María Gabriela Berreyesa Castro
Encyclopedia
María Gabriela Berrelleza (also spelled Berreyesa) was born November 26, 1780, and christened the same day at Mission Santa Clara de Asís
in upper Las Californias
, near present day San José
. She was the first child of the family of María Gertrudis Peralta and Nicholas Antonio Berrelleza. On February 16, 1795 she married 22-year-old Francisco María Castro
, third son of Joaquin de Castro, one of the founding settlers of the Pueblo de San Jose, and a corporal in the artillery company of Presidio San Francisco
.
The two made their home in San José and produced thirteen offspring during 1796–1824. Castro was made an elector in 1822 after which he served as alcalde and on a civil board that heard disputes.
Castro explored land at the northeast edge of San Francisco Bay
in 1823, and was granted Rancho San Pablo
by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello
. He and his family moved to the rancho some time after 1824. He died in 1831 at Rancho San Pablo.
María Gabriela Berreyesa Castro died on December 21, 1851, and was buried at Mission San Francisco de Asís
, known as Mission Dolores, in San Francisco. Rancho San Pablo was patented by the U.S. to her children in 1852.
Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Santa Clara de Asis , the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares. Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned.-History:...
in upper Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
, near present day San José
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. She was the first child of the family of María Gertrudis Peralta and Nicholas Antonio Berrelleza. On February 16, 1795 she married 22-year-old Francisco María Castro
Francisco María Castro
Francisco María Castro was a landowner in an area of Alta California which later became part of Contra Costa County, California.Francisco María Castro was the third son of Joaquin Ysidro de Castro, one of the founding settlers of the Pueblo of San José and Maria Marina Botiller...
, third son of Joaquin de Castro, one of the founding settlers of the Pueblo de San Jose, and a corporal in the artillery company of Presidio San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
.
The two made their home in San José and produced thirteen offspring during 1796–1824. Castro was made an elector in 1822 after which he served as alcalde and on a civil board that heard disputes.
Castro explored land at the northeast edge of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
in 1823, and was granted Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo was a land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to Francisco María Castro , a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio and one-time alcalde of the Pueblo of San José. The grant was reconfirmed by Governor José...
by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello
Luis Antonio Argüello
Luis Antonio Argüello was the first native governor of Alta California from 1822 to 1825, during the period California was under Mexican rule, twelfth overall. He was the only governor to serve under the Mexican empire, and the first native Californian to hold that office...
. He and his family moved to the rancho some time after 1824. He died in 1831 at Rancho San Pablo.
María Gabriela Berreyesa Castro died on December 21, 1851, and was buried at Mission San Francisco de Asís
Mission San Francisco de Asís
Mission San Francisco de Asís, or Mission Dolores, is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco and the sixth religious settlement established as part of the California chain of missions...
, known as Mission Dolores, in San Francisco. Rancho San Pablo was patented by the U.S. to her children in 1852.