Francisco Guerrero y Palomares (1811 – 13 July 1851) 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 served as the third and sixth

Alcalde of San Francisco This is a list of pre-statehood alcaldes and mayors of San Francisco, from 1779 to 1850, during the Spanish, Mexican, and early American periods, prior to California's admission to statehood. Spanish era California's first governor Felipe de ...

(then known as

Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to reg ...

). He was notoriously murdered in 1851 in a scandal involving American prospectors seeking to discredit the land claims of Californios.

Life

Guerrero was born in

Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexico, Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above ...

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 ...

(colonial México). He came to Alta California with the Hijar-Padres Colony in 1834, and settled in Yerba Buena (San Francisco). He was married to Josefa de Haro (daughter of Alcalde

Francisco de Haro Francisco de Haro (1792 – November 28, 1849) was a Californio politician, soldier, and ranchero, who served as the 1st and 5th Alcalde of San Francisco (initially known as Yerba Buena). He notably commissioned the first land survey of Sa ...

), and had five sons. He was the third

Alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

of Yerba Buena in 1836. Guerrero served again as the sixth Alcalde in 1839. In 1844 he was granted Rancho Corral de Tierra, located in present-day

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

. A section of the land grant is now a part of the

Golden Gate National Recreation Area The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the Unite ...

. Guerrero was murdered under mysterious circumstances on July 12, 1851, in San Francisco. He was riding on the newly constructed Mission Plank Road when he was attacked. The official account states that Guerrero was assaulted by François LeBras, a man described as small, feeble, and generally considered insane. Witnesses reported seeing Guerrero and LeBras arguing and engaging in a scuffle while on horseback. Guerrero fell from his horse and suffered fatal head injuries, dying the next day. However, the circumstances surrounding his death were highly suspicious. The trial that followed was gravely flawed, with key eyewitnesses and medical experts not called to testify. Despite evidence suggesting Guerrero had been struck with a club or slungshot before falling, LeBras was found innocent without the jury even leaving the box. Many believed that Guerrero's murder was orchestrated by American land speculators who wanted to eliminate him as a potential witness against fraudulent land claims. His extensive knowledge of California land titles made him a threat to those seeking to profit from bogus Mexican land grants, particularly the Santillan claim. Guerrero Street in San Francisco is named in his honor.The Making and Naming Of the Streets of San Francisco
by Samuel L. Lupton

References

1811 births 1851 deaths People of Alta California Mayors of San Francisco Mexican people of the Mexican–American War Murdered American people of Mexican descent American politicians of Mexican descent People murdered in San Francisco People from Tepic People murdered in 1851 Burials at Mission San Francisco de Asís 19th-century mayors of places in California {{SanFrancisco-stub

Life

See also

References