Cyrus Alexander (1805–1872) was an early settler of Sonoma County, California. Cyrus Alexander was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and his family soon moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. In 1831, Alexander was in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

trapping for the Sublette fur company. He arrived in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

in 1833, where he worked for Captain Henry D. Fitch and became a Mexican citizen. In 1840, Alexander embarked on a scouting expedition for a suitable tract of land for a cattle ranch for Fitch and came to the

Russian River Valley The Russian River (Southern Pomo: ''Ashokawna'', es, Río Ruso) is a southward-flowing river that drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately 1,600,000 acre feet (2.0&nbs ...

. From 1841 to 1845, Alexander managed Fitch's

Rancho Sotoyome Rancho Sotoyome was a Mexican land grant given to Henry D. Fitch. Sotoyome or "Satiyomes" was the name of a Wappo tribe. The grant, in present-day Sonoma County, California, extended along the Russian River encompassing the Alexander Valley and p ...

grant under an agreement that at the end of four years, Alexander was to receive two square leagues of land and part of the ranch stock. In 1844, Alexander married Rufina Lucero (1830-1908), the sister of William Gordon's wife, Maria. In 1845, Moses Carson, brother of

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

, took over management of Rancho Sotoyome. Alexander then settled on his tract in what is now called

Alexander Valley The Alexander Valley (Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. It is home to many wineries and vineyards, as well as the city of Cloverdale. ...

and began construction of an adobe dwelling on the East side of the Russian River. Alexander filed a claim in 1853 for his 2 square leagues (part of Fitch's 1841 grant), but it was rejected by the Public Land Commission. Cyrus Alexander died on his ranch December 27, 1872. Rufina died there also on March 18, 1908.Cyrus Alexander and the Rancho Sotoyome
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Cyrus 1805 births 1872 deaths People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania History of Sonoma County, California Healdsburg, California People from Sonoma County, California American emigrants to Mexico