The Unknown Heirs of Porcion 103 (74)

THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF PORCION 103 (74)
Porcion 103 is an obscure tract of land situated in South Texas in one of the poorest counties within the United States. Yet, despite its location in the border community of Starr County and its desolate terrain Porcion 103 holds a promise for a better life, especially for those who refuse to give up on their legacy. Tejano descendants have continued to seek justice through the court system.

The land was originally granted to a Juan Crisostomo Hinojosa a colonial settler who died before he was able to take possession of his land grant. His widow Maria Margarita Gonzalez as head of household was given her husband's land grant instead. This was during the General Visit of the Royal Commission in 1776. The descendants of these colonial settlers cultivated the land, raised livestock and made various improvements of different types, but during the annexation of these lands by the United States, owners of these porcions (portions of land) were required to confirm their grants within a specific time frame. Needless to say, there were many reasons why many owners of these lands were unable to confirm their property despite the guarantees established by The Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty that should have provided protection of property and person. The treaty also established the border between Mexico and the United States of America.

After the war the United States government gave the people of the area a year to decide if they wanted to remain as American citizens or leave and go into Mexico. Most of the citizens of the area remained and decided to cast their future and the future of their children with the Americans. The fact that they owned vast amounts of land north of the Rio Grande River was definitely a contributing factor in their decision, but so was the fact that they came from a people who were the first inhabitants of the land and who had married with the Spanish colonial settlers many whose ancestors were descendants of Spanish nobility. This mestizo (Spaniard and Native American blood) race grew to become a strong and hardy group accustomed to the hardships of the terrain. They escaped the caste wars which was common in Mexico simply because their survival of the frontier depended on each other. In later years few if any true creoles (Full-blood Spaniards born in New Spain) entered the territory. A fact that is rarely mentioned thereby completely ignoring the reality that over 50% of the Mexicans in the United States are Native American.

The Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty created an immense Indian problem for the United States and the various small tribes of the area were eventually absorbed or assimilated into the Mexican population. It was during this era that the U.S. began to round up Native American Indians and place them in reservations. In an effort to escape this many fled into the mountains of Mexico and others were forced to deny their heritage altogether. On becoming Americans the Tejano - Mexicanos living on lands north of the Rio Grande River accepted their defeat and accepted their new government despite the many obstacles which they had to overcome. They were met with a language barrier, a complex legal system, and religious and racial discrimination. The majority of the settlers moving into Texas were Protestants who hated Catholics. The Anglo race brought with them an attitude of superiority. They truly believed that they were ordained by God to rule over darker skinned people. All of these factors contributed to obvious feelings of animosity from both sides and distrust for one another.

After the war land grabbers resorted to unscrupulous and illegal activities in an effort to take away land belonging to Tejanos. While most historical records indicate that most land grants in Texas were confirmed they fail to mention the lost and unconfirmed land grants belonging to the Tejano-Mexicanos. The grants which were successfully confirmed were those granted to the Texians; immigrants who were mostly of Euro-American descent and who had given up their religion and their United States citizenship to become Mexican citizens, and shortly thereafter revolted against the Mexican government.

The Mexican descendants of original grantees lost their land little by little, some because of squatters taking over their land through adverse possession laws and others because they were forced off the land with the barrel of a shotgun. Another misconception held by many is that most of the land was stolen by Anglos while this is the case throughout other parts of Texas this was not necessarily the case for the land along the Rio Grande River.

In any event, the descendants of Porcion 103 have been trying to seek heirship of their land grant since the annexation of these lands by the United States in 1848. Much of the land is currently occupied by squatters who have gained rights through adverse possession laws created by early Texas law makers to establish legal rights to lands owned by the mostly Mexican population. Needless to say, after over a hundred and sixty years recent lawsuits that have been sweeping South Texas courthouses have made monumental strides in declaring descendants of the original grantees as heirs to these porcions.