Juan Rafael Ortíz memorandum
Collection area: Borderlands
Collection dates: 1834
A holograph letter is signed and dated: Juan Rafael Ortíz, Santa Fe, November 6, 1834. The printed letter-head reads "Gobierno Politico del Territorio de Nuevo Mejico." It is addressed to the Sr. Alcalde of la Cañada; this is probably the mayor of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, 25 miles north of Santa Fe. The letter is a reply to the addressee about the unspecified matter of concern, which has taken avery serious turn.
Official at the Governor's Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the year that Santa Anna assumed dictatorial powers in Mexico; the military leaders at Santa Fe agreed to support his new regime on August 1, 1834, but the coup led to civil war in New Mexico. Under the new constitution of 1836, Ortíz was selected as a member of the first provisional Departmental Junta in 1837, and elected Deputy to the Mexican Congress.
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