BALLÍ FAMILY ORGANIZATION “At BFO,We lead the family worldwide to information vital to our heritage.Fact finding is our mission andUnity is our bond.”www.Ballí.org February 28, 2009 NOTICE:RE: To the Heirs of Ballí Spanish & Mexican Land GrantsHistory Time Capsule(A Noose for Chepita)The story below will touch you and it will also disclose the true past of our history. ______________________________________________________________________________ A Noose for Chepita In an article written by Daisy Wanda Garcia, she writes of the affect a book with the title “A Noose for Chepita” had upon her father Dr. Hector Garcia. Dr. Garcia read the book written by Vernon Smylie in 1970 and gave it to his daughter to read. In the article she comments: “Smylie’s book documented a Mexican American’s experience during an era when there were no legal protections or due processes for us. Chepita’s tale takes place during the height of the civil war in South Texas. During this era, more Mexican Americans were hanged than the total number of blacks hanged. Chepita was one of those statistics and earned the dubious distinction of being the last woman hanged legally in Texas. Chepita Rodriguez, an elderly Mexican American woman, lived near San Patricio de Hibernia in the 1830’s. Chepita lived in the thicket near the Aransas River and earned her living by offering lodging to travelers. On August 23, 1863, a traveler, John Savage, supposedly stayed the night. Savage had gold from the sale of horses to the Confederate army in his possession. Some days later, Dora Welder and two slaves went to the river to wash clothes. Dora saw a gunnysack in the river with an arm protruding. When the Welder ranch hands pulled the gunnysack out of the Aransas River, they found John Savages’ body stuffed in the gunnysack. Later they found the gold downstream. When the sheriff, William Means went to interview Chepita, he found blood on the front porch of Chepita’s hut. Means felt he had enough evidence to arrest Chepita and her retarded handy man Juan Silvera on suspicion of murder since he found Savages’ body close to the hut and the blood on the front porch. Sheriff Means kept Chepita chained to the wall under a lean-to shed at the back of the courthouse during the duration of the trail and her execution. She did not have a change of clothes but wore the same clothes since the arrest. Some of the towns’ people took pity on Chepita and brought her food. The trial lasted four days. Chepita was indicted, tried, convicted and sentenced to death during these four days. Chepita was executed one month later. The trial caused the prejudiced attitudes to surface in San Patricio and the surrounding counties. In South Texas, the majority regarded Mexican Americans as less than human and not as valuable as farm animals or slaves. Some South Texans were outraged about a Mexican American killing an Anglo and tried to lynch Chepita on two occasions. “The Ranchero” a Corpus Christi paper ran an editorial praising the judge and the jury for their verdict: “Mexicans should not have the same rights in this state as Americans. We are decidedly pleased with our neighbors in San Patricio.” At the trial, Chepita pleaded not guilty. According to the records, Chepita responded in Spanish “No soy culpable,” when questioned. The jury found her guilty and recommended mercy due to her age and the circumstantial evidence. Despite the recommendation, Judge Benjamin Franklin Neil ordered her executed on November 13, 1863. The judge would not have given a death sentence had Chepita not been Mexican American. In 1889, a fire destroyed most of the court records from Chepita’s trail. The surviving written accounts of the trail describe glaring discrepancies and irregularities in the proceedings. In Texas and other southwestern states, the courts systematically excluded Mexican Americans from jury service. Therefore, Chepita did not have trial by a jury of her peers. The sheriff rounded up people off the streets for jury service. Four members of the trial jury were indicted for felonies, one for murder. The sheriff William Means who arrested Chepita served as the jury foreman. Conflicts of interest existed because the defense councils, the judge and prosecutor had convoluted business relationships. The hanging took place during a rainstorm on November 13, 1863. It was a horrible spectacle. The force of the hanging did not break Chepita’s neck since she was frail. Instead, she strangled to death for what was a long time. Finally, the hangman cut her down and placed her in the coffin. Jack McGowan, an eyewitness heard groans from the coffin as the hangman lowered it into the grave. The hangman buried her body in an unmarked grave close to the hanging tree. Many of the locals felt the hanging brought a curse on their town. One citizen was reputed to say, “Tis a black day for San Patricio. We have brought a curse upon our town.” Chepita’s tale “shocked my father’s conscience.” He felt outrage by the cruel treatment Chepita suffered at the hands of the law. In his opinion, the only form of redress was for the governor to pardon Chepita. I asked him what difference it made to Chepita if she received a pardon now. He replied that Chepita was not guilty and getting a pardon for her was the right thing to do.” ______________________________________________________________________________ It’s never too late to do the right thing. Sincerely,Fred B. BallíBALLÍ FAMILY ORGANIZATION “At BFO,We lead the family worldwide to information vital to our heritage.Fact finding is our mission andUnity is our bond.”www.Ballí.org March 23, 2009 NOTICE:RE: To the Heirs of Ballí Spanish & Mexican Land GrantsTejano Declaration of Independence “Seven Flags Over Texas”Introducing the Balli Family “Military Wall of Honor”Come celebrate the most important day in Tejano History. ______________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA ADVISORY “SIX FLAGS OVER TEXAS”WRONG, THERE WERE SEVEN The public is invited to attend the third annual reenactment of the “Tejano Declaration of Independence,” to be celebrated in two places this year. In Austin Saturday April 4th at 12 noon at the Austin Community College Riverside Campus 1020 Grove Blvd Building G. Room 8100 at 12 noon. In San Antonio on Sunday April 5th at 2 P.M. in front of the Spanish Governors Palace 105 Plaza de Armas. On April 6th 1813, after a year of bloody warfare Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, leader of the revolution declared that Texas was free and independent of Spanish rule. Maclovio Perez, a well known TV personality from San Antonio will emcee the events. Scheduled to speak will be scholars of Texas History. Dr Gilberto Hinojosa, author and historian from The University of Incarnate Word will speak in San Antonio along with LULAC National President Rosa Rosales and “Defend the Honor,” Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, Associate Journalism Professor from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr J. Frank de la Teja, the official state historian will speak in Austin. And as always special guest, Robert Thonhoff past president of the Texas State Historical Association, and authors Joe Lopez and Dan Arellano. Join us as we celebrate the most important day in Tejano History “The First Texas Republic” and the “Emerald Green Flag.” The events are free and open to the public. These events are sponsored by the Latino/Latin American Studies (El Centro) Austin Community College, the Bejareno Genealogy Society of San Antonio and the Tejano Genealogy Society of Austin. For more information:Dan Arellano 512-826-7569E-mail darellano@austin.rr.comWebsite www.tejanoroots.org ______________________________________________________________________________ We have built a virtual Wall of Honor to pay tribute to the Balli Family members that served our countries. To see the wall, click on the Military button on the home page of the web site and click on the picture for biographical information about the honored individual. If you would like to have someone added to the wall please submit a copy of the photo and information to: Ricardo P. Ballí124 West Tulip Ave.McAllen Texas, 78504 The pictures will not be returned. They will be kept for future use. Sincerely,Fred B. Ballí  BALLÍ FAMILY ORGANIZATION “At BFO,We lead the family worldwide to information vital to our heritage.Fact finding is our mission andUnity is our bond.”www.Ballí.org May 17 , 2009 NOTICE:RE: To the Heirs of Ballí Spanish & Mexican Land GrantsThe Steamship “Anson Jones”Research and Recovery EffortsBFO is lunching a research effort to find out about the sinking of the Steamship Anson Jones. It sank in 1851 and is considered one of the most historic due to the land grants on board. The Miller and Bourland Commission used it to collect land grants along the Rio Grande to be legitimized in Austin. Miller decided to send the land grants from Port Isabel to Galveston on the steamer Anson and than go overland to Austin. Two days out, the Anson sank fifteen miles from Matagorda. Miller lost the trunk, containing the original land grant titles, and about $800 in fees from claimants. There are conflicting stories about this wreck and our research will help clarify some of the discrepancies about the Anson’s demise. Fred B. Ballí Below you will find a letter of concern from Butch Wenneker and a reply to his letter. ______________________________________________________________________________ Seldom, if ever, have I heard a more preposterous idea. Attempting to locate and salvage the wreck of the Steamship “Anson Jones”. To what end? For what purpose? Is the BFO so flush with money that they, or anyone, actually afford to initiate such a foolish venture? Now I wonder, very seriously, if the money I promised to send the BFO might not be better spent by donation to another charity with truly charitable or philanthropic objectives. What on God’s Green Earth would be found onboard the wreckage of the long lost “Anson Jones”…lost at sea 158 years ago? If it is the original title documents, of what purpose would they serve now. The Bourland Commission reconvened and both re-collected and reconstructed those documents in the year afterwards. Let me refer you to one of the most comprehensive collections of that effort. It is titled “GUIDE TO SPANISH AND MEXICAN LAND GRANTS IN SOUTH TEXAS”, published by the Texas General Land Office, Archives and Records Division, 2003, approx. 200 pages, and it list’s 364 Spanish and Mexican land grants of South Texas, including the grants of 7 Ballí families and my own ancestor Jose Salvador De La Garza for his 284,000 acres “Espiritu Santo” Colonial Spanish Land Grant of 1781, also known as “Rancho Viejo”. Mel Fisher, while looking for (and finding) the fabled “Nuestra Senora De Atocha” in the 1970’s, in the Florida Keyes, spent $105,000 per day. The search for “The Titanic” in the 1990’s cost $650,000 per day. The hunt for the most famous gold ship of all, the Steamer “Central America” in about 2001/2002 cost $800,000 per day and they did find 7 billion in gold. From my readings, the “Anson Jones” sank in the deeper water’s beyond the shallower Continental Shelf. And the weather was so bad that the ship’s crew were unable to take their position by bearings of the stars. Further, by my readings, there was a search for the remains of the “Anson Jones” and all to no avail. There was even no evidence of wreckage upon the closest beaches. No. Simply “NO”…this is a preposterous proposition. Don’t you all think that in all these intervening 158 years that some or any evidence would have risen to the surface. Think of all the sea exploration by the ocean mapping activities of the U.S. Government and too by the off shore oil and gas exploration efforts. No one has reported even a single sonar “ping” in that locale. You would be looking for a single black grain of sand on an otherwise pure white, and very long, beach. If I were to recommend anyone who MIGHT be able to lead you to clues and/or published materials it would have to be Mr. Galen Greaser, Archivist and genealogy researcher, at the Texas General Land Office. Also, I would look in the Yellow Pages for Matagorda Island, Galveston and Houston for ideas, histories and estimates. But, again, I beg the question of “why”? And why now. And what is the objective. Even secure safe’s, under high water pressure, leak and therefore destroy the documents enclosed. I am not at all being pessimistic. On the contrary…I am being practical. I am very interested in ships lost at sea. I have in my very massive personal library about 70 books on ships lost at sea. Always and always…the task is too much. Most frequently the cause of ending these many searches is that money and financing run’s out. The second most cited reason is the technical limitations involved with any recovery. No, in short, I am dead set against any attempt in these regards. Why not search instead for one of the three Spanish gold galleons lost off Padre Island. Now and then a gold doubloon washes up upon the shore of South Padre Island. My ex-wife, has one of them, dated 1581, from a site off Tampico. But, do tell me, is the BFO, actually in such a financial position to launch such a grandiose venture. I find that difficult to belief. And what, pray tell, is aboard the “Anson Jones” that could lead one into such an enormously expensive under taking. Pass on to whoever will listen that any and all documents that might ever be found upon the wreckage of the “Anson Jones” was replicated in their entirety by the commission that was the successor to the original Bourland Commission. Every last bit of it plus some more who were not included in the original Bourland Commission. YOU MUST tell them of the comprehensive land grant manual. That land grant publication is 200 pages long, details 364 different South Texas Spanish and Mexican land grants…and cost’s ONLY $5.00. So, instead of spending at least several hundred thousand dollars…put out $5.00 instead. Simply do a Google Search for the TEXAS GENERAL LAND OFFICE. Once there you will see a section titled “PUBLICATIONS”. You will see the Title listed: GUIDE TO SPANISH AND MEXICAN LAND GRANTS IN SOUTH TEXAS”. SEND THEM THE MAGNIFICENT SUM OF $5.00 AND YOU WILL HAVE IT IN LESS THAN A WEEK. GOOD GOD ALL MIGHTY…YOU HAVE TO PUT THIS PREPOSTEROUS IDEA TO REST. The mere idea causes me to be truly angry. There is a very great difference between tenacity versus practical and enlightened. This book I refer to will enlighten them. For me, the book lead to my genealogy back to the 1500’s up to and including that our claim for old Fort Brown went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1891, 1877 and 1866. I now have the documents that were necessary but missing in those three cases. Further, with the help of Mr. Galen Greaser I was lead to two sources for the actual copies of the LAST WILL of Maria Gertrudis De La Garza-Falcon, my GGGG-grandmother whose grand-daughter, Maria Gertrudis De La Garza-Falcon married my GGG-grandfather, Jose Miguel Salinas in 1808 in Matamoros and had 15 children. All they have to do is research for documents and their alternative sites. For instance, this reference book has nine (9) Ballí families listed, including your Ballí branch. I checked it closely. It is a TREASURE TROVE of information. Any questions remaining should and must correspond with the fabulous brain and memory of Mr. Greaser. I looked at Maritime charts for the depth of the water’s off Matagorda Island and that sea floor lies 280 to 360 feet deep. God, can you imagine the expense of diving that far. It cannot be done by anything other than deep-sea rovers. Hell, that’s a minimum of $12,000 per day plus the surface logistical support, the barge, marine specialists and on and on…. all this for a piece of waterlogged and muddled piece of blotch unreadable paper. Butch Wenneker ______________________________________________________________________________ Reply to Butch Wenneker’s letter of concern: Dear Mr. Wenneker, Let me start with introducing myself. I am Danny Ballí, Fred Ballí’s son. I have been in the commercial dive industry for 14 years. I am a saturation diver with dives up to 500ft and am currently on a project in the Gulf of Mexico salvaging platforms knocked down in the hurricanes. I will admit that I do not have a back ground in treasure hunting, but I do have plenty of experience in marine construction, and the expenses of dive operations. Before I get on with answering your questions I would like to say I appreciate your concern on how we at BFO are appropriating our time and funds. No operation, especially one such as this, should move forward without being able to justify its purpose. This project is currently in the research process which is at no cost to the BFO. If I do incur any cost in this part it will be out of my own pocket. We are limited on what we can do, but according to the charts I have seen most of the area around Matagorda is well within our diving capabilities. I have access to a dive charter vessel that could be used for sonar work and the initial diving if we get any anomalies on our sonar readings. If we go into salvage mode we will obviously need a bigger vessel but even then the cost would be nowhere near $100,000 a day. Even then we would try and get grants and once again do this with as little cost to the organization as possible. We will not move to this phase unless we have concrete evidence that this vessel can be located. The safes holding the land grants are my initial concern and let me say I, much like yourself, am fairly pessimistic on the integrity of the safes over the years. I do feel that the reward for this venture will be in the research. The land grants and titles would help legitimize my family’s claim to being the sole title holders to tracts of land. We are trying to widen our paper trail and this was one way that has been brought to light. This wreck is considered one of the most historic due to the land grants on board. I am aware that these titles were redone by the Bourland and Miller commissions, but we feel the historical values would be priceless. Also, it would be interesting to know exactly why the steamer sank. The separatist movement (fueled by the Kings and Kenedys) strongly opposed the commission and we are curious to see if this may have been done to change the outcome of the conclusion. Once again, much of the reward will be in the research. As far as the mapping and sonar work done by the U.S. government and oil and gas companies, I assure you it is not that invasive. The area off Matagorda does not have much in the way of platforms or pipelines. I have done plenty of bottom surveys for the right of way for future pipelines and they consist of a diver doing a quick circle sweep on bottom. They rarely turn up anything due to the haste in which they are performed. Current surveys after Ike (which are some of the most invasive ever done in this area) turned up plenty of anomalies which could be possible wreck sites. You ask why we endeavor to locate a vessel with such little monetary value? Our organization is not about money. It is about setting the history record straight. If this is where the path leads us, our family has the ability to combine our strengths and get around whatever obstacle is put in front of us. Where you see a preposterous proposition, I see a chance to further unify our family and learn more about the injustices done in the past. You speak of Spanish galleons and gold doubloons. If you want to do some of the footwork we would be more than happy to donate our time and resources if it is for a worthy cause. Donations to our organization, let me assure you, will not be appropriated for this project without being carefully reviewed by our board members and made public. My father and I are personally funding this research because we believe there is more to this story and it will benefit our organization. I am a firm believer in strength through knowledge and this endeavor will only add to that. Your input is much appreciated and in hopes that this helped put you at ease and know that we are not initiating a foolish adventure. Sincerely,Danny BallíBALLÍ FAMILY ORGANIZATION “At BFO,We lead the family worldwide to information vital to our heritage.Fact finding is our mission andUnity is our bond.”www.Ballí.org June 1, 2009 NOTICE:RE: To the Heirs of Ballí Spanish & Mexican Land GrantsThe “Battle of Medina” Archeological Research  MEDIA ADVISORY Battle of Medina – Archeological Research On Saturday June 6th volunteers will depart at 7:30 AM from the McDonalds-Shell station on the corner of loop 410 and HWY-281 South. Please note the change!! From there we will be led to a private ranch where we have permission to search. These locations are in Losoya and we may have access to the Medina River where the retreating survivors had to cross in order to escape the executions. It is rough terrain so dress appropriately. Please bring your own lunch and water along with shovels and metal detectors. This is not a finder’s keeper’s event; all artifacts will be cataloged and photographed. Over a thousand Tejanos sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and to this day have not received a proper Christian burial. Your help in finding them is truly appreciated. For more info contact: Dan ArellanoPhone Number: 512-826-7569Email Address: darellano@austin.rr.comSincerely,Fred B. BallíBALLÍ FAMILY ORGANIZATION “At BFO,We lead the family worldwide to information vital to our heritage.Fact finding is our mission andUnity is our bond.”www.Ballí.org August 23 , 2009 NOTICE:RE: To the Heirs of Ballí Spanish & Mexican Land GrantsCause No. 1261The information below will provide details of the decisions reached on Cause 1261. ______________________________________________________________________________ Crow & AssociatesAttorneys at Law302 Shawnee StreetPost Office Box 707Leavenworth, Kansas 66048Phone: (913) 682-0166Fax: (913) 682-2130Michael Crow*Martha Burnett CrowJohn A. OliverosCurtis Nash Holmes**Peter RobertsonAmy Coppola*Admitted in Kansas & Missouri**Admitted in Kansas & IdahoAugust 19, 2009 Mr. Fred BallíMr. Richard BallíMs. Gloria GibneyAll Ballís of The Ballí Family Organizationc/o Fred & Richard BallíAll Defendants Named in the Pleadings & Amended Pleadings Cause No. 1261, The John G. & Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation vs.Sylvia Menchaca Ballí Aguilera, et al.; 105th District Court of Kenedy County, Texas Dear Folks: Again, it was my privilege to meet with many of you in Edinburg, Texas on August 8th, 2009. As I have stated, and as I again stated at the August 8th meeting, I am licensed to practice law in the State of Kansas, State of Missouri, and in the United States Supreme Court. I am not admitted to practice law in Texas. Therefore, I cannot advise or represent concerning Texas law. There was considerable discussion at the August 8th meeting concerning Case No. 1261, in light of the denial of the petition for review to the Supreme Court of the State of Texas, issued on or about September 2nd, 2005. Ramon Garcia, a licensed Texas attorney with offices in Edinburg was with me and spoke to you. Much of the discussion concerned whether there was any basis for the filing of a Petition for a Bill of Review to the 105th District Court in Kenedy County. Hector Cárdenas wrote you all in March of 2006 informing you of the denial of the Petition for Review. Mr. Cárdenas indicated his opinion, “that the last chance for the heirs of José Manuel Ballí Villarreal to directly attack the judgment is to properly document and attach evidence of extrinsic fraud to a Petition for Bill of Review filed in 105th District Court on or before September 2nd, 2009.” Mr. Garcia and I indicated that there did not appear to be documentation of evidence of extrinsic fraud. Since August 8th, 2009 I have spoken with a number of Texas lawyers, an Arizona lawyer, and others. I have not located anyone as of the date of this letter that is willing to undertake representation for a Petition for Bill of Review in Cause No. 1261. Since it has been almost 4 years since the denial of the petition for review and over 3 years since Mr. Cárdenas’ letter to you, I think that we all have to accept that Cause No. 1261 is forever final. However, in speaking with you all and with the others that I have spoken with, it appears thatthere could be several other avenues that may be worth considering, to include: (1) Ramon Garcia had a good idea. He indicated that The Kenedy Memorial Foundation brought a declaratory judgment action, as amended, against a large number of named Ballí defendants. If heirs of José Manuel Ballí Villarreal who were not specifically named in Cause No. 1261 could be located and those heirs bring a new action against The Kenedy Memorial Foundation, perhaps Cause No. 1261 would not be res judicata. Some of you have suggested names of Ballí heirs not named in Cause No. 1261. It is very important to make sure that they are in fact heirs. They would bring suit in behalf of all of the heirs to include those in Cause No. 1261. (2) Another potential course of action would be to determine if a new suit could be filedin the United States District Court claiming a federal cause of action. One potential possibility would be a lawsuit asking the federal court to determine issues between the Ballí heirs and Spain. The possible basis could be that since the Spanish Land Grant was in 1804 and from the King of Spain to Francisco Ballí, then a Spanish citizen, who then conveyed to his brother Manuel Ballí, also a Spanish citizen then the Courts of the United States should honor, give, credit to and respect the Spanish land grant and the conveyance to Manuel Ballí. In other words, it would be a federal question, not a State of Texas question. I have asked several attorneys that I have had contact with as well as others to consider the two (2) above possibilities. I might add that all of those I have spoken with have, to the person, indicated that they are satisfied that the 1804 document from Francisco Ballí to Manuel Ballí of La Barreta is authentic and valid. Respectfully submitted by:Crow & AssociatesMichael CrowMC/rml ______________________________________________________________________________ Even though the news on 1261 is not good we still have many other options to pursue such as the ones mention by the Attorneys above. We also plan to move forward on Bill HB834. The whole idea is to create a company to get our foot in the door and have the rest of the family join in. The family member (stakeholder) would than have an interest in the enterprise. The intent is never to leave the family out. The only ones left out will be at their own choosing. The name of the company will be Derechos Minerales Research & Development, based in Houston, Texas. When successful, it will have mineral acreage in several Spanish and Mexican land Grants and Porciones located in South Texas with thousands of acres of undeveloped minerals. We claim the mineral interest on all our ancestral land with “derechos de los herederos”, (our rights as heirs). “Mineral interest” means an interest in oil, gas, or other minerals in place that is severed from the ownership of an interest in the surface and includes a fee interest, whether conditional or not, life estate, estate for years, remainder interest, reversion, possibility of reverter, right of entry, executory interest, leasehold interest, royalty interest, executive right, or other present possessory interest, future interest, equitable interest, or concurrent ownership interest.We are building the foundation on which to grow the company but we are going to have to fight our adversaries every step of the way to make this company profitable. It will be an innovative company looking for better ways to prove ownership and regain legal status of our inheritance.We are ready for the challenges. Are you? Sincerely,Fred B. Ballí