Bernardo Elío y Elío, 7th Marquess of Las Hormazas (1867–1937), was a Spanish aristocrat and politician. He supported the Carlist cause. During the late Restoration period he formed part of the regional Aragon party executive. He is known mostly as the local Traditionalist leader in the province of Gipuzkoa, especially during the lifetime of the Second Spanish Republic; he briefly served also in the supreme party executive without playing a major role in shaping the nationwide party politics. He was an inner-circle aristocrat ruling the local Traditionalist structures.
Family and youth
The Elíos, since the Mid-Ages related to Valle de Echauri,señorio of Elio, acquired by the family in the Middle Ages, throughout decades remained a rather tiny estate. In the early 19th century it consisted of 66 acres and supported a population of 15 people; it was leased to 4 other landholders, John Lawrence Tone, The Fatal Knot: The Guerrilla War in Navarre and the Defeat of Napoleon in Spain, Raleigh 2018, , p. 218 during the Modern Period became owners of many estates, scattered across central and Northern Navarre.in the early modern times the Elíos by means of marriage took possession of estates in Subiza; also in early modern times they merged with the family of Ayanz, owners of estates in Valle de Longuida near Aoiz, and then with the Jaureguizar, related to Valle de Baztan, José María Sesé Alegre, Poder y elites an la Navarra tardomoderna. Las familias Aperregui y Elío, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 15 (1993), p. 269 Family representatives held various prestigious positions, for centuries served in the CortesSesé Alegre 1993, p. 269 and were briefly care-takers of Virreinato de Navarra.Sesé Alegre 1993, pp. 271–272 By means of marriages they acquired Marquesado de Vesolla in the early 18th century and Marquesado de las Hormazas in the early 19th century.Lucio R. Perez Calvo, El Marquesado de Las Hormazas, [in:] Hidalguía LXI (2014), p. 481 The holder of both titles and Bernardo's grandfather, Francisco Javier Elío Jiménez-Navarro (1800–1880), passed the Vesolla title to his oldest son, while the Las Hormazas title went to the second son and Bernardo's father, Joaquín Elío Mencos (1832–1876).Pedro Joaquín Elio Mencos, Marques De Homazas entry, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here The family was heavily related to other aristocratic Navarrese families, like Marquéses de Lealtad,in 1824 the title of Marqués de Lealtad was granted to Bernardo Elío Leizaur, a very distant paternal relative Marquéses de Vadillo,Bernardo Elío y Elío’s paternal aunt, Manuela Elío Mencos, married Pedro González de Castejón, Marqués de Vadillo Duqués de Bailén,Bernardo Elío y Elío’s paternal cousin, Manuel González de Castejón Elío, married duquesa de Bailén, María de la Encarnación Fernández de Córdoba y Carondelet Condes de GuenduláinBernardo Elío y Elío’s paternal grandfather married María Micaela Mencos Manso de Zúñiga, daughter to Conde de Guenduláin; the title went to her brother, i.e. Bernardo Elío y Elío’s maternal uncle and other.
Joaquín Elío married his cousin, Petra Celestina Elío Arteta (1836–1909), descendant to another Navarrese landholder family and already a widow.María Zozaya Montés, El Casino de Madrid: ocio, sociabilidad, identidad y representación social [PhD thesis Universidad Complutense], Madrid 2008, p. 257 It is not clear whether the couple settled in PamplonaBernardo Elío y Elío was born in Pamplona, Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. 29, Sevilla 1960, p. 126 or at one of family estates;it is not clear what exactly were the estates owned by the family. One of them might have been so-called señorio de Bertiz, which in the 18th century passed from the Alduncín family to the Elios. Eventually the property went to Bernardo Elío y Elío’s paternal uncle, Fausto Elío Mencos; in the 1880s he sold the señorio, Andoni Esparza Leibar, El parque natural del Señorio de Bertiz, s. l. 2001, , p. 58. However, in the 1910s Bernardo Elío y Elío owned some property along the Elizondo-Irun railway line, which might have been some remnants of the Bertiz estate they had at least 3 children, Bernardo, EduardoEl Correo Español 11.03.09, available here. There is no further information about his fate except that he got married, La Epoca 28.11.96, available here and Francisca Javiera.she married Jacinto Pitarque and settled in Zaragoza. Their son Joaquín Pitarque Elío became the dean of Aragon agricultural engineers Following premature death of Joaquín Elío, result of his engagement in the Third Carlist War, in the late 1870s the widow and children settled in Zaragoza;the widow spent the rest of her days in Zaragoza, El Correo Español 11.03.09, available here the family Navarrese property was embargoed and possibly expropriated,embargoing properties of individuals engaged in Carlist insurrection was standard procedure, applied also to Joaquín Elío, see La Correspondencia de España 02.07.75, available here. At times the embargo could have lasted for years, at times it could have led to expropriation. It is not clear what was the procedure followed in case of the Elío properties while her well-off relatives lived in the Aragón capital.she was “emparentada con las principales familias de esta ciudad”, La Correspondencia de España 12.03.09, available here; the families in question were probably duques de Bailén and marqueses de Vadillo, La Epoca 14.03.09, available here The young Bernardo was growing up in Zaragoza, though he has always cherished his Navarrese heritage.in 1893 Bernardo Elío counted himself among “los que han nacido en Navarra, y han respirado su puro ambiente”, El Tradicionalista 21.06.93, available here He studied law at the Zaragoza UniversityFerrer 1960, p. 126 and graduated probably in the late 1880s,compare e.g. Memoria del Curso, Zaragoza 1883, available here. As the Zaragoza University student he signed protest letter in 1884, El Siglo Futuro 04.12.84, available here though he has never practiced.none of the sources consulted claims that he practiced as lawyer; he has never been referred in the press as “abogado” or similar. There is one historiographic work which mentions “abogado tradicionalista Bernardo Elío (marqués de las Hormazas)”, Carmelo Landa Montenegro, Bilbao, 4 de enero de 1937: memoria de una matanza en la Euskadi autónoma durante la Guerra Civil española, [in:] Bildebarrieta 18 (2007), p. 90. No source specifies what was the source of Elío’s income; he probably lived off the land rent
In 1895El Correo Español 21.03.95, available here; apparently he did not seek the royal permission to marry, required in case of aristocracy; in 1915 he retractively tried to settle the issue, Revista de Historia y Genealogia Española 1915, p. 367, available here Elío married Teresa Zubizarreta Olavarría (1870–1936),she died on August 21, 1936. It is not clear whether her death was anyhow related to outbreak of the civil was in general or detention of her husband in particular. On July 4, 1936 she was reported in the press as “enferma”, ABC 04.07.36, available here descendant to a distinguished Gipuzkoan landowner family from Ataun in the Tolosa county.Teresa Zubizarreta Olavarria entry, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here The couple settled in Zaragoza, though later they moved to Zubizarreta properties in Gipuzkoa; it is not clear how many children they had. The only one known was Bernardo Elío Zubizarreta, the 8. Marqúes de las Hormazas;Bernardo Elío Zubizarreta got his marquesado confirmed by Franco in 1949, see BOE 344 (1949), available here marginally involved in Carlism in the early Francoist era,in the 1940s he was considered “falcondista antifranquista”, Manuel Santa Cruz Alberto Ruiz de Galarreta, Apuntes y documentos para la historia del Tradicionalismo español, 1939-1966, Madrid 1979, vol. 4–5, p. 109, also Manuel Martorell Pérez, Antonio Arrue, Euskaltzaindiaren suspertzean lagundu zuen karlista, [in:] Euskera 56 (2011), p. 856 he did not become a public figure. Neither did any of the Elío Lopetedihe had at least 7 grandchildren, Bernardo de Elío Zubizarreta entry, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here grandchildren;Carmen Elío Lotepedi commenced the de Ovando y de Elío line, while José Antonio Elio Lopetedi commenced the Elío Sanz de Vicuña branch following death of Bernardo Elío Lopetedi the 9. Marqués de las Hormazas in 2016Bernardo Elio Lopetedi got his marquesado confirmed in 1985, ABC 08.09.85, available here the title is vacant.Arcadio Calvo Gómez, Profesionales del ámbito de la juventud de varios países de Europa vuelven a Almagro en el segundo curso de atención especializada a los jóvenes, [in:] Ciudad-Almagro service, available here
Numerous Elío's more distant relatives grew to prominence. Among his predecessors many from the Elío Ezpeleta, Elío y Elío and Zubizarreta branches distinguished themselves as legitimist military or officials, serving either in the First or/and Third Carlist War. His paternal uncle Alvaro Elío Mencos served as president of the Alava diputación in the late 19th century. Among his paternal cousins, Luis Elío Elío Magallón was a conservative Navarrese senator in 1907–1920;Elío Magallon, Luis entry, [in:] Gran Enciclopedia de Navarra, available here Francisco Javier González de Castejón Elío held various ministerial posts in conservative cabinets of 1900–1914; Miguel González de Castejón Elío was a military and preceptor of the future king Alfonso XIII, later made Conde de Aybar.Miguel González de Castejón y Elío entry, [in:] Real Academia de Historia service, available here His brother-in-law, Eusebio Zubizarreta, was a Carlist deputy to the Cortes in 1893–1896.Zubizarreta Olavarria, Eusebio entry, [in:] Aunamendi Eusko Entziklopedia, available here Many other relatives intermarried with aristocratic families, usually related to the Vasco-Navarrese area.Esteban de Garibay, Ilustraciones Genalógicas de los Linajes Vascongados, Donostía 1922, pp. 63–64
Early public activity