Descriptive Summary
Morfi, Juan Agustín, d. 1783
Morfi, Fray Juan Agustín, Narrative
1776-[ca. 1783]
Materials are written in Spanish and English.
5 vols.
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin
Five volumes compose the Fray Agustín Morfi Narrative, 1776-[ca. 1783], chronicling Morfi’s experiences in Texas and Mexico as well as his research on late 17th and 18th century Texas.
Biographical Note
Born in the province of Asturias, Spain, Juan Agustín Morfi (d. 1783) immigrated to America around 1755. In 1761, he became a Franciscan friar in Mexico City, where he also taught theology at the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlaltelolco. Morfi was selected to accompany Commandant General of the Provincias Internas Teodoro de Croix on an expedition to inspect the provinces of New Spain in 1777. The tour included parts of present-day Texas, including San Antonio de Béxar and the border between Chihuahua and Coahuila. Upon his return in 1778, he authored a history of Texas, documenting its exploration and settlement during the late-17th and 18th centuries, and became the guardián of the Convento Grande de San Francisco in 1782.
Source:
Morfi, Juan Agustin. Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed July 19, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmo45.
Scope and Contents
Five volumes compose the Fray Agustín Morfi Narrative, 1776-[ca. 1783], chronicling Morfi’s experiences in Texas and Mexico as well as his research on late 17th and 18th century Texas. A bound volume entitled Memorias de la Provincia de Texas, concerns various contact with Native American tribes and French and Spanish settlements, while containing descriptions of the landscape. Two diaries, as well as a Photostat copy and a translation, describe life in Mexico City and the 1777 expedition with Teodoro de Croix through Mexico and the provinces of New Spain, notably Texas.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Croix, Teodoro de, 1730-1792.
Morfi, Juan Agustín, d. 1783 -- Archives.
Subjects
Indians of North America -- Texas -- History -- 18th century.
Places
Mexico -- Description and travel.
New Spain -- History -- 18th century.
Texas -- Description and travel.
Texas -- Discovery and exploration -- French.
Texas -- Discovery and exploration -- Spanish.
Texas -- History -- Spanish Texas, 1528-1820.
Preferred Citation
Fray Juan Agustín Morfi Narrative, 1776-[ca. 1783], , Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin.
Detailed Description of the Papers
Inventory
2F74
Diaries and Photostat copy,
1776-1781
2Q495
Translation of diary,
August 26, 1779 - June 1, 1781
2Q238
Narrative,
[ca. 1783]