Rancho El Alisal
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Rancho El Alisal was a
Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...
in present-day
Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...
, given in 1833 by Governor
José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish a ...
to the brothers Feliciano and Mariano Soberanes and to
William Edward Petty Hartnell William Edward Petty Hartnell (April 24, 1798 – February 2, 1854), later known by his Spanish name Don Guillermo Arnel, was a merchant, schoolmaster, and government official in California. He arrived in California in 1822 as a trader, where he ...
. Alisal means Alder tree (sycamore) in Spanish. The land is approximately southeast of present-day Salinas.


History

The Soberanes family patriarch, José Maria Soberanes (1753-1803), accompanied the
Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish soldier, first governor ...
to the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
in 1769. Soberanes married Maria Josefa Castro (1759-1822) and received Rancho Buena Vista. Soberanes's sons, Feliciano Soberanes and Mariano Soberanes, received several land grants in Monterey County. Feliciano Soberanes (1788-1868) was born in
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 ...
where he spent his whole life. He was regidor in 1829-1830, and then
alcade Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
at Monterey in 1838-1839. He married Maria Antonia Rodriguez (1795-1883) in 1810. Feliciano was the grantee of Rancho San Lorenzo in 1841. Soberanes became the administrator of
Mission Soledad 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 ...
lands and received the
Rancho Ex-Mission Soledad Rancho Ex-Mission Soledad was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California. It was given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Feliciano Soberanes. The grant derives its name from the secularized Mission Nues ...
grant in 1845. Maria Josefa Soberanes, daughter of Feliciano, was granted Rancho Los Coches in 1841. Francisco Maria Soberanes (1818-1887), son of Feliciano, was granted
Rancho Sanjon de Santa Rita Rancho Sanjon de Santa Rita was a Mexican land grant mostly in present-day Merced County, California and also a small part in Fresno County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Maria Soberanes. Sanjon is Spanish for di ...
in 1841. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes (1794-1859) was a soldier and also held the office of alcade in Monterey. Mariano Soberanes married María Isidora Vallejo (1791-1830), sister of General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...
. Their daughter, Maria Ygnacia Soberanes, married Dr.
Edward Turner Bale Edward Turner Bale (1810 – October 9, 1849), later known by his Spanish language, Spanish name Don Eduardo A. Bale, was a British-born Californian physician, entrepreneur, and ranchero. He is known for having built the Bale Grist Mill State Histor ...
, grantee of
Rancho Carne Humana Rancho Carne Humana was a Mexican land grant in present-day Napa County, California, given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Edward Turner Bale. The name means "human flesh" in Spanish. There is speculation as to why the name was chosen. The ...
. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes was granted Rancho San Bernardo and
Rancho Los Ojitos Rancho Los Ojitos was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Mariano de Jesus Soberanes. The grant is now mostly Lake San Antonio which was created when the San Antonio dam was b ...
in 1842. In 1833, the brothers Feliciano and Mariano Soberanes went into a partnership with Hartnell.


Rancho El Alisal (Bernal)

The Soberanes portion of Rancho El Alisal was purchased by the Bernal family. In 1855, Bruno Bernal (1799-1863), son of Jose Joaquin Bernal, grantee of Rancho Santa Teresa, moved to his Rancho El Alisal. With the
cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...
of California to the United States following the
Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, 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% ...
, the 1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for one square league was filed with the
Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...
in 1853, and the grant was
patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
at to Bruno Bernal in 1866.


Rancho El Alisal (Hartnell)

Hartnell (1798–1854) named his new property El Patrocinio de San Jose (the patronage of Saint Joseph). Hartnell sold Rancho El Alisal to his former pupil Juan Alvarado in 1841. A claim was filed for two-thirds of a square league with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented at to Hartnell's wife, Maria Teresa de la Guerra, in 1882.


See also

*
List of Ranchos of California These California land grants were made by Spanish (1784–1821) and Mexican (1822–1846) authorities of Las Californias and Alta California to private individuals before California became part of the United States of America.Shumway, Burgess M ...


References

{{California history Alisal, El El Alisa Salinas, California El Alisal El Alisal