Father: Captain Francisco Sánchez de la Barrera

Mother: Doña María Josefa de la Garza-Falcón

Origins: A Spanish settler from Nuevo León, descended from the Sánchez de la Barrera and Garza-Falcón families — powerful landowning lineages with roots in Basque and Castilian settlers of the 16th–17th centuries

Founding of Laredo: In 1755, he established the city of Laredo, Texas, on the north bank of the Río Grande, creating one of the earliest permanent settlements along the frontier between New Spain and what would become Texas

Marriage: Tomás married María Josefa de la Garza (a cousin within the extended Garza clan), strengthening ties between two of the most powerful ranching dynasties of the northern frontier

Family: Raised 10 children who intermarried with other elite families like the Treviños, Vela, and Uribarris, creating a tightly knit frontier aristocracy

Family Ties: The Sánchez and Garza-Falcón families were deeply entrenched in ranching, politics, and military service, helping to secure Spain’s northern frontier

Legacy: Tomás’s descendants became influential ranching and political families in northern Mexico and South Texas, where the Sánchez and Garza names remain prominent in the region’s history