Don Antonio Francisco Coronel (October 21, 1817 – April 17, 1894) 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 ...

politician and ranchero who was

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, ...

and

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the Government of California, government of the U.S. state of California. 34 individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumb ...

. Coronel was considered one of the first

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation u ...

s in

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, ...

, and his private collection formed the basis of the

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are par ...

Career

Antonio Francisco Coronel was the son of

Ygnacio Coronel Ygnacio Coronel (1795–1862) was a settler in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles of Mexican Alta California. He was a member of the Los Angeles Common Council. Life Jose Ygnacio Franco Coronel was born in Mexico City, during the colonial New Spain p ...

, born in

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 ...

in the last years of colonial

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. Coronel was 17 years of age when he came to Alta California with his parents in 1834, as a part of the Híjar-Padrés Colony. In 1838, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of Tribunals for 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 ...

. In 1843, he became Justice of the Peace (''Juez de Paz'', the equivalent of Mayor at that time). 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, ...

in 1846–47, Antonio was a captain and sergeant-at-arms in the Mexican artillery and took part in military operations against the United States. Once the war had ended, Antonio Coronel was the first

Los Angeles County Assessor The Los Angeles County Assessor is the assessor and officer of the government of Los Angeles County responsible for discovering all taxable property in Los Angeles County, except for state-assessed property, to inventory and list all the taxable ...

from 1850 to 1856. In 1853, Coronel became

. Coronel was a ward councilman on the

Los Angeles Common Council The Los Angeles Common Council was the predecessor of the Los Angeles, California, City Council. It was formed in 1850 under state law, when the city had only 1,610 residents, and it existed until 1889, when the city had about 50,400 residents an ...

(1854–1867) He was the

from 1867 to 1871. In 1873, Coronel married Mariana Williamson. Coronel collected indigenous artifacts from California and Mexico, and mission-era relics. After his death his widow donated them to the Chamber of Commerce which put them on display in an exhibit of Californiana in their downtown headquarters. Coronel's donated collection made the basis for the

. Antonio Coronel became the owner of

Rancho Los Feliz Rancho de Los Feliz was a Spanish land concession in present-day Los Angeles County, California purportedly given in 1795 by Spanish Governor Pedro Fages to José Vicente Feliz, although there is no deed or other record.. The land of the gra ...

Personal life

He was married to

Mariana W. de Coronel Mariana W. de Coronel (February 26, 1851 – 1925) was an American collector of Native American and Mexican curios and antiques. These were gathered during the course of many years, the largest and most valuable collection of historical materials ...

. His brother, Manuel F. Coronel, was the first

Zanjero of Los Angeles The Zanjero (; ), sometimes known as the Water Overseer or Water Steward, was the official in charge of water management for the city of Los Angeles in the 19th century. The position was considered to be more important than even the Mayor of Los ...

. He had a sister, Maria Antonio Coronel, who married

Alexis Godey Alexander "Alexis" Godey, also called Alec Godey and Alejandro Godey, was a trapper, scout, and mountain man. He was an associate of Jim Bridger and was lead scout for John C. Frémont. Biography Godey was born in about 1818 in St. Louis, ...

in 1863.Alexis Godey, by Walt Wheelock, June 1965
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coronel, Antonio F. Mayors of Los Angeles 1817 births 1894 deaths Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members 19th-century mayors of places in California Mexican military personnel of the Mexican–American War State treasurers of California Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California American politicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American people in California politics People of Alta California

Career

Personal life

Further reading

References