Header image
Top 100  •  doc 96
Public sale of properties of Natividad Rivera, San Rafael del Norte  (sept 1919)
 
T O P     1 0 0     D O C S

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

Public sale of the properties of Natividad Rivera (deceased), San Rafael del Norte, 1919

     How did this original record of September 1919 of the public sale of lands in the estate of Sr. Natividad Rivera of San Rafael del Norte end up in the Marine-Guardia file on Sandinista General Pedro Blandón?  Blandón was killed in April 1931 on a Sandinista raid on Puerto Cabezas (see TOP 100, P. 64).  Evidently the Marines-Guardia, as part of an investigation or inquiry into Blandón’s family, took this record from the municipal record book and never gave it back.

      The six-page document offers an intriguing glimpse into the place that later became a kind of spiritual epicenter of the Sandino rebellion.  Sandino’s marriage to Blanca Aráuz in May 1927 cemented his place in the municipio’s social fabric.  This 1919 record suggests broader patterns with respect to kinship & familial relations, property ownership, the coffee and commercial revolutions, and other aspects of sanrafaeleño society seven years before Sandino first arrived on the scene in fall 1926.  The document shows, among other things, a brisk local market in real estate, with properties routinely changing hands and commercial enterprises of significant local import.  It also shows a substantial class of small-scale agricultural entrepreneurs, men (and women) who bought, sold, owned, worked, and improved land  (click on thumbnails for full images of the originals):

     Certain surnames recur here:  Rivera, Blandón, Aráuz, Pineda, as well as Castro, Monzón, Zeledón, Lumbí, Jérez, Herrera, Altamirano, and others.  Eight years later, most of these surnames became closely associated with Sandino and his movement.  Señora Pastora Blandón de Rivera in particular emerges as a notable character – a property-holding woman who ends up with one of the the smallest purchases (the parcel within San Rafael del Norte & the 5,000-coffee tree finca El Coyolar for $317.50), but who also seems to hold her own competing against prominent men in a public auction.  Efforts to map out these parcels have led to some interesting (if not yet presentable) results.  This is the kind of document that can be milked for information of many kinds.  (Right now only the Marine-Guardia's English translation is transcribed, divided into paragraphs to make it easier to read; the Spanish transcription is forthcoming; meantime everything is in the JPEG files above.)

San Rafael del Norte at the signing of the provisional peace accords, February 1933, more than 13 years after this probate record was issued; photo kind courtesy of Walter C. Sandino.

San Rafael del Norte, July 2010, photo by Michael J. Schroeder

 

The Expreso Arauz in San Rafael del Norte, July 2010, photo by Michael J. Schroeder

 

TESTIMONY #138

In the city of Jinotega, at 11.30 a.m., 27 Sept., 1919, before me Onesiforo Rizo Gadea, Attorney at Law of the Republic, living in this town, reported Señor Donoso Ramón Zeledón and Sr. Ezequiel Aráuz, agriculturers and living in the town of San Rafael del Norte, and señora Pastora Blandón de Rivera, of domestic services, living here, the 3 persons married, of age and capable for any obligation, well known by me, and the first one said:

That he is in charge for the inheritance from Dr. Natividad Rivera, with authority for making inventories and for the distribution of such inheritance, and that in compliance with the law he had proceeded to make the distribution by selling in public action those properties which cannot be divided, as per the act of sale which reads:

“In the city of Jinotega, at 10:00 a.m., 13 September 1919, the undersigned in charge of the inheritance and in charge for the distribution of same reported to this office in company of the Lawyer who authorizes the transaction at 9:00 a.m. in order to attend the proposals in the sale of the properties in public action, which are the following: A pasture ground called El Carrizal, jurisdiction of San Rafael del Norte, of about 16 acres of land, with fences of barbed wire and with the following limits: East, El Salitro Volcano; West, pasture ground of Francisco Rivera; North, pasture ground of Crisanto Blandón; and by the South with the San Rafael river. It was appraised in the value of $160.00, and the best proposal for it was the one from Sr. José Santos Rivera, who offered $416.00.

A property called “El Ingenio”, located in San Rafael del Norte, of about 60 manzanas of land, being a part of the land of his own property and the rest being Municipal property, with wire fence, 3 manzanas cultivated with sugar cane belonging to Santos Rivera, and six manzanas belonging to Sixto Rivera, with 1500 coffee trees in poor condition, pasture grounds, a House in good state, a machinery house for sugar cane which is not installed, everything with the following limits: North, properties of Juan Pineda and Ezequiel Ar
áuz; South, property of Jacinto Lumbí; East, land of Luis Ubeda; West, road which leads from Sabana Grande to El Pencal. It was appraised in the amount of $1600.00; and only Dr. Lopez García, an attorney of Ezequiel Aráuz, offered the sum of $1,735.00.-

A piece of land of about 65 hectares located in San Rafael del Norte, limits: East, a denounced ground by Bartolomé Jérez; West, piece of land denounced by Pedro Carmen Pineda; North grounds of Natividad Rivera, Bonifacio Méndez and other ones, and by the South, by the common land of that town. It was appraised in the amount of $195.00, and only proposal was made by the attorney of Sr. Ezequiel Aráuz, who offered $200.00;

Another piece of land located in the same place, of about 34 hectares, limited by the North and West by land of José Ramón Pineda; South, land of Basilio Castro, and East, by Juan María Monzon’s land. It was appraised in $102.00, and the unique proposal was made by the same attorney – above-mentioned, who offered $105.00.

A building located in the South Canton of this town with the following limits: East, houses of Marcelino Altamirano; West, [p. 2] house of Salomé Rizo; North, house of Miguel Rivera and South, house of Evaristo Rivera, it was valued for $1500.00, and the same lawyer was the best offer for the house with the sum of $2,650.00.-

A finca in the place El Coyolar, jurisdiction of Yalí, 5000 coffee trees and a manzana of sugar cane, limits: North, national land, South, properties of Mercedes Rivera and Julian Castro; West, land of Anastacio Castro, East, some volcanoes, value $431.20, and the unique proposal was from señora Pastora Rivera in the amount of $287.50;

A piece of land located in San Rafael del Norte with an extension of 70 yards from North to South, cultivated with coffee and some fruits; limits: North and East, properties of Santos Aráuz; South, national land, West, house of Micaela Blandón. Pastora Rivera was the unique one who made a proposal offering $30.00 which is its inventory value;

Another piece of land called La Canasta in jurisdiction of San Rafael del Norte, limits: East, mountain of El Pencal, lands of Eusebio Zelaya and Rosa Herrera, West, mountain El Cedro, North, Río Grande; South, lands of Chamorro, Suárez and Juan María Monzón. Its inventory value is $234.00, and the best proposal for same was made by Sr. José Santos Rivera, who offered $265.00.

No proposals for the 2 houses in San Rafael del Norte and the Finca Los Archiotes, and being this hour the proper time to finish with this transaction and being the proposals suitable for the conditions of the properities, all the mentioned properties are hereby sold to out in the following manner:

El Carrizal and La Canasta to Sr. José Santos Rivera for the amount of $681.00.-

The finca El Ingenio, the 2 pieces of land in San Rafael del Norte and the house in this city to Ezequiel Aráuz, value $4,690.00-

The piece of land in San Rafael del Norte and the finca El Coyolar to señora Pastora Rivera, value $317.50.-

The act is finished and the deed was written to the interested parties who approved it and signed it.-

The corresponding documents for the properties will be issued by this authority.- 8 signatures.-

Sr. Zeledón continue saying: that by virtue of the above act he transfers the following properties:

El Ingenio, a piece of land of 34 h. and the house in the Canton of this town to Sr. Ezequiel Aráuz for the sum of $4,690.00, and Sr. Aráuz accepts same.-

The finca El Coyolar and the piece of land in San Rafael del Norte to señora Pastora Blandón de Rivera for $317.50, Señora Rivera accepts same.-

I, the Lawyer, state, that I have had before me the documents of the mentioned properties and that they registered as follows: House of this town, #967; 1 piece of land #484; 1 piece of land #493; finca El Ingenio #695; finca Coyolar #2087; the piece of land of San Rafael del Norte is not registered. No one of the above properties have any mortgage as per statement of the respective official which together with the receipts of the Government tax I keep in my record. No municipal tax is owed for account of the house, and it is noted that the finca El Ingenio is also registered in favor of the Government and then rented by Sixto Rivera. I also took evidence that same properties were on due time reported to the Government Tax office, and that Sr. Rivera paid the Public Education tax for the 2nd part of this year, also the certificate of the Government Tax which states that Sr. Rivera paid the tax corresponding to the 2nd part of the year.-

The Judge of this District, Sr. Leonidas Segundo Mena, certifies: that all proceeding in favor of Sr. Donoso Ramón Zeledón in which he accepts to be in charge for the distribution of the inheritance of Sr. Natividad Rivera, is stated in the act which reads as follows:

“Jinotega, 12:00 m. 26 Jan. 1917, Sr. Donoso Ramón Zeledón present in this office of the District Judge, of age, married, business man and living in San Rafael del Norte, who was appointed in charge for the distribution of the inheritance of Sr. Natividad Rivera, same stated in Rivera’s last will, and Sr. Zeledón reports here with the purpose to be authorized for the performing of said duty, I, the undersigned Judge, received from him the oath prescribed by the law, he rendered the oath in presence of my Secretary, and therefore his is authorized for same in conformity with the laws. He signs this act with me and my secretary.-

I certify that this copy is a legal one and I issue the same at the request of the interested party in Jinotega, 12:00 m. 26 January, 1917.-

The Public Recorder of this Department, certifies, that this document was recorded today under #277, pages 76 and 77 Book III of the Records.” All the persons present expressed their will in this way before the witness Filemon Altamirano, a single man, bookkeeper, and Sr. Antonio Zelaya, married, blacksmith, the 2 ones well known by me and living in this town, before whom I read this document to the interested parties which they accepted, approved and signed. ...

RG127/192/Pedro Blandón

 

T O P     1 0 0     D O C S      •      H O M E P A G E     L I S T 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

top of page