Father Habig's Quiz

Subject: Father Habig's Quiz Sat 05 Jan 2008, 3:45 am

Father Marion A. Habig, O. F. M., had a few years on the Texas State Historical Association and her virtual child, 'The Handbook of Texas Online,' in presenting lighthearted but thought-provoking quizzes. In his concise and wonderful tome, 'The Alamo Mission: San Antonio de Valero: 1718 - 1793,' Fr. Habig presented the following series of questions, focusing primarily on the years in which the Alamo served as a mission church. I suspect that it was designed for young scholars, but I scored painfully low before reading his book Crying or Very sad

Ah, well ... if there were nothing left to learn, life would surely be dull! The answers to Father Habig's quiz are posted below.

1. How many soldiers were killed in the Battle of the Alamo?

2. How many Spanish missions were founded in Texas?

3. Where did San Antonio receive its name?

4. When and where was San Antonio Mission founded?

5. Who was the true founded of San Antonio?

6. How many sites did San Antonio Mission occupy?

7. How long did the sub mission of San Francisco Xavier last?

8. When was the building of the first stone mission church begun?

9. Was the second stone church ever completed?

10. Who saved San Antonio from destruction in 1745?

11. How did La Villita come into existence?

12. What was the principal reason for the mission's decline?

13. When was San Antonio Mission secularized?

14. How did it get the name of the Alamo?

15. How long was the former mission used as a hospital?

16. What kind of plant is the Margil Vine?

-- taken from page 2 of Fr. Habig's book, cited above
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Subject: Father Habig's Answers Sat 05 Jan 2008, 3:48 am

1. One hundred eighty-three soldiers were killed on the Texian side during the Battle of the Alamo, while 1,544 Mexican soldiers perished -- nearly one-third of Santa Anna's army.

2. Between the years of 1632 and 1793, a total of thirty-six missions were established by the Spanish in order to extend the Catholic faith to the native peoples of present-day Texas. While some of the missionaries were of the Jesuit order, the majority were Franciscan friars.

3. San Antonio received its name as early as 1691. Father Damien Massanet committed the river and a neighboring Indian village -- in the vicinity of the modern city -- to the patronage of Saint Anthony during that year. In 1709, Fathers Antonio Olivares and Isidro Felix de Espinosa reconfirmed the area with this title during an expedition which arrived at San Pedro Springs.

4. "The Mission of San Antonio de Valero was begun on the west bank of the San Antonio River near San Pedro Springs on May 1, 1718, and four days later the Presidio and Villa of San Antonio de Bexar were formally established." (page 12)

5. "The true founder, not only of the mission but also of the presidio and villa, was a Franciscan missionary of the College of Queretaro [New Spain], Fr. Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares. Dr. Castaneda wrote of his that 'he may justly be called the father of an idea,' that is, 'of the founding of a mission and the establishment of the nucleus for a civil government on the San Antonio River.'" (pages 12 and 13)

6. Across its history, the San Antonio Mission occupied three sites: first, on the west bank of that river, shortly thereafter (1719) relocating to the east back, and finally -- in 1724 -- to the third and final site upon which the current shrine stands. According to a report made in 1727 by Fr. Miguel Sevillano de Paredes, Mission San Antonio de Valero then "consisted of fragile huts and a small stone chapel with a tower." (page 35)

7. Although it never evolved beyond its foundational stages, Mission San Francisco Xavier -- founded as an extension of the Alamo mission -- was in existence between the years or 1722 and 1726. A little more (hopefully!) will be added concerning the history of this mission at a later date Smile

8. The first stone church building of Mission San Antonio de Valero was begun in 1744 -- most likely replacing an earlier adobe structure. By 1756, however, this building as collapsed due to faulty construction.

9. When Father Xavier Ortiz visited and reported on the San Antonio mission in 1756, an adobe hall was being used as a place of worship. A new and second church building was in the process of being rebuilt, but it is thought that this was never completed. Father Habig states that "the friary was a two-story structure, with four rooms on the second floor and on the ground floor a guest room and various offices. On the second floor there was a door leading to the choir loft of the church." (page 62)

10. On June 30, 1745, "the mission Indians of San Antonio de Valero saved the villa and presidio of Bexar from attacking Apaches." (page 99)

11. During the 1780s, numerous families began to settle "to the southeast of the [San-Antonio] mission compound. These were 'agregados' or squatters; and many of the mission Indians intermarried with these settlers." (page 73) Over time, this cluster of dwellings became known as 'La Villita,' and combined with the town of San Fernando to help comprise the city of San Antonio.

12. According a report written by Father Jose Francisco Lopez in 1789, the overriding cause of the Alamo mission's decline was a decree, which had been issued in 1777. This act consigned all unbranded cattle to the Spanish government; a fee of approximately one-half peso per head was charged upon the slaughter of such an animal. As the wealth of the missions had resided mainly in their vast and roving herds of cattle, the decree impoverished the foundations almost overnight.

13. Mission San Antonio de Valero was secularized in 1793, followed in the next year (at least partially) by her four sister missions (Conception, San Jose, La Espada and San Juan Capistrano).

14. After the secularization of the Mission, a parish church was established at the site for the soldiers and their families of a mobile cavalry unit. Both the pueblo and its church were given the name of 'San Josef y Santiago del Alamo' (poplar tree or more specifically, a cottonwood). The congregation continued through the year of 1825, and worshipped in either the sacristy or church of the old mission.

15. The former friary of Mission San Antonio de Valero served as the city's first hospital -- during the years of 1806 through 1814.

16. Named for the saintly Father Antonio Margil (founder of Mission San Jose), this botanical is a member of the Moonseed Family ('Menispermaceae'), and of the genus, 'Cocculus' .... after its "'curled, snail-like seed.'" (page 90) In the southern United States, this species is commonly called the Carolina Snailseed Vine, while in the Southwest, it is referred to colloquially as 'Herba del Ojo.' The legend of how the vine came to be associated with Father Margil -- as well as the traditional mystery play, 'Los Pastores' -- are beautiful in their own right and hopefully more about them will appear here soon sunny

_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves