Juan María Marrón (February 8, 1808 – September 17, 1853) was an early settler of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Life

Marrón was a ship's captain before settling San Diego in the early 1820s. In 1834 Marrón, married Felipa Osuna (c. 1818 – December 21, 1871), the daughter of Juan María Osuna. They had three sons and one daughter. Marrón served as the first

alcade ''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 counci ...

of the

Pueblo de San Diego Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlemen ...

during 1 January 1835 – 1836. He also served as Regidor (Alderman) and Juez de Paz (Justice of the Peace). He is known to have owned Rancho Cueros de Venado, located southeast of what is now

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, from sometime before 1836. Like many of the local ranchos near San Diego, that rancho was attacked by the

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Uni ...

during the hostilities between 1836 and 1840. Historia Baja, Chapter 18, p.11
from consag.tij.uia.mx/ebooks/historia_baja accessed May 31, 2014 Marrón was granted Rancho Agua Hedionda in 1842, which is in the southern coastal part of present-day

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: Geographical locations * Carlsbad, California, San Diego County, United States ** Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot, NRHP ID No. 93001016 * Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States ** Carlsbad Caverns National Park ** Carlsbad Irriga ...

. Agua Hedionda means "stinking water", named after decayed organic material in Agua Hedionda Lagoon. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

Marrón supported the Americans. This caused him hardship and embarrassment with his friends. Once incident was related by Richard F. Pourade in ''The Silver Dons'': :One morning, along the road from the mission, came ''Alcalde'' Juan María Marrón, husband of Felipa Osuna, carrying a white flag. He wanted to visit his wife. Capt. Miguel de Pedrorena took him into custody, but Commodore

Robert F. Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam- ...

finally gave Felipa and her husband a pass through the lines, to go to their rancho. With their children they walked all the way to San Luis Rey Mission, where another band of

Californios 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 ...

seized them and threatened to shoot Marrón for having collaborated with the Americans. They released him but stripped his Agua Hedionda Rancho of horses and cattle. Later Rancho Agua Hedionda was acquired and held by the Kelly family for many years. The adobe home of Marrón still stands, although modernized in the 1960s. Marrón died in 1853 and is buried in El Campo Santo Catholic Cemetery in Old Town San Diego.

Sources

* "Agua Hedionda Rancho", ''Historic Ranchos of San Diego'' by Cecil C. Moyer, Richard F. Pourade, ed. (1960)
"Rancho Agua Hedionda", (Carlsbad, California)
* 1850 Census, San Diego, California, p. 278B

References

People from San Diego 1808 births 1853 deaths People of Alta California {{California-stub Mayors of San Diego