(06-25-2017 09:13 AM)UNT15 Wrote: (06-24-2017 03:15 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote: (06-24-2017 01:02 PM)ODU AGGIE Wrote: I think we discussed this last year or the year before, Joe, before, but I thought I would just share my thoughts with you once again since you brought it up. Seeing the Lone Star in green just grates on me unbelievably, and in general just makes me want to puke.
Sigh -- oh well.
Cheers!
P.S. Maybe we need to make some kind of bet on the ODU/UNT game that involves the flag.
Ha! That's funny. My family has been in Texas since 1748, long before the Lone Star flag was adopted in 1839. We have seen several flags fly over this land. I am a very proud Texan, and our green version doesn't bother me.
North Texas has been waving the flag at games for decades now. I even have one that I take to the games and wave. If you ever get to Denton, you will see plenty of these at our tailgates.
I don't make bets, but I am looking forward to our game this season. Right now, I am very confident North Texas will be better then last season.
I would love to hear the story of your family's arrival in Texas. Like yourself, I have deep roots (1807 arrival and 1824 arrival - two separate roots), but am a newbie compared to you.
1807 and 1824 is still a long time ago. What part of Texas did they move to? There were not a whole lot of non Indians in Texas back then. We could be related.
I be glad to tell you more about our history. In 1748, my 8th great grandfather relocated to Nuevo Santander as one of José de Escandón's colonists. He selected an area of land on the north side of the Rio Grand about 20 miles south of present day Zapata. Under the terms of the colonization agreement, he was to work and improve the land for seven years before receiving an official grant to the land.
My ancestors were "ganaderos", which translates into cow hunters. Cows roamed wild across the countryside, and a ganadero would chase them down on horseback with a long pole that had an iron spike "garocha" at the tip. Using the garocha, the ganadero would push the cow off balance and make them tumble to the ground. Then the ganadero would use his "la reata" (lariat or lasso), to rope the cow and take him back, if he wanted the cow for its' beef. I still have my ancestors garocha. If the ganadero was only interested in the hide, he would chase the cow down with a different pole that had a "media luna" (iron crescent blade) at the tip. Using this weapon, the ganadero would cut one of the tendons on the back of the cow's rear leg. The animal would stumble to the ground and be skinned on the spot. The finally king banned the media luna so stockmen turned to using the rope more. These new ganaderos that stopped using the garocha were either part Indian or full blooded Indians and called vaqueros. Vaqueros were common in Texas when Anglos came and learned the cattle working techniques after 1850. Much of what the cowboys learned was directly taken from the vaquero, which learned much of what they did from the ganadero.
In 1767, the Viceroy of New Spain, under the order of the king, finally had the grants issued to the colonists of of south Texas, including my 8th great grandfather, whose 8,000+ acres, named Santa Domingo. My family still owns part of the land from the original land grant. Because of the cast system that was imported to the new world from Spain, my ancestors were limited to marrying with other Spanish families that held land. I have 11 grandfathers that received Spanish land grants on the north side of the Rio Grand.
In 1812, my 6th great uncle, Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara, traveled to Washington and met with then secretary of state, James Monroe. Gutierrez de Lara was trying to rally support for a rebellion in Nuevo Santander and Texas. He received moral support but no military aid. In 1813, he led the Green Army of the North and defeated Spanish troupes at Nachadoches, Bahia (Goliad), and San Antonio. In April he wrote the first Texas declaration of independence, and appointed himself President. He also wrote the first Texas constitution. Within a few months he was deposed as President and had to move in New Orleans. There is much misinformation regarding his motives. It is popularly written that he was fighting to create an independent and free Mexico, but that isn't really supported by the facts. At then time of his rebellion, New Spain was under the control of France. In fact, Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, was on the Spanish throne. I don't think he saw it as turning against Spain, but fighting french control.
I still have some great family artifacts (map, coins,...) from the Spanish colonial period of Texas. Hope you enjoyed the story.
![[Image: flagalone.jpg]](http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/mpmaher529/flagalone.jpg)
