DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Padre Island and the man who gave it his name. Now, before it was Padre Island, this long narrow strip of Texas coast went by two other names — Corpus Christi Island, or Isla Santiago. But the name that stuck came from one man, and that man was Padre Jose Nicolas Balli, born sometime in the seventeen seventies and gone by eighteen twenty-nine.
The question mark on his birth year is the marker's, not mine — even the records from that era weren't always sure of themselves. What they were sure of was this family. The Ballis had migrated from Spain all the way back in fifteen sixty-nine, and by the time Padre Jose Nicolas came along, they were large landowners in the lower Rio Grande Valley, influential in military and governmental affairs.
That is not a family that drifts quietly through history. Padre Balli was ordained around seventeen ninety, and in eighteen hundred he went straight to Spain's King Charles IV — not a local official, not a regional governor, the King himself — and applied for eleven and a half leagues of land on the island. That is ambition with a capital A.
He had the land surveyed, and by eighteen hundred and four he had started the first settlement on the island, Rancho Santa Cruz, situated about twenty-six miles from the southern tip. He got ranching going out there too, bringing in large herds of cattle, horses, and sheep. His nephew, Juan Jose Balli, served as Mayordomo — that's Foreman — and helped him run the whole operation.
He also began the island's first mission, both for the settlers already there and to Christianize the Karankawa Indians. Now, Padre Balli wasn't just tending one flock. He served as missionary and as the collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley.
That's a man carrying a considerable load. And he wasn't carrying it alone — his mother, Dona Rosa Maria de Hinojosa, provided financial aid that helped him open the first mission in what is now Cameron County, and he went on to begin a church and the first school at what is now Matamoros, Mexico. His ministry reached into the lives of early settlers across south Texas.
He was buried near Matamoros. A man who applied to a king, settled a barrier island, built schools and missions, ranched the coast, and shaped a region — and the island still carries his name today. Not a bad accounting for one life.
What the marker says
First called Corpus Christi Island or Isla Santiago, Padre Island was named for Padre Jose Nicolas Balli (177?-1829). His family migrated from Spain in 1569 and became large landowners in the lower Rio Grande Valley, influential in military and governmental affairs. Ordained about 1790, Padre Balli applied to Spain's King Charles IV in 1800 for 11 1/2 leagues of land on the island. Padre Balli had the land surveyed and in 1804 started the first settlement, Rancho Santa Cruz, about 26 miles from the southern tip. He began the island's first mission for the settlers and to Christianize the Karankawa indians. With help from a nephew, Juan Jose Balli, as "Mayordomo" or Foreman, Padre Balli started ranching, bringing in large herds of cattle, horses, and sheep. Padre Balli served as missionary and the collector of finances for all churches in the Rio Grande Valley. With financial aid from his mother Dona Rosa Maria de Hinojosa, he opened the first mission in present Cameron County and began a church and the first school at present Matamoros, Mexico. Padre Balli's ministry influenced the lives of early settlers in south Texas. He was buried near Matamoros.