Jane Calvin Sanchez’ parents met when her mother Ruth was on vacation at Bishops Lodge, where her father, Frank was working as a wrangler. They married and settled on Frank’s ranch outside Cerrillos, NM, on the San Marcos Land Grant. Ruth’s father, a physician in Chicago insisted that she return to Chicago where there were “adequate" medical facilities, to have her child, Jane, who was born on April 27, 1929. Mother and child were back in New Mexico, on the ranch, within a month, and that is where Jane Sanchez grew up.
Jane received her B.A. in Modern Languages from the University of New Mexico in 1951, with a major in Spanish. Sanchez worked for the New Mexico Historical Review while at UNM. Her professional interest in history focused on the Spanish Colonial Period, specifically land grants. Sanchez worked with historian, Dr. Victor Westphall, as a researcher and translator. She also assisted other historians and individuals with their research, including Reies López Tijerina. In 1966 she concentrated exclusively on land grant research with in-depth study of the Spanish and Mexican laws, particularly, the Recopilación de las Indias. Jane Sanchez was also a playwright who researched New Mexico historical figures and events and drafted fiction, nonfiction and situation comedy scripts for TV, movies and documentaries. Jane Sanchez died on February 12, 2006 in Albuquerque, NM.
From the guide to the Jane C. Sanchez Papers, 1663-2004, 1966-2004, (University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research)
