Saturnino Baca

Saturnino Baca was a remarkable figure in New Mexico history, born in the modest settlement of Cubero. He spent his early years there, receiving his education in local schools before joining a government surveying party tasked with mapping a trail to California through Arizona. In this demanding role, Baca’s specific duty was to measure and record the miles along the route.
Yet professional challenges never eclipsed his personal life. He married Maria Juana Chavez, and together they raised an extraordinary family of twelve children born between 1857 and 1884: Bonifacio Jose, Ysiora, Roman (the first), Josefa, María Carlota, Saturnina, Sara, Roman (the second), Juan, José Luis, Ysabel, and Acadio. The eldest Roman may have died at birth. Despite the size of their household, the Bacas sustained a close knit family in which each child was cherished.
When the Civil War reached New Mexico Territory, Baca enlisted in the Union Army and served as a first lieutenant in the New Mexican cavalry under the command of Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson and Captain Gregorio Otero. Promoted to sergeant, he fought at the Battle of Valverde, a costly engagement in which hundreds of men perished. After the war he was posted to various frontier forts. He later relocated his family first to Santa Fe and then to the community that would become Lincoln.There Baca formed an alliance with Lawrence G. Murphy and the powerful Santa Fe Ring. The connection dated to his earlier service at Fort Stanton. In 1868 he was elected to the territorial legislature from Socorro County, where his principal objective was the creation of a new county that would place effective control in the hands of the Ring.
Thomas B. Catron, a young lawyer from Mesilla who would later become a United States Senator, had been elected to the legislature from Doña Ana County and sought Baca’s assistance in securing his seat. In exchange, Catron pledged to use his influence to advance the county bill and, at Baca’s direction, prepared the necessary resolution. The measure passed unanimously without debate. Once Catron was seated, the Baca Bill itself was introduced and enacted with little opposition. The new jurisdiction was named Lincoln County in honor of Abraham Lincoln, forever linking the region to the martyred president’s legacy of freedom and hope. At the same time, Placita del Río Bonito was renamed Lincoln. Baca himself settled beside the historic Torreón, beginning a new chapter in the county’s story.
The campaign for the new county drew support from a committee that included Lawrence G. Murphy, William Brady, Florencio Gonzales, and Dr. Joseph Blazer. Brady became the first sheriff; Baca the first probate judge. Baca later served four years as sheriff, while Blazer and Gonzales sat as county commissioners.
In 1878 the notorious Lincoln County War erupted between rival merchant factions. Baca, seeking to remain neutral, found himself drawn into the conflict and aligned, however reluctantly, with the Murphy/Dolan interests. Despite efforts to protect his home and livelihood, he was ultimately driven from his adobe dwelling for one more casualty of the violence that convulsed the county.
On April 1st 1878, Sheriff Brady and Deputy Hindman were shot down near the Baca residence. Two of Baca’s children, Carlota and Bonifacio, witnessed the killings; Bonifacio later testified against Billy the Kid in the ensuing murder trial. During the five day battle that followed, Baca assisted Colonel Dudley and Sheriff Peppin and supplied Murphy partisans who occupied the Torreón next to his home. The situation was complicated by the fact that Alexander McSween held title to both the Baca house and the Torreón. Charlie Crawford was mortally wounded while attempting to bring water to a wounded man.
McSween’s house was burned and McSween himself killed, events that further endangered the Baca household. Living in constant fear for his family, Baca watched as the widow Susan McSween, after her husband’s burial, evicted the Bacas from the property. They found temporary refuge at Fort Stanton. In time Baca returned, reclaimed his place in the community, and established a modest ranch northwest of Lincoln.
In the summer of 1889, while engaged in a dispute over sheep grazing on neighboring cattle ranges, Baca was ambushed. A gunman fired into the tent where he slept; the bullet shattered his elbow, forcing the amputation of his arm.
Throughout the 1890s he continued public service as postmaster, county commissioner, and member of the territorial penitentiary commission.
Captain Saturnino Baca died in Lincoln on March 7th 1924 at the age of 94 and was laid to rest in the Lincoln Cemetery. His life of survey work, military service, legislative achievement, and endurance through frontier violence left an indelible mark on Lincoln County and the territory that became New Mexico.