1815: Jose Manuel Gallegos was born in Spanish colonial Mexico in the town of Abiquia, Nuevo Mexico. His people were Hispanos, descendants of early Spanish settlers. Raised during the Mexican revolution and educated by Franciscan missionaries in Taos and Durango, Gallegos was surrounded by republican ideals. Ordained a Catholic priest at the age of 25, Gallegos readily added political tasks to his clerical responsibilities. He became pastor of San Felipe de Neri Church in La Villa de Albuquerque, as well as one of the 19 "electors" - men who chose Nuevo Mexico's deputy to the Mexican Congress. (Source: Library of Congress)