Texas Archival Resources Online

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Organization of Collection

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Notes to Researchers

Viceroys of New Spain, 1535-1822

Description of Series

Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Mexican Manuscript Collection, 1555-1987

University of Texas San Antonio

A Guide to the Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Mexican Manuscript Collection, 1555-1987



Descriptive Summary

Creator: Sons of the Republic of Texas
Title: Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Mexican Manuscript Collection
Dates: 1555-1987
Abstract: The Kathryn Stoner O'Conner Mexican Manuscript Collection, collected by the Sons of the Republic of Texas, is made up of 5400 printed and manuscript documents, periodicals, pamphlets, and broadsides, predominantly written in Spanish, and ranging in date from the 16th through the 20th centuries. The collection includes government documents, financial records, legal petitions, political and ecclesiastical decrees, wills and legal testaments, and personal and business letters. A broad array of topics is covered in the collection, including information on government, politics, finances, work, religion, social status, marriage and family, and numerous other subjects of social and historical interest.
Identification: MS 71
Extent: 30 linear feet (about 22,500 items)
Language: Most of the materials are in Spanish. Some materials are in Latin and English.
Repository: Archives and Special Collections Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio Library.

Historical Note

F. M. O. Fenn organized the first lodge of the society now known as the Sons of the Republic of Texas, on April 11, 1893, in Richmond, Texas. Ten days later, a state society was formed in Houston. The society met in conjunction with the Texas Veterans Association for several years before becoming inactive. In 1922, the organization was reactivated in Houston by Odin M. Kendall and several members of the original group. The society now maintains more than 55 chapters in various cities throughout Texas. Its objectives were then, as now, to perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who founded Texas, to encourage research, to promote the observance of Texas holidays, to preserve and mark historical sites, and to foster comprehensive knowledge of the state.

With the help of Jesse H. Jones, the society was influential in securing funds for construction of the San Jacinto Monument. It helped found the San Jacinto Museum of History and promoted the observance of San Jacinto Day. Since 1970, the society has presented the Presidio La Bahía Award to book authors for research into the Spanish colonial period of Texas. In 1993, the SRT established a separate award category for a published paper, periodical article or non-literary project. Also in 1970, the SRT began supporting the Spanish Texas Microfilm Center, located then at Presidio La Bahía in Goliad, under the direction of Miss Carmen Perry.

The Kathryn Stoner O'Conner Mexican Manuscript Collection is named in honor of Kathryn Carlisle Stoner O'Connor. Kathryn (Kate) Carlisle Stoner O'Connor, preservationist, philanthropist, and historian, was born on February 11, 1883, on her family's ranch in Victoria County. She is remembered primarily for her role in the restoration and preservation of Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio (Presidio La Bahía) in Goliad. Mrs. O'Connor received many honors for her work with historical preservation and religious charities. She died in Victoria on February 8, 1979, and was buried at River Ranch in Refugio. In 1980 a collection of rare documents about Texas-Mexico history, owned by the Sons of the Republic of Texas and housed at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was named in her honor.

Excerpted from "A Brief History of the Sons of the Republic of Texas" by the Sons of the Republic of Texas, and "Kathryn Carlisle Stoner O'Connor" by Louise S. O'Connor in The Handbook of Texas Online.

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Scope and Content Note

The Kathryn Stoner O'Conner Mexican Manuscript Collection is made up of 5,400 printed and manuscript documents, periodicals, pamphlets, and broadsides, predominantly written in Spanish, and ranging in date from the 16th through the 20th-centuries. The collection includes government documents, financial records, legal petitions, political and ecclesiastical decrees, wills and legal testaments, and personal and business letters. There is a broad array of topics covered in the collection, including information on government, politics, finances, work, religion, social status, marriage and family, and numerous other subjects of social and historical interest. Many of the documents were addressed to the municipal district of Tulancingo, in the city of the same name, which is located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, northeast of the Federal District of México.

Perhaps the most significant document in the collection is a contemporary manuscript copy of the Articles of Surrender signed by William B. Fannin at the Battle of Coleto (Texas) on March 20, 1836. The earliest original document in the Collection is a civil suit, dated 1555, concerning the distribution of land in Tulancingo to its Mexican Indian citizens. Other documents refer to earlier dates but probably are later copies of original documents, or incorporate information from earlier documents. The bulk of the collection is dated in the 19th century. Very few documents are from the 20th century with less than forty documents dated 1940 or later. The latest document is a brief biography of Count Bernardo de Galvéz, a pamphlet printed in 1987 for the bicentennial anniversary of his death in 1786.

The collection is physically organized into six series. The first series is related to Kings, Emperors, Popes, Viceroys and Presidents. Government documents include items by or about the Kings of Spain; two emperors of Mexico (Iturbide and Maximillian); Viceroys of Mexico; Presidents of Mexico and the United States. The first series is organized initially by office; then by name of the individual King, Pope, Viceroy or President; and lastly by date.

The General series comprises the bulk of the collection with four additional, smaller series: Estado de Durango, Hacienda de Juchimanga, Salarios y Mercedes, and Estado de Puebla.

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Organization of Collection

Series 1. Kings, Emperors, Popes, Viceroys and Presidents, 1489-1921
Series 2. General, 1555-1987
Series 3. Estado de Durango, 1650-1892
Series 4. Hacienda de Juchimanga, 1563-1885
Series 5. Salarios y Mercedes, 1553-1670
Series 6. Estado de Puebla, 1840-1877

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions on these materials.

Usage Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Mexican Manuscript Collection must be obtained from the Sons of the Republic of Texas. Contact the Sons organization at: SRT Headquarters, 1717 Eighth Street, Bay City, Texas, 77414, Attention: SRT/O'Connor Collection, Telephone: 979-245-6644, Fax: 979-244-3819

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Index Terms

Organizations
Sons of the Republic of Texas.
Subjects
Manuscripts, Mexican.
Viceroys--New Spain.
Kings--Spain.
Popes.
Presidents--Mexico.
Emperors--Mexico.
Locations
Hidalgo (Mexico : State)
Tulancingo (Hidalgo, Mexico)
Genres/Formats
Manuscripts.
Legal documents.
Financial records.
Correspondence.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Mexican Manuscript Collection, 1555-1987, MS 71, Archives and Special Collections, University of Texas at San Antonio Library.

Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased circa 1976-1977, by the Sons of the Republic of Texas, under the guidance of San Antonio archivist Miss Carmen Perry. The collection was purchased from the widow of Mexico City antiquarian book and coin dealer Jesús Sánchez Garza, deposited in the UTSA Library at the time of its purchase, and placed on indefinite loan in 1979.

Processing Information

Carmen Perry, first archivist for the collection, and later Isabel de Pedro Solis, professor of Spanish, worked for twenty-five years to compile an index-card catalog of this collection. This extensive and detailed card catalog system served as the basis for the creation of the electronic database in 2002. The San Antonio Area Foundation originally provided funding to transfer the data from index-card catalog to electronic format. In 2004, the SRT obtained additional funding from the Summerlee Foundation to continue the project for two more years and expand the information in the database. The resulting product was a searchable electronic database of the collection. Access to the card catalog is available in the UTSA Archives reading room.

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Other Finding Aid

Electronic access to the collection is available through an online database: http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Archives/SRT/. Users may search the database by author, title, date, geographic location, or subject. The database is currently unavailable. The UTSA Library is working on moving these records to a different location.

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 Notes to Researchers 

The bulk of the collection consists of 18th and 19th century documents. These comprise about 20% and 60% of the collection, respectively. About five percent of the collection is identified as either 16th or 17th century (112 and 188, respectively). Five percent of the documents in the collection (about 275) are undated.

Lists of the Viceroys of Mexico, 1535-1822, and the heads of Mexican government, 1821-1994, are included in this guide for researcher reference.

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 Viceroys of New Spain, 1535-1822 

Mendoza, Antonio de, 1535-1552

Velasco, Luis (Padre), 1550-1564

Peralta, Gaston de, 1566-1567

Enriquez de Almansa, Martin, 1568-1580

Suarez de Mendoza, Lorenzo. Conde de la Coruna, 1580-1583

Moya de Contreras, Pedro, Arzobispo de Mexico, 1583-1585

Manrique de Zuniga, Alvaro, Marques de Villamanrique, 1585-1590

Velasco, Luis, (Hijo), 1590-1595

Zuniga y Acevedo, Gaspar de, 1595-1603

Mendoza y Luna, Juan de, Marques de Salinas, 1607-1611

Garcia Guerra, O.P. Arzobispo, 1611-1612

Fernandez de Cordoba, Diego. Marques de Guadalcazar, 1612-1621

Carrillo de Mendoza y Pimentel Marques de Gelves y Conde de Priego, 1621-1624

Pacheco de Osorio, Rodrigo, Marques de Cerralvo, 1624-1635

Diaz de Aux de Armendaris, Lope Marques de Cadereyta, 1635-1640

Lopez Pacheco Cabrera y Bobadilla, Diego Marques de Villena, Duque de Escalona, 1640-1642

Palafox y Mendoza, Juan de, 1642

Garcia Sarmiento de Sotomayor, Conde de Salvatierra, Marques de Sobroso, 1642-1648

Torres y Rueda, Marcos de, Obispo de Yucatan, 1648-1649

Enriquez y Guzman, Luis, Conde de Alva de Liste, Marques de Villaflor, 1650-1653

Fernandez de la Cueva, Francisco. Duque de Alburquerque, 1653-1660

Leyva y de la Cerda, Juan de, Marques de Leyva y de Labrada, Conde de Banos, 1660-1664

Osorio de Escobar, Diego, Obispo de Puebla, 1664 (Junio-Octubre)

Toledo, Antonio Sebastian de. Marques de Mancera, 1664-1673

Nuno Colon de Portugal, Pedro, Duque de Veragua y Marques de Jamaica, 1673 (Diciembre)

Payo Enriquez de Rivera, O.E.S.A. Arzobispo, 1673-1680

Cerda y Aragon, Tomas Antonio. Marques de la Laguna, Conde de Paredes, 1680-1686

Portocarrero Lasso de la Vega, Melchor, Conde de Monclova, 1686-1688

Sandoval Silva y Mendoza, Gaspar, Conde de Galvez, 1688-1696

Ortega y Montanez, Juan Obispo de Michoacan, 1696 (Febrero-Diciembre)

Sarmiento y Valladares, Jose. Conde de Moctezuma y de Tula, 1696-1701

Ortega y Montanes, Juan. Arzobispo de Mexico, 1701 (Abril-Octubre)

Fernandez de la Cueva Enriquez, Francisco. Duque y Marques de Cuellar, 1701-1711

Alencastre Noruna y Silva, Fernando. Duque de Linares, 1711-1716

Zuniga y Guzman Sotomayor y Mendoza, Baltasar de. Marques de Valero, Duque de Arion, 1716-1722

Acuna, Juan de, Marques de Casafuerte, 1722-1734

Vizarron y Eguiarreta, Juan Antonio Arzobispo de Mexico, 1734-1740

Castro y Figueroa, Pedro Duque de la Conquista, 1740-1741

Cebrian y Agustin, Pedro Conde de Fuenclara, 1742-1746

Guemes y Horcasitas, Juan Francisco Conde de Revillagigedo I, 1747-1754

Ahumada y Villalon, Agustin Marques de las Amarillas, 1755-1760

Cajigal de la Vega, Francisco, 1760 (Abril-Octubre)

Montserrat, Joaquin de Marques de Cruillas, 1760-1766

Croix, Carlos Francisco de Marques de Croix, 1766-1771

Bucareli y Ursua, Antonio Maria, 1771-1779

Mayorga, Martin de, 1779-1783

Galvez, Matias, 1783-1784

Galvez, Bernardo Conde de Galvez, 1785-1786

Nunez de Haro y Peralta, Alonso Arzobispo de Mexico, 1787 (Mayo-Agosto)

Flores Maldonado de Angulo y Bodquin Manuel Antonio, 1787-1789

Guemes-Pacheco y Padilla, Juan Vicente de Conde de Revillagigedo II, 1789-1794

Grua Talamanca de Branciforte, Miguel de la Marques de Branciforte, 1794-1798

Azanza, Miguel Jose de, 1798-1800

Berenguer de Marquina, Felix, 1800-1803

Iturrigaray, Jose de, 1803-1808

Garibay, Pedro, 1808-1809

Lizana y Beaumont, Francisco Javier Marques de la Reunion de Nueva Espana, 1809-1810

Venegas de Saavedra, Francisco Javier, 1810-1813

Calleja del Rey, Felix Maria, 1813-1816

Ruiz de Apodaca, Juan Conde del Venadito, 1816-1821

Novella, Francisco, 1821

O'Donoju, Juan, 1822 (Agosto-Septiembre)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Mexican Manuscript Collection, 1555-1987

Electronic access to the collection is available through an online database: http://libgate.utsa.edu:20068/. Users may search the database by author, title, date, geographic location, or subject. More information is available at the Kathryn Stoner O'Conner Mexican Manuscript Collection page of the UTSA Archives and Special Collections website: http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Archives/SRT/.
NOTE: Electronic access to the collection is not currently available - the UTSA Library is working on moving these records to a different location. Please contact the UTSA Archives regarding any questions related to this collection.

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