Manzanares, Francisco Antonio, 1843-1904

<p>Francisco Antonio Manzanares (January 25, 1843 – September 17, 1904) was an American businessman and politician.</p>

<p>Francisco Antonio Manzanares, son of Jose Antonio Manzanares and Maria Manuela Valdez, was born in Abiquiú, New Mexico, on January 25, 1843. Barely three years later in 1846, the Mexican–American War commenced. By the time he was seven, New Mexico had become a territory of the United States.</p>

<p>The Manzanares family held a very prominent place in the community. His parents were from Spanish families that moved to the New Mexico territory during the colonial period. Manzanares's father had supported the Union during the civil war, and afterward, served in the legislative assembly as an Indian Agent.</p>

MANZANARES, Francisco Antonio, a Delegate from the Territory of New Mexico; born in Abiquiu, N.Mex., January 25, 1843; early training was in Spanish; commenced the study of the English language and attended St. Louis (Mo.) University in 1863 and 1864; engaged in mercantile pursuits at Las Vegas in 1866; successfully contested as a Democrat the election of Tranquilino Luna to the Forty-eighth Congress and served from March 5, 1884, to March 3, 1885; was not a candidate for reelection in 1884; engaged in the wholesale grocery business; member of the board of county commissioners in 1896 and 1897; died in Las Vegas, N.Mex., September 17, 1904; interment in Mount Calvary Cemetery.

<p>An accomplished entrepreneur, Francisco Manzanares was a reluctant candidate for New Mexico Territorial Delegate in the U.S. House. Urged on by friends and political supporters, Manzanares—who had never clearly allied himself with either major political party—accepted the Democratic nomination, noting that his preference was to remain immersed in the booming business opportunities in the district and admitting he was a political neophyte. “My life has been spent in active business pursuits and I do not pretend to be versed in the methods of distinctions of the politician,” he said. As it turned out, Manzanares endured not only the rigors of the territorial campaign, but also a contested election that consumed half a congressional term. Serving just a year, Manzanares returned contentedly to his business interests at the close of the 48th Congress (1883–1885).</p>

<p>Francisco Antonio Manzanares was born in Abiquiú, New Mexico, on January 25, 1843, to José Antonio Manzanares and Maria Manuela Valdez. José Manzanares represented his family’s home county, Rio Arriba, in the New Mexico Territory’s First Legislative Assembly (1851–1852) and in the territorial council of the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Legislative Assemblies (1853–1855; 1856–1857). Manzanares attended the Taos school of Padre Antonio José Martínez, a prominent local priest who had mentored José Manuel Gallegos, New Mexico’s first nuevomexicano Delegate to the U.S. House. Manzanares attended St. Louis University from 1863 to 1864. After leaving the university, Manzanares worked one year at Chick, Browne, and Company, a merchandising firm in Kansas City, Missouri. He then moved to New York City to study in a commercial college and worked in a bank. When he returned to Chick, Browne, and Company, Manzanares took advantage of the burgeoning railroad industry by expanding the firm’s business to cities that served the Kansas Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroads. Propelled by his ambition and work ethic, he rose from company clerk to partner in four years by buying interest from a senior partner. Renamed Browne & Manzanares, the firm moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico, and competed with commissioning firms such as Otero, Sellar, and Co. and the Romero firm. Eventually, Browne & Manzanares established branches in five cities in New Mexico and Colorado. In 1871 Manzanares married Ofelia Baca, the daughter of Benito Baca, a cousin and Democratic opponent of Mariano S. Otero’s in the 1878 race for Delegate. The couple had two children, Antonio, Jr., and Manuel.</p>

<p>Manzanares’s fortunes increased as the scope of his business activities widened. The newly renamed Browne & Manzanares Company became so successful that it opened a wholesaling firm in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where Manzanares lived. By 1885 the firm had become a stock company, with branches in three locations in New Mexico and Colorado. Manzanares contributed to the territory’s economic development through his involvement in forming the First National Bank of Las Vegas, the First National Bank of Santa Fe, and the First National Bank of Raton. Manzanares also formed a wholesale grocery business with branches throughout the territory. He enjoyed close ties with the Republican-dominated Santa Fe Ring, serving as a trustee of the Maxwell Land Grant Company and, with other Ring members, as a co-director of the First National Bank of Santa Fe.</p>