Nationality Spanish | Occupation Captain | |
 | ||
Full Name Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera Born June 04, 1709 Cienega de Flores, Nuevo Leon, New Spain Died 21 January 1796, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico | ||
Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera (June 4, 1709 - January 21, 1796) was a veteran Spanish captain who founded Laredo, Texas, United States, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the only town in the Nuevo Santander Province at then.
Contents
Origins
Captain Tomas Sanchez de la Barrera y de la Garza was born into northern Mexico's oligarchic families. His paternal lineage originates from the distinguished hidalgo families of Andalucía, Spain. His mother is descended from the noble Oñate-Zaldivar family, conquistadors of New Mexico; and the politically entrenched De La Garza family, conquerors of Nuevo León, Mexico, who controlled extensive lands from Saltillo to the Rio Grande.
Ramón H. Dovalina, president of Laredo Community College from 1995 to 2007, is a paternal descendant of Captain Sánchez.
Founding of Laredo
He first arrived in Texas in 1749 to a place he named "El Paso de Jacinto", later called "Indian Ford", which is now west of Downtown Laredo. He then petitioned Colonel José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda for permission to found a town at this location. His petition was granted on May 15, 1755. He named the new townsite, Villa de San Agustin de Laredo, in honor of Saint Augustine and Colonel Escandon's hometown Laredo, Cantabria, Spain. Don Tomás Sánchez first established three families in the new villa. The site selected is located in the San Agustine Historical District in Downtown Laredo near the San Agustine Cathedral.