By Juan Montoya
If you asked almost anyone today who Doña Estefana Goseacochea de Cavazos de Cortina was, or what she did, you'd probably get a blank stare.
Not only have the accomplishments of this great Latina woman gone unnoticed by Texas and local history, but the importance of her family's pioneer efforts in South Texas have been obscured
by time and the myopia of mainstream historians.
Doña Estefana was one of the pioneer Latinas who came to South Texas bringing with them the civilizing agents of education and religion.
She was born in Camargo, Mexico, in 1782 (the Rio Grande wasn't a border then) and died in 1867 on her El Carmen ranch at 85. She was also owner of the Santa Rita Ranch, the first Cameron County seat.
Until the settlers came, the land was inhabited by wandering Native American nomads. Anthropologists have found little evidence of agriculture or livestock being developed there.With the coming of Salvador de la Garza (her grandfather and grantee of the Espiritu Santo Land Grant), all that changed.
P. G. Cavazos, her great-great grandson, from San Pedro, was instrumental in getting the Texas Historical Commission to erect a marker on Doña Estefana's family cemetery off Military Highway where she and her family once operated her ranching empire.
Hers was one of the first ones established in Cameron County.
El Carmen Ranch was named after Doña Estefana’s daughter. Rancho Viejo was established by her grandfather in 1770. El Carmen Avenue, named after her daughter, connected these two ranches. Santa Rita (now Villanueva, and the first seat of Cameron County) was also founded by Doña Estefana.
If you are traveling west on Military Highway, as you get to Villa Nueva there is a small road that turns left toward the irrigation district water pump on the Rio Grande River. There you will find a weathered granite marker and a leaning marker to the Oblate Trail.
That is all that's left of the ranching heritage that started the entire region. Of course, the Santa Rita marker makes no mention of Doña Estefana, merely that it was the "First Anglo settlement in Lower Rio Grande Valley..."
Cavazos said Doña Estefana would always make sure a chapel was built on every new ranch that was founded. Also, she made sure her children received an education, and they, in turn, would set up schools in the ranches for the sons and daughter of her ranch hands.
Thus, this pioneer woman, in fact, initiated the custom and culture of education long before the State of Texas, Cameron County, the City of Brownsville, or even the Brownsville Independent School District, existed.
One of her sons (Jose Maria) went on to become a tax-assessor collector for the eventual Cameron County and another (Sabas) would become a wealthy and successful rancher dominating the local agrarian economy. He also served as a county commissioner and a justice of the peace.
Her deeds and accomplishments are often overshadowed by the activities and controversy surrounding her other son, Juan Cortina.
However, there is no reason why her impact on the economic and social development of the area should take a back seat to his activities.
The Veterans Memorial High School built by the Brownsville Independent School District is literally in the old La Carmen ranch's front yard. The original Carmen Avenue is on the property’s east side.
Her son’s (Sabas) historical cemetery lies in San Pedro, on the northwest side of the school up Military Highway (US 281). His mother's historical cemetery marker is on the school's southeast side. Rancho Viejo, the county's oldest ranch, lies to its north. When the levee was built, most of the old cemetery was destroyed.
The Rio Grande River runs along the south side of where the old Santa Rita Ranch used to be and is a well-known crossing place for residents to either side of the river through the crossing known as Las Piedras. There, literally just a stone's throw away, is Mexico on the other side of the shallow river.
Doña Estefana's descendants include members of virtually every original family in South Texas. The Cavazos, Cortinas, Olivieras, Canales, Trevinos, Zavaletas (Dr. Tony Zavaleta, is her great-great-great grandson), Salinas, Tijerinas, De la Garzas, etc., all trace their distinct roots to this great woman who came to South Texas and built it with her own two hands.
7 comments:
Huh? Who cares!!!!!
Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí
1752–1803
In 1790, the woman now known as the first "cattle queen" of Texas—Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí—inherited fifty-five thousand acres in what is now South Texas. Her father and husband had applied to the Spanish crown for the land, but both died before their request was approved.
It soon became clear that in addition to the land, Doña Rosa possessed a strong will, exceptional foresight, and shrewd business skills.
From her ranch headquarters in what is now Cameron County, Doña Rosa set about to improve her land, expand her holdings, and rid the estate of the debt that came with her inheritance. She acquired herds of cattle, sheep, and other livestock. She applied for and received land grants on behalf of her three sons, including a portion of Padre Island, which was named for her son Nicolás, a priest who helped develop the island. Her goal was to establish a ranching empire for her family.
Deeply religious, Doña Rosa was also a generous benefactor of Catholic churches throughout the region, earning her the nickname "La Patrona." Her name appears in local church records as the godmother at scores of baptisms.
When she died, in 1803, just thirteen years after her original inheritance, Doña Rosa owned more than a million acres of ranch land in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
For more about Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí
Women in Texas History, a project of the Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women's History, has produced a short audio biography of Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí's life, available online. She is also featured in a fourth-grade social studies lesson plan, "Las Tejanas."
Cecilia Ballí, a descendant of Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí, attended the 2012 unveiling of the monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol honoring Tejano contributions to Texas history.
Thank you so much for this! I usually pass by that marker every other day and its a shame citizens of the valley are not in tune with our wonderful local history..
Great article. I was blessed to have sat down with the late Praxedes Cavazos who cherished that area’s history and hear about the squatters hired by the Kings. I wonder if his work is still around...
History is there for a reason - to improve on the past to reinforce our intestinal fortitude to stand up and denounce the injustices of the past.
WOW did I really say that? Naw just joking
Time marches on and takes it tolls
Also descendents are the de los Santos’ families
Librada Trevino daughter of Felipe Trevino and Carmen Cortina married Feliciano De Los Santos and are buried at El Carmen Ranch cemetery off 281.
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