Joseph Ballinger Chiles (July 16, 1810 – June 25, 1885), later known by his Spanish name José B. Chiles, was a Californian ranchero, military officer, and entrepreneur. Born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Chiles served as a colonel in the U.S. Army during the Seminole Wars, before eventually immigrating to

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New 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 ...

, where he became a Mexican citizen and acquired multiple rancho grants in the Napa Valley and

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

.Napa Historical Society - Joseph Ballinger Chiles
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California

Widowed, he placed his children with relatives to join the Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841, the first

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

to enter Mexican

over the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

s. He returned east in 1842 and subsequently led seven more wagon trains into California. At

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern Ida ...

he met

Joseph Rutherford Walker Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

whom he convinced to lead half the settlers with him traveling in wagons back to California down the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in the ...

. Chiles led the rest in a

pack train A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

party up the Malheur River and on south to California via the Pit and

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

s. Walker's party in 1843 also abandoned their wagons and finished getting to California by pack train. In 1844, Chiles received

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 ...

citizenship and was granted the

Rancho Catacula Rancho Catacula was a Mexican land grant in present day Napa County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joseph Ballinger Chiles. The grant was located along Chiles creek in the Chiles Valley east of St. Helena. History ...

in Napa Valley. He operated a grist mill and a ferry across the

. In 1850, he also purchased part of the

Rancho Laguna de Santos Calle Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...

. The area is the present day site of Davis, California.

References

External links

DavisWiki.org: Joseph B. Chiles
California pioneers Land owners from California 1810 births 1885 deaths American emigrants to Mexico Naturalized citizens of Mexican California People of the California Gold Rush People from Davis, California History of Yolo County, California 19th-century American businesspeople {{California-stub

California

See also

References

External links