Don Antonio María Pico was a

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

politician, ranchero, and a signer of the

California Constitution The Constitution of California () is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's constitution was drafted in both English ...

in 1849.Online Archive of California – Antonio Maria Pico correspondence : San Jose, California, 1853–1854
/ref> He also served twice as Alcalde of San José.History of California: 1825–1840
/ref>

Biography

Antonio María Pico, a member of the prominent Pico family of California, was born in 1808 in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. He was a son of José Dolores Pico and his wife, the former Maria Ysabel de la Asención Cota. In 1824, Pico left Monterey to serve as a bookkeeper at

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, California, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''The Califo ...

. He served as Alcalde of San José (mayor of San Jose) in 1835 and 1844–1845. Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general and adjutant-general of the Mexican Army, List_of_governors_of_California_before_1850#Mexican_governors_of_California_(1837–47), gover ...

granted Rancho Pescadero (present day city of

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

) in 1843. He was elected as a delegate for

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

to the Monterey Constitutional Convention of 1849 and was a signer of the

. In 1859, he led a petition of

rancheros to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

describing their taxation as unduly high.University of Houston: Digital History – The Public Land Commission
/ref> He was elected to the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

in 1860 as an elector for

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Pico died in San Jose on 23 May 1869.

References

{{reflist 1808 births 1869 deaths Mayors of San Jose, California People from Monterey, California People of Alta California