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Matriarch

Family Matriarch

As is common in Spanish families, MaNene, as we all addressed her, was a strong family matriarch. My grandmother was responsible for transitioning her children to the American way of life and a most difficult accomplishment when her environment was constantly changing with the advent of the telephone, television, indoor plumbing, washing machine, etc., to the Brownsville area. MaNene lived through two World Wars, the stockmarket crash, the Great Depression, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Here is a picture of her as a teenager.

In 1945, her husband and our grandfather, Jose Campos, was called to serve in the U.S. Army.

Here is a picture of the existing Campos family in 1945: Santos in the background, Arturo, Joe Jr., MaNene and Belia.


Her grandfather and our great-great-grandfather, Timoteo Solis, was a Texas Ranger; the family resided in Point Isabel. Records of the Texas Rangers indicate the initials for CPT McNelly are incorrect and the date of the event in this Brownsville Herald article has been transposed. The name should be CPT Leander Harvey (L.H.) McNelly and the correct date is 1875. CPT L.H. McNelly commanded a special force company created in 1870 during the reorganization of the Texas Rangers. It was a volunteer militia of the Texas Rangers. CPT McNelly secured the name "diablos Tejanos" label for his rangers.

Click here for another story printed in the Brownsville Herald for additional information on CPT McNelly and his rangers. This article also confirms the stories told by Arturo Campos that his great grand-father traded merchandise with the Confederate army (please ask Sandra to hear his voice recording on cassette tape).