Jose M. Pena
JMPENA@aol.com
About eleven years ago, JoEmma and I did a lot of research
through several sources to determine why José Antonio George Navarro, the
eldest son of José Antonio Navarro ( the Texas patriot and one of the signers
of the Texas Declaration of Independence) and Margarita de la Garza from
Mier, Tamaulipas, left Atascosa County and moved to Zapata County around 1879,
or before, and why one of his daughters, Margarita Isidra Navarro, and her
husband, William D. Langston, also went to Zapata County, where he was the
county judge from 1878 to 1882. A grandson of José Antonio George
Navarro, Leonardo Navarro (son of José Eugenio Tiburcio Navarro and María
Antonia Cháves), also ended up in Zapata, and he married Luz Vela. They
had to travel by horseback or by stagecoach because the completion of the
International and Great Northern Railroad from San Antonio to Laredo was not
completed until 1881. We are not sure if all of them came together to
Zapata County, or if Margarita and William D. Langston arrived first.
According to JoEmma's genealogical research notes, José Antonio
George Navarro was born in 1820, and he was married twice. With his first
wife, Juana Cháves (parents: Ignacio Cháves and María Lourdes Montez), they had
three children: José Eugenio Tiburcio Navarro was born in 1840, and
he married María Antonia Cháves; María Antonia Romalda Navarro was born in
1844, and she married John C. Ross; and Margarita Isidra Navarro was born
in 1846, and she married William D. Langston.
José Antonio George Navarro married his first wife, Juana Cháves
in San Antonio. In her research, JoEmma found a translated copy of the
last will and testament of Juana Cháves, written from their ranch in Atascosa
County, dated February 23, 1874, and she bequeath her entire estate, which
consisted of a considerable amount of land in what is now downtown San Antonio,
to her husband, José Antonio George Navarro, and her three children: José
Eugenio Tiburcio Navarro, María Antonia Romalda Navarro, and Margarita Isidra
Navarro. Juana Cháves passed away a few days later, at the "advanced
age" of fifty-five years old, on March 5, 1874, at herrancho on
the Atascosa Creek in Atascosa County.
After Juana passed away, the Zapata County 1880 U.S. Census
indicates that at the age of 60 years old, José Antonio George Navarro is alone
and living with his daughter Margarita Isidra Navarro Langston and her husband,
William D. Langston. On December 2, 1879, José Antonio George Navarro was
appointed County Commissioner of Precinct One in Zapata County, and on
September 20, 1881, he was appointed Zapata County Judge, and he served in this
capacity from 1882 until 1898, a total of 16 years! And, according to
JoEmma's research notes taken from the marriage records in Zapata County, José
Antonio George Navarro married, at the age of 63,Escolástica Gutiérrez,
age 35, on January 5, 1883. The Zapata County 1870 U.S. Census indicates
that Escolástica Gutiérrez was married to Jesús Vela, and they had one child,
all were living in San Ignacio, Texas. Ten years later, in the Zapata
County 1880 U.S. Census, Escolástica is listed as a widow, living alone, with
three children, ages 11, 7, and 5. And, three years later, José Antonio
George Navarro and Escolástica got married.
José Antonio Victor Navarro was born on July 28, 1886, and he was
the seventh child of José Eugenio Tiburcio Navarro and María Antonia
Cháves. José Antonio Victor Navarro married Elizabeth Dawson and they had
sixchildren. He served as Zapata County's Sheriff/Tax Collector in 1926,
and as Zapata County Judge from 1928 until 1936, when he unexpectedly resigned
on the eve of the November 3, 1936 General Election, and consequently, Manuel
B. Bravo became the next county judge, a position he held for twenty
years!
On May 28, 2007, I sent a query letter to David McDonald, the
biographer of José Antonio Navarro, inquiring if he knew from his research why
José Antonio George Navarro moved from Atascosa County to Zapata County, and
also why did his daughter Margarita Isidra Navarro and her husband William
D. Langston also moved to Zapata County, and where is José Antonio George
Navarro and his wife Escolástica Gutiérrez Navarro buried. David
McDonald's response was, "I do not know...The details you have already discovered
about George far exceeds anything I have done..."
Have a restful and enjoyable evening and may God bless you always.
Gilberto
--
TEJANOS2010 is managed and subtained by
Elsa Mendez Peña and Walter Centeno Herbeck Jr.
Our purpose is to share information in genealogy, historical, cultural, arts, music, entertainment and other Tejano issues.
To be removed just reply with REMOVE in subject.
We are independent. Have a good day! Mas later
TEJANOS2010 is managed and subtained by
Elsa Mendez Peña and Walter Centeno Herbeck Jr.
Our purpose is to share information in genealogy, historical, cultural, arts, music, entertainment and other Tejano issues.
To be removed just reply with REMOVE in subject.
We are independent. Have a good day! Mas later
No comments:
Post a Comment