Rafael de Jesus Villavicencio was one of the first settlers in California. Rafael was a "Soldier of the Guard" and was part of the Alta California expedition in 1769 headed by Don Gaspar de Portola together with Blessed Junipero Serra who was in charge of the missionaries. More information about the Spanish expedition to California can be found in missiontour.org/related/spanisharrival.htm .
It is interesting to note that the first attempt to land a settlement group in California was done on October 18, 1587. On that date, a Manila Galleon the "Nuestra Senora de Esperanza" under the command of Pedro de Unamuno reached Morro Bay. A group that went to shore included "Luzon Indios". The group was attacked by native Indians after two days. One of the Filipino crewman was killed and the attempt to explore and establish a settlement in that area was called off. It was the first time a Filipino landed in California.
The expedition consisted of 3 ships namely: the San Carlos, the San Antonio and the San Jose which perished at sea. Upon landing at San Diego, the expedition proceeded northward while travelling near the coast. The first mission site in California was established on July 16, 1769 near the Indian village of Cosoy. This is where Father Junipero Serra raised the cross on a hill overlooking San Diego. Members of this expedition started the first settlement in Alta California. One of the camps that was established in San Luis Obispo was the "Villa Creek" which was named after the family name of Rafael de Jesus Acebedo Villavicencio who was one of the members of the expedition. To view the map of the Portola Expedition, click on: www.oldmorrobay.com/villamap.html .
Rafael de Jesus Villavicencio descended from Manuel de la Torre Villavicencio. Manuel had Spanish parents but he was born in 1706 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Manuel's wife, Gertrudis Acebedo was also a Spaniard born in Loreto, Baja, Mexico. Manuel was a "Soldier of the Guard" at Loreto. Rafael had a sibling named Gertrudis Maria.
Rafael de Jesus Villavicencio married Maria Ildefonsa Berges (a Salinian Indian) in 1773 in a ceremony performed by Fr. Buenaventura Sitjer at the Mission of San Antonia. Out of this union bore eight children and included:
Jose Maria Teodoro was the second son of Rafael. Jose became a Mexican Land Grantee of Corral de Piedra (consisting of 30,911 acres) in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado.
Rafael Jose Serapio Villavicencio, the fourth son of Rafael was born in 1803 at Monterey Presidio. He was the recipient of the Mexican Land Grant of Rancho San Geronimo in 1842, also known as the "Villa Creek" which consisted of 8,893 acres. He married Maria Ramona Louisa Armas in 1829 at the Mission of San Carlos. Their union bore five children and they moved to San Geronimo where they built a large adobe home. For their living, they raised cattle and sold the hides.
When Rafael died, his third child - Roberto inherited most of Rancho San Geronimo. Roberto Villavicencio married Maria Guadalupe Higuera. In San Luis, Obispo there is a streed called "Higuera Street" named after the family of Maria. The Chumash Indians that were living in San Geronimo worked in the ranch as slaves until the War between the States. When the family lost the Indian slave labor and there was a draught in the late 1800's, the business for hide trade deteriorated and the ranch had to be sold.
Roberto shortened his family name to "Villa". Their family moved to Cayucos and went into the trucking business. Rafael died in 1917. His grandchildren include Gary Villa, a department head at Cuesta College and John with Frank, David and Paul manages Villa Motors.
Below is the family tree of Manuel Villavicencio
1. Manuel Villavicencio (1706-1775) married Gertrudis Acebedo in 1744. Out of this union bore 2 children:
1.1 Gertrudis Maria Acebedo Villavicencio
1.2 Rafael de Jesus Acebedo Villavicencio (1750-1831) married Maria Ildefonsa Bergas (1755-1797) in 1773 at Misssion San Antonio. Out of this union bore eight children:
1.2.1 Jose Antonio Villavicencio (1777-1817) married Maria Serafina Espinosa (1781-1870) in 1798 at Mission San Carlos.
1.2.2 Jose Maria Teodoro
- he received the Land Grant for Corral de Piedra
1.2.4 Rafael Espinosa Jose Serapio Villavicencio (1803-?) married Maria Louisa Armas (1812-1891) at 1829 in Mission San Carlos. He received the Land Grant for San Geronimo. Out of this union bore five children:
1.2.4.3 Roberto Armas Villavicencio (1835-1917) married Maria Guadalupe H. Higuera (1843-1918) in 1859 at Mission San Luis Obispo. He inherited most of Rancho San Geronimo. Roberto shortened his family name to "Villa"
1.2.4.3.1 Miguel Villavicencio (1872-1940) married Innes Filipponi (?-1957) in 1913 at Mission San Luis Obispo. His descendants are listed below:
1.2.4.3.1.1 Carlos
1.2.4.3.1.1.1 Michael
1.2.4.3.1.1.2 Patricia
1.2.4.3.1.2 Lloyd
1.2.4.3.1.2.1 Janet
1.2.4.3.1.2.2 Marcia
1.2.4.3.1.2.3 Alison
1.2.4.3.1.2.4 Mary
1.2.4.3.1.2.5 Mary Lynn
1.2.4.3.1.2.6 Joan
1.2.4.3.2 Francisco Villavicencio (1855-1972) married Cora Pedrotta Bombardieri (1896-1989) in 1919. Below is a list of his descendants:
1.2.4.3.2.1 Elwood
1.2.4.3.2.1.1 Yvonne
1.2.4.3.2.1.2 Blythe
1.2.4.3.2.1.3 Gary
1.2.4.3.2.1.4 John
1.2.4.3.2.1.5 Frank
1.2.4.3.2.1.6 David
1.2.4.3.2.1.7 Paul
1.2.4.3.2.2 Arlene Zanchuck
1.2.4.3.2.2.1 Michael
1.2.4.3.2.3 Lucille Doser
1.2.4.3.2.3.1 Anne Marie
1.2.4.3.2.3.2 Keith
1.2.4.3.2.3.3 Eileen
Click on: www.oldmorrobay.com/villa_tree.htmlo to view the Villavicencio Family Tree of the first settlers of California.
Click on: www.oldmorrobay.com/villa_album.html to view pictures of Roberto Armas Villavicencio and his family.
Click on www.oldmorrobay.com/villa_album2.html to view a sketch of Rancho San Geronimo.
Click on www.oldmorrobay.com/landgrants.html to view Mexican Land Grants in San Luis Obispo.
Another historical person in California is Antonio Felix Villavicencio. He was one of the founders of the pueblo "Nuestra Senora de los Angeles". The pueblo was founded on September 4, 1781 on land overlooking Rio Porciuncula called "Sonoratown".
The founders of the pueblo were originally enlisted in Sinaloa, Mexico. They included eleven families namely:
1. Jose de Lara, 50 years old, a Spaniard with his Indian wife and three children.
2. Antonio Felix Villavicencio, 30 years old, a Spaniard with his Indian wife and one child.
3. Jose Antonio Navarro, 42 years old, a mestizo with his mulatto wife and three children.
4. Basilio Rosas, 86 years old, an Indian with his mulatto wife and six children.
5. Jose Venegas, 28 years old, an Indian with his Indian wife and one child.
6. Alejandro Rosas, 19 years old, an Indian with his Indian wife.
7. Pablo Rodriguez, 25 years old, an Indian with his Indian wife and one child.
8. Manuel Camero, 30 years old, a mulatto with his mulatto wife.
9. Jose Moreno, 22 years old, a mulatto with his mulatto wife.
10. Antonio Mesa, 38 years old, a negro with his mulatto wife and two children.
11. Luis Quintero, 55 years old, a negro with his mulatto wife and five children.
The eleven families numbered forty-four people. They were the founders of Los Angeles. Each family was paid $10.00 per month for three years and were given rations of one "real" per day for ten years.
References:
www.oldmorrobay.com/villavicencio.html
www.oldmorrobay.com/landgrants.html
missiontour.org/related/spanisharrival.htm
History of Los Angeles County.
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