Santiago Emigdio Argüello (1813–1857), a

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 ...

ranchero, civil servant, and military officer.

Early life

The son of

Santiago Argüello Santiago Argüello (1791–1862) was a Californio, a soldier in the Spanish army of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Las Californias, a major Mexican land grant ranchos owner, and part of an influential family in Mexican Alta California and post ...

, he was born August 18, 1813, in

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 ...

. Argüello was collector of revenue at the Mexican port 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 ...

, in Alta California Territory.

Rancho grants

He was granted the

Rancho Melijo Rancho Melijo, or Milijo, was a Mexican land grant rancho, named after a local Kumeyaay village. It was later called Rancho La Punta for the location of the Arguello family ranch house, on a point of hills overlooking the south end of San Diego Ba ...

or Rancho de la Punta in 1833, located on the coast and extending from the Tijuana River Valley to

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

. He took part in the civil conflict against Alvarado in 1836–37 and was a deputy in the assembly in 1845–46. Arguello was in charge of the Rancho Otay and Rancho San Antonio Abad for a time and then majordomo and landowner at San Juan Capistrano in 1841. He aided the Americans in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

serving as a captain of a company of Californio cavalry, suffering a leg wound in a skirmish with Mexican forces outside San Diego. Afterward he had a claim for $11,548 for damages to his property during the war.

Personal life

Argüello was married to Guadalupe Estudillo, daughter of

José María Estudillo José María Estudillo (died April 8, 1830) was a Spanish-born Californio military officer and early settler of San Diego. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego. Life List o ...

and had two sons and number of daughters. One daughter, María Antonia, married to Alfred Henry Wilcox; and another, Refugia, married to William B. Couts. Santiago E. Argüello died on October 20, 1857, at the Rancho Melijo.Smythe, History of San Diego 1542–1908, Vol I, p. 163

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arguello, Santiago E. Mexican military personnel of the Mexican–American War 1813 births 1857 deaths People of Alta California People from San Diego