Simón Moret Gallart

Simón Moret Gallart (1853–1923) was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1907 to 1914.[lower-alpha 1]

Simón Moret Gallart
Mayor Simón Moret Gallart
112th Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office 1907–1914
Preceded by	Santiago Oppenheimer
Succeeded by	Rafael Rivera Esbrí
Personal details
Born	1853 Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died	1923
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Political party	Union of Puerto Rico
Spouse(s)	Matilde Perdomo Morales, aka, Matilde Morales y Perdomo de Moret
Profession	politician

Early years

Moret Gallart was born in Ponce, in 1853.[1][lower-alpha 2] He was a descendant of French immigrant Clemente Moret and the Spaniard Francisca Gallart who settled in Puerto Rico in 1816.[2]

Mayoral tenure

He was elected mayor of Ponce in 1906 and took the oath of office in 1907. He was a member of the Union of Puerto Rico Party and defeated Manuel V. Domenech of the Republican Party in a contested election.[3] In 1911, Mayor Moret received from the Government of the United States of America a franchise for the City of Ponce to operate the Port of Ponce in perpetuity.[4][5] The port of Ponce has been operated by the municipality since then. It is the only sea port in Puerto Rico owned and administered by a municipal body.

Among Moret's mayoral accomplishments are the construction of the Ponce Firefighters Mausoleum at Cementerio Civil de Ponce, which was completed on 2 April 1911. He also built the Port of Ponce following an ordinance approved by the Consejo Ejecutivo de Puerto Rico in 1911.[6]

Family life

On 11 December 1906, Simón Moret Gallart married Matilde Perdomo Morales. He was 53 and she was 26 when they married. Simón and Matilde had four daughters from their marriage: Josefa, Hortencia, Ana, and Carmen.[7] In 1910, while mayor, he was a resident of Barrio Segundo, and later, in 1920, he lived in Barrio Quebrada Limón.[8]

Death

He died in 1923 and was buried at Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul.[9] He died in Ponce on 30 March 1923. In Ponce there is a public school named after him, Elementary School Simón Moret Gallart, located at Carr 504, Km. 0.8, in barrio Portugues.[10][11] The school ceased operations in 2013[12] and as of 2015 the Government had put out bids for its demolition.[13]

Honors

Moret Gallard is honored at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens. Only six other mayors, of over 100 former Ponce mayors, are honored there.[14]

See also

• Ponce, Puerto Rico
• List of Puerto Ricans

Notes

1. Socorro Girón states he was mayor during 1907–1912 (Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. 1992. Page 442.)
2. Some sources state he was born in 1863; other sources, such as Ancestry.com, state he was born in 1854.

References

1. Biografia de Simón Moret Gallart. Biblioteca Escuela Simon Moret Gallart. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
2. Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885–2001.
3. Domenech v. Moret: Appeal from the District Court of Ponce. Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Porto Rico. Antonio F. Castro, Secretary and Reporter. Volumen 13 (14 June – 23 December 1907.) Government of Puerto Rico. San Juan, PR. Bureau of Supplies, Printing and Transportation. Case No. 127. Decided 26 June 1907. Page 97.
4. Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce. Second Edition. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. 2002. Page 14. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
5. Administración Municipal engaña a los ponceños indica presidente del PPD en Ponce. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
6. Biografia de Simón Moret Gallart. Biblioteca Escuela Simon Moret Gallart. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 7 September 2011.
7. 1920 United States Federal Census.
8. 1920 United States Federal Census.
9. Biografia de Simón Moret Gallart. Biblioteca Escuela Simon Moret Gallart. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 7 September 2011.
10. Simon Moret Gallart. Public Schools Report. 2016. Accessed 26 May 2016.
11. AVISO DE SUBASTA: DEMOLICIÓN DE ESCUELA ELEMENTAL SIMÓN MORET GALLART, Ponce, Puerto Rico (AEP – 8974A), Subasta Número: 2015-AEP-C-0003. Accessed 26 May 2016.
12. Simon Moret Gallart Elementary School (Closed 2013). Public School Review. 2016. Accessed 26 May 2016.
13. Aviso de Subasta: Demolición de Escuela Elemental Simon Moret Gallart, Ponce, Puerto Rico (AEP – 8974A), Subasta Número: 2015-AEP-C-0003. Government of Puerto Rico. Administración de Edificios Públicos. 18 March 2015. Accessed 26 May 2016.
14. Politics. TravelPonce. Retrieved 18 June 2012.

Further reading

• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 216. Item 1109. LCCN 92-75480
• Cayetano Coll y Toste. Boletín Histórico de Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cantera Fernandez. 1914–1927. (Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO).
• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 109. Item 560. LCCN 92-75480
• The Representative Men of Puerto Rico. Compiled and edited by F.E. Jackson & Son. C. Frederiksen, artist and photographer. s.l.: F.E. Jackson & Son. 1901. (PUCPR; Universidad Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras, UPR).
• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 336. Item 1675. LCCN 92-75480
• Ponce. Gobierno Municipal. Informe actividades administrativas y económicas del Municipio de Ponce. (Also titled Informe del Alcalde de la Ciudad de Ponce) Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tip. Pasarell. 1908. (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Ponce)
• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Segunda Edición. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 337. Item 1678. LCCN 92-75480
• Ponce. Proyecto de un Empréstito para obras municipales... Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta La Defensa. 1911 (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Ponce, AHMP)