Joaquín and Mariano Degollado Collection
Scope and Contents
Correspondence and printed material pertaining primarily to events during the reign of Maximilian and Carlota in Mexico. Most of the documents dated after the 1867 fall of the empire relate to the lives of Mariano and Otilia Degollado.
Twenty-eight of the letters in the collection are from Emperor Maximilian, one in German to an unnamed doctor and the rest to either Mariano or Joaquín Degollado. Maximilian's letters contain personal and political news and instructions. Other correspondence includes invitations, letters of introduction, and other letters.
Printed materials include: a 1923 newspaper clipping with a photograph and interview of Otilia Jordan de Degollado, referred to as “Cordelia Jorden, viuda de Degollado”; other clippings pertaining to Empress Carlota's father, King Leopold I of Belgium, and to Mariano's accomplishments in Guatemala; Maximilian's decree ordering the death penalty for guerrillas; official documentation of Mariano's appointments to office and to the Imperial Order of Guadalupe; and lithographs of Maximilian.
The materials are mostly in Spanish, with some items in German, English, or Italian.
Dates
- Creation: 1861-1923
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1861-1867
Language of Materials
Spanish, English, Italian, and German
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Biographical Sketch
Joaquín Degollado (born before 1834, death date unknown) and Mariano Degollado (born ca. 1834, died before August 1923) were sons of General Santos Degollado. Under President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Degollado family suffered separations, persecution, exile, and poverty.
In 1855 Mariano was exiled to the United States. He worked as a clerk and later as an assistant at the Mexican Legation in Washington, D.C., during the presidency of Benito Juárez. In 1864 Mariano married Otilia Jordan, a Virginian. Joaquín was a lawyer and in 1856 became deputy for Jalisco to the Constituent Congress. During the reign of Emperor Maximilian the brothers accepted assignments and honors from him. In 1865 Joaquín was appointed to the Council of State and to a commission sent to Rome to negotiate a concordat between Mexico and the Vatican. Also in 1865, Mariano was appointed chamberlain in Maximilian's court, member of the Council for Protection of the Needy, and confidential agent in Washington for Maximilian.
When Maximilian's government was overthrown in 1867, Mariano and Joaquín again went into exile. Mariano spent four years in Guatemala, where he was successful in business and public life. Mariano returned to Mexico around 1879 and found Joaquín living in poverty.
Full Extent
2.5 inches
Abstract
Correspondence and printed material pertaining primarily to events during the reign of Emperor Maximilian and to the lives of Joaquín and Mariano Degollado, sons of General Santos Degollado.
Organization
Organized into two series: I. Correspondence (further divided into two subseries, Letters from Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico; and Letters from others). II. Printed material.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically within folders.
Acquisitions Information
The Joaquín and Mariano Degollado Collection was transferred to the Benson Latin American Collection from the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in 1975.
Processing Information
The collection was described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in April 1994.
Prepared by the Mexican Archives Project, January 5, 1995.
Topical
- Degollado, Joaquín M.--Archives
- Degollado, Mariano--Archives
- Degollado, Santos, 1811-1861--Archives
- Jordan de Degollado, Otilia--Archives
- Leopold I, King of the Belgians, 1790-1865
- Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 1832-1867--Correspondence
- Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 1832-1867--Portraits
- Mexico--Foreign relations--1861-1867--Sources
- Mexico--History--European intervention, 1861-1867--Sources
- Mexico--Politics and government--1861-1867--Sources
- Title
- Joaquín and Mariano Degollado:
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Subtitle
- An Inventory of the Collection at the Benson Latin American Collection
- Author
- Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Date
- 2001
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- August 14, 2002: Edited with XMetaL3 by Bob Stewart according to instructions in Editing TARO EAD XML Finding Aids with XMetaL.
- Tue Jul 22 14:57:51 CDT 2003: urn:taro:utexas.blac.00014 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (20030505).
- 2020 March: Date normalization by Janette Nunez.
- 2021 April: Edited by Carla O. Alvarez to fix compliance check errors to prepare for the migration to new TARO website.
- 2021 November: Edited by Devon Murphy to update control access terms and formatting based on the TARO Control Access List.
- 2025 July: Revised by Ryan Sullivant to fix validation errors prior to ingestion into ArchivesSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin Repository
2300 Red River Street
Austin Texas 78712 United States
(512) 495-4578
bensonspecialcollections@austin.utexas.edu