Bexar Co. TX - Biography of Pasquale Leo Buquor

Submitted by:  Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar   Slybiz@aol.com


PASQUALE LEO BUQUOR


PASQUALE LEO BUQUOR, born in 1821 in New Orleans, Louisiana, was the son
of  Honore Buquor and Eugenie Provost.
In 1838, at the age of 17, Mr. Buquor came to Texas.  He served under
Gen. T. J. Rusk during the Cherokee Campaign.  On July 6, 1839, a hard
fought battle took place between the Texans and Cherokees in which Chief
Bowles was killed and his band driven from the State.
In 1840, Mr. Buquor came to San Antonio with the U.S. Army as an officer
in the Commissary Department. That same year, he  joined the Texas
Rangers and was in Capt. Jack Hayes' Company.  Mr. Buquor is listed as
being with Captain Hayes on April 7, 1841 during a battle north of Laredo
against about 35 Mexicans who had reportedly been attacking traders
between Laredo and San Antonio.   After the battle, 25 Mexican were taken
prisoner, and three died.  The Rangers suffered no losses.   For his
service to Texas, Mr. Buquor was granted land on Calaveras Creek, about 8
miles east of Mission San Jose.   
On April 26, 1841, he married Maria de Jesus (Teresa) Delgado), a
descendant of six of the original Canary Islander families who settled in
San Antonio in 1731.   After his honeymoon to New Orleans, he spent a
term carrying the mail.  
Mr. Buquor served as City Marshall from February 11,1846 to October
1,1846. He was elected to the office of County Commissioner in February
1852 by a count of 65 votes.  On January 1, 1856, he was appointed Notary
Public in Bexar County by Governor E.M. Pease.  
>From January 1, 1861 to January 1, 1862, he was an alderman for the
City.  When the Civil War broke out, he organized a volunteer company,
and serving as captain, was ordered to Camp Verde and then shortly
ordered to Brownsville.  He was appointed Notary Public of Bexar County
on January 7, 1860 by then Governor Sam Houston.  That same year, he was
also elected Justice of the Peace of Precinct No. 2.  Mr. Buquor was a
personal friend of Col. Robert E. Lee, then commander of the San Antonio
2nd Cavalry.  
By 1862, Mr. Buquor was well known in the city and ran for mayor against
a very strong incumbent, S. A. Maverick, who was one of the biggest
cattlemen in the area.  Mr. Buquor won by 75 votes. He served from
January 1, 1863 until January 1, 1865.  One of the ordinances enacted
during his term in office was outlining the proper conduct of slaves
since this was during the Civil War.  In January 1866, he was listed as a
Notary Public, conveyor and translator.  In 1867, he was appointed City
Assessor.  As reported in a newspaper article in the San Antonio Express
dated March 4, 1881, he was employed as an interpreter in Federal Court
and was probably the "finest Spanish language scholar in all Texas."  He
was a member of the Texas Veteran Association.  In1872, he was appointed
as Supervisor of Elections of Starr County by a U.S. District Judge.  He
was Notary Public and Justice of the Peace in 1872 for Starr County.  On
May 6, 1884, he was appointed by John Ireland, Governor of Texas, as
Honorary Commissioner to the World's Industrial Centennial and Cotton
Exposition.  
Mr. Buquor retired to Floresville and after a long illness he died on
March 15, 901.  He is buried in the Canary Islanders in Cemetery in
Floresville, Texas.

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