José Antonio Navarro (February 27, 1795 – January 13, 1871) was a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

, revolutionary, rancher, and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Peña, he was born into a distinguished

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family at

San Antonio de Béxar ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

in the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...

(now the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

city of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

). His uncle was José Francisco Ruiz and his brother-in-law was

Juan Martín de Veramendi Juan Martin de Veramendi (December 17, 1778–1833) was a Spanish (1778-1821, Mexican independence) and Mexican (1821–1833) politician who served as governor of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas from 1832 until 1833. Veramendi was also c ...

Navarro County, Texas Navarro County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,624. Its county seat is Corsicana. The county is named for José Antonio Navarro, a Tejano leader in the Texas Revolution who signed th ...

, established in 1846, is named in his honor, as is the small town of

Navarro, Texas Navarro ( ) is a town in Navarro County, Texas, United States. The population was 210 at the 2010 census. History After his wife cheated on him, Griefás Cargadé left his profession as a highwayman and his hometown of Mirando City for the re ...

.Lozano (1985), p. 30.

Early life and career

Navarro was proficient in the laws of Mexico and Spain, although he was mainly self-educated. As a native Texan, he had a vision of the future of Texas like that of

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

. Austin and he developed a steady friendship,Todish (1998), p. 107. and worked together to found the new state of Texas.Tovares (2004), PBS American Experience, Remember the Alamo. An early proponent of Texas independence, he took part in the 1812–1813 Magee, Gutiérrez, and Toledo resistance movements. Working with the ''

empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. The word in Spanish for entre ...

s'' of the period, he helped Austin obtain his contracts to bring settlers into the area. He became a land commissioner for Dewitt's Colony, and soon after, for the Béxar District. In 1825, he married Margarita de la Garza and they raised seven children. His son

José Ángel Navarro III José Ángel Navarro III (1828–1876), also known as José Ángel Navarro (the younger), was born in San Antonio de Béxar to José Antonio Navarro and his wife Margarita de la Garza. He was a grandson of Ángel Navarro, who is sometimes found i ...

served three terms in the Texas Legislature. During the early 1830s, Navarro represented Texas both in the legislature of the state of

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) for ...

and in the federal Congress in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

.Edmonson (2000), p. 105. Always a champion of democratic ideas, Navarro, collaborating with Austin, worked to pass legislation that would best benefit the people of Texas. Navarro later served as a leader in the Texas Revolution.Edmonson (2000), p. 38. He was at the Convention for Texas Independence,Matovina (1995), p. 26. when he received the news from

Juan Seguin ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

of the Alamo's fall.de la Teja (1991), p. 26. With the death of

James Bowie James Bowie ( ) ( – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of h ...

(his nephew by marriage), Navarro had to secure the release of the surviving Navarros, two women and a child,Groneman (1990), pp. 5, 83. who were being held by the Mexicans at the Músquiz house.Matovina (1995), p. 66. They were removed to the Navarro family home.Lord (1961), p. 176. The surviving noncombatants Todish (1998), p. 91. thereby avoided humiliation or death from General

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

. José Antonio Navarro was one of the first signers of the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was forma ...

, in early March, 1836, in

Washington-on-the-Brazos Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independenc ...

.Brands (2005), p. 382. He later signed the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. In 1841, Navarro reluctantly participated in the ill-conceived

Texan Santa Fe Expedition The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a commercial and military expedition to secure the Republic of Texas's claims to parts of Northern New Mexico for Texas in 1841. The expedition was unofficially initiated by the then-President of Texas, Mirabeau B ...

sent by President

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

, when he tried to persuade the residents of New Mexico to secede from Mexico and join with Texas.Lozano (1985), p. 31. He was captured, put on trial, sentenced to death, and imprisoned for years.de la Teja (1991), p. 101. He escaped with the help of sympathetic Mexican Army officials, sailing back to Texas.Lozano (1985), p. 32. José Antonio Navarro became a representative in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

Congress from Bexar County, Texas. Attempting to keep a balance of power, he worked closely with Senator Juan Seguin to promote legislation favorable to the Tejano citizenry, who were quickly becoming the political minority. Education was one such priority, working to bring academic institutions into the San Antonio area.de la Teja (1991), p. 34. He supported the annexation of Texas by the United States. In 1845, Navarro was instrumental in drafting the first state

Constitution of Texas The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of Texas. The current document was adopted on Febr ...

, ensuring future political rights for all people. He served two terms in the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

before retiring from politics in 1849.

Slave ownership

Like a number of other Tejanos, Navarro owned enslaved African-Americans. Between 1856 and 1864, he owned between six and nine enslaved people. As a legislator in the Mexican state of

, Navarro introduced a bill known as the "Law of Contracts" which allowed enslaved people to be brought to Texas as indentured servants under contract, working to pay their debt in labor to their owners. Census records indicate that as early as 1850, Navarro owned an enslaved twelve-year-old boy named Henry.

Later life

In his retirement, Navarro wrote several historical and political essays about Texas and San Antonio's role in the

Mexican Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

movement for the ''San Antonio Ledger''. Ranching occupied much of his time in later years, and he spent most of each spring, summer, and fall on the San Geronimo Ranch, rich grasslands near

Seguin, Texas Seguin ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, Texas, United States; as of the 2020 census, its population was 29,433. Its economy is primarily supported by a regional hospital, as well as the Schertz-Seguin Local Government C ...

, about 35 miles east of San Antonio.Navarro Ranch
/ref>

Navarro later sold his ranch and lived full-time in San Antonio, where he died in 1871.

Legacy

In 1846, the Texas Legislature named Navarro County south of Dallas to honor his service. In 1848, Navarro County's

seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

was founded, and José Navarro selected the name, Corsicana, for the town. A state historical marker identifies his Geronimo Creek

Ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

in South Texas. Navarro Street in downtown San Antonio is also named for him.

Casa Navarro State Historic Site Casa Navarro is a historic site in San Antonio, Bexar County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The original house complex was the residence of Texas patriot José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871), a rancher, merchant, leading advocate for Tejano rights, ...

in San Antonio is the original residence complex of José Antonio Navarro. He first bought the property, about 1.5 acres, in 1832 (during the

Mexican Texas Mexican Texas is the historiographical name used to refer to the era of Texan history between 1821 and 1836, when it was part of Mexico. Mexico gained independence in 1821 after winning its war against Spain, which began in 1810. Initially ...

period. The structures of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

caliche Caliche () is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions ...

block, and

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

were built over the next 20 years or so. The site is situated in the heart of old San Antonio. The buildings were acquired and restored by the

San Antonio Conservation Society The Conservation Society of San Antonio (legally incorporated as the San Antonio Conservation Society) is located in the Bexar County city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. Founding members were Emily Edwards, who became the organizati ...

, and the complex, including his one-story limestone home, kitchen, and a two-story store and offices, was opened to the public in October 1997.

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links