Gómez Farías Family Papers, 1807-1990

Biographical Note

Born in 1781 in Guadalajara, Valentín Gómez Farías practiced medicine in Aguascalientes before being elected vice-president under Antonio López de Santa Anna in 1833. In 1833, 1834, 1846, and 1847, he served intermittently as interim president in Santa Anna's absence. Valentín led the movement known as the First Reform, which attempted to diminish the power of the church in civil affairs and to establish public education and other reforms. In 1850, he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of Mexico. After the rebellion of Ayutla succeeded in overthrowing Santa Anna definitively in 1855, Valentín was elected again to the Congress. Valentín died 1858 in Mexico City.

Valentín married Isabel Lopez in 1817 and together they had four children. His son Benito Gómez Farías was born in 1828. Like his father, Benito was involved with politics and government. Benito spent much of his adult life abroad, especially in London where he served as his father’s business agent and then with the Mexican diplomatic legation there. In 1891, Porfirio Díaz appointed Benito Minister of Finance. Benito returned to the Mexican Consulate in London as Ambassador and Plenipotentiary Minister from 1892-1893, then was appointed to Secretary of the Treasury and Public Finance from 1893-94. Benito also served for a time as a Senator. He moved his family to the Hacienda El Molina de Pedreguera (also called San Roque) in Xalapa, Veracruz, in 1905. Benito died in 1914.

María Luisa Gómez Farías was the youngest of the six children of Benito Gómez Farías and María de la Concepción Cañedo. Born in 1880, María Luisa married Ramón Dehesa, son of Veracruz governor Teodoro Dehesa, in 1911. She inherited the Hacienda El Molino de Pedreguera from her parents.

The youngest of five daughters of María Luisa and Ramón, Valentina Dehesa Gómez Farías, was born in 1918. She devoted most of her life to the reconstruction and maintenance of the Hacienda El Molino de Pedreguera, which she inherited from her parents. Valentina died in 2005.

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Scope and Contents Note

This collection is comprised of the personal papers of Mexican statesman Valentín Gómez Farías and his descendants. Materials date from 1807-1990 and include correspondence, financial documents, business records, legal and official documents, printed material, and maps from several generations of the Gómez Farías Family. The collection measures 6 linear feet and is comprised of 6 subgroups: Valentín Gómez Farías, Benito Gómez Farías, María Luisa Gómez Farías de Dehesa and Ramón Dehesa, Valentina Dehesa Gómez Farías de Montalvo, Various Correspondence, and Collected Materials.

The first four subgroups correspond to four successive generations of the Gómez Farías Family. The first subgroup contains the records of   Valentín Gómez Farías. The records include personal and biographical information, correspondence, financial documents, and legal and official documents that date from 1820-1990, with the bulk of the records dating from 1820-1861. The correspondence in this subgroup is mostly between Valentín and his family.

Comprising the bulk of the collection, subgroup two contains the records of   Benito Gómez Farías. It consists of personal and biographical information, correspondence between Benito and his family as well as between Benito and his business and political associates, financial documents, legal and official documents, and collected materials.

The third subgroup includes the records of   María Luisa Gómez Farías de Dehesa and Ramón Dehesa. Along with personal and biographical information, correspondence, financial documents, and legal and official documents, this subgroup contains records related to Hacienda El Molino de Pedreguera. The bulk of the records from El Molino de Pedreguera relate to María Luisa and Ramón, though the series also contains records from both Benito Gómez Farías, who purchased the property in 1890, and Valentina Dehesa Gómez Farías de Montalvo.

The fourth subgroup consists of the records of   Valentina Dehesa Gómez Farías de Montalvo. It includes personal and biographical information, personal correspondence, and legal and official documents.

  Various Correspondence, the fifth subgroup, contains collected correspondence and correspondence with incomplete sender and/or recipient information. Letters are arranged alphabetically by sender or by recipient if no sender information is available. Letters lacking both sender and recipient information are organized chronologically.

The   Collected Materials in subgroup six include awards and recognitions, financial documents, legal and official documents, and printed material not related to the Gómez Farías family.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted.

Use Restrictions

Standard copyright restrictions apply.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Gómez Farías Family papers, Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin.

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Box and Folder Inventory

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