Juan Curbelo (Tejano settler)

Juan Curbelo (1680 - 1760) was a Spanish politician who served as the sixth and eighth mayor of San Antonio, Texas in 1737 and 1739. His family arrived in San Antonio from the Canary Islands in 1731 with other Canarian families to populate the region.

Juan Curbelo
6th Mayor of San Antonio
In office 1737–1737
Monarch	Philip V
Preceded by	Antonio de los Santos
Succeeded by	Ignacio Lorenzo de Armas
8th Mayor of San Antonio
In office 1739–1739
Monarch	Philip V
Preceded by	Ignacio Lorenzo de Armas
Succeeded by	Juan Delgado
Personal details
Born	1680 Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Died	January 26, 1760(1760-01-26) (aged 79–80) San Fernando de Béxar, Texas
Spouse(s)	Gracia Perdomo y Umpienres

Biography

Juan Curbelo was born in 1680 in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain[1] and was son of Domingo Curbelo y María Martín Enríquez.[2] He arrived in San Fernando de Béxar, Texas (present-day San Antonio) in 1731. In 1737 and 1739, he served one-year terms as mayor of the community.[2] He married Gracia Perdomo y Umpienres.[1] Juan Curbelo and his wife had five children: José, Juan Francisco (born in La Palma, Canary Islands), Mariana (born in Lanzarote), Juana and María Curbelo.[2] He died in 1760 in La Villa de San Fernando (San Antonio) de Béxar.[1]

His son José was mayor of San Antonio three times: 1746, 1751 and 1757.[2] His daughter Maria Ana married alguacil Vicente Álvarez Travieso[1] and his granddaughter Maria Jesusita Curbelo married the future mayor of San Antonio (between the 1830s and 1840s), John William Smith.[3] His descendant, Craig Curbello, was elected Mayor of Deer Park, Texas in 1998.

References

1. Juan Curbelo profile, Bexargenealogy.com; accessed April 18, 2018.
2. Balbuena Castellano, José Manuel (2007). "Organización de los Isleños". La odisea de los canarios en Texas y Luisiana [The odyssey of the Canarians in Texas and Louisiana] (in Spanish). Anroart Ediciones. ISBN 978-84-96577-93-0.
3. "John William Smith--Soldier, Messenger, Patriot". www.tamu.edu.