This Week in Duval County History, December 16 — 22

 

POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM DECEMBER 16, 2019

December 16

King, Kenedy take over land in San Diego

On December 16, 1867, King and Kenedy took over two leagues of land on the San Leandro grant that was owned by Levy.

Duval County Deed Records

December 17

Duval County notes

December 17 – Fat horses and cattle abounded. Buyers could find them anywhere in the county. Benavides was growing. New buildings were going up all the time. A new schoolhouse was to be built soon by Samuel L. Lewis.  Adolfo Olivares, employed with Texas Mexican Railway, built a house for his father, Apolino Olivares. Four to five stores were operating. The Texas Mexican Railway hotel, or “eating house” as it was called, was well kept by Capt. Woods.

San Diego also had new houses being built and old ones being repaired.

Laredo Daily Times, December 20, 1888

December 18

Miscellaneous Mention

On December 18, 1886, the Corpus Christi Caller reported that a grand tournament ball would be held at the Garfield House in San Diego on New Year’s Eve.

Corpus Christi Caller, December 18, 1886

December 19

For Aransas Bar resolutions adopted in Duval County

San Diego, December 19 – Merchants met to pass resolutions in support of a port at Aransas Pass. Called to order by Frank Feuille. W. W. Meek elected chairman. W. W. McCampbell named secretary. Resolutions committee appointed consisting of John D. Cleary, C H. Hufford, Florencio Zambrano, Pedro Eznal, and Frank Feuille. Resolution asked for congress to appropriate money for work at the port to continue on a regular basis.   

Corpus Christi Caller, December 27, 1901

December 20

No Clue on Cleary assassination

Duval County Tax Assessor John D. Cleary was “assassinated” on Friday night, December 20, 1907, at 10:30 p.m. Cleary, J M. Maxwell, and a third man were seated at a table in a San Diego restaurant when Cleary was shot from behind with a load of buckshot. The fire came from an open door. Cleary was killed instantly. No one took notice of the shots because fireworks were going off throughout the city. The shooting went undetected for several hours. The shooter had plenty of time to escape.

Texas Rangers Mackenzie, Ross and Dunaway were working with Sheriff Gravis on the investigation. The prevailing opinion in the county was that the shooting resulted from a recent political campaign in which Cleary sought the office of Tax Assessor. Cleary’s supporters and his opponents became very bitter.

Opponents had gone to court to contest the election. The county grew more bitter as the court case was being heard. Cleary won the case and bitterness reached a pitch just before the killing.

In a complete lapse of journalistic judgment, but typical of the times, the Caller reporter wrote “The opinion…prevalent was that the shooter was not a white man since he was shot from behind from a hiding place on an unsuspecting man with a shotgun. This would lead the average man to believe that Cleary met his death at the hands of a Mexican. A white man, however, must have had a hand in it. These were just opinions, however, they were very plausible.”

Corpus Christi Weekly Caller, January 3, 1908

December 21

On December 21, 1868, J.B. McCluskey of Rio Grande City, who had bought one square league, more or less, in Rancho San Diego in 1858, was declared bankrupt and his share of this property was sold at auction in Washington County to J.D. and D.C. Giddings who made the high bid of $42. On April 20, 1858, Gerardo de Leon of Camargo, acting as attorney for Juan Antonio Cassio and Zeferino Treviño Tovar had sold “whatever portion of land that may belong” to his clients for $250, to Joseph E. Slaughter and McCluskey. They did not have a map and could not describe the property “perfectly.” On August 2, 1870, the Giddings sold the property to N. G. Collins for $300 gold.

Duval County Deed Records

December 22

Rangers battle smugglers

On December 22, 1921, Capt. W. L. Wright and his men of Texas Rangers Company D fought liquor smugglers about 15 miles northwest of Realitos on the Barronena Ranch, capturing 33 horses and 3,000 quarts of liquor.

Horsebackers of the Brush Country

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3 COMMENTSON "THIS WEEK IN DUVAL COUNTY HISTORY, DECEMBER 16 — 22"

1. Fannie Cavazos Hewgley | March 25, 2020 at 12:31 pm | Reply
   Mr Cardenas, I enjoy Soy de Duval, whose records support my family history. Oral history has it that Richard King and another man had been trying to “buy” land from 2 of my ancestors. When they declined, one was shot dead and the other forced to sign over the land. The survivor and his family were gratuitously allowed to stay on the land which now belonged to King. The rest is history. Our family had to drop litigation under threat of death. King has been judged by our Lord but I would love to spend the night in the San Antonio hotel room where he died to find out if he is resting in peace for his deeds. Fannie Cavazos Hewgley

2. Lauro Salazar | December 17, 2019 at 1:03 pm | Reply
   Mr. Cardenas, love your “Soy de Duval” posts, but the Cleary assassination in Jan. 03, 1908, really shows the injustices our people faced at the time. Our people, our land run by outsiders. only my opinion..sorry if I offend anyone.

• cardenas.ae@gmail.com | December 17, 2019 at 3:54 pm | Reply
  Thank you, Lauro. They were indeed hard time.