![By Jane Clements Monday and Frances Brannen Vick By Jane Clements Monday and Frances Brannen Vick](https://www.truewestmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/jf08_petraslegacy_250.jpg)
Petra Vela Kenedy, torn between her native homeland and her new life in Texas, lived through the 1846-48 Mexican-American War.
She and her husband Mifflin built one of the richest ranches in Texas and raised a family to carry on their legacy for generations. The family heartbreak and financial losses are no match to Petra’s strength as she holds her family together. This is a story of a woman’s resolute will for land and life, and an unyielding love for family and heritage.