Rancho Monserate
Encyclopedia
Rancho Monserate was a 13323 acres (53.9 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day San Diego County, California
given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico
to Ysidro María Alvarado. The grant extended south and east of the present day Fallbrook
down to the San Luis Rey River
. The grant was bounded on the west by Pico's Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores
.
. Shortly after bearing three children, Micaela died from unknown causes, and Alvarado married her sister Manuela Lorenzo Avila.
With the cession
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Monserate was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1853, and the grant was patented
to Ysidro María Alvarado on July 17, 1872.
epidemic began in Mission San Juan Capistrano
in 1862 and appeared to be spreading south toward San Diego. To keep them safe, Alvarado sent his children to Los Angeles
to stay with their uncle, Francisco Avila. The disease raged through the rancho, killing Ysidro Alvarado and his wife in 1863 along with 21 ranch hands and domestic servants. After a number of smallpox victims were interred at Mission San Luis Rey, Colonel Cave Johnson Couts of Rancho Guajome
, at that time owner of the mission grounds, made it known that he would not allow any further burials. However, on January 13, 1863, the family and friends of Ysidro Alvarado chose to honor his dying wish and bury him at the mission graveyard. Tomas Alvarado, present at the ceremony, wrote that, as dirt was being thrown on the casket of Ysidro Alvarado, Couts's brother William Blount Couts and two of his trusted men challenged the mourners from the wall of the graveyard, holding guns and shouting "Como diputado del Sherif del condado, no es permitido que este Señor se entierra aqui" ("As deputy of the sheriff of the county, [I say] it is not permitted to bury this man here.") Couts was aiming a double-barreled shotgun at them, and Leon Vasquez of the burial party picked up a shovel and ran toward the threat. Couts fired one barrel and missed Vasquez. As Vasquez jumped onto the wall, Couts shot him in the face and killed him. The rest of the unarmed burial party scattered in fear of their lives as more shots were fired at them, wounding two. Colonel Cave Couts explained the incident the next day, saying "In avoiding the loathsome disease now infesting our community, we have had to resort to arms, resulting in the killing of one man." He defended his brother's actions, writing to his lawyer that Vasquez "is really not worth noticing ... He is known as a bad character." William Blount Couts was charged with murder but, despite depositions from eight eyewitnesses, succeeded in having the charges dropped because of paperwork technicalities.
Tomas Alvarado was born on Main Street in Los Angeles on December 21, 1841, and married María Ygnacia Morena, the widow of Lorenzo Soto, on June 4, 1864. He received the eastern third of Rancho Monserate in 1874 and built an adobe
chapel
and a hacienda
on the south side of San Luis Rey River. There, the family raised six daughters and one son. Today, the adobe chapel is the only remaining structure from that time period. It has been restored with the combined efforts of the Fallbrook Financial Corporation, the San Diego Historical Society, the County of San Diego and the Rancho Monserate Country Club.
Dolores Alvarado de Serrano (born 1838) and her husband received the middle third of Rancho Monserate, and built an adobe home in the south part of what is now known as Live Oak Canyon east of Fallbrook
. In 1880, Henry Harrison Gird sold his Rancho Las Cienegas
holdings and purchased the Serrano ranch. The Gird family lived in the Serrano home until a flood in 1883 turned the long central hallway into a stream, after which they commissioned a wood frame home to be built on a nearby knoll. Henry and Martha Gird lived there until their natural deaths in 1913 at the ages of 87 and 86.
María Lugarda de Jesús Alvarado (born 1842) married Francisco Palomares (born 1840) of Rancho San Jose in 1866 in Los Angeles. She received the western third of Rancho Monserate, which is closest to Fallbrook. Rather than relocating, she leased the land to R. Turnbull. In 1885 Lugarda Alvarado de Palomares authorized her son-in-law Henry Avila, husband of her daughter Concepcion, to collect rents and profits from the Palomares Ranch so that he could establish a trust for her unmarried daughter and minor children. After a few years, Avila built a house on the northern boundary of the Palomares Ranch, next to Stage Coach Lane.
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 San Diego County, California
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
to Ysidro María Alvarado. The grant extended south and east of the present day Fallbrook
Fallbrook, California
Fallbrook is an unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. The Fallbrook census-designated place population was 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census....
down to the San Luis Rey River
San Luis Rey River
The San Luis Rey River is a river in northern San Diego County, California. The river's headwaters are in the Cleveland National Forest near Palomar Mountain. The river drains into the Pacific Ocean on the northern end of the city of Oceanside. The river is over long and drains...
. The grant was bounded on the west by Pico's Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores
Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores
Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores was a Mexican land grant in present day northwestern San Diego County, California given by governor Juan Alvarado in 1841 to Andrés Pico and Pio Pico...
.
History
Ysidro María Alvarado (1811–1863), son of Francisco Xavier Alvarado (1766–1831) and Maria Ygnacia Amador (1770–1851), married Maria Micaela Avila (1816–1845) in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Shortly after bearing three children, Micaela died from unknown causes, and Alvarado married her sister Manuela Lorenzo Avila.
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 Monserate 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 Ysidro María Alvarado on July 17, 1872.
Smallpox deaths
A smallpoxSmallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic began in Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order...
in 1862 and appeared to be spreading south toward San Diego. To keep them safe, Alvarado sent his children to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to stay with their uncle, Francisco Avila. The disease raged through the rancho, killing Ysidro Alvarado and his wife in 1863 along with 21 ranch hands and domestic servants. After a number of smallpox victims were interred at Mission San Luis Rey, Colonel Cave Johnson Couts of Rancho Guajome
Rancho Guajome
Rancho Guajome was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Andrés and José Manuel, Indians. The name comes from the Luiseño Indian word meaning "frog pond"...
, at that time owner of the mission grounds, made it known that he would not allow any further burials. However, on January 13, 1863, the family and friends of Ysidro Alvarado chose to honor his dying wish and bury him at the mission graveyard. Tomas Alvarado, present at the ceremony, wrote that, as dirt was being thrown on the casket of Ysidro Alvarado, Couts's brother William Blount Couts and two of his trusted men challenged the mourners from the wall of the graveyard, holding guns and shouting "Como diputado del Sherif del condado, no es permitido que este Señor se entierra aqui" ("As deputy of the sheriff of the county, [I say] it is not permitted to bury this man here.") Couts was aiming a double-barreled shotgun at them, and Leon Vasquez of the burial party picked up a shovel and ran toward the threat. Couts fired one barrel and missed Vasquez. As Vasquez jumped onto the wall, Couts shot him in the face and killed him. The rest of the unarmed burial party scattered in fear of their lives as more shots were fired at them, wounding two. Colonel Cave Couts explained the incident the next day, saying "In avoiding the loathsome disease now infesting our community, we have had to resort to arms, resulting in the killing of one man." He defended his brother's actions, writing to his lawyer that Vasquez "is really not worth noticing ... He is known as a bad character." William Blount Couts was charged with murder but, despite depositions from eight eyewitnesses, succeeded in having the charges dropped because of paperwork technicalities.
Heirs
After the smallpox deaths in 1863 the rancho passed to Alvarado's minor heirs: Tomas Alvarado, Dolores Alvarado de Serrano and Lugarda Alvarado de Palomares. The U.S. Land Commission had not yet established ownership, so the home was rented to Simon Goldbaum, who used the building as a general store. A number of settlers moved into the eastern portion of the rancho, and a school and post office were built. Following the award of the U.S. patent in 1872, the rancho was partitioned three ways in 1874; each section being approximately 4500 acres (18.2 km²).Tomas Alvarado was born on Main Street in Los Angeles on December 21, 1841, and married María Ygnacia Morena, the widow of Lorenzo Soto, on June 4, 1864. He received the eastern third of Rancho Monserate in 1874 and built an adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
and a hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
on the south side of San Luis Rey River. There, the family raised six daughters and one son. Today, the adobe chapel is the only remaining structure from that time period. It has been restored with the combined efforts of the Fallbrook Financial Corporation, the San Diego Historical Society, the County of San Diego and the Rancho Monserate Country Club.
Dolores Alvarado de Serrano (born 1838) and her husband received the middle third of Rancho Monserate, and built an adobe home in the south part of what is now known as Live Oak Canyon east of Fallbrook
Fallbrook, California
Fallbrook is an unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. The Fallbrook census-designated place population was 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census....
. In 1880, Henry Harrison Gird sold his Rancho Las Cienegas
Rancho Las Cienegas
Rancho Las Cienegas was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1823 to Francisco Avila. "La Cienega" is derived from the Spanish word cienaga, which means swamp or marshland and refers to the natural springs and wetlands in the area between the Baldwin Hills...
holdings and purchased the Serrano ranch. The Gird family lived in the Serrano home until a flood in 1883 turned the long central hallway into a stream, after which they commissioned a wood frame home to be built on a nearby knoll. Henry and Martha Gird lived there until their natural deaths in 1913 at the ages of 87 and 86.
María Lugarda de Jesús Alvarado (born 1842) married Francisco Palomares (born 1840) of Rancho San Jose in 1866 in Los Angeles. She received the western third of Rancho Monserate, which is closest to Fallbrook. Rather than relocating, she leased the land to R. Turnbull. In 1885 Lugarda Alvarado de Palomares authorized her son-in-law Henry Avila, husband of her daughter Concepcion, to collect rents and profits from the Palomares Ranch so that he could establish a trust for her unmarried daughter and minor children. After a few years, Avila built a house on the northern boundary of the Palomares Ranch, next to Stage Coach Lane.
See also
- Ranchos of CaliforniaRanchos of CaliforniaThe 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...
- List of Ranchos of California
- Population of Native CaliforniaPopulation of Native CaliforniaEstimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...
- epidemics