(Ed.'s Note: The year was 1910. Running that year as a candidate for Cameron County Judge was none other than Brownsville attorney J.T Canales. In this ad published in the "El Cronista Del Valle," whose publisher was A. Correa, H.B. Verhelle, a local saddle and blanket manufacturer was running for secretary of the district court, L.C. Hill, who established Mercedes, Harlingen and the first irrigation district in the state for Bailiff, F.E. Starck,a member of the local Jewish community, for Tax Collector, Antonio Iznaga, a Customs officer for Tax Collector, Charles More for Treasurer, and a host of other candidates with pioneer family names like Agustin Celaya, Celedonio M. Garza, G.N Scanlan, etc. We don;t know the outcome of that year's election, but we don't believe that Canales was ever a Cameron County Judge although he later served as a Texas State Representative. Does anyone of our seven readers know? Well, someone did. Here's a link to his story:
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcaag )
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcaag )
4 comments:
In 1910 J. T. Canales ran for County Judge as an Independent and did not win. He the served as Supt of Schools, returned to the Democratic Party and in 1914 was elected Cameron County Judge (which at that time included what is now Willacy Co)
As is well known, Canales had a legal battle with the TX Rangers which gained him some notoriety as he fought against abuse of Mexicans by the Rangers. A new book or paper is being developed about Canales and the Texas Rangers, using materials and information not available until 25 years after the death of the last Rangers who were involved. J.T. Canales' granddaughter lives in Chicago and visits Brownsville annually to visit other members of the Canales family living here.
In 1910 J. T. Canales ran for County Judge as an Independent and did not win. He the served as Supt of Schools, returned to the Democratic Party and in 1914 was elected Cameron County Judge (which at that time included what is now Willacy Co)
As is well known, Canales had a legal battle with the TX Rangers which gained him some notoriety as he fought against abuse of Mexicans by the Rangers. A new book or paper is being developed about Canales and the Texas Rangers, using materials and information not available until 25 years after the death of the last Rangers who were involved. J.T. Canales' granddaughter lives in Chicago and visits Brownsville annually to visit other members of the Canales family living here.
Wow! Bet there was no rats like there is today!
Judge Canales was a very interesting character and I enjoyed visiting with him in his office about local history when I was writing some BHS history papers back about 1960. He took plenty of time to school us kids on how things were. He was very generous with his time and knowledge.
Canales was passionate about Juan Cortina and gave me a paper he had written on the subject. He saw Cortina as an avenger of the Mexican people from the abuse of the Anglos. I feel certain that much of the Cortina as hero material comes from Canales and his defense of Cortina.
He also had a long and troubled relationship with the Texas Rangers and as much as anybody played a key role in the reorganization of the Rangers in the mid-30's, when the Rangers were removed from being under the control of the Governor and incorporated into the new Texas Department of Public Safety.
I feel fortunate to have known the man and learned much from him. However farther down the path of learning, I do recognize that his views were somewhat skewed, but that is to be expected based on his personal history. He was a very significant figure in early 20th Century South Texas history and more people should be aware of his contributions today.
Post a Comment