Nicolás Ponce de León
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Ponce de Leon Was an accountant of the Royal Treasury of St. Augustine, Florida
(1631 -?) and Royal Governor
of that state between 1650 and 1654.
, Colombia
. He was the son of Alejo Suarez de Perea and Juana Ponce de León. His father was a lieutenant, captain and senior judge of the Viceroyalty of Peru
, his paternal grandfather was Captain Alonso Suárez de Perea, and his maternal grandfather, Fernando Ponce de León, was one of the first discoverers and conquerors of the provinces of Peru
.
In 1612 Nicolás Ponce began serving S.M. in Santa Marta
, Colombia, when the province belonged politically to Venezuela
. He married Estefania Mendoza D'Avila in Madrid or Seville Cathedral between 1625 and 1629, and they had three children: Elizabeth, in 1630, Estefania, between the end of that year and early 1631 and Manuel Ponce de León and D'Avila Mendoza was born in 1637. His wife was from Madrid. Two years after his marriage in 1631, Nicholas Ponce and his family moved from Seville
to Florida
, where he graduated as an accountant of the Royal Treasury of St. Augustine
. In 1650, he was appointed governor of Florida, a position he held until his death in 1654. He was buried in the cemetery of St. Augustine.
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
(1631 -?) and Royal Governor
Royal governor
Royal governor is an informal term used to refer to a colonial or provincial Governor, or by extension a Governor-General or similar gubernatorial official, appointed by a king or other monarch....
of that state between 1650 and 1654.
Biography
Nicolás Suárez Ponce de Leon was born somewhere between 1590 and 1595, in Almaguer, CaucaAlmaguer, Cauca
Almaguer is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia.Founded in 1551 by Vasco de Guzmán and Alonso de Fuenmayor, the municipality covers an area of 520 km² and has a population of 21,300.The population is primarily engaged in agriculture....
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. He was the son of Alejo Suarez de Perea and Juana Ponce de León. His father was a lieutenant, captain and senior judge of the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
, his paternal grandfather was Captain Alonso Suárez de Perea, and his maternal grandfather, Fernando Ponce de León, was one of the first discoverers and conquerors of the provinces of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
In 1612 Nicolás Ponce began serving S.M. in Santa Marta
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia...
, Colombia, when the province belonged politically to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. He married Estefania Mendoza D'Avila in Madrid or Seville Cathedral between 1625 and 1629, and they had three children: Elizabeth, in 1630, Estefania, between the end of that year and early 1631 and Manuel Ponce de León and D'Avila Mendoza was born in 1637. His wife was from Madrid. Two years after his marriage in 1631, Nicholas Ponce and his family moved from Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he graduated as an accountant of the Royal Treasury of St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. In 1650, he was appointed governor of Florida, a position he held until his death in 1654. He was buried in the cemetery of St. Augustine.