Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y Las Gallinas 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

Marin County, California Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...

given in 1844 by Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general of the Mexican Army, adjutant-general of the same, governor, commandant-general and inspector of the department of Las Californias, then ...

to Timothy Murphy (Timoteo Murphy). Las Gallinas means "the hens" in Spanish. The grant extended from east of

Nicasio, California Nicasio ( ; Spanish for " Nicasius") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census the CDP population w ...

, south-east along the

Lucas Valley, California Lucas Valley is a valley in Marin County, California, drained to the east into San Pablo Bay by Miller Creek, as well as an unincorporated community in the valley, which forms part of the Lucas Valley-Marinwood CDP. Lucas Valley Road traverses ...

, then along Miller Creek to Las Gallinas and the

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...

History

Timothy Murphy (1800–1853 ) born in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

worked at the

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

branch of the Hartnell and Company meatpacking house in 1828. He moved to

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 ...

, but the local branch of Hartnell and Company closed shortly after he arrived. In 1837, Murphy was administrator of

Mission San Rafael 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 ...

, and later, served as

alcalde 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 ...

and juez de paz at San Rafael. In 1844, Murphy was granted five square leagues in three adjoining ranchos: Rancho San Pedro, Rancho Santa Margarita and Rancho Las Gallinas. Timothy Murphy suffered a reversal of fortune in 1849 when he was swindled out of the proceeds from the sale of meat from his ranch, by John B. Steinberger. Thereafter, things continued to decline for him, until his death in 1853, of a burst appendix.Thomas F. Prendergast, 2001 , ''Forgotten Pioneers: Irish Leaders in Early California'', University Press of the Pacific, 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 Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y Las Gallinas 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 1852, and the grant was patented to Timothy Murphy in 1866. Irishman, James Miller (-1890) and his wife, Mary Murphy, came overland to California in 1844 with the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party and in 1846 he purchased of the Rancho Las Gallinas purchased from Timoteo Murphy and operated it as a beef ranch and then as a dairy farm.Michael C. O'Laughlin, 2004,''Irish Families on the California Trail'', Irish Genealogical Foundation, Miller and Miller Creek are named for James Miller. Timothy Murphy never married, and when he died in 1853, his brother Matthew Murphy (who was shot while riding near San Quentin by a prison guard in 1852, and died in 1854) inherited present day McNear, Peacock Gap, and

China Camp China Camp State Park is a state park in Marin County, California, surrounding a historic Chinese American shrimp-fishing village and a salt marsh. The park is located in San Rafael, California, on the shore of San Pablo Bay. It is known for ...

. His nephew, John Lucas, inherited the Santa Margarita ranch (present-day Lucas Valley-Marinwood, California and Terra Linda). John Lucas (1826–) was born in County Wexford, Ireland, and came to California in 1852. He returned to Ireland in 1853, but came back to California in 1855. He married Maria Sweetman in 1855, and in 1856 moved to the ranch opposite the James Miller, where he built a home, and continued grazing cattle.J. P. Munro-Fraser,1880, ''History of Marin County, California'',Alley, Bowen and Company He sold about of Rancho Santa Margarita to Manuel T. Freitas (1853–1923) in 1898.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Dixie Schoolhouse. One-story, wood-frame Italianate schoolhouse built in 1864.

References

External links

Rancho San Pedro
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Pedro, Santa Margarita Y Las Gallinas California ranchos Ranchos of Marin County, California

Rancho San Pedro Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants and the first to win a patent from the United States. The Spanish Crown granted the of land to soldier Juan José Domínguez in 1784, with his descendants validating their legal claim ...

1844 establishments in Alta California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References

External links