The sources consulted revealed many records concerning Juan de Páez from the year 1637 on. In that year, the Japanese must have been around twenty-nine, the year his first son was born. He and his wife Margarita baptized him Luis, after his grandfather Luis de Encío. We speculate that Margarita de Encío and Juan de Páez were married between 1635 and 1636, when Margarita –must have been least fifteen years old. It is easy to imagine that Luis de Encío was pleased to hand over his only daughter to a man who shared with him the same place of origin, a well-educated man who could be looked upon as a guarantee of future security and happiness for his beloved child. 

 

Juan de Páez and Margarita founded a large family on the solid basis of a marriage that was only broken when the former passed away in 1675. In four decades of marriage, Margarita and Juan produced nine children. The majority, six, were women: María was the third sibling and the first daughter, followed by younger sisters Josepha, Juana, Petrona, Francisca and Margarita Their sons were Luis, the first-born, later Andrés and Juan. Of these three sons, only Andrés survived birth; Luis and Juan probably died young for they were not mentioned in their parents’ wills. Together, the surviving children produced thirteen grandchildren, some of them born after Juan’s death. 

 

The Páez-Encío family was part of the privileged core of Tapatía (Guadalajara) society of the time. They rubbed shoulders with the city’s high society when Juan obtained the stewardship of the cathedral and was appointed executor to the estates of noted church and colonial personnel. Members of the Páez-Encío family appear many times in the baptismal records as godparents to the legitimate children of prominent Tapatía families. As we will see below, Páez’s sagacity in business and astute management of the tithe not only helped the church prosper, but also supplied him with the means and contacts to amass a considerable personal fortune that made him one of the richest merchants in town.
 

How did the Páez-Encío fit in the Tapatía society? The information available indicates that the Páez-Encío’ house was on the city’s first block, on San Agustín Street, probably occupying a quarter of a block, which was later subdivided as it was customary at the time. From the records and blueprints consulted, we know that the house was located from the San Agustín convent to the west in the next block, that is, at present it would be on Morelos Street between the San Agustín Temple and the Governor’s Palace. We do not know when Páez purchased that lot, but it probably coincided with the height of his fortunes. [Note this house on same map as Encío’s house]