Doña María Eulalia Elías González Romo de Vivar (February 12, 1788 – August 6, 1865) was a

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

rancher who established the first major cattle ranch in Arizona. She was inducted into the

Arizona Women's Hall of Fame The Arizona Women's Hall of Fame recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Arizona for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. In 1979, the office of Governor Bruce Babbitt worked with the Arizona Women's Commis ...

Biography

The Elías González family, of which Eulalia was a part, was descended from her grandfather, Captain Francisco Elías Gonzalez, a native of

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and N� ...

, Spain. The family was very powerful in the colonial era of Sonora and Arizona, and included a

president of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

, two governors of Sonora, a governor of

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

and several priests of the church in Mexico. Eulalia Elías was born on February 12, 1788, in

Arizpe Arizpe (or Arispe) is a small town and the municipal seat of the Arizpe Municipality in the north of the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located at 30°20'"N 110°09'"W. The area of the municipality is 2,806.78 sq.km. The population in 2005 was ...

. Her father, José Francisco Antonio Elías González Díaz del Carpio, held 30 large land grants and thousands of acres. On July 1, 1827, she applied to purchase land along the Babocómari Creek. Later that year, she and her brother Don Ignacio received a grant for about along the creek. Called San Juan de Babocómari (later renamed to San Ignacio de Babocómari), the siblings began to bring in large amounts of livestock and purchase more land, eventually reaching 130,000 acres around

Sierra Vista Sierra Vista is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 45,308, and is the 27th most populous city in Arizona. The city is part of the Sierra Vista-Douglas Metropolitan Are ...

. The deed to the additional land was granted on December 25, 1832, and immediately construction was begun on a walled fort. The land grew into the first major cattle ranch in Arizona, holding 40,000 head of cattle and horses in 1840. The ranch prospered until the death of two of Eulalia's brothers in

Apache Indian Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967), known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song "Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ...

raids. By 1849, the family abandoned the ranch and moved back to Arizpe. Eulalia Elías, who never married, played a large role in managing much of the financial and land prospects of her family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elias, Eulalia 1788 births 1865 deaths Ranchers from Arizona People from Arizpe Mexican people of Spanish descent