Rancho San Andrés
Encyclopedia
Rancho San Andrés was a 8911 acres (36.1 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Santa Cruz County, California
given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa
to José Joaquín Castro. The grant on Monterey Bay
extended from La Selva Beach
on the north to Watsonville Slough on the south. Rancho Aptos
of his son Rafael Castro formed the north boundary of the grant.
; his brother Carlos Antonio Castro (b.1775) was the grantee of Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas
; and his brother Francisco María Castro
(1775 - 1831) was the grantee of Rancho San Pablo
. Jose Joaquin Castro, after serving as a soldier for 13 years, came with his wife Maria Antonia Amador (1780–1827) to settle the new community of Villa de Branciforte
in 1798. Maria Antonia Amador died in 1827, and Castro married Maria Rosario Briones (b.1816) in 1830. Castro received the two square league Rancho San Andrés grant in 1833. In 1838, José Joaquín Castro died of smallpox.
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 San Andrés was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1853, and the grant was patented
to Guadalupe Castro and Juan José Castro et. al (the 13 children of José Joaquín Castro) in 1876.
After the patent was issued, there was a boundary dispute with José Amesti's Rancho Los Corralitos
which adjoined Rancho San Andrés on the east.
In 1873, a partition suit (Briody vs. Hale) was brought and Rancho San Andrés was subdivided.
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 Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa
José Figueroa
General José Figueroa , was a General and the Mexican territorial Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835.Figueroa oversaw the initial secularization of the missions of upper California, which included the expulsion of the Spanish Franciscan mission officials.This also involved the issuing of...
to José Joaquín Castro. The grant on Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
extended from La Selva Beach
La Selva Beach, California
La Selva Beach is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California. La Selva Beach sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported La Selva Beach's population was 2,843....
on the north to Watsonville Slough on the south. Rancho Aptos
Rancho Aptos
Rancho Aptos was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to Rafael Castro. The grant on the Monterey Bay was immediately downcoast of his sister, Martina Castro's Rancho Soquel, and upcoast of his father, José Joaquín Castro's ...
of his son Rafael Castro formed the north boundary of the grant.
History
José Joaquín Castro (1768–1838), the son of Joaquin Ysidro de Castro and Maria Marina Botiller, had come as a boy with his family to California from Mexico with the De Anza Expedition in 1775. His brother José Mariano Castro (1765–1828) was the grantee of Rancho Las AnimasRancho Las Animas
Rancho Las Animas was a Spanish land concession in present day Santa Clara County given in 1802 by Viceroy Félix Berenguer de Marquina to José Mariano Castro. The rancho was regranted in 1835 to Castro's widow Josefa Romero de Castro by Mexican Governor José Figueroa...
; his brother Carlos Antonio Castro (b.1775) was the grantee of Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas
Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas
Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Carlos Antonio Castro...
; and his brother Francisco María Castro
Francisco María Castro
Francisco María Castro was a landowner in an area of Alta California which later became part of Contra Costa County, California.Francisco María Castro was the third son of Joaquin Ysidro de Castro, one of the founding settlers of the Pueblo of San José and Maria Marina Botiller...
(1775 - 1831) was the grantee of Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo was a land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to Francisco María Castro , a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio and one-time alcalde of the Pueblo of San José. The grant was reconfirmed by Governor José...
. Jose Joaquin Castro, after serving as a soldier for 13 years, came with his wife Maria Antonia Amador (1780–1827) to settle the new community of Villa de Branciforte
Branciforte
Branciforte or as it was named originally, Villa de Branciforte, was a secular pueblo established by the Spanish in the of Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in 1797 on the eastern bluff overlooking the San Lorenzo River...
in 1798. Maria Antonia Amador died in 1827, and Castro married Maria Rosario Briones (b.1816) in 1830. Castro received the two square league Rancho San Andrés grant in 1833. In 1838, José Joaquín Castro died of smallpox.
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 San Andrés 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
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 Guadalupe Castro and Juan José Castro et. al (the 13 children of José Joaquín Castro) in 1876.
After the patent was issued, there was a boundary dispute with José Amesti's 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...
which adjoined Rancho San Andrés on the east.
In 1873, a partition suit (Briody vs. Hale) was brought and Rancho San Andrés was subdivided.