Juana Marquez - Wife Of First Mayor

Juana Marquez Dowell (1833-1891), Wife of the first mayor of El Paso, Texas. She was also the daughter of a Tigua Chief. Benjamin S. Dowell found her in Ysleta, located in the Lower Valley area and married her in the year 1852. She was nineteen and he was thirty-four. She spoke only Spanish and the Tigua language, and, like many young women of her era, had no formal schooling. Image Description: Sepia image shows a portrait of Juana Marquez from her chest up. She wears a shawl and underneath that a button-down dress or blouse with a flower print and a white rounded collar that comes down to her chest. Marquez has dark hair parted at the middle and braids that are neatly tied behind her lower head. She directly looks at the camera and has no expression on her face.

Area: Mission Valley / Ysleta

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History