Marcella,
The Celaya's were never Spanish Conquistador's, because they are not from Spain originally! They have Basque blood (heritage amongst everything else). My grandfather Carlos Cruz Celaya (first one to be born in Mexico, but also USA citizen, because his mother was from Tucson, Arizona. They had arranged marriages still then and my grandfather's-father was disowned for marrying my portugese greatgrandmother (her family were pirates/merchants), who were later USA citizen.
Not all the Celaya's stayed in Mexico, some went back home after the city Celaya, Mexico was named after them (when they fought the English for parts of what Spain owned in southwest USA). Afterwards some of the Celaya's returned later through Mexico around the 1900's, my greatgrandfather. We were the first Celaya's here in Arizona, because my granfather was the first sharif of Glendale,Arizona and he found your same surname on the census later. He visited your family around the 1940's or so,and my father went with him.
My grandfather Carlos Cruz Celaya told me the "Celaya's" were called "Soilders Of Fortune" and sometimes "Mersonaries." They were Muslims. Some Aya (root-name of Celaya) were Jewish, and they didn't become Christians (Roman Catholic) until much later. All their family names are on the maps (cities / towns) as they won their battles they were given their names. Some regions they fought in for example Indonesia/ Asia / Middle East, Macedonia, Russia, etc... they fought only for the highest $$$. They were some of the Moors, Turkish, and Barbers who invaded Spain.
There was an Arab Kingdom in the Basque region,(there are history papers stating of the migration of arabs into the Basque country, check with your local libraries) some of the family migrated within the Portugese/France/Spanish Basque/ French Basque Pryness Basque region. The name "Celaya" is Lebanese (came from around Mt. Lebanon,etc...) it means a field!
(i.e. of other family names Hedaya, Soraya, Hayek, Haya, Kaya, Maya, Saba, Haddad, Hadad, Basha, Khoury, Mason, Lara, Fabian, Fares, Gamal, Gamil,Gamel,Kalil, Ayaz, Luppa, Ali, Bi, Fatima, Fatimah, Alam (-i, -e, -a), Mebarak, Barak, Batticha, El Shadi, Narvaez, Khan, Khalafa,Atlas, Gonzales,Gold, Sharnoubi, etc... I have all the names listed. I will be posting my information when I'm done. May take time (a year or so before I'm done) though, I still need to put all my paper's together, before I'm done. I do know there were Celtic's and German's, Italians, Greeks, India, etc...in this army amongst gypsies.
They were never under Cortes (Cortez). Hernan Cortes is my great-gr-gr-gr-uncle (or so), he married a cousin from Spain from our family and his residence was in Cuba. Cortes (Cortez) born in 1485-1547. The Moors invaded Spain in 611 AD, until 1492 of January, and still there were arabs in the bottom of Granada, Spain.
To find family background, break the name down to it's root which is "Aya." Aya is Asian any last name with aya, aye, eya, oya, oyo,ayo, aoya, ayaz (ayar),etc... are of asian descent and they all derived from "Aya." The root "Aya" is Oriental (Japanese/ Chinese/ Mongolian), Jewish, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Arab, Greek, Indian (as in India), Indonesian, Indo-China, Southwest/Southeast Asia (off top of thinking, so if I've left anything out, sorry).
The name Selaya, it may have been changed from Celaya to Selaya in Mexico/ South Central America only if it had been Celaya/ Zelaya in the first place. The Selaya"s from Indonesia spelled "Selayar," they are arabs that had migrated to Celebes Islands around 13th century. The name spelling changed, because of pronounciation of the countries. They are part of the Celaya's, but it is not the original spelling. Possibly, the Selaya's might be the ones who migrated from there into South/Central America into Mexico,
because there is no other record of name Selaya except for in Indonesia/ South Central America and in Mexico only from what I've found. They don't connect back to the original spelling anymore (they are an off branch). The name Zelaya are also Celaya's, and they are still connected within the same family. The surname changed from Celaya to Zelaya with the Greeks and the Portugese (the name migrates back to Celaya).
Anyway, the surname "Celaya," it's prefix is Cel- it originates from indonesia when the Asian's like I said entered around 100 BC or so. They entered all of what is Indonesia, etc... There's a country right outside of India an Island called "Sri Lanka," which use to be called ancient times "Ceylon." Well, you take in reguards that people spelled names the way they sounded, so adding onto -aya, the " y " is silent, because "Ceylon" is pronounced (Se'elon). So therefore, Cel- was added to -aya and finally "Celaya." All other asian family names, I have found around the same region of Asia too! Also, we were royalty in Sri Lanka (Ceylon),the family name "Jaya" (Hindu's). The Mahavamsa relates that the island was conquered in 504 BC by Vijaya, a Hindu prince from northeast India. After subjugating the aboriginal inhabitants, a people now known as Veddas, Vijaya married a native princess, encouraged emigration from the mainland, and made himself ruler of the entire island (found information in "Funk Wagnalls New Encyclopedia," vol.24, pg297, published since 1876. There are other Jaya's who held offices in 1978, and so on. There is a (first name ?) Jaya Celaya, and a (first name?) Jayo Celaya too. But, I know they were never, ever, conquistador's. I told my Dad, Robert De La Huerta Celaya, Sr. and he said someone has the wrong information, or their guessing! But, he did say, they were not conquistadors,they were called "Soilders Of Fortune," and Cortes (Hernan Cortez)wasn't even born at that time!
Note: The Spanish took words and letter arrangements from the Arab lanuage to incorporate meanings in their language.
Bye, Enedina Walden Celaya