Laureano de Torres y Ayala

Laureano José de Torres Ayala y Quadros Castellanos was born in 1645 in Seville, Spain,[2] and grew up in Madrid, where his parents settled when he was still a small child.

In June 1693, Ayala joined a Spanish expedition in La Florida which passed through what is now Okaloosa County[3] and crossed the natural bridge of the spring-fed Chipola River.

On September 21, 1693, Torres y Ayala was appointed Governor of Spanish Florida, replacing Diego de Quiroga y Losada.

[8] On January 18, 1708, Ayala was appointed Governor General of Cuba, and worked mainly at Havana, where he was principally concerned with the island's economic problems and defenses.

[2] Laureano de Torres y Ayala married the Cuban Catalina Gertrudis Bayona y Chacón on August 5, 1687 in Havana.