Gringo Builders

Gringo Builders
Author: James Lewellyn Allhands
Publisher:
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1931
Genre: Brazoria (Tex.)
ISBN:

Revolution in Texas

Revolution in Texas
Author: Benjamin Heber Johnson
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780300109702

A gripping narrative about a dramatic episode in the history of the American West--and a major contribution to our understanding of the origins of Mexican American identity In Revolution in Texas Benjamin Johnson tells the little-known story of one of the most intense and protracted episodes of racial violence in United States history. In 1915, against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, the uprising that would become known as the Plan de San Diego began with a series of raids by ethnic Mexicans on ranches and railroads. Local violence quickly erupted into a regional rebellion. In response, vigilante groups and the Texas Rangers staged an even bloodier counterinsurgency, culminating in forcible relocations and mass executions. Faced with the overwhelming forces arrayed against it, the uprising eventually collapsed. But, as Johnson demonstrates, the rebellion resonated for decades in American history. Convinced of the futility of using force to protect themselves against racial discrimination and economic oppression, many Mexican Americans elected to seek protection as American citizens with equal access to rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution.

Caesar Kleberg and the King Ranch

Caesar Kleberg and the King Ranch
Author: Duane M. Leach
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2017-01-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1623495040

In this tribute to a pioneer conservationist, Duane M. Leach celebrates the life of an exceptional ranch manager on a legendary Texas ranch, a visionary for wildlife and modern ranch management, and an extraordinarily dedicated and generous man. Caesar Kleberg went to work on the King Ranch in 1900. For almost thirty years he oversaw the operations of the sprawling Norias division, a vast acreage in South Texas where he came to appreciate the importance of rangeland not only for cattle but also for wildlife. Creating a wildlife management and conservation initiative far ahead of its time, Kleberg established strict hunting rules and a program of enlightened habitat restoration. Because of his efforts and foresight, by his death in 1946 there were more white-tailed deer, wild turkey, bobwhite quail, javelinas, and mourning dove on the King Ranch than in the rest of the state. Kleberg’s legacy lives on at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in Kingsville, where a research program he helped found has gained recognition far beyond the pastures of Norias.

Globalizing the Lower Rio Grande

Globalizing the Lower Rio Grande
Author: Kyle B. Carpenter
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2024-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1574419552

Often obscured in the history of the nineteenth-century US-Mexico borderlands, European-born entrepreneurs played a definitive role in pushing the Rio Grande borderlands into Atlantic markets. These borderlands entrepreneurs tried to transform the Lower Rio Grande and its surroundings from a regional crossroads of trade to a hub of the Atlantic economy. Though they were often stymied by mismanagement, notions of ethnic and cultural superiority, and eruptions of violence, these entrepreneurs persistently attempted to remake the region into a modern commercial utopia. Their actions challenged United States imperial expansion into the Rio Grande borderlands as they tried to modernize the region according to European cultural precepts through constructing colonies populated with Europeans, building strong networks of local and global significance, and striving to dominate trade in the region. Globalizing the Lower Rio Grande reframes the narrative of the borderlands through the perspectives of Europeans who actively shaped the historical trajectory of the region. It highlights the actions of folks like English-born John C. Beales, who convinced a party of Europeans to trek overseas and overland to the isolated Las Moras Creek to build a colony from scratch; Alexander Bourgeois d’Orvanne, former mayor of Clichy-la-Garenne in France, who manipulated powerful French and German leaders to support a settlement scheme on the Rio Grande; Spanish-born José San Román and the way he constructed massive transatlantic networks of credit and exchange; and Joseph Kleiber from Strasbourg, who facilitated the construction of a European-owned railroad line along the Rio Grande. Though ultimately undermined and outmaneuvered by their American rivals, European-born borderlands entrepreneurs like these collectively globalized the Lower Rio Grande.

Gringos in Paradise

Gringos in Paradise
Author: Barry Golson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2006-11-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1416547835

A Year in Provence meets Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House in this lively and entertaining account of a couple's year building their dream house in Mexico. In 2004, Barry Golson wrote an award-winning article for AARP magazine about Mexican hot spots for retirees longing for a lifestyle they couldn't afford in the United States. A year later, he and his wife Thia were taking part in the growing trend of retiring abroad. They sold their Manhattan apartment, packed up their SUV, and moved to one of those idyllic hot spots, the surfing and fishing village of Sayulita on Mexico's Pacific coast. With humor and charm, Golson details the year he and his wife spent settling into their new life and planning and building their dream home. Sayulita -- population 1,500, not including stray dogs or pelicans -- is a never-dull mixture of traditional Mexican customs and new, gringo-influenced change. Before long, the Golsons had been absorbed into the rhythms and routines of village life: they adopted a pair of iguanas named Iggy Pop and Iggy Mom, got sick and got cured by a doctor who charged them sixteen dollars a visit, made lasting friends with Mexicans and fellow expatriates, and discovered the skill and artistry of local craftsmen. But their daily lives were mostly dedicated to the difficult yet satisfying process of building their house. It took them almost six months to begin building -- nothing is simple (or speedy) in Mexico -- and incredibly, they completed construction in another six. They engaged a Mexican architect, builder, and landscape designer who not only built their home but also changed their lives; encountered uproariously odd bureaucracy; and ultimately experienced a lifetime's worth of education about the challenges and advantages of living in Mexico. The Golsons lived (and are still living) the dream of many -- not only of going off to a tropical paradise but also of building something beautiful, becoming a part of a new world, making lasting friends, and transforming their lives. As much about family and friendship as about house-building, Gringos in Paradise is an immensely readable and illuminating book about finding a personal paradise and making it a home.

Year Book

Year Book
Author: United States Engineers. 3d Volunteer (War with Spain)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 640
Release: 1945
Genre: Spanish-American War, 1898
ISBN:

Land!

Land!
Author: Graham Davis
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781585441891

The only successful European impresarios in mid-nineteenth century Mexican Texas--men authorized to bring immigrants to settle the vast spaces of Mexico's northern territories--were Irish. On their land grants, Irish settlers founded Refugio and San Patricio and went on to take active roles in the economic and political development of Texas. It required a hardy spirit and strong ambition to weather the perils that accompanied these opportunities--the long journey, shipwrecks, hostile Indians, injury and disease--and Irish pioneers proved fit for the task. They were not seeking relief from famine or English oppression in their own country. These were vigorous, strong-willed people who possessed the monetary means to remove themselves from their insular surroundings. What they were seeking, and what they obtained, was land. Graham Davis tells this Irish-Texan story of the search for land by recounting the experiences of the original empresarios John McMullen, James McGloin, James Power, and James Hewetson, and he finishes the book with an impressive description of the ranching empire of Power's nephew, Thomas O'Connor. In between, he examines the marriages, commercial contacts, political alliances, and language ties that "Mexicanized" these successful entrepreneurs. Living in the heart of the war zone, some of the Irish settlers fought for independence while others remained loyal to the Mexican government that had made them citizens and given them land. Davis offers a vivid picture of the hardships of pioneer life and the building of communities, churches, and schools. He describes how Irish ranchers had the opportunity to thrive after the annexation of Texas and emphasizes their willing acceptance of Mexican ranching methods. He makes a convincing case that the Irish came to Texas not as victims but as entrepreneurs and opportunists in search of land.

Pesos and Dollars

Pesos and Dollars
Author: Alicia Marion Dewey
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2014-09-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623492092

The commercial world of South Texas between 1880 and 1940 provided an attractive environment for many seeking to start new businesses, especially businesses that linked the markets and finances of the United States and Mexico. Entrepreneurs regularly crossed the physical border in pursuit of business. But more important, more complex, and less well-known were the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic borders they navigated daily as they interacted with customers, creditors, business partners, and employees. Drawing on her expertise as a bankruptcy lawyer, historian Alicia M. Dewey tells the story of how a diverse group of entrepreneurs, including Anglo-Americans, ethnic Mexicans, and European and Middle Eastern immigrants, created and navigated changing business opportunities along the Texas-Mexico border between 1880 and 1940.

Falfurrias

Falfurrias
Author: Dale Lasater
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 1985-04-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780890968307

Like many pioneer western cattlemen, Ed C. Lasater was confident, optimistic, and an aggressive user of bank credit. This history of the South Texas rancher and dairyman paints a vivid picture of frontier agriculture in an era that featured some of the region and the nation's most progressive and most trying times. Lasater, born near Goliad in 1860, purchased extensive landholdings in South Texas in the late nineteenth century. In 1904 he founded the town of Falfurrias. The author, a grandson of Ed C. Lasater, describes the settlers' arrival near the Loma Blanca, the area's principal landmark, and the pioneering efforts of the families who moved to the developing region. Falfurrias describes not only the development of Lasater's agricultural interests, which included the world's largest herd of Jersey milk cows and a creamery whose brand-name butter is still sold in the region today. Lasater was also active in politics, combating the early signs of "bossism" in South Texas counties. He ran for governor on the Progressive ticket in 1912, and served as an appointee in the U.S. Food Administration in 1917.