Ruiz-Herrera Cemetery Association

All are invited to the book release of "Beneath Sacred Ground" this Wed, June 19 at 6pm at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. We will have a round table discussion of the book, refreshments and books available for viewing, purchase and singing.

Please spread the word on my upcoming Book Release & Signing! June 19, Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX, 6:00pm - 7:30pm. I look forward to seeing everyone there!

SAVE THE DATE: June 19, 2024, Witte Museum, 6pm
We will be having a Book Release and Signing Event.
More info to come.

Beneath Sacred Ground: The Mission San Antonio de Valero Burial Records Transcribed, Translated and Annotated BENEATH SACRED GROUND by Art Martínez de Vara documents the lives, struggles, and ethnogenesis of the residents of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) through the vehicle of their burial records. This work includes a full transcription of the original Spanish records, dating from 1706 to 17.....

Art Martinez de Vara’s latest book is now available from Tap Pilam Press, "Beneath Sacred Ground: The Mission San Antonio de Valero Burial Records Transcribed, Translated and Annotated” Hardback, 795 pages, 8.5 x 11, 137 illustrations.

BENEATH SACRED GROUND by Art Martínez de Vara documents the lives, struggles, and ethnogenesis of the residents of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) through the vehicle of their burial records. This work includes a full transcription of the original Spanish records, dating from 1706 to 1782, as well as modern Spanish and English translations for each entry. The records are annotated to provide information not contained in the original manuscript, such as indigenous names, ethnonyms, family structures, compadrazgo relationships, social status and political offices held. In this way it is possible to understand the people of Mission San Antonio Valero in ways never intended or envisioned by the friars who created the burial records. In addition to the 1154 burials contained in the surviving burial books, the appendix contains an additional 34 burials records recovered from external sources. The records, as annotated by Martínez de Vara, reveal tragic stories of famine, epidemic, conflict and forced labor, but also stories of resistance, love, familial ties, cultural integration, and survival. The evidence of these stories is found interwoven in the sacramental records of this historic mission and are revealed from obscurity by applying several innovative research methods to guide the reader and researcher.

Reviews:

"Art Martinez de Vara has compiled an impressive historical account using Mission Valero burial records, tracing his and other Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation descendant’s ancestry to those interred at the Mission Valero Cemetery on the Alamo grounds. His book lays bare evidence that Coahuiltecan people are not extinct but survive today within the ancestral region of the Coahuiltecan Nation. Art provides a detailed chronicle of the mission church’s effort to erase the indigenous identity through the colonial period, and effort that has extended into recent times." -- Harry J. Shafer, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Texas A&M University

"Beneath Sacred Ground is a gift to researchers and readers who seek to learn about indigenous peoples’ experiences in Spanish-era Texas. Making Mission Valero burial records accessible is only a part of the accomplishment of this immense project. The notes provided with the burial entries deliver context for interpreting the entries, highlight the indigenous voices, and offer additional information about family members and other related archival documents when possible. The images in the book are beautiful and support the experiences detailed in the records." -- Amy Porter, Ph.D., Professor, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

"Martinez de Vara Combats long-held belief systems enforced by 20th century scholars that the Coahuiltecan Nation and Indigenous bands of Texas and Northern Mexico had become merely a relic of the past. Martinez de Vara uses the colonial blueprints employed to subjugate the Mission Indians through conversion to the catholic church to liberate the voices and identities of the Native Peoples of South Texas. Martinez de Vara amalgamates his lived experience of indigeneity, scholarship, and the law to bear unassailable witness to the process of colonization through cultural assimilation, as dictated through the records of the colonizer themselves." -- J.A. Barron, PhD, Bioarcheologist and Researcher, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University

"No scholar is better positioned than historian and anthropologist Art Martinez de Vara to tell the story of the near-genocide and miraculous survival of Texas’s Coahuiltecan peoples." -- Michael Cepek, Ph.D., Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio

"Definitely a different kind of book for a number of reasons, in terms of methodology, technology, and polemically. It is bound to raise much discussion in various quarters with its publication. Most importantly, it provides a voice to those overlooked in our local history." -- Francis X. Galán, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History Texas A&M University-San Antonio

"More than a simple apology for the rightful place of the Coahuiltecan peoples, Martínez de Vara’s book is the unquestioned legal as well as historical documentation of their continuous role in Texas history and their viable presence in today’s San Antonio." -- Andrés Tijerina, Ph.D.. Professor of History Emeritus, ACC"

Available for purchase on https://artmartinezdevara.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/1964134005

Art Martinez de Vara’s latest book is now available from Tap Pilam Press, "Beneath Sacred Ground: The Mission San Antonio de Valero Burial Records Transcribed, Translated and Annotated” Hardback, 795 pages, 8.5 x 11, 137 illustrations.

BENEATH SACRED GROUND by Art Martínez de Vara documents the lives, struggles, and ethnogenesis of the residents of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) through the vehicle of their burial records. This work includes a full transcription of the original Spanish records, dating from 1706 to 1782, as well as modern Spanish and English translations for each entry. The records are annotated to provide information not contained in the original manuscript, such as indigenous names, ethnonyms, family structures, compadrazgo relationships, social status and political offices held. In this way it is possible to understand the people of Mission San Antonio Valero in ways never intended or envisioned by the friars who created the burial records. In addition to the 1154 burials contained in the surviving burial books, the appendix contains an additional 34 burials records recovered from external sources. The records, as annotated by Martínez de Vara, reveal tragic stories of famine, epidemic, conflict and forced labor, but also stories of resistance, love, familial ties, cultural integration, and survival. The evidence of these stories is found interwoven in the sacramental records of this historic mission and are revealed from obscurity by applying several innovative research methods to guide the reader and researcher.

Reviews:

"Art Martinez de Vara has compiled an impressive historical account using Mission Valero burial records, tracing his and other Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation descendant’s ancestry to those interred at the Mission Valero Cemetery on the Alamo grounds. His book lays bare evidence that Coahuiltecan people are not extinct but survive today within the ancestral region of the Coahuiltecan Nation. Art provides a detailed chronicle of the mission church’s effort to erase the indigenous identity through the colonial period, and effort that has extended into recent times." -- Harry J. Shafer, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Texas A&M University

"Beneath Sacred Ground is a gift to researchers and readers who seek to learn about indigenous peoples’ experiences in Spanish-era Texas. Making Mission Valero burial records accessible is only a part of the accomplishment of this immense project. The notes provided with the burial entries deliver context for interpreting the entries, highlight the indigenous voices, and offer additional information about family members and other related archival documents when possible. The images in the book are beautiful and support the experiences detailed in the records." -- Amy Porter, Ph.D., Professor, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

"Martinez de Vara Combats long-held belief systems enforced by 20th century scholars that the Coahuiltecan Nation and Indigenous bands of Texas and Northern Mexico had become merely a relic of the past. Martinez de Vara uses the colonial blueprints employed to subjugate the Mission Indians through conversion to the catholic church to liberate the voices and identities of the Native Peoples of South Texas. Martinez de Vara amalgamates his lived experience of indigeneity, scholarship, and the law to bear unassailable witness to the process of colonization through cultural assimilation, as dictated through the records of the colonizer themselves." -- J.A. Barron, PhD, Bioarcheologist and Researcher, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University

"No scholar is better positioned than historian and anthropologist Art Martinez de Vara to tell the story of the near-genocide and miraculous survival of Texas’s Coahuiltecan peoples." -- Michael Cepek, Ph.D., Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio

"Definitely a different kind of book for a number of reasons, in terms of methodology, technology, and polemically. It is bound to raise much discussion in various quarters with its publication. Most importantly, it provides a voice to those overlooked in our local history." -- Francis X. Galán, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History Texas A&M University-San Antonio

"More than a simple apology for the rightful place of the Coahuiltecan peoples, Martínez de Vara’s book is the unquestioned legal as well as historical documentation of their continuous role in Texas history and their viable presence in today’s San Antonio." -- Andrés Tijerina, Ph.D.. Professor of History Emeritus, ACC"

Available for purchase on https://artmartinezdevara.com and https://www.amazon.com/dp/1964134005

Beneath Sacred Ground: The Mission San ANtonio de Valero Burial Records Transcribed, Translated and Annoated BENEATH SACRED GROUND by Art Martínez de Vara documents the lives, struggles, and ethnogenesis of the residents of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) through the vehicle of their burial records. This work includes a full transcription of the original Spanish records, dating from 1706 to 17.....

Come see me and others speak at the Bryan Museum - Texas History Symposium. I'll be speaking on my new book "Beneath Sacred Ground" about the Mission Valero Cemetery.

Texas History Symposium Saturday, June 15, 2024 The Bryan Museum Conservatory 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Members, $40 Non-Members$75 Student/Teacher/Volunteer$25 (Early Bird Non-Member Rate $50 prior to May 1, 2024) We are proud …

Road improvements at the Ruiz-Herrera Cemetery are underway! The Cemetery will remain closed until they are complete, hopefully just one more week.

Art Martinez de Vara's "Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of Jose Francisco Ruiz, 1783 - 1840," has taken a new, exciting form as it's now available as an audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes! This release brings the revolutionary life story of Jose Francisco Ruiz to a wider audience. Accompanying the release is a new seven-episode podcast, "The Man For Texas," which delves even deeper into Ruiz's remarkable journey and explores the critical moments in his life. The audiobook is narrated by none other than the Texas historian and podcaster, Brandon Seale. Known for his popular podcasts, "A New History of Old Texas" and "Finding Medina." Seale brings his passion for Texas history and captivating voice to the narration, making the audiobook an entertaining and immersive experience. His expertise and engaging storytelling will transport listeners to the early 19th century, allowing them to connect with Jose Francisco Ruiz's life and the tumultuous times in which he lived that forged modern Texas. In conjunction with the audiobook release, a brand-new seven-episode podcast titled "The Man For Texas" is set to launch on Thursday, November 9, 2023. This podcast is a deep dive into the life and legacy of Jose Francisco Ruiz. Each episode will uncover different facets of Ruiz's extraordinary journey, exploring his roles as a revolutionary leader, Indian negotiator, Senator and his lasting impact on Texas history. "The Man For Texas" will be available on all major podcast services, including Spotify, iTunes, Audible, and more. So, Texas history enthusiasts, mark your calendars!

Tejano Patriot: Audiobook Release and Podcast The much-celebrated biography, "Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of Jose Francisco Ruiz, 1783 - 1840," has taken a new, exciting form as it's now available as an audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes! This trans...

The Association bylaws as JPGs. If anyone knows how to post a PDF on facebook let me know.

Death announcement for Francisco Ruiz, Sr. 1954

If you love Texas history, check out the Texas Heritage Project.

https://aitscm.org/texas-heritage-project/

Texas Heritage Project - American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions An academia and community project with partnerships between Alamo Colleges, Texas A&M, Trinity and other universities.

Get your Francisco Antonio Ruiz Fiesta Medal.

These photos were provided by David Ruiz, they are unidentified but he believes they are Ruiz, Guzman and/or Casillas family from the Von Ormy/Garza's Crossing area. If anyone can identify anyone in these pictures, please share!

Obituary of Jose Maria Herrera, Sr. aged 82, from the San Antonio Light Dec. 22, 1932.

Report of the death of Antonia Ruiz de Herrera in the San Antonio Daily Light April 21, 1887.

Tejano Patriot Book Discussion With Author Art Martínez de Vara Thursday, October 1, 2020 7pm–8pm
FREE Registration

Join the Texas State Historical Association and award-winning author Art Martínez de Vara for an online discussion about his latest book, Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of Jose Francisco Ruiz, 1783-1840. During this event, moderated by TSHA Press Managing Editor Ryan Schumacher, Martínez de Vara will discuss his research and writing process, Ruiz’s fascinating life, and answer your questions about Ruiz.

https://www.tshaonline.org/events/book-signing-event-tejano-patriot

Introducing the newest offering from Alamo Press: Roads to the Battle of Medina: A Search for the Lost Battlefield of Texas, 219 pages.

ROADS TO THE BATTLE OF MEDINA presents in-depth research of the 1813 Battle of Medina that succinctly locates the rebel Republican forces and the Spanish Royalist forces in the days leading up to the battle and for the first time reveals the true location of the main battle site in southern Bexar County. Moses and Nickels rely on multiple historic maps and factual accounts of the days before and after the battle, and are able to separate fact from fiction to locate the lost battlefield of Texas. The book contains 90 illustrations and maps, that bring the Roads to Medina alive for the reader. BRUCE K. MOSES was an Anthropology graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio. He worked as a researcher, artist, illustrator, graphics manager,technical editor, and surveyor at the Center for Archaeological Research until cancer cut short his life in 2011. Bruce had a keen interest in historic maps, and he worked with computer aided programs to overlay hundreds of early regional and local maps onto the modern landscape. He presented numerous talks to local history associations, and authored or otherwise contributed to dozens of cultural resources reports and numerous published books related to the prehistory and history of Meso America, Mexico, and Texas. He was an active member and one-time chairman of the Southern Texas Archaeological Assoc. (STAA), and enjoyed sharing his extensive knowledge of the area’s rich cultural heritage, especially with children. DAVID L. NICKELS is the owner of Tierras Antiguas Archaeological Investigations and a retired Army officer, He holds a Master’s Degree in Anthropology from UTSA and an MBA from Central Michigan University. Over 23 years, Nickels has worked on over 600 cultural resources projects, with sites ranging in age from >11,000 to

Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of José Francisco Ruiz, 1783-1840 - Legacy of Texas

Available now on pre-sale.

legacyoftexas.com This book is available for pre-order. It is expected to ship in the summer. Art Martínez de Vara’s Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of José Francisco Ruiz, 1783–1840 is the first full-length biography of this important figure in Texas history. Best known as one of two Texas-born signers ...

Remember the Alamo — it’s also a cemetery

mysanantonio.com Historical records indicate that more than 1,300 people, including Native Americans, Spanish and Mexican soldiers, settlers from the Canary Islands, defenders of the Battle of the Alamo and others lie at rest on the historic Alamo grounds.

Lawsuit over Alamo burial grounds reflects wider ferment

expressnews.com Across the country, Native Americans are taking to the streets and to court to protect their lands, burial sites, environment and health.

Alamo plan excluding lineal descendants to its own detriment

All historic cemeteries should be protected. "The city of San Antonio, Alamo Trust and GLO are vehemently opposing the latest cemetery designation, using preposterous arguments about what a cemetery is and isn’t, and when it ceases to be one."

expressnews.com The Alamo Trust has reached out to members of federally recognized tribes outside of San Antonio that aren’t as tied to the Alamo as Tap Pilam.

Alamo Press

Santisima Trinidad Church shared a priest with Mission San Patricio, so many records of families living at Paso de las Garzas and the Herrera Ranch are found in these records. They were lost and published here for the first time.

St. Patrick's Church in Bexar, Texas, otherwise known as Mission San Patricio de Bexar, near present-day Somerset, Texas began as the Catholic mission to Atascosa and Frio Counties. Located on the Kinney Ranch in South Bexar County, it also served the coal mining communities of Bexar and La Colorada. With the arrival of the Artesian Belt Railroad, the town of Bexar declined as its population moved two miles east to Somerset. Many of the early families of Atascosa and South Bexar Counties are contained among this books nearly 10,000 entries, including the Ruiz, Herrera, Navarro, Cotulla, Lytle, Casias, Kinney, Hayden and Vara. This volume contains the complete records of San Patricio de Bexar, plus a modern cemetery survey of its cemetery, an 1876 mission census of Atascosa County and a detailed history of the community. 2nd Place Winner, 2014 TSGA Book Awards

NVC is Helping Explore San Antonio’s Past Beyond The Alamo

larevista.prosepoint.net San Antonio is typically know for the battle of the Alamo, but a group of researchers are hoping to add to the Alamo City’s famous history by gathering artifacts and records that show the city’s Spanish, indigenous and multicultural settlers from all over the world.

Local Historians: Native American Story Will Not be Left Out of Tricentennial

The Ruiz-Herrera Cemetery Association is mentioned in this article!

therivardreport.com A group of dedicated historians is working overtime to ensure that some of San Antonio’s long forgotten voices are represented in the Tricentennial.

William Barret Travis Autograph Document Signed, with | Lot #51207 | Heritage Auctions

For those with deep pockets. Document signed by Travis, Juan Seguin and Antonio Menchaca up for auction!

historical.ha.com World's Largest Collectibles Auctioneer

Dios y Tejas: Essays on the History of Von Ormy, Texas

The hardback edition of "Dios y Tejas: Essays on the History of Von Ormy, Texas" is now available on Amazon.com or at the Martinez de Vara Law Firm in Von Ormy (210-622-0323). The paperback edition will be available soon. The book is 502 pages and includes the following chapters:

FOREWORD XII
INTRODUCTION 1

1. VON ORMY: THE LAND AND NATIVE PEOPLE 19
2. COLONIAL RANCHES 38
3. HISTORIC ROADS AND RIVER CROSSINGS OF SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY 50
4. TEXAS INDEPENDENCE AND THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 70
5. FRANCISCO ANTONIO RUIZ 82
6. BLAS HERRERA 97
7. AMERICAN JOURNEYS 116
8. WHY JOSÉ FRANCISCO RUIZ SIGNED THE TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 140
9. THE COMANCHE EXPEDITION OF 1839 149
10. SAMUEL MCCULLOCH, JR. 155
11. EARLY STATEHOOD 164
12. DISPOSSESSION: HOW IGNACIO PÉREZ LOST 16,000 ACRES OF LAND AT THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT 171
13. ENOCH JONES AND THE CASTLE ON THE MEDINA 185
14. THE TEXAS UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 194
15. THE MEDINA GUARDS AND PYRON’S COMPANY IN THE CIVIL WAR 200
16. POST-CIVIL WAR INDUSTRIALIZATION 217
17. SANTÍSIMA TRINIDAD CHURCH 229
18. THE COUNTS VON ORMAY 240
19. COUNT VON ORMAY’S DIPLOMA MILL SCANDAL 252
20. MISSION SAN PATRICIO DE BÉXAR 257
21. THE MEDINA AND VON ORMY SCHOOLS 262
22. VON ORMY COTTAGE SANITARIUM 280
23. EARLY POSTMASTERS OF VON ORMY: A PIONEER, PAINTER, PUBLISHER, PEDDLER, PRISION-KEEPER, AND PHYSICIAN 291
24. RAFAEL QUINTANA 297
25. JUDGE ELLA FISCHER 312
26. GROWING UP IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION – RECOLLECTIONS OF ELOISA G. VARA 318
27. REPATRIATIONS 331
28. SACRED HEART OF JESUS CATHOLIC CHURCH 339
29. KELLY FIELD AND THE RISE OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS 351
30. WATER WARS 360
31. THE CITY OF VON ORMY 373
32. PLACENAMES OF VON ORMY 387
33. VON ORMY NEWS 395

APPENDIX A: 1965 VON ORMY TELEPHONE DIRECTORY 411
APPENDIX B: CATTLE BRANDS ON THE MEDINA 418
APPENDIX C: VON ORMY ADMINISTRATIONS AND STAFF 423
APPENDIX D: VON ORMY SYMBOLS AND TRADITIONS 426
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 433
INDEX 447

amazon.com Von Ormy, Texas was founded as a Tejano ranching community along the Medina River thirteen miles southwest of San Antonio in the mid-1700s. Its strategic location near San Antonio and along the main trade route to the south have attracted interest and settlers for nearly three centuries. Dios y T...

Art Martinez de Vara is looking for old photos of Von Ormy/Paso de las Garzas and the surrounding area to be included in an upcoming book about the history of the area. If you have any old photos, preferably from the 1800s to the 1940s that show people or places in Von Ormy and would like to include them in the book, please contact Art @ 210-622-0323 or on facebook Mayor Art Martinez de Vara

Unique Texas town names: Von Ormy, Concan

ksat.com Unique Texas town names: Von Ormy, Concan

Von Ormy Star: Tejano Archive Project Seeking Local Family Histories

Please bring your family's collection to be archived!
"Researchers are inviting the public to bring their family photos, letters, artifacts or anything they feel may be of interest. Researchers will be present to help identify records of interest and significance. If selected, records will be digitally copied for inclusion in the archive and permanent preservation."

vonormystar.blogspot.com