Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo (also called "Sagrada Familia" - Holy Family) was a 6916 acres (28 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 1822 by Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá

Pablo Vicente de Solá

Pablo Vicente de Solá , the last Spanish governor of Alta California from 1815-1822....

 to Joaquín de la Torre. The grant was bounded on the north by Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo

Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo

Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to María Antonia Pico de Castro. Literally translated, the name means "new pocket and lame moor". The name "pocket" refers to pockets of land...

 and Castroville

Castroville, California

Castroville is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, United States. Castroville is located northwest of Salinas, at an elevation of 23 feet . The population was 6,481 at the 2010 census, down from 6,724 at the 2000 census. Castroville calls itself "Artichoke Center of the...

.

History

José Joaquín de la Torre was a soldier from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 who was alcalde in Monterey

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

, and afterwards secretary to Governor Sola. Torre married Maria Los Angeles Cota (1790-1877) in 1803. Torre was granted the two square league Bolsa del Potrero in 1822. The Potrero, also called La Familia Sagrada, was sold by Torre to John B.R. Cooper

John B.R. Cooper

John Bautista Rogers Cooper was born in England and raised in Massachusetts. He came to California as master of the ship Rover, and was a pre-gold rush pioneer of Monterey, California...

 in 1829. In 1840, Joaquín de la Torre was granted Rancho Arroyo Seco

Rancho Arroyo Seco (Torre)

Rancho Arroyo Seco was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Joaquín de la Torre...

 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado.

In 1840, Captain Cooper traded Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo for Alvarado's Rancho El Sur

Rancho El Sur

Rancho El Sur was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Alvarado. The grant extended between the Little Sur River and what is now called, Cooper Point.-History:...

. Alvarado was a nephew of Cooper's wife, Encarnacion Vallejo. Alvarado subsequently sold Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo back to Cooper.

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 Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo 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 1852, 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 John B. R. Cooper in 1859.