About this item
Highlights
- Murder, violence, and intimidation are the bitter grapes of the Becerra and de la Garza families, early day Spanish settlers who had been in Texas several generations when Stephen F. Austin and other American empresarios received land grants in the early 1820s and 19302.
- Author(s): Abel G Rubio
- 310 Pages
- History, United States
Description
About the Book
The author, a member of the family, tells of an emotional and successful odyssey to find the family's lost land grant-their "stolen heritage."Book Synopsis
Murder, violence, and intimidation are the bitter grapes of the Becerra and de la Garza families, early day Spanish settlers who had been in Texas several generations when Stephen F. Austin and other American empresarios received land grants in the early 1820s and 19302.
The author, a member of the family, tells of an emotional and successful odyssey to find the family's lost land grant--their "stolen heritage." After a long search of state archives and county records, he discovered that his great-grandfather had been defrauded of land that today is in the middle of one of the largest ranches in South Texas.
His account of the family's attempt to recover what they consider their landed heritage is charged with emotion, family feuds, and a lawsuit. This book has been called one of the best-researched books on South Texas, the history of the land and the clash of the two cultures that settled South Texas.
Review Quotes
A model of detective work which will attract the notice of professional historians . . . an engrossing tale of frontier injustice emanating from a combination or oral tradition and archival research.
Arnoldo De Leon - Associate Professor - Angelo State University
This book is the best-researched book on South Texas, its land history, and the shock of the two distinct cultures which make up that part of our state . . . More than just a family history or the history of the Tejanos in that part of the state, the book also provides a way for further study of an area long neglected and poorly attended by historians and other researchers . . .
Roland Hinojosa Smith - Professor - University of Texas at Austin