Cyrus Alexander (1805–1872) was an early settler of

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

. Cyrus Alexander was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and his family soon moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. In 1831, Alexander was in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

trapping for the Sublette fur company. He arrived in

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 1833, where he worked for Captain Henry D. Fitch and became a Mexican citizen. In 1840, Alexander embarked on a scouting expedition for a suitable tract of land for a cattle ranch for Fitch and came to the Russian River Valley. From 1841 to 1845, Alexander managed Fitch's

Rancho Sotoyome Rancho Sotoyome was a Mexican land grant given to Henry D. Fitch. Sotoyome or "Satiyomes" was the name of a Wappo tribe. The grant, in present-day Sonoma County, California, extended along the Russian River encompassing the Alexander Valley and p ...

grant under an agreement that at the end of four years, Alexander was to receive two square leagues of land and part of the ranch stock. In 1844, Alexander married Rufina Lucero (1830-1908), the sister of William Gordon's wife, Maria. In 1845, Moses Carson, brother of

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

, took over management of Rancho Sotoyome. Alexander then settled on his tract in what is now called

Alexander Valley The Alexander Valley (Wappo language, Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian (wine), Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg, California, Healdsburg in Sonoma County (wine), Sonoma County ...

and began construction of an adobe dwelling on the East side of the Russian River. Alexander filed a claim in 1853 for his 2 square leagues (part of Fitch's 1841 grant), but it was rejected by the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established the California State Lands Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...

. Cyrus Alexander died on his ranch December 27, 1872. Rufina died there also on March 18, 1908.Cyrus Alexander and the Rancho Sotoyome
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Cyrus 1805 births 1872 deaths People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania History of Sonoma County, California Healdsburg, California People from Sonoma County, California American emigrants to Mexico