Antonio de la Garza was born in San Antonio de Béjar, Texas, on May 31, 1776. His parents were Leonardo de la Garza and Magdalena Martinez. His ancestors came from Nuevo Leon. In 1813, he became the first elected mayor of San Antonio.
The first coin in Texas
In 1818, after acquiring permission from the Spanish government, he created the first coin that existed in Texas. On one side of the coin, de la Garza imprinted his initials "JAG" as well as, the year it was minted. On the other side of the coin, he fixed a drawing of one star. The importance of this event was not only the creation of the first coin of Texas, but also that the star symbol drawn in the currency is said to have inspired the "Lone Star," which later became the symbol for the State of Texas. de la Garza began to mint these coins in a building located between the streets of Houston and Soledad for a year and a half.
Landowner
In 1824, thanks to the success of its currency, de la Garza obtained a large extension of land between San Antonio and Medina River. In doing so, he became one of the largest landowners in Bexar County.
Mayor
In 1832, de la Garza became Mayor of San Antonio. That year he signed the articles from the Convention of 1832. Probably at the beginning of 1834 he bought the San Francisco de la Espada Mission. This purchase, however, was deemed illegal by some residents, leading to a rejection of him. This rejection was further strengthened when during the Texas Revolution, some Texas residents thought that his family sympathized with the idea that Texas should remain Mexican. In the 1840s, de la Garza and his family moved near Calaveras Lake. Their house there, a two-story structure, had been built forty years earlier and served three functions: as a church, a school and a community centre.
Personal life
José Antonio de la Garza married Maria Gertrudis de Jesus Rivas Irenaeus on October 21st, 1813 at "La Villa de San Fernando de Béjar". They had 3 children; Carmen, Vicente and Rafael. Later, on July 20th, 1824, he married María Josefa Menchaca and they had four children. One of his sons, Leonardo Garza, became a banker, business owner, and one of the wealthiest citizens of Bexar County in his time. Jose Antonio is the youngest son of Leonardo de la Garza and was born at the de la Garza house on the corner of Acequia and Veramendi streets on May 30th, 1776. Leonardo married Magdalena Martinez in 1735. Leonardo was the grandson son of Cristobal de la Garza and Antonia Guerra Married in 1722. Leonardo’s father and mother were Geronimo de la Garza and Xaviera Cantu both Spaniards, thru Monterrey Nuevo Leon with the Ramon expedition 1716. Cited by the Makers of San Antonio, Chabot. de la Garza died on May 5th, 1851 in San Antonio, according to the State of Texas Bulletin.
Legacy
In 1876 Garza County was named after the family of José Antonio de la Garza.
