Don Erasmo Seguin's home

[Wade Dillon]

Hello all,

In Three Roads to The Alamo, on pg.515, it is said that Crockett and his companions are brought into town by Bowie and Menchaca and led to the household of Don Erasmo Seguin. Where was his home located? Didn't he have a ranch outside of town, as well?

Thank you,
Wade

[texast]

I found this in at www.archive.org/details/donerasmoseguins00woodrich

The book is out of print as far as I know and copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT no visible notice of copyright; exact publication date unknown.
Don Erasmo Seguin; a Spanish aristocrat
Author: Woods, J. M
Subject: Sequin, Juan José Maria Erasmo de Jesús, 1782-1857;

Page 8 or there abouts:

"Upon this ranch Don Erasmo, in later years, erected "Casa Blanca", a wonderful house for that period, where he and his family entertained most royally Americans being especially welcome. This place, also locally known as "The House of Don Erasmo" is fairly well preserved. It is situated about four miles north-west of Floresville and one-half mile west of the highway to San Antonio.

It is upon a considerable elevation, overlooks the surrounding country, its broad veranda faces the rising sun, emblematical of the faith its builder had in the future of the Commonwealth he had done so much to establish, at its rear stands a magnificent live oak tree under whose branches was dug a well of sweet water."

Not sure if this helps answer anything or not for you but check the book yourself to see how you read it.

[Wade Dillon]

Thank you, TexasT.

I know of Casa Blanca, but understand the Seguin's owned another home in Military Plaza in Bejar. I was wondering where it was located, exactly. I believe it was here that Travis, Bowie, Menchaca, and others discussed their plans of action regarding enemy movement on the night of Crockett's welcoming fandango.

~Wade

[texast]

Ok. It didn't make sense anyway about the Casa Blanca home being the place they were taken or had any type of meeting at, although it could have been at least for a short introduction and short stay of a day or two maybe but, at 30+ miles away would have left them quite out of contact with the main body at Bexar.

I did find some other information though that does make sense to your question in regards to the Military Plaza area.

After Mexico gained its independence from Spain, Erasmo Seguin would be named the Postmaster General of the Department of Bexar, in 1822.

Erasmo had been appointed Postmaster General by the Mexican Government in 1822. This enabled him to continue being a prominent, well-respected citizen. He and his sons skillfully kept up their contacts with the Mexican and Anglo authorities, and continued to nurture their friendships with Stephen F. Austin and the new settlers in Green De Witt's Colony.

Erasmo and his wife moved to San Antonio some time around the turn of the nineteenth century. He purchased one of five lots off the Military Plaza in San Antonio. His lot faced Nueva Street between Puenta (present day Dwyer) and the Acequia Principal, (major water supply route, probably the San Antonio River).

There is a bit more information there at this site www.seguin.net/heritage/gesicktree/gesicktreech2.html
I Suggest reading the first 4 chapters at least for a good understanding also at least from this point of view on some very important possible insight of the times and events.

The following site shows some locations of Bexar County Historic Markers
www.bexar.org/historic/Center/center.htm
Below item 21 there is mention in the legend info for:

Erasmo Seguin - Near his homesite
South side of Main Plaza on Nueva Street

Maybe this is more of the info your looking for. To me it makes more sense that this house was the primary location of any house he may have built in San Antonio/Bexar Proper of the time. The ranch home known as Casa Blanca was somewhere near 33 miles to the south if I remember right from where I saw or read it.

[TRK]

Wade: I spent an hour looking at some of the deed records for Erasmo Seguin in the Bexar County Clerk's database, but couldn't find anything that indicated his domicile in San Antonio (these records only begin in 1837.) There are lots more deeds, etc., to look at if I can find time.

texast: At the expense of seeming pedantic, I'd point out that the article you excerpted has some errors: "Acequia Principal" refers to the acequia that passed north/south up Acequia Street (now Main Avenue), right in front of San Fernando church. Present Dwyer Avenue coincides with the old Quinta Street, not, to my knowledge, Puenta Street (it appears that somebody mistranscribed Quinta). Nueva Street still goes by that name, and it's a long city block south of Main Plaza. Given these coordinates, this lot of Erasmo's would have been, in current terms, facing Nueva between Dwyer and Main: in other words, about 750 feet south of the south side of Main Plaza (not, as the article says, south of Military Plaza).

Don Erasmo bought this lot around the early 1800s, but does that mean that he also built a domicile there and that it was still his townhouse in Bexar in 1836? Maybe we'll see....

[texast]

Thanks trk. That is why I suggested reading the first four chapters at least so that the mistakes or errors might be seen or caught. I don't have access to the deed's or records as you or others may have. I know that several properties were both bought and sold by Erasmo Seguin and also others in his family.

I'm not sure that the errors between the Main Plaza and the Military Plaza are nothing more than mistakes and understandings of terminology of the author of that page/article also or even some of our own misconceptions of the two areas along with the errors also that were either interjected or not in such reports of the visit of Crockett to the said house of Seguin when they arrived in San Antonio.

I think though that since it is mentioned as the primary lot that was purchased early enough it may be plausible that this area might be where the original Seguin home may have been located within or close enough to the Alamo at the time. Many Seguin's are reported being born also within the earlier time periods before 1836 within San Antonio Proper of the time periods as far as I can tell.

Yes further research into deeds should be done to verify as much as possible and I am rather surprised myself how hard it is to find many references to any other homes of Seguin other than the ranch some 30+ miles away from San Antonio.

It is still an unknown answer that can be put into stone but it does also make sense that it would be on that location or general area as it was on the side of San Antonio that would also be close enough yet far away enough to be able to be fairly safe from the actual battle areas and still be able to get to both the town and the Alamo or at least see what was going on safely for the rest of the family. Also it was on the same side of the town one would need to be on to head off towards the actual Casa Blanca Ranch.

Just my thoughts on it. Thanks for helping keep things sorted and hope you find something more concrete to help put this one to rest also.

[TRK]

Nov 27, 2008 15:33:55 GMT -5 @texast said:

I don't have access to the deed's or records as you or others may have.

Anybody can access the Bexar County deeds from 1837 to present. Just go to

www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/Default.aspx

create a free account, and once you've done that, pick "1837-1963 Historical Records" on the menu, and then search by name of grantor/grantee. Plan on it sucking up most of your spare time until the novelty wears off

Not everything that "should" be in the county clerk's records has been scanned and made available online (including some plats), but there's plenty there. Some of the deeds and other records (assignments, affidavits, plats, leases, etc.) are next to illegible, but most of it is usable. Some records are in Spanish.

Any clerical records for Béxar before 1837 are in the Béxar Archives at the University of Texas at Austin and aren't available online.

[texast]

Nov 27, 2008 19:00:57 GMT -5 TRK said:

Anybody can access the Bexar County deeds from 1837 to present. Just go to

www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/Default.aspx

create a free account, and once you've done that, pick "1837-1963 Historical Records" on the menu, and then search by name of grantor/grantee. Plan on it sucking up most of your spare time until the novelty wears off

Not everything that "should" be in the county clerk's records has been scanned and made available online (including some plats), but there's plenty there. Some of the deeds and other records (assignments, affidavits, plats, leases, etc.) are next to illegible, but most of it is usable. Some records are in Spanish.

Any clerical records for Béxar before 1837 are in the Béxar Archives at the University of Texas at Austin and aren't available online.

Thanks I'll have to figure out some timing to go get lost there