José Nicolás Ballí served as a secular priest and missionary; he also managed large amounts of land where he ran a ranching operation. In 1804 he founded the first ethnic Mexican settlement on the island as the town of ""El Rancho Santa Cruz de Buena Vista"" (later known as Lost City). In 1827 after Mexico achieved independence, Father Ballí requested a clear title to the property of Padre Island. His mother Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí had made a joint application with him for eleven leagues of the island, but when reapplication was required in 1800, she withdrew her name in favor of him.