José de los Santos Berreyesa
Encyclopedia
José de los Santos Berreyesa (April 28, 1817 – October 30, 1864), a member of the Berreyesa family
, was the last alcalde
of Alta California
. Fluent to a high degree in both English
and Spanish
, he served as a witness on many land grant cases before the Public Land Commission
in the 1850s and 1860s.
.
Berreyesa served as alcalde at the Presidio of Sonoma
, but was jailed with two of his brothers by John C. Frémont
in 1846 during the Bear Flag Revolt. When his father traveled up to see how his three sons were being treated in jail, the father and two cousins, twin sons of Francisco de Haro
, were shot and killed in San Rafael
by a group of three men, including Kit Carson
, assigned the task by Frémont. The dead were stripped of their belongings, and left for mission Indians to bury. When Berreyesa asked whether his father had been killed, Frémont said it might have been a man named Castro. A soldier of Frémont's was seen wearing the father's serape, and Frémont refused to assist Berreyesa in retrieving it as a final token of his father to give to his mother. The three Berreyesa brothers resorted to buying the serape from the soldier for the extortionate price of $25. Later, Carson told Jasper O'Farrell that he regretted killing the Californios, but that the act was only one such that Frémont ordered him to commit.
Berreyesa married Francisca Ignacis Martínez (1824–1907), a twin daughter of Ygnacio Martínez. The couple produced four sons and two daughters during 1848–1856.
Berreyesa claimed Rancho Mallacomes
in Napa County, California
, and was granted the patent for it. He died in Martinez, California
on October 30, 1864.
Berreyesa family
The Berreyesa family was a substantial clan of Basque-heritage Spanish-speaking settlers in early Northern California who held extensive land in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...
, was the last alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...
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,...
. Fluent to a high degree in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, he served as a witness on many land grant cases before the Public Land Commission
Public Land Commission
The Public Land Commission, a former agency of the United States government, was created following the admission of California as a state in 1850 . The Commission's purpose was to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in California.California Senator William M...
in the 1850s and 1860s.
Life
José de los Santos Berreyesa was born in San Francisco, the sixth child and fourth son of José de los Reyes BerreyesaJosé de los Reyes Berreyesa
José de los Reyes Berrelleza was born at Mission Santa Clara de Asís in Las Californias on January 6, 1785, the third child and first son in the family of María Gertrudis Peralta and Nicholas Antonio Berrelleza. He served as an army sergeant at El Presidio Real de San Francisco. In 1805, he...
.
Berreyesa served as alcalde at the Presidio of Sonoma
Presidio of Sonoma
El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks, was a military outpost established in Alta California in 1836. It was built to house troops under General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the Commandant of the Northern Frontier, as part of Mexico's strategy to subdue the Native Americans of the Sonoma Valley...
, but was jailed with two of his brothers by John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
in 1846 during the Bear Flag Revolt. When his father traveled up to see how his three sons were being treated in jail, the father and two cousins, twin sons of Francisco de Haro
Francisco de Haro
Francisco de Haro was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834.-Life:De Haro was born in Compostela, Nayarit, Mexico and came to San Francisco in 1819. He was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834. He was instrumental in planning the street grid of the town along with Englishman William A....
, were shot and killed in San Rafael
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
by a group of three men, including Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
, assigned the task by Frémont. The dead were stripped of their belongings, and left for mission Indians to bury. When Berreyesa asked whether his father had been killed, Frémont said it might have been a man named Castro. A soldier of Frémont's was seen wearing the father's serape, and Frémont refused to assist Berreyesa in retrieving it as a final token of his father to give to his mother. The three Berreyesa brothers resorted to buying the serape from the soldier for the extortionate price of $25. Later, Carson told Jasper O'Farrell that he regretted killing the Californios, but that the act was only one such that Frémont ordered him to commit.
Berreyesa married Francisca Ignacis Martínez (1824–1907), a twin daughter of Ygnacio Martínez. The couple produced four sons and two daughters during 1848–1856.
Berreyesa claimed Rancho Mallacomes
Rancho Mallacomes
Rancho Mallacomes was a Mexican land grant in present day Napa County and Sonoma County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José de los Santos Berreyesa...
in Napa County, California
Napa County, California
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
, and was granted the patent for it. He died in Martinez, California
Martinez, California
Martinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings...
on October 30, 1864.