Alfred Robinson
Encyclopedia
Alfred Robinson was an American businessman and author in 19th century Alta California
of Mexico and California
of the United States
. Robinson wrote Life in California in 1846, an influential early description of the region, and Juaneño
Native American people.
, a Boston-based firm in the California hide and tallow trade. He married Anita de la Guerra de Noriega y Carrillo, of the locally prominent de la Guerra family
of Santa Barbara
.
After the Mexican Cession
, and California was annexed by the U.S. in 1848 and became a state in 1850, Robinson worked as a ranch investor and land manager during the 1850s through the 1880s.
. The real estate sales partnership included four San Francisco investors; Samuel Brannan
, E. F. Northam, Charles B. Polhemus, Edward Martin. The era of the large cattle ranchos was on the way out. In its place came agriculture, as ranchos were broken up and generally sold in 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) farms and ranches. The Trust acted as sales agents for the subdivisions. In order to gain maximum coverage for their campaign, they linked themselves to the 'California Immigrant Union' and helped guide that organization’s sales pitches.
Alfred Robinson died in San Francisco in 1895.
Equally important with Robinson's own descriptions was the fact that he appended to it a lengthy ethnographic
description of the Juaneño - Acagchemem
Native American
Mission Indians
, and Chinigchinix
, at Mission San Juan Capistrano
written in the 1820s by the Franciscan
missionary Jerónimo Boscana
.
library in San Francisco, and at the University of California, Berkeley
.
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
of Mexico and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Robinson wrote Life in California in 1846, an influential early description of the region, and Juaneño
Juaneño
The Juaneño or Acagchemem are a Native American group from Southern California. The Juaneño lived in what is now part of Orange and San Diego Counties and received their Spanish name from the priests of the California mission chain due to their proximity to Mission San Juan Capistrano...
Native American people.
Biography
Alfred Robinson sailed to Alta California in 1829 in the employ of Bryant, Sturgis and CompanyWilliam F. Sturgis
William F. Sturgis was a Boston merchant in the China trade and the Maritime Fur Trade.-Biography:...
, a Boston-based firm in the California hide and tallow trade. He married Anita de la Guerra de Noriega y Carrillo, of the locally prominent de la Guerra family
Casa de la Guerra
The Casa de la Guerra was the residence of the fifth commandant of the Presidio de Santa Barbara, José de la Guerra y Noriega from 1828 until his death in 1858. Descendants of José lived in the home until 1943. The site is currently owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic...
of Santa Barbara
History of Santa Barbara, California
The history of Santa Barbara, California, begins approximately 13,000 years ago with the arrival of the first Native Americans. The Spanish came in the 18th century to occupy and Christianize the area, which became part of Mexico following the Mexican War of Independence...
.
After the Mexican Cession
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...
, and California was annexed by the U.S. in 1848 and became a state in 1850, Robinson worked as a ranch investor and land manager during the 1850s through the 1880s.
Robinson Trust
In 1868 he formed the Robinson Trust with Abel Stearns, the most important land owner in Southern California in Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
. The real estate sales partnership included four San Francisco investors; Samuel Brannan
Samuel Brannan
Samuel Brannan was an American settler, businessman, and journalist, who founded the "California Star" newspaper in San Francisco, California...
, E. F. Northam, Charles B. Polhemus, Edward Martin. The era of the large cattle ranchos was on the way out. In its place came agriculture, as ranchos were broken up and generally sold in 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) farms and ranches. The Trust acted as sales agents for the subdivisions. In order to gain maximum coverage for their campaign, they linked themselves to the 'California Immigrant Union' and helped guide that organization’s sales pitches.
Alfred Robinson died in San Francisco in 1895.
Book
In 1846, Alfred Robinson published Life in California, a comparatively sympathetic portrait of the lifeways and Californios political vicissitudes of the region under the Mexican Republic. The book subsequently went through several reprintings.Equally important with Robinson's own descriptions was the fact that he appended to it a lengthy ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
description of the Juaneño - Acagchemem
Juaneño
The Juaneño or Acagchemem are a Native American group from Southern California. The Juaneño lived in what is now part of Orange and San Diego Counties and received their Spanish name from the priests of the California mission chain due to their proximity to Mission San Juan Capistrano...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Mission Indians
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
, and Chinigchinix
Chinigchinix
Chingichngish is the name of an important figure in the mythology of the Payomkowishum , Tongva , and Acjachemem Native Americans of coastal Southern California.-Character:This character was first mentioned in a description of the beliefs of the native...
, at Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order...
written in the 1820s by the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionary Jerónimo Boscana
Jerónimo Boscana
Gerónimo Boscana was an early nineteenth-century Franciscan missionary in Spanish Las Californias and Mexican Alta California...
.
Archives
Robinson's unpublished papers are on file at the California Historical SocietyCalifornia Historical Society
The California Historical Society is California's official state historical society and is located in San Francisco, California at 678 Mission Street -History and collections:...
library in San Francisco, and at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
See also
- Casa de la GuerraCasa de la GuerraThe Casa de la Guerra was the residence of the fifth commandant of the Presidio de Santa Barbara, José de la Guerra y Noriega from 1828 until his death in 1858. Descendants of José lived in the home until 1943. The site is currently owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic...
- José de la Guerra y NoriegaJosé de la Guerra y NoriegaJosé Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega was a soldier and early settler of California.-Biography:José de la Guerra was born 1779 at Novales, Cantabria, Spain. As a boy he wished to be a friar...
- Pablo de la GuerraPablo de la GuerraPablo de la Guerra , from the de la Guerra family of Santa Barbara, California, was the Acting Lieutenant Governor of California, 1861-1862...
- Antonio Maria de la GuerraAntonio Maria de la GuerraAntonio Maria de la Guerra, , Mayor of Santa Barbara, California, several times a member of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, California State Senator and Captain of California Volunteers in the American Civil War....
- José de la Guerra y Noriega
- Category: Native American history of California
- Stephen PowersStephen Powers*This article is about the 19th-century journalist and historian of California Indians.Stephen Powers was an American journalist, ethnographer, and historian of Native American tribes in California. He traveled extensively to study and learn about their cultures, and wrote notable accounts of them...
- "Tribes of California" 1876