Pioneers of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties

Book Title: A Memorial And Biographical History Of The Counties Of Santa Barbara, Ventura, And San Luis Obispo THE PIONEERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS. At each of the California missions a company of soldiers was stationed. In Santa Barbara the soldiers occupied a square called the presidio. This was about 250 yards square, surrounded by a high adobe wall, inside of which were a church and buildings, constructed of adobe, roofed with tiles, and used for shelter by the soldiers. This church was standing until 1853, when a portion of the roof fell; the adobe walls, being thus exposed to rain, soon crumbled away. A part of one of the buttresses still stands near Santa Barbara Street, west of Canon Perdido Street.

A portion of the Californian population of Santa Barbara are descendants of the soldiers of this garrison, who married natives; others are descendants from immigrants from old Spain and other parts of Europe, from Mexico, South America, and the United States.

It is generally conceded that the leading Spanish family in Santa Barbara has been that of de la Guerra, often wrongly called Noriega, from a misapprehension of the Spanish custom by which the children of a family add their mother's patronymic with the prefix "y" ("and") after their father's; this, however, is a matter of compliment to the mother, and the father's remains the lawful family name. Thus the founder of this family, from its mother being a Noriega, was called de la Guerra y Noriega, while his children, whose mother was a Carrillo, wrote their name de la Guerra y Carrillo.

Don Jose de la Guerra y Noriega was born in 1776, at Novales, province of Santander, Spain, of an honorable amily, [sic] whose coat of arms carries their record back to the time of the Moors. The house where he was born still stands, an imposing edifice of Novales, over a century old, with the family arms cut in stone over the two great gateways; it covers a block of land in the principal town of the province.

Young de la Guerra was sent out to a kinsman, a wealthy merchant in Mexico, but he soon sought and obtained a cadetship in the royal army, and in 1800 was appointed ensign in a company stationed at Monterey, California, where he joined it in 1801. In 1804 he married Dona Maria Antonio, daughter of Don Raymundo Carrillo, then commandante of the presidio of Santa Barbara; and in 1806 he was sent hither as the company's lieutenant. In 1810 he was appointed Habilitado General from both Californias to the Vice-Royal Government in Mexico, and, proceeding toward the capital with his family, he was captured at San Blas by the Mexican patriots, then in revolt against the government of Spain, he escaping with his life, while the other men captured with him were assassinated.

The revolution had deprived him of his office; therefore he started back to California; and, performing on the way military service which gave him a better footing with the government, he was appointed in 1811 to the command of troops stationed at San Diego, where for several years he dwelt with his family. In

1817 he was appointed captain and commandante of the troops and Santa Barbara, and here was his home thereafter, with a brief interregnum, when he went to Mexico again as Habilitado General. He was continued in office as captain and commandante until 1828, when he was sent as deputy to the Mexican Congress; but, on reaching the capital, he found his seat contested, and his opponent triumphed. Don Jose now renounced politics and engaged in farming and stock-raising on a large scale, favored by the secularization of the missions.

Within a few years he was owner of eight of the principal ranchos of the district, including Las Posas, Simi, Conejo, San Julian, and others. The ability, integrity, and kindness of this man made him a power among his neighbors, his advice and influence being almost without limit. He was always an arbiter in misunderstandings among his own people, as well as between these and the foreigners who soon came into the country.

His wife, Maria Antonia Carrillo, was regarded as one of the most charitable and benevolent women of the age.

This worthy pair had seven sons and four daughters, and a brief resume of their marriages and descendants will show the important part that this family has continued to play in local history, as well as the fertility of the race.

The eldest son, Jose Antonio de la Guerra y Carrillo, married Concepcion Ortega. Their children were: Jose Antonio, Jose Ramon (graduated at Georgetown, District of Columbia), Guillermo and Alejandro, sons; Dolores, Catarina, Lola, Cristina, and Juana, daughters.

Second son, Juan, was considered the ablest in the family, but died early; was educated in England, being graduated from three colleges.

Third son, Francisco, married Ascencion Sepulveda, and by her had a son, Francisco, and a daughter, Maria Antonia. His second wife was Concepcion Sepulveda, sister of the former wife; by her he had Juan, Osboldo, Jose Hercules, Pablo, and Hanibal, sons; and Anita (Mrs. F. W. Thompson), Herlinda, Rosa, and Diana, daughters.

Fourth son, Pablo, married Josefa Moreno, and had Francisca (Mrs. T. B. Dibblee), Delfina (one of twins), Herminia, and Paulina, all daughters.

Fifth son, Miguel, married Trinidad Ortega; their children were: Gaspar, Ulpiano, and Leon, sons, and Maria (Mrs. Taylor), Josefa, Olympia, Joaquina, and Paulina, daughters.

Sixth son, Joaquin, was for a time sheriff of Santa Barbara County. He never married.

Of the daughters of Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, Teresa, the eldest, married William E. P. Hartnell, of England, and by him had twenty-two children, as follows: Guillermo, Juan, Alvano, Nataniel, George, Franco, Benjamin, Teresa, Matilde, Anita, Magdalena, Amelia, and others whose names cannot be had.

The second daughter, Maria de las Augustias, was married to Manuel Jimeno of Mexico, who was subsequently secretary to several of the governors of California, and intimately connected with land matters after secularization of the missions. Maria had Manuela, Maria Antonia, Augustias, Carolina, daughters; and Jose Antonio, Porfirio, Santiago, Enrique, Belisario, Juan and Alfredo, children by this marriage; and by her second marriage to Dr. Ord, of the United States navy, one daughter, Rebecca Ord. The third daughter, Ana Maria Antonia, married to Alfred Robinson, of Boston, Massachusetts, had James, Alfredo, Miguel, and another James, sons; Elena, Maria, Antonia, and Paulina, daughters.

This lady was the bride referred to in Dana's account of Santa Barbara. Alfred Robinson came from Boston in 1829, on the ship Brooklyn, owned by Bryant, Sturgis, and others. He was for many years engaged in mercantile business, and was the first agent of the Pacific Steamboat Company in 1849. The first son, James, for whom the youngest was named, died at West Point when seventeen years old.

The fourth and youngest daughter of Don Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, named Antonia Maria, married first Cesario Lataillade of Spain, by whom she had Cesario, Jr., and Maria Antonia; contracting a second marriage with Gaspar Orena of Spain, she had Anita, Serena, Rosa, Acacia, and Teresa, daughters; and Leopoldo, Dario, Orestes, and Arturo, sons. This lady, Mrs. Orena, was considered the greatest beauty of the de la Guerra family, or even of the coast.

One of the sons of Don Jose was Don Pablo de la Guerra, a member of the first constitutional convention of California, who, in his life-time, was severally Senator, District Judge of the Fourth Judicial District, and Lieutenant Governor of the State. He was a courteous, intelligent, upright man. He died February 5, 1874.

His predecessor as District Judge was Don Joaquin Carrillo. Judge Carrillo was the first County Judge of this county, and was elected to the district bench in 1852, and served in this capacity eleven years. He neither spoke nor understood the English language; all proceedings in his court were conducted in Spanish. His mind was broad and easily grasped and mastered the most subtle and complicated cases. He based his decisions upon the principles of equity, rather than law. Don Joaquin Carrillo was a warm friend of the Americans. He died February 19, 1868, beloved and lamented.

Another of the prominent families, whose members are now counted by the hundred, was founded by Don Raymundo Carrillo, one of the first commanders of the posts of San Diego and Santa Barbara. He married Tomasa Lugo, daughter of one of the oldest soldiers stationed at Santa Barbara. They had four sons and one daughter, Maria Antonia, already mentioned as the wife of Jose de la Guerra y Noriega, and mother of the de la Guerra y Carrillo family.

The first son of Raymundo Carrillo, Carlos Antonio, married Maria, sister of Governor Castro, and by her had sons: Jose, who married Catarina Ortega; Pedro, who married Josefa Bandini; Jose Jesus, wedded to Tomasa Gutierrez; and daughters, Maria Josefa, who married William G. Dana; Encarnacion, wife of Thomas Bobbins; Francisca, wedded to Alpheus Thompson; Manuela, married to John C. Jones; Maria Antonia, spouse of Lewis C. Burton; and two other daughters, who died young-in all ten children.

Anastacio, Carrillo's second son, married Concepcion Garcia. Their children were: Raymundo, who married Dolores Ortega; Francisco, dead; Luis, married to Refugio Ortega; Guillermo, whose wife was Manuela Ortega; and daughters, Micaela, dead; Manuela, married to Joaquin Carrillo; and Soledad, dead.

Domingo Carrillo, the third son, married Concepcion Pico. They had sons: Joaquin, married to his cousin, Manuela Carrillo; Jose Antonio, who married Felicitas Gutierrez; Francisco, whose wife was Dorotea Lugo; Alejandro, dead; Felipe, dead; and daughters, Maria, wife of J. M. Covarrubias; Angela, married to Ygnacio del Valle; and Maria Antonia, dead.

Jose Antonio Carrillo, the fourth son, married Estefana Pico. His daughter was Luis (or Lewis) Burton's second wife, mother of Ben Burton.

The Ortega family was of the sangre azul, or blue blood of Castile, Spain.

Some of this family emigrated to Guadalaxara, Mexico, and the founder of the California branch was for a time commandante of a cavalry company at Loreto, in La Raja, or Lower California, where were born to him, Captain Jose Maria Ortega, and his wife, Antonia Carrillo, seven children: Ygnacio, Jose Maria, Jose Vicente, Francisco and Juan; and Maria Lnisa and Maria Antonia, daughters.

Ygnacio Ortega married Francisca Lopez, and had sons: Martin, married to Ynocencia Moraga; Jose Vicente, who married Maria Estefana Olivera; and Antonio Maria Jose Dolores, Jose de Jesus and Joaquin, who did not marry; also daughters, Pilar, spouse of the doughty Santiago Arguello; Soledad, wife of Luis Arguello; Maria de Jesus, married to Jose Ramirez; Concepcion, who married Jose Antonio de la Guerra; and Catarina, wife of Jose Carrillo.

Jose Vicente, second son of Captain Ortega, was the founder of the Refugio Rancho, which is still possessed by the family.

Juan Ortega, the fourth son, married Rafaela Arrellanez. Their children were: Emidio, married to Concepcion Dominguez; and daughters, Maria, wife of Guadalupe Hernandez; Buenaventura, wife of Joaquin Cota; Maria Antonia, wife of Pedro Dejeme; and Maria de Jesus, who married Fernando Tico.

Jose Vicente, son of Ygnacio, and grandson of Captain Ortega, married Maria Estefana Olivera, daughter of Ygnacio Olivera, of Los Angeles. The Oliveras were of old Castilian stock, with chivalric ideas of courtesy and honor. Diego Olivera, who died a few years since, wore the old-time garb, with silk stockings, shoes with jeweled buckles, and the sword to bear which he had

hereditary right. It bore engraved the time-honored Spanish motto-"No me saques sin razon, no me emvaines sin honor ("Draw me not in unjust cause, sheath me not with honor dimmed"). This Diego Olivera was brother to Maria Estefana, who gave her husband children as follows: Two sons named Luis, who both died young; Manuel, who died somewhat later; Pedro, and one daughter, Rafaela Luisa, wife of Daniel Hill.

Daniel Hill and his wife, Rafaela Luisa, had children as follows: Rosa, wife of Nicholas A. Den; Josefa, wife of Alexander S. Taylor; Susana, wife of T. Wallace More; Maria Antonia, wife of H. O'Neill; Lucrecia, died young; Adelaida, Helena, daughters; and Vicente, Jose Maria, Juan, Tomas, Ramon, Enrique and Daniel, sons.

The Cotas were another important family, allied by intermarriage with various names which appear on the page of history. At least two women of this family are deserving of mention here, they being also granddaughters of that Corporal Antonio Maria Lugo who came up from Los Angeles to assist in repulsing the "pirate" Bouchard, in 1818. Maria Los Angeles Cota de la Torre, daughter of Don Pablo Cota, ensign of the Santa Barbara company, and of Dona Rosa Lugo, was born at Santa Barbara in 1790. At thirteen years of age she was married to Don Jose Joaquin de la Torre, cadet and commissary at Monterey, and afterwards secretary to Governor Sola. She died at Monterey in 1877, aged eighty-seven years, after seventy-four years of married life. She left three sons, three daughters, forty-three grand- children, thirty-four great-grandchildren, and several great-great-grandchildren.

Maria Ysabel Cota de Pico was born at Santa Barbara, May, 1783. At nineteen years old she married Jose Dolores Pico, one of three brothers who came to California with the first Mexican colony as officers in the military service of the Spanish Vice-royalty in Mexico. Her husband died in 1827, after fifty years of military service. Of this marriage were born thirteen children, who, with their cousins, the Castros, children of their father's brothers, and allies by marriage, were all powerful in the affairs of government in California at the time of the American invasion. This lady was over eighty-six years old when she died. Her descendants numbered over 300, including one of the sixth generation; nearly all live in this State, and they bear the names of the most prominent native families, as well as of many leading American citizens intermarried with them.

Raymundo Olivas, born in Los Angeles in 1801, came northward in 1821. He was the original grantee of the San Miguelito or Casitas Rancho, granted in 1840. He and his wife had twenty-one children. In 1883 he had under his roof in Ventura County, he then being nearly eighty and his wife sixty years old, forty-three descendants, of whom eighteen were their sons and daughters. Moreover, a daughter living at Santa Cruz had already done somewhat toward sustaining the family record, in presenting the country with ten children.

There were other eminent families, bears ing [sic] the names of Del Valle, Arnaz, Camarillo, etc., although the Del Valles, a notable family, now belong

properly to Ventura County.

Among the pioneers not of Spanish or Mexican blood were the following: Joseph Chapman, of Massachusetts, captured from Bouchard's privateer in 1818; settled for a time in Los Angeles County with the Lugos; married Guadalupe Ortega, of Santa Barbara; he built and lived in the adobe house still standing in the rear of the Episcopal church; died in 1848, leaving many descendants.

Captain James W. Burke, a native of Ireland, arrived here from Lima in 1820, and settled permanently in 1828.

William E. P. Hartnell, an Englishman, came here in 1822. He was a notable linguist; was Government translator at Monterey, and translated the statutes into Spanish. He married Teresa de la Guerra, daughter of Don Jose, and they had twenty-two children, of whom a number are still living in this county and San Luis. He died in 1854.

Captain Thomas Bobbins, a native of Nantucket, came here in 1827. He owned the Rancho Las Positas y Calera, adjoining Santa Barbara. Died in 1857.

Captain William G. Dana came from Boston in 1827. He lived mostly at his rancho, Nipomo, in San Luis County, where he died in 1857, and where are still living a number of the twenty-two children borne him by his wife, Maria Josefa Carrillo.

Alfred Robinson came hither from Boston in 1829, on the ship Brooklyn. He married Ana Maria Antonia de la Guerra; was the first agent of the Pacific Steamship Company in 1849, and was for many years a leading merchant. He is a gentleman of intelligence and refinement, and generally esteemed. He still lives in San Francisco. He is the author of a work, "Life in California," published in 1846, and now quite rare. .Robert Elwell, of Boston, arrived in 1825. He was favorably known by all the old citizens. He had a pithy way of expression. One of his sayings was the following: "In politics, I am a Whig; in religion, a Unitarian. I am also a Freemason, and if these won't take a man to Heaven, I don't know what will." He died in 1853.

Daniel A. Hill, of Billerica, Massachusetts, came from the Sandwich Islands to Monterey in 1823, and settled in Santa Barbara the following year. He was the original grantee of La Goleta Rancho, where he died in 1865. He left a large family, who, with their descendants, still reside in Santa Barbara County.

James Buck, of Boston, Massachusetts, arrived from the Sandwich Islands in 1829. His descandants still have a home here.

Captain Alpheus B. Thompson, of Brunswick, Maine, arrived here from Honolulu in 1834. As merchant and ship-master he did business here many years. Three of

his children, C. A. Thompson, A. B. Thompson and Mrs. E. Van Valkenburg are now residents of this vicinity. A. B. Thompson was for twelve years the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County. Captain Thompson died at Los Angeles in the year 1870.

Augustin Jansen, of Belgium, arrived here from Mexico in August, 1834. He has been County Assessor of this county, and a member of the common council of Santa Barbara city.

Julian Foxen arrived in 1828 from England. He was a man of notable character. He died on his rancho, the Tinaquaic, in February, 1874, leaving many descendants.

Lewis F. Burton, of Henry County, Tennessee, came here in 1831, and engaged in otter-hunting, and later he conducted a mercantile business in Santa Barbara for more than thirty years. He was nearly killed by robbers, in the early days, near the site of the present Port Harford, but was nursed back to health by the ladies of the Carrillo family, one of whom he married later on. He died in 1880.

Captain John Wilson, of Scotland, who came hither via Peru in 1830, was long a merchant here. He died in 1860 at San Luis Obispo.

Francis Ziba Branch, of New York, came here from New Mexico in 1833. He engaged in mercantile pursuits; died in 1874 at San Luis Obispo.

Isaac J. Sparks, of Maine, came overland in 1832. He was a merchant, and the first postmaster appointed; he built the first brick house in Santa Barbara, erected in 1854, which now forms a part of the old Park Hotel.

James Scott, of Scotland, came here in 1830 with Captain Wilson, and was his partner in business. He died in 1851.

George Nidever, of Arkansas, came overland in 1834, reaching Santa Barbara in 1835 He was a mighty hunter. He it was who rescued "the lost woman" from San Nicolas.

Captain John F. Smith, native of France, came in 1833 via the Sandwich Islands, built the first wooden dwelling in Santa Barbara, still standing near the gas-house. He died in 1866.

Nicholas A. Den, of Waterford, Ireland, arrived in 1839. He was the grantee of the Rancho Dos Pueblos. He married a daughter of Daniel A. Hill. He died in 1862, leaving ten children.

John C. Jones, of Boston, came hither in 1835 from Honolulu, where he had been United States Consul. He married Manuela Carrillo, whose wedding portion was one-half of Santa Rosa Island, which he, with A. B. Thompson, a brother-in-law, stocked with horses, sheep and cattle. He removed with his family to Boston, and died about 1850.

Albert Packard, a New Englander, arrived via Mazatlan about 1845, and lived

here for many years, being well-known as a prominent lawyer and a wealthy orchardist. He still lives.

Henry J. Dally, of New York, reached Monterey in 1843, and removed to San Luis Obispo in 1848, and to Santa Barbara in j 1853. He was an otter-hunter.

Wm. A. Streeter, a New Yorker, came here via Peru in 1843. A wheelwright by trade, he officiated as a dentist and a physician, and was and is skillful at almost every kind of practical mechanics. He still lives, engaged in various and versatile sorts of handicraft.

Additional Comments: Extracted from: A MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTIES OF Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Illustrated Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future; with Profuse illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery, Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of Prominent Citizens of to-day,

BY MRS. YDA ADDIS STORKE. "A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors -will never achieve anything worthy to he remembered with pride by remote descendants."—Macaulay.

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1891.

Barlow-Sinclair Printing Co., Chicago.