Ignacio Comonfort Papers

The Ignacio Comonfort Papers, which form part of the Genaro García Collection, were purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The papers were described by the Benson Latin American Collection's Mexican Archives Project in December 1993.

The physical extent of the papers comprises 2.5 linear feet. The documents are in Spanish; their bulk dates are 1847-1863. The papers are also available on microfilm.

Documents from the collection were published by Genaro García in his Colección de documentos inéditos o muy raros para la historia de México (volume 23), Mexico, Vda. de C. Bouret, 1909.

The suggested citation for the papers is "Ignacio Comonfort Papers, 1821-1918, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

President of Mexico, general. Born 1812, died 1863. Positions held include: Artillery captain (1833); infantry colonel in the militia; colonel in the 1847 campaign of the Valle de Mexico; Administrador de la Aduana Maritima de Acapulco (1852); Administrador de la Aduana Maritima de Mazatlan; General de Brigada del Ejército Mexicano (1854); General en Gefe del Ejército Restaurador de la Libertad (1855); General de División del Ejército Mexicano (1855); Ministro de Guerra (Oct. 10-Dec. 10, 1855). Comonfort became Presidente Sustituto de la República (Dec. 11, 1855) when Presidente Interino Juan Alvarez left power, and was elected president of Mexico on July 13, 1857. His tenure as president included his 1856 victory at Puebla, for which he was declared a national hero on July 30, 1856, and the passage of the controversial Ley Lerdo. He was active in the creation of the 1857 Constitution of Mexico. Comonfort resigned the presidency on Jan. 21, 1858; in 1863 he was made General-in-Chief of the Army organized to resist the French Intervention. On Nov. 13, 1863, he was killed in a guerilla attack near San Juan de la Vega.

Correspondence, orders and appointments, inventories and lists, financial documents, literary productions, legal documents, printed material, and miscellanea from Comonfort's political and military career. Among correspondence are found materials relating to the Mexican Legation in Spain (filed as G480 Ms.), drafts and copies from the military campaign of 1863 (G502 Ms., G503 Ms.), and letters exchanged by Comonfort with his daughters. Some inventories from the customs offices of Mazatlan and Acapulco are present in the collection (see G470 Ms. for the 1854 Acapulco inventory), as is a list of officers and soldiers who composed the army at Puebla in 1856 (G477 Ms.). Also included are documents relating to Comonfort's Masonic membership. Printed material includes a few proclamations from Comonfort's presidency. Comonfort Family papers include correspondence, documents pertaining to the exhumation and reinterment of Ignacio Comonfort, financial and legal documents (including the disposition of Comonfort's estate), certificates of birth and marriage, and printed material. Comonfort's appointment of Agapito Pozo as Promotor Fiscal del Tribunal de Circuito de Celaya is filed as G472 Ms.

The Ignacio Comonfort Papers were arranged into two subgroups by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project; series were established according to format of material. The processing of the collection was completed by the Mexican Archives Project staff in December 1994.

I. Subgroup, Ignacio Comonfort

1. García Archives

   a.	Series, Correspondence, 1838-1868, 1.6 feet. Includes general correspondence from Comonfort's political and military career (1838-1868) and correspondence with Comonfort's daughters, Adela and Clara Comonfort (1851-1863).
   b.	Series, Orders, appointments, proclamations, 1823-1863, 1 inch. Includes assorted orders, appointments, and proclamations from 1823-1863.
   c.	Series, Inventories and lists, 1856 and undated, 1 folder. Includes inventories from the customs offices of Mazatlan and Acapulco (see G. Ms. 470 for the 1854 Acapulco inventory).
   d.	Series, Literary productions, 1854-1868, 1 folder.
   e.	Series, Legal documents, 1854, 1 folder.
   f.	Series, Financial documents, 1850-1860, 1 folder.
   g.	Series, Printed material, 1843-1863. Includes a few proclamations from Comonfort's presidency of Mexico.
   h.	Series, Masonic documents, 1859, 1 folder. Relate to Comonfort's Masonic membership.
   i.	Series, Maps, diagrams, etc., 1863, oversized.
   j.	Series, Miscellaneous, 1821-1895, 3 items.

2. García Manuscripts

   G470 :	1854 inventory of the Acapulco customs office
   G472 :	manuscript dated 1855 concerning the appointment of Agapito Pozo as Promotor Fiscal (Celaya).
   G477 :	list of officers and soldiers who composed the army at Puebla in 1856
   G480 :	materials concerning the Legación de México en España
   G502 :	drafts of letters and reports on the military campaign of 1863 (April1-May 10, 1863)
   G503 :	"Mensajes remitidos, Cuartel General, Ejército Reservas" (March 1863)

1. Series, Correspondence, 1866-1897, 1 folder.

2. Series, Documents pertaining to the exhumation and reinterment of Ignacio Comonfort, 1867-1868, 1 folder.

3. Series, Legal documents, 1864-1865, 1 folder.

4. Series, Financial documents, 1866-1870, 1 folder.

5. Series, Certificates of birth, marriage, 1850-1896, 1 folder.

6. Series, Printed material, 1866-1918, 1 folder.

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