Francisco López de Osornio Merlo

Francisco López de Osornio Merlo (1681 – 1756) was a Spanish military leader and landowner, who served during the Viceroyalty of Peru as Captain of the provincial militias of Buenos Aires.

Biography

He was born on September 7, 1681, in Buenos Aires, the son of Francisco López Osornio and Tomasa Merlo, belonging to an illustrious family of Spanish and Creole origin. He was married on September 11, 1701, in Metropolitan Cathedral to María Gamiz de las Cuevas, daughter of Pedro Gamiz de las Cuevas and Tomasa Álvarez de Lasarte, a distinguished Spanish family from Madrid. His son Clemente López de Osornio, a landowner belonging to the Spanish Army, was assassinated during an indigenous incursion to the Province of Buenos Aires.

He participated in the military expeditions aimed at controlling the indigenous advance towards the Province of Buenos Aires. He held the honorific post of Alférez Real of the city, being the one in charge of carrying the Estandarte Real in the day of Saint Martin of Tours.

In 1726 he served as commander of the Fort of Barragán, where he ordered the construction of the first chapel.