Background
Silvestre De León was born in 1802 in Texas, the third child of empresario Martín De León and his wife Patricia de la Garza De León. Sister Candelaria, who married José Miguel Aldrete, was born in Texas in 1800.
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Silvestre Leon
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He became the third alcalde of Victoria. He joined the rest of the De León family in New Orleans in 1836 after Brigadier General Thomas Jefferson Rusk ordered the evacuation of Mexican families from Victoria. In 1842, he returned to Victoria and was murdered by persons unknown.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 6544 placed at Evergreen Cemetery in 1972 acknowledges Silvestre De León"s contribution to Texas.
Older brother Fernando De León had been born in Mexico in 1798. They would eventually be joined by two more brothers: Felix (1806) and Agapito (1808).
Five more sisters would also be born into the family: Guadalupe (1804) who married Desedrio Garcia. Maria (1810) who married Rafael Manchola.
Refugia (1812) who married José María Jesús Carbajal.
Augustina (1814) who married Plácido Benavides. And Francisca (1818) who married Vincente Dosal. De León became the third alcalde of Victoria.
After Benavides built the fortress known as "Plácido"s Round House" (or the "Round Top House") the two brothers-in-law engaged in several attacks against the Tonkawa and Karankawa Indian tribes.
When Antonio López de Santa Anna revoked the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and installed his own political machine in 1833, many Tejanos were opposed to the regime. De León contributed livestock and equipment for the Texan resistance.
In 1835, he joined the Benavides unit and fought under Stephen F. Austin during the two-month Siege of Béxar campaign to drive out Martín Perfecto de Companies Although many Mexicans were opposed to Santa Anna"s regime, they were not necessarily in favor of Texas becoming an independent state.
On July 20, 1836, Brigadier General Thomas Jefferson Rusk ordered Mexican families in the Victoria area to be evacuated in an attempt to stem any assistance being given to Santa Anna.
The Carbajal, Benavides and De León families left for New Orleans, forced to abandon their money and possessions. In 1842, De León returned to Victoria to try to reclaim the family"s property, and was murdered by persons unknown. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria, Texas.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 6544 placed at Evergreen Cemetery in 1972 acknowledges Silvestre De León"s contribution to Texas.
