Padre Ballí (ca. 1770–1829), also known as José Nicolás Ballí, was a rancher, a priest, and an original grantee of

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, it ...

, which was named after him. However, when he owned the island, it was known as the ''Isla de Santiago''

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. Padre Island had been granted to his grandfather, Nicolás Ballí in 1759, by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and Padre Ballí requested a clear title to the property in 1827. His mother Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí had made a joint application with Padre for eleven leagues of the island, but when reapplication was required in 1800, she withdrew her name in favor of him.

Early life

Padre Nicolas Balli was born Circa 1768. He was born into a wealthy family in the town of

Reynosa Reynosa () is a border city in the northern part of the state of Tamaulipas, in Mexico. It is also the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality. The city is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande in the international Reynosa–McAllen Metr ...

, Mexico. His brother was the chief justice and captain of Reynosa. His grandfather had also been a justice and captain. He owned vast amounts of land in the

Rio Grande valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

. Nicolas chose to become a priest.

Career

He was the first settler who brought families to the island. He also built the first church on the island for the conversion of the

Karankawa Indians The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by John ...

and for the benefit of the settlers. About 26 miles (42 km) north of the island's southern tip, he founded the town of El Rancho Santa Cruz de Buena Vista (later known as Lost City, rediscovered in 1931), where he also kept cattle, horses, and mules. This town, established in 1804, was the first European settlement on the island. He did not live on the island, but had two hired hands who managed things for him there. Ballí was the first person to have the island surveyed, which occurred as required in 1828 after Mexico became independent in 1821; the survey report described his land as "characterized by high sand dunes, some of which were covered with grass. In addition, one found a great number of willows, oleanders, short oaks, plenty of herbs known as anise, and many fresh water lakes or pools covered with reeds."

Death

Ballí died on April 16, 1829, and was buried near Matamoros. Title to the island was granted to him posthumously on December 15, 1829, issued jointly in his name and the name of his nephew Juan José Ballí. He had requested that half of the island be given to his nephew, who had been helping him there. Juan José (the nephew) lived on the island from 1829 until his death in 1853. Some of Padre Ballí's descendants still live in the

Lower Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

Legacy

There is a bronze statue of Ballí at the eastern foot of the

Queen Isabella Causeway Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge was developed as a concrete pier-and-beam bridge with a steel cantilever main beam span. The memorial bridge has a travel distance of and sustains the continuation of Texas Park Road 100. The watercourse thoroughfar ...

. He is also remembered by

Nueces County Nueces County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions of S ...

Padre Ballí Park. Gilbert Kerlin a law graduate from Harvard University had bought titles to the Island from Ballí heirs in 1938. The titles included 61,000 acres and the segment of water separating Padre Island from the mainland. The heirs of Ballí filed a lawsuit against Kerlin in 1993. A Jury of their peers in 2000 ruled in favor of the heirs. 500 descendants of Padre Jose Nicolas Ballí were represented in the case. The family accused that they did not receive their share of the oil and gas revenue generated in the Island based on the Original agreement. In fact they were not paid once cent of the mineral rights that they were promised. Kerlin died in 2004 at the age of 94. In 2008 the Texas Supreme Court ruled in Kerlin's favor, the verdict declared that the family of Padre Jose Nicolas had no claims on the land as they “waited too long” to file a claim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balli, Padre Ranchers 1829 deaths Year of birth uncertain 18th-century Roman Catholic priests