[1] Maria Josefa Jaramillo was born on March 19, 1828, at Santa Cruz de la Cañada, in the Rio Grande Valley near Taos.

[2] Her father was Francisco Jaramillo, a respected merchant, and her mother was Maria Apolonia Vigil.

They were introduced by Governor Charles Bent, who married Jaramillo's sister, Maria Ignacia.

Rebels broke into the home where the family was staying and assassinated Bent and Jaramillo's brother.

When he learned that Confederate soldiers were advancing on Taos, he notified Jaramillo, who fled with the family.

[3] According to scholar Johnson, "Tales like these were consistent with the apologetics of captivity in New Mexico, where claims of rescue and kinship obscured the coercion of slavery".

[1] Maria Josefa Jaramillo Carson died on April 27, 1868, at age 40,[4] due to complications from childbirth.

[1] Her descendants still speak of her with reverence for her perseverance despite her husband's absences and her strong familial connections and support.