Rancho Moro y Cayucos
Encyclopedia
Rancho Moro y Cayucos was a 8045 acres (32.6 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day San Luis Obispo County, California
given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Martin Olivera and Vicente Feliz (Felis). The grant extended along the Pacific Coast from just north of present day Cayucos
south to Moro Creek just north of present day Moro Bay.
. His daughter, Maria Augustina Olivera (1819-1896) married Vincente Antonio Feliz (1805-1850), son of Jose Doroteo Feliz and Juana Josefa Villalobo. Vicente Feliz and Augustina Olivera married 31 July 1839 at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolusa. Martin Olivera and his son-in-law Vincente Felix were granted two square leagues (Olivera the Moro half and Felix the Cayucos half) in 1842.
In 1845, they sold Rancho Morro y Cayucos to James McKinley, a Scottish sailor, who had married Carmen Amesti, daughter of José Amesti, who was the grantee of Rancho Los Corralitos
. McKinley was also the patentee of Rancho San Lucas
.
With the cession
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Moro y Cayucos was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1853, and the grant was patented to James McKinley in 1878.
By 1867, McKinley had begun selling the rancho in smaller tracts. George Hearst
bought several lots in 1867. Both Captain James Cass and Angus Hardie arrived in 1867, and each acquired 320 acres (1.3 km²). In 1872, Domingo Pujol, a San Francisco attorney, acquired part of the rancho through a mortgage foreclosure. Pujol sold his part to real estate developer Chauncey Hatch Phillips in 1875.
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 San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Martin Olivera and Vicente Feliz (Felis). The grant extended along the Pacific Coast from just north of present day Cayucos
Cayucos, California
Cayucos is a census-designated place located on the coast in San Luis Obispo County, California along California State Route 1 between Cambria to the north and Morro Bay to the south...
south to Moro Creek just north of present day Moro Bay.
History
Leonardo Martín Olivera (1782-), son of Juan Maria Olivera (1753-) and Maria Guadalupe Briones (1764-1848), was a soldier of the Monterey Company assigned to Mission SoledadMission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is in the Salinas Valley near Soledad, in central Monterey County, California. The mission was founded on October 9, 1791 for the increasing settlement of upper Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and for the Indian Reductions to convert...
. His daughter, Maria Augustina Olivera (1819-1896) married Vincente Antonio Feliz (1805-1850), son of Jose Doroteo Feliz and Juana Josefa Villalobo. Vicente Feliz and Augustina Olivera married 31 July 1839 at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolusa. Martin Olivera and his son-in-law Vincente Felix were granted two square leagues (Olivera the Moro half and Felix the Cayucos half) in 1842.
In 1845, they sold Rancho Morro y Cayucos to James McKinley, a Scottish sailor, who had married Carmen Amesti, daughter of José Amesti, who was the grantee of Rancho Los Corralitos
Rancho Los Corralitos
Rancho Los Corralitos was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luis Antonio Argüello, with a confirmatory grant in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Amesti. "Los Corralitos" means "the little corrals" in Spanish...
. McKinley was also the patentee of Rancho San Lucas
Rancho San Lucas
Rancho San Lucas was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Rafael Estrada...
.
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 Moro y Cayucos 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 1853, and the grant was patented to James McKinley in 1878.
By 1867, McKinley had begun selling the rancho in smaller tracts. George Hearst
George Hearst
George Hearst was a wealthy American businessman and United States Senator, and the father of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst.-Early life and education:...
bought several lots in 1867. Both Captain James Cass and Angus Hardie arrived in 1867, and each acquired 320 acres (1.3 km²). In 1872, Domingo Pujol, a San Francisco attorney, acquired part of the rancho through a mortgage foreclosure. Pujol sold his part to real estate developer Chauncey Hatch Phillips in 1875.