SANTANDEROS researching Spanish and Mexican Land Grants in South Texas

My name is Hector L. Alvarez. I grew up in Brownsville, Texas in the 40s & 50s. In 1958, I went off to Presbyterian Panamerican School (PPAS of Kingsville, TX) for my high school Jr. and Sr. years, and graduated in 1960. (You may know one or more PPAS alumni.) I then went on to half a year of college at Schreiner when it used to be a junior college and a military high school. I decided college was not for me so I joined the Navy. In 1962, I was stationed in Virginia, met a Virginia girl and she became my bride (been married 45 years and have one daughter). I spent 20 years in the Navy as a medic and Clinical Chemistry and Blood Bank Tech and Preventive Medicine Tech. I spent nine of these years with a group that is always looking for a few good men (the Marines) – they found one. (You may know one or two Marines in the group.) I graduated from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Allied Health (Environmental Health), and again went to work for the Navy (civil service for 25 years). I was an industrial hygienist, which involved working in occupational safety and safety and environmental control. I’m now fully retired in a small town outside of Charleston, South Carolina. I like to fish, hunt, work in the yard, watch TV and work on my genealogy and family history.

Here’s a little bit of my genealogy. My ancestor surnames include (and as they say in the Navy, but are not limited to) Aguirre, Alvarez, Canales, Cavazos, Cisneros, Figueroa, Garcia, De La Garza, Gonzalez, Hinojosa, Landa, Lopez, Medina, Piña, Rivas, Saldaña, Salinas, Solis, and Villarreal. On the Cavazos side of my family, I’ve been able to trace my tree to Jose Antonio Cavazos and Maria Teresa De La Garza. Even though I’ve not been able to trace beyond Jose Antonio, I believe he may be related to Jose Narciso Cavazos (i.e., brother or first cousin). Why? They both came from Reynosa about the same timeframe, their descendants share identical names and my great-great-great-grandfather (Jose Nicolas Cavazos) lived at Tanque de Carricitos, Jose Narciso’s first homestead.

My CAVASOS tree goes from Jose Antonio CAVAZOS & Maria Teresa DE LA GARZA > Jose Nicolas CAVAZOS Garza & Maria Leonor CANTU Landa > Jose Manuel CAVAZOS Cantu & Maria Severiana RIVAS Solis > Juan Nepomuceno CAVAZOS Rivas & Librada GARCIA Silva > Rogerio CAVAZOS Garcia & Rosa LOPEZ Saldaña > Francisco ALVAREZ Gonzalez Jr. & Ofelia CAVAZOS Lopez.

I wish now I’d been more interested in genealogy and my family history during my younger days; I may have been able to gather valuable information from my grandparents, parents and older relatives. We didn’t have computers back then, but we sure had tons of paper, pens and pencils. Several things that are of interest to me are where my ancestors lived, were they ranchers and/or farmers, did they own the property and what happened to the property if it was indeed owned by the family.

According to Las Porciones Genealogical Society Journal, Volume 2 Number 1, Spring 1987:
1. Jose Narciso Cavazos constructed Tanque de Carricitos and took possession of the San Juan de Carricitos Land Grant property on October 28, 1793 at Tanque de Carricitos.
2. Tanque de Carricitos is located about seven miles north of the El Sauz Ranch in Willacy County and supposedly, the original map drawn in 1790, shows a ranch located at this spot. Some historians contend this spot is the oldest habitation in South Texas. (Note: A "Map of Cameron County Texas" dated October 25, 1884, drawn up by County Surveyor J. J. Cocke, also shows the location of Tanque de Carricitos, in addition to other ranches or ranching communities).

3. The grant property was passed on to heirs and most was sold and resold. In some cases, property was sold by heirs who claimed to own the property, but had no title. There were many court cases argued over the ownership of the grant’s property until settled by a District Court in June 1882.

Richard King vs. the heirs and assigns of Narciso Cavazos, dec’d, NO. 1,227
On June 2, 1881, the 25th Judicial Texas District Court appointed J. J. Cocke as commissioner to settle lawful ownership of the grant property. On June 4, 1882, Commissioner Cocke submitted his report (i.e., Richard King vs. the heirs and assigns of Narciso Cavazos, dec’d, NO. 1,227) to the Honorable John C. Russell, Judge of the 25th Judicial District. The report consisted of 37 Articles and is now part of "An Abstract F29039," which relates to the sale of 23,060 acres by Henrietta M. King to the Gulf Coast Irrigation Company. The 23,060 acres were located within Share 64 (323,128 acres) stated in Article 37 of the report. Share 64 was the property allotted to Henrietta M. King, widow of Richard King.

Article 15 addresses the sale of 16 ½ square leagues owned by Jose Manuel Cavazos (heir and eldest son of Jose Narciso Cavazos) to four individuals. One of these individuals was Nicholas Cavazos (my great-great-great-grandfather), who bought 3 square leagues (3 leagues X 4428.4 acres per league = 13,285.2 acres) on April 14, 1830.

Article 25 addresses the division of Nicholas’s property, 1/7 of 3 leagues to each of his seven children or their heirs. These were Isidor (1/7 to 3 heirs) Maria Rita (heirs sold their interests to Juan N. Cavazos Rivas), Clemencia (sold her interest to Juan N. Cavazos Rivas), Josefa (sold her interest to her brother Anastacio), Benita (left heirs), Anastacio (owned his interest) and Manuel (owned his interest).

I have copies of two Bills of Sale, in which three of Nicolas’s heirs sold their interests to Juan Nepomuceno Cavazos Rivas (my great-grandfather) and his brother-in-law Abundio Garcia.
1. Maria Juliana Cavazos and Hermenjildo Cavazos, children of Maria Rita, sold their inherited 1/7 interest (about 1897 acres) to Juan N. Cavazos for $150.00 on May 11, 1880.
2. Clemencia Cavazos, Nicolas’s daughter sold her 1/7 interest to Juan N. Cavazos and his brother-in-law, Abundio Garcia (about 948 acres each) on August 27, 1881 for $100.00 in Mexican gold coins.

3. These sales gave Juan Nepomuceno about 2846.56 acres and Abundio 948.85 acres.
Exhibit H "Testimony of Anastacio Cavazos and Manuel Cavazos, dated September 13, 1881"
Article 36 consists of Exhibits A through Q, Exhibit H being the "Testimony of Anastacio Cavazos and Manuel Cavazos, dated September 13, 1881." Anastacio and Manuel were the two youngest children (heirs) of Nicholas. In his testimony, Anastacio said the following:
1. He was born in Refugio (Matamoros) in 1818, was the son of Nicolas Cavazos and Leonor Cantu and his first recollections were of 1830 when they lived at Tanque de Carricitos and neighborhood until 1836 when they were driven south of the Rio Bravo by Indians.
2. Jose Nicolas died in Matamoros in 1849, and the family returned to the north side of the Arroyo Colorado in 1851 and lived in the immediate neighborhood of his present ranch, El Mesquite. Leonor died in 1852 and neither parent had sold any of the property during their lifetimes.

3. Jose Manuel Cavazos, Jose Narciso’s eldest son, sold 3 sitios to his father Niclolas Cavazos. Jose Manuel lived in Matamoros and died sometime before 1836. Cholera was suspected in his death.

4. Nicolas and Maria Leonor had seven surviving children: Josefa, Ysidor, Maria Rita, Benita, Clemencia, Anastacio, and Manuel. At the time of the testimony, Ysidor, Maria Rita and Clemencia had died and their inherited land went to their heirs.
Notes and questions:
As per marriage records of Villa de Senora de Guadalupe de Reynosa Church, 20 year old Jose Nicolas Cavazos, son of Jose Antonio Cavazos and Maria Teresa de la Garza married 19 year old Maria Leonor Cantu daughter of Jose Antonio Cantu and Maria Josefa Landa on November 11, 1799. Jose Antonio died in Matamoros on May 10, 1819. It is not known where he and his family were living in 1799. Was it in Reynosa or Tanque de Carricitos.

Maria de los Santos Cavazos was one of the four children of Jose Narciso Cavazos and Maria Ygnacia Hinojosa (his first wife). Her first husband was Jose Antonio Cavazos Cantu. Was he one of Jose Nicolas’ and Maria Leonor’s children who preceded them in death? Did he die shortly after his marriage? Anastacio only mentioned siblings who were living at the time of his parent’s death.

When Jose Antonio, Nicolas’ father, died in Matamoros on May 10, 1819, were Jose Nicolas and his family living in Matamoros or were they living in Tanque Carricitos? Anastacio stated his first recollections were of 1830 when he was about 12 years old and living at Tanque Carricitos. Jose Nicolas bought the three leagues from Jose Manuel in 1830, but the property was about 12-13 miles south of Tanque Carricitos.

When and why did Nicolas move to the exact spot where Jose Narciso took possession of his grant property? Why didn’t Jose Nicolas live on the property he purchased from Jose Manuel?
In his testimony, Anastacio stated he and his family had lived in the immediate neighborhood of his present ranch, since 1851. Was Anastacio implying he had owned other ranches?
Since his mother, Maria Leonor, was living at Rancho Mesquite when she died in 1852, I presume she died at Rancho Mesquite.

Page 13 of the report consists of a map showing the location of the allotted 65 shares within the grant property. According to the map, Nicolas’ property was located about 13-15 south of Tanque Carricitos (i.e., Shares 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12). J. J. Cocke’s map of 1884 shows the following ranches/ranching communities located within the same general vicinity: Mesquite, Venadito, Veladeros, Alto Limpio, and Alazan.

Notes:
The 1867 Voters Registration For Cameron County lists the residence for my great-great grandfather (Manuel Cavazos) as Ranch Veniditto (Venaditto?). His brother, Anastacio Cavazos, listed his residence as Ranch Mesquite. Other members of the family listed as residing on Ranch Mesquite were Abundio Garcia and Felix Silva.

In the book "Century Of Conflict 1821-1913," written by William Neale and William A. Neale, Edited by John C. Rayburn and Virginia Kemp Rayburn, it is written that Don Cheno Cavazos Rivas (Juan Nepomuceno Cavazos Rivas, my great-grandfather) owned some 15,000 acres of land and about 6,000 head of cattle and horse stock. I remember my grandmother and mother spoke of Rancho Alazan being located north of the Arroyo Colorado. I have records of several of Juan’s children who were born on Alazan.

Article 37 of J. J. Cocke’s report addresses the number assigned to each Sharer, whom the share was allotted to and the numbers of acres involved. The list includes the following Shares:
Share No To Whom Allotted Acres (Note: Name & Number of Nicolas’ Children)
7 Anastacio Cavazos 3795.4 (Anastacio and Josefa) 2
8 Isador Cavazos Heirs 1897.71 (Isador) 1
10 Juan N. Cavazos Rivas 3479.00 (Maria Rita and Clemencia) 2
11 Abundio Garcia 980.85 (Part of Clemencia) 0
12 Benita Cavazos Heirs 1139.2 (Bentia) 1
Totals 11,291.31 6

Notes:
The total number of acres allotted to Shares 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12 do not add up to 13,285.2 acres (i.e., 3 square leagues).
Manuel Cavazos, son of Nicolas, who was addressed in Article 25 as owning 1/7 interest of the 3 leagues, is not addressed in Article 37 (i.e., it seems he was not allotted a share).
I believe the number of acres allotted to Share No. 10 is incorrect. Since half of Clemencia’s interest was sold to Abundio Garcia (Share 11), Juan N. Cavazos Rivas’s total acreage for Share 10 should be about 2846.56 acres (i.e., 1797.71 acres from Maria Rita and 948.86 from Clemencia).

Since Article 27 states Benita Cavazos heirs inherited her 1/7 interest (1897.71 acres), the number of acres allotted to Share No. 12 is about 758.51 acres short. I believe it should be 1897.71.
Using my revised number of acres allotted, my totals come to about 3 acres short of the 13,285.2 acres (3 leagues).
Share No To Whom Allotted Acres (Note: Children)
7 Anastacio Cavazos 3795.4 (Anastacio and Josefa) 2
8 Isador Cavazos Heirs 1897.71 (Isador) 1
10 Juan N. Cavazos Rivas 2846.57 (Maria Rita and Clemencia) 2
11 Abundio Garcia 948.85 (Part of Clemencia) 0
12 Benita Cavazos Heirs 1897.71 (Bentia) 1
?? Manuel Cavazos 1897.71 (Manuel) 1
Totals 13,283.95 7

It seems strange to me that Share No. 12 (2878.4 acres), allotted to Francisco Cavazos, lies between Shares No. 10, 11, and 8, property belonging to Nicolas’ heirs.

Share 63, which was directly south and adjacent to Share No. 10, was allotted to Porfirio Gomez. Porfirio was married to Juan N. Cavazos Rivas’s sister, Matilde. Their ranch was called Rancho San Antonio. All that remains are their graves (San Antonio Cemetery on County Line Road #2629). The Tanquecitos Cemetery is located within the property boundaries of Share No. 10.
I hope this information didn’t bore you. It may be of interest to someone who may wish to research some of the lost ranching communities in the Valley and maybe make it a project to present at one of the meetings. If I were in Brownsville, I’d be engrossed in it.
Thanks for reading.
Hector L. Alvarez

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