José Vicente Tomás Féliz y Esquer ( 1741 – 1822) was a Spanish soldier and settler who was a member of the 1775–76 Anza expedition that brought the first settlers to California. In 1781, he was one of four soldiers which guarded the settlers which founded the settlement of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels), which would become

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, ...

. He took on a leadership role in the founding and governance of that pueblo, in essence becoming the city's first mayor, and was rewarded for his efforts with a Spanish

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

in the hills above Los Angeles, in the area of what today still bears his name:

Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

Early life and immigration to California

Féliz was born Álamos, Sonora, Mexico in approximately 1741. In 1775 he joined the expedition of

Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...

, to bring colonists from Mexico into California. Along with his pregnant wife, Maria Ygnacia Manuela Pinuelas, and their eight children, Féliz began the trek in October 1775, departing from

Tubac, Arizona Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which ...

. Tragedy befell the Feliz' along the way, when Maria went into labor as the group was on the outskirts of what is today

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. While the delivery was successful, Maria died during childbirth, and was buried at the

Mission San Xavier del Bac Mission San Xavier del Bac () is a historic Spanish Catholic mission about south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation. The mission was founded in 1692 by Eusebio Kino in the center of a cent ...

. Padre Pedro Font, in his diary, described the event: "We set out from Tubac at eleven in the morning, and, at half-past three in the afternoon, halted at the place called La Canoa, having traveled some five leagues to the north-northeast. This night the wife of a soldier was delivered; she died in childbed, and the next day was taken to the mission of San Xavier de Bac for burial." The group continued on to arriving at the

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel () is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by the Spanish Empire on the Nativity of Mary September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish mi ...

arriving there in January, 1776. By 1781, Féliz was still stationed at the San Gabriel mission when a group of 44 settlers arrived, on their way to found a new city further south, what would become known as Los Angeles. Some of the settlers had contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, and so were

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

d for a short time, during which another group of settlers arrived. Feliz was selected as one of four soldiers to accompany the now total of 44 settlers, the to their new pueblo.Kelsey, Harry. 1976. "A New Look at the Founding of Los Angeles." ''Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly''. 55:4, Winter. pp. 326–339.Bob Pool, "City of Angels' First Name Still Bedevils Historians." ''Los Angeles Times'' (March 26, 2005).
/ref> On September 4, 1781, Féliz led the the eight miles from San Gabriel to the town site on the bank of the Río Porciúncula, where they founded the city of Los Angeles on a site chosen by

Felipe de Neve Felipe de Neve y Padilla (1724 – 3 November 1784) was a Spanish soldier who served as the 4th Governor of the Californias, from 1775 to 1782. Neve is one of the founders of Los Angeles and was instrumental in the foundation of San Jose and ...

, governor of California. The name first given to the settlement is debated. Historian Doyce B. Nunis has said that the Spanish named it "El Pueblo de la Reyna de los Ángeles" ("The Town of the Queen of the Angels"). For proof, he pointed to a map dated 1785, where that phrase was used. Frank Weber, the

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

archivist, replied, however, that the name given by the founders was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciuncula", or "the town of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula." and that the map was in error. Feliz was appointed the settlement's first , literally the first mayor.

Rancho Los Feliz

Some time between 1796 and 1802, Feliz was awarded a land grant to the east of the Pueblo de Los Angeles. One of the first land grants in California, it consisted of . Bounded on the east by the Los Angeles River, the land, known as El Rancho de Nuestra Señora de Refugio de Los Feliz (Ranch of Our Lady of Refuge of the Feliz Family) Felipe de Goycoechea reported five ranchos in private possession in 1795, none of them the Feliz rancho. An 1802 letter from Goycoechea, on the other hand, assumed Borica or some other governor granted Vicente the rancho. The grant comprised what is today

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Amer ...

, East Hollywood, and Silver Lake. The rancho remained in the Feliz family until 1863. The area's boundaries were the Los Angeles River to the north and east, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the west.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feliz, Jose Vicente Explorers of California Spanish explorers of North America Spanish colonization of the Americas People of the Californias Los Feliz, Los Angeles 1822 deaths