Original Settlers (Pobladores) of

El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles, 1781

Photo of Mural by Millard Sheets. Photo by Charles C. Pierce. Courtesy of the California Historical Society & USC Library.

Also:

Recorded Family Head Age Race Birthplace Name, Age & Race of Spouse Children3 Manuel Camero1 30 Mulatto2 Nayarit Maria Tomasa Garcia (24, Mulatta) None José Fernando de Velasco y Lara 50 Spaniard4 Cadiz, Spain Maria Antonia Campos (23, Indian) Maria Juana, 6

José Julian, 4

Maria Faustina, 2 Antonio Mesa 38 Black Sinaloa Maria Ana Gertrudis Lopez (27, Mulatta) Maria Paula, 10

Antonio Maria, 8 José Cesario Moreno1 22 Mulatto2 Sinaloa Maria Guadalupe Gertrudis Perez (19, Mulatta) None José Antonio Navarro 42 Mestizo5 Sinaloa Maria Regina Dorotea Gloria de Soto y Rodriguez (47, Mulatta) José Maria, 10

José Clemente, 9

Mariana José fa, 4 Luis Manuel Quintero 55 Black Jalisco Maria Petra Rubio (40, Mulatta) Maria Getrudis, 16

Maria Concepcion, 9

Maria Tomasa, 7

Maria Rafaela, 6

José Clemente, 3 Pablo Rodriguez 25 Indian Sinaloa Maria Rosalia Noriega (26, Indian) Maria Antonia, 1 José Antonio Basilio Rosas 67 Indian Durango Maria Manuela Calistra Hernandez (43, Mulatta) José Maximo, 15

José Carlos, 12

Maria José fa, 8

Antonio Rosalino, 7

José Marcelino, 4

Juan Esteban, 2 Alejandro Rosas1, 7 19 Indian Sinaloa Juana Maria Rodriguez (20, Indian)6 None José Maria Vanegas8 28 Indian Jalisco Maria Bonifacia Maxima Aguilar (20, Indian) Cosme Damien, 1 Antonio Clemente Felix Villavicencio 30 Spaniard4 Chihuahua Maria de los Santos Seferina (26, Indian) Maria Antonia, 8

1) Married just prior to leaving for the new pueblo because new settlers were required to be heads of families.

2) Mulatto - person born of mixed white and black parentage.

3) Children at the time of the settlement of the Pueblo. Some of the settlers later added more children.

4) Velasco Y Lara was Peninsular - Spaniard born in Spain. Villavicencio was Criollo - Spaniard born in Americas.

5) Mestizo - person born of mixed white and Indian parentage.

6) Sister of fellow settler Pablo Rodriguez.

7) Eldest son of fellow settler José Antonio Basilio Rosas.

8) Vanegas was appointed to be the first alcalde (mayor).

Earliest Map of Los Angeles

The map below was drawn by José Arguello in 1786, just five years after the new pueblo was established. It is the earliest known map of Los Angeles. The map shows relative locations of homes (upper map) and farm plots (lower right) for each of the families settling the new pueblo.

Earliest map of Los Angeles drawn by José Arguello, 1786. Courtesy Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley.

Click on map for larger image.

Whatever Happened to the Original Settlers?

Antonio Clemente Felix Villavicencio - Moved to Santa Barbara in 1797. Died there in 1802.

José Fernando de Velasco y Lara - Among three families reportedly expelled from the pueblo in 1782. He then joined the expedition to establish the Presidio in Santa Barbara. Died in Nayarit shortly after being forced to return to Nayarit in 1783.*

Luis Quintero - Among three families expelled from the pueblo in 1782 and, along with José de Velasco y Lara, joined the expedition to establish the Presidio in Santa Barbara. He may have wished to be near his three daughters who had married soldiers stationed in Santa Barbara. Died in Santa Barbara in 1810.

Antonio Mesa - Apparently became disillusioned with the hardships in Alta California and fell among the families expelled from the pueblo in 1782. He received permission to return to Sonora.

José Antonio Navarro - Sent to San José in 1790 and later to the Presidio in San Francisco. Buried at the Mission Dolores in San Francisco in 1793.

Pablo Rodriguez - Moved to San Diego in 1796 to be mayordomo of Mission San Diego. Later moved to San Juan Capistrano. Buried at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1816. His wife was buried at Mission San Gabriel in 1824.

José Vanegas - Remained in Los Angeles for 20 years during which he served as its first alcalde (mayor). Upon the death of his wife in 1801 (she is buried at San Gabriel Mission), he moved to San Diego and the Mission San Luis Rey.

Manuel Camero - Remained in Los Angeles. Served as a Los Angeles regidor (councilman). Buried at Mission San Gabriel in 1819.

José Moreno - Remained in Los Angeles. Served as a Los Angeles regidor. Buried at Mission San Gabriel in 1806.

Alejandro Rosas - Remained in Los Angeles. He died here only a month after his wife in January 1789.

José Antonio Rosas - Remained in Los Angeles. Buried at the Mission San Gabriel in 1809. His wife died in 1823.

* José Fernando de Velasco y Lara was ordered back to Nayarit by California authorities when he confessed to Father Junipero Serra that his first wife, whom he had maintained was dead, might actually still be alive. He had already remarried and had children with his second wife. He unfortunately never returned to his second wife and their children in Santa Barbara, having died not long after returning to Nayarit.