Esparza, Reynaldo J. (Reynaldo José), 1923-

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Reynaldo J. Esparza is the great-great-grandson of Gregorio Esparza, who died in the Battle of the Alamo.

Resident of San Antonio, Tex.

Born in San Antonio in 1923, Reynaldo José Esparza graduated from Brackenridge High School and served in the U.S. Navy for the duration of World War II. Returning to San Antonio after the war, he worked for a wholesale grocery company and the U.S. Postal Service until his retirement in 1984.

Having learned as a child of his ancestry as a great-great-grandson of Gregorio Esparza, one of the native Texans who died in the Battle of the Alamo, Esparza developed an interest in history, particularly the part Mexican-Americans played in the Texas Revolution. Esparza conducted detailed historical and genealogical research on Gregorio Esparza and his family and became an active spokesman on the role of the native Texans during the independence struggle. He collaborated with numerous other researchers, exchanging information on the Esparzas and other early San Antonio families.

As an adult, Esparza also pursued formal studies, receiving an Associate in Arts degree from San Antonio College in 1970 and graduating from Southwest Texas State University in 1972 with a degree in history and political science. He is a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and numerous other organizations. Esparza married Nora Ruiz in 1945; they are the parents of six children.