To
understand this story, one must consider the major characters -
not only the founders of the San Antonio Conservation Society,
Rena Maverick Green and Emily Edwards, who sought to preserve
the "antiquated foreignness" embodied in San Antonio's charm and
character - but also the city that inspired their preservation
efforts.
Mary
Rowena Maverick was born to George Madison and Mary Elizabeth
Vance Maverick on Feb. 10, 1874 in Sedalia, MO. She was
educated at the Mary Institute in St. Louis and at Stuart Hall
in Staunton, VA. Throughout her life she took art classes,
whether in Gloucester or Provincetown, MA or in San Francisco.
She was recognized as an accomplished artist in watercolor and
sculpture, taking firsts in the Southern Artists' Show and the
Texas Small Sculpture Contest. Growing up, she frequently
visited her grandmother, Mary Augustus Maverick, in San
Antonio. In 1896, the family moved to San Antonio where she
made her debut and met Robert Berrien Green. The two married in
1897.
Robert
Berrien Green was born May 16, 1865 in San Antonio to Nathaniel
Otho and Martha Fulton Green. He was educated at the German
English School and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Texas, from which he graduated in 1884. He read law in his
father's office and earned his law degree from Cumberland
University in 1890. In 1895, he was appointed a federal
district judge at age 28, the youngest in the U.S. Concerned
with the condition of the County, he was elected Bexar County
judge in 1900, working to get the county out of debt and to
provide good roads. In 1906, he was elected to the State Senate
to work for a juvenile justice system, regulation of the
insurance companies, and decent labor practices. He and his
wife, Rena, had four children: George, Martha, Mary Vance and
Rowena Robert. Unfortunately, Robert died of a heart attack
while hunting in the hill country on December 1, 1907, leaving
his 33-year-old wife a widow with four children.
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