Tío Cowboy: Juan Salinas, Rodeo Roper and Horseman

2 The Antonio Salinas Family of Webb County, Texas

2 The Antonio Salinas Family of Webb County, Texas One of the descendants of Spaniards who became a prominent citizen of Laredo was Bartolome Garcia, the great-great-grandchild of Don Tomas Sanchez, the city’s founder. Bartolome, sometimes also referred to as Bartolo, married Maria del Carmen Benavides in 1833. One of Bartolome’s largest contributions—literally—to the growth of Laredo was the fact that he had twelve children. Descendants of these became foundation families of Laredo and today descendants of these prevail in large numbers. One of the ten children was Mucia Garcia. Mucia Garcia married Juan Francisco Salinas. They had five children, Antonio Salinas, his sisters, Margarita, Inocente, Teresa, and Maria. Antonio Salinas was my grandfather, and the father of Juan Light Salinas. Antonio became a businessman, cattle rancher, and politician. He was a hard and sometimesveryharshman.JerryThompson,inWarm Weather and Bad Whiskey: The 1886 Laredo Election Riot, a history of the political feuds in Laredo at the end of the century, reports that during the battle on the Plaza San Agustin, Antonio Salinas announced, “Ya mate al Gringo” (“I have killed the gringo”). He spoke of having taken one Whitley to the bank of the Rio Grande and killing him with pistol shot. He never stood trial for the killing. Antonio (called Papá Antonio by our family), received a bullet wound in the abdomen in that riot, and underwent surgery. Years later, a suspender button from his pants exited his abdomen through the surgical scar. Apparently, the bullet hit the button and it stayed in his abdomen during surgery. Family history has it that on another occasion he took an employee’s eye out with a horsewhip. Family 8 Tío Cowboy history also has it that he rarely smiled, one remembered occasion being on the birth of his first grandson, Carlos Salinas. Notwithstanding his apparent harshness and violent character, having the right family connections, Papá Antonio became sheriff of Webb County in the early 1920s. The inventory filed in the probate case of Papá Antonio’s estate shows that he had about 15,000 acres of land, although after his death, half of it was sold to pay debt. Even Captain Tomas Sanchez / Catalina Uribe Bartolome Garcia / Maria del Carmen Benavides They Had Twelve Children And And Married Twice Had a Great Grandson They Had Five Children Margarita Inocente Maria Garcia Mother Of Antonio Jose Alberto Lucinda Minnie Light (1881 - 1951) Mother Of Juan Light Salinas / Bertha Hargraves Jose Maria Salinas / Blanca Cisneros Mucia Salinas Palacios / Abe Palacios Margarita Salinas Rubio / Enrique Rubio Antonio Light Salinas (Tony) / Lucille Juvenal Teresa / D.Z. de la Chica Maria / Francisco Guerra Antonio Salinas 1858-1923 Married Born 1813 Great Grandson of Captain Sanchez Cesareo / Genoveva Rodriguez Paula / Agustin Salinas Isidro Luisa Jose Maria / Cresencia Ramon Tirza / Raymond Martin Margarita (Nun) Maria Refugio / Lazaro de la Garza Julian / Esther Borrego Leonides Rosendo Mucia Garcia Born 1835 Juan Francisco Javier Salinas Born 1834 Abridged family tree: Juan Light Salinas The Salinas Family 9 in the early times, the toil of running a cattle operation proved very difficult, even more so with raising a family of six, one day’s ride from Laredo. In the late 1800s Antonio acquired substantial acreage in northeast Webb County: the ranch, totaling about 14,000 acres. It is about 45 miles northeast of Laredo. Today it, or part of it, is the Williamson Ranch; it used to be the Lincoln Ranch. When Papá Abridged family tree: Minnie Light Salinas Joel Cherry (1799 - 1890) Rebecca Margaret (1848 - 1943) James M. Riley (1851 - 1913) Zack Light, Jr. (Tio Isaac) 1883 - 1966 Minnie Light (Mama Minne) 1881 - 1951 Martha James Joseph Nancy Married James B. Riley Robert Juan Light Jose Maria Mucia Maria Margarita Antonio Light Mary Thrasher (1802 - 1891) Married Antonio Salinas (Papa Antonio) 1858 - 1923 Married Zack Light 10 Tío Cowboy Antonio owned it, the ranch was known as Las Blancas, it is located in the Becerra (Heifer), Ranch region. Origin of the name Las Blancas is lost to time, but it means the white ones, in the feminine gender. Could it have been for the white cows, white hills, or the white women? Who knows? When Antonio Salinas moved to the Encinal area, he sold Las Blancas to one W. P. Lincoln. Those who were born, raised, or lived in that area were called becerreños. These include the Donato...