Nationality Spanish Name Tomas Sanchez | Occupation Captain Role Captain | |
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Full Name Tomas Sanchez de la Barrera Born June 04, 1709 Cienega de Flores, Nuevo Leon, New Spain Died January 21, 1796, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico | ||
Tomas Sanchez 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, at the time the only town in the Nuevo Santander Province.
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Origins
Captain Tomas Sanchez de la Barrera y de la Garza, was born into northern Mexico's oligarchic families. His father's family roots are traced to the old "hidalgo" families of Andalucia, Spain. His mother was descended from the noble Onate-Zaldivar family, conquistadors of New Mexico; and the politically entrenched De La Garza family, conquerors of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, who controlled extensive lands from Saltillo to the Rio Grande.
Ramon H. Dovalina, the president of Laredo Community College from 1995 to 2007, is a paternal descendant of Captain Sanchez.
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 Jose de Escandon, 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 Tomas Sanchez 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.