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Monday, July 28, 1997

Descendants of Mexican rancher seek Kenedy land

By PAULINE ARRILLAGA Associated Press Writer

SARITA, Texas (AP) - In a state where history is about as sacred as barbecue and football, the vast brushland of South Texas is especially hallowed.

Here, amid prickly pear cacti and towering mesquite trees, the Texas cattle ranching industry came to life.

As the history books tell it, pioneer ranchers Richard King and Capt. Mifflin Kenedy, in the years following the Mexican war, braved an untamed land and conquered vicious Mexican bandits to create an empire.

They were warriors, industrialists. Leaders, gentlemen. Their legacy is alive today in Kenedy County, where nearly 400,000 acres of ranch land remains in operation, dotted with cattle and oil and gas wells.

But a new and not-so-glorious twist on the story is emerging in a legal battle between the descendants of a Mexican rancher and the current owners of the sprawling tract of land just north of the Rio Grande.

In this version, King and Kenedy were greedy thieves who used trickery and even violence to steal land from Mexican ranchers, leaving them with no recourse in a province ruled by racism and wealth.

The allegations, if proven true, could change history forever, and lead to a slew of lawsuits over Texas land that some claim never belonged to Texans.

"It'll create a precedent. It's extremely important from that perspective," said Don Carleton, director of the Center for American History at the University of Texas.

In the past year, more than 800 descendants of Mexican rancher Jose Manuel Balli Villarreal have initiated legal proceedings to reclaim the land.

They allege Kenedy stole it from their ancestor after the Mexican war, and now they want it back, along with the rights to its profitable oil and gas leases.

"The land still belongs to us," said Jose Perez, 62, a great-great-grandson of Balli and president of Los Ballis Restoration LLC, a partnership of Balli descendants established in 1995 to pursue the family's claim. "We would like to see justice done, to have the wrongs that were done righted."

Perez and other descendants claim their ancestor acquired the land in the early 1800s when South Texas was still part of the Spanish empire. When Kenedy arrived, Balli leased the land to him, believing his ownership rights were protected.

But Kenedy never had any intention of returning the land to its rightful owner, said Lynne Perez, a genealogist and historian hired by the Balli descendants.

"Mifflin Kenedy came to Texas with the goal of building an empire. He would lease the lands from people and then fence it. By keeping them out, it was his," said Mrs. Perez, whose husband is a great-great-great-grandson of Balli.

If Kenedy couldn't lease the land, he would employ other means to get what he wanted, Mrs. Perez said.

"People who opposed Kenedy and King were killed. The Mexican-American population was in terror of these people," she said.

Carleton agreed that it was not unusual for early Texas settlers to use trickery or even force to steal land from Mexicans after the war.

"They did use intimidation and violence, just like Native Americans were removed with the end of a gun barrel from lands they were inhabiting," he said. "With certainty, we do know that groups of people were dispossessed of their land, illegally as well as legally."

The Balli family has tried since the late 1800s to reclaim the land, but were thwarted first by a court system controlled by the Kenedys and Kings, then by a lack of organization among scattered descendants, Mrs. Perez said.

Now, more than 800 descendants have gone to court to obtain declarations that they are Balli's legal heirs. That's the first step toward reclaiming the land, said attorney Eileen Fowler, who represents 586 descendants.

"What they really want is the mineral rights, their inheritance rights," said Ms. Fowler, who estimates those profits range from millions to billions of dollars.

In an effort to sidestep any additional action, the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation filed a court petition in April seeking to bar the Ballis from making a legal claim to the land.

The foundation, established in 1960 by Kenedy's granddaughter to oversee the land and its interests, also is seeking a legal declaration of ownership.

The petition, filed in the Kenedy County seat of Sarita, states the foundation is the rightful owner both by deed and adverse possession, the legal principle conveying ownership to people who occupy and improve abandoned land. No hearing date has been set.

Foundation attorney Richard Leshin promised to "vigorously pursue" that position in court. He declined further comment.

But Balli's descendants claim they have documents dating to the 1800s that prove Balli owned the land. Among them is a 50-year grazing lease, signed in 1949 by Kenedy's granddaughter and several Balli descendants, that acknowledged Balli as the owner.

They promise to pursue the matter until the land is back with its rightful owners. If that happens, Jose Perez said he hoped his family's action would encourage similar efforts, because it's time that history be rewritten.

"Before the Mexican war, the Spanish culture prevailed and people were very, very affluent. After the war, they all lost everything," said Perez. "There are a lot of families in this situation. I hope this does inspire hem to organize, so that justice will prevail." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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