Alvera Street Roots

By Gloria Lautt

From Dream to Dream

Stephen W. Kearny may not have been a sweetheart but he was the top pre-Civil War Army officer of his time. He is import for reasons other than his part in the conquest of California, but it is that conquest that interests me at the moment.
The Kearny Code for governing government behavior towards Californios may not have been great, but it was much better than that behavior actually became. What it became may not have been as bad as Federal behavior became during Reconstruction, but there are comparisons.

Kearny (pronounced "Kar-ney" sounds Irish) was born in 1794 in New Jersey and died in Missouri in 1848. Remember the "'49ers?" He was of a 'good family' being able to trace his roots back through General William Alexander and Sara(Lady Stirling)Livingston.
In 1826 he was appointed the first commander of the new Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. While there he married Mary Radford, the step-daughter of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
While at Jefferson Barracks, Kearny organized a regiment of dragoons on the lines of a cavalry unit. The U. S. Cavalry eventually grew out of that unit.

Kearny left for California with a fighting force of 300. They arrived tired in California and were stopped in their tracks by Captain Leonardo Cota of the Californio-Mexican cavalry under Andres Pico at the Battle of San Pasqual where Kearney was wounded. Even after Kearny was helped by Commodore Stockton's navel force at San Diego it remained a "Mexican stand-off for some time. After the Battles of San Gabriel and La Mesa with subsequent control of Los Angeles the Anglos gained the upper hand. They were helped some by a lack of trust for the Mexicans which had grown among the Californios.

Still for a short time, a bit like Camelot, 'the days of the dons' had been a bit like the dreams of the Caliphs.

Introduction to 1823 -1826 in California

I'm beginning to post a series of notes I've made while reading The Romero Expeditions 1823-1826 by Bean and Mason. This somewhat rare work was published for the Palm Springs Desert Museum by the Ward and Fitchie Press pf Los Angeles in 1962. Double quotations marks show my use of the authors words.


The wealth of the early Californios was in their cattle and horses. The Yuma 'rebellion' had closed California to large scale importation of livestock. Before the Yuma uprisings a few cattle and horses had bee brought up for the tiny military force mostly on the coast.

The opening of the Anza rout made 'the days of the Don's' possible. The rout made immigration and large scale importation of cattle possible. Cattle were used to pay to pay off military veterans. After 1781 there were large herds and abundant cattle in the California province.

By the end of Spanish rule in 1822 the total population of California, exclusive of Indians, was only about 3500. California, at that time, was more isolated from Europe the east coast of North America, and Mexico City than was Manila and had been accessible only by sea for forty years.

"As a result of the war of independence in Mexico, no money or supplies were sent to California after 1811 and a series of rebellions in Mexico from 1810 through 1821 prevented the Government for sending help to California. " From 1817 until 1821, .....Trade with Russian, Americans, Englishmen and others was practiced." It was during this period raw hides became know as California dollars.

Governors of California suggested that trade and colonization between California and New Mexico would benefit both provinces. Pedro Fages who governed between 1783 and 1791 and Diego do Borica who governed between 1791 and 1793 are examples. Their recommendations included mention of routs laid out by Fages, Anza, Rivera and others.

After 1815 Spain's control of trade with California was strongly challenged and even her sea rout from San Blas to California was threatened. From 1780 to 1820 Russia, the United States, and Great Britain firmly established trading posts all along the Pacific Coast of North America. Illegal prate-like attacks were mad on Spanish settlements. Raids by Bouchard and Cochraine are examples of such attacks.