Hernando de Alba was born in the city of Salamanca. His father was Hernando de Alva, a native of Salamanca. His mother was Catalina de Soto, a native of Antequera. He came to New Spain in 1538. Little is known about Hernando de Alba's life, except that it appears he went to Puebla after the return of the expedition to Mexico.
1540-1550:
1540, Feb: Muster in Flint & Flint, Documents, Document 12 [Hernando de Alva, horse, elkhide jacket, native arms]
AGI, México, 1064, L.1 \1\, “Informes,” fol.229v, = Boyd-Bowman, Indice geobiográfico, II:7394 = Icaza, Diccionario, #1001 [vecino of Puebla; native of Salamanca; son of Hernando Dalva, native of Salamanca and Catalina de Soto, native of Antequera; it will be 9 years since coming to New Spain; went with Vázquez de Coronado to Tierra Nueva with his armas and horse; it is his intention to stay here]
1570-1580:
?Catálogo, Resumen e Índices [1572, Jerónimo Cornejo de Pedrosa, escribano, Andrés Vázquez de Aldana, Á en Salamanca, que dijo ser natural de Sevilla e hijo de Hernán Vázquez, vecino de Sevilla, estante en México -ante el licenciado Martínez, alcalde mayor en Salamanca y ante el ilustre caballero Garci Suárez Carvajal, corregidor en Salamanca- dijo, etc. Testigos: Hernando de Alba, Juan Manojo, criados de Andrés Vázquez, que juraron conocerlo; Sebastián de la Villa, escribano, y Antonio de Pinedo, vecinos de Salamanca. Sebastián la Villa, Diego Arias y Jerónimo de Pedrosa, escribanos del número de Salamanca firmaron];
?AGNot, Fichas1, CD [p. 125: 1572, Consentimiento de emancipación, Andrés Vázquez de Aldana, Salamanca; witness is an Hernando de Alba]
Relatives:
?AGN, Instituciones Coloniales, GD61, Inquisición, Vol. 29, exp. 4, 1572 [minas de Pachuca, February 1572, denunciation by Francisca de Aguilar; Francisco de Alba and his unnamed wife were present in Aguilar’s home when an Hernando de Cervantes said that it was not a sin to have sexual relations with a black woman]
Other Info:
Piferrer, Nobiliario, 3:62-63, #1208 [family name originated in Vitoria, Álava; escudo of blue and a gold royal castle with 3 towers, the middle one taller, sumadas de un cuervo de su color cada una and at the foot of the castle 2 wolves also of gold, atados una a cada lado de la puerta];
Piferrer, Nobiliario, 3:62-63, #1209 [escudo of gold and a tree copado de su color and at the foot of the tree a wolf de su color]