Question: What San Patricio woman became a folk legend after she was hanged in 1863?
Answer: Josefa “Chipita” Rodríguez. Believed to be the daughter of Pedro Rodríguez, who is thought to have fled from Antonio López de Santa Anna, Chipita was accused of murdering a traveler who was carrying $600 of gold. The sheriff who arrested her was the foreman of the grand jury, and a mob tried to lynch her twice.
Although she insisted she was innocent, Chipita was executed on Nov. 13, 1863. Her death inspired the creation of numerous books, several poems, and two operas. In 1985, Gov. Mark White signed a resolution absolving her of murder.
