Family shares historical roots

Historic — From left to right are Raúl Emilio Hinojosa, Raúl Gustavo Hinojosa, Gustavo N. Hinojosa, and Emilio Ramón Hinojosa. (Courtesy photo/Gustavo N. Hinojosa)

By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the NEWS

As America prepares to commemorate 250 years of independence, a South Texas family is helping broaden the nation’s understanding of who contributed to its founding.

Gustavo N. Hinojosa, who grew up in San Antonio but has made his home for the past 20 years in Dallas, along with his brother Raul E. Hinojosa, recently gained membership into the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), not through the Anglo colonial lineage often associated with the organization, but through their Spanish colonial heritage rooted in the Rio Grande Valley.

Their patriarch ancestor, Don Jose Manuel Hinojosa, is the family’s fifth great-grandfather and a founding settler of the colonial town of Mier.

As part of the Escandón settlements known as the Villas del Norte, these early families served a dual role: shaping frontier communities while acting as militia defenders of New Spain.

Unlike other regions, no presidios were built here, instead, settlers who received land grants, called porciones, were obligated to defend their territory and were given the same legal rights as soldiers.

“Both Jose Manuel and his father were founders of Mier and received land grants,” Hinojosa explained. “The younger was of age during the American Revolution and qualified as a militia member protecting Spanish territory at a time when Spain was supporting the American cause.”

Spain joined the war in 1779, conducting campaigns along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast, and providing financial, military, and logistical support that more historians now see as crucial to the Revolutionary victory. Yet, few Americans learn about Spain’s role in school.

“Sometimes people question our Mexican American/Spanish place in history and patriotism,” Hinojosa said. “Our ancestors played a role in supporting the American Revolution. We were here before Western expansion, cultivating and defending Spanish territory. This should be told to everyone.”

Hinojosa’s SAR journey began after discovering that the organization expanded eligibility to include Spanish subjects west of the Mississippi from 1775 to 1783, an area that now includes Texas. Having spent over 30 years researching his family, he gathered baptism, marriage, land grant, and census records to establish his lineage. The approval process took approximately nine months.

For Hinojosa, the recognition is deeply personal. “We all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors,” he shared. “Doing this research and gaining membership is my way of honoring our family and their legacy.”

Service runs deep in the family. His father served as a medic in World War II, became an attorney through the GI Bill, and practiced law in Cameron County in the 1950s, sometimes accepting vegetables, labor, or even chickens as payment for helping community members in need. “My father Raul Hinojosa was a Justice of the Peace in San Benito in the 1950s,” he added.

“Both our parents instilled in us charity and service,” Hinojosa noted.

Today, Hinojosa continues that spirit as president of The Mexican American Museum of Texas, leading an upcoming traveling exhibit focused on Spain’s support of the American Revolution and life in Spanish Texas.

“To young people, I say: know your history, honor your ancestors, and take pride in your heritage,” he said. “Patriotism expresses itself in many forms, through service, knowledge, openness, and contribution to community.”