José Antonio Navarro
A descendant of Corsican merchants and Spanish nobility, Navarro’s
practical knowledge and visionary mind provided him – and the Tejano community
– with a foundation for greatness. Navarro began practicing law in San Antonio,
and by 1836, his terms in the Mexican state and federal legislatures prepared
him to serve on committees that authored the first Texas constitution. One of only two native born Texans to sign
the Texas Declaration of Independence, the Navarro signature lives on in San
Antonio’s vibrant Tejano culture and in one of the city’s last Tejano adobe
structures, Casa Navarro State Historic Site.
Erasmo and Juan Seguín
Béxar
native Erasmo Seguín and his son, Juan, were among the most influential Tejanos
of the Revolutionary period. Erasmo supported Anglo immigration and counseled Empresario Stephen F. Austin. During
the 1835 Siege of Béxar, both sided with their American neighbors against Santa
Anna’s authoritarian regime, contributing more than $4,000-worth of supplies to
the rebel army. Juan was an Alamo courier. Later he commanded a Tejano company
and fought at San Jacinto. During the 1836 Mexican occupation of Béxar, the
54-year-old Erasmo and his wife retired to East Texas. When they returned they
found their home ransacked and their cattle scattered.