Francisco Roxo Loro was a native of Sicily and the son of Sebastian Roxo and Inés Acosta. The addition of the word "Loro" may have pertained to the color of his skin rather than a known surname. Francisco came to New Spain in 1523, making him one of the earliest expeditionaries with New World experience. He served with Cortés on the Nicaragua-Honduras expedition. He was present at the 1540 muster as an unassigned horseman. His son of the same name was also on the Expedition. After the return of the Expedition, Francisco took up residence in western Mexico.
pre-1530:
Millares Carlo y Montecón, Indice y extractos, I:683 [July 30, 1527, Rojo, estante in Mexico City, poder to Francisco de Santa Cruz], 698 [Aug 5, 1527, estante, owed money by Juan Marin];
1530-1540:
AGGEC, Diego Hurtado, Registro 1 [p. 7-9: 1536 Junio 29; witnesses to a poder of Francisco de Villegas, Diego de Salamanca, Francisco Rojo, vecinos and estantes in the said ciudad, Compostela?; also witness to a poder of Juan de Villalba, June 13, 1536];
AGI, Justicia, 337A [fol.67v: 1537, witness states that Francisco Rojo was in charge of the mines in Culiacán];
AGI, Justicia 337B [fol.347r: 1537, a witness states that Guzmán sent a Francisco Royo [Roxo?], miner, along with other vecinos to discover gold mines];
?Millares Carlo y Montecón, Indice y extractos, I:2263 [fol. 447r: April 10, 1537, Poder especial granted by Francisco de Loro, estante en México, to Pedro de Ávila];
1540-1550:
1540, Feb.: Muster in Flint & Flint, Documents, Document 12 [three horses, head armor, native arms]
AGI, Justicia, 339, N.1, R.3 [August 1544, sobre ciertos pueblos, Francisco Cornejo testifies that a Francisco Roxo was a miner who dug gold at certain pueblos and was now in Jalisco or the minas de los Reyes];
González-Leal, Relación Secreta [p. 78-81: Xalisco: Francisco Roxo, tiene indios; p. 90-92: Vecinos de Compostela: Francisco Rojo, tiene el pueblo de Cora];
AGI, México, 1064, L.1\1, “Informes” [fol.258r] = Boyd-Bowman, Indice geobiográfico, II:13026 = Icaza, Diccionario, #1207 [vecino of Compostela; native of Çeçilia; son of Sebastián Roxo and Inés Acosta; 24 years in these places; with Gil González de Ávila in the conquest of Higueras, Honduras, Nicaragua [1523-24]; after came to Nueva España; pacification of Motín; went to Tierra Nueva de Cíbola all at his own cost with his armas and horses without remuneration except for some Indians by Vázquez de Coronado in the sierras de Jalisco that aren’t any good; has children];
Papeles de Nueva España, “Suma de visitas,” p.88-89 [Cora en Nueva Galicia: Los principales destos pueblos son Chichimecas montarazes; no quisieron parecer; dizen que son los indios deste pueblo muchos y muchas estancias; es tierra fragossa esta por lo alto de la sierra dende el Rio de Guaynamota hasta el de Omitlan];
AGGEC, Juan de la Torre, Registro 2 [p. 25-29:1548 August 30, will of Pero Gómez, owes Francisco Rojo 1 1/2 pesos de tepuzque que le prestó para tamemes,witness: Juan Gómez]
1560-1570:
AGI, Patronato, 182, R.3 [October 1561, Guadalajara, Límites de Nueva Galicia; interrogatorio asks whether the witnesses know Rodrigo de Frías, vecino de Guadalajara and alcalde mayor of the mines of Comanja y Señora que estan en este reino; and whether they know don Diego de Guevara, alcalde mayor que fue de este reino [Nueva Galicia]; central issue is whether the Rio Grande as far as Querétero is one of the boundaries of Nueva Galicia; Guanajuato and the valle de Oxitipa are also involved; petition mentions that Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, gobernador que fue, conceded Querétaro to Pedro Vázquez, vecino de Compostela; then de la Torre gave it to Francisco Barrón, vecino de Guadalajara; a Pedro Gómez de Contreras is mentioned as a former teniente de alcalde mayor en las minas de Guanajuato; then "vuestra audiencia deste reino proveydo a Rodrigo de Frías, vecino de Guadalajara por alcalde mayor y justicia en las minas nuevas que se han descubierto en las sierras de Comanja que estan mucho mas cercanas a esta dicha ciudad [Guadalajara]...y estando el dicho alcalde mayor Rodrigo de Frías administrando e haciendo justicia un Juan de Jaso, vecino de la ciudad de México, con mano armada y gente que consigo trajo...;" Jaso went to where Frías was "con vara alta y con mucha gente armada y entro en las dichas minas...y le quito la vara que asi tenia en las manos forzablemente...y le maltrato e le trajo su persona;" Jaso had a provisión from Luis de Velasco; Pedro de Ledesma is one of the signatories to the petition, as a regidor of Guadalajara; Juan Tellez, escribano público, mentions ongoing pleitos with Cristóbal Pérez and Álvaro Ruíz, procuradores de la audiencia real de Nueva España, and with several other persons; an Hernando Alvarado, estante en Guadalajara, is a witness in November 1561; according to interrogatorio, Nuño de Guzmán granted Querétaro to Lope de Samaniego; "por fin y muerte del dicho Lope de Samaniego Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, gobernador que fue...deposito el pueblo de queretaro en Pero Vázquez, vecino de la ciudad de Compostela;" a witness to the presentation of witnesses is Francisco Roxo, vecino de Guadalajara; witnesses called include Rodrigo de Frías and Alonso Martín, vecinos de Guadalajara; Alonso Martín is a conquistador of Nueva Galicia, more than 55 years old; he only heard about Vázquez de Coronado substituting Pedro Vázquez for Lope de Samaniego; according to witness Diego Hurtado, "Pedro Vázquez vino a este reino al tiempo que el gobernador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado volvio de la conquista de Cíbola...y el dicho Francisco Vázquez lo tenia por suyo [because Pedro Vázquez had lost his mind] e ? xaramyllo trato pleito sobre ello e este vido que paso en el año de quarenta e tres"];
AGI, Contratación, 201, N.3, R.2 [1561, 26 Nov, Guadalajara, Probanza of Diego de Ariza, Pero Hernández Calvo is dead by this date; Alonso Martín, was albacea for Pero Hernández Calvo, witnesses: Francisco Rojo, Cristóbal Romero and Alonso Martin];
BPE, “Bienes de difuntos,” Folder C1-4-4, 1566 [fol. 82r: Bienes de Difuntos de Gerónimo de Horozco, no date, a Juan Téllez completes payment on behalf of Gerónimo Orozco, now dead, for 21 libras of yellow wax and 9 libras of white wax; fol. 83r: July 4, 1566, Guadalajara, an Ynéz López is listed as the widow of a Francisco Roxo; she is a vecina of Guadalajara and acknowledges receipt of payments for the above wax]
Relative: ?Cerda Farías, Tiripetío [p.26: 1529, May 26- Cortés's representatives in Michoacán, Sebastian Rojo and Hernando Ladrón, were advised that they could no longer collect tribute from 27 pueblos in the area]