José Antonio Navarro (February 27, 1795 – January 13, 1871) was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, rancher, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Peña, he was born into a distinguished noble family at San Antonio de Béxar in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (now the American city of San Antonio, Texas). His uncle was José Francisco Ruiz and his brother-in-law was Juan Martín de Veramendi. Navarro County, Texas, established in 1846, is named in his honor, as is the small town of Navarro, Texas. Early life and career Navarro was proficient in the laws of Mexico and Spain, although he was mainly self-educated. As a native Texan, he had a vision of the future of Texas like that of Stephen F. Austin. Austin and he developed a steady friendship, and worked together to found the new state of Texas. An early proponent of Texas independence, he took part in the 1812–1813 Magee, Gutiérrez, and Toledo resistance movements. Working with the empresarios of the period, he helped Austin obtain his contracts to bring settlers into the area. He became a land commissioner for Dewitt's Colony, and soon after, for the Béxar District. In 1825, he married Margarita de la Garza and they raised seven children. His son José Ángel Navarro III served three terms in the Texas Legislature. During the early 1830s, Navarro represented Texas both in the legislature of the state of Coahuila y Tejas and in the federal Congress in Mexico City. Always a champion of democratic ideas, Navarro, collaborating with Austin, worked to pass legislation that would best benefit the people of Texas. Navarro later served as a leader in the Texas Revolution. He was at the Convention for Texas Independence, when he received the news from Juan Seguin of the Alamo's fall. With the death of James Bowie (his nephew by marriage), Navarro had to secure the release of the surviving Navarros, two women and a child, who were being held by the Mexicans at the Músquiz house. They were removed to the Navarro family home. The surviving noncombatants thereby avoided humiliation or death from General Antonio López de Santa Anna. José Antonio Navarro was one of the first signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, in early March, 1836, in Washington-on-the-Brazos. He later signed the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. In 1841, Navarro reluctantly participated in the ill-conceived Texan Santa