, 1935-06-02
Detailed Work Begins

Detailed Work Begins
The beginning OF the end in the
Oio de Aqua cas- came in the fall
OF last year when Judge Bennett,
after conducting a number OF hear
ingS, gave his judgment on the
principles involved, upholding, in
substance. the titles and the paEti-
ton as OF 1915, the date when the
Ease came into court.
1t then remained for someone to
work out the details of the judg-
nent TO apply II 70 all OF the 57d
tracts OF land IN the big tract.
Judge Seabury was selected Dv all
the other attorneys 70 apply the
general principle 70 all the tracts,
and prepare the judgment.
This 30O-page document is now
prepared. III was formally render
I'd by Judge Bennett on May "a OF
this year, and Monday 10 Will be en-
tered for record. bringing the Csc
10 a close.
The land involved IN this suit was
originally part OF the MaStenaS
tract, which was originally granted
by the King OF spain to Vicente
HlnoloSa. HlnolOSa sold what Is
known as the Olo de Aqua tract 10
his sister. Rosa Maria HlnOloSa de
Bali. original grantee.
Among those VINO figured in the
ownership OF the tract down 70 the
time OF the suit III 1915 were most
OF the outstanding figures IN early
DAY border history. Captain Juan
Jose Hinojosa, captain and chief
justice at ReynOSa, and his two
children were one group.
Others we're Colonel Constantine
de Tarnoval, Nicolas Chano OF
Brownsville, Captain Juan Jose
Ealh, grantee OF the san Salvador
oel Tule tract: Father Nicolas Ball
e MatamOrOS, brother Of Juan
Jose: JustO TrevIno, big stOckman
OF the early days. DR.. G.. B. COmbe,
early day physician Of Brownsville;
Bland Chamberlain, nephew OF Mrs
Henrietta NJ. King; James b
Wells: O.. Nj. Raphael, Brownsville
membeI OF the famed merchandise
ing house OF BloombeEg and Ra-
phael OF New York, Brownsville,
n MatamoroS.
2O-Year suit
In 1915 came the suit that was 10
cloud the title TO this tract OF land
FOR 20 years. IL was filed by Pillar
Villareal and defendants were A. "A.
Browne OF Brownsville and others.
Villareal and the Brownies both
owned land in the tract, and each
had fenced land. the Brownies fenc-
ing about 1900 acres Of the 47,3S5,-
acre tract. The Villareal land was TO
the west Of the Browne land. and in
between was the Aqua Dulce tract,
in which each claimed an interest.
Villareal's suit was in the nature
OF an injunction. to prevent his be-
ing CuSted from possession Of certain
lands. II was filed by Graham, Jones
g. George, and Frank. Pierce. all
now dead.
Attorneys for the Browne Land a.
Cattle company, James r. Daugherty
Of Beeville and Gordon Boone OF
Corpus Christi, sought a similar
court order 10 justify holding GER
tain lands, and in 1919 filed a cross
action, bringing in 1898 other parties
all persons who claimed any in
terest in land in the tract.
Both Villareal and the Brownies
claimed the entire tract and II the
court would not give them all claim
ed certain portions which they asked
i'm their pleadings and answers. he
established as theirs by law.
On Nov. "a, 1919, the cas- was plac-
ed in the hands Of j. G. Scott OF Bee
vile as master in chancery. For four
years he conducted hearings and
studied the case. and on Sept. 5. 1923.
he filed a lengthy report, with con-
illusions. His conclusions were, among
other things. that there had never
been a partition Of the tract.
The court refused to accept this
conclusion, which would have made
solution Of the legal tangle almost
hopeless.
At that time Judge A M. Kent
became district judge. and was dis
qualified because his father had
claimed an interest in the tract. This
caused considerable more delay.
In 1880 the case vas tried before
Judge j. 4. Leslie OF Hidalgo county
or an exchange OF benches. he took
the case under Amusement, but be-
fore he gave a decision he resigned
from the bench. % the case was
once more laundering In the compli-
Gated processes OF the law.
Titles Validated
About a year ago Judge Bennett
tried the case, and conducted many
hearings, closing with his judgment
in the fall OF the year holding there
was a parole partition. and validat-
ing the titles as they existed in
1915, at the time Of the Villareal
suit. The judgment three out the
claims Of a number of persons who
have allegedly moved onto the land
since the original suit was filed.
Back as far as 1926 the original
litigants In the case had agreed ms
to their holdings in the Aqua Dulce
section Of the tract. but the case