Francois Guilbeau, Jr.
We begin our Journey with Francois Guilbeau, Jr. here. He was a businessman, French consul, and horticulturalist.
Birthplace
He was born in Acenis, Brittany, France on August 4, 1813. He was known as a likeable man, aside from his famous wines, he was known well for his sharp shooting tricks that included shooting a hanging cord and cutting a playing card in half with a dueling pistol. While he lived in France he served in the French military and served in a campaign in His military service may have been where he acquired his sharp shooting skills. He was ”barred from the important shooting matches in San Antonio [because he could] cut a playing card in half with a dueling pistol while the card was held edgeways between the fingers of an assistant.”
Arrival in San Antonio
In 1839 Guilbeau arrived in San Antonio with his father and opened a bakery on Main Plaza in partnership with M. Clauzel. They later opened a wine shop and a dry goods store offering various imported items. He served as interim mayor of San Antonio for a month in 1841 and in the following year he served as the French vice consul until 1859.
In 1844 he assisted Henri Castro in the settlement of his .
Business Outreach
By the mid 1840’s Guilbeau had an extensive business out-reach with ox-trains running to the Texas Gulf Coast and to Monterrey and Chihuahua in Old Mexico that he used to stock his store's shelves with inventory.
Life & Home
In 1848 the French merchant married Rosaria Ramón, linking him with several prominent Tejano families. They had five children, including a daughter Adéle who married future mayor Bryan V. Callaghan.
His home was an elaborate French-Style mansion which once stood at what is now 510 Main Ave. Its crystal chandeliers, sixteen-foot ceilings, multiple French doors and large drawing rooms brought European elegance to the city; it was a popular site for weddings and social events in addition as functioning as the French consulate. Guilbeau served as City Alderman from 1854-55 and again in 1870.
A transnational figure, Guilbeau also maintained a chateau and vineyard in Montpelier, France, where his wife died and his children were raised. An acclaimed horticulturalist and wine merchant who was credited with saving the vineyards of France from extinction in 1875-78. He helped save the French wine industry from phylloxera by shipping vine cuttings of Texas mustang grapes that were impervious to the disease.
Guilbeau died in San Antonio in 1879 and was one of the wealthiest men in Texas at the time.
Guilbeau house
