Anonymous

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Great grandparents

*José Francisco Luís Boronda 10/22/1836 Salinas-6/9/1914 Tijuana, Mexico; 2nd marriage 7/14/1899 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, Parroquia Purísimo Corazón to Maria Dolores Orozco, born 1847 in Los Angeles

*Maria Ygnacia del Espíritu Santo Castro 2/1/1845 Santa Cruz-8/6/1896 Castroville, baptized 3/16/1845 Mission Santa Cruz; married 6/25/1861 Watsonville, Santa Cruz

Great great grandparents

*José Eusebio Boronda 3/4/1808 Santa Clara-1880's Castroville Rancho Rincón de Sanjon, married 9/5/1831 Santa Cruz; 2nd marriage, August 1, 1871, to Ricarda "Corrine" Rodríguez

Maria Josefa Ramona Buelna 3/18/1817 Monterey-7/17/1864 Salinas, married 9/5/1831 Santa Cruz

*José Ygnacio Castro 1817 Santa Cruz-1/13/1859 Santa Cruz

*Maria Micaela de Jesús Ricarda Rodríguez aka Corrine or Carmine, born 2/7/1820 in Monterey; 2nd marriage to Matthew Felom, b. 1813 Denmark: 3rd to José Eusebio Boronda 8/1/1871

Great great great grandparents

*José Manuel Boronda 1750 Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico-1/22/1826 Mission San Carlos; Rancho Tucho, leather jacket corporal, master carpenter, teacher, "razón" sacristan for Fr. Junípero Serra; 1787: Presidio Santa Barbara

*Maria Gertrudis Higuera 6/28/1776 Carmel-12/11/1851 Mission Santa Barbara, married 1/23/1790 age 13 "razón"; eight surviving of thirteen children

José Joaquín Buelna baptized 3/16/1779 Monterey-7/5/1859 Mission Santa Clara, married 11/4/1805 Mission San Juan Bautista, cavalry, "razón", teacher; 1826: alcalde of Branciforte; 1834 Rancho Zayante

*Maria de Guadalupe Gabriela Rodríguez 12/7/1790 Monterey-1879; married 11/4/1805 Mission San Juan Bautista; twelve surviving of her eighteen children

*José Joaquín de los Reyes Castro 2/17/1769 Sinaloa-9/20/1838 Santa Cruz; 1775 Anza expedition "mestizo"; alcalde of Branciforte; second marriage 1830 to Rosario Briones; original owner of Rancho San Andreas

*Maria Antonia Amador 1776 Loreto-6/30/1827 Santa Cruz, married 1/14/1791 at Mission Dolores, San Francisco; 1790 San Francisco census "age 14"

*Alejandro Rodríguez 6/5/1791 San Luís Obispo-9/16/1848 Santa Cruz; "blanco", corporal in Monterey

Maria Concepción Benedicta Martínez 1/13/1796 Santa Clara-12/25/1879 Santa Cruz, married 2/3/1815 "widow of Juan López"; census 1870: Pájaro, Santa Cruz; 1860: Soquel, Santa Cruz; 1850: Santa Cruz (or died 8/21/1870 "from San José")

Great great great great grandparents

Francisco Xavier Boronda, married 4/14/1736 Parroquia San Miguel Arcangel, Cocula, Jalisco, Mexico

Sebastiana Antonia, married 4/14/1736 Parroquia San Miguel, Cocula, Jalisco, Mexico

*José Manuel Higuera 1744 Mocorito, Sinaloa-8/29/1828 Mission San Juan Bautista: corporal, age 84; "de razón"; 1774: Rivera expedition, San Diego soldier; 1775 census: soldier at the Monterey presidio; 1777 census: earliest residents of San José; 1790: Monterey "español"; 1793: San José

*Maria Ignacia "Antonia" Limón y Redondo 1752 Sinaloa-5/12/1834 Mission San Juan Bautista, age 80; 1774: Rivera expedition, 1777 census: earliest residents of San José; 1790: Monterey "española"; 1793: San José

José Antonio Buelna 1749 Villa Sinaloa-10/1/1821 Mission Santa Clara de Asís 1774: Rivera expedition; 1775 census Monterey presidio: "español" soldier, literate, single; married 5/26/1776 Mission San Carlos "razón" by Fr. Junípero Serra

Maria Antonia Tapia 1762 Culiacán-7/3/1830 Mission San Carlos; 1775: Anza expedition; married 5/26/1776 Mission San Carlos "india" by Fr. Junípero Serra; "razón"

*José Manuel Rodríguez 1758 Guadalajara - 6/22/1846 Mission San Carlos; 1774: San Diego on Santiago with Fr. Serra's second expedition; 1775 census: carpenter at the San Diego presidio; "mestizo"; 1777 Monterey: master carpenter, cavalry corporal, teacher; 1790 census Monterey: Manuel Rodríguez, mestizo, from Guadalajara, 31

*Maria Fautima Valvanera Antuna 1766 Villa Sinaloa- 12/28/1830 Mission San Carlos, "razón" 1774 Rivera expedition, married 11/11/1781, 1790 census Monterey: Maria Valvanera Antuna, mestiza

José Joaquín Isidro Castro y Limón 1732 San Felipe Santiago de Sinaloa -1/1/1802 Mission San Carlos; 1775 Anza expedition: farm worker "mestizo" illiterate; soldier at Mission Santa Clara; 1777 census: earliest residents of San José

Maria Martina Margarita Botiller 1735 San Felipe-6/5/1813 Mission Santa Cruz, married 1754; 1775 Anza expedition with nine children "mestiza"; Pueblo San José first census 1777: Joaquín de Castro, Spaniard, man, 46; Maria Botiller, Spaniard, woman, 43; and five children

Pedro Antonio Amador 1742 Cocula, Jalisco-4/10/1824 San José, buried Mission Santa Clara; extensive military career as a sergeant in the presidios of Loreto, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco; Portolá Sacred Expedition 1769, Rivera expedition 1774 with first wife Maria de la Luz Ruiz and daughter Ygnacia; late life third marriage to Maria Teresa Pinto.

Maria Ramona Rosalia Noriega 1760 Loreto-9/7/1802 San José buried Mission Santa Clara; possibly the same as Maria Antonia Ramona Gertrudis Noriega, born 11/3/1760 and christened 11/16/1760 in the distrito federal; 2nd of 3 wives: married 1777, 11 children; 1790 San Francisco census: Pedro Amador, sergeant, español, Cocula [Jalisco], 51; wife Ramona Noriega, española, [from Loreto] 30; seven children. She taught all her children to read.

*José Antonio Poinciano Rodríguez 11/27/1754 baptism Compostela, Nayarit, Jalisco-10/22/1820 Monterey, buried in wall of Presidio church; 1790 Monterey census: José Antonio Rodríguez, corporal, español, from Compostela 36; wife Vicenta de León, mulata, five children [and two stepchildren]

Maria Trinidad Vicenta de León 1752 Rio de Cosala, Sinaloa-2/9/1837 Mission Santa Cruz; accompanied Rivera to Mission San Gabriel early in 1781 with first husband Francisco Juárez who died shortly after their arrival, remarried weeks after their son's birth. 1790 Monterey census: José Antonio Rodríguez, corporal, español, from Compostela [Nayarit] 36; wife Vicenta de León, mulata, and five children [and two from her previous husband]

*José Maria Martínez 1756 Topahue, Sonora-4/17/1819 Mission Santa Clara

*María Josefa Garcia 6/4/1772 Culiacán-4/15/1821 Mission Santa Clara, 1775 Anza expedition, married 2/7/1785 age 12

Great great great great great grandparents

José Boronda Soldier, born in Spain: Parroquia San Francisco, San Luís Potosi 4/14/1746 with Juana Marcelina Florido at the baptism of their son, Francisco Maria Boronda y Florido

Maria Avendaño Heyzaga, baptism 3 ene. 1671 (3 Jan 1671) Santa Maria, Galdacano, Vizcaya, Spain, mother, Magdalena de Heyzaga Zamacona, father Martin de Avendano Jaure Guiguria

Unknown

Unknown

Pedro Higuera 1710- or parents are: Ygnacio Higuera and Maria Ygnacia Buelna

Juana Rosa Zepeda 1715 Sinaloa

Eusebio Limón ± 1723 Mexico-?

Maria Dolores Arredondo ± 1725 Mexico-?

Anastacio Josef Buelna 1722 San Miguel Archangel, Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo-±1773 Mexico

*Maria Ignacia Josefa Domínguez 1726-1/25/1778 Monterey 1774 Rivera expedition with son Antonio Buelna

Felipe Santiago Tapia ±1736 Culiacán -1/24/1811 Mission San Gabriel "razón" 1775 soldier Anza expedition with 2nd wife Juana Cardenas; 1777 census: earliest residents of San José ; 1782 census San Francisco Presidio : "Felipe Tapia, 37, "Culiacán, illiterate, mulato"

Juana Maria Filomena Hernandez y Rodríguez 1740 Crilacava, Mexico-± 1773 San José, Culiacán, "mestiza", married 7/12/1756 at Parroquia Sagrario De San Miguel, Culiacán

Joséph Rodríguez, probably died in Guadalajara, before 1781; 2nd marriage 2/25/1744 in Parroquia Sagrario Metropolitano, Guadalajara, "mulato, viudo, slave of lawyer Pedro Ypalica de la Parra"; first marriage to Juana de Covarrubiás who died about 1737

Maria Antonia de Belen Estrada Gonzales, born in Real de Rosario, Sinaloa, probably died before 1781 in Guadalajara; 2nd marriage to Joséph 2/25/1744 in Parroquia Sagrario Metropolitano, Guadalajara "india" widow; first marriage to Salvador de Torres who died about 1741

José Manuel Juan Antuna 1734/40 Villa Sinaloa (Agua Caliente, Tamazula, Durango?) - 1784~1790 Alta California, 1774 Rivera expedition; 1775 census: leather jacket soldier at the Monterey presidio; 1782 census: Monterey Presidio: "Man[ue]l Antuna, 48 Agua Caliente, mestizo, illiterate"

*Juana Maria Gertrudis Coronado de Serna 1740 Villa Sinaloa-9/23/1816 Santa Clara, 1774 Rivera expedition; 1790 Monterey "mestiza" widow; Juana Serna, mestiza, [from Villa Sinaloa] 50, widow [of José Manuel Antuna]. 2nd marriage 12/17/1792 Justo Roberto Altamirano

Francisco Maria José Castro y López 1706 Sinaloa-2/18/1770 Loreto 1754: Sergeant mayordomo Mission La Purísima; son of Francisco Castro

Maria Zeferina Sanchez de Limón 1710 Guadalupe del Paso, Mexico-died in Loreto; married 1730; father José Salvador Limón

*Juan Antonio Maria Botiller 1700 Loreto-death in Sinaloa, Spaniard 1733: Loreto: corporal master blacksmith/armorer; 1738 miner Baroyeca, Sonora 1740/41: led troops in Yaqui wars/ petty officer in Sinaloa: 1776: San Diego

Inés Márquez, daughter of Salvador Márquez

José Amador

Maria Josefa Carpio

Francisco Noriega

Maria Rosalia Juares Montesuma

Miguel Rodríguez 1732 Compostela, Nayarit, Jalisco- married 11/30/1753 and had two children. His parents were Cayetano Rodriguez, born 1700, Jalisco, son of Decideria Salgado and Bartolo Rodríguez , and Antonia De Robles.

Maria Petronila Patrón 10/22/1730 Compostela, Nayarit-1772 Jalisco, parents Antonio Patron Rodriguez and Maria Blanca De Acebedo. She had two sons and two daughters with Pedro Rubio then married Miguel Rodriguez.

Francisco Matias de León 1721 Sinaloa

Encarnación de Haro 1724 Sinaloa

José Maria Martínez, born about 1695

Josefa Villanasul, 1723, Sonora -1776

José Antonio Garcia 1733 Culiacán, Sinaloa-1/24/1778, first recorded death at the Mission Santa Clara among the "gente de razón"; married 1769; 1775 Anza expedition with wife, their three children and two stepchildren

Maria Petronila Josepha de Acuña (or Osuna) 1748 San José de Parral, Chihuahua-10/6/1783 Mission Dolores, 2nd of 3 marriages 1769 in Culiacán, Sinaloa; 1775 Anza expedition; earlier marriage to soldado Dionisio Hernández with three children; third marriage in 1778 to Juan Antonio Amésquita with two children
*See memorial

In loving memory of my grandmother, Refugio Bernabé Boronda, this compilation of online data, mostly census and mission records, tells a story of her early Californian heritage, beginning with men who ventured from Spain in the 17th and early 18th century. As soldiers, laborers, and tradesmen, they sailed from Jerez de la Frontera and Cadiz in Spain, disembarking in Véracruz before colonizing westward over several generations to Sinaloa, the base for the future California expeditions.

There is also our family lineage from slavery in "Nueva España", abolished with the independence of Mexico, but represented here by descendants of African slaves who joined the expeditions for a new life in Alta California. The 1790 census shows nineteen "mulato" soldiers in Monterey, caste designations that tended to drift and change over time. Decades later "don Felipe Tapia", having relocated near Mission San Gabriel, was a citizen "de razón", the highest citizenship for someone of mixed ethnicity who is regarded as fully "español" in lifestyle. His sons received massive land grants, including Malibu/Topanga, part of southern Monterey county, and Rancho Cucamonga.

The colonial caste system ranked the European-born "peninsulares" the highest of the "españoles"; "indios" were next but with legal standing no higher than minors. Since the Spaniards arrived as single men, marrying the indigenous women, their grandchildren were mostly "castizos", a fourth "indio" unless both parents were "mestizo". Those more "español" in a few generations would have their "indio" lineage disregarded. Black ancestry would hold individuals in the lower castes, but "upgrades" were apparent in this genealogy, possibly reflecting regard for the individual or spouse, increasing status and wealth, a need for the colonies to establish more "españoles" to self-govern, or kindly leniency within this small pioneering community. Maybe this was an early indication that the Americas were shedding European dominance in their new world.

And this is in memory of our foremothers, primarily from the indigenous populations, the Mayan Cahita in Sinaloa, Coca in Jalisco, Tlaxcala in Coahuila, and Ohlone in Alta California, as the Spanish colonized. The political directive was to populate new Spanish colonies; a powerful church presence mandated that couples be married and that wives be converted to Catholicism. So we see them with the Christian names given at baptism, with either no last name in Alta California, or a reference to their place of origin, e.g., Limón, Redondo. Northern mission records poorly recorded "gentiles" data.

They married young, averaging less than 15 years old among those with known wedding dates, having large families and taking in orphans, generations expanding exponentially. Husbands were often decades older; a 13 year old Gertrudis marries 40 year old Manuel. Joaquín is a 61 year old widower when he takes a second 14 year old bride, Rosario. Multiple marriages were common as dying young was not uncommon, childbirth often being the cause. Infant mortality was very high; Gertrudis lost five infants of her thirteen children. Her daughter Teresa died at age 19, two of her three sons with her.

Our forefathers were soldiers, serving ten year enlistments, some for several decades, often delaying marriage until a family was affordable. Unlike the Catalonian volunteers, the "Blue Jackets" from Spain, they were "solderos de cuera", recruited among the creollo sons of the new world, and named for the multi-layered leather jackets designed to withstand arrows. During the Spanish war with England, 1779-1783, they fought back English occupation of the west coast; eleven are recognized as veterans by the Sons of the American Revolution. On learning of the east coast's revolution, they took up a collection to send to the eastern militia.

Advancement seemed mostly for the literate and those with the higher "español" caste designation; some more accomplished profiles suggest having a father who was a Spaniard. Carpenter Manuel Boronda, first recorded in 1785 outside Santa Barbara after working for the Spanish navy in San Blas, was listed among the presidio's rich with three heads of stock in 1793. He built the first adobe home outside the presidio and founded the school Tularcitos, where he taught reading, writing and catechism. In 1795, he was granted rancho El Tucho, burned by indians the same year. He served over privates in an expedition from Santa Clara Mission to recapture escaped indians in 1795. However, Manuel Rodríguez, from humble birth, was similarly a very early California resident, hired as a master carpenter at several missions, with five cows and pasture rights in Santa Barbara by 1785. He also went on to enlist, became a corporal, and taught school in Monterey in 1796. He and his bride were both "mestizo" in their 1785 marriage document. More than any other ancestors, these two Manuels had an apparent closeness with Father Serra and likely knew each other well. Don Rodríguez was still living when his granddaughter married José Eusabio Boronda.

We are prominent in the Anza expedition, the "Mayflower" heritage of the West. Struggling family men accepted provisions and the promise of land, trudged with their wives and children for months through desert and rough terrain, and served in the militia. Many came even earlier with their families, with the Rivera and Portolá expeditions.

These names represent a diverse eighteenth century heritage, each with a story that peeks through the data, as we see Californian "Spaniards" emerging from the diversity:

***Young Antonia Tapia, at age thirteen, joined the Anza expedition with her family and new step-mother. There had been a flurry of marriages with girls as young as twelve as Anza required that the settlers have families. On their arrival in Monterey, she was married to a thirty-five year old "español" soldier by Father Junipero Serra, in his earliest wedding for the Alta California settlers. Her status changed to "índia", unlike her sister who retained the "mulata" designation. Their son was elected alcalde of Branciforte, later part of Santa Cruz. Antonia was eulogized on her burial record as "razón": "They had many children, even more grandchildren, and she knew her great grandchildren."

***Young Manuel Rodríguez, at age fifteen, was recruited personally by Father Serra in Guadalajara and accompanied him on his second expedition to Alta California. The orphan of a slave and his "índia" wife, he became a cavalry corporal of the American Revolution, teacher, and master carpenter at the Monterey Presidio. He often served as witness when Fr. Serra officiated and ultimately crafted his simple, redwood coffin. One of his twelve children married Antonia's son, becoming first lady of this early California settlement.

Many are only named as parents with no available details so this continues as a work in progress. Family histories are fraught with errors and embellishments so information was investigated as best as possible.

My thanks to the Huntington Library, the National Park Service and the Church of Latter Day Saints, who uploaded original documents, although military census records are flawed with interpretations, misspellings and misstatements. Various historical books seem to have well supported details, and online family accounts, such as Ancestry, Somos Primos, and Find a Grave, are useful as a starting point for researching primary sources, clarifications and corrections. Documented additions and corrections are welcome. I hope readers enjoy my project.
Suzanne