The Spanish family name Lopez is classified as being of personal name origin.  According to scholars the “oldest and most pervasive type of surname is that derived from a given name.”  Such family names may be derived from a parental first name of from the font name of the grandfather or indeed a more remote ancestor of the original bearer of the surname.  With regard in the family name Lopez, it derives from the name Lope, which in turn derives from the Latin “Lupus”, meaning, “wolf”.  Since the “-ez” ending in Spanish surnames is indicative of personal name origin, the meaning of the family name Lopez may be Interpreted as “Son or descendant of Lope”.  In Spain, surnames derived from personal names have been in use since the ninth century.  These names were not, however, true hereditary names as they tended in change from one generation to the next.

One of the earliest references in this name is a record of one Ferrand Lopez, a silversmith mentioned in 1429, Notable bearers of the surname Lopez, include Juan Lopez (1440-1498), a professor and jurist, Jeraniamo Lopez (1540-1577), a member of the Jesuit order, Diego Lopez (1591 – 1649), a philosopher and theologian, Geranimo Lopez a sculptor cited in 1657 and Eugenio Lopez, a Jesuit priest and professor whose death occurred in 1731, Other bearers of this name who distinguished themselves include Luis Lopez, a choirmaster cited in 1732, Santiago Lopez, a calligrapher mentioned in 1781, Tomas Lopez, a physician who died in 1801, Felipe Lopez, an educator born in 1822, Cristan Daniel Lopez (1838 – 1886), a writer and journalist, Teodoso Lopez, a farmer and rancher (1868 – 1954), Eusebio Lopez, (1915-2000), loving husband, father and family man, and Daniel Eusebio Lopez Sr., (1950- till the good Lord calls him home), Jack of all trades and a master of none.

Heraldic sources indicate that the coat of arms described below was granted in a family bearing the name

LOPEZ.

BLAZON of ARMS: Or, a bend sable between two wolves passant of the second.

Translation:              Or (yellow) denotes Generosity and Elevation of mind.

Crest:                        The ostrich feathers

Origin:                      SPAIN

Diego Lopez - is the earliest known Lopez to have immigrated to America from Spain in 1509.

Nicolas Lopez - Spanish explorer. Irion County - is on U.S. Highway 67 and State Highway 163 in southwest central Texas. It was named for Robert Anderson Irion. Spanish explores Hernan Martin and Diego del Castillo traversed it in 1650. Juan Dominguez de Mendoza and Nicolas Lopez followed in 1684 and reported on local Tonkawa Indians. In 1761 Felipe Rabago y Teran passed through. From 1858 to 1861 coaches of the San Antonio - San Diego Mail and the Butterfield Overland Mail crossed the region. On January 8, 1865, the battle of Dove Creek was fought at the junction of Spring and Dove. 1,400 Kickapoo Indieans and 370 state border guards under Captain Henry Fossett. The area had been part of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant of 1843, but no settlement were established until the late 1870's. In 1874 the area became part of Tom Green County, which was formed that year from 12,500 square miles taken from Bexar County. Cattle and sheep thrived on the well-watered range. John Arden brought the first flock of sheep from California in 1876, and in 1880 the 7D Ranch was established by Billy Childress with longhorn cattle from Atascosa County.

Lopez Peaks - are a two mile range of summits at 31 20' N, 100 52'W in Irion County four miles northwest of Mertzon. The elevations of the peaks range from 2,540 to 2,610 feet above sea level; they surfaced by clay that supports short grasses, juniper and cactus.

Lopez Creek - rises in central Irion County at 31 17' N, 100 55' W and runs east six miles to its mouth. On Spring Creek, three miles north of Mertzon at 31 19' N, 100 46'W. The elevation is 2,150 to 2,300 feet above sea level. Deep loam supports tall grasses and scrub.

Fray Nicolas Lopez - a Franciscan, was custodian of the mission in New Mexico in 1680.

Francisco Lopez de Gamarra - Spanish explorer and sea captain, participated in the search for La Salle. He set sail from Veracruz on June 30, 1687. Lopez and his crew perished in a hurricane on the Carolina Banks on September 18, 1693.

Lopeño, Texas - is on U.S. Highway 83 in southeastern Zapata County. Lopeño was named for Juan Jose Jesus Lopez de Jaen, husband of Dona Ysabel Maria Sanchez Navarro, to whom a 6,366-acre land grant named Senor San Jose, was given by the kind of Spain on July 16, 1767.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna - was born in Jalapa, Vera Cruz on February 21, 1794. He died in Mexico City on June 21, 1876. He was the son of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and Manuela Perez de Lebron,

Jose Teofilo Nicanor Lopez - first known family member was Luis Lopez. Luis married Rafaela Ruiz on December 16, 1850 in Jaral De Progreso, Guanajuato, Mexico. One of their siblings was Ygnacio Lopez. He married Maria Flora Garcia on February 16, 1885. They had seven children, Jose Antonio, Francisico, Natalia, Emilia, Rosa, Victor and Jose Teofilo Nicanor Lopez. Nicanor was born on January 7, 1904 on a ranch named "El Romance" near Victoria De Cortazar in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Pancho Villa shot and killed his father Ygnacio Lopez. Nicanor heartbroken decided to come to Texas seeking a better way of life. He arrived in the Laredo area in early 1924 with a friend. After a few months his friend returned to Mexico, Nicanor went further north of Three Rivers, Texas. There he gained employment as a ranch hand. Nicanor married Irene Cornelia Baladez from Caron on February 28, 1928. They had thirteen children. Nicanor died in Three Rivers, Texas on August 31, 1997.

Albino Lopez -civil and military commandant of Tamaulipas and a subordinate of Mexican president Benito Juarez. Early in 1863 Brigadier General Hamilton H. Bee, confederate commander of the West Sub-District of Texas, approached Albino Lopez to negotiate an agreement for border regulation. In February 1863 an agreement was reached and signed which contained certain classes of criminals would be extradited. (Bee-Lopez Agreement) LOPEZ FAMILY HISTORY

Don Agustin Lopez Negrete - Doroteo Arango born in the state of Durango in 1878, a share-cropper peasant on a hacienda. According to legend, one day when he was sixteen, he returned home from the fields to find that the owner of the hacienda, Don Agustin Lopez Negrete, had raped his sister. Doroteo took up his revolver, shot Don Agustin, and escaped into the mountains. He became a cattle rustler and later joined a band of rustlersthat was led by a man named Francisco "Pancho" Villa. In one of their skirmished with the law, Francisco was killed by mounted police (ruales). Doroteo assumed the name of the fallen leader and took command of the gang.

Josefina O. Lopez - On November 3, 1893 she married Manuel Jesus Ximenez, Wilson County sheriff. Ximenez served as tax assessor and collector, county clerk, deputy sheriff and United States marshal in Wilson County.

Lopez oil field - oil production began in Southwest Texas with a series of small discoveries in McMullen, Calhoun, and San Patricio counties and assumed increasing importance with the opening of the Piedras Pintas field in Duval County and the Mission field in Bexar County in 1907. The Somerset field, discovered accidentally during drilling for a water well in 1913, went into major development in 1920, bringing the first sizable oil production to the area. Southwest Texas continued to be active during the 1930s, with a relatively large discovery, the Tom O' Connor field, in 1934. Other finds of regional significance included the Greta, Sam Fordyce, Loma Novia, Lopez, Placedo, Plymouth, Flour Bluff, Benavides (or North Sweden), and Premont fields.

Lopezville, Texas - is a colonia off Farm Road 1426 two miles south of Edinburg in south central Hidalgo County. The community developed during the early 1960's as a trailer park. In 1976 it had 941 residents and 178 dwellings. By 1986 the colonia consisted of Lopezville and North Lopezville. In 1990 the community's population was estimated at 2,827.

I, Daniel E. Lopez Sr., am not here to condemn nor condone, just merely here to relay some facts. The families in the newspaper article below broke the law, were caught and convicted. They could be related, at the present time I don't know.

The person who is related is the one who wrote the corrido, "Lo Que Paso En Encinal." This particular event inspired her to fulfill a livelong dream. She not only wrote the song, she sang and recorded it. Her name is Josie Ponce de Leon, daughter of Trinidad Cassiano & Estefana Garza.

Hope everyone appreciates this song as much as I do. I think it is wonderful to know of
a relative that has had a dream fulfilled.

My heart goes out to all the individuals whose lives have been scattered by this ordeal.
May the Lord grant you forgiveness if you so desire.

Sincerely,

Daniel E. Lopez Sr.

P.S. What follows is a letter Josie wrote to me dated August 12, 2002:

Hi Danny,

I was flatter over the fact that you're placing my CD in the computer. Thank you. Hope my great grand children will enjoy music as I do.

My singing (Love for singing) goes back to when I was four. I used to memorize the songs on Mom's radio. I would belt out the songs on Tia Jesusa's fence making all kinds of movements, dreaming of being a singer. Too bad my dreams were not encouraged by taking my singing serious.

But hey, that did not stop me from singing in and out of the bathtub.

When the raid took place in Encinal, April 18, 2001, Concha called me at work as it was
happening. I jokingly started humming a corrido tune. Words started popping in my head. By the end of the day I had ¾ of the corrido down.

After three or four months of trying to find some band to take my song, I decided to do it myself. With the help of the recording studio owner, who is also a musician, my CD was done.

My dream came true. I song professionally. It was hard, since I had never used a microphone (recording professional).

The corrido is about real families who I know. All the information in the corrido is facts.

My song is in no way a form of criticism towards the families. I have a family and one can always fall to temptation. May this never happen though.

I'm enclosing a newspaper.

Let me know when you have the info in the computer. If you need any more info, call me Okay?

Love you Cousin
Josie (Pimienta) Ha! Ha!

Laredo Morning Times

Encinal Families Get Time For Smuggling Crimes
By Robert Garcia
Times city editor- Friday, February 15, 2002

All the members of two Encinal-based smuggling rings have now been sentenced in federal court with combined sentences that add up to more than 50 years in prison.

In April 2001, following a 19-month investigation, a wave of federal agents entered the small town north of Laredo on Interstate 35 and arrested 13 defendants.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Texas stated after the arrests that the two groups were as organized as any "drug trafficking organization and as profitable."

Michael T. Shelby, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said Wednesday that the last of 13 defendants charged in two separate indictments was sentenced before Judge Keith P. Ellison, United States District Court.

Federal prosecutors praised the work of several law enforcement agencies in performing the investigation.

"I certainly think that a family that commits a crime together, will have to serve the time together. It's important to know that if you are engaged in a daily life of crime you are going to pay for it. In this case, it did not entail one member but the entire families," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Lou Castillo, who prosecuted the case along with Assistant U. S. Attorney Noelle DiMarco.

Castillo agreed that when all 13 people pleaded guilty, there was a substantial savings had all the defendants otherwise gone to trial.

Castillo credits the work of several law enforcement agencies for putting together such a strong case, an undercover investigation that went on for a year.

"This investigation was handled as an organized crime and drug trafficking investigation that committed resources and a long-term investigation by U.S. Immigration's anti-smuggling unit, DEA Task Force and my office that involved time to make sure everything was carried out correctly," she added.

The undercover investigation focused on two families smuggling aliens and narcotics from the Republic of Mexico through Encinal, Texas, to Lake Worth, Fla.

As a result of evidence gathered during the under-cover operation, Tomas and Maria Alicia Lopez of Encinal were indicted, along with their sons, Esteban Lopez and Mario Lopez; their daughter Patricia Lopez, and her husband Enrique Mata; their granddaughter Maria Lopez; Tomas' brother, Marcelino Lopez; and Tomas' nephew, Gabriel Juan Martinez.

Also charged in separate, but related, indictments were Mauro Rodriguez and his son-in-law Armando Garza, who operated a convenience store and gas station in Encinal, and their employees Jose Soto Jr. and Jose Luis Anastacio Ascencio.

According to evidence presented in court, Tomas and Maria Alicia Lopez residence at 701 N. Tejas in Encinal, served as the headquarters of a large-scale narcotics and alien smuggling operation. The Lopezes used several structures on their family-owned lot to
harbor and conceal aliens and to store marijuana and cocaine bound for San Antonio, Texas, Lake Worth, Fla., and other cities.

On May 31, 2001, Tomas and Maria Lopez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor aliens illegally present in the United States and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana.

On Feb. 7, Tomas Lopez was sentenced to a term of 125 months imprisonment and a fine of $40,000.

Maria Alicia Lopez was sentenced Wednesday to a term of 60 months imprisonment and a fine of $40,000.

In August 2001, Patricia Lopez and Mario Lopez, the adult son and daughter of Tomas and Maria Alicia Lopez, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor aliens illegally present in the United States and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana.

Patricia Lopez was sentenced Dec. 18, to a term of 41 months imprisonment and a fine of $2,000.

Mario Lopez was sentenced on the same date to a term of 60 months imprisonment and a fine of $4,000.

Maria Lopez, who is the adult daughter of Patricia Lopez and the granddaughter of Tomas and Maria Alicia Lopez, and Enrique Mata, who is married to Patricia Lopez, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor aliens illegally present in the United States.

Maria Lopez was sentenced Jan 10 to a term of four-month imprisonment, four-month home confinement and 150 hours of community service.

Esteban Lopez, the adult son of Tomas and Maria Alicia Lopez, and Gabriel Juan Martinez of Lake Worth, Fla., who is the Lopez' nephew, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute in excess of 5 kilograms of cocaine.

Esteban Lopez was sentenced Jan. 10 to a term of 78 months imprisonment and a fine
of $6,000, while Martinez received a sentence of 37 months imprisonment Jan 4.

Tomas Lopez' brother, Marcelino Lopez of Lake Worth, Fla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor aliens illegally present in the United States and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 100 kilograms of marijuana.

On Dec. 18, Marcelino Lopez was sentenced to a term of 27 months imprisonment.

A second indictment returned as a result of this investigation identified another alleged smuggling organization operating out of Encinal and charges Encinal residents Mauro Rodriquez and his son-in-law Armando Garza with conspiracy to harbor and shield aliens from detection and conspiracy to transport aliens.

According to the information presented to the court, Armand Garza, who was described as the head of this organization, used his convenience store business to conceal the harbor aliens waiting for transportation to San Antonio and other northern cities.

Armando Garza, Mauro Rodriquez, and their employees Jose Soto Jr., and Jose Luis Anastiacio Ascencio pleaded guilty Aug. 21 to conspiracy to transport aliens.

On Jan. 30 all four of these defendants were sentenced. Armando Garza was sentenced to a term of 21 months imprisonment.

Mauro Rodriquez was sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment and a fine of $1,000.

Jose Luis Anatacio Ascencio, who was identified as an undocumented alien residing with co-defendant Soto, was sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment, while Soto received a term of 14 months imprisonment.

WARNING!
"Lo Que Paso En Encinal" is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. This song is posted here for your listening pleasure with the consent of the original artist, "Josie Ponce de Leon." You can obtain your own personal copy of, "Lo Que Paso En Encinal" by mailing a check or money order for the amount of $10.00 to Josie Ponce de Leon; P.O. Box 2064; Laredo, TX. 78044. Any copying or public broadcasting without the written consent of J.P. De Leon is strictly prohibited and may subject the offender to civil liability and severe crimal penalties.