“Other states are carved or born;
Texas grew from hide and horn.”
— Bertha Hart Nance, 1932
Texas ranching has a long and storied history. Its roots go back to 1493 when Christopher Columbus made his second visit to Hispaniola. He brought with him several head of cattle, who were the ancestors of the Texas Longhorns bred throughout the state today.
The 16th and 17th centuries saw cattle ranching advance through Mexico and into modern-day Texas. The first cattle ranch was found in the El Paso region, where several thousand cattle were raised. These early ranches were formed by Spanish missionaries; private ranches would arise in the mid-18th century.
The Mexican War of Independence destroyed the Spanish missionary ranches. The Austin colony was formed at the end of the war, attracting Anglos to come stake a claim on the land and the cattle on it. They brought their eastern cattle to breed with the Spanish cattle, and the result was the Texas Longhorn.
The U.S. annexed Texas in 1845, and it spread out land for railways and new settlements. There was plenty of land to go around, and the demand grew high for beef. The cowboy system we’ve come to hold so dear began around this time.
It wasn’t just men who worked on the ranches; women were important to ranch operations, too. One woman, a former slave named Julia Blanks, helped with roundups, planted crops, raised up animals, and helped with the cooking during roundups on the Adams Ranch.
Her daughters followed in her footsteps — “My oldest girl used to take the place of a cowboy, and put her hair up in her hat. And ride! My goodness, she loved to ride.”
The first woman who led a cattle drive was Margaret Borland. After her husband passed, she became the sole owner of the Victoria ranch and 8,000 longhorns. Six years later, she had 10,000 cattle in her care. In 1873, she became the first female trail boss, leading 2,500 longhorns, her three children, and several cowboys up the Chisholm Trail into Kansas.
In recent years, ranches have had to adopt newer ways of bringing income, as the cost of cattle and maintaining the land has risen. The historic YO Ranch let its land for hunting and outdoor recreation. The Matador Ranch soon followed suit.
This past spring, the last ‘grande dame’ of the Texas ranching world was laid to rest. And last month, one of the few remaining ranching ‘empires’ went on the chopping block.
I call it a chopping block because here in Texas, far too many of our great and historic ranches have been sold to the highest bidder (usually someone residing outside the country, let alone the state) and chopped up into smaller pieces, the land and its resources plumbed until nothing worth anything remains, and a vital chapter of our Texas heritage and history has been wiped clean.
This sad fate of a place I consider to be a bit of Texas heaven inspired this story and this series — the Texas Heritage series.
In the first book, The Texas Cowboy’s Proposal, we meet the two granddaughters of Sarah McNamara Burkitt…Laurel Annabella and Samantha Josefina. The heroine of this first book will be Samantha, aka Sammi Jo. She has just been handed a hard blow when her older sister shares the finer points of their grandmother’s will.
GIVEAWAY
Stop a minute and comment about a piece of your heritage that still impacts your life today.
One lucky commenter will receive a free copy of The Texas Cowboy’s Proposal!
Purchase The Texas Cowboy’s Proposal here
Find Debra online at her website here
It is always sad to see the old ways die. As the world keeps going we may see a need to return to those ways. The story sounds interesting.
Thank you, David! I agree, it’s sad seeing the old ways pass on.
Texas is the greatest state and the history runs deep. I loved the history you shared.
Thank you, Tonya! I enjoyed writing it
My heritage comes from the Appalachian Mountains, a place that’s always been like stepping back in history. I grew up more like people did 150 years ago, and I guess that’s why I relate to history and westerns so much. In many ways, I lived it.
Hi Janice! I love hearing about any history – and I’ve heard some amazing things about the Appalachian Mountains. Thank you for stopping to comment!
I grew up in a military family. It still impacts everything.
Hello to another Debra! I can only imagine growing up in a military family. You must have some amazing stories to tell. Thank you for stopping to comment!
My heritage. Hum. I have to think about that! My dad was a pastor and my mom was his helpmate in ministry. He was a fantastic minister preaching the Word of God. My mom was vocally trained to sing opera. They sang together and then my sister and I sang with dad. So many happy memories. We had nothing … but were richly blessed.
I loved reading your blog today. Thank you.
Hi Kathy! It sounds to me like you had everything, because I agree, you were richly blessed. Thank you for stopping to comment!
My heritage background is being a farming family which I have found was on both sides of the family. My Great grandparents on both sides immigrated from Germany and settled first on the east coast but they soon moved to Iowa. they acquired much land and began farming in Iowa with acquiring lots of land and planting crops as well as raising dairy cattle, pigs and chickens. My job was to take care of the chickens, cleaning the hen house, collecting eggs and feeding the chickens while my older sister was the milkmaid. Fortunately we did have milking machines. I could not milk a cow no matter how many times I tried. (I had to help her sometimes.) We two sisters were the oldest children and then came along 3 boys. Thank you, LORD, for giving us some help. Seriously I was very happy because when I became an 11th grade student we moved to town where my parents ran a feed store. Needless to say, I was not much of a farm girl.
Hi Judy! I don’t know if I could milk a cow, either – I’d probably do better with the chickens! Thanks for stopping to comment!
DUE to one of my siblings greed the 208 acre farm/houses that my Dad was born and died in went on the auction block last December. It had been in the family for almost 100 years!
Oh, no, Theresa! I’m so sorry to hear it! I can only imagine how painful that must have been for you. Thank you for sharing your story.
I still live in North Carolina where many of my ancestors settled.
HI Connie! I’ll bet you’ve got some stories you could tell about your family history! Thanks for stopping to comment!
My mother’s grandparents were Quakers and that family had been for years, but somewhere about that time left the Quaker faith as my great grandmother’s name was Cinderella. As an adult she was married 5 times and divorced 4 times. Her first divorce was in the early 1900s. I’m sure this affected my family thinking in many ways.
Hi karijean217! I can only imagine the ways your family’s thinking was affected. It sounds like your Cinderella was an optimist, thinking that each male was the right one for her. Thanks for stopping to comment!
So many things in my hometown area has changed drastically, just in my life time! We’ve also lost a lot of our historical buildings.
Hi Trudy! It’s sad to see our historical sites torn down, isn’t it? Thanks for stopping to comment!
I grew up a country girl living on a small farm. I may live in a small town now but the country girl is still in me. All of my family was from High Bridge a small community in KY. Now the family has either past away or moved on to different places, so the community is just not the same anymore.
Hi Quilt Lady! How about a coincidence for you – my assistant makes quilts and lives in a small town in KY! The country girl will always be with you, no matter how the community changes. Hold on to that. Thanks for stopping to comment!
food
Hi bn100! Food’s a big part of any family heritage, I think. Thanks for stopping to comment!
In the US state where I live there are still lutefisk dinners done by churches every fall.
Hi jcp! I’m not sure I’ve heard of lutefisk dinners – what are they? Thanks for stopping to comment!
what a wonderful post today. I have seen parcels of land just chopped as you say and sold off. I have a number of things in my own history that have impacted me greatly. One is the word of God Almighty. This is not just for old ladies and children. Oh no, I have witnessed and felt miracles happen because of obedience. It has been passed down from mother to child for generations. Also another one is quilting. For generations us young girls have learned to quilt at the knees of our mothers and grandmothers. We keep some for ourselves, but we also give many away. It is another step in giving what we have to others. Makes me feel good that someone else can get smiles and feel happy and warm with a quilt that I give away. Another one has been working hard and playing hard as the rewards.
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Hi Lori! My assistant also sews quilts – she just learned from her mother a few years ago. I’m so glad you can share your gift with others! Thanks for stopping to comment!
There is a lot about my family’s history that I have not looked into… I am very curious though.
Hi Colleen! Why not make this your reason to start looking into your family’s history? You never know what great stories you might find! Thanks for stopping to comment!
This is so very interesting and has really got me to thinking. Everything just changes so much and where I grew up has changed alot also, there are definitely alot of people living there, when my dad built our house where I was raised it was the second house there where we lived, there wasn’t even a church building there. My parents would bring catechists to our very small town as it started growing, we would have lessons at our house and my parents would bring catechist from a different town about 20 mins. away from our house and on Sundays they would go pick up a priest and we would have Mass on our carport. Later on we would have fund raisers until there was enough money and a church was built. I was a catechist for over 25 yrs. and I still give religion lessons to my 2 grandchildren that live in our same town.
Hi Alicia! It’s just amazing how towns grow and change over the years, isn’t it? Thanks for stopping to comment!
Debra, your book sounds lovely and all the history you shared is very interesting!
I’m a small town girl and hope I always will be, but my stepdad’s family is way more “small town” than me. His family are direct descendants of the man who founded our town way back in the 1770s!
Hi millieleeshepherd! Thank you so much! It’s lovely that your stepdad can trace his roots back that far. Thanks for stopping to comment!
I grew up on the farm my great grandparents bought in 1868. There was lots of family history in items found in the house and the barns and stories told by my dad and the neighbors he grew up around. Like so many other places not many of the old families are still there. Our place was sold when my nephew, not a farmer, and his wife divorced. The new owners still lease to the fence line neighbor who had leased from my mom for several years. So far it has not been cut into smaller pieces like so many of the farms in that area have been.
Hi Alice! It’s lovely to have so much history in the stories our relatives and family friends share. I’m glad your family home is still intact. Thanks for stopping to comment!
The place where my Mom was born and raised still stands in a former logging community in West Viginia. I have always had a connection to the land and area. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Hi debbiejpruss! I feel that same connection to Texas, so I understand what you mean. Thanks for stopping to comment!
I grew up on a farm in Colorado then the family moved to Arizona. Many years later I still have an appreciation for the out-of doors in the mountains or in the desert. I am glad my family taught me to love my country.
Sorry I missed this yesterday. Family heritage for us goes back to the first French trappers and settlers in New France (Canada). The second influx was Irish immigrants who came over to Canada around the time of the Potato Famine. The families crossed over the border into Northern New York around the late 1800’s early 1900’s. No exciting ancestors, just good solid peasant stock. A love and appreciation of the outdoors and natures wonders have always been a part of who we are.
I grew up in Texas, we had no large pieces of land and still live in the same town. Helping our grandparents in the summer tend to the garden for lots of fresh vegetables and taking turns turning the handle of an ice cream maker was our traditions. Now that I grown, I realize tending a garden is hard work, especially in 100 degree weather with no rain.