Jose de escandon biography of williams

Spanish politician (1700–1770)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Escandón and the second or maternal family name is Helguera.

José de Escandón y Helguera, conde de Sierra (May 19, 1700, Soto de la Marina, Cantabria, Spain – September 10, 1770, Querétaro, New Spain) was a Spanish Indian-fighter in New Spain and the founder and first governor of the colony of Nuevo Santander, which extended from the Pánuco River in the modern-day Mexican state of Tamaulipas to the Guadalupe River in the modern-day U.S.

state of Texas.

Military career before Nuevo Santander

Escandón was one of three sons of Juan de Escandón and Francisca de la Helguera. He arrived in New Spain as a child in 1715. He volunteered to serve as a cadet in the cavalry of the city of Mérida, Aadi where he fought against the English at Laguna de Términos.

For his valor, he was promoted to lieutenant and posted to Querétaro. There h