José Antonio Navarro
José Antonio Navarro (February 27, 1795 – January 13, 1871) was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, politician, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Pena, he was born into a distinguished noble family at San Antonio de Béxar in New Spain. (modern-day San Antonio, Texas). His uncle was José Francisco Ruiz and his brother-in-law was Juan Martín de Veramendi. Navarro County, Texas, is named in his honor.[1]
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[edit] Texas patriot
Navarro was proficient in the laws of Mexico and Spain, although basically a self-educated man.[1] A native Texan, he had a vision of the future of Texas like that of Stephen F. Austin, and a lasting friendship developed between the two.[2] Working together, they would become the founding fathers of Texas.[3]
An early proponent of Texas independence, he took part in the 1812-1813 Magee, Gutiérrez and Toledo resistance movements and later served as a leader in the Texas Revolution.[4] Working with the empresarios of the period, he helped Stephen F. Austin obtain his contracts[2] and would himself become a land commissioner for Dewitt's Colony and, soon after, the Béxar District. In 1825 Navarro would marry Margarita de la Garza and they would raise seven children. During the 1830s Navarro represented Texas both in the legislature of the state of Coahuila and Texas and in the federal Congress in Mexico City.[5] Always a champion of democratic ideas, Navarro, collaborating with Austin, worked to pass legislation that would best benefit the people of Texas.[2]
Navarro had been at the Convention for Texas Independence,[6] when he received the somber news from Juan Seguin, of the Alamo's fall.[7] With James Bowie (his nephew by marriage) now deceased, José Antonio would secure the release of the surviving Navarros, two women and a child,[8] who were being held by the Mexicans at the Músquiz house.[9] They would be removed to the Navarro family home.[10] The surviving noncombatants [11] thereby avoided the forthcoming humiliation from Santa Anna.[9] He would be one of the original signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836[12]
In 1841, Navarro reluctantly participated in the failed Santa Fe Expedition of President Mirabeau B. Lamar, where he tried to persuade the residents of New Mexico to secede and join with Texas.[13] He was put on trial, sentenced to death and imprisoned there for years.[14] He was given the choice of freedom, but refused to renounce Texas and there remained a prisoner. He finally escaped with the help of sympathetic Mexican Army officials, sailing back to Texas.[15]
José Antonio Navarro became a member of the Republic of Texas Congress from Bexar County, Texas. Attempting to keep a balance of power in Congress, he worked closely with Senator Juan Seguin to promote legislation that would also be favorable to the Tejano citizenry of Texas, who were quickly becoming the political minority . Education was one such priority, lobbying to bring academic institutions into the San Antonio area.[16] In 1845 Navarro was instrumental in drafting the first state Constitution of Texas, ensuring future political rights for all peoples. He would support annexation of Texas to the United States. Elected to the Texas Senate, he served three terms, before retiring from politics in 1849.[15]
[edit] 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 would occupy much of his time in later years. He would reside on the 6,000-acre (24 km2) San Geronimo creek ranch, located near Seguin, Texas.[17]
Navarro later sold his ranch and moved to San Antonio, where he died in 1871. All Texans mourned his passing. The editor of a local newspaper said it best, "To none of her greatest statesman nor to her many eminent patriots is Texas more indebted for her existence than to Jose Antonio Navarro."
[edit] Legacy
The Texas legislature named Navarro County to honor his service to Texas in 1846. The county seat of Navarro County was named Corsicana, in honor of his family's Mediterranean-Corsican heritage. A Texas historical marker identifies his Geronimo Creek ranch and the local school and district are named Navarro, in his honor.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Lozano (1985), p. 30.
- ^ a b c Todish (1998), p. 107.
- ^ Tovares (2004), PBS American Experience, Remember the Alamo.
- ^ Edmonson (2000), p. 38.
- ^ Edmonson (2000), p. 105.
- ^ Matovina (1995), p. 26.
- ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 26.
- ^ Groneman (1990), p. 5, 83.
- ^ a b Matovina (1995), p. 66.
- ^ Lord (1961), p. 176.
- ^ Todish (1998), p. 91.
- ^ Brands (2005), p. 382.
- ^ Lozano (1985), p. 31.
- ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 101.
- ^ a b Lozano (1985), p. 32.
- ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 34.
- ^ Navarro Ranch
- Brands, H.W. (2005), Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence, 1835, New York: Random House, Inc., ISBN 1-4000-3070-6
- del la Teja, Jesus (1991), A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan N. Seguin, Austin, TX: State House Press, ISBN 0-938349-68-6
- Edmondson, J.R. (2000), The Alamo Story-From History to Current Conflicts, Plano, TX: Republic of Texas Press, ISBN 1-55622-678-0
- Groneman, Bill (1990), Alamo Defenders, A Genealogy: The People and Their Words, Austin, TX: Eakin Press, ISBN 0-89015-757-X
- Lindley, Thomas Ricks (2003), Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions, Lanham, MD: Republic of Texas Press, ISBN 1556229836
- Lord, Walter (1961), A Time to Stand, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803279027
- Lozano, Ruben Rendon (1985), Viva Texas: The Story of the Tejanos, th Mexican-born Patroits of th Texas Revolution, San Antonio, TX: The Alamo Press, ISBN 0-943260-02-7
- Matovina, Timothy M. (1995), The Alamo Remembered: Tejano Accounts and Perspectives, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, ISBN 0-292-75186-9
- Poyo, Gerald Eugene (1996), Tejano journey, 1770-1850, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, ISBN 0-292-76570-3
- Ramos, Raul A. (2008), Beyond the Alamo, forging Mexican ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 0807832073
- Todish, Timothy J.; Todish, Terry; Spring, Ted (1998), Alamo Sourcebook, 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, Austin, TX: Eakin Press, ISBN 9781571681522
- Tovares, Joseph (2004), Remember the Alamo, PBS American Experience, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/alamo/peopleevents/p_navarro.html
- Winders, Richard Bruce (2004), Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and Triumph in the Texas Revolution, Austin, TX: State House Press, ISBN 1-880510-81-2
[edit] Further reading
- David McDonald, Jose Antonio Navarro: In Search of the American Dream in Nineteenth-Century Texas (Texas State Historical Association, 2011)
- "Defending Mexican Valor in Texas: Jose Antonio Navarro's Historical Writings, 1853-1857," by Jose Antonio Navarro, David R. McDonald, Timothy M. Matovina Pric, State House Press, October 1995, ISBN 978-1-880510-31-5.
- "In Storms of Fortune: The Public Life of José Antonio Navarro" written by Anastacio Bueno M.A. Thesis, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1978.
- "Jose Antonio Navarro, co-creator of Texas," Baylor University Press, 1969, 127 pages, ASIN: B0006CAIBS.
- "Remember the Alamo" The American Experience, PBS.(2004)[1]
[edit] External links
- Biography of José Antonio Navarro, written by an Old Texan, published 1876 and hosted by the Portal to Texas History
- José Antonio Navarro from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Read Jose Antonio Navarro's entry in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- PBS American Experience, People & Events: José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871) [2]
| Preceded by None |
Texas State Senator from District 18 1846–1849 |
Succeeded by Alexander H. Phillips |
