Monty
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Location | Moorestown, New Jersey, United States |
| Introduction | The progenitor of my MONTOYA branch is Onofre Montoya. He was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1674 and married Ana Maria Martin at Santo Domingo Pueblo in 1694. Their son, Cristobal Montoya, was born in 1695. Based on a DNA test, I have a J2 Hapalong, which is considered a Sephardic Jewish gene. The gene originates in the Middle East and less than three percent of Spaniards and Portuguese have this gene. Interestingly, most of my DNA matches are from Portugal. Based on the FTDNA New Mexico database, I am related to the Diego Gonzales Blandin line from Coimbra, Portugal. I have no Montoya DNA matches in the database. My surname some how was changed to Montoya from Gonzales and I'm still trying to determine when this happened. My Jewish ancestors migrated to Portugal after the expulsion from Spain in 1492 and moved to Portugal. After the Inquisition heated up in Portugal in 1581, my ancestor, Diego Gonzales Blandin migrated to New Spain (Mexico) and, when the Inquisition began to gain momentum in Mexico City, he fled to New Mexico in 1598 with the Onate founding colony. On my maternal side, Pedro Duran Y Chavez was also a member of this colony. |