Former House and Store of Leading San Antonio Citizen Don Angel Navarro
Contributed by Jade EvenstadDon Angel Navarro"I came here as a merchant to this Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar"Don Angel Navarro, originally from Corsica, was a prominent merchant and citizen in early San Antonio upon settling there in 1777 after a series of moves around Europe and the United States. He served as the town's first elected alcalde in 1790 and donated funds to city projects, including the cemetery he was eventually buried in. Don Angel Navarro built a house and shop on the corner of Flores and Presidio (now Commerce St) in what is downtown San Antonio today. Navarro was also a slaveholder, and one of his slaves, Maria Gertrudis de la Peña, sued for her freedom in 1785 on the basis that she was an Indian and could not be enslaved. After eight years of slavery and being passed between masters, she ended up in San Antonio at the house of Don Angel Navarro and was promised her freedom after three years of servitude. After enduring abuse from the Navarro family, de la Peña and was freed after winning her case. Don Angel Navarro was also involved in a lawsuit of his own 10 years later (April 21,1795) in which he demanded that the San Jose Mission make payments towards the the loan he gave them in the amount of 745 pesos.qualification of the Justice with which I demand the mission of San Jose in the aforementioned Province, the payment of seven hundred and forty five pesosReferencesProceedings considering the freedom of Maria Gertrudis de la Peña, 2/11/1768, Béxar Archives, Box 2C22, Volume 45.Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas by Donald E. Chipman and Harriett Denise Josephhttps://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fna17http://www.thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/casa-navarro/history/angel-navarro-corsicans-journey-bexarhttp://www.cah.utexas.edu/projects/bexar/image_lg.php?doc=e_bx_006593&rel=e_bx_009728http://www.cah.utexas.edu/projects/bexar/gallery_doc.php?doc=e_bx_011074
Casa Navarro State Historic Site
Contributed by Jade EvenstadJosé Antonio NavarroThe son of Don Angel Navarro, a San Antonio merchant and leading citizen, and María Josefa Ruiz, a descendant of noble Spain, José Antonio Navarro was a famous figure in Texas history and Tejano rights activist. Navarro was greatly influenced by his uncle, José Francisco Ruiz, and they often had to flee Texas due to revolutionary activities. Navarro was one of three Mexican signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, was elected to Texas Congress to represent Bexar, and was the only Hispanic at the Convention of 1845, where he voted for the annexation of Texas to the United States. During his time in office, Navarro spoke out against the illegal land-grabs occurring when a large influx of Anglos moved into Bexar and transferred land from Tejanos to themselves. Navarro, despite being the only Tejano and forced to speak through an interpreter as he did not know English, was extremely successful in protecting Tejanos from these land-grabs and from racism. Navarro was also very witty and eloquent, and in 1869 published Apuntes Historicos Interesantes, a collection of essays in San Antonio newspaper that reminded white historians and "new" settlers in Bexar of the valor of Tejanos and their role in the revolutions that led to the San Antonio they knew. Navarro was commemorated with the naming of Navarro County and Casa Navarro, his original home which has been preserved as a historic site. Referenceshttps://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fna09Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas by James E. Crisp and edited by Jesús F. De la Teja
