José Francisco "Francis" Ruiz (''c.'' January 29, 1783 – January 19, 1840) was a Spanish soldier, educator, politician, Republic of Texas Senator, and revolutionary.

Early life

Ruiz was born in

San Antonio de Bexar ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

in the interior province of

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a lega ...

, to Juan Manuel Ruiz and María Manuela de la Peña.

Career

Appointed the first schoolmaster of San Antonio in 1803, he designated as the first school a house acquired by his father, on Military Plaza. This house was carefully reconstructed in 1943 and moved to the grounds of the

Witte Museum The Witte Museum was established in 1926 and is located in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, Texas. It is dedicated to telling the stories of Texas, from prehistory to the present. The permanent collection features historic artifacts and photograp ...

, where it is still used for educational purposes. In 1805, Ruiz became a member of the

San Antonio City Council The San Antonio City Council is the legislative arm of the municipal government of the city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. It consists of 10 members elected from single-member districts. San Antonio has a council-manager form of gov ...

. He served in various official capacities including city attorney, or procurador.

Military

Ruiz began a long military career in Spain in 1813, fighting at the

battle of Medina The Battle of Medina was fought approximately 20 miles south of San Antonio de Bexar (modern-day downtown San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas) on August 18, 1813, as part of the Mexican War of Independence against Spanish authority in Mexico ...

on August 18. Forced into exile from Texas until 1822, Ruiz returned after Mexico won its independence from Spain. He was ordered by the Mexican government to make attempts at peace with the hostile Native American tribes of the north, the

Comanches The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...

and the

Lipan Apaches Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, a ...

. Appointed to the

mounted Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

upon his return, he successfully led a peace treaty delegation of Lipan Apache to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

later in 1822. The next year, Ruiz received a promotion to army captain, unassigned, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, receiving confirmation of his commission in 1825. He was sent to

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

in December 1826 to help put down the

Fredonian Rebellion The Fredonian Rebellion (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Re ...

, receiving command of that detachment in April 1827.Bernice Strong, "RUIZ, JOSE FRANCISCO," Handbook of Texas Onlin

accessed October 13, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Ruiz was a member of the Comisión de Límites (Boundary Commission), which was assigned to explore areas of Texas following the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. This commission left Mexico City on November 10, 1827, under the command of General Manuel de Mier y Terán. Ruiz returned to Bexar in 1828, where he commanded the famed

Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras, also known as the Álamo de Parras Company, were Spanish lancers from San José y Santiago del Álamo in Coahuila. Their 1803 occupation of the San Antonio de Valero Mission is reputed to be the reas ...

, which established Fort Tenoxtitlán in 1830. In the fall of 1828, Ruiz led the Mier y Teran group of 30 Mexican soldiers and commission members, including naturalist

Jean-Louis Berlandier Jean-Louis Berlandier (1803 – 1851) was a French-Mexican naturalist, physician, and anthropologist. Early life Berlandier was born in Geneva, and later trained as a botanist there. During this time he probably served an apprenticeship to a ...

, on a bear and buffalo hunt on open lands northwest of San Antonio, with the cooperation of local Comanche leaders Reyuna and El Ronca. From November 19 to December 18, Ruiz and a military party explored the silver mines on the

San Saba River The San Saba River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is an undeveloped and scenic waterway located on the northern boundary of the Edwards Plateau. Course The river begins in two primary branches. The North Valley Prong runs east throu ...

. During this time, he wrote his ''Report on the Indian Tribes of Texas in 1828'', preserved in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. An insight into the trust Ruiz garnered with the Indian tribes of Texas can be found in the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

tribe's reference to him as "a good man no lie and a friend of the Indians." Ruiz retired from the military at the end of 1832.

Politics

Ruiz allied himself with the Texas Revolution in 1835 and traveled to

Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independen ...

, in late February 1836, as a delegate to the

Convention of 1836 The Convention of 1836 was the meeting of elected delegates in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in March 1836. The Texas Revolution had begun five months previously, and the interim government, known as the Consultation, had wavered over whether ...

. On March 2, 1836, Ruiz along with his nephew

José Antonio Navarro José Antonio Navarro (February 27, 1795 – January 13, 1871) was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, rancher, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Peña, he was born into a distinguished noble family at S ...

, signed the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was forma ...

, the only native Texans among the 59 men to sign this historic document. During the revolution he was an outspoken supporter of independence, and he eloquently wrote to his family, "Under no circumstance take sides against the Texans, for only God will return the territory of Texas to the Mexican government."

Later life and family

Ruiz represented the Bexar district as its Senator in the

1st Congress of the Republic of Texas The First Congress of the Republic of Texas, consisting of the Senate of the Republic of Texas and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, met in Columbia at two separate buildings (one for each chamber) and then in Houston at the prese ...

. He died in 1840 and was buried in San Antonio. Ruiz's son Francisco Antonio Ruiz, San Antonio mayor or alcalde at the time, was an important eyewitness to the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

, having been placed under house arrest at his San Antonio home by

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

and later forced by the Mexican dictator to identify the bodies of the deceased after the battle.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Jose Francisco Republic of Texas Senators People of Spanish Texas 1783 births 1840 deaths People from San Antonio People of the Texas Revolution 1st Congress of the Republic of Texas Tejano politicians Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence