Three Angels over Rancho Grande

Why it’s on the list: Viola Payne’s biography of Patrocinio Martinez — part-Apache pioneer and first sheriff of Socorro County, back when it still contained what became Catron County — who by this account arrested many men and killed none. Law and order in the pre-county era, and a part-Apache man holding office while the Apache wars were fought around him.

Where I heard about it

• Debbie Lee — recommended and annotated alongside her four-part Catron County Centennial History, posted publicly by the Catron County Historical Society, April 2022. It is part of the Catron County reading list for my Luna novel research — the county my family’s town sits in.

Debbie Lee’s note: “Bio of Patrocinio Martinez, first sheriff of Socorro County, before it was split to include Catron county. (The family was from Reserve, as is mine, although we’re not related. The bio has some authentic history and authentic incidents that occurred in the early days. Please Note: The bio is written with a religious bent.)”

About this edition

Pacific Press Publishing, 1975 (a Destiny book, D-154). A Seventh-day Adventist biography: the narrative turns on the family’s conversion after “Brother Vargas came to town.”

Connections

• Patrocinio Martinez — the subject
• Catron County — carved out of Socorro County in 1921