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

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

statesman,

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

, rancher, and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. 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 in the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

(now the American city of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

). His uncle was José Francisco Ruiz and his brother-in-law was Juan Martín de Veramendi. Navarro County, Texas, established in 1846, is named in his honor, as is the small town of Navarro, Texas.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. Austin and he developed a steady friendship,Todish (1998), p. 107. and worked together to find 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 movement. Working with the '' empresarios'' 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 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 and in the federal Congress in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

.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 The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

.Edmonson (2000), p. 38. He was at the Convention for Texas Independence,Matovina (1995), p. 26. when he received the news from Juan Seguin of the Alamo's fall.de la Teja (1991), p. 26. With the death of

James Bowie James Bowie ( ) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him ...

(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. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

. 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 form ...

, in early March, 1836, in Washington-on-the-Brazos.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 sent by President Mirabeau B. Lamar, 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 (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

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

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

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 Coahuila y Tejas, 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 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, about 35 miles east of San Antonio.Navarro Ranch
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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 city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...

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

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

in South Texas. Navarro Street in downtown San Antonio is also named for him. Casa Navarro State Historic Site 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 Mexican War of Independence, war against Spain, whi ...

period. The structures of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, caliche block, and

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) 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 use ...

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, 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.

Tejanos who served under Juan Seguín

References

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External links

''Biography of José Antonio Navarro, written by an Old Texan''
published 1876 and hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
* *Rea
Jose Antonio Navarro's entry
in th
Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
*PBS ''American Experience'', People & Events: José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Jose Antonio 1795 births 1871 deaths Tejano slave owners People of Spanish Texas People of the Texas Revolution Texas state senators Businesspeople from San Antonio People of Texas in the American Civil War American people of Spanish descent People from Seguin, Texas American people of Corsican descent American city founders Navarro County, Texas Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence Tejano politicians American people of Italian descent 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature 19th-century American merchants