The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905 Page: 124
xiii, 358 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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124
Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
In accordance with the constitution the colony was governed at
least as early as 1830 by commissaries and sindicos procuradores,
chosen, it may be inferred, by the authorities of San Felipe. These
seem to have been appointed each year until 1832, when the ayun-
tamiento was established.1
In the Spanish municipal government the ayuntamiento was
composed of alcaldes, regidores, and stndicos procuradores, the
number of each to be determined by the population of the towns.2
These officers were to be named by electors, chosen by a majority
of voters at popular conventions held in December of each year.
The ayuntamiento was to enter upon its duties on January 1 of the
following year. The alcaldes, half the regidores, and half the
sindicos procuradores, provided there were more than one, were to
be changed each year. No member of the ayuntamiento could be
re-elected under two years. A member of the ayuntamientn must
be a qualified citizen, twenty years of age, and must have resided
at least five years in the pueblo. With the exception of persons
serving in the national militia, no one holding a public office by
23, 1828. Bexar Archives. The first alcalde of San Felipe who had
jurisdiction over De Witt's colony was Thomas M. Duke, elected Decem-
ber, 1827. Joseph White, Thomas Barnet, and Francis Johnson were the
respective incumbents for the next three years. In 1831 Horatio Chries-
man and John Austin were elected first and second alcaldes. But during
the next year the ayuntamieno at Gonzales was established, and there-
after San Felipe had only one alcalde.
1 Ram6n Musquiz to governor, July 17, 1831. Bexar Archives. Field-
ing Porter was commissary in 1830, but was murdered in that year (affida-
vit made before J. B. Patrick, 1830. Bexar Archives). J. B. Patrick
seems to have taken his place, and he continued in office through 1831
(passport given J. W. E. Wallace by J. B. Patrick, June 29, 1831. Bexar
Archives). In 1832 Ezekiel Williams was serving as commissary (Ram6n
Musquiz to Green De Witt and Ezekiel Williams, May 27, 1832. Bexar
Archives). In 1830 A. M. Clare was sindico procurador (Clare to polit-
ical chief, July 28, 1830. Bexar Archives).
"According to the provisions of the decree of May 23, 1812, for the
formation of the constitutional ayuntamientos, the town of not more than
two hundred inhabitants was to have one alcalde, two regidores, and one
sindico procurador; towns of more than two hundred but not more than
five hundred, one alcalde, four regidores, and one sindico procurador;
towns of more than five hundred but less than one thousand, one alcalde,
six regidores, and one sindico procurador; towns of from one to four
thousand, two alcaldes, eight regidores, and two sindicos procuradores.
The number of regidores was to be augmented to twelve in towns of more
than four thousand (White, Land Law in California, Oregon, Texas &c.,
I 416-418).
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 8, July 1904 - April, 1905, periodical, 1905; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101033/m1/126/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.