Rancho Quesesoni was a 8894 acres (36 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 Yolo County, California

Yolo County, California

Yolo County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, bordered by the other counties of Sacramento, Solano, Napa, Lake, Colusa, and Sutter. The city of Woodland is its county seat, though Davis is its largest city....

 given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena

Manuel Micheltorena

Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...

 to William Gordon. The grant, west of Woodland

Woodland, California

Woodland is the county seat of Yolo County, California, located approximately northwest of Sacramento, and is a part of the Sacramento - Arden-Arcade - Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 55,468 at the 2010 census.Woodland's origins trace back to 1850 when California...

, extended 2 leagues along both sides of Rio de Jesús María, now known as Cache Creek. The grant was between Rancho Cañada de Capay

Rancho Cañada de Capay

Rancho Cañada de Capay was a Mexican land grant in present day Yolo County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to the three brothers Santiago, Nemicio, and Francisco Berreyesa. "Cañada de Capay" means "valley of the Capay" in Spanish. "Capay" comes from the Southern Wintun Indian word...

 on the west, and Rancho Rio de Jesus Maria

Rancho Rio de Jesus Maria

Rancho Rio de Jesus Maria was a Mexican land grant in present day Yolo County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Thomas M. Hardy. The name refers to Rio de Jesús María, now known as Cache Creek. The grant, north of Woodland, extended along Cache Creek, from Rancho...

 on the east.

History

William Henry Gordon (1801-1876), a native of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, was a fur trapper who went to New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 in 1823, where he married Maria Lucero (1805-1844), her sister being the wife of Cyrus Alexander

Cyrus Alexander

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...

. Gordon and his family came to California with the Workman-Rowland Party, arriving in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

  in 1841. In 1842 Gordon went north to Sonoma

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...

, and in 1843 was granted the two square league Rancho Quesesoni, becoming the pioneer settler of Yolo County. His wife died in 1844, and in 1855 Gordon married Elizabeth Corum. William Gordon's daughter, Maria Isabel Gordon (1831-1890), married Nathan Coombs

Nathan Coombs

Nathan Coombs was a California pioneer and founder of the city of Napa, California.-Life:Nathan Coombs lived in Massachusetts and came overland to Oregon in 1842. Coombs came to California in 1843, first working for Steven Smith in Bodega Bay; and then for William Gordon at Rancho Quesesoni in...

 in 1845. William Gordon and Nathan Coombs purchased Rancho Chimiles

Rancho Chimiles

Rancho Chimiles was a Mexican land grant in present day Napa County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico to José Ygnacio Berreyesa.-History:...

 in 1851.

A claim for Rancho Quesesoni 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 Quesesoni grant was patented to William Gordon in 1860.

Gordon lived on the ranch until 1866, when he sold it, and moved to Cobb Valley

Cobb, California

Cobb is a census-designated place in Lake County, California, United States. Cobb is located northwest of Whispering Pines, at an elevation of 2631 feet...

 in Lake County

Lake County, California

Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...

, where he died in 1876.