Joseph Marion Hernández

The first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Congress

Jose Mariano Hernández (August 4, 1793-June 8, 1857) was the first Hispanic American to serve in the United States Congress and was the first Delegate from the Florida Territory. He served from September 1822 to March 1823.

Hernández was born in St. Augustine, Florida when it was still a Spanish colony. After his Congressional service, he joined the U.S. Army and fought against the Seminoles in Florida, aiding in the capture of Chief Osceola. He retired with the rank of Brigadier General.

He was an unsuccessful Whig candidate for the United States Senate in 1845. He later moved to Cuba and engaged as a planter in the District of Coliseo, near Matanzas and died at the family’s sugar estate, "Audaz", in the District of Coliseo, Matanzas Province, Cuba. He's interred in the del Junco family vault in Necropolis San Carlos Borromeo, Matanzas, Cuba.

Hernandez-Capron Trail

In 1837, while with the U.S. Army, he was ordered to build a road between St. Augustine, Florida and Fort Capron, located near present day Fort Pierce, Florida, on the St. Lucie River. Hernandez cleared and blazed the route that, 12 years earlier, Col. James Gadsen had cleared along the Atlantic Coastal Ridge to the St. Lucie River. It passed from Fort Capron through Fort Vinton, Fort Drum, Fort Kissimmee, Fort Clinch, Fort Meade to Fort Brooke (Tampa).

References

• Various articles, 2 on Hernandez-Capron Trail
• Friends of the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary - History Article
• Enchanted Forest Sanctuary - Official Homepage
• Florida Historical Marker SR 520 and US 1
• Joseph Marion Hernández at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• P.K. Yonge Historical Collection at the University of Florida, Gainesville

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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