García del Castillo was born in 1520 in Sevilla (Sevilla province). We prefer the García, son of Beltrán de Cortina/Cetina and Francisca del Castillo, who came to New Spain in 1535. He was 20 years old when he joined the Expedition. He was related through marriage to fellow expeditionary Diego López and was paid a salary by Viceroy Mendoza just prior to the departure of the Expedition for the north. He served under Vázquez de Coronado. It appears that García del Castillo was involved in the murder of fellow expeditionary, Alonso González, the elder, in Mexico City in 1542. Shortly after the case, he returned to Spain. Later García obtained a license to return to Mexico with his wife, doña Catalina López de Olivares, in 1561 to live in Veracruz. He had three children- doña Francisca del Castillo, Beltrán de Cetina, clerigo and Gonzalo López. He was the brother of the poet Gutiérre de Cetina. He died before 1584.
Pre 1530
AGI, Indiferente General, 421, L.11, #351 [fol.163: Sep 11, 1526, bonds for García del Castillo; ?AGI, Indiferente General, 421, L.12, #268 [fol.267: Jan 13, 1528, concerning having slaves without license]; ?AGI, Indiferente General, 422, L.16 [fol.131: Sept 28, 1534, license for 2 black male slaves]
1530-1540:
Boyd-Bowman, Indice geobiográfico, II:8898 (brother to the poet Gutierre de Cetina) = AGI, Pasajeros, L.2, E.1039 [García del Castillo, son of Beltrán de Cortina/Cetina and Francisca del Castillo, native of Sevilla, May 13, 1535 (the date is certainly right - this would make him about 17 years old)]; AGI, Pasajeros, L.2, E.1038 [May 13, 1535, Andrea del Castillo, daughter of García del Castillo and María de Moya, native of Sevilla (AGI, Pasajeros, L.2, E.1039, García del Castillo, this may be a cousin or aunt on his mother's side)]
AGI, Justicia, 258, pieza 1, “Relacion de los salarios” [fol.801r: Jan. 1540, a garcía del Castillo...Jan. 30, 1540...c pesos]
1540-1550:
1540, Feb: Muster in Flint & Flint, Documents, Document 12 [5 horses, elk hide jacket, chainmail vest, gauntlet, in the company of Vázquez de Coronado]
AGI, Justicia, 258, pieza 1, “Visita hecha al Virrey, 1544” [fol. 886r: Informacion concerning oidor Loaysa, witness is García del Castillo estante in Mexico City, Nov. 2, 1542];
AGI, Justicia, 269, Pieza 6 [Residencia a Hernán Pérez de Bocanegra, 1545, witness in 1544 in Ciudad de México is García del Castillo, has known Hernán Pérez de Bocanegra for about 9 years, about 26 years old, can sign his name];
AGI, Justicia, 270, Pieza 2 [October 1544: witness is García del Castillo, about 25 years old, is nephew of Gonzalo López’s wife, has known Gonzalo López for 12 years] [este testigo estaba en el camino de Çibola when López was chosen alcalde] [Castillo returned to México from the expedition in October 1542] [Castillo signed his name very fluidly (same as AGI, Justicia, 269, Pieza 6)]
AGI, Justicia, 146, N.1 [Rui Gonzalez contra Diego Rodríguez concerning the murder of his brother, Alonso] [Diego Rodríguez, vecino of Mexico City, longtime resident and son of one of the first conquerors, has his father's encomienda; 5 years ago que an cierto ruido que se ofrescio en la dicha ciudad de mexico fue herido un Alonso González de la qual herida por causas? que el hizo murio que por averse allado el en el dicho ruido aunque no tuvo culpa alguna por el audiencia real que reside en la dicha ciudad fue desterado de la dicha ciudad con 5 leguas alrededor, 1548; Ynés González is Alonso's daughter; 20 May 1543 was severely wounded and in Rui's house; from Alonso's statement the lieutenant alguacil went to arrest Diego Rodríguez, who was taking sanctuary in the iglesia mayor; others were involved; Rui accused Diego Rodríguez, Alonso de Gado and García del Castillo; 1546 finds all three-Rodríguez, Galdo and del Castillo in jail (might have been banished or fled)]
AGI, Justicia, 1021, N.2, pieza 5, “Probanza de don García López de Cárdenas” [witness: Guadalajara, Spain, 1546, Castillo, vecino of Sevilla, estante in Guadalajara, Spain, more than 25 years old] [could sign his name,(no signature in copy)] [says that he, Gorbalán, and Robles took four Indians to the pueblo where López de Cárdenas was, by Vázquez de Coronado’s order, on a day it snowed heavily] [has lived in the Indies for 11 years];
AGI, Patronato, 283, N.2, R.110 [request of Gaspar y Jeronimo del Castillo, and García Sánchez de Robles, vecinos of Sevilla; lost their case regarding non payment of salary on the previous year's trip to Nueva España]; AGI, Indiferente General, 1964, L.10 [fol.78v:real cédula a los oficiales de la Casa de la Contratación, para que den licencia para volver a Nueva España a García del Castillo, vecino of México, August 24, 1546];
1550-1560:
AGI, Justicia, 1023, N.2, R.3 [in September 1557, doña Antonia del Castillo, wife of Gonzalo López, calls as a witness García del Castillo, vecino of Sevilla in the parish of San Andrés, he is 37 years old; he is the nephew of doña Antonia; he can sign (but no signature in copy); he has known Gonzalo López for 23 years (since 1534) and has known doña Antonia for 30 years; this García del Castillo was living in Mexico City in 1534; he says that Gonzalo was one of the first settlers of Mexico; García del Castillo again testifies in 1558; he now says that he is a vecino of Sevilla in the parish of San Bartolomé; and he says he is about 35 years old and that he is the son of a sister of doña Antonia del Castillo; he says that Antonia and Gonzalo were married since 1534, in which year he went with Gonzalo to Nueva España; and he now reveals that that Gonzalo served as maestre de campo in the conquest of Nueva Galicia, for which service he was granted Cuyseo in encomienda; García del Castillo again signs (but no signature on copy)]
AGI, Indiferente General, 425, L.24 [fol.4: Dec. 11, 1560, license for 8 black male slaves]
1560-1570:
AGI, Pasajeros, L.4, E1635, [Dec. 23, 1561, García de Castillo, with wife Catalina López and Luisa Osorio, his criada to Nueva España] [natural de Sevilla, son Beltrán de Cetrina y de Francisca del Castillo, with his wife, doña Catalina López, native of Sevilla, daughter of judge Juan de Olivares and Beatriz López, to Nueva España]
AGI, Contaduría, 667A [a García del Castillo pays the tax on merchandise that has come for him at Veracruz]
1580-1590:
Palomino y Cañedo, Protocolos de Rodrigo Hernández Cordero, #4 [I, fols. 65r-69v: 16 Sept. 1586, Guadalajara: Will of doña Catalina López, wife of García del Castillo, deceased; wants her bones placed in the same sepulchre as her husband in Santo Domingo, Mexico City; Beltrán de Cetina, clerigo, son; in 1584 she had sent 1000 pesos to Spain to establish a capellanía [probably in Sevilla where she and García were from and probably in his name-therefore, he died before 1584]; she came with a dowry of 2000 ducats courtesy of her uncle, Gonzalo López and García gave another 2000 ducats as arras; she agrees that her daughter, doña Francisca del Castillo can marry Licenciado Pedro Altamirano, oydor of the royal audiencia and the dowry was 21,800 pesos de oro comun, casas, negros y ajuar and it was paid and she has a receipt; Gonzalo López, son; both children are at least 25 years old; Gonzalo López, her son, has a natural son called Juanico; some of her property was in Tasco; has estancias in Los valles de Ozumba con sus ganados y apero; unas casas que tengo en la ciudad de Mexico en la calle de los donzeles sobre las quales tengo 3000 esos de principal de censo questan cargados sobre ellas o lo que mi hermano Pero López de Olivares dijere; tres partes en una casa que tienen mis cuñados en la ciudad de Sevilla en la colacion de la Madre de Dios conforme a las escripturas que dello tengo; albacaes are her daughter and son-in-law, her brother and both sons; universal heirs are the 3 children]
Other Info:
Logic for age: in 1544 it says both about 26 and about 25 (1518/19); in 1546 says more than 25 (born before 1521); in 1557 it is reported that he is 37 (seems like a very specific age-b. 1520); a year later he says he is around 35; we are going with 1520, then the 1546 statement matches and the downward age in 1544 starts to approach 1520);
Porras Muñoz, El Gobierno de la Ciudad de México [don Gonzalo López, alcalde ordinario in 1542, went to Spain in 1544 and returned with his nephew, the poet Gutierre de Cetina; Gutierre’s sister also came (but when it isn’t clear) with her 2 brothers, don García del Castillo and don Beltrán de Cetina; they were all children of sevillanos don Beltrán de Cetina and dona Francisca del Castillo] (something wrong with info)]
Hillerkuss, Diccionario Biográfico, vol.1 [possibilities: 1)says Cetina for father; married doña Catalina López de Olivares, a relative; she had a significant dowry; 3 children; doña Francisca del Castillo who married Pedro Altamirano, oidor of the Audiencia of Nueva Galicia; Gonzalo López and Beltrán de Cetina, clerigo; died when he was alcalde mayor of Tasco; buried in the monastery of Santo Domingo, Mexico City; wife moved from Guadalajara with her fortune to Mexico City where she died in 1586 or shortly afterwards; 2)criado of doña Catalina López de Olivares; her will in 1586 in Guadalajara left money to him]