Gallegos, José Manuel, << gahl YAY gohs, hoh SAY mahn WEHL >> (1815-1875), became the New Mexico Territory’s delegate to the United States Congress in 1853. Gallegos was the second Hispanic person elected as a representative to the Congress. Thirty years earlier, José Marion Hernández had served as a representative for the Territory of Florida.
Gallegos was born on Oct. 30, 1815, in what is now Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. At that time, the Spanish controlled the area. The area became part of Mexico in 1821, when Mexico won its independence from Spain. As a young man, Gallegos studied theology (the study of God and religious faith) in Durango, Mexico. In 1840, he became a Roman Catholic priest. Soon after, Gallegos entered politics. He served in the Legislative Assembly of the Department of New Mexico from 1843 to 1846.
Following the Mexican War (1846-1848), New Mexico became part of the United States. In 1851, Gallegos won election to New Mexico’s first territorial council. In 1853, he was elected as the territory’s delegate to Congress. He served from 1853 to 1856.
Gallegos was elected to New Mexico’s Territorial House of Representatives in 1860. He served as speaker of the House from 1860 to 1862. Gallegos was a strong supporter of the Union during the American Civil War (1861-1865). During part of the war, Confederate troops in Texas held Gallegos as a prisoner. Gallegos served as treasurer of the New Mexico Territory in 1865 and 1866. From 1871 to 1873, he again served as a delegate to the U.S. Congress. He died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on April 21, 1875.
