Bernardo Yorba (August 20, 1800 – November 28, 1858), was a prominent

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 ...

landowner, public figure, and one of the wealthiest men in early 19th-century

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 ...

. Yorba also 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) ...

(mayor) of Santa Ana. The city of

Yorba Linda Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately Ordinal directions, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at th ...

is named after him. Born to

José Antonio Yorba José Antonio Yorba (July 20, 1743 – January 16, 1825), also known as Don José Antonio Yorba I, was a Spanish soldier and early settler of Spanish Empire, Spanish California. Spanish soldier Born in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (San Saturnino) in ...

, a member of the Portolà expedition, Yorba was one of California's largest landowners and most successful ranchers, with thousands of cattle and horses grazing on land grants totaling more than 35,000 acres. Bernado Yorba managed his holdings from the Hacienda de San Antonio, the principal

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchard ...

of the Yorba family.

Life

Bernardo Yorba was born on August 20, 1800 in San Diego. Other sources list his birth on August 4, 1801.Yorba Linda History – Courtesy of the Yorba Linda Public Library
/ref> Bernardo was the son of

, one of the first Spanish soldiers to arrive in California, and Maria Josefa Grijalva. Bernardo's childhood was spent in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, where he attended a school kept by Franciscan Fathers. Jose Antonio Yorba had moved to the

Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was a Spanish land concession in present-day Orange County, California, given by Spanish Alta California Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba and his nephew Pablo Peralta. The grant exte ...

, granted to him and his nephew Pablo Peralta, by Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga on behalf of the

Spanish Government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , d ...

in 1810.Amelia L. Davila, 1893 It was around this time that the family moved to the rancho near present-day Olive, California in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

.Don Meadows, 1985 2nd Ed.; p. 4 In 1834, Bernardo was granted the

Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana was a land grant in present-day Orange County, California given by Mexican governor José Figueroa in 1834 to Bernardo Yorba. The name means "Canyon of Santa Ana". The grant included present-day Yorba Linda. Histor ...

. It was shortly after this that Bernardo began construction of a large adobe house, the Bernardo Yorba Hacienda. Bernardo was elected to serve as Juez de Campo and Auxiliary Alcade several times (1833, 1836, 1840, and 1844). In 1846, he was granted Rancho La Sierra.

Descendants

In 1858, At the age of 58, Bernardo Yorba died leaving behind a large and prosperous rancho and many children. Some sources list his death on November 28, 1858.Amelia L. Davila, 1893 Other sources list his death on October 21, 1858. He was interred in the old Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. He left the land for a cemetery, the Yorba Cemetery, in his will but it was not ready for a burial until 1862. He and nine of his family members remained at Calvary until 1923 when they were all moved and reinterred at

Yorba Cemetery Yorba Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Yorba Linda, California, originally part of Bernardo Yorba's Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana. It was deeded to the County of Orange in 1967. In 1858, the 40,000 square-foot plot of land was willed to the Cath ...

. He married his first wife, Maria de Jesus Alvarado, in 1819. After her death, he married Felipa Dominguez in 1829, and after her death, Andrea Elizalde (Davila) in 1854.Bernardo (Fernando) Antonio Yorba
/ref>

References

External links

Yorba Linda History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorba, Bernardo Californios 1801 births 1858 deaths American landowners American cattlemen

Life

Descendants

References

Further reading

External links