Collectors put family tree books on display

EDINBURG - In the absence of photography or standardized identification, Manuel Carlos Diaz de la Serna y Herrero carried the seal of the king of Spain when he traveled to the New World.

It was stamped into the back of a book that vouched for his noble lineage.

The book, a libro de hidalguia, served as a passport and family tree connecting him to an elite bloodline, affording him privileges in the colonies and exempting him from the crown's taxes.

Today, his book - along with those of 19 other Spanish settlers of Mexico and Texas - occupies a case at the Museum of South Texas History, where an unwitting descendant may well stop to admire its intricate artwork.

The exhibition, shown for the first time in the United States, is only part of a larger collection of cartas de hidalguía belonging to Mission residents Ricardo and Debbie Backal. It is one of the largest private collections of such documents in North America, according to the museum. For many, it is a chance to see if their family lineage matches with those recorded there.

The Backals have yet to find a modern descendant of the families described on the delicate calfskin pages of their books, though. The names Davila, Rincon and Tagle are familiar, but the intervening centuries and the movement of populations make extending the branches of the ornate trees a challenge.

The oldest book was completed in 1525, the most recent in 1909.

The Backals, both in their early 40s, collect all kinds of Spanish colonial art and artifacts, including silver.

The couple and their art collection company, Half Spoon, also have reached into the 20th century with a collection of iconic Mexican calendar paintings on display at South Texas College.

Their art collection, begun by Ricardo's father, is now so extensive they have their own curator, Armando Ceballos, to organize objects and arrange for their display.

"I work solely with these collections, because they're huge," Ceballos says in Spanish, laughing.

"Collection" may well be a misnomer.

The Backals' art has traveled the globe, and what is not currently on display in museums and research centers in the United States, Mexico and Europe is kept in safe storage. Their Sharyland Plantation home harbors only a relative few of their favorite treasures.

On weekdays, they bring some of these to classrooms in La Joya elementary schools, part of "The Museum Goes to School," a curriculum they began teaching last spring.

Some of their students, Debbie says, are creating their own libros de hidalguia. After all, hidalgo is simply a condensation of hijo de algo - child of someone. Originally, it often denoted a Spanish nobleman of the lower class.

Debbie married into collecting, while her husband grew up in flea markets and at auctions looking for treasure. But, she says, the pursuit has come to matter to her and she encourages students to collect anything they like.

"You can learn from yourself through collecting," she says. "It's personal, a part of you, and something you can leave to your kids. Everything has a history."

The libros show the Backals are hardly the first to prize the documents of personal history. Lavishly expensive handwritten and decorated volumes, they were most often gifts from the king in recognition of a service done to the crown.

"Every book you see there, it's one person's history," Debbie says.

The ones they have found are so well preserved, Ricardo adds, they were kept close and protected. The colors are still vibrant and much of the writing remains clear. The words are testimony from neighbors, lawyers and others, all adding evidence to support the identification of a family or a single individual.

Some day, the Backal say, they hope to add the books, along with other documents, to the growing body of genealogical and historical data on the Internet for personal research.

"We've been lucky that we've been able to get them," Ricardo says. "But now we have to share."

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Sara Perkins covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4472.