Ygnacio Sepulveda-Ávila (1842–1916) 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 ...

judge and attorney, who served as part of the first

Superior Court of Los Angeles County The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Superior Court operates 36 courthouses throughout the county. Curr ...

Family and education

Ygnacio Sepúlveda, a member of the prominent

Sepúlveda family of California The Sepúlveda family is a prominent Californios, Californio family of Southern California. Members of the family held extensive ranchos of California, rancho grants and numerous important positions, including Alcalde of Los Angeles, Alcalde de Los ...

, was born on July 1, 1842, in the

Pueblo de Los Ángeles El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, shortened to the Pueblo de los Ángeles, was the Spanish colonial pueblos and villas in North America, Spanish civilian ''pueblo'' settled in 1781, which became the ...

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva 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 was made a separat ...

, Mexico. He was the son of Jose Andres Sepúlveda, grantee of Rancho San Joaquin in present day Orange County, and Francisca Avila. His grandfather was

Francisco Sepúlveda II Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

, the grantee of Rancho San Vicente in present day

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. His early boyhood was spent in Los Angeles, but when older he was sent to prep schools in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He was married on December 13, 1883, to Herlinda de la Guerra of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He and his wife, who died in 1920, had two daughters, Conchita Sepúlveda Chapman Pignatelli and Ora Sepúlveda. He had two sisters, Mrs. Thomas D. Mott and Tranquilina Sepúlveda.

Legal career

California

Sepúlveda was admitted to the

California State Bar The State Bar of California is an administrative division of the Supreme Court of California which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law in California. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law ...

in 1860 or 1863 and, as a Democrat, he served one term in the California Legislature (1863–65). He was elected a county judge in 1863 or 1869 and a district judge in 1874 or 1875. He became one of the first two

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

judges for

in 1879, the other being

Volney E. Howard Volney Erskine Howard (October 22, 1809 – May 14, 1889) was an American lawyer, statesman, and jurist. Career Volney Erskine Howard was born in Norridgewock, Somerset County, Maine on October 22, 1809, to Richard Howard, a prosperous farmer. He ...

. In 1872, he was a member of the first governing board for the

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California, operating separate from the Los Angeles County Public Library system. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million resid ...

system.

Mexico

In December 1883 Sepúlveda left Los Angeles and moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, where he spent thirty years practicing law and became the administrator of jurisprudence and legislation under the administration of President

Porfirio Diaz Porfirio is a given name in Portuguese and Spanish, derived from the Greek Porphyry (''porphyrios'' "purple-clad"). It can refer to: * Porfirio Salinas – Mexican-American artist * Porfirio Armando Betancourt – Honduran football player * ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In 1895 he was made the first secretary and ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' of the United States in Mexico. While in that country, in 1905 he helped organize the Guadalupe Council of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

. In 1895 Sepúlveda was elected a member of the Mexican Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation.

Return

He returned to Los Angeles in 1914, with his wife and one daughter, to find a city greatly changed. He told a reporter that:

I am constantly comparing myself to
Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" () is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Du ...
, and there is a certain sadness in this coming back after thirty years. With the exception of
flying visit
six years ago, I have not seen my old home in all that time. ... The disturbed conditions in Mexico were large factors in my decision to give up our home in that country.

Death

Sepúlveda died at the age of 74 on December 2, 1916, in his home at 2639 Monmouth Avenue in today's University Park district. A

requiem mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

was celebrated on December 5 at Saint Agnes Church, Vermont Avenue and West Adams Street, and interment followed at Santa Barbara Mission Cemetery in Santa Barbara, CA.

Legacy

In 2006, Sepúlveda's was one of the first names placed on a Wall of Fame sponsored by the

Los Angeles County Bar Association The Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) is a voluntary bar association with more than 16,000 members throughout Los Angeles County, California, and the world. Founded in 1878, LACBA has strived to meet the professional needs of lawyers, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepulveda, Ygnacio Lawyers from Los Angeles 19th-century Mexican lawyers Politicians from Los Angeles 1842 births 1916 deaths California Democrats People of Alta California Lawyers from Mexico City 19th-century American politicians Superior court judges in the United States 19th-century American judges 20th-century Mexican lawyers