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29 T h r e e S a n A n t o n i o n a t i v e s born in Spanish Texas attained the office of governor of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas: Rafael Gonzáles, Juan José Elguézabal, and Juan Martín de Veramendi . Of these, Veramendi stands out as the only one who rose to power through a lifetime of participation in civil government and business enterprise; González and Elguézabal achieved their status as military men. Unfortunately, Veramendi’s tenure as governor was short, lasting less than one year, during 1833, when he and family members died tragically in a cholera epidemic in Monclova. Thus, for Veramendi, the political journey was as important as his political destination. The heritage of Juan Martín de Veramendi extends back to the Basque region of Spain, where his father Fernando was born in the city of Pamplona around the year 1745; his paternal grandparents were Martín de Veramendi and Benita Olagué.1 Fernando arrived in San Antonio de Béxar by 1775 and quickly won acceptance by local residents. On 17 April 1776 he married María Josefa Granados, a San Antonio native.2 Fernando prospered. By 1783 his family lived in a fine stone house located on Soledad Street on a lot that extended east to the San Antonio River, and he had purchased four tracts of irrigated land.3 In addition , he gained a seat on the ayuntamiento in 1782. The next year, at the end of April, Veramendi set out for Mexico City in the company of other travelers. Barely a month later he was killed in an Indian attack near present Guerrero, Coahuila.4 On arrival of news of his death, the church bells sounded, demonstrating the esteem Bexare- ños felt for him. Fernando left behind three sons: José María, Juan Martín del Carmen (the subject of this study), and Fernando Ramón, ages six, five, and one, respectively.5 A daughter, María Josefa, was born posthumously .6 Veramendi left a detailed will in which he asked parish priest Pedro Fuentes to handle the education of his sons and Juan José de la Santa to manage their property interests. Veramendi’s widow remarried—to Juan Martín de Amondaráin, a Castilian Spaniard—and named him as the manager of her children’s JUAN MARTÍN DE VERAMENDI tejano politic al and business leader David R. McDonald 3 0 · d av i d r . m c d o n a l d inheritance. After her death and the departure of Father Fuentes in 1790, a five-year power struggle ensued over the management of the Veramendi heirs’ property. De la Santa charged Amondaráin with mismanagement of and losses to the heirs’ property; in addition, Amondaráin attempted to move to Guanajuato, taking the children with him. He remained in Béxar, however, and retained custody of the Veramendi sons through 1796.7 During these years Juan Martín formed lasting friendships with boys who would become Bexareño leaders such as Erasmo Seguín, José Francisco Ruiz, and José Angel Navarro—in whose house his future wife was born in 1792. By age twenty-three, Veramendi had attained personal independence . His stepfather was no longer active in Béxar after 1796, and by 1801 Juan Martín had acquired ownership of the Soledad Street house from his siblings.8 He learned the skills of the merchant trade and began to build on the successes of his father. In contrast, his older brother José María worked as a day laborer (jornalero).9 The 1804 census indicates that Veramendi shared his household with a brother, a sister, and a slave girl age five years; his occupation was listed as notary (escribano).10 Juan Martín’s designation as a notary suggests that his education included knowledge of the proper forms for writing legal documents, which he would subsequently put to good use. Alcalde Angel Navarro appointed Juan Martín to his first public of- fice of record in 1808.11 As síndico-procurador, Veramendi was responsible for enforcing ayuntamiento rules such as those pertaining to public health. He found a way to combine his municipal duties with his merchant activities, for he dedicated four months of that year to a mercantile journey. By age thirty Veramendi was an experienced merchant. He knew how to obtain large quantities of marketable goods and...

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