José Manuel Machado (1781 - 1852) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

soldier, ranchero, early citizen and regiador on the

ayuntamiento ''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain: * ca, ajuntament (). * gl, concello (). * eu, udaletxea (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin Amer ...

of the pueblo of

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 ...

. José Manuel Machado was born in 1781, but details of his life before joining the Spanish army are unknown. Genealogy of the Machado Family, Vol. XLI, No. 3, Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, from Orin M. Zink, The Machado-Stewart Family and Their Home, The Journal of San Diego History, SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY, Winter 1969, Vol. 15, Number 1, Rita Larkin, Editor
/ref> The elder Machado came as a corporal of the Leather Jacket Company to garrison the Presido of San Diego in 1782. During his many years of service the younger Machado advanced rapidly in rank holding many military offices. He commanded the military guards at

Mission San Luis Rey Mission San Luis Rey de Francia ( es, Misión San Luis Rey de Francia) is a former Spanish mission in San Luis Rey, a neighborhood of Oceanside, California. This Mission lent its name to the Luiseño tribe of Mission Indians. At its prime, ...

and

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 ...

. He was involved in the founding of the mission stations at Las Flores, Pala and

Temecula Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...

. In 1808, Machado was married to María Serafina Valdez, the daughter of Eugenio Valdez a fellow soldier from the garrison at Los Angeles. In the following years they would have 15 children.Rosemary Masterson, The Machado-Silvas Family, The Journal of San Diego History, SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY, Winter 1969, Volume 15, Number 1, Rita Larkin, Editor.
/ref> Following Mexican independence from Spain, Machado was a loyal officer of the Mexican army and administered the garrison rancho of the San Diego Presidio, later the

Rancho de la Nación Rancho de la Nación was a Mexican land grant in present-day southern San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to John (Don Juan) Forster. The grant encompassed present-day National City, Chula Vista, Bonita, Sunnys ...

. For loyal service he was granted the

Rancho El Rosario Rancho El Rosario, subsequently renamed Rancho Rosarito, was a land grant made to José Manuel Machado, one of the first soldiers stationed at the Presidio of San Diego. The grant was made in 1827, by Governor José María de Echeandía. It cove ...

in 1827 on lands of the

Misión El Descanso Mission El Descanso ( es, Misión El Descanso), originally Misión San Miguel la Nueva, was a Spanish mission located in what is now Playas de Rosarito Municipality, Baja California. It was the founded by the Dominican missionary Tomás de Ahu ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. During the early 1830s he became a citizen of the new pueblo of San Diego where he built a one story adobe house for his family below the presidio, on what became 2724 Congress Street. In 1836 he was a Regiador (city councilman) in the ayuntamiento of the San Diego Pueblo. There is a conflation here of Juan Machado (1756-1810 - married Maria Carmen De la Luz y Valenzuela) and his son, Jose Manuel Machado (1781-1852 - married Maria Serafina Valdez) - The eldest Machado arrived in San Diego about 1781 and then continued to San Gabriel Mission where his son was born. His son followed in his father's footsteps and grew to also become a Spanish Leather Jacket soldier. The younger Machado then went back to San Diego as a young man where he married Valdez and parented many children, including Juana De Dios Machado - considered the "mother" of San Diego. José Manuel Machado died October 18, 1852, and was buried in the El Campo Santo Cemetery in the old town section of San Diego. Jose Manuel Machado
from findagrave.com, accessed May 21, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Machado, Jose Manuel 1756 births 1852 deaths Californios Spanish soldiers 19th-century Mexican politicians People from San Diego History of San Diego People of Mexican California