Francisco Dumetz (died 14 January 1811) was a Spanish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

missionary. He gave the

San Bernardino Valley The San Bernardino Valley ( es, Valle de San Bernardino) is a valley in Southern California located at the south base of the Transverse Ranges. It is bordered on the north by the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains; ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

its name, in 1810.San Bernardino City Guide
/ref>

Life

He was a native of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, Spain, where he entered the Franciscan Order. In May, 1770, he went to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

with forty-eight other Franciscans to join the Franciscan missionary college of San Fernando in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. On volunteering for the Indian missions, he was sent to California in October, 1770. Sailing from San Blas,

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

, with ten friars in January, 1771, he reached

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

in May and was assigned to

Mission San Diego Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity * Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. In May, 1772, he was transferred to

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo, or Misión de San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, first built in 1797, is one of the most authentically restored Catholic mission churches in California. Located at the mouth of Carmel Valley, Californi ...

, and in May, 1782, was appointed for

Mission San Buenaventura Mission San Buenaventura ( es, Misión San Buenaventura), formally known as the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura, is a Catholic parish and basilica in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The parish church in the city of Ventura, California, Unite ...

. There he continued his mission work until August, 1797, when he was directed to found Mission San Fernando. Father Dumetz remained there from its founding on 8 September to the end of 1805, except during 1803 and 1804 when apparently he resided at San Gabriel. From January, 1806, to the time of his death, Father Dumetz was stationed at San Gabriel. His remains were buried in the mission church on 15 January. Dumetz was the last of the pioneer friars in California, where he worked without interruption for forty years.

Places Named After Dumetz

Point Dume Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The point, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay. Point Dume Natural Area affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula a ...

was a result of a misspelling of Dumetz's name. * Dumetz Road in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

. * Dumetz street in Toulon (quartier Serinette) - Var - France

References

*Palou, Noticias (San Francisco, 1874), 1; *____, Vida del Fray Junipero Serra (Mexico, 1787), Records of Missions, San Carlos San Buenaventura, San Fernando, San Gabriel; *Engelhardt, Zephyrin The Franciscans in California (Harbor Springs, Mich., 1897).
Sixty Five More Los Angeles Placenames

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumetz, Francisco 18th-century births 1811 deaths People from Mallorca Spanish Franciscans 18th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries History of San Bernardino County, California Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain