Family history Conde de San Javier

Count of San Javier

The history of the Counts of San Javier takes us to the Caracas of the 18th century. There, Antonio Pacheco de Tovar belonged to a family that combined land ownership, trade, and public duties. As a militia officer and hacendado, he took his place in the society of the province of Venezuela.

King Philip V honored this position in 1732 with the Spanish title Conde de San Javier. The royal decree of February 11 and the completed title of February 29 gave the house a name that was henceforth passed on through related family lines. Antonio connected the Pacheco de Tovar with the Mijares de Solórzano, one of the defining families of colonial Caracas.

He was followed by Juan Jacinto Pacheco y Mijares de Solórzano. In the next generation, Félix Pacheco y Rodríguez del Toro continued the legacy. These connections show how deeply the San Javier house was involved in a vast network of landowners, officers, and officials. Family names such as Tovar, Mijares, and Rodríguez del Toro therefore appear repeatedly in Venezuelan history.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Juan Javier Mijares de Solórzano y Pacheco bore the title. The era of independence movements subsequently fundamentally changed the social order of South America. However, the memory of the house remained preserved in family archives and historical documents.

In 1925, the title was reinstated under King Alfonso XIII for Federico de La Madriz y Pastor, who was simultaneously Marqués de Mijares and became known as an entrepreneur and promoter of equestrian sports. Through Eduardo Eraso López de Ceballos, he came into contact with Joaquín de Eraso y Campuzano. Thus, the story spans from the haciendas of colonial Caracas to modern times – driven by kinship alliances, public action, and carefully preserved family tradition.

Sources: Spanish State Gazette Archive, Academia Nacional de la Historia de Venezuela, Universidad de Chile (uchile.cl), Wikipedia

Family coat of arms Conde de San Javier

This Coat of arms is attributed to the first Count Antonio Pacheco de Tovar and the Pacheco family. Philip V.

Two pots placed one above the other in gold, each triple-banded in red and black with golden snake heads on the handles; a red lily as a decorative element; over the shield a Spanish count's crown.

Antonio Pacheco de Tovar was a militia officer and landowner in Caracas. The title of Count connected the families Pacheco, Tovar and Mijares de Solórzano and remained in the Venezuelan-Spanish family lineage for several generations.

Sources: Spanish Ministry of Justice, Official Guide of the Grandezas and Titles of the Kingdom, PARES, Antonio Pacheco de Tovar, historical Pacheco coat of arms, National Academy of History of Venezuela