1790. Carta de Bernardo Alegre Verragudo, doctoral de la catedral de Astorga, para José Valdés, alcalde del crimen de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid.

Letter from Bernardo Alegre Verragudo, doctoral canon in the cathedral of Astorga, to José Valdés, public prosecutor of the Royal Chancellery in Valladolid.

Bernardo Alegre informs José Valdés that he has contacted the magistrate of the Royal House Court, named Colón, to find a solution for the case of Petronila Alegre, and that there was the possibility to take her to a hospice.

In 1790 the tribunal of the bishopric of Valladolid brought a lawsuit against Manuel Felipe García, priest of the parish of San Esteban, and Petronila Alegre, a single woman resident in the same city, for unlawful relationships. The case was then referred to the Chancellery of Valladolid where the testimonies of various witnesses were ratified. Petronila Alegre confessed that she had maintained a love relationship with Manuel Felipe García for almost fifteen years. At the beginning of their relationship, Petronila lived with her parents and she had been courted by Manuel Felipe, who had not taken vows yet, to the point that both discussed the possibility of getting married. However, the family disagreed with that possibility. A few years later, after the death of the parents of Petronila, the relationship resulted in closer contact that led to her pregnancy. On the 29th of January, 1790 the defendant gave birth to a girl who deposited at the Foundling House of the same city, and, after the postpartum quarantine, the lawsuit was bought against her and Manuel Felipe García. When asked about her source of income after the death of her parents, Petronila mentioned two members of the clergy who had allegedly helped her economically. The magistrate of the Chancellery, José Valdés, contacted them, and this brief epistolary exchange was included in the proceedings. The resolution of the case was settled with the separation of the lovers and the cloistering of Manuel Felipe García.