Agustín Olvera (1820–1876) was 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 ...

-American, judge, ranchero, and politician in 19th century

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Olvera served as the first elected Los Angeles County Judge and also served 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 an ...

. He is the namesake of

Olvera Street Olvera Street, commonly known by its Spanish language, Spanish name Calle Olvera, is a historic pedestrian street in El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, the historic center of Los Angeles. The street is loc ...

by the Plaza de Los Ángeles.

Biography

Accompanying his uncle,

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 ...

, he came to California in 1834 as a member of the Híjar-Padrés Colony. In 1842, Olvera married Concepción Argüello (1815–1853), daughter 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 ...

. After her death, Olvera married in 1859 Maria Ortega (1823–1918), widow of Edward Stokes. Olvera held various offices in the Mexican administration. Olvera was granted Rancho Mission Viejo in 1842 and the Rancho Cuyamaca in 1845. Olvera helped to bridge the gap between the governance of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

by Mexico and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Olvera later served as captain in

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

' campaign against Frémont and was one of the commission of three that negotiated peace with the American forces at Cahuenga. As a commissioner he signed the

Treaty of Cahuenga The Treaty of Cahuenga (), also called the Capitulation of Cahuenga (''Capitulación de Cahuenga''), was an 1847 agreement that ended the Conquest of California, resulting in a ceasefire between Californios and Americans. The treaty was signed ...

ending the war in California. U.S. Military Governor

Bennet Riley Bennet C. Riley (November 27, 1787 – June 9, 1853) was the seventh and last military governor of California. Riley ordered the election of representatives to a state constitutional convention, and handed over all civil authority to a governor a ...

appointed Olvera to be Judge of the First Instance in 1849. Augustin Olvera was subsequently elected the first county judge of the newly formed

County of Los Angeles Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

in 1850. He relied upon a bilingual Sheriff to translate the proceedings from Spanish because he did not speak English when he first took the bench. Along with his legal duties, Olvera was responsible, with his two associate justices, for administering county business until the establishment of the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...

two years later. When his term expired in 1853, he entered the private practice of law. He was a Los Angeles County Supervisor in 1855. Olvera was a member of the

in 1851–52.

Legacy

In 1877, the Los Angeles Common Council changed the name of Vine Street to

in his honor. Olvera held the first county court trials in his home near the historic Olvera Street marketplace and plaza. In 1959, the actor

Cesar Romero César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lover (stereotype), Latin lovers, historical ...

played Olvera in an episode of the same name on the syndicated

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', hosted by

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olvera, Agustin 1820 births 1876 deaths People of Alta California Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 19th-century American politicians