Rancho Juristac was a 4540 acres (18.4 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 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...

 given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Antonio and Faustino German. The rancho (also called "La Brea") was once noted for its liquid petroleum deposits. Rancho Juristac, five miles south of Gilroy

Gilroy, California

Gilroy is the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 48,821 at the 2010 census. Gilroy is well-known for its garlic crop and for the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, featuring various garlicky foods, including garlic ice cream. Gilroy also produces...

, is the southern most rancho in Santa Clara County, and encompasses Sargent

Sargent, California

Sargent is an unincorporated community located at the Santa Clara-San Benito County border. The weight of the community is shown on the Santa Clara County, or north, side of the line. Like Rucker north of Gilroy, the name is official but not in active use by locals today. The U.S. Geological Survey...

.

History

Antonio and his brother Faustino received the one square league Rancho Juristac land grant in 1835. Cristobal Antonio German (1790–), son of Ysidro German and Maria Manuela Ochoa, was also known as Antonio German and was a soldier in the Presidio of Santa Barbara

Presidio of Santa Barbara

The El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara, also known as the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara, was a military installation in Santa Barbara, California. It was built by Spain in 1782, with the mission of defending the Second Military District in California...

. In 1814 he married Maria de la Luz Martina Pena (1796–) in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

. Faustino Jose German (1795–) married Antonia Maria de Jesus Garcia (1797–) in 1816.

James P. Sargent (1823–1890) was a native of New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 who came to California in 1849 with his three brothers, Jacob L. Sargent (1818–1890), Roswell C Sargent (1821–1903), and Bradley V Sargent (1828–1893). In 1856 he bought Rancho Juristac, where he resided, and it became known as the Sargent Ranch. The Sargent Brothers also owned Rancho Potrero de San Carlos

Rancho Potrero de San Carlos

Rancho Potrero de San Carlos was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Fructuoso del Real, an Indian. The land was part of the pasture of the secularized Mission San Carlos. The grant was located south of Monterey on the...

 and Rancho San Francisquito

Rancho San Francisquito (Munras)

Rancho San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Catalina Manzaneli de Munras...

 in Monterey County

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...

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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 Juristac was filed by Antonio and Faustino German 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 Robert S. Carlisle, Bradley V. Sargent, Jacob L. Sargent, Roswell C. Sargent in 1871.