Juan Galvan married Francisca Xaviera Maldonado in San Antonio, in 1723. Apaches never embraced the mission, and eventually several of the missionaries abandoned it, but Galván served as lieutenant at the Presidio. That he recommended a staff of 100 soldiers at the presidio was cause for concern that the region might be too dangerous it took three more years and two more missions with similar findings before the governor agreed and the mission and Presidio San Saba was established. Galvan recommended that a mission be founded along the San Saba, and that a presidio be established nearby to protect the mission against the Comanche. The San Saba River area appeared most promising as the soil was fertile, there seemed to be mineral deposits in the area, and local Apache promised to come to a mission. They travelled northwest of San Antonio, exploring the Pedernales River, the Llano River, and the San Saba River. Galván was given charge of this expedition and set out the following year with a small group, including Father Miguel de Aranda, who worked at Mission Concepcion. In 1752, Spanish authorities approved an expedition to explore the Apache territory and locate a site for a possible mission. Latino Muslim Prisoners: An Interview with Professor SpearIt, ISLAMIC HORIZONS (Juan Galvan, ed. After their expedition, he placed Galvan in command of the presidio at San Xavier. After growing up in small communities there, Juan embraced Islam while obtaining his degree in. Born in Texas as a third-generation Mexican-American and the son of migrant workers, Juan spent his early years hoeing cotton in the rural Texas Panhandle. In the summer of 1749, Governor Pedro del Barrio Junco y Espriella went with Galván to investigate whether San Xavier could sustain a settlement. Juan Jose Galvan is an author, speaker, and proud advocate for the Latino Muslim community. He reported back that manpower would be sufficient for the native threat and recommended that presidio be established with a force of 50. He did well there, being promoted to alférez and later entrusted with 30 men on March 13, 1748, to protect the Mission San Xavier del Bac. Galván settled in San Antonio of Bexar early in the 1720s, about ten years after entering military service.

It was on his recommendation that the Presidio San Saba was established.

Juan Galván (?–?) was a Spanish soldier and explorer who served as an ensign and explorer in San Antonio, Texas.

Latino Muslims by Juan Galvan