This guide is intended for new researchers interested in the genealogy and history of the Ballí family of South Texas, who represent a link to the Spanish and Mexican colonial heritage of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
The Ballí family migrated from Spain in 1569 and became extensive landowners in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, holding influential positions in military and governmental affairs. The family's connection to Padre Island is foundational, and their regional legacy relates to early land ownership and ranching and religious and civic leadership.
Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí (1752–1803), or La Patrona, amassed a ranching empire. She was married to Capt. José María Ballí and the couple had three sons, most notably Padre José Nicolás Ballí, the missionary developer of Padre Island. Padre Ballí founded the first mission in present-day Cameron County (Brownsville) and established the first school in Matamoros, Mexico.
Her husband, Capt. Ballí and her father, Capt. Juan José de Hinojosa applied jointly for a large Spanish land grant, but both men died before it was approved in 1790. Rosa inherited the La Feria land grant, which included her husband's portion of ~55,000 acres as well as some of her father's land. The family continued to amass land holdings--by 1798, she owned 642,755 acres. Upon her death in 1803, Doña Rosa controlled over 1M acres—nearly one-third of the RGV with land in Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, Starr, and Kenedy counties.
Ballí descendants have engaged in protracted legal battles for the historical restoration of their land claims--most notably Padre Island and La Barreta.
Cameron County, Abstract 10, San Patricio District, File No. 000697, Ballí, José María and Ynojosa, de Ballí Rosa María (grantees). Texas General Land Office, Land Grant Database: https://www.glo.texas.gov/archives-heritage/search-our-collections/land-grant-search. See also the San Salvador de Tule Land Grant
Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí (1752–1803), or La Patrona, amassed a ranching empire. She was born to an aristocratic Spanish family in Tamaulipas, Mexico, the family relocated in 1767 to Reynosa, where her father served as mayor.
She married Capt. Juan José Ballí and the couple had three sons, most notably Father José Nicolás Ballí, the missionary developer of Padre Island. Her husband and father jointly applied for a large Spanish land grant, but both men died before it was approved in 1790. Rosa inherited the La Feria land grant, which included her husband's portion of ~55,000 acres as well as some of her father's land. Yet, she also inherited the estate's debt.
Doña Rosa and her brother Vicente worked together to improve and expand their holdings. By 1798, she owned 642,755 acres, and when she died in 1803, Doña Rosa controlled over 1M acres—nearly one-third of the RGV with land in Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, Starr, and Kenedy counties.
Juan Jose de Hinojosa and Jose Maria Balli to the Spanish Government in Mexico. Application for grant dated: July 4, 1776. Filed for record in Nueces County, Texas, Dec. 31. 1847, and recorded in Book A pp.283-287 Deed of records of Nueces County, Texas. Transcribed to Book Sup. G pp 158-162 Deed of records Cameron County, Texas.
Hicks, William. Statue of Padre José Nicolás Ballí, photograph, June 26, 2018. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1025132/m1/1/
Brownsville Historical Association. (1996). A blast from the past! Windows to yesteryear from the archives of the Brownsville Historical Association, 50th anniversary, 1947-1997, Volume 2.
The brand appears to be "JY" perhaps for John Young. Hidalgo County Marks and Brands, Volume C, page 96. Hidalgo County Records, ELIBR0065. UTRGV Special Collections & Archives, Edinburg, TX.
Salomé Ballí Dominguez Young McAllen (1830–1898) was born in Matamoros and inherited the Santa Anita Ranch, one of the original Spanish Land Grants. In 1848, she married John J. Young, a Scotsman and Matamoros merchant, who was 28 years her senior. The couple combined their land holdings and acquired more. When her husband John died in 1859, she and her son John J. Young, Jr., inherited everything, effectively making her one of the wealthiest Texans of her time.
Salomé enlisted the help of her husband's business associate, John McAllen, to manage the family holdings. They married in 1861 and had a son, James Ballí McAllen. Their combined holdings grew as the family bought back the remaining portions of the original Santa Anita land grant.
When Salomé died in 1898, her two sons divided the land between themselves. John Young II took the eastern Santa Anita portion, and James Ballí McAllen took the western San Juanito portion, which he ran with his father as the McAllen Ranch.
[photocopies from Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.]
3E.125.01 Reynosa Archives Family Records, Balli, Benavides, ELIBR-0166, Box 3, Folder 1.
Porciones 70, 71, and 72, Item 18, Volume: 1. Hidalgo County Records Collection, ELIBR-0065.
Genealogy [CS], Names, Balli. Reference Files, ELIBR-0062.
Explore the rich historical heritage of the Rio Grande Valley through this long-standing series of essays, poems, and articles written by scholars from a variety of institutions across the United States and Northern Mexico. Search or browse for Ballí family entries, including Salome Ballí McAllen, Doña Rosa Maria Hinojosa de Ballí and her family, and more.
The Spanish Land Grants Collection began with the work of borderlands historian Dr. Sonia Hernandez, who oversaw student research on porciones, or Spanish land grants. The collection has evolved in partnership with the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) to document the history of the Borderlands of deep South Texas, by highlighting the multicultural heritage of families and their land in the Rio Grande Valley. The collection provides insights into historical developments relating to land ownership, including land title and warranty deeds, official family trees, maps, photos, letters, and interviews with Ballí descendants
Land Grant Database. More than 3 million documents have been digitized. Access and search the land grant archive online.
Surname index. The Texas General Land Office Archives Surname Index contains alphabetical listings of grantees and patentees that were issued land grants by the Republic and State of Texas. The index also lists grantees for Spanish and Mexican land grants filed in our Spanish Collection (SC).
Map Database and Store. The Texas General Land Office’s (GLO) map collection consists of over 45,000 maps, sketches, and drawings. The collection spans nearly five centuries, from the era of European exploration to the present day.
Hidalgo County: Search results for "Balli" and sorted by earliest recorded date (1853).
Cameron County: Search results for "Ballie and sorted by earliest recorded date (1849).
Ballí Family Organization https://balli.org/
Padre Island National Seashore: Padre Ballí https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/historyculture/padre-balli.htm
Clotilde P. García, “Hinojosa de Ballí, Rosa María,” Handbook of Texas Online, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hinojosa-de-balli-rosa-maria
Clotilde P. García, “Balli, Jose Nicolas,” Handbook of Texas Online, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/balli-jose-nicolas
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The Hinojosa family : from Mier, Tamaulipas, Mexico to Texas
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I Would Rather Sleep in Texas: A History of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the People of the Santa Anita Land Grant
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New guide to Spanish and Mexican land grants in south Texas
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Featuring 363 expanded entries about Spanish and Mexican land grants in South Texas, this work is the new standard for this intriguing and sometimes controversial subject. The Guide includes a synoptic history of the issuance and confirmation of these grants, four appendices on related topics of interest, and details on mineral rights, patents, and other legal aspects of the tracts.
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