José María Salazar y Valenzuela was born about 1759 in Santo Domingo to Juan Antonio Salazar y Díaz, a native of La Guaria, Venezuela, and María Apolonia Valenzuela e Hinojosa who married in 1752 in Santo Domingo. His paternal grandparents were Simón Salazar and Juana Tomasa Díaz while his maternal grandparents were Teniente Baltazar de los Reyes Valenzuela (died 1758, Santo Domingo) and Gregoria de Hinojosa.

On December 14, 1777 at the age of 18, José María enlisted in the military as a "soldado distinguido veterano" serving in the position for over six years before transferring to the Dragones de Milicias Disciplinadas de la Isla de Espanola de Santo Domingo on April 24, 1784 with the same rank. He received a promotion to Alférez on December 30, 1788. In 1791, during the beginning of the Haitian Revolution, he was stationed in the western frontier of the island participating the the suppression of the remnants of the colonial rebellion.

Following the execution of Louis XVI of France in early 1793, the French Republic found itself at odds with all major European powers with the Republic soon declaring war on its former ally, Spain. While the war is known as the War of the Pyrenees, the colonies of these two superpowers also participated in the conflict with the divided island of Hispaniola becoming a frontline in the war. On August 2, 1793, Alférez José María Salazar participated in the defense of the fort San Miguel in Santo Domingo. Again, he was present to defend the same fort on October 16, 1794 while acting in the capacity of Ayudante de Plaza. Following this he was stationed in San Francisco de Bánica, a settlement on the Santo Domingo/Saint-Domingue border, serving as Ayudante there. While residing in the capital at the end of February 1796, José María noted himself as being 36 years of age, of Hidalgo origin, and single.

With the resulting Spanish defeat in the war, the colony of Santo Domingo was ceded to the French in exchange for keeping  the Basque province of Gipuzkoa in the Treaty of Basel in 1795. While Alférez José María Salazar stayed in Santo Domingo during the transitionary period, he would eventually relocate the the militia of San Juan, Puerto Rico where he appears receiving a promotion to Subteniente on March 6, 1796. On March 28th of the same year, a confirmation of his promotion was received in Aranjuez.

The full timeline for his marriage to Bárbara Saldaña isn't avaiable due to a lack of marriage records at the time, but during his first record of military service in 1788, José María Salazar declared he was married and his wife passed away a few years later. Bárbara Saldaña was buried in Santo Domingo, February 1, 1795. In her burial she was noted as being a native of Hincha. They had five children by this point as José María declared in 1799. The only baptism I have found is that of his son José María Salazar y Saldaña, born November 21, 1794 in Santo Domingo and baptized December 4th with his godfather being Don Juan Salazar, Teniente del Batallón de Infantería de Santo Domingo. Two other daughters named Isabel and María de las Mercedes Salazar y Saldaña were found to have resided in San Juan and died there.

Following the Treaty of Basel, Spain and France allied once more after signing the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso and Spain establishing an alliance against their common enemy Great Britain on August 19, 1796. The conflict entered the Caribbean when British forces attempted to assault the port city of San Juan on April 17, 1797 with 68 warships and 7,000 men. Now stationed in Puerto Rico, José María Salazar participated in the defense of San Juan.  After two weeks of fighting, resulting in over 201 Spanish casualties, the British left the island leaving behind their munitions.

On his service records, there is conflicting information on when he received his promotion to Teniente, with his service record in Santo Domingo from February 1796 claiming he had been promoted to Teniente Graduado on December 28, 1793 while using the rank of "Alférez graduado de Teniente". In December of 1799 in San Juan, he is noted as receiving the promotion to Subteniente in San Juan on March 6, 1796 and a promotion to Teniente on June 28, 1798.

In the end of the year of 1799, Teniente José María Salazar resided in San Juan, 40 years of age and a widower of five children. He remarried on September 26, 1801 to Doña María de la Paz Chico y Baerga (born 1768, San Juan), the widow of her cousin Don Sebastián de Baerga y Ramos, Caballero Regidor y Fiel Executor del Ilustro Cabildo de San Juan, the daughter of Capitán de Infantería Don José Chico y Ronda (a native of Tarifa, died 1775, San Juan) and Doña María Manuela Baerga y Castro (1738-1770, San Juan). José María was noted as being Teniente de la Segunda Compañía del Primer Batallón de Regimiento Infantería in this marriage. From this marriage, the couple had one son, Raymundo Salazar y Chico who was also a part of the militia of Puerto Rico. In Raymundo's marriage record in 1833, José María is noted as having the rank of Teniente Coronel. This is likely the final promotion he received.

While José María Salazar's burial record could not be found in San Juan, Puerto Rico, there is a José Salazar who is mentioned in the index of Burial for the year of 1826 on the first page. Unfortunately it appears this page has been lost or destroyed as it does not show up in the actual book. Assuming this lost document was his a record of his death, it can be assumed he died some time in early 1826, likely late February or early March of that year.

Isabel Salazar y Saldaña married José de Baerga. They had at least two children José and Teresa Baerga y Salazar. José Baerga y Salazar appears as the godfather of José Ramón Baldomero Atiles y Baegra, the son of Ramón and María del Carmen, in 1846. María del Carmen Baerga was an hija expósita born in the house of José Baerga, the husband of Isabel. It is unclear if or how she is related to the family otherwise.

In the will of Doña María de la Encarnación de la Torre y Chico, the Salazar family is mentioned as a part of the goods she was leaving behind. Teresa, the daughter of José Baerga and María Chico was the niece of Mercedes Salazar according to the will. Trying to make sense of the dispcrepency in the know records and this will, it can be determined that Teresa's mother was actually Isabel Salazar to make Mercedes her aunt. José Baerga and María Chico seem to be referencing Isabel's husband (a likely relative of Encarnación de la Torre) and María de la Paz Chico, the second wife of José María Salazar and stepmother of Isabel Salazar, also the aunt of Encarnación de la Torre. Teresa Baerga married Federico Marange, a military officer in 1846.