José María Estudillo (died April 8, 1830) was a Spanish-born

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 ...

military officer and early settler of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego.

Life

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the Presidio of San Diego from October 23, 1820, to September 1821 and again from 1827 to his death in 1830. Estudillo married Gertrudis Horcasitas. In 1827 Estudillo's son, José Antonio Estudillo, built a large L-shaped

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

house for his father on land granted by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

José María de Echeandía. The adobe was later enlarged and became U-shaped. The house is still standing, known as

Casa de Estudillo The Casa de Estudillo, also known as the Estudillo House, is a historic adobe house in San Diego, California, United States. It was constructed in 1827 by José María Estudillo and his son José Antonio Estudillo, early settlers of San Diego a ...

, and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in California. It is located in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, on the southeast side of the Old Town San Diego plaza, and is designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in its own right. José Antonio Estudillo was the grantee of Rancho Janal. Estudillo's other children were José Joaquin Estudillo, grantee of Rancho San Leandro, on the eastern shore of the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

; María Dolores Estudillo, who married

Juan Bandini Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century. Early history Bandini was born in 1800 in Lima ...

; and Magdalena Estudillo, the grantee who received Rancho Otay. In December 1823 he was diarist with Brevet Captain José Romero when they were sent to find a route from

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

(Mexico) to

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

; on their expedition they first recorded the existence of ''Agua Caliente'' (hot water) at

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

.
here for Table of Contents

Sources

External links

"José Maria Estudillo", from Smythe's ''History of San Diego'' (1907), p. 169
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estudillo, Jose Maria 1830 deaths Landowners from California Politicians from San Diego Spanish emigrants to Mexico People of Alta California Year of birth missing Mayors of San Diego

Life

Sources

Further reading

External links