José Antonio Yorba (July 20, 1743 - January 16, 1825), also known as Don José Antonio Yorba I, was a Spanish soldier and early settler of Spanish California.
Born in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (San Saturnino) in Catalonia, Spain, Yorba was one of Fages' original Catalan volunteers. In 1762, during the Seven Years' War, Yorba took part in the Spanish invasion of Portugal. He became a corporal under Gaspar de Portolà during the Spanish expedition of 1769. He was in San Francisco in 1777; Monterey in 1782; and in San Diego in 1789. In 1797 he was retired as inválido sergeant; and in 1810 was grantee of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana.
In 1810, José Antonio Yorba was awarded by the Spanish Empire the 63414acres Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana land grant. Covering some 15 Spanish leagues, Yorba's land comprised a significant portion of today's Orange County including where the cities of Olive, Orange, Villa Park, Santa Ana, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach stand today.
Upon his death in 1825 he was buried at his request in an unmarked grave in the cemetery at Mission San Juan Capistrano. A cenotaph was later placed in Yorba's honor.
He married his first wife, Maria Garcia Feliz, in 1773. After her death, he married Maria Josefa Grijalva, daughter of Juan Pablo Grijalva, in 1782.
| The children of Jose Antonio Yorba I and Maria Gracia Feliz (1753 - 1781) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Birth/Death | Married | Notes | |
| Pedro Antonio Yorba | 1774 - 1780 | Died in childhood | ||
| Francisco Xavier Yorba | 1776 - | |||
| Diego Maria Yorba | 1780 - | |||
| The children of Jose Antonio Yorba I and Maria Josefa Grijalva (1766 - 1830)[1] | ||||
| Name | Birth/Death | Married | Notes | |
| Francisco Yorba | 1783 - 1783 | Died in childhood | ||
| Jose Antonio Yorba II | 1785 - 1844 | Maria Josefa Verdugo (1805), Maria Catalina Verdugo (1834), Maria Catalina Manriquez (1836) | Maria Verdugo was then daughter of Jose Maria Verdugo. After Josefa died in 1816, Jose Antonio Yorba II married her sister, Maria Catalina Verdugo. | |
| Tomas Antonio Yorba | 1787 - 1845 | Maria Vicenta Sepulveda | [2] | |
| Ysabel Maria Yorba | 1789 - 1871 | Jose Joaquin Maitorena | Grantee of Rancho Guadalasca. Santa Barbara house | |
| Maria Raymunda Yorba | 1793 - 1851 | Juan Bautista Alvarado | ||
| Maria Presentacion Yorba | 1791 - 1835 | Leandro Serrano | Leandro Serrano was the grantee of Rancho Temescal | |
| Jose Domingo Yorba | 1795 - 1796 | Died in childhood | ||
| Francisca Dominga Yorba | 1797 - 1814 | Jose Francisco Maria Ortega | ||
| Maria de las Nieves Yorba | 1798 - 1798 | Died in childhood | ||
| 1801 - 1858 | Maria de Jesus Alvarado, Felipa Dominguez, Andrea Elizalde | Among Yorba's many children, Bernardo Yorba would rise the farthest, accumulating ever larger territories for the family's massive cattle herds. Bernardo Yorba introduced irrigation agriculture into California on the Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana. The Hacienda de San Antonio, which was amongst the largest adobe dwellings in Alta California. The city of Yorba Linda is named after Bernardo Yorba. | ||
| Juan Pablo Yorba | 1803 - 1804 | Died in childhood | ||
| Teodosio Juan Yorba | 1805 - 1863 | Inocencia Reyes, Maria Antonia Lugo[3] | Prisoner in 1838. Grantee of Rancho Arroyo Seco in 1840. Grantee of Rancho Lomas de Santiago in 1846.[4] | |
| Maria Andrea Ygnacia Yorba | 1807 - 1824 | José María Ávila | ||
| Martin Yorba | 1810 - 1812 | Died in childhood | ||
Throughout the American and Mormon migration period, descendants of the Yorbas continued to marry into other prominent Spanish families, including the Cota, Grijalvas, Perralta, and Dominguez families. Many of today's recognizable American names in the Southern California area, including the Kraemers and Irvines, also married into these Spanish families. In the early twentieth century, Samuel Kraemer, who had married the last of the "grand" Yorbas, Angelina Yorba, tore down the historic Yorba Hacienda after the city of Yorba Linda refused to accept it as a donation.
George S. Patton, World War II United States General was his great-great-great grandson. His granddaughter Ramona Yorba was Patton's maternal grandmother.
The legacy of the Yorba family can be appreciated at the historic Yorba Cemetery, established in 1858, and currently surrounded by Woodgate Park.[5]