Editor’s Note
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Welcome to the first edition of the newsletter. As a direct descendant of several of the founding families of California and a California his torian, genealogist, and researcher I am always surprised and delighted to learn new stories and facts about the rich heritage and history of southern California. This newsletter will serve as a space to share what I learn with you the readers. In a way, I am simply following in.the footsteps of my grandfather, Frank Winterbourne who was editor and publisher for many years of the old Coastline Dispatch newspaper and who often wrote stories about Orange County history. Too, there is the tradition of my gr--great grandfather, Pablo Pryor and His father-in-law Juan Abila, who both shared their memories of early days in California with William Bancroft for his monumental History of California. You could say this stuff – like the history of California itself – is in my blood
Old Man River – The Santa Ana At 96 miles in length, the Santa Ana River is the largest river in southern California with a drainage basin that today spans four counties. It is claimed that habitation along the great river has been going on for between 9000-12000 years. Even before they had become the tribes known as the Tongva and Gabrielenos, the Native Americans had used the Santa Ana River as a source of sustenance. By about 1500, the local Native Americans had begun to settle into villages, some permanent, others seasonal, within the river basin. It’s estimated that by that time there may have been as many as 15000 people spread across four main tribal groups: The Serranos of the San Bernardino Mountains who called themselves the Yuharetum; The Luiseno or Payomkowishum; the Cahuilla or Kawia; and the Gabrielenos who called themselves the Tongva. In 1542, the explorer Juan de Cabrillo is said to have sailed past the mouth of the Santa Ana River on his way to the Channel Islands off the Ventura coastline. It would be 227 years before the first explorers by land – the expedition of Portola and Serra --would cross the river.
Contact: california_william@yahoo.com
Tule thatched hut, typical of the Tongva dwellings
Tongva native woman, early 20 th century
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California’s Confederate Sheriff: Tomas Avila Sanchez As we commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, it’s time, too, to take a look at California’s little-known stories of that turbulent time. Many people, for example, don’t realize that it was California’s gold which strongly helped finance the war. Long after the strike of ’49, millions of dollars worth of gold was shipped back east to pay for soldiers, ammunition, and supplies, as well as paying for the government to continue running. Even less known is the fact that southern California actually fielded a Confederate militia known as The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles which had among its officers, the county sheriff! As the only Free State militia unit that "went Confederate," their story is as unique as anything in American history. .On March 7, 1861 – over a month before the first shots were fired upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina – Los Angeles county judge William Dryden officially recorded the muster of The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles. Among the names on the roster are included several of my ancestral cousins – Abilas and Ruiz, among others – as well as newly-elected 2nd Lieutenant – and current county sheriff – Tomas Avila Sanchez. Sanchez already had served as a lancer among the Californios fighting in the Mexican-American War and three consecutive terms on the county Board of Supervisors. Now, he had become a Confederate officer. As sheriff, Sanchez helped supply the Mounted Rifles with arms and munitions, including a small cannon which had been designated for another pro-Union militia unit. Under close surveillance by Federal troops in Los Angeles, Sanchez did not leave either the state nor his office while the rest of the Mounted Rifles made their way to Texas, escorting – by the way –Albert Sydney Johnson who would later be made the second-highest ranking general in the Confederate Army by his friend, President Jefferson Davis. A voyage made possible by California’s Confederate sheriff – Tomas Avila Sanchez. More stories about the men of The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles during the Civil War in upcoming issues
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HISTORY NEWS The San Juan Capistrano Historical Society is planning a commemoration in 2012 for the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Juan Abila/Avila, ranchero and the man who effectively ended the Mexican-American War in Los Angeles by carrying the flag of truce (his own white handkerchief!). Contact the Society for more information: Online at http://sjchistoricalsociety.com/. Page 2
Los NiĂąos If you think proud parents and grandparents showing off photographs of their kids is something very 20th century, then take a look at these family photos from the 18th and 19th centuries.
. Teresa Pryor (1866-1938) ; Rosa Modesta Avila-Pryor (1835-1915) with granddaughter. Dorothy Marie York (1907-1991) Daughters, Susanna and Ysidora, of Marcos Antonio Forster and Maria Guadalupe Avila (taken about 1891).
UP NORTH IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY 2012 also marks the bi-centennial of the establishment of Fort Ross by Russians in Santa Rosa, Sonoma county. The settlement of Ross was established by the Russian - American Company, a commercial hunting and trading company chartered by the tsarist government, with shares held by the members of the Tsar’s family, court nobility and high officials. Fort Ross was a major trading center from 1812 to 1841 and controlled all Russian exploration, trade, and settlement in the North Pacific. It was also the site of California's first windmills and shipbuilding More information on bi-centennial events at Fort Ross found online here: http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/
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SHOW ME THE HISTORY Want to travel back in time and see where southern California history was lived and made? Our counties abound with historical treasures preserved through the commitment and dedication of volunteers keeping our heritage and history alive. One of the first big ranchos – Los Nietos – with over 300,000 acres of land was given to a Spanish Army noncommissioned officer, Manuel Nietos in the late 1700s for his military service. Later disputes with the Mission at San Gabriel reduced the original grant to 167,000 acres, but still quite large enough to graze cattle and build some adobes. To give you an idea of the size of the Rancho Los Nietos, today it would encompass the following cities: Anaheim, Artesia, Buena Park, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Cerritos, Downey, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Lakewood, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Naples, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, and Whittier. Later bought and sold by early entrepreneur Abel Stearns and lastly owned by the famous oil-wealthy Bixby Family, Los Alamitos Rancho is lovingly restored to historical elegance at 6400 Bixby Hill Rd in Long Beach and is open for guided and public tours. UPCOMING EVENT: Children’s Fall Harvest Festival: Starry Sky - Harvest Moon – Sunday, October 30, 2011 - 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m - Free Admission = Free Parking More information on Rancho Los Alamitos can be found here: http://www.rancholosalamitos.com/
Sheep-shearing at Rancho Los Alamitos, 1870
The garden path at Rancho Los Alamitos
COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE Epidemics: Smallpox and Flu Otter Trapping: The Soft Gold of California Old Man River – The Santa Ana, Part 2 And more Page 4