Dennis Gahagan (born c.1817) was an immigrant in the Mexican
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 ...
in territorial California, and early settler in the
City of San Diego
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 ...
in the new
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
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 ...
.
History
Mexican–American War
Dennis Gahagan was born c. 1817 in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He emigrated to the United States in the early 1840s. He joined the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
, which was recruiting for 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, ...
.
He arrived in San Diego by 1849 as a soldier with the First U.S. Artillery (Magruder's Battery). He and his fellow troops fought and patrolled in the Southern California countryside during the war.
U.S. territorial period
In 1849 Gahagan was elected U.S. Judge of the 1st Instance of the District of San Diego. From 1849 to 1850 Gahagan was an
alcalde (mayor) of San Diego.
References
* 1850 Census, San Diego, California, p. 273A
See also
*
List of pre-statehood mayors of San Diego, California
This is a list of pre-statehood alcaldes and mayors of San Diego, from 1770 to 1850, during the Spanish, Mexican, and early American periods, prior to California's admission to statehood.
Commandants of the Presidio of San Diego
From 1770 San D ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gahagan, Dennis
American judges
American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
People from San Diego
Irish emigrants to the United States
1810s births
Year of death missing
History of San Diego
Mayors of San Diego