María del Carmen Calvillo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Doña Ana María del Carmen Calvillo (July 9, 1765 – January 15, 1856) was a rancher in Spanish Texas. She owned the Rancho de las Cabras in present-day San Antonio which is now part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (SAAN).[1]
Ana María del Carmen Calvillo | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 9, 1765 |
| Died | January 15, 1856 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Rancher |
Biography
Calvillo was born in San Antonio de Bexar in 1765.[2] She was the oldest of six children.[3] Calvillo defied the customs of her time and was said to have "rode the range like a man".[4] Her grandnephew recalled that she "dressed like a man and could shoot and rope like one".[2]
Calvillo married Juan Lucas Gavino de la Trinidad Delgado in Bexar County sometime around 1781.[2] She kept her maiden name and individually maintained her property under Spanish Law.[2] They had two sons, one baptized in 1783, and another the next year; the youngest son died when he was seven months old.[2] She and her husband also adopted three children.[5] The census showed her and her husband living as ranchers in Villa de San Fernando and, in 1811, they were living on her father's ranch.[2]
Between 1811 and 1814, her husband, Gavino, was involved with overthrowing Spanish rule and sometime during these years, Calvillo left him.[5] In April 1814, Calvillo's father was murdered, and she inherited the ranch known as Rancho de las Cabras (the Goat Ranch).[3][5] She ran the ranch herself and expanded it to include a granary, a sugar mill and an irrigation system.[2] She owned around 2,000 head of cattle,[6] and had a shepherd, a tailor, eight laborers a personal servant and all of their families living and working on her land.[7]
Calvillo didn't formally petition the Mexican government for the title to the ranch until August 28, 1828, which was granted to her in September of the same year.[5] She was later granted three additional leagues of land in 1833.[5] Also in 1833, she had trouble with Indians on her land.[2] She finally had a representative in court in 1851, where she was declared by the court as non compos mentis.[2]
Calvillo died on January 15, 1856.[2] She left the ranch to her adopted daughter and son.[6] People in the area tell stories about her returning as a ghost, riding a white horse across the area around the Rancho de las Cabras.[2]