After the Texian victory at San Jacinto in April 1836, a flood of animosity was unleashed first on Bejareños [1] and later on all Tejanos in the new Republic. Anglo-American volunteers who participated in the revolution were largely ignorant of Tejano culture and politics. This lack of knowledge led to a belief that all Mexicans were dubious in their intentions toward Anglos and held hidden loyalties to General Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's centralist government. (Image - Don Martín De León from the Sons of DeWitt Colony, http://www.tamu.edu/)Under a swell of Anglos surging into Texas from the United States, Tejano families who had fought valiantly alongside Anglo-colonists and volunteers found themselves fighting once again, only this time for ancestral property and land. In a short period, Texas, a once-proud colony of Spanish acculturation, now embraced Anglo-American values and manners. The homogeneous tide of settlers into the Republic viewed Spanish culture and its caste mentality as mongrel and inferior. Moreover, those Tejanos who had rejected centralism became pariahs in both Mexican and Texan society.
Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies inflicted upon loyal Tejanos involved the aristocratic family of Empresario Don Martín De León, founder of De León Colony and Victoria, Texas. Don Martin died in 1833, but his wife, Madam Doña Patricia De León provided both sons and money to the Texas revolution. After San Jacinto, the family suffered the cruel prejudices and antipathy of the new Anglo citizenry. Victims of racial hatred, the De León family fled to New Orleans, where they lived in abject poverty for three years before returning to Mexico.
In 1844, Madam De León returned home to Victoria only to discover that her family's homes, property, and livestock were all gone, seized by ruthless and dishonest newcomers into the Republic. The De León family, who contributed much to the independence of Texas, found their repayment to be ostracism and banishment. Madam De León died in 1849 and was buried next to Don Martin in the Victoria churchyard.
Victor Rose concludes his History of Victoria (1883) with, "Alas, what a sad commentary upon the administration of human justice, to say nothing of its ingratitude, is that presented in the misfortunes of this most worthy family."
In 1971 the Don Martín De León Memorial Foundation was established and funds were raised and permission granted to establish State Historical Markers and a preserved site in the cemetery to honor members of the De León family and their contribution to Texas. Markers were established for Empresario Martín De León, wife Patricia De León, and sons Fernando, Silvestre, Felix and Agapito. On 8 April 1972, dedication services were held at Victoria City Hall and Evergreen Cemetery. It was attended by several hundred including dignitaries from Texas, the United States and Mexico. Present was the great grandson of first President of Mexico Guadalupe Victoria after which the city was named.[2]
[1] A citizen of San Antonio de Bexar
[2] From The Empresario by A.B.J. Hammett, 1973 – Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas Web Site
Read more about the De Leon family at: http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/deleon2.htm
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