Rancho El Alisal was a

Mexican land grant In Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Spanish and Mexican governments from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an indu ...

in present-day

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county (United States), county located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The count ...

, given in 1833 by Governor

José Figueroa José María Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835) was a Californio politician and military leader. He was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. His ''Manifesto'' (1835) was the first book published in Calif ...

to the brothers Feliciano and Mariano Soberanes and to

William Edward Petty Hartnell William Edward Petty Hartnell (April 24, 1798 – February 2, 1854), later known by his Spanish name Don Guillermo Arnel, was a merchant, schoolmaster, and government official in California. He arrived in California in 1822 as a trader, where he ...

. Alisal means Alder tree (sycamore) in Spanish. The land is approximately southeast of present-day Salinas.

History

The Soberanes family patriarch, José Maria Soberanes (1753-1803), accompanied the

Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California * Portola Music Festival People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish ...

to the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

in 1769. Soberanes married Maria Josefa Castro (1759-1822) and received Rancho Buena Vista. Soberanes's sons, Feliciano Soberanes and Mariano Soberanes, received several land grants in Monterey County. Feliciano Soberanes (1788-1868) was born in

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

where he spent his whole life. He was regidor in 1829-1830, and then

alcade ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal counci ...

at Monterey in 1838-1839. He married Maria Antonia Rodriguez (1795-1883) in 1810. Feliciano was the grantee of Rancho San Lorenzo in 1841. Soberanes became the administrator of

Mission Soledad Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality *Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood *Ok ...

lands and received the Rancho Ex-Mission Soledad grant in 1845. Maria Josefa Soberanes, daughter of Feliciano, was granted

Rancho Los Coches Rancho Los Coches was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Roberto Balemino, an Indian. The name means Ranch of the Pigs. The grant was located on the west bank o ...

in 1841. Francisco Maria Soberanes (1818-1887), son of Feliciano, was granted Rancho Sanjon de Santa Rita in 1841. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes (1794-1859) was a soldier and also held the office of alcade in Monterey. Mariano Soberanes married María Isidora Vallejo (1791-1830), sister of General

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (July 4, 1807 – January 18, 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the tran ...

. Their daughter, Maria Ygnacia Soberanes, married Dr. Edward Turner Bale, grantee of

Rancho Carne Humana Rancho Carne Humana was a Mexican land grant in present-day Napa County, California, given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Edward Turner Bale. The name means "human flesh" in Spanish. There is speculation as to why the name was chosen. The ...

. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes was granted

Rancho San Bernardo San Bernardo (also, Rancho San Bernardo) is a village in Chihuahua, Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the ...

and

Rancho Los Ojitos Rancho Los Ojitos was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, Juan Alvarado to Mariano de Jesus Soberanes. The grant is now mostly Lake San Antonio w ...

in 1842. In 1833, the brothers Feliciano and Mariano Soberanes went into a partnership with Hartnell.

Rancho El Alisal (Bernal)

The Soberanes portion of Rancho El Alisal was purchased by the Bernal family. In 1855, Bruno Bernal (1799-1863), son of Jose Joaquin Bernal, grantee of

Rancho Santa Teresa Rancho Santa Teresa was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to José Joaquín Bernal. The grant extended west from Coyote Creek to the Santa Teresa Hills, and included pre ...

, moved to his Rancho El Alisal. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdicti ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for one square league was filed with 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 ...

in 1853, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

at to Bruno Bernal in 1866. Parts of the ranch were later purchased by James A. Bardin, a local lawyer and judge. Some of the land has remained in the Bardin family. The homestead of the Soberanes was acquired by the Silacci family.

Rancho El Alisal (Hartnell)

Hartnell (1798–1854) named his new property El Patrocinio de San Jose (the patronage of Saint Joseph). Hartnell sold Rancho El Alisal to his former pupil Juan Alvarado in 1841. A claim was filed for two-thirds of a square league with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented at to Hartnell's wife, Maria Teresa de la Guerra, in 1882. The property was later owned by Hartnell's daughter Ana and her husband Pedro Zabala. It was split among their children. Their granddaughter Anita Zabala married first

Lindsay C. Howard Lindsay Coleman Howard (March 31, 1904 – September 6, 1971) was an American sportsman. Early life Lindsay was born on March 31, 1904, in San Francisco, California. He was the son of Fannie May Howard and Charles S. Howard, a prominent businessm ...

, then

George Washington Vanderbilt III George Washington Vanderbilt III (September 23, 1914 – June 24, 1961) was an American yachtsman and scientific explorer who was a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. Early life Born in Newport, Rhode Island, he was the younger son of Al ...

. The homestead of the Hartnells was later owned by the Bardin family.https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=CASAL19390714.1.34

References

{{California history El Alisa Salinas, California El Alisal El Alisal

History

Rancho El Alisal (Bernal)

Rancho El Alisal (Hartnell)

See also

References