Tee Joe Gonzales


Joseph Stonewall Gonzales, aka "Tee Joe" Gonzales or Joseph Gonzales, was an American politician and businessman. He served as the first Mayor of modern Gonzales, Louisiana, serving between 1922 and 1936. The city was named "Gonzales" after him.

Family

Joseph "Tee Joe" Gonzales was born in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. He was the son of "Big" Joseph M. Gonzales and Mrs Adorea Marchand Gonzales. His father was a soldier, Captain of the New River Rangers, police chief, and sheriff of the village. Joseph M. Gonzales was a descendant of Spanish settlers from the Canary Islands, who settled in Louisiana between 1778 and 1782. Settlers in Louisiana from the Canaries are known as Isleños.

Career

In 1887 Tee Joe Gonzales opened a small shop in modern-day Gonzales and established its first post office, which was known as the Gonzales Post Office, and subsequently became first postmaster. For this reason, a few years later, the Railroad Commission decided to change the name of the area from Edenborn to Gonzales to match the post office name, and ordered the local railroad to change the name also.
Tee Joe Gonzales subdivided the village in April 1906 and was elected mayor of Gonzales City in 1922, becoming the first mayor of the village.
Tee Joe ran the family business out of his little home, situated on the main street. He and his brother bought land and sold it as smaller plots, and he encouraged policies that caused the growth of Gonzales.
Gonzales retired as mayor of Gonzales in 1936, having been in office longer than any of the next seven mayors. Today, he is considered the best mayor in the city´s history.
Joseph Gonzales died in Gonzales on April 20, 1940, and he was buried in the town's Saint Theresa of Avila Catholic Cemetery.

Personal life

He married Marie Felicite Bourgeois Gonzales. The former mayor of Gonzales, Johnny Berthelot, is the great-nephew of Gonzales.

Legacy