About the Author

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.