In Spanish Alta California the church held notable power. Immigrants who wanted to get ahead in society would undergo Catholic baptism, helping them qualify to marry or acquire land.
In 1818 a recently baptized foreigner in his early twenties served as godparent. The baptismal register is online but difficult to search in the Early California Population Project Database. The officiating priest recorded that the godfather was at diez meses de haver abradado de la religion Catolica (abradado could be a transcription error for abracado or abrazado, synonyms, or abrasado).
The priest also inserted the adjectival or titular term Mocho in front of the godfather's name. According to the modern dictionaries I have at hand, this word suggests someone missing a limb -- though I don't think the guy was missing any body parts -- or someone acting falsely pious. Coming from a priest, this sounds like being an insult, and dare I say un-Christian. It could also be a term of art with other connotations.
What was the priest indicating to future readers of the baptismal register by marking the young man as Mocho?
APPENDIX. The database record in question:
Mission: San Carlos de Borromeo
Number: 03076
Baptism Date: 7 Apr 1818
Birthdate: 6 Apr 1818 "nacida del dia anterior como a las dos de la tarde"
Location: Capilla del Real Presidio
Ethnicity: Razon
Type: +
Sex: F
Name: Pliego, Ysidora
Father: Pliego, Narciso from Jalapa en la nueva España, maestro de tela[...]os en la mision de la Soledad
Mother: Briones, Agueda from Monterrey citado
Officiant: Amorós, Juan
Godparents: Buelna, Maria Hilaria; Mocho Bol[...], Jose
and then with regard to the latter:
Godparent name: Mocho Bol[...], Jose
Godparent type: Padrino
Godparent origin: Ruso, nacion de
Godparent comments: "diez meses de haver abradado de la religion Catolica"
The Russian was Jose Antonio Bolcof.