Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa was an 8885acres Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California given in 1841 by Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno to María Ygnacia López.[1] The grant was along Santa Rosa Creek, and encompassed present-day Santa Rosa, California.[2] [3]
María Ygnacia de la Candelaria López (1793–1849) married Joaquin Victor Carrillo (1793–1835) in San Diego in 1809. When Carrillo died in 1835, three of their twelve children were already married: Maria Antonia (known as Josefa) to Henry D. Fitch, Maria Ramona to José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, and Francisca Benicia to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. María Ygnacia Lopez de Carrillo and her 9 unmarried children left San Diego in 1837 and moved to Sonoma, California where her daughter Francisca Benicia Carrillo (1815-1891) lived with her husband General Vallejo.[4] General Vallejo was a critical factor in obtaining the two square league grant in 1841.[5]
Eldest son, Joaquin Carrillo (1820–1899), was granted Rancho Llano de Santa Rosa just west of his mother's property by Governor Manuel Micheltorena in 1844. Son Juan Bautista (1825–1841) died of poisoning. Daughter María de la Luz Esquatuia Carrillo (1814–1893) married her brother-in-law Salvador Vallejo and set up her home in Sonoma. María López Carrillo died in 1849 and was buried at Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma.[6]
Seven claims for Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa were filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852.[7] [8]
| Land Case No. (Northern District ND) | Claimant | Notes | Patented area | Patent Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land Case 124 ND[9] | Julio Maria Tomas Carrillo | Son Julio Maria Tomas Carrillo (1824–1889) inherited the bulk of the grant. | 4500acres | 1866 | |
| Land Case 125 ND[10] | Juana de Jesús Mallagh | Daughter Juana de Jesús (1829–) married sea captain David Mallagh. | 256acres | 1879 | |
| Land Case 126 ND[11] | James Eldridge | Eldridge, California is named after James Eldridge[12] | 1668acres | 1880 | |
| Land Case 127 ND[13] | Felicidad Carrillo de Castro | Daughter Felicidad Carrillo (1833 - 1856) married Victor Castro. | 336acres | 1881 | |
| Land Case 128 ND[14] | Jacob R. Mayer and J. G. Isham | 1485acres | 1879 | ||
| Land Case 235 ND[15] | John Hendley | Dr. John Hendley (1820–1875) was born in Lexington, Kentucky, had been assistant surgeon in a Missouri volunteer regiment, and came to California in 1850, settling first in Sonoma but moving to Santa Rosa when it became the county seat in 1854. He moved to his farm in 1863, where he died in 1875.[16] He was Sonoma County's first treasurer and clerk, and claimed one square mile (640acres). | 640acres | 1879 | |
| Land Case 258 ND[17] | Oliver Beaulieu | Oliver Beaulieu, a French-Canadian fur trapper, bought 640acres on the north side of Santa Rosa Creek from Julio Carrillo in 1850. Beaulieu laid out a town named Franklin in 1853, which preceded the founding of Santa Rosa. But Franklin did not survive, when Santa Rosa became the county seat in 1854, and the residents moved the mile and a half to Santa Rosa.[18] [19] | rejected |
Son José Ramon Carrillo (1821–1864) was killed in 1864. Daughter Maria Marta Juana Carrillo (1826–1905) married Jose de Cruz Pilar Carrillo.