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