DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — and friends, this one goes back a long way. We're talking about the very first organized civil government in the whole state of Texas, and it started with fifty-six tired souls who'd been traveling for over a year just to get here. They were the Canary Islanders.
Civilians. Colonists. The earliest of their kind in San Antonio.
By order of King Philip V of Spain, they emigrated from the Canary Islands — those Spanish islands near the coast of Africa — and set out on a voyage that was part sea, part land, and entirely grueling. Over a year of moving, and when March 9, 1731 finally came around, they arrived at the Presidio of San Antonio. Early in the morning.
Fifty-six persons. Weary doesn't begin to cover it. But weary or not, they got to work.
By July 2nd of that same year, they were already laying out a villa — choosing the site for a church on the west side of the Plaza de las Islas, the place we now call Main Plaza, and a site on the east side for the Casa Reales, the government building. They called their village San Fernando de Bexar, and just like that, the first organized civil government in Texas had a home. Now here's a moment worth savoring.
July 9th. The captain of the Presidio, Juan Antonio De Almazan, gathered the islanders together and read them a decree — a decree from the viceroy himself — naming them and their descendants Hijos Dalgos. Persons of nobility.
Fifty-six people who'd crossed an ocean and trudged across a continent arrived as colonists and were declared noble by the time the summer heat set in. Sixteen families made up that founding nucleus, and the marker names every head of household — and these names deserve to be said out loud. Juan Leal Goraz.
Juan Curbelo. Juan Leal. Antonio Santos.
Jose Padron. Manuel De Nis. Vicente Alvarez Travieso.
Salvador Rodriguez. Jose Leal. Juan Delgado.
Jose Cabrera. Juan Rodriguez Grandillo. Francisco De Arocha.
Antonio Rodriguez. Lorenzo and Martin De Armas. And Felipe and Jose Antonio Perez.
Sixteen families. Fifty-six people. One very long journey.
And a village — and a government — that became the beating heart of what you're driving through today.
What the marker says
Earliest civilian colonists of San Antonio, this nucleus of pioneers from the Canary Islands formed the first organized civil government in Texas and founded the village of San Fernando de Bexar in 1731. Following a sea and land voyage of over a year, these weary travelers arrived at the Presidio (Fort) of San Antonio early on March 9, 1731. Totaling 56 persons, they had emigrated to Texas from the Spanish Canary Islands near Africa, by order of King Philip V. On July 2, they began to lay out a villa (village), choosing a site on the west side of the Plaza de las Islas (present Main Plaza) for the church and a site on the east side for the Casa Reales (government building). On July 9, the captain of the Presidio, Juan Antonio De Almazan, read to the islanders the decee of the viceroy naming them and their descendants "Hijos Dalgos", persons of nobility. The heads of the 16 families who settled in San Antonio were: Juan Leal Goraz, Juan Curbelo, Juan Leal, Antonio Santos, Jose Padron, Manuel De Nis, Vicente Alvarez Travieso, Salvador Rodriguez, Jose Leal, Juan Delgado, Jose Cabrera, Juan Rodriguez Grandillo, Francisco De Arocha, Antonio Rodriguez, Lorenzo and Martin De Armas, and Felipe and Jose Antonio Perez. (1971)