Nicolás Ponce de León
| Nicolás Ponce de Leon | |
|---|---|
| Acting Governor of La Florida | |
| In office 21 September, 1631 – 29 July, 1633 | |
| Preceded by | Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas |
| Succeeded by | Luis de Horruytiner |
| In office 14 May 1651 – 19 October 1651 | |
| Preceded by | Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Horruytiner Benedit |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1595 Colombia, Almaguer, Cauca. |
| Died | 1651 St. Augustine, Florida |
| Nationality | Spanish |
Nicolás Suárez Ponce de León (1590/95-1651) was the accountant (contador) for the Royal Treasury of Spanish Florida from 1631 until his death in 1651, and acting governor of that colony from 1631 to 1633 and for a few months in 1651.
Biography
Nicolás Suárez Ponce de León was born somewhere between 1590 and 1595, in Almaguer, Cauca, Colombia. He was the son of Alejo Suarez de Perea and Juana Ponce de León. His father was a lieutenant, captain and senior judge of the Viceroyalty of Peru, his paternal grandfather was Captain Alonso Suárez de Perea, and his maternal grandfather, Fernando Ponce de León, was one of the first discoverers and conquerors of the provinces of Peru.[1] He was descendant of conquer and Explorer of Puerto Rico and Florida Juan Ponce de Leon.[2]
In 1612 Nicolás Ponce ruled in Santa Marta, Colombia, when the province belonged politically to Venezuela.[1] Two years after his marriage in 1631, Nicholás Ponce and his family moved from Seville to St. Augustine, Florida, where he served as contador (accountant) for the Royal Treasury of Spanish Florida. [3]
He served as acting governor of Florida from September 21, 1631 to July 29, 1633 (jointly with Eugenio de Espinosa), and from May 14, 1651, after the death of governor Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla, to October 19, 1651, when he died.[4]
His son Nicolás Ponce de León II also served as acting governor of Florida. He was buried in the cemetery of St. Augustine.[3] [5][6]
Personal life
Nicolás Ponce de León married Estefania Mendoza D'Avila in Madrid or Seville Cathedral between 1625 and 1629, and they had three children: Elizabeth, in 1630, Estefania, between the end of that year and early 1631 and Manuel Ponce de León and D'Avila Mendoza was born in 1637.[1] His wife was from Madrid.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Heraldaria.com: Nicolás Ponce de León (in Spanish:Heraldaria.com: Nicolás Ponce de Leon)
- ↑ Old City life. St. Augustine: City of Castles (First colonial capital of Florida). Posted by Raphael Cosme in January 15, 2014. Retrieved in July 18, 2014, to 0:50pm.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Worth, John E. "The Governors of Colonial Spanish Florida, 1565-1763". University of West Florida. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ↑ U.S. States F-K.
- ↑ Bushnell, Amy (1981). The King's Coffer: Proprietors of the Spanish Florida Treasury 1565-1702. Gainesville, Florida: University Presses of Florida. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-8130-0690-2. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ↑ Descendencia de Nicolás Ponce de León Y Constanza Sarmiento, de Sevilla (in Spanish: Descendants of Nicholas Ponce de León and Constanza Sarmiento, of Seville).