Don Antonio Francisco Coronel (October 21, 1817 – April 17, 1894) was a

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sin ...

politician and ranchero who was

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of California, all ...

and

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-five individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Fiona M ...

. Coronel was considered one of the first

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation us ...

s in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, and his private collection formed the basis of the

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large col ...

Career

Antonio Francisco Coronel was the son of

Ygnacio Coronel Ygnacio Coronel (1795–1862) was a settler in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles of Mexican Alta California. He was a member of the Los Angeles Common Council. Life Jose Ygnacio Franco Coronel was born in Mexico City, during the colonial New Spain p ...

, born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

in the last years of colonial

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...

. Coronel was 17 years of age when he came to Alta California with his parents in 1834, as a part of the Híjar-Padrés Colony. In 1838, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of Tribunals for the

Pueblo de Los Ángeles El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (English: ''The town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels''), shortened to Pueblo de los Ángeles, was the Spanish civilian ''pueblo'' settled in 1781, which by the 20th century became the ...

. In 1843, he became

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

(''Juez de Paz'', the equivalent of Mayor at that time). During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

in 1846–47, Antonio was a captain and sergeant-at-arms in the Mexican artillery and took part in military operations against the United States. Once the war had ended, Antonio Coronel was the first

Los Angeles County Assessor The Los Angeles County Assessor is the assessor and officer of the government of Los Angeles County responsible for discovering all taxable property in Los Angeles County, except for state-assessed property, to inventory and list all the taxable p ...

from 1850 to 1856. In 1853, Coronel became

. Coronel was a ward councilman on the

Los Angeles Common Council The Los Angeles Common Council was the predecessor of the Los Angeles, California, City Council. It was formed in 1850 under state law, when the city had only 1,610 residents, and it existed until 1889, when the city had about 50,400 residents and ...

(1854–1867) He was the

from 1867 to 1871. In 1873, Coronel married Mariana Williamson. His donated collection made the basis for the

. Antonio Coronel became the owner of

Rancho Los Feliz Rancho Los Feliz was a Spanish land concession in present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1795 by Spanish Governor Pedro Fages to José Vicente Feliz. The land of the grant includes Los Feliz and Griffith Park, and was bounded on ...

Personal life

He was married to Mariana W. de Coronel. His brother, Manuel F. Coronel, was the first Zanjero of Los Angeles. He had a sister, Maria Antonio Coronel, who married

Alexis Godey Alexis Godey also called Alec Godey and Alejandro Godey, born Alexander Godey, was a trapper, scout, and mountain man. He was an associate of Jim Bridger and was lead scout for John C. Frémont. Biography Godey was born in 1818 in St. Loui ...

in 1863.Alexis Godey, by Walt Wheelock, June 1965
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coronel, Antonio F. Californios California Democrats Mayors of Los Angeles 1817 births 1894 deaths American politicians of Mexican descent Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members 19th-century American politicians Mexican military personnel of the Mexican–American War Politicians from Los Angeles State treasurers of California Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

Mexican-American culture in California

Career

Personal life

Further reading

References