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Our Catlzolic Heritage in T ezas
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been for his illness, there would have been nine priests and three lay brothers on the expedition_Before the party reached its destination, how- ever, Father Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus, Father Fray Agustin and Fray Francisco de San Diego, lay brother, joined their companions.~ 2 Behind the missionaries, as an evident demonstration of the relative position of the two, came the military, whose purpose was to lend support and aid in the work of congregating the Indians and in teaching them by example the civilized methods of living. There were twenty-five mounted soldiers, besides Captain Ramon, · as follows: Diego Ramon, Ensign, Diego Ramon (Jr.), Sergeant Major, Antonio de Espronceda, Francisco de Revilla, Joseph Garcia, Domingo Jimenez, Juan de Zertuche, Nicolas de los Santos Coy, Juan Valdez, Diego Valdez Jimenez, Joseph Galindo, Antonio Flores, Bernardo Prieto, Domingo Flores, Agustin Tellez, Marcial Saucedo, Joseph Garcia {Jr.), Lazaro Chirino, Antonio Cadena, Joseph Cadena, Lorenzo Mercado, Juan de Castro, Manuel Maldonado. Francisco Betancur, and Domingo Gonzalez, all mounted. There went also a number of men and women, not enlisted, who came for the purpose of settling in the new country, or perhaps to be on hand in case any mines were discoYered or opportunities for profitable trade developed. Among the voluntary settlers were Lorenzo Garcia, retired ensign, with his family-the number of its members is not given- Lorenzo Garcia, former sergeant, Pedro Botello, with his family, number cisco de San Diego, lay brother, had to stay behind to care for Father Margi! at the Mission of San Juan Bautista. He not only recovered, but he actually over- took the expedition before it reached East Texas. Provi11cias /nternas, Vol. 181, pp. 96, 122. ZlThere has been considerable conje(ture as to the number of missionaries and lay brothers that actually went on this expedition. At the start, as listed by Ramon and confirmed by Espinosa, there were seven priests, all religious, and two lay brothers. Some time before the expedition reached the province of the Tejas, Father Margi! anti Father Patron joined their fellow missionaries, as they both signed the report of the establishment of the missions on July 22, 1716. The name of Fray Francisco de San Diego, as well as those of the other two lay brothers, do not appear in this document, but it is safe to assume that Fray Francisco accom- panied Fathers Margi! and Patron. It can safely be said, therefore, in view of all the evidence available now, that there were five Queretaran missionaries: Fr. Isidro Felix de Espinosa, President, Fr. Francisco Hidalgo, Fr. Gabriel Vergara, Fr. Benito Sanchez, and Fr. Manuel Castellanos; · four Zacatecan missionaries: Fr. Antonio Margi! de Jesus, President, Fr. Matias Saenz de San Antonio, Fr. Pedro de Santa ~faria y Mendoza, and Fr. Agustin Patron; and three lay brothers, two from Queretaro: Fr. Frnncisco Javier Cubillos and Fr. Domingo de Urioste, and one from Zacatecas, Fr. Francisco de San Diego. Provincias /11ter11as, Vol. 181, pp. 132-135; San Francisco el Grande Arc/1ive, Vol. Vlll, 114-II6.
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