José Abrego (3 Mar 1813 – 3 April 1878) was a 19th-century Californian merchant. He arrived in Alta California in 1834 as a member of Compania Cosmopolitan A, part of the Hijar-Padrés colony. It was led by José Maria Hijar and Don José Maria Padrés. Abrego became a merchant in Monterey, California, and held a variety of political offices. He served as treasurer of the territory from 1839 to 1846. After the Mexican–American War, he continued to operate as a merchant. He became very wealthy and built a home that is still preserved in Monterey.
Abrego was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He married Maria Josefa Casilda Aniceta Estrada, a native Californio born in Monterey, in about 1836. She was half-sister of California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. He died in 1878. One of his sons, Abimael, married Adelaida Leese, daughter of Rosalia Vallejo.Bancroft, California, Vol 2 Number 686; Northrop, Spanish-Mexican Families, 2: 1
Arrival in Alta California
On August 17, 1833, and on April 16, 1834, the Diputación de Alta California (legislature) passed legislation to secularize the California missions. In Mexico, acting Mexican president Valentín Gómez Farías, a liberal reformer, appointed José María de Híjar and D. José María Padrés to lead a group of 239 colonists to establish secular control of Alta California. Híjar, a wealthy landowner, was appointed governor to replace Figueroa, and Padrés, an army officer, was appointed military commander. The colonists were farmers and artisans, and were volunteers carefully selected by Farías. His objective was to modernize and strengthen Mexican rule over California, as a bulwark against the growing influence of Russia and the United States.
José Figueroa, governor of Alta California, was charged with secularizing the Francisco mission lands. He was determined that one-half of the mission lands should be held in trust for the indigenous people. Rumors circulated from Mexico that the Hijar was intent on taking the mission estates, and that Padrés had selected administrators from among his companions to oversee the remaining mission lands. They believed the arriving settlers were planning to take possession of the mission lands. Figueroa decided not to wait, and on August 9, 1834, approved a secularization program written by José Antonio Carrillo.
The Morelos arrived in San Diego on September 1, 1833, and La Natalie in Monterey on September 25. Híjar, who was in Los Angeles, believed he was to be the military governor. Padrés thought he would become the civilian governor. A horseback courier from Mexico arrived in Monterey before the colonists. All soon learned from the courier that Antonio López de Santa Anna had become President of Mexico and that José Figueroa was still governor of Alta California. Some members of the Híjar-Padrés colony launched a brief rebellion against Figueroa in Los Angeles, which failed. Figueroa had Híjar and Padrés arrested, and Híjar and his most loyal associates were sent back to Mexico. Abrego, Ignacio Coronel, José Noé, and Agustín Olvera, among others, stayed and contributed to California's success and growth.
Life in Monterey
Abrego had been a hatter in Mexico, and continued that trade in Monterey. He built a one-story Monterey-style adobe home in 1834 that is still in use today. In December 1834, Abrego opened a shop in what is now called the Pacheco House, across the street from his home. He married Maria Josefa Casilda Aniceta Estrada, a native Californio born in Monterey, in about 1836. She was half-sister of California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. They moved into a portion of the house that was completed while additions were completed afterward. Testifying of his wealth, Abrego bought the first full-length mirror in Alta California. His daughter reportedly asked her husband, upon seeing herself for the first time in the mirror, "Who is that very lovely girl?" Poet, author, and historian Bayard Taylor wrote about a party he attended at Abrego's home in 1849 in his book El Dorado.
José and Josefa Abrego has 18 children. They lived their entire marriage in the home José had constructed, and all of their children were born in the home. In 1841, Jose purchased the first pianofortes brought to California in 1843 for $600 [about $ today].Gardens of Memories Monterey History and Art Association. Monterey, California. April 28, 1990 José wrote a note that he left inside it, on which he wrote:
The piano was a six-octave instrument made by Beitkopt & Harrtel in Leipzig. It was imported by Brauns & Focke of Baltimore, who specialized in importing fine German goods. It was still in the home in 1892. The piano was in 1934 owned by Julia "Dulce" Bolado Davis, a granddaughter of José Abrego, located in her home in Tres Pinos near Hollister. She presented the piano to the California Historical Society where it was kept at their offices on McAllister Street in San Francisco. Abrego eventually owned nine lots on Abrego Street. He was among other comfortable, middle-class families whose assessed property was valued between $20,000 and $30,000 (about $ today).
Abrego built El Cuartel on California Street (now Munras Avenue) in Monterey in the early 1840s. It was an elongated two‐story adobe used by the Mexican government as soldiers' barracks. After the United States claimed California in 1946, they used it as their headquarters. The first issues of the first newspaper in California were printed here. The building was demolished in 1910 and its adobe bricks were used to fill in portions of Hartnell Gulch in the late 1880s.
Abrego was named administrator of Mission San Antonio in 1833 and 1834. He served as treasurer of the territory from 1839 to 1846. As the officer in charge of territorial finances, he was noted for his integrity and ability. He was later the customs officer and was elected to the assembly on October 6, 1845.Engelhardt, Zephyrin. The Missions and Missionaries of California, Vol. 4 James H. Barry Company. San Francisco, California. 1915. page 472
When California became a state, he relinquished his title and resumed his business as a merchant. He began making and selling soap which he continued until the California Gold Rush brought regular visits from merchant ships to the coast.History of the Abrego Adobe Peninsula Diary. Mayo Hayes o'Donnel Library. April 27, 1950
Land grants
Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito
Governor Juan Alvarado granted two square leagues of land in 1839 to Marcelino Escobar, Alcalde of Monterey. Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito was named for two bodies of water: San José Creek near Point Lobos and El Río Chiquito del Sur. Two of Escobar's sons, Juan and Agustin, obtained possession of the rancho shortly afterward, and sold it on August 26, 1841, to Doňa Maria Josefa de Abrego for about three cents an acre. She held power of attorney for her husband to buy and sell land. She paid $250, one-half in silver, and one-half in gold.
Later on, ownership was complicated by the fact that when Juan and Augustin Escobar sold the rancho to Josefa de Abrego in 1841, they didn't obtain permission from their other brothers and sisters. Under somewhat mysterious circumstances, on January 16, 1843, Maria Abrego deeded the land to a group of about 10 soldiers from the Monterey Presidio. It appears that the soldiers paid nothing, and a legend attached to the transfer says a gambler lost a rancho in a card game. On June 7, 1844, the soldiers turned the Rancho over to their superior officer, Colonel José Castro, former Governor Alvarado's brother-in-law.
When Mexico ceded California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. But the Land Act of 1851 required owners to prove their ownership, and Castro filed a claim for Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito with the Public Land Commission in on February 2, 1853. While waiting for his case to be decided, Castro sold his 8,876 acres of land in 1854 to Joseph S. Emery and Abner Bassett for $700, leaving to them the legal fight for ownership. The commission denied Castro's claim on August 28, 1855, apparently invalidating Escobar's grant in 1839 and all transactions since then. Castro died in 1860. Emery and Bassett appealed Castro's claim to the United States District Court. Bassett died in 1874, leaving his undivided one-half interest to his wife and eight children. Their half of the rancho was appraised at $15,000.
The remaining Escobar siblings contested the sale, and to finance the legal battle, they agreed on March 25, 1859, to give their attorney Delos R. Ashley one-half of the rancho if he obtained title to it. On March 12, 1859, the Abrego heirs gave a quitclaim deed for land north of San Jose Creek to Mathew G. Ireland, who bought from them in 1860 and 1861. Joseph W. Gregg later bought Ireland's claim. On December 1, 1877, they sold one-ninth of the rancho to Adam Joseph Kopsch. Further complicating ownership, a Sidney S. Johnson said the Emery and Bassett had given him one-third of the rancho.Aubrey Drury, Point Lobos Reserve, California State Park, Department of Natural Resources, Sacramento. 1954. pages 78-85
In 1880, a lawsuit was filed in United States District Court to resolve all of the conflicting claims. Subject to the confirmation of the original claim by Castro, they awarded the Ashley heirs one-ninth; W. T. Baggett, who had bought one-half of the Ashley interest, one-ninth; J. S. Emery, two-ninths; Bassett estate, two-ninths; Sidney S. Johnson, two-ninths; and W. Van Dyke, successor to Kopsch, one-ninth. Joseph W. Gregg's claim to the north of San Jose Creek was also later validated, as were 27 other minor claims, mostly from squatters. The decision divided Escobar's land grant into 34 parcels.
After long, complex litigation, on June 5, 1882, the court validated Castro's original claim, resolving the conflicting ownership claims. The title was confirmed on December 24, 1885, and President Grover Cleveland signed the land patent on May 4, 1888, 35 years after Castro's initial filing. All of the 32 claims from the 1880 lawsuit were invalidated as a result.
Rancho Punta de los Piños
Rancho Punta de Pinos covered a large portion of the Monterey Peninsula. Its borders extended from Point Cabrillo (the current location of the Hopkins Marine Station), followed the shore of Pacific Ocean west and south to Point Cypress, and then back to Point Cabrillo in a straight line. Governor Figueroa originally granted the rancho to José María Armenta on May 24, 1833. He died in 1838, and his widow sold it six years later on October 4, 1844, to Abrego for $160.Punta de Pinos Monterey Work Progress Administration Abstract, GLO 279 Abrego received an affirming grant from Acting governor Manuel Micheltorena on October 4, 1844.Hotelling, Neal. Who Owned the Sawmill at Sawmil Gulch? Forestnews. Pebble Beach, California. January–March 2015. By the time Abrego received his patent, county sheriff Henry DeGraw had acquired Leese's share, and Charles Brown had acquired Gleeson's share.