Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byI. W. Taberc. 1880–1885 | |
| Member of theCalifornia Senate from theSonoma district | |
| In office December 27, 1849 – January 6, 1851 | |
| Preceded by | Jonas Spect |
| Succeeded by | Martin E. Cooke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1807-07-04)July 4, 1807 Monterey,Alta California,Viceroyalty of New Spain (nowCalifornia, U.S.) |
| Died | January 18, 1890(1890-01-18) (aged 82) Sonoma, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mountain Cemetery, Sonoma, California, U.S. |
| Citizenship | Spain Mexico United States |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 16, includingEpifania |
| Relatives | Juan Bautista Alvarado (nephew) José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, Jr. (nephew) John B. Frisbie (son-in-law) Arpad Haraszthy (son-in-law) |
| Occupation | Military commander, politician, rancher |
| Known for | Namesake ofVallejo, California |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | .svg) Alta California |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Battles/wars | |
DonMariano Guadalupe Vallejo (July 4, 1807 – January 18, 1890) was aCalifornio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject ofSpain, performed his military duties as an officer of theRepublic of Mexico, and shaped the transition ofAlta California from a territory of Mexico to theU.S. state ofCalifornia. He served in the first session of theCalifornia State Senate. The city ofVallejo, California, is named after him, and the nearby city ofBenicia is named after his wife (néeFrancisca Benicia Carrillo).[1]
Mariano Vallejo was born inMonterey, California, the eighth of thirteen children and third son of Ignacio Vicente Ferrer Vallejo (1748–1832) and María Antonia Lugo (1776–1855).
There is controversy over Vallejo's exact date of birth. According to Vallejo, and his family bible, he was born on 7 July 1807.[2] His baptismal certificate, however, signed by Fr. Baltasar Carnicer states that he was baptized on 5 July 1807, and born the previous night (4 July 1807).[3][4] Other sources state a birthdate of 7 July 1808.[5]
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo's parents were atSanta Barbara Mission February 18, 1791. His paternal grandparents were Gerónimo Vallejo and Antonia Gómez, and his maternal grandparents wereFrancisco Lugo and Juana María Rita Martínez. His father's great grandfather, Pedro Vallejo, was said to have served as viceroy of New Spain, although his name does not appear on thelist of viceroys. Other documents show his paternal great grandfather to be Jose Inocencio Vallejo y Olvera Gordivar instead. Born 1656 in Tapatitlan de Morelos and died in 1770, father of Juan Lucas Vallejo de Cornejo y Ramirez (1688-1713), father of Geronimo Vallejo. Earlier Vallejo ancestors were said to include a captain who served underHernan Cortés and an admiral, Alonso Vallejo, said to be the commander of the ship which brought Columbus back to Spain as a prisoner in 1500. However, these ancestors were probably only a family mythology. Ignacio himself had been a well considered sergeant (sargento distinguido) at thePresidio of Monterey, who eventually served asAlcalde ofSan José.
As a teenager, Mariano, his nephewJuan Bautista Alvarado (1809–1882), andJosé Castro (1808–1860) received special instruction from GovernorPablo Vicente de Solá. The boys received government documents and newspapers from Mexico City, as well as access to the governor's personal library. Vallejo then worked as a clerk for English merchantWilliam Hartnell, who taught Vallejo English, French, andLatin.
Vallejo was serving as the personal secretary to the new Governor of California,Luis Argüello, when news ofMexico's independence reached Monterey. Argüello enrolled Vallejo as acadet in the Presidio company in 1824. After being promoted tocorporal, Argüello appointed Vallejo to thediputación, the territoriallegislature. He was promoted toalférez (equal to a modern army second lieutenant), and in 1829, Vallejo led a group of soldiers against theMiwoks, under chiefEstanislao. After a three-day battle, Vallejo's troops forced the Miwok to flee toMission San José, seeking refuge with the padres.
In 1831 Vallejo participated in the "emergency installation" ofPío Pico as acting Governor. Vallejo became the Commander of thePresidio of San Francisco in 1833, oversaw thesecularization ofMission San Francisco Solano. Mission San Francisco Solano was taken over by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. At first he gave some of the land to the native mission workers as ordered. But later he transferred all the land and building to own Rancho Petaluma Adobe of 44,000 acres in the Petaluma Valley. Vallejo laid out the town ofSonoma in 1835. He had a large plaza made in front of the old mission chapel. But then he took tiles from the church roof and put them on his own house. In poor shape the mission church later was torn down. In need of a church for the town he made, in 1840 Vallejo had a small chapel built where the original parish church was.[6]
He founded the town ofSonoma, and was grantedRancho Petaluma by GovernorJosé Figueroa in 1834. In 1835 he was appointed Comandante of the Fourth Military District and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier, the highest military command inNorthern California. Vallejo began construction of thePresidio of Sonoma to counter theRussian presence atFort Ross. Vallejo transferred most of the soldiers from San Francisco to Sonoma, and began construction of his two-storyCasa Grandeadobe on the town plaza. He formed an alliance with Sem-Yeto, also known asChief Solano of theSuisunes tribe, providing Vallejo with over a thousand Suisunes allies during his conflicts with other tribes.[citation needed]
Governor Figueroa died in September 1835, and was replaced byNicolás Gutiérrez, who was unpopular with theCalifornio population, resulting in an uprising headed byJuan Alvarado the next year. Alvarado tried to persuade Vallejo to join the uprising, but he declined to become involved. One hundred-seventy Californios led byJosé Castro and fifty Americans led byIsaac Graham marched on Monterey. After the rebels fired a single cannon shot into the Presidio, Governor Gutiérrez surrendered on November 5, 1836. On November 7, Alvarado wrote to his uncle Mariano, informing Vallejo he had claimed to be acting under Vallejo's orders and asking him to come to Monterey to take part in the government. Vallejo came to Monterey as a hero, and on November 29, thediputación promoted Vallejo fromalférez tocolonel and named him Comandante General of the "Free State of Alta California", while Alvarado was named Governor. The Federal Government in Mexico City would later endorse Vallejo and Alvarado's actions and confirm their new positions.[citation needed]
In 1840, Isaac Graham allegedly began agitating for aTexas-style revolution in California, in March issuing a notice for a planned horse race that was loosely construed into being a plot for revolt. Alvarado notified Vallejo of the situation, and in April the Californian military began arresting American and English immigrants, eventually detaining about 100 in the Presidio of Monterey. At the time, there were fewer than 400 foreigners from all nations in the department. Vallejo returned to Monterey and ordered Castro to take 47 of the prisoners toSan Blas by ship, to be deported to their home countries. Under pressure from British and American diplomats, PresidentAnastasio Bustamante released the remaining prisoners and began acourt martial against Castro. Also assisting in the release of those caught up in theGraham Affair was American travelerThomas J. Farnham.[7] In 1841, Graham and 18 of his associates returned to Monterey, with new passports issued by the Mexican Federal Government.
Also in 1841, theRussians atFort Ross offered to sell the post to Vallejo. After several months of negotiations and delays by the Mexican authorities and Governor Alvarado (who feared his uncle was plotting to overthrow him),John Sutter purchased the fort. This economic and military setback confirmed Vallejo's belief that it would be better if California was no longer ruled from Mexico City[citation needed]. Although both France and the United Kingdom expressed interest in acquiring Alta California, Vallejo believed the best hope for economic and cultural development lay with the United States.
In November 1841, Vallejo was meeting with José Castro atMission San José when he was informed of the arrival in California of animmigrant party led byJohn Bidwell and John Bartleson. Half of the group was staying with Dr.John Marsh north ofMount Diablo, while the rest had continued on toSan José. They were arrested before reaching the pueblo forillegally entering Mexico and brought to Vallejo at the mission. Vallejo's orders from Mexico City were clear. Americans entering Mexico without validpassports were to be sent back to the United States. However, after the Graham affair, Vallejo was reluctant to deport another group of Americans[citation needed], especially those with skills useful for colonizing the northern frontier. These reasons, coupled with his disillusionment with the Mexican government[citation needed], led Vallejo to grant passports to the immigrants detained in the mission and to give Marsh passports for those camped on his rancho.
In 1842, the Federal Government replaced Vallejo and his nephew Alvarado withManuel Micheltorena as both civil and military Governor of Alta California. Micheltorena arrived with thebatallón fijo, a force of 300pardoned criminals, who out of desperation at not being paid began to loot the population.
In the early morning of June 14, 1846,[8] Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was taken prisoner by a ragtag band of Americans, led byWilliam B. Ide, who had decided to emulate theTexans by revolting against California's Mexican government. They later made and raised an improvised flag featuring a grizzly bear that some viewers mistook for a pig. Instead of resisting, Vallejo, who favored the American takeover of California, invited the rebels inside his quarters in theCasa Grande for a meal and drinks. The Americans proceeded to get drunk while negotiating with Vallejo a letter of capitulation that guaranteed that neither Vallejo nor his family would be taken prisoner, which he unopposedly signed.[9] However, when the agreement was presented to those outside they refused to endorse it. Rather than releasing the Mexican officers under parole they insisted they be held as hostages. Although Vallejo was sympathetic to the advent of American rule,[9] he deemed the perpetrators of theBear Flag Revolt to be mere lowlife rabble. As he wrote in his five-volume history,
if the men who hoisted the 'Bear Flag' had raised the flag thatWashington sanctified by his abnegation and patriotism, there would have been no war on the Sonoma frontier, for all our minds were prepared to give a brotherly embrace to the sons of the Great Republic, whose enterprising spirit had filled us with admiration. Ill-advisedly, however, as some say, or dominated by a desire to rule without let or hindrance, as others say, they placed themselves under the shelter of a flag that pictured a bear, an animal that we took as the emblem of rapine and force. This mistake was the cause of all the trouble, for when the Californians saw parties of men running over their plains and forests under the 'Bear Flag,' they thought that they were dealing with robbers and took the steps they thought most effective for the protection of their lives and property.
Vallejo, his French secretary Victor Prudon, his brotherSalvador Vallejo, and their brother-in-lawJacob P. Leese were taken as prisoners toJohn C. Frémont's camp in theCentral Valley. Vallejo was confident that the insurgents were acting under Fremont's orders and had no reason to doubt that as soon as he met Fremont (whom he regarded as his friend), he and his companions would be released, so the prospect of being sent to Sutter's Fort did not worry him much.[9] However, Frémont ordered they be kept prisoners inSutter's Fort.
Conditions for the prisoners were good, until Frémont discovered they were well fed and allowed to walk around the fort several times a day. He replaced the jailer, instructing the replacement to treat them "no better than any other prisoner". Mariano contractedmalaria while being held at the fort. After agreeing to remain neutral during the remainder of the war with Mexico, Mariano was released on August 2, 1846, after "John Murphy had arrived at Sutter's Fort with Stockton's new orders on August 1,"[10] and arrived atCasa Grande a day or two later, weighing only 96 pounds. Salvador Vallejo and Jacob P. Leese were released about a week later. By the time of his release, Mariano was still uncertain about his stance in the war. Because of his belief that California would thrive better with the United States, and that at this time, the Americans were in complete control of the northern area of California, he eventually sided with them. At his home, he showed his allegiance by burning his Mexican uniform in a dignified manner[citation needed].
Once the United States defeated Mexico in the war, Vallejo proved his allegiance to his new country by persuading wealthy Californios to accept American rule. An influential member of the state'sConstitutional Convention, he was elected as a member of the first session of theState Senate in 1850. In 1843, he had been deeded title toRancho Suscol. In 1850, he offered to donate 156 acres (0.6 km2) of that land to the new state government on which to build a capitol away from its cramped quarters inSan Jose and also offered to pay for a considerable amount of the construction. The offer was accepted by the newstate legislature and signed into law by GovernorJohn McDougall, convening inVallejo, as the new city was named, for the first time in 1851. However, construction lagged, and state bureaucrats were confronted with inadequate, leaky buildings and a soggy location. Within three years, the state legislature and newly elected GovernorJohn Bigler had authorized the capital's relocation three more times, toSacramento,Benicia and finally a permanent return to Sacramento.
Vallejo, the city that was named after the General, was once home of theCoast Miwok as well asSuisunes and otherPatwin Native American tribes. There are three confirmedNative American sites located in the rockoutcrops in the hills above Blue Rock Springs Park. The California Archaeological Inventory has indicated that the three Indian sites are located on Sulphur Springs Mountain.[11]
General Vallejo is in the history books as a person who "fought for the rights of the Native Americans", but also one who would "go out on raids into Indian territory to bring back new workers".[12][13]
Although theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formally protected the legal rights of Mexicans now part of the United States, a long legal challenge to Vallejo's land title cost him thousands of dollars in legal fees and finally deprived him of almost all his land and farm animals.[14][15][16] MostCalifornios could not afford the legal expenses to claim their lands, which were thus lost to wealthy Americans and the flood of immigrants, beginning with theGold Rush, which left the Californios outnumbered and unable to protect their political power. At some time prior to 1869, Vallejo gave the Mexican land grantRancho Suscol to his daughter, Epifania Guadalupe Vallejo, April 3, 1851, as a wedding present, when she married GeneralJohn B. Frisbie.
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Jose Manuel Salvador Vallejo (1813–1876), the General's younger brother, received his commission in the Mexican army in 1835, and was appointed Captain of militia at Sonoma in 1836.[17] In 1838 he was grantee ofRancho Napa; in 1839 of Salvador's Ranch, and in 1844 he and his brother Antonio Juan Vallejo (1816–1857) were grantees ofRancho Lupyomi. Salvador Vallejo also claimedRancho Yajome. In 1863 he was commissioned a Major in theUnion Army byGovernor Stanford. Major Vallejo organized the1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers, and he served as far east as Arizona, but did not have a battlefield role in theCivil War. He resigned in 1865 after the war and returned to his ranch in Napa.
Encarnacion Vallejo (1809–1902), the General's sister, marriedJohn B.R. Cooper, who was the grantee ofRancho Nicasio and other properties. María Paula Rosalia Vallejo (1811–1889), the General's sister, marriedJacob P. Leese grantee ofRancho Huichica and other properties.José de Jesús Vallejo (1798–1882), the General's elder brother, was the grantee ofRancho Arroyo de la Alameda. María Isidora Vallejo (1792–1830), the General's sister, married Mariano de Jesús Soberanes. Their daughter María Ygnacia Soberanes marriedDr. Edward Turner Bale grantee ofRancho Carne Humana.
On March 6, 1832, Mariano Vallejo marriedFrancisca Benicia Carrillo (1815–1891) in the Chapel of thePresidio of San Diego. Francisca, born August 23, 1815, in San Diego, was one of twelve children of Joaquin Carrillo andMaría Ygnacia López. TheCarrillo family of California was one of the leading families in San Diego. When Vallejo settled in Sonoma, his widowed mother-in-law, María Ygnacia López de Carrillo, was granted the nearbyRancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa in what is nowSanta Rosa, California, and settled there with her children.[18]
By the time of his death on January 18, 1890, Vallejo led a modest lifestyle on the last vestige of his once vast landholdings at hisLachryma Montis home inSonoma, California.[19][20] A few days after the first anniversary of her husband's death, Francisca Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo died on January 30, 1891. He is interred at the Mountain Cemetery inSonoma.[21]
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The city ofVallejo, California, founded by his son-in-law, and theU.S. Navy submarineUSS Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658) were named in his honor. Vallejo'sRancho Petaluma Adobe is now preserved in thePetaluma Adobe State Historic Park as aNational Historic Landmark. His home inSonoma, California, where he and his wife lived for more than 35 years, now serves as a museum and cultural center as part of theSonoma State Historic Park.[22]
A "life-size bronze likeness of" General Vallejo "sitting on a bench," sculpted by Jim Callahan, was unveiled atSonoma Plaza in June 2017, with a plaque describing in English and Spanish the many roles Vallejo played as a Spanish, Mexican, and American leader.[23]
ActorGeorge J. Lewis was cast as General Vallejo in the 1956 episode "The Bear Flag," on the syndicated television anthology seriesDeath Valley Days, hosted byStanley Andrews. The segment focused on the conflict between newly arrived Americans and the old Spanish families of California. Robert Tafur played Don Miguel Ruiz, andDon C. Harvey was cast as Ezekiel "Stuttering Zeke" Merritt, who proceeds with plans for theBear Flag Revolt.[24]
Vallejo, and the city of Sonoma, are the subjects of the operaThe Dreamers byDavid Conte andPhilip Littell.[25]
| The children of Mariano G. Vallejo and Francisca B. Vallejo (1815–1891)[26] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Birth/Death | Married | Notes |
| Andronico Antonio Vallejo | 1833–1834 | ||
| Andronico Antonio Vallejo | 1834–1897 | Never married | |
| Epifania de Guadalupe Vallejo | 1835–1905 | April 3, 1851 John B. Frisbie (1823–1909)[27] | |
| Adelayda Vallejo | 1837–1895 | July 26, 1858 Levi Cornell Frisbie (1821–1892) | |
| Natalia Veneranda Vallejo | 1838–1913 | June 1, 1863 Attila Haraszthy (1834–1886) | |
| Plutarco Vallejo | Died: Age two | ||
| Platon Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo | 1841–1925 | June 5, 1885 Lily Wiley (1849–1867) | |
| Guadalupe Vallejo | Died: Age four | ||
| Jovita Francisca Vallejo | 1844–1878 | June 1, 1863 Arpad Haraszthy (1840–1900) | |
| Uladislao Vallejo | 1845 – Unknown | c. 1890 Maria ? | |
| Plutarco Vallejo | Died: three months | ||
| Benicia Vallejo | 1849–1853 | ||
| Napoleon Primo Vallejo | 1850–1923 | Married: 1875 Divorced: 1890 Remarried: 1911 Martha Brown (1854–1917) | |
| Benicia Vallejo | 1854–1861 | ||
| Luisa Eugenia Vallejo | 1856–1943 | August 23, 1882 Ricardo de Emparan (1852–1902) | |
| María Ignacia Vallejo | 1857–1932 | May 12, 1878 James Harry Cutter (died 1925) | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
