This superb work of history tells the story of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley and the people who struggled to make this
daunting land their home. Spanish conquistadors and Mexican
revolutionaries, cowboys and ranchers, Texas Rangers and
Civil War generals, entrepreneurs and empire builders are
all a part of this centuries-long saga, thoroughly researched
and skillfully presented here.

Steamboats used the inland waterway as a major transport
route, and fortunes were made when the river served as the
Confederacy’s only outlet for money and munitions. Mexican
presidents and revolutionaries, European empires and
investors, American cattle kings and entrepreneurs all
considered this river frontier crucial. Men, women, and beasts
braved the unforgiving climate of this land, and its cattle
and cowboys gave rise to the great cattle drives up the 
Chisholm Trail to Kansas. It was and remains a crossroads
of international cultures.

In this moving account of the history of the families of the
Santa Anita land grant, almost two hundred years of the history
of the lower Rio Grande Valley (1748–1940) are revealed. An
important addition to any collection of Texas history, I Would
Rather Sleep in Texas is one of the most complete studies of
the lower Rio Grande, abundantly illustrated with maps and
photographs, many never before published.

In 1790 the Santa Anita, a Spanish land grant, was awarded to 
merchant José Manuel Gómez. After the land passed to
Gómez’s widow, part of the grant was acquired by María Salomé
Ballí, the daughter of a powerful Spanish clan. Salomé Ballí
married Scotsman John Young, and her family connections
combined with his business acumen helped to further assemble
the Santa Anita under one owner.

In 1859, after Young’s death, Salomé struggled to hold onto her
properties amid bandit raids and the siege of violence waged in
the region by borderland caudillo Juan Nepomuceno Cortina.
Soon after the beginning of the Civil War, she married Scotch-
Irish immigrant John McAllen. They participated in the rapid
wartime cotton trade through Matamoros and had business
associations with a group of men—Mifflin Kenedy, Richard King,
Charles Stillman, and Francisco Yturria—who made fortunes that
influenced businesses nationwide. Rare firsthand accounts by
Salomé Ballí Young de McAllen, John McAllen, and their son,
James Ballí McAllen, add to a deeper understanding of the
blending of the region’s frontier cultures, rowdy politics, and
periodic violence. 

All the while, the Santa Anita remained the cornerstone of the
business and stability of this family. As the lower Rio Grande
Valley moved into the modern era, land speculation led economic
activity from 1890 through 1910. The construction of railroads
brought improved means for transportation and new towns,
including McAllen, Texas, in 1905. The book’s ending reveals how,
in 1915, Mexican warfare again spilled over the banks of the Rio
Grande with deadly results, tragically affecting this family for
the next twenty-five years. I Would Rather Sleep in Texas
tells a remarkable story that covers a broad sweep of Texas and
borderlands history.
_________________________________________________________

MARY MARGARET McALLEN AMBERSON, a graduate of the
University of Texas at Austin and student of history and
anthropology, worked with her father, JAMES A. McALLEN, who
compiled extensive notes, research, and data on South Texas and
Valley history. His mother, MARGARET H. McALLEN, a former
member of the TSHA and the Texas Historical Commission, began
the book project in 1978.


What people are saying about this book


“I Would Rather Sleep in Texas is a captivating, meticulously 
researched book that chronicles the life and times of some of
the most remarkable people in the long and often violent history
of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. . . . Fast-paced, readable, and
well balanced, the book is essential reading for anyone wanting
to understand the history of the Valley and South Texas.”—Jerry
Thompson,Texas A&M International University

“This is a valuable book covering a much-ignored but colorful,
historic, and increasingly important region of Texas. The retelling
of the many campaigns that have bloodied the storied Rio Grande
has been usefully compiled into one volume . . . the primary
source material about the people of the Santa Anita land grant
is priceless and will be a great help to future historians of our
state. Margaret McAllen, a great lady whom I knew and loved,
would be proud of the fruits of her inspiration.”—T. R.
Fehrenbach, Historian

“I Would Rather Sleep in Texas is a kaleidoscope of family 
dynamics, land tenure, business foundations, economic shifts,
war and peace, and intercultural alliances. Starting in the 19th
century, the Santa Anita land grant became the grand stage upon 
which several intertwined pioneer families (Gómez, Domínguez,
Ballí, and McAllen) and their descendents acted out their goals,
calamities, victories, durabilities, and renewals. Across the
centuries the commingling of established Spanish families and
newcomers produced the vibrant historical tapestry of the Lower
Rio Grande Valley. This important contribution to South Texas
studies is an exemplary model for the research and writing of
borderlands history.”—Félix D. Almaráz Jr., University of
Texas at San Antonio

“A vivid history of America’s last and least known frontier.
Through the lives and the land of a pioneer family, including its
strong, entrepreneurial women, this book brings to life the
turbulent Texas-Mexican borderlands. This story is made even
more compelling and significant in light of today’s successful
and vigorous commerce between the United States and Mexico,
furthered by the effects of the North American Free Trade
Agreement and swelling multiculturalism.”—Anne Armstrong,
South Texas Ranch family and former ambassador to the Court
of St. James