Vigil, Donaciano (1802–1877)

Donaciano Vigil (b. 6 September 1802; d. 11 August 1877), governor of New Mexico (1847–1848). Vigil was a popular and well-educated native New Mexican. In New Mexico's Revolution of 1837, Vigil was captured at La Cañada by the revolutionists and appointed secretary for the rebel government. While questions were raised about his loyalty, he was later cleared of any misconduct. In the 1830s and 1840s, Vigil served as a member of the departmental assembly, editor of a Spanish newspaper in New Mexico, and military secretary under governor Manuel Armijo. When the United States occupied New Mexico in 1846, General Stephen W. Kearny appointed him secretary of the territory and upon the assassination of Charles Bent (d. 1847) in Taos, Vigil became governor. An antimilitarist, Vigil proclaimed the first elections in the territory under U.S. rule. Later, he served in the territorial legislature.

See alsoNew Mexico .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stanley Crocchiola, Giant in Lilliput: The Story of Donaciano Vigil (1963).

Ralph Emerson Twitchell, The History of the Military Occupation of the Territory of New Mexico from 1846 to 1851 (1909), pp. 207-228.

Janet Lecompte, Rebellion in Rio Arriba, 1837 (1985), esp. pp. 13-16, 40-61.

Additional Bibliography

Salazar, J. Richard. The Military Career of Donaciano Vigil. Guadalupita, NM: Center for Land Grant Studies, 1994.

Vigil, Donaciano, and David J. Weber. Arms, Indians, and the Mismanagement of New Mexico. El Paso: Texas Western Press, University of Texas at El Paso, 1986.

                                     Aaron Paine Mahr