Rancho La Natividad was a 8642 acres (35 km²) Mexican land grant

Ranchos of California

The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...

 in present day Monterey County, California

Monterey County, California

Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...

 given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Manuel Butrón and his son-in-law, Nicolás Alviso. Rancho La Natividad and Rancho Los Vergeles

Rancho Los Vergeles

Rancho Los Vergeles was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County and San Benito County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Joaquín Gómez. The name means "flower garden". Rancho La Natividad and Rancho Los Vergeles were adjoining ranchos, north of present day...

 were adjoining ranchos along Gabilan Creek north of present day Salinas

Salinas, California

Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...

. The headquarters of each rancho were close to the entrance to the pass through the Gabilan Range

Gabilan Range

The Gabilan Range or Gabilan Mountains are located on the Pacific Coast Range of California's Central Coast trending in a northwest-southeast direction along the Monterey County and San Benito County line. It is bordered by the Diablo Range, the San Andreas Fault, and State Route 25 to the east and...

 to San Juan Bautista

San Juan Bautista, California

San Juan Bautista is a city in San Benito County, California, United States. The population was 1,862 at the 2010 census, up from 1,549 at the 2000 census. The city of San Juan Bautista was named after Mission San Juan Bautista...

. The Rancho La Natividad grant encompassed present day Natividad

Natividad, California

Natividad is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located northeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 164 feet ....

.

History

Manuel Butrón and Nicolás Alviso received the two square league Rancho La Natividad in 1837. Butrón had been occupying the land for a long time before the date of the grant. Manuel Josef Butrón (4-8-1776–1842) , born in [Monterey, Monterey County, Alta California, New Spain], was the son of Manuel Butrón (1727-January 4, 1793)--Manuel Butron was buried in the floor of the chapel of Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Carmelo, Monterey County, Alta California, New Spain [often referred to as the Monterey Mission], a Spanish soldier who came to California in 1769, and later received the first California land grant in 1775. Manuel Josef Butrón married María Ygnacia Rita Higuera ((1778–1844) baptized February 13, 1778 at the Santa Clara Mission buried at Mission San Juan Baptista Cemetery, San Benito County, Alta California, Mexico)[daughter of Jose Manuel Higuera (1769–1803)and Maria Ygnacia Antonia Limon Redondo] married on January 30, 1794 at Mission Santa Clara, Santa Clara County (Now Alameda County), Alta California, New Spain. Their daughter Barbara Isabel Butron (11-20-1796 - February 1, 1848) married Angel Maria Dolores Castro on December 12, 1812. Their daughter Rosa Maria Josefa Buitron (August 30, 1812–December 13, 1890) married Vicente Canet of Rancho San Bernardo on October 14, 1828. Their daughter Maria Ramona Sixta Butrón (March 1819–) married Jerimiah McMahon on March 10, 1848. Their daughter Bárbara Gertrudis Butrón (12-3-1794–) married Nicolás Alviso on February 12-1813. Nicolás Alviso (1792–1844), the son of Francisco Javier Alviso, served as majordomo at Mission Soledad. Their daughter Maria Ygnacia Vicenta Butron (April 5, 1801 - August 2, 1830) married Jose Quintin Ortega on November 9, 1817. Their daughter Maria Juana Lorenza Butron (January 31, 1803-?) married Joaquin Soto on May 10, 1818. Their son Juan de Dios Butron (January 12, 1805- ?) married Ramona Gonzales on January 11, 1832 at the San Juan Baptista Mission. Their son Felipe de Jesus Casmiro Butron (March 2, 1810 - <1853) married Casmira German on February 2, 1835. Their son Manuel Salustriano Butron (June 9, 1823–1872) married Maria Antonia Buelna on October 27, 1845. Their daughter Antonia Francisca Emigdia Butron married William Robert Garner((1803–1849) born in England) on November 25, 1831. William Robert Garner ran a Redwood lumber mill distributing redwood lumber for building the missions (fixing earthquake damage) and the other buildings of the area and time.

With the cession

Mexican Cession

The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...

 of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

 provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho La Natividad was filed with 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 1853, and the grant was patented

Land patent

A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...

 to Maria Ramona Butrón and Jerimah McMahon in 1874.

Historic sites of the Rancho

Battle of Natividad

Battle of Natividad

The Battle of the Natividad took place on November 16, 1846 in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California, during the California Campaign of the Mexican-American War, between United States organized California militia and loyalist Mexican militia.-Battle:San Juan Bautista was...

. The Mexican-American War battle took place on the rancho on November 16, 1846.