Juan de Mestas

   Another name for Juan was Juan de Mesta.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information: ²⁵²
Juan de Metas, or de Mesta, was an Asturian (Montañés) who lived briefly in New Mexico between the years 1655 and 1660; he probably belonged to Governor Manso's personal retinue. Some brothers of his were with him, and these also returned with him to Mexico City, where he was living in 1661.

From his association with the infamous Nicolás de Aguilar we can presume that he spent much of his time in the Salinas district, from whence, legitimately or otherwise, came two Mestas individuals. Tomás de Mestas (here also de Amestas) and his brother Juan escaped the 1680 massacre with only a horse and sword between them. They had a family of seven persons, their mother, brothers, and nephews. Both passed muster together in the following year.

Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period, Kindle Locations 3424-3433