Freer, Duval County
In 1868, Captain Edward Nixon Gray and his wife, Rosa Garza-Garcia Gray, began to operate a Duval County ranch. Through a series of land purchases and improvements, the Grays developed El Rancho La Gloria, one of the largest ranches in south Texas. Edward Nixon Gray was born in 1826 in Auckland, England. He immigrated to Texas with his family by 1836. Gray later volunteered in the Republic of Texas, U.S. and Confederate militaries; he was also a printer, political leader and entrepreneur. Gray met Rosa Garza-Garcia while operating a mercantile business in Concepcion (Duval County). They married in 1853 and had 14 children; among their children were three daughters who became teachers and a son whom President Theodore Roosevelt appointed as postmaster of Laredo. At one time, El Rancho La Gloria extended to approximately 40,000 acres and supported thousands of sheep, cattle, oxen and horses. The property contained a two-story, 22-room mansion and a school, which was attended by the chilren of the Grays and of ranch hands. By the 1890s, drought, animal disease and economic depression led to the demise of this and other area ranches. Edward Gray died from influenza in 1897 and was buried on the ranch property. Rosa Gray sold the homestead in 1901 and moved to San Marcos (Hays Co.); she died in San Antonio (Bexar Co.) in 1917 and is interred there. Many of the structures on the ranch fell into disrepair, though the Temple Ranch began preservation work on this property in the late 20th century. Today, El Rancho La Gloria is remembered as a major south Texas ranching operation whose owners played a vital role in the development of Duval County. (2009)