Notes for JOSE-ANTONIO BALLI-CAVAZOS:

Balli Ranch Cemetery - Hidalgo County

Antonio Balli Cavazos (1813-1887) founded the Balli or San Antonio de los Esteros Ranch about 1848, in the Llano Grande Land Grant of his great- grandfather, Juan Jose´ Hinojosa. The ranch was probably named after Balli's patron saint. His family name (variants Valli, Ballin) signifies "dweller in the valley." The family changed the spelling from Valli to Balli in the time of Maximilian so they would no be mistaken for Frenchmen.

The grandparents of Antonio Balli Cavazos, Matias Cavazos and Manuela Hinojos inherited her Share 2 (3325 varas or 9283 feet river frontage x 30,000 varas) of the Llano Grande Land Grant, where San Antonio del Esterito Ranch is located. They built a ranch house of mesquite wood and adobe and corrals close to the Military Highway Later they moved south of the cemetery (about 1827).

Their children, Ramon, Lino and Antonio inherited in turn. Antonia Cavazos had married Manuel Balli. When she died, their son Jose´ Antonio Balli Cavazos (1813-1887) acquired 1320.5 varas river front, a portion of which he inherited from his mother Antonia and the balance acquired by purchase from his brothers and sisters.

San Antonio de los Esteros (or Esteritos) Ranch consisted of 7,000 acres or two square leagues and extended from the Rio Grande north six leagues or 18 miles. It contained two bodies of water besides the river frontage, enough to pasture large stocks of cattle. The Ballis also raised corn, beans, squash and pumpkins for domestic use in the fields close to the Rio Grande. The small green pumpkins (calabazas) were customarily cooked with pork or chicken or were candied.

According to Antoni's son, Manuel, his family owned and used the land since 1839. For a few years around 1838, they fled across the Rio Grande because of Indian raids.

Antonio Balli married Manuela Rubalcada in 1837, and they had eight children: Manuel (born in Mexico, 1838, died after 1903), Refugia, Antonio (1851-1913), Francisca Natividad, Primotivo, Maria Inez, Victoria (who married Benigno Leal of Santa Ana Ranch), and Librada.

When Hidalgo County was founded in 1852, Antonio Balli registered the first cattle brand at the county seat, Edinburgh (Hidalgo) in November, a JAV connected with flat circle over the A (in lieu of a C, which was already in use by another family member). He inherited the brand from his father; Jose Antonio Balli had registered it in Reynosa as early as 1828.

When Don Antoni Balli died in 1887 (his widow died in 1897), the property was verbally partitioned among his seven children, each receiving 188.5 varas river frontage. By 1913, most of it was sold to the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Company of Mercedes for land development.

The first Balli in America was Pedro Balli(1545-1600), a printer, of Salamanca, Spain, the son of Juan Valli and Catalina Rodriguez (not Mauricio and Francisca Valli as sometimes reported). He was educated in Salmanca and Strassbourg (at that time in Germany). He sailed from Cadiz to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1569 , where he married Catalina del Valle. They had three sons.

Balli was named fourth printer of the New World by royal decree of King Philip II in 1574. He spoke five languages fluently and interpreted for the viceroy. His printing house was located on the corner of Moneda Street and Lic. Verdad on the plaza in Mexico City. This 400 year old, three-story brick building is being restored by the Mexican government, and will become a museum, in accordance with a proposal by Dr. Gutierre Tibon of Cuernavaca, an Italian and internationally known writer. Balli produced over 60 books, including some in native languages and others for the University of Mexico.

(A book written by Lic. Juan Bautista Balli of Mexico City in 1596 is in the University of Texas Pan American Library.)

Descendants of Pedro Balli II moved to Nuevo Leon. By 1750, Nicolas (1704 - ) and Josefa Guerra de Balli were living in Sabinas Hidalgo, about 70 miles north of present Monterrey. They had five sons, Jose´ Manuel, Bartolomeo, Juan Jose´, Juan Antonio and Jose´ Mari´a Balli. During the colonization of Nuevo Santander by Jose de Escandon in 1749, Jose´ Mari´a Balli and Juan

Antonio Balli settled in Reynosa and became primitive settlers.

At the time of the General Visit to assign lands to settlers in 1767, Jose Maria Balli was one of the surveyors, and received portion 72. His brother, Juan Antonio Balli, received portion 13 on the south side of the Rio Grande. In 1800, because of continuous flooding of the original site, the Villa of

Reynosa moved downstream 11 miles to land donated by the Juan Antonio Balli family.

Manuel Balli is probably descended from one of these Reynosa settlers, probably from Juan Antonio Balli, since Jose Maria Balli and Rosa Maria Hinojosa's sons were Juan Jose, Jose Nicolas and Jose Maria II.

At one time, the children of Antonio Balli Rubalcava planned to move to Mexico, and sent their best livestock across the river. Baltasar, Claudina and Elvira began farming there, but the Mexican Revolution and depredations of their livestock made them return. Abelardo retrieved the branding iron.

At San Antoni del Estero Ranch, a one-acre plot was set aside for a family cemetery. When Abelardo Balli prepared to sell his land to the American Rio Grande Land & Development Company in 1905, he called his sons together and they agreed to sell all the land except the one cemetery acre. (Land sold for $2 to $2.50 per acre.) The family moved to East Donna and built a house.

The first family member buried in the Balli Cemetery was Atilano Pina in 1874 , the husband of Natividad Balli Rubalcaba. Ranch founder Antonio Balli and his wife, Manuela Rubalcaba, are buried in the cemetery, according to Mr. Arturo Balli of Donna. The last Balli to be buried there was Apolonio Balli Salaz (1869-1956).

Sources: Arturo and Maria Victoria Mora Balli of Donna and Fresno, California He is the grandson of Antonio Balli Rubalcava and son of Abelardo Balli.

Affidavit, Manuel Balli in Llano Grande Grant, Shares 3 and 4, p. 51, dated March 12, 1909.



Notes for MANUELA RUBALCABA-GALVAN:

Widowed, she is listed on the 1880 USA census, La Blanco Ranch, Hidalgo county, Texas.