly’s direct descendants, reminding everyone that the Socorro County Historical Society will host its annual Oktoberfest on the first Saturday in October, another chance to celebrate community and share stories, but this time with bratwurst.