Editor’s Note Old Man River – The Santa Ana Welcome to the first edition of the At 96 miles in length, the Santa Ana River is the

newsletter. As a direct descendant largest river in southern California with a drainage

of several of the founding families basin that today spans four counties.

of California and a California his

torian, genealogist, and researcher It is claimed that habitation along the great river

, I am always surprised and delighted has been going on for between 9000-12000 years.

to learn new stories and facts about Even before they had become the tribes known as

the rich heritage and history of southern the Tongva and Gabrielenos, the Native Americans

California. This newsletter will serve had used the Santa Ana River as a source of sustenance.

as a space to share what I learn with

you the readers. By about 1500, the local Native Americans had begun

to settle into villages, some permanent, others seasonal,

. In a way, I am simply following in.the within the river basin. It’s estimated that by that time

footsteps of my grandfather, Frank there may have been as many as 15000 people spread

Winterbourne who was editor and across four main tribal groups:

publisher for many years of the old

Coastline Dispatch newspaper and who The Serranos of the San Bernardino Mountains who

often wrote stories about Orange County called themselves the Yuharetum; The Luiseno or

history. Too, there is the tradition of my Payomkowishum; the Cahuilla or Kawia; and the

gr--great grandfather, Pablo Pryor and Gabrielenos who called themselves the Tongva.

His father-in-law Juan Abila, who both

shared their memories of early days in In 1542, the explorer Juan de Cabrillo is said to have

California with William Bancroft for his sailed past the mouth of the Santa Ana River on his way

monumental History of California. You to the Channel Islands off the Ventura coastline. It would

could say this stuff – like the history of be 227 years before the first explorers by land – the

California itself – is in my blood expedition of Portola and Serra --would cross the river.

Contact: california_william@yahoo.com

Tule thatched hut, typical of the Tongva dwellings Tongva native woman, early 20th century Page 1

California’s Confederate Sheriff:

Tomas Avila Sanchez

As we commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the beginning

of the Civil War, it’s time, too, to take a look at California’s

little-known stories of that turbulent time. Many people, for

example, don’t realize that it was California’s gold which

strongly helped finance the war. Long after the strike of ’49,

millions of dollars worth of gold was shipped back east to

pay for soldiers, ammunition, and supplies, as well as paying

for the government to continue running.

Even less known is the fact that southern California actually

fielded a Confederate militia known as The Los Angeles

Mounted Rifles which had among its officers, the county

sheriff! As the only Free State militia unit that "went

Confederate," their story is as unique as anything in American

history.

.On March 7, 1861 – over a month before the first shots were fired upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina – Los

Angeles county judge William Dryden officially recorded the muster of The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles.

Among the names on the roster are included several of my ancestral cousins – Abilas and Ruiz, among others –

as well as newly-elected 2nd

Lieutenant – and current county sheriff – Tomas Avila Sanchez. Sanchez already

had served as a lancer among the Californios fighting in the Mexican-American War and three consecutive

terms on the county Board of Supervisors. Now, he had become a Confederate officer.

As sheriff, Sanchez helped supply the Mounted Rifles with arms and munitions, including a small cannon which

had been designated for another pro-Union militia unit. Under close surveillance by Federal troops in Los

Angeles, Sanchez did not leave either the state nor his office while the rest of the Mounted Rifles made their

way to Texas, escorting – by the way –Albert Sydney Johnson who would later be made the second-highest

ranking general in the Confederate Army by his friend, President Jefferson Davis. A voyage made possible by

California’s Confederate sheriff – Tomas Avila Sanchez.

More stories about the men of The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles during the Civil War in upcoming issues

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HISTORY NEWS

The San Juan Capistrano Historical Society is planning a commemoration in 2012 for the 200th Anniversary

of the birth of Juan Abila/Avila, ranchero and the man who effectively ended the Mexican-American War in

Los Angeles by carrying the flag of truce (his own white handkerchief!). Contact the Society for more

information: Online at http://sjchistoricalsociety.com/.

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Los Niños

If you think proud parents and grandparents showing off photographs of their kids is something very 20th

century, then take a look at these family photos from the 18th

and 19th centuries.

.

Teresa Pryor (1866-1938) ; Rosa Modesta Avila-Pryor (1835-1915) with granddaughter. Dorothy Marie York

(1907-1991) Daughters, Susanna and Ysidora, of Marcos Antonio Forster and Maria Guadalupe Avila (taken

about 1891).

UP NORTH IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY

2012 also marks the bi-centennial of the establishment of Fort Ross by Russians in Santa Rosa, Sonoma

county. The settlement of Ross was established by the Russian - American Company, a commercial hunting

and trading company chartered by the tsarist government, with shares held by the members of the Tsar’s family,

court nobility and high officials.

Fort Ross was a major trading center from 1812 to 1841 and controlled all Russian exploration, trade, and

settlement in the North Pacific. It was also the site of California's first windmills and shipbuilding

More information on bi-centennial events at Fort Ross found online here: http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/

Page 3

SHOW ME THE HISTORY

Want to travel back in time and see where southern California history was lived and made? Our counties

abound with historical treasures preserved through the commitment and dedication of volunteers keeping our

heritage and history alive.

One of the first big ranchos – Los Nietos – with over 300,000 acres of land was given to a Spanish Army non-

commissioned officer, Manuel Nietos in the late 1700s for his military service. Later disputes with the Mission

at San Gabriel reduced the original grant to 167,000 acres, but still quite large enough to graze cattle and build

some adobes.

To give you an idea of the size of the Rancho Los Nietos, today it would encompass the following cities:

Anaheim, Artesia, Buena Park, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Cerritos, Downey, Fullerton, Garden Grove,

Huntington Beach, Lakewood, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Naples, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Seal Beach,

Sunset Beach, and Whittier.

Later bought and sold by early entrepreneur Abel Stearns and lastly owned by the famous oil-wealthy Bixby

Family, Los Alamitos Rancho is lovingly restored to historical elegance at 6400 Bixby Hill Rd in Long Beach

and is open for guided and public tours.

UPCOMING EVENT: Children’s Fall Harvest Festival: Starry Sky - Harvest Moon –

Sunday, October 30, 2011 - 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m - Free Admission = Free Parking

More information on Rancho Los Alamitos can be found here: http://www.rancholosalamitos.com/

Sheep-shearing at Rancho Los Alamitos, 1870 The garden path at Rancho Los Alamitos

COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE

Epidemics: Smallpox and Flu

Otter Trapping: The Soft Gold of California

Old Man River – The Santa Ana, Part 2

And more Page 4