José de los Reyes Berreyesa
Encyclopedia
José de los Reyes Berrelleza (also spelled Berreyesa) 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 married María Zacarias Bernal at Mission Santa Clara. The couple had 13 children during 1807–1833, with 10 living past infancy. They moved in 1834 to hold land in Almaden Valley
, in present day Santa Clara County, California
.
a grant giving him one square league, or 4438 acres (18 km²), of the land he had been cultivating, called Rancho San Vicente
, near the Santa Teresa Hills
and at the south end of Almaden Valley. The grant included a large section of the rocky hills upon which a rich source of mercury
-carrying cinnabar
ore was found in 1844–1845, and the discovery was made public. Mercury was an important part of gold- and silver-mining operations, and was in demand the world over, and especially in the California gold fields after 1848. The neighboring grant, Rancho Los Capitancillos
, was held by Justo Laros, who claimed the mercury mine was part of his land. Andres Castillero also claimed the mercury mine was part of his land. Robert Walkinshaw and some other men squatted on the land in February 1845 and began to take lumber and limestone away for sale in August. The New Almaden
mercury mine began producing a small amount of rich ore in 1846.
sons of José de los Reyes Berreyesa were imprisoned by John C. Frémont
in Sonoma, California
, where one of the sons, José de los Santos Berreyesa
, had been serving as alcalde. Accompanied by two cousins, twin sons of Francisco de Haro
, the 61-year-old father went to see how his sons were being treated in prison. After they landed their boat in San Rafael
, the three men were shot and killed by three of Frémont's men, including Kit Carson
, and they were stripped of their belongings. When asked by prisoner José de los Santos Berreyesa whether their father had been killed, Frémont said it might have been a man named Castro. A soldier of Frémont's was seen wearing the elder Berreyesa's serape, and Frémont refused to assist José de los Santos Berreyesa in retrieving it as a final token of their father to give to their mother. The three 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.
Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Santa Clara de Asis , the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares. Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned.-History:...
in Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
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
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
. In 1805, he married María Zacarias Bernal at Mission Santa Clara. The couple had 13 children during 1807–1833, with 10 living past infancy. They moved in 1834 to hold land in Almaden Valley
Almaden Valley, San Jose, California
Almaden Valley is an upper-class neighborhood of about 37,000 in the southwestern portion of San Jose, California, USA, roughly equivalent to the 95120 ZIP Code. The neighborhood is south east of the town of Los Gatos, west of the Santa Teresa neighborhood of San Jose and south of Coleman Ave...
, in present day Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
.
Rancho San Vicente
In 1842, José de los Reyes Berreyesa received from Governor Juan Bautista AlvaradoJuan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
a grant giving him one square league, or 4438 acres (18 km²), of the land he had been cultivating, called Rancho San Vicente
Rancho San Vicente (Berreyesa)
Rancho San Vicente was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José de los Reyes Berreyesa. The grant was located west of the Santa Teresa Hills at the south end of Almaden Valley...
, near the Santa Teresa Hills
Santa Teresa Hills
The Santa Teresa Hills are a mountain range in Santa Clara County, California, located partly in the city of San Jose. They are one the landforms around the Almaden Valley.-Rancho San Vicente:...
and at the south end of Almaden Valley. The grant included a large section of the rocky hills upon which a rich source of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
-carrying cinnabar
Cinnabar
Cinnabar or cinnabarite , is the common ore of mercury.-Word origin:The name comes from κινναβαρι , a Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several distinct substances...
ore was found in 1844–1845, and the discovery was made public. Mercury was an important part of gold- and silver-mining operations, and was in demand the world over, and especially in the California gold fields after 1848. The neighboring grant, Rancho Los Capitancillos
Rancho Los Capitancillos
Rancho Los Capitancillos was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Justo Larios. Los Capitancillos means the Little Captains in Spanish...
, was held by Justo Laros, who claimed the mercury mine was part of his land. Andres Castillero also claimed the mercury mine was part of his land. Robert Walkinshaw and some other men squatted on the land in February 1845 and began to take lumber and limestone away for sale in August. The New Almaden
New Almaden
The New Almaden quicksilver mine in the Santa Teresa Hills in Santa Clara County, California, United States, is the oldest and most productive quicksilver mine in the U.S. The site was known to the Ohlone Indians for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler discovered the ores in 1820...
mercury mine began producing a small amount of rich ore in 1846.
Bear Flag Revolt
In 1846, during the Bear Flag Revolt, three of the CalifornioCalifornio
Californio is a term used to identify a Spanish-speaking Catholic people, regardless of race, born in California before 1848...
sons of José de los Reyes Berreyesa were imprisoned 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 Sonoma, California
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
, where one of the sons, José de los Santos Berreyesa
José de los Santos Berreyesa
José de los Santos Berreyesa , a member of the Berreyesa family, was the last alcalde of Alta California...
, had been serving as alcalde. Accompanied by 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....
, the 61-year-old father went to see how his sons were being treated in prison. After they landed their boat 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...
, the three men were shot and killed by three of Frémont's 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...
, and they were stripped of their belongings. When asked by prisoner José de los Santos Berreyesa whether their father had been killed, Frémont said it might have been a man named Castro. A soldier of Frémont's was seen wearing the elder Berreyesa's serape, and Frémont refused to assist José de los Santos Berreyesa in retrieving it as a final token of their father to give to their mother. The three 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.
See also
- Berreyesa familyBerreyesa familyThe 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...
- The José Berreyesa families of CaliforniaThe José Berreyesa families of CaliforniaJosé Berreyesa, Jose Berreyesa, José Berryessa, Jose Berryessa, José Berrelleza, or Jose Berrelleza can refer to any one of several Basque-descended settlers of Spanish Las Californias, Mexican Alta California, and the U.S. state of California:* José de los Reyes Berreyesa , also written José R....
- José Berreyesa (disambiguation)
- 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...