José María Alvarado was the son of Juan Bautista Alvarado (a soldier and cousin to the governor by the same name

Juan Bautista Alvarado

Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...

) and María Raimunda Yorba.

Life

Alvarado's grandfather, the elder Juan Bautista Alvarado, accompanied Gaspar de Portolà

Gaspar de Portolà

Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira was a soldier, governor of Baja and Alta California , explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey. He was born in Os de Balaguer, province of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, of Catalan nobility. Don Gaspar served as a soldier in the Spanish army in Italy and Portugal...

 as an enlisted man in 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...

 Army in 1769. Alvarado's father, Juan Bautista Alvarado, was the grantee of Rancho Rincon del Diablo

Rancho Rincon del Diablo

Rancho Rincon del Diablo was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1843 to Juan Bautista Alvarado. The name means "the devil's corner" or "the devil's lurking place"...

.

José María Alvarado married Lugarda Dionisia Osuna, daughter of Juan María Osuna

Juan María Osuna

Juan María Osuna was an early settler of San Diego, California-Life:Juan María Osuna was born 1785 in California to Juan Hismerio Osuna and Maria Alvarado. He was a soldier and corporal of the San Diego Company and settled in San Diego...

. In 1840, Sgt. Alvarado was given Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos

Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos

Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos was a Mexican land grant in present day northern San Diego County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose María Alvarado. The name means little valleys of St. Mark...

 Mexican land grant by his cousin, Governor Alvarado. The rancho was located in present San Marcos, California

San Marcos, California

San Marcos is a suburb of San Diego in the North County section of San Diego County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 83,781. Outside the San Diego region, it is best known as the home of California State University, San Marcos...

. In 1842, Alvarado was Suplente (Substitute Justice of the Peace) of San Diego.

During the Mexican-American War, Alvarado fought in the Battle of San Pasqual

Battle of San Pasqual

The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican-American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of San Diego, California. On December 6 and December 7, 1846, General Stephen W...

 in 1846. After the battle, Alvarado was one of 11 men captured by an Indian band in the home of José Antonio Serrano, owner of Rancho Pauma

Rancho Pauma

Rancho Pauma was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Antonio Serrano, Blas Aguilar, and José Antonio Aguilar...

. They were taken to an Indian ranchería at Agua Caliente, on Rancho San José, and killed in what was known as the Pauma Massacre

Pauma Massacre

The Pauma Massacre occurred in December 1846, north of Escondido, California. Luiseño Indians killed eleven Mexicans, Californio lancers who had stolen horses from them...

. Alvarado's widow, Lugarda, later married Jesús Machado, who owned Rancho Buena Vista

Rancho Buena Vista (Felipe)

Rancho Buena Vista was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Felipe, an Indian. The name means "good view" in Spanish...

.