Sister Margarita of Jesus

Juana María de Iturbide y Huarte (10 March 1812 – October 2, 1828), Princess of Mexico, known as Sister Margarita of Jesus, was the third child of Agustín I of Mexico (Agustín de Iturbide) and Empress Ana Maria Huarte. She died at a young age at the Visitation Convent in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Biography

Juana Maria was born in New Spain,^[1] when the colony was still under the control of King of Spain and ruled by the Viceroy of New Spain. Her birth year coincided with the Mexican War of Independence, which would catapult her father to fame and secure his place on the Mexican imperial throne.

The Iturbides originated from minor Spanish nobility of Basque descent, who came to Mexico in the mid-18th century. Juana María had two elder siblings, Agustin Jeromino and Sabina, and several younger siblings: Josefa, Ángel, Jesus, María-Jesus, María, Salvador, Felipe and Agustín Cosme. She was baptised as a Roman Catholic.^[2]

She was designated Princesca de México upon her father's accession in 1822. She was referred to as Her Highness rather than Imperial Highness, which was reserved for the Prince Imperial. In 1823, during the last days of the Mexican Empire, Juana María was the sixth in line to the throne, after her four brothers and elder sister. Her father abdicated his throne after less than 10 months reign and the royal family was exiled from Mexico. On May 11, 1823, the royal family and some servants boarded the English ship "Rawlins", bound for Livorno, Italy.^[3] There her father rented a small country house and began to write his memoirs. Under pressure from Spain, Italy expelled the Iturbide family, and they moved to England.^[4]

Iturbide returned to Mexico and was executed July 9, 1824, in Padilla, Tamaulipas.^[3] The Dowager-Empress Anna Maria moved her family, including Juana Maria, to the United States. They lived in Washington, D.C.^[5] and in Philadelphia on Spruce St. near 13th, and later at 226 Broad St.^[6]

Juana Maria became a novice in the Visitation Convent at Georgetown in Washington, D.C. On her deathbed, she professed herself a nun and took the name "Sister Margarita of Jesus". She died around the age of 17 at the convent, where she is also buried.^[7]

Ancestry

External links

• Juana Maria de Iturbide y Huarte, princesa de México
• Imperial House of Mexico

References

1. ^ Jueves, Angel (27 Diciembre 2007). "Casa Imperial Iturbide de México" (in Spanish). http://www.recorri2.com/portal/index.php/es/genealogartehist-70/425-casa-de-iturbide.html. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
2. ^ "de Iturbide family". http://genealogy.euweb.cz/other/iturbide.html. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Hamue-Medina, Rocio Elena. "Agustin Iturbide" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20080523125230/http://www.e-mexico.gob.mx/wb2/eMex/eMex_Agustin_Iturbide. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
4. ^ "Casa Imperial - Don Agustin de Iturbide" (in Spanish). http://www.casaimperial.net/augustin_es.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
5. ^ Meacham, Jon (2008). American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. New York: Random House. pp. tbs. ISBN 978-1-4000-6325-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=FYFsufPTrnEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=American+Lion:+Andrew+Jackson+in+the+White+House&ei=C2EUS_uLJJrAywTgndiJDQ&client=firefox-a#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
6. ^ "St. John the Evangelist Capital Campaign: History". http://www.stjohnsfund.com/history.html. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
7. ^ "Children and Grandchildren of the Emperor and Empress Iturbide, circa 1865". http://www.cmmayo.com/last-prince-children-grandchildren-emperor-iturbide.html. Retrieved 2009-12-01.