Cyrus Alexander
Encyclopedia
Cyrus Alexander was an early settler of Sonoma County, California
.
Cyrus Alexander was born in Pennsylvania
, and his family soon moved to Illinois
. In 1831, Alexander was in the Rocky Mountains
trapping for the Sublette
fur company. He arrived in San Diego in 1833, where he worked for Captain Henry D. Fitch
and became a Mexican citizen.
In 1840, Alexander embarked on a scouting expedition for a suitable tract of land for a cattle ranch for Fitch and came to the Russian River Valley
. From 1841 to 1845, Alexander managed Fitch's Rancho Sotoyome
grant under an agreement that at the end of four years, Alexander was to receive two square leagues of land and part of the ranch stock.
In 1844, Alexander married Rufina Lucero (1830-1908), the sister of William Gordon's
wife, Maria. In 1845, Mose Carson, brother of Kit Carson
, took over management of Rancho Sotoyome. Alexander then settled on his tract in what is now called Alexander Valley and began construction of an adobe dwelling on the East side of the Russian River.
Alexander filed a claim in 1853 for his 2 square leagues (part of Fitch's 1841 grant), but it was rejected by the Public Land Commission
.
Cyrus Alexander died on his ranch December 27, 1872. Rufina died there also on March 18, 1908.
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
.
Cyrus Alexander was born in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and his family soon moved to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. In 1831, Alexander was in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
trapping for the Sublette
William Sublette
William Lewis Sublette Born near Stamford, Lincoln County, Kentucky on September 21, 1798. Died on July 23, 1845 in Pittsburg. W.L. Sublette was a fur trapper, pioneer and mountain man, who with his brothers after 1823 became an agent of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company exploiting the riches of the...
fur company. He arrived in San Diego in 1833, where he worked for Captain Henry D. Fitch
Henry D. Fitch
Henry Delano Fitch was an early settler of San Diego, California.-Life:Henry D. Fitch was born 1799 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was a sea captain and trader...
and became a Mexican citizen.
In 1840, Alexander embarked on a scouting expedition for a suitable tract of land for a cattle ranch for Fitch and came to the Russian River Valley
Russian River (California)
The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...
. From 1841 to 1845, Alexander managed Fitch's Rancho Sotoyome
Rancho Sotoyome
Rancho Sotoyome was a Mexican land grant given to Henry D. Fitch. Sotoyome or "Satiyomes" was the name of a Wappo tribe. The grant, in present day Sonoma County, California, extended along the Russian River encompassing the Alexander Valley and present day Healdsburg.-History:San Diego sea captain...
grant under an agreement that at the end of four years, Alexander was to receive two square leagues of land and part of the ranch stock.
In 1844, Alexander married Rufina Lucero (1830-1908), the sister of William Gordon's
Rancho Quesesoni
Rancho Quesesoni was a Mexican land grant in present day Yolo County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to William Gordon. The grant, west of Woodland, extended 2 leagues along both sides of Rio de Jesús María, now known as Cache Creek...
wife, Maria. In 1845, Mose Carson, brother of 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...
, took over management of Rancho Sotoyome. Alexander then settled on his tract in what is now called Alexander Valley and began construction of an adobe dwelling on the East side of the Russian River.
Alexander filed a claim in 1853 for his 2 square leagues (part of Fitch's 1841 grant), but it was rejected by 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...
.
Cyrus Alexander died on his ranch December 27, 1872. Rufina died there also on March 18, 1908.