Concepción Argüello - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

María Concepción Argüello (February 19, 1791 – December 23, 1857) was the daughter

Daughter

A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Etymology:...

of José Darío Argüello

José Darío Argüello

José Darío Argüello was a Spanish soldier and California pioneer, and twice governor of California.-Biography:José Darío Argüello was born in Santiago de Querétaro, New Spain ....

, the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

governor of Alta California

Alta California

Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...

and Presidio Commandante.

She was born at the Presidio of San Francisco

Presidio of San Francisco

The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...

and at 15 she fell in love with Nikolai Rezanov

Nikolai Rezanov

Nikolay Petrovich Rezanov was a Russian nobleman and statesman who promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California. One of the ten barons of Russia, he was the first Russian ambassador to Japan , and participated in the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe ,...

, head of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n expedition to Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. His expedition had hard times in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

and his involvement with Argüello was first motivated by practical considerations since the Spanish

Spain

Crown did not permit any help to Russians. But later on all practical considerations went away and Nikolai went to Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

to ask permission of the tsar for him to be able to marry Concepcion. But during his trip he fell from horseback, became sick and died. He is buried in Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

n city of Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...

.

Argüello never learned his fate and continued to wait for him till the end of her life, rejecting all other men. Later she became a nun in Monterey, California

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

and remained in the sisterhood until her death, afterwards moving to Benicia, California

Benicia, California

Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...

.

By other source of information, Argüello was waiting for permission of Pope to get married. She found out about the death of Nikolai Rezanov

Nikolai Rezanov

. In 1808, a year after Resanov's death of cold in Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk

, head of Russian American Company Alexander Baranov wrote to brother of Argüello about that and freed her from the engagement, but she chose to stay celibate and became a nun.

Argüello died in 1857 and is now buried in Saint Dominic's Cemetery, Benicia, where her remains were moved from St Catherine Covent cemetery in 1894. A monument marks her grave.

In culture

Francis Bret Harte wrote a ballad descripting her fate, where Rezanov was referred to as Count von Resanoff, the Russian, envoy of the mighty Czar.
Novel "Concha: My Dancing Saint" by Rebecca Lawrence Lee
Soviet rock-opera and movie "Juno and Avos" composed by Alexey Rybnikov, libretto by Andrei Voznesensky

External links

Concepción Argüello on The California Museum's California Legacy Trails
Mast, Sister M. Jane, S.H.F. "Concepcion Arguello in the California story : fact versus fiction." M.A. thesis, University of San Francisco, 1962.
.p.68 portrait of Concepción Argüello
original burial site
2nd burial site

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