Mission 2000 Database

Notes: Although his surname is misspelled in a variety of ways, "Echegaray" is the correct spelling of the day, which is used here (in modern Basque it would be Etxegarai) . His baptismal entry spells his name "Echagarri" His death record spells it "Echagaray." Other spellings seen in the historic documents include "Chagaray," "Echgaray," and "Echagarai." When he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, the official papers from Madrid spelled his name “Echagaray” in both placed it was used. In just the ten pages of his wife’s application for her pension after his death, the name is spelled “Echegaray” twice, “Echagaray” three times, “Echegarai” once, and “Echagarai” once. (see Archivo General de Simancas, SGU 7229, 85). When he was alive, he complicated matters by spelling his surname “Echeagaray.” He evidently took his lead from his father, Francisco, who spelled it that way, as did his brother and sister. (The influence of the father’s writing on that of his son can be seen in the way they both executed their rubric in a downward motion from the bottom of the tail of the “y” at the end of their surname, something that is almost never seen in other signatures) A few contemporary Spanish writers spelled it "Echeagaray," but they seem to have not known Manuel personally and were just copying the spelling as he wrote it, not knowing how to pronounce the name. It becomes obvious, with the exception of the man, himself, and his family, from the way everybody else spelled the name, that it was being pronounced “eche-gar-aye,” which is the correct pronunciation of the name. Since all spelling was phonetic in those years, everyone but the family spelled it the way it is pronounced. The meaning of the name in the Basque language is "upper house." If it was desired to say "THE upper house," the name would be written and pronounced "Echegaraya." No Basque speaker would ever say "Echeagaray." It does not make sense in the Basque language spoken that way.

Manuel de Echegaray began his military service as a “cadete” on August 19, 1769 at the age of twelve in the “Regimento de Dragones de México.” After some four years with that regiment, he spent approximately a year and a half as a cadete in the “Infantería Provincial de Puebla” before being promoted to, first, “portaguión”, or standard bearer in 1777, and “alférez” in 1779. He was sent to Sonora in a detachment of the same infantry regiment in 1781 and promoted to “teniente. He was later advanced to “capitán” in 1783 and given command of the “Tercera Compañía Volante” of Nueva Vizcay. In 1784 he was given command of the Santa Cruz Presidio in Sonora, in which command he remained until his death in 1795, although he was promoted to “teniente coronel” in 1789 and given command of all the troops in Sonora. (See Archivo General de Simancas, SGU 7023, 17. Also, SGU 7037, 3; 7229, 85: 7220,8; 7224, 58; 7223, 94; and 7226, 71)