Bill Text: TX HR494 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled

---

Bill Title: Honoring Blas Maria Herrera for his outstanding contributions to Texas and recognizing his descendants for their generosity in providing the Herrera Gates to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-02-23 - Reported enrolled [HR494 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HR494-Enrolled.html

---

H.R. No. 494

R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Blas Maria Herrera, a soldier and rancher often
called the Paul Revere of the Texas Revolution, earned a place of
honor in the annals of early Texas history; and
WHEREAS, Born in San Antonio de Bexar on February 2, 1802, Mr.
Herrera married Maria Antonio Ruiz, the daughter of the prominent
Tejano Jose Francisco Ruiz, on February 3, 1828; and
WHEREAS, A militia roster of 1820 lists Mr. Herrera as a
sergeant, and his military skills and knowledge of the Texas
countryside proved valuable when he cast his lot with those seeking
to establish an independent Texas republic; and
WHEREAS, While serving under the command of Captain Juan
Nepomuceno Seguin, Mr. Herrera took part in the first major
campaign of the Texas Revolution, the siege of Bexar, in late 1835;
early the next year, Captain Seguin dispatched Mr. Herrera to the
Rio Grande to observe the movement of Mexican troops and to report
any advance they might make on San Antonio; and
WHEREAS, When it became apparent that General Antonio Lopez
de Santa Anna was headed with his army in the direction of Bexar,
Mr. Herrera and a fellow scout hastened back to warn the Texan
troops; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Herrera then received orders to escort his
father-in-law and his wife's cousin, Jose Antonio Navarro, to the
convention of Texas delegates meeting at Washington-on-the-Brazos,
where the two signed the Texas Declaration of Independence on March
2, 1836; according to family lore, Mr. Herrera also conducted
intelligence assignments during the revolution for General Sam
Houston; and
WHEREAS, In late 1836, Mr. Herrera was sent by Captain Seguin
to argue against General Felix Huston's order that the citizens of
San Antonio be evacuated and the town burned, and he succeeded in
having the town spared; and
WHEREAS, After the revolution, Mr. Herrera continued to be
involved in public life; he served as a justice of the peace and
civic leader in southern Bexar County, where he farmed and ranched
on his family's land near the Paso de las Garzas on the Medina
River, and his home was used as a polling place; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Herrera also served as a Texas Ranger in 1839,
during a campaign against the Comanches; his ranch became the site
of the area's first Catholic church in 1840 and first post office in
1868, as well as a public school in 1872; and
WHEREAS, The children of Mr. Herrera and his wife were also
civic minded and engaged in both military and public service; one
descendant, great-grandson John J. Herrera, became a prominent
civil rights attorney and served as national president of the
League of United Latin American Citizens; and
WHEREAS, Blas Maria Herrera died on July 9, 1878, and was
buried in the Ruiz-Herrera Cemetery in present-day Von Ormy; in the
1980s, a set of gates on the Herrera Ranch was identified as having
come from one of the San Antonio missions, most likely from San
Antonio de Valero, now known as the Alamo; thanks to the generosity
of Mr. Herrera's descendants, those gates are now on permanent
display at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin; and
WHEREAS, Deeply devoted to the land of his birth, Blas Maria
Herrera served Texas in many roles over the course of his long and
productive life, and his descendants continue to carry the torch,
to the great benefit of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby honor Blas Maria Herrera for his outstanding
contributions to Texas and recognize his descendants for their
generosity in providing the historic Herrera Gates to the Bob
Bullock Texas State History Museum; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the Herrera family as an expression of high regard by
the Texas House of Representatives.
Garza
Straus Gonzales of Williamson Morrison
Aliseda Gonzalez Munoz, Jr.
Allen Gooden Murphy
Alonzo Guillen Naishtat
Alvarado Gutierrez Nash
Anchia Hamilton Oliveira
Anderson of Dallas Hancock Orr
Anderson of McLennan Hardcastle Otto
Aycock Harless Parker
Beck Harper-Brown Patrick
Berman Hartnett Paxton
Bohac Hernandez Luna Pena
Bonnen Hilderbran Perry
Branch Hochberg Phillips
Brown Hopson Pickett
Burkett Howard of Fort Bend Pitts
Burnam Howard of Travis Price
Button Huberty Quintanilla
Cain Hughes Raymond
Callegari Hunter Reynolds
Carter Isaac Riddle
Castro Jackson Ritter
Chisum Johnson Rodriguez
Christian Keffer Schwertner
Coleman King of Parker Scott
Cook King of Taylor Sheets
Craddick King of Zavala Sheffield
Creighton Kleinschmidt Shelton
Crownover Kolkhorst Simpson
Darby Kuempel Smith of Harris
Davis of Dallas Landtroop Smith of Tarrant
J. Davis of Harris Larson Smithee
S. Davis of Harris Laubenberg Solomons
Deshotel Lavender Strama
Driver Legler Taylor of Collin
Dukes Lewis Taylor of Galveston
Dutton Lozano Thompson
Eiland Lucio III Torres
Eissler Lyne Truitt
Elkins Madden Turner
Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
Farrar Margo Villarreal
Fletcher Marquez Vo
Flynn Martinez Walle
Frullo Martinez Fischer Weber
Gallego McClendon White
Garza Menendez Woolley
Geren Miles Workman
Giddings Miller of Comal Zedler
Gonzales of Hidalgo Miller of Erath Zerwas
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 494 was adopted by the House on February
22, 2011, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House