Montoya, Néstor, 1862-1923

<p>Néstor Montoya (April 14, 1862 – January 13, 1923) was a United States Representative from New Mexico. As an editor and politician, Néstor Montoya dedicated himself to the inclusion of Hispanics in the political and social life of New Mexico, and to the campaign for New Mexico statehood.</p>

<p>He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Teodosio and Encarnación (Cervantes) Montoya where he attended the public schools. In 1881, he graduated from St. Michael's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico. After graduation, he worked as a postal clerk for the U.S. Post Office in Santa Fe, and later at the U.S. Treasury Office there. He began newspaper work in 1889 and owned and edited the Spanish paper called <i>La bandera americana</i>.</p>

<p>Montoya was member of the New Mexico Territorial House of Representatives 1892–1903 and served as speaker in the latter year. He was a member of the New Mexico Territorial Senate in 1905 and 1906. He was president of the New Mexico Press Association 1908–1923. He was a delegate to the convention that drafted and adopted the state Constitution of New Mexico in 1910 and a regent of the University of New Mexico 1916–1919. He helped write provisions into the Constitution of New Mexico to protect the rights of Hispanics in the areas of education, voting, and civil liberties. Also, he was a member of the Council of National Defense 1917–1919.</p>

MONTOYA, Néstor, a Representative from New Mexico; born in Old Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, N.Mex., April 14, 1862; attended the common schools, and was graduated from St. Michael's College, Santa Fe, N.Mex., in 1881; began newspaper work in 1889; owned and edited the Spanish paper called ``La bandera americana''; member of the Territorial house of representatives 1892-1903 and served as speaker in the latter year; member of the Territorial senate in 1905 and 1906; president of the State press association 1908-1923; delegate to the convention that drafted and adopted the State constitution of New Mexico in 1910; regent of the University of New Mexico 1916-1919; member of the Council of National Defense 1917-1919; chairman of the Bernalillo County draft board during the First World War; clerk of Bernalillo County in 1919 and 1920; elected as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh Congress and served from March 4, 1921, until his death in Washington, D.C., January 13, 1923; interment in Santa Barbara Cemetery, Albuquerque, N.Mex.

<p>The second Hispanic from New Mexico to serve as a voting representative in the U.S. House, Néstor Montoya entered politics with a different perspective from that of his nonvoting predecessors. The editor of a prominent newspaper for over 20 years, Montoya used his role as a journalist to advocate fair treatment of his fellow nuevomexicanos, in print, on the street, and in politics. Although Montoya served only one term in Congress, his public life spanned almost 40 years. Like his contemporary Octaviano Larrazolo, Montoya had a political career that differed from those of his predecessors because he was an early surrogate representative for nuevomexicano interests. Reflecting on his career in public service, Montoya noted, “Activity, constancy, tact, and insistency are necessary qualifications to make your contributions and obtain results. Many times you have to wait for the … moment and not miss it … among so many that are doing the same thing.”</p>

<p>Néstor Montoya was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Teodosio and Encarnación (Cervantes) Montoya, on April 14, 1862. He attended public schools in Albuquerque and graduated in 1881 from St. Michael’s, a college preparatory academy in Santa Fe, after which he worked in a merchandising business for an uncle. Beginning in 1884, Montoya’s bilingualism enabled him to find a variety of federal positions. He worked as a clerk for the U.S. Postal Service for four years and for the U.S. Treasury in Santa Fe. He also worked as an interpreter for the First, Second, and Fourth Judicial Districts. In 1886 Montoya, then a loyal Democrat, traveled to New Mexico with Territorial Delegate Antonio Joseph, speaking in support of Joseph’s re-election to the House. Montoya and his wife, Florence, had six children: Néstor, Jr.; Paul; Theodore; Frances; Aurelia; and Estefanita.</p>

<p>Montoya’s dual career in journalism and politics began in Las Vegas, which served as the county seat for San Miguel County. Located at the end of the Santa Fe Trail in the northeast section of the territory, Las Vegas was the first New Mexican city many Easterners encountered. Founded in 1835, it grew rapidly during the next 40 years. The expansion of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, with Las Vegas as its hub, brought large numbers of Anglo-Americans to the county, drastically altering the city’s cultural and economic composition. Moreover, the explosive growth in farming and ranching that resulted from Anglo settlement led to large land purchases, severely disrupting the lifestyles of local nuevomexicano farmers. Many rural families had lived and worked on communal plots for years, and sometimes for generations. By 1889 active nuevomexicano resistance emerged when a group of vigilante farmers called Las Gorras Blancas (the White Caps) took arms, rode through the county, and “cut fences, burned crops and buildings, tore up railroad tracks … and terrorized unsympathetic landowners.” At the same time Las Gorras Blancas emerged, Montoya and E. H. Salazar founded La voz del pueblo, a Spanish-language newspaper that voiced the grievances of displaced farmers and other nuevomexicanos whose livelihoods had been destroyed by these socioeconomic changes. The newspaper, a four-page weekly that Montoya owned and edited for a year before selling it to a colleague, served as an outlet for the venting of local unrest while providing news of interest to nuevomexicanos. Montoya’s journalistic ventures supplemented his political activism, thus giving him an influential voice in New Mexican politics for his entire career in public service.</p>