The Route of the Guerra Family in a New Country

On March 2, 1836, the republic of Texas was created. The new country became independent of
the republic of Mexico then governed by President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who had
suspended the constitution dissolving the Congress and taking total control of the government.
The Republic of Texas was created from part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas by a
group of Anglo-Americans and Tejanos who did not support the centralized government system
in Mexico City ruled by the dictatorship of Santa Anna.
The first president of the Republic of Texas was David G. Burnett, and the vice president was
Lorenzo de Zavala. This was just for an interim period of March 16-October 22, 1936. The first
congress of the republic convened on October 3, 1836, at Columbia (now West Columbia). It
was formed by thirty representatives elected for one-year terms, and fourteen senators in a two-
house Congress (The House of Representatives and the Senate). Lorenzo de Zavala was the
president of the Senate until October 22, when Mirabeau B. Lamar was inaugurated.
The birth of a new country brought many challenges, especially for Texans who recently went
from being Spanish-Tejanos to Mexican-Tejanos after Mexican independence was won in 1821.
For many years they had established a strong economy and adapted themselves to the severity of
the frontier. They were far from New Spain and lived in a rural environment with a semiarid
climate and meager vegetation. They survived thanks to their inventiveness and great adaptation
to Texas terrain. It was that tenacity that led them to begin a strong economy mainly based on the
cultivation of cotton, sugar cane, and agriculture in general. Also, the livestock industry was a
great business for Texas; Texas exported more than 5,000 head of cattle in 1834. However, the
new country was not free of old practices of commerce. Freelance cargo delivery (and very
often, smuggling) continued to be one of the most lucrative activities in the region. Nacogdoches
had been part of the Old San Antonio Road since 1714; this road was a major route for passing
through Texas. It served as a lifeline for the missions by enabling the transport of freight supplies
and military protection, and it facilitated trade. In the eighteenth century, the road was used
frequently by Spanish ranchers to drive the cattle from different settlements in Texas to Mexico.
This network of trails, with different routes used at different times, was frequently used by
smugglers who knew the region very well, especially to introduce prohibited goods from the port
of New Orleans, Louisiana to Lampasas, Texas, and then to Mexico. Also, the Old San Antonio
Road was an excellent migration route.
All these activities were well known by the first settlers, the original pobladores who adapted
themselves to the rigor of the frontier. Everyday life forced them to face epidemic diseases,
frequent Indian attacks, lack of goods and services, besides the hostile climate. To survive in this
environment they built adobe missions and presidios, drew drinking water and irrigation from
dams, ditches, and aqueducts patterned after those in both Spain and Mexico. The population
growth in the province resulted from the castas and Mexican Indian soldiers in the presidios
intermixing either with women in nearby communities or native Indians who had been
Christianized in the Texas missions. From this practice, extra-legal settlements made up of
families of soldiers or settlers from Mexico sprung up around the missions and the presidios near
Goliad, Nacogdoches, and the villa of San Antonio.
The Spanish-Mexican population, excluding soldiers, numbered approximately 2,240 in 1821
and increased to over 4,000 by 1836. San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches remained the main
Hispanic Settlements. The former descended from the Canary Islanders of the 1730s or from
Spanish families that held government positions, while the latter derived from the mixed-blood
pobladores and performed common labor. Some of these Canary Islanders' families were the
ancestors of Casimiro Guerra and Manuela Delgado. Casimiro Guerra was born and christened in
Bexar, republic of Texas, on 23 Mar 1844. He was the seventh child of Trinidad Guerra and
Maria de los Dolores Hernandez. Casimiro was a farm laborer. He and his family grew crops,
making corn and beans a major part of their diet. Also, they raised milk cows, hogs, and chickens
to provide food and for profit. His father died when Casimiro was a child. Afterward, he and his
oldest brothers helped his mother in taking care of the family. Casimiro also worked as a
freighter for the U.S. government traveling to different routes. At that time, Texas exported great
amounts of cotton crops by horse, mules, and the old two-wheeled oxen carts as well as other
goods and supplies to Houston, Galveston, and the republic of Mexico. The ancestors of
Casimiro had been engaged in that activity for many years, which is why it was not difficult for
him to perform this activity that he knew very well. He traveled the Old San Antonio Road as
well as many other roads in Texas. However, this kind of activity took him away from the city of
San Antonio for some years until he finally made a permanent return.

Casimiro Guerra married Manuela Delgado on 23 Aug 1872. They raised a family of four boys
and five girls and had two other children that died in their infancy. The boys were: Antonio
(1874-1928), Santiago or James (1875-1961), Casimiro (1877-1960), and Jose, Joe, or J.D.
(1889-1963). The girls were; Maria Ursula (1878-1903), Maria Adolfita or Alvina or Maria
Delfina (1880-1951), Manuela or Emma (1882-1946), Maria de los Dolores or Dolores or Laura
(1884-1959), Rosa (1888-1966). The infants were: Sotero (1876) and Vicente (1886) who died
very young. The city of San Antonio was growing rapidly and Casimiro worked as a laborer to
sustain his big family. The family lived on Leigh Street, on the west side of the city, now known
as the Lavaca historic district.
On December 29, 1845, the Republic of Texas was legally annexed to the United States of
America, but the formal transfer of authority from the republic to the state was made on February
19, 1846. For the city of San Antonio de Bexar, the middle of the nineteenth century was a
period of formation and establishment of Spanish and Mexican settlements. However, after the
US-Mexican war, the Anglo population gained dominance. This, along with the subsequent
subordinating practices of marginalization, pushed the Mexican Tejano community from their
native lands to the poor sector of the city, "The west side barrios." During this time, the city of
San Antonio de Bexar was changing from a small colonial outpost to an active and growing city.
The old Spanish colonial adobe buildings gave way to new modern buildings.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the segregation and divided ethnic sectors of the
population were remarkable. The west side of the downtown area was the home of the Mexican
community. The Germans, who also were the great majority of the population, lived in the
eastern and southern portions of the city. The second-largest community was the Irish
community, which lived in the Northeast. The Anglo-Saxons community was settled in the
northern and eastern sectors of the city, while the Italians lived in the northwest area of the town.
The blacks were moved to the eastern boundaries of the city, and the Chinese community was
settled in the near west.
The economy and demand for labor workers were increased and more immigrants kept coming
to the city of San Antonio during the early twentieth century, changing the face of the city and
forming new families. The family of Casimiro Guerra and Manuela Delgado was also
transforming. Two of their nine children were married before the 1900 U.S. census was taken in
this area (14 June 1900). The first one to marry was Maria Ursula Guerra, born in 1878, in
Wilson County, Texas, United States. She married Antonio Lozano, who was born in 1867 in
Mexico. They were married on 8 Jun 1895 in Bexar County. They were living in 718 S. Pecos St.
San Antonio, TX. The distance between the Ursula parent's home and her new home is 1.8 miles.
The reason for this distance was because they were living beside the home of her parents-in-law,
who lived in 716 S. Pecos St. Just next to her home. No occupation was declared by Antonio
Lozano in the 1900 U.S. Census, but his father declared his own occupation as a peddler, maybe
Antonio Lozano helped his father in this commercial activity. The peddler carried his goods in a
pack, offering the products on the street. During the 1900s, it was not uncommon that people
without specified occupations would make a living as peddlers. Antonio and Ursula had three
children; Juan (1895), Margarita (1897), and Hilbert Domingo (1900). Unfortunately, Ursula
died about 1903. Antonio Lozano married Juanita Contreras on 22 Apr 1908.
The second child of Casimiro Guerra to marry was Casimiro Guerra Jr. or C.B. Guerra, born in
1877 in Wilson County, Texas, United States. He married Manuelita Camargo, Born on 1881 in
San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. They were married on 12 Mar 1900 in Bexar County. They
were living at 214 Devine St. San Antonio, TX. The distance between the Casimiro Jr. parent's
home and his new home is 0.2 miles, just around the corner. Most of the Hispanic families lived
close to their parents' homes after marriage, trying to maintain unity in their families, customs,
traditions, and values.
Casimiro Guerra Jr. worked as a painter and years later as an independent contractor, always
working the same occupation of painter during all his life. The high demand for labor in the
region was increased due to the rapid growth of the city. This caused Casimiro Jr. to decide to
establish his own painting business along with his older brother Santiago Guerra and later with
more of his brothers and family. His wife, Manuela Camargo was always dedicated to
housework. They had three children; Mamie (1902), Beatrice (1905), and Edward (1919).
Casimiro Jr. and his family moved to the city of Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas before
1920. He worked there as a painting contractor. His nephew Hilbert Antonio Lozano was
working and living with him and his family. They were living at 1001 W. Saint Francis Street,
Brownsville, TX. Casimiro Jr. died on 1 Jun 1960 in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas due
to coronary occlusion. He was buried in Buena Vista burial park, Brownsville, TX, on 2 Jun
1960.
The city of San Antonio, Texas differed from all other medium-sized and large cities in the
nation in having proportionately the largest Mexican-American community due in large part to
natural fertility and "push-pull" factors of migration. Years later, another strong factor was the
immigration refugees from the Mexican civil war (Mexican revolution 1910-1921). The
Casimiro Guerra and Manuela Delgado family was listed in the 1900 U.S. census as a nine
member family. The children listed there were; Antonio (1874), James or Santiago (1876),
Alvina or Maria Adolfita or Maria Delfina (1880), Emma or Manuela (1882), Laura or Dolores
(1884), Rosa (1888), and Joseph or Jose or J.D. (1889). Casimiro's occupation was not declared
in this 1900 U.S. census, but the San Antonio city directory of 1899 and 1905 listed him as a
laborer. Tejanos filled most unskilled laboring needs in the city, the expansion of the railroad in
the United States and Mexico displaced the old arrieros. However, some of them shifted to work
as laborers in the larger trains that transported goods along the Chihuahua trail and other old
routes, others preferred to work as laborers in odd jobs. According to Arnoldo De Leon, "The
freighting carriers made an immense contribution to the state of Texas, and indeed, had shown
that skill and commitment to purpose could wring out profits both from government and private
contractors at a time when the general society looked upon Tejanos as un-American and not
worthy of trust."