Jose Antonio Martinez

Antonio José Martínez
Padre Martínez, ca. 1848
Born	January 17, 1793 Abiquiu, New Mexico
Died	July 27, 1867 (aged 74) Kit Carson Park in Taos, New Mexico
Nationality	Spanish (1793 - 1821, Mexican independence), Mexican (1821 - 1848), American
Occupation	Priest, educator, publisher, rancher, farmer, community leader, and politician

Antonio José Martínez (January 17, 1793 – July 27, 1867) was a New Mexican priest, educator, publisher, rancher, farmer, community leader, and politician. He lived through and influenced three distinct periods of New Mexico's history: the Spanish period, the Mexican period, and the American occupation and subsequent territorial period. Martínez appears as a character in Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Martínez was born Antonio José Martín in Abiquiu in 1793, when New Mexico was a very isolated and desolate territory of the Spanish Empire. In 1804, the Martín family, including his father Severino and five siblings, moved to Taos, a prosperous outpost, where they came to be known as Martínez. His mother was María del Carmel Santistévan of La Plaza de Santa Rosa de Abiquiú. During his upbringing, Martínez's father taught him the importance of ranching and farming at the Hacienda Martínez in Northern New Mexico. In 1811, Martínez married María de la Luz, who died giving birth to their daughter less than a year later, when he was 19. Their child was named in honor of María de la Luz. Six years later Martínez moved south after much thought and correspondence with the Bishop of Durango. He decided to travel there in 1817, and become a priest, enrolling in the Tridentine Seminary of the Diocese of Durango. Martínez not only excelled at the seminary but also in understanding the ideals of liberal Mexican politicians and teachers of his day, including Miguel Hidalgo. After six years, Martínez was ordained, and he returned to New Mexico, where after a few years in other parishes, he became the parish priest of Taos, and from then on was known as Padre Martínez.