His parents, Francisco de Arocha and Juana Curbelo, came from La Palma, one of the Canary Islands of Spain.
[3] Between the years of his service as alcalde Arocha served in other capacities: in 1774 he was appointed lieutenant governor of Béxar province over the objections of the cabildo's sheriff and perhaps most of the local ranchers,[4][5] and escorted the Adaesaños (also descendants of Spanish settlers), who were residents in Los Adaes, to the new settlement of Bucareli on the Trinity River;[6] in 1778 he prepared a census report on the province for the new commanding general, Fray Juan Agustín Morfi.
When Simón tried to buy another ranch at the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers, many ranchers in the province protested, with the support of Governor Rafael Martínez Pacheco.
[1] Most of the Arocha family's lands were confiscated in the early 19th century during the revolutionary uprisings in the Spanish colony of New Spain, of which they were active participants.
With the winning of Mexican independence in 1821, Simón's grandson was able to reconfirm the title to his grandfather's Spanish land grant.