Angel of Goliad – Francisca “Alavez” or “Alvarez”?
Texas history has always been close to the heart of most Texans, and we have always tried to ensure we keep our facts straight and are as accurate as possible, so when we tell our stories we tell them proudly, and we try to make them interesting and believable. It has been more than 186 years since Francisca Alvarez saved or aided the young Texan soldiers during the horrific “Goliad Massacre” events in March of 1836. Not only was she in Goliad at the right time for the Texan revolutionists, but she also helped Texans in San Patricio, Copano Bay, Victoria, and Matamoros which was an important military strategic town for the Mexican Army in 1836 located across from Brownsville, Texas. What was interesting about Francisca was, even though she was helping Texan soldiers, she traveled with the Mexican Army and was said to have accompanied Captain Telesforo Alavez, a paymaster under General Jose Cosme Urrea who was General Santa Ana’s most successful general.
If you have been to Goliad, Texas, you may have noticed Presidio La Bahia, a Spanish fort just south of Goliad off of highway 183, established in 1749. It is where the “Goliad Massacre” took place on March 27, 1836, and is where Francisca Alvarez was described in testimonials to have vehemently protested the orders of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana to execute all prisoners. They say that she saved many Texans, including one 15-year-old she had pulled from the line as they were being marched to their imminent death.
Since no one knew her true identity, there were many variations given of her first and last name, but Texas Historian Harbert Davenport believed and insisted her last name had to be Alavez since she accompanied Captain Telesforo Alavez. However, it was discovered that Captain Telesforo Alavez, unfortunately, was already married to Maria Augustina De Pozo of Toluca, Mexico whom he had abandoned in 1834. Many other historians have repeatedly stated that Francisca’s last name should be Alavez and that naming her Alvarez is incorrect. They ascertained that since Alvarez was more popular and well known than Alavez, the Texan soldiers not knowing Spanish must have mispronounced it.
However, according to the Catholic Church of Toluca baptism archives, (Shown below), the Christian name given to Captain Alavez is, Jose Maria Telesforo Alavez Albares born January 5, 1802. His father’s name is recorded as Manuel De Alavez y Piza and his mother is Maria Josefa Albares. Since Francisca gave her son Matias the surname of Albares, it is apparent that she did not wish to take the Alavez name since Telesforo had been married before in Toluca, Mexico. So it was advantageous for Francisca and her son Matias to assume Telesforo’s mother’s maiden name “Albares” since there was already a Mrs. Telesforo Alavez.
Within the museum at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad is a bust of Francisca with the name “Francisca Alavez”, but as a descendant of the Angel of Goliad and as the historian of the Angel of Goliad Historical Society organization, I have found that she preferred the surname of “Albares”, which later changed to Alvarez. Since she passed the name down to her son and grandchildren, I believe consequently that the name Alvarez should be used when stating her name, instead of using the surname of Telesforo Alavez.
Telesforo Alavez’s baptism record, from the Catholic church in Toluca.
