Patricia de la Garza De León
| Patricia de la Garza De León | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1775 Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Died | 1849 (aged 74) Victoria, Texas |
| Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery Victoria, Texas 28°48′43″N 97°00′48″W / 28.81194°N 97.01333°W |
| Known for | Co-founder of De León's Colony |
| Spouse(s) | Martín De León |
| Children |
Fernando (1798) Candelaria (1800) Silvestre(1802) Guadalupe (1804) Felix (1806) Agapito (1808) Maria (1810) Refugia (1812) Augustina (1814) Francisca (1818) |
Patricia de la Garza De León (1775–1849) was the matriarch of one of the prominent founding families of early Texas. Doña Patricia raised ten children, some of whom helped change the course of history. At age 49, she uprooted her life in 1824 to help her husband Martín De León establish the predominantly Mexican De León's Colony. She contributed her inherited assets to the founding of the colony, and helped establish a school and a church. From the onset, she worked to instill a sense of Mexican and Spanish culture in the colony. After the death of her husband, Doña Patricia assumed the role of head of the family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 6539 placed at Evergreen Cemetery in 1972 acknowledges Patricia de la Garza De León's contribution to Texas.Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 6543 placed at Church and Bridge Streets in 1936 denotes the home of Patricia de la Garza De León and Don Martin De León's home in Victoria.
Doña Patricia de la Garza De León was born in 1775 in Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to a wealthy family headed by her father Felipe de la Garza.
In 1795, she married Martín De León and settled with him at his ranch in Cruillas. Martín sold wild mustangs, mules and cattle in New Orleans. The couple's first child Fernando was born at the Cruillas ranch in 1798.
The couple moved their base of ranching operations in 1799 to San Patricio County, Texas, where three more children were born. Daughter Candelaria was born in 1800, son Silvestre in 1802, and daughter Guadalupe in 1804.
The Spanish government granted the family land on the east bank of the Aransas River, north of Corpus Christi in 1805. Son Felix was born there in 1806 and son Agapito in 1808. While at this location in 1807, Martín De León registered the family's cattle brand, the first registered brand in what would become Texas.
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