(Translated from the Spanish, with commentary,
by Alberto E. Ron. January, 1997.)
© 1997-2008, Alberto E. Ron - All Rights Reserved.
Tirso de Avíles said, referring to this noble and very ancient lineage
of Asturias: "The Lords1 of the House of Ron were always very principal2 knights
in the Council of Castropol, where they have their casa solar3, and
in ancient times demonstrated a laudable greatness, for each day, when it was time
to eat, they would place a man at the door of their tower and castle and with a
corneta (horn) signaled all who wished to eat to come to a set
table."
Alonso Nuñez de Castro, in the Memorial4 of Alonso Queipo del Llano
coincides with Tirso de Aviles with the following paragraph: "The
illustrious House of Ron is of very ancient5 lineage between Galicia and
Asturias; it has its seat between the two kingdoms, and their knights so
generous and rich that when they ate they made sound a horn announcing to all
that it was time to eat, and they offered a set table to those that arrived,
from where originates the saying of that kingdom: "To this song (sound)
those of Ron eat"6.
The Licenciado7 Molina, Rodriguez Méndez Silva, Father Henao,
José Pellicer, Rades de Andrade and other celebrated historians and
genealogists that we will continue to mention in this study, confirm the great
antiquity, luster, nobility and power of the House of Ron, whose descendants
linked with other illustrious Asturian families and were Richmen8, knights
of military orders, and Lords of many villages and places with civil and
criminal jurisdiction and numerous vassals.
In the reign of don Fernando I9, in the year 1050, doña Urraca de Ron married Garci
Méndez Sorred, one of the principal Richmen of that time, founder and
trunk of the great Sotomayor family10, as affirmed by Pellicer in his
Memorial of the Marques of Rivas and in that of the Count of Miranda, and
Felipe Bernardo de Quirós in the Genealogical Memorial of the House of
Olloniego.
While Alfonso VI11 reigned (in the years 1073 to 1109), doña Toda
Alvarez de Ron was married to Pedro Suaréz Gallego, also a Richman, from
Santa Maria de Ortigueira (Coruña), and this matrimony founded the house
of the Marqueses de los Vélez and the entire lineage of the Fajardo
family, Adelantados12 of Murcia and Marqueses of Molina, as written by Salazar
de Mendoza in the Dignidades Seglares de Leon, Pellicer in the Memorial
of the Count of Miranda13, Nuñez de Castro in the Memorial of the Queipo and
Felipe Bernardo de Quirós in that of the House of Olloniego.
The son or grandson of the previously cited Pedro Suaréz Gallego, was
another Pedro Suaréz Gallego, husband of doña Juana de Ron in the
reign of Alfonso VII ("The Emperor", lived 1104 to 1157). It is
mentioned by Francisco Cascales in his Historical Discourses of the City of
Martin Pérez de Ron served don (king) Fernando III14
"the saint" in the conquest of Andalucia, fighting always in the
lead, and was one of the four hundred knights to receive hereditary lands in
the
Juan Fernadez de Ron, while king Alfonso XI15 reigned, was Merino Mayor16 of
Doña Aldonza Rodriguez de Ron, daughter of the aforementioned Juan,
married Pedro Meléndez de Valdéz y de Salas and were great-great
grandparents of don Fernando de Valdéz, Archbishop of Sevilla, and the
progenitors of the Marqueses of Mirallo.
Pedro Mesia de
Ovando, in "La Ovandina", writes of Blasco Blázquez de
Ron, son of Blasco Fernández de Ron and of doña Elvira
Valdés, daughter of Juan Valdéz and of doña Lucía
de Estrada. He lived in the days of don (king)
Alfonso XI and was a Knight of
But Ovando is incorrect when he affirms that the principal house of Ron was in
the Asturias of Santillana, when it is evident that it was located in the
Asturias of Oviedo, and more specifically in the land called "cuatro
sacadas", of the place of Ron19, included in the Consejo of
Castropol. From this place the Rones passed to the present-day
Iñigo
López de Ron, Comendador21 de Calatrava, served don (king) Enrique II22 and
was his "Gentilhombre de boca"23 and
"Pagador Mayor"24.
Later successors of the House (of Ron) were
Sancho Méndez de Ron, founder of the principal chapel of the Pesoz
church , of which the Rones were the patron, and Diego Fernandéz de Ron25, and
following him the genealogy of this house appears in more continuous form from
father to son, in the form that follows:
I. This Diego Fernandéz de Ron married doña Gontroda
Osorio, and procreated:
II. Marcos Fernández de Ron, who in the reign of don Juan II26 made a
very considerable donation to the Royal Convent of Villanueva de Oscos, of the
Cisterian Order, according to the book of donations of this convent. It is
believed that he was the father of:
III. Lope Nuñez de Ron, called
"the old man", who served the Catholic Monarchs and joined in
matrimony with doña Mayor de Miranda, Lady (see footnote 1) of this
house in
1st Alvaro Díaz de Ron (more follows), and
2nd Sancho López de Ron, who served the Catholic Monarchs in the war of Granada and as Cabo 27 of the armed men that the Marquee of Astorga raised in Galicia which assisted in the reinforcement of the siege of Baza. He married three times: the first with doña María Arés de Ibias; the second with doña Maria de Lanzos Losada, and the third with doña Elvira Osorio. His descendants married with noble Spanish families.
IV. The firstborn, Alvaro Díaz de Ron, head of the Ron family,
contracted matrimony with doña Sancha de Parga, with who he had:
V. Lope Nuñez de Ron, second with this name, Captain of War of
the Consejo de Ibias, Lord of the strong tower or castle of Ron in Pesoz, of
the village of Cecos, today a parish belonging to the Ayuntamiento28 of
Ibias, and of many other places. He married doña Aldonza de Ibias y
Quirós, Lady of the Houses of Quirós and Ibias29 as
daughter of Gonzalo Bernaldo de Quirós and of doña Emilia
González de Ibias, Señores of the Houses of their
surnames. Don Lope and doña Aldonza founded a Mayorazgo 30 which
included all their possessions and all the rents of their houses plus the
castle of Pesoz on August 21 of 1521, stipulating that their children and their
descendants who succeeded them in the Mayorazgo were obligated to use
the surname Ron as their primary surname, to use the Coat of Arms of this
lineage, and to place them in the first right quarter of the shield whenever
they quartered their Coat of Arms with that of their spouses, under penalty of
losing the Mayorazgo if this was not done, in which case it would pass
to the next in line in parentage. The successor of their link and of the Mayorazgo
of the House of Ron was their first born son:
VI. Alvaro Díaz de Ron y Bernaldo de Quirós, who was Page
of King Felipe II and husband of doña Elvira de Cienfuegos y Rivera,
daughter of Gutiérrez de Cienfuegos, Señor of Allende y
Muros and Knight of Santiago, who after serving His Majesty for many years died
being the Corregidor 31 of Salamanca, and of his wife, doña Inéz
Alvarez de Rivera, Lady of this House, whom the Monarch honored in 1646 with
the title of Counts of Peñalva. Don Alvaro and doña Elvira had a
daughter:
VII. Antonia de Ron y Quirós, who married Alvaro Pérez de
Navia y Bolaño, Señor of Valdoselle and of the House of
Lienes in the Council of Navia. But, because they died without issue, the
inheritor of the Señorios, vinculos32 and
Mayorazgos of the House of Ron was their cousin:
VIII. Antonio de Ron y Valcárcel33, who had to assume the surname
Ron over Valcárcel34 of his father, even though it was so notable, in order to
obey the clause imposed in the requirements of the Mayorazgo by don Lope
Nuñez de Ron and his wife doña Aldonza Rodríguez de Ibias
y Quirós, as mentioned above. This don Antonio was the son of
doña Aldonza de Ron y Quirós (daughter, in turn, of Gonzalo
Bernaldo de Ron y Quirós and of doña Maria de Armesto y
Valcarce), and of Francisco de Valcárce y Balboa35 .
During almost forty years, don Antonio served as Captain of War in the Councils
of Ibias and Grandas. He married doña Leonor de Navia and Valdés,
native of Navia, daughter of Alonso López de Navia y Bolaño, Señor
of Valdoselle in Galicia and Captain of War in the Council of Navia, in
Asturias; granddaughter of the Licenciado Alvaro Pérez de Navia y
Rivadeneira, Oidor of the Royal Chancellery of Valladolid and Corregidor of the
Province of Guipúzcoa, and of doña Mencía de
Valdés, his wife, daughter in turn, of Juan de Llano y Valdés and
of doña Elvira de Velázquez y Cienfuegos, Señores
of Miralle and Valdinquillo, Marqueses of Mirallo, and niece of don Fernando de
Valdés, who after many and great services made to the Catholic Monarch,
to Emperor Charles V, and to Felipe II, was President of Castille, Archbishop
of Seville, Inquisitor General of these kingdoms and Governor of these, and one
of the greatest prelates that Spain has ever had, who is credited with the
founding of the literary University of Oviedo. Don Antonio Ron y Valcarce and
doña Leonor de Navia y Valdés had the following children:
1st. Lope Nuñez de Ron y Valcarce, which follows.
2nd. Antonio de Ron y Valcarce,
which follows.36
3rd. Alonso
de Ron y Valcarce, of which also more follows, and
4th. Antonia
de Ron y Valcarce, who married, and whose descendants inherited the House of
Ron, as will be seen.
IX. Lope Nuñez de Ron y Valcarce inherited the House and Mayorazgos.
In 1646 he raised a company of soldiers consisting in great part from his
vassals and with them joined the wars in
X. Antonio de Ron y Valcarce, Canon37 of Santiago of Galicia , Calificador
38
of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, of the Council of the King and his (the
king's) Chaplain. Upon his death, his brother succeeded him:
XI. Alonso de Ron y Valcarce, born in the Parish of Cecos, who was
Captain of War of the Councils of Grandas and Pesoz. He married doña Ana
Bernaldo de Quirós39, native of Pola de Lena (daughter of Francisco Bernaldo de
Quirós, native of Pola de Lena, and of doña Ana Bernaldo de
Quirós, native of Figaredo, Parish of the Ayuntamiento of
Mieres). They were parents of:
1st. Miguel de Ron y Bernaldo de Quirós, which follows.
2nd. Antonio
de Ron y Bernaldo de Quirós, native of Cecos, of the Council of His
Majesty, Knight of Santiago in 1690 and Treasurer of the Royal Audience of
Quito. He died without issue upon returning to Spain under license of King
Felipe V in the clash between the Spanish and English navies in Cartagena of
the Indies (present Cartagena of Colombia), and
3rd. Francisco de Ron y Bernaldo de Quirós, which will follow.
XII. Miguel de Ron y Bernaldo de Quirós was born in Cecos
and married doña Beatriz de Miranda Ordóñez, daughter of
the Houses of Saavedra and Maldonado in
XIII. Francisco de Ron y Bernaldo de Quirós, who also died
without children, although he married doña Felipa Antonia
Menéndez de Luarca y Tineo, Señora of the House of Lienes.
Because the direct succession was severed, the House of Ron, with all of its vínculos,
Mayorazgos and Señorios fell upon:
XIV. Bartolomé
de Ron y Valcarce, as grandson of doña Antonia de Ron y Valdés y
Valcarce (daughter of Antonio de Ron y Valcarce and of doña Leonor de
Navia y Valdés, cited in paragraph VIII above). Don Bartolomé married doña María de
Ibias y Pataguín, Señora of these Houses, and from this
union were born:
1st. Miguel
Antonio de Ron Valcarce Ibias y Quirós, which follows.
2nd. Bartolomé, who died being Brigadier (general), in the service of King Fernando Vi in 1757.
3rd. & 4th. Paula and Rosa, who were successively, Abbesses of the Convent of the Conception, in Ponteferrada.
XV. Miguel Antonio de Ron Valcarce Ibias y Quirós appears married
to a lady of the same name and surname as the wife of don Francisco, cited in
paragraph XIII, that is, Felipa Antonia Menéndez de Luarca, and also a
member of the House of Lienes, which causes confusion between them. Sons of don
Miguel Antonio were:
1st. Lope Matías de Ron Valcarce Ibias, which follows.
2nd. Antonio Francisco, Colegial40 del Mayor de Oviedo in the University of Salamanca; Provisor and Canon Treasurer of the Cathedral of Segovia and later Canon of the Cathedral of Toledo, where he died prematurely in 1780, causing a general feeling of loss for his renown talents and his many virtues, as stated in a letter from the Archbishop, and
3rd. Friar Juan, of the Order of Saint Benedict, Abbot of Oviedo and Santiago, Visitor of his religion, and finally, General of the Order.
XVI. Lope Matías de Ron Valcarce e Ibias succeeded in the House
and married, in 1757, doña Josefa Simona Queipo del Llano y
Valdés, daughter of the Counts of Toreno, and being born of this link:
1st. Lope
Benito de Ron Queipo del Llano, which follows.
2nd. Vicente, Doctor of Theology, Lieutenant Vicar General of
3rd. Ramón, Captain of the Company of Guardias de Corps. Due to the general mobilization decreed by the War of Independence (fighting the Napoleonic invasion), he incorporated into the army of operations, and after participating in glorious actions of war, obtained the rank of Coronel of Húsares of Fernando VII.
4th. Antonio, who being a member of the battalion of volunteers from the University of Oviedo, where he was a law student, also fought in the War of Independence in the army of General Ballesteros, obtaining for his brilliant comportment the rank of Coronel, and
5th. María Josefa, Abbess of a convent in
XVII. Lope Benito de Ron Queipo
XVIII. Estanislao de Ron y Caballero, who was the last Lord of the House
of Ron and of its vínculos and Mayorazgos because of the
suppression of the Señorios by the Cortes of Cádiz, and by
the Law of Desvinculación of October 11, 1820. He was elected Deputy to
the Cortes for