Joseph Ballinger Chiles (July 16, 1810 – June 25, 1885), later known by his

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

name José B. Chiles, was a Californian ranchero, military officer, and entrepreneur. Born in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, Chiles served as a colonel in 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 ...

during the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

, before eventually immigrating to

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

, where he became a Mexican citizen and acquired multiple rancho grants in the

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

and

Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...

.Napa Historical Society - Joseph Ballinger Chiles
/ref>

California

Widowed, he placed his children with relatives to join the Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841, the first

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

to enter Mexican

over the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

s. He returned east in 1842 and subsequently led seven more wagon trains into California. At

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the Western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern ...

he met

Joseph Rutherford Walker Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

whom he convinced to lead half the settlers with him traveling in wagons back to California down the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is the longest river in the northern and central part of Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in northern Nevada's Jarbidge Mountains, Jarbidge, Independence Mountains, Independence, and ...

. Chiles led the rest in a

pack train A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

party up the

Malheur River The Malheur River ( ) is a tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon in the United States. It drains a high desert area, between the Harney Basin, the Blue Mountains and the Snake. In the past Malheur Lake (located in the enclosed Harn ...

and on south to California via the Pit and

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...

s. Walker's party in 1843 also abandoned their wagons and finished getting to California by pack train. In 1844, Chiles received

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

citizenship and was granted the

Rancho Catacula Rancho Catacula was a Mexican land grant in present-day Napa County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joseph Ballinger Chiles. The grant was located along Chiles creek in the Chiles Valley east of St. Helena. Histor ...

. He operated a grist mill and a ferry across the

. In 1850, he also purchased part of the Rancho Laguna de Santos Calle. The area is the present day site of

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of ...

References

External links

DavisWiki.org: Joseph B. Chiles
Landowners from California 1810 births 1885 deaths American emigrants to Mexico Naturalized citizens of Mexican California People of the California Gold Rush People from Davis, California History of Yolo County, California 19th-century American businesspeople Bartleson–Bidwell Party {{California-stub

California

See also

References

External links