Cháves, García, and Flores Families Papers, 1792-1931
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Texas A&M University-San Antonio Digital Commons @ Texas A&M University-San Antonio Finding Aids: Guides to the Collection Archives & Special Collections 2020 Cháves, García, and Flores Families Papers, 1792-1931 DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.tamusa.edu/findingaids A Guide to the Cháves, García, and Flores Families Papers, 1792-1931 Descriptive Summary Creator: Cháves, García, and Flores Families Title: Cháves, García, and Flores Families Papers Dates: 1792-1931 Creator Three related families of San Antonio, Texas. Abstract: Content Legal documents, financial documents, military records, letters, and Abstract: property records documenting several generations of related San Antonio families are found in the collection. Identification: Col 7358 Extent: 2.25 linear feet (2 boxes, 1 oversize item) Language: Materials are in Spanish and English. Repository: DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio Biographical Note Arriving in San Antonio in 1784, Francisco Xavier Cháves brought with him a striking set of experiences that would place him near the center of events on the developing Spanish frontier for the rest of his life. Captured by Comanche Indians as a boy near his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Cháves lived with the Comanche and Taovaya tribes until he was about twenty-two, when he escaped and presented himself to officials in San Antonio. Cháves then began a forty-year military career, serving frequently as an interpreter in discussions and negotiations between Spanish officials and local Indian tribes in Coahuila and Texas. Married twice, Cháves had eleven children with his first wife and five with his second. He died in San Antonio about 1832. José Ygnacio Cháves (commonly referred to as Ygnacio), one of the children of Cháves and his first wife Juana Padrón, was born in San Antonio in 1791. Like his father, he served in the military and was active in business and San Antonio politics. Married to María Leonarda Montes de Oca (circa 1791-1881), the couple had fourteen children. Cháves died of cholera in 1849. The third generation of the Cháves family represented in the papers includes Tomasa Cháves (died 1919), a daughter of Ygnacio Cháves, who married Mariano R. García. The couple had twelve children, including Antonio A. García, whose foster son, Adolph Anthony Garza, inherited the family papers. Another family represented in the papers is that of Francisca Flores de O'Farrell, a great- niece of María Leonarda Montes (other familial relationships probably exist, due to several marriages between the Flores, Montes, Cháves, Zambrano, and Indo families) and a descendent of the Flores de Abrego y Valdes family, early residents of Saltillo who came to San Antonio in the mid-eighteenth century. Married to Federico O'Farrell in 1895, Francisca Flores generally resumed the use of her maiden name after she was abandoned by her husband in 1903. Additional genealogical information about the Cháves, García, and Flores families is available as a PDF document, accessible through the library's online catalog at https://libguides.tamusa.edu/archives. References "Abstract of Title to lands in Bexar County, Texas, Owned by Simon Fest, Sr. on both side of South Flores Street, City of San Antonio." Theo. Roziene, 1896. Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas. "Abstract of Title to Lot 7, Block 3, New City Block 6531, situated within the corporate limits of the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas." Texas Title Guaranty Company, 1924. Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas. Chabot, Frederick C. With the Makers of San Antonio. San Antonio, Texas: Artes Graficas, 1937. Cháves, García, and Flores Families Papers, 1792-1931, Col 7358, DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Chávez House vertical file. DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Adolph A. Garza, Jr. biographical file. DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Institute of Texan Cultures. Residents of Texas, 1782-1836. 3 vol. San Antonio, Texas: University of Texas Institute of Texas Cultures at San Antonio, 1984. John, Elizabeth A. H. "Inside the Comanchería, 1795: The Diary of Pedro Vial and Francisco Xavier Chaves," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 98 (July 1994), 27-56. John, Elizabeth A. H. Storms Brewed in Other Men's Worlds: The Confrontation of Indians, Spanish, and French in the Southwest, 1540-1795. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 1975. Leal, John Ogden, trans. Camposanto: An Ancient Burial Ground of San Antonio, Texas, 1808-1860. San Antonio, 1975. Leal, John Ogden, trans. San Fernando Church Baptismals, 1812-1825. San Antonio, 1976. Leal, John Ogden, trans. San Fernando Church Baptismals, 1826-1858, partt 1. 1977. Leal, John Ogden, trans. San Fernando Church Marriages, 1798 to 1856. San Antonio, 1976. Additional family data taken from records published in Los Bexareños Genealogical Register, the quarterly journal of the Los Bexareños Genealogical Society as well as Bexar County marriage and census records. Scope and Content Note Legal documents, financial documents, military records, letters, and property records documenting several generations of related San Antonio families are found in the collection. Organization of Collection This collection is organized into three series. Chronological series General receipts General property records Restrictions Access Restrictions No restrictions. The collection is open for research. Usage Restrictions Documents that may not be photocopied for preservation reasons are identified by a red dot on the folder. Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel. Index Terms Personal Names Cháves family. Flores family. García family. Cháves, Ygnacio, 1791-1849. Austin, Stephen F. (Stephen Fuller), 1793-1836. Subjects Mexican Americans--Texas--San Antonio. Locations San Antonio (Tex.)--History--Sources. Genres/Formats Family papers. Correspondence. Financial records. Legal documents. Military records. Property records. Administrative Information Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Cháves, García, and Flores Families Papers, 1792-1931, Col 7358, DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Acquisition Information Gift of Thomas Miller on behalf of the estate of Adolph A. Garza, Jr., 1994 February. Processing Information Processed by Warren Stricker, 1995 March. Translation and identification of some Spanish documents provided by Dora Guerra, then Head of Special Collections, University of Texas at San Antonio. Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 November. Finding aid updated by Rebeka Delgado, 2020 March. Detailed Description of the Collection Chronological series Most of the papers have been placed in the Chronological Series and are listed individually. The earliest documents are related to Francisco Xavier Cháves, his son Ygnacio Cháves, and their immediate families. Many of these items are records of land transactions, a number of them involving the acquisition of San Antonio properties on or in the vicinity of North Flores Street. Also included are military records, business records of Ygnacio Cháves, and documents associated with Cháves' involvement in political affairs. Notable items include an 1829 letter from Stephen F. Austin concerning the transfer of documents, records of the estate of José María Zambrano, and records of supplies provided by Ygnacio Cháves during the Texas Revolution. Material in this series dated after the death of Ygnacio Cháves in 1849 is related to his wife, María Leonarda Montes, their daughter Tomasa Cháves de García and her husband Mariano R. García, and Francisca Flores de O'Farrell. Undated items for which a date could not be reliably estimated are at the end of this series. Box Folder 1 1 Statements: record and ancestry of Francisco Jabier Chábes, Santa Fe, New Mexico [manuscript copy], 1792 July 18. 2 Receipt: Juan Martín de Beramendi to Francisco Cháves, San Antonio de Béxar, 1802 October 6. 3 Decree: Antonio Olagner Felin, award to Francisco Jabier Cháves [manuscript copy], 1808 March 9. 4 Deed: possibly Rosalia Montes de Oca, San Fernando, [circa 1800-1810] October 6. 5 Deed: Julian Benítes to José María Ramírez, San Fernando de Béxar, 1818 February 23. Appended certificate: Jph. María Sambrano. 6 Deed: Julian Benítes to José María Ramírez, San Fernando de Béxar, 1818 February 23. Appended certificate and supplementary orders: Jph. María Sambrano. 7 Deed: Manuel Ygnacio Navarro to José María Ramíres, San Fernando de Béxar, 1818 April 14. 8 Appointment: Mariano Varela, possibly an appointment of Ygnacio Cháves to the Ayuntamiento, Béxar, 1819 December 28. 9 Decree: Pedro Días de Ribera, award to Francisco [possibly Jabier Cháves], Madrid [manuscript copy], 1820 January 11. 10 Notice: L. Navarro on debt of José María Chirino, Béjar, 1821 March 9. 11 Receipt: L. Navarro to Ygnacio Cháves, Béjar, 1821 March 14. 12 Deed: José María Ramírez to Ygnacio Cháves, San Fernando de Béxar, 1823 March 13. Appended certificate: Manuel Yturri Castillo, San Fernando de Béxar, 1823 March 16. 13 Deed: José María Ramírez to Ygnacio Cháves, San Fernando de Béxar, 1823 March 13. Attached certificate: John W. Smith, Bexar, 1837 August 28, 1837 December 8. 14 Deed: José María Ramírez and Rafaela de Cuellar to Ygnacio Cháves, San Fernando de Béxar, 1823 April 16. Appended certificate: Manuel Yturri Castillo, 1823 April 17. 15 Deed: José María Ramíres and Rafaela de Cuellar to Ygnacio Cháves, San Fernando de Béxar, 1823 April 16. Appended certificate: John W. Smith, 1837 August 28, 1837 December 8. 16 Bill of sale: María Josefa Flores to Ygnacio Cháves, signed by possibly José María Salinas, 1823 May 25. 17 Resolution: Ayuntamiento Constitucional de San Fernando de Béxar, appointment of Ygnacio Cháves, Sergeant, Second Class, 1823 October 6.