Ygnacio del Valle

Infobox Person
name = Ygnacio Ramón de Jesus del Valle


image_size = 200px
caption =
birth_date = birth date|mf=yes|1808|07|1
birth_place = Jalisco, New Spain
death_date = 1880
death_place = flag|United States|1877
occupation = rancher, alcalde
spouse = Ysabel Varela
parents =
children =

Ygnacio Ramón de Jesus del Valle (July 1, 1808–1880) was a rancher and landowner in the eastern Santa Clara River Valley, California, United States, as well as an "alcalde" of Los Angeles. His estate, Rancho Camulos, is registered as a National Historic Landmark.

Early life

Del Valle was born in Jalisco, Mexico. His father, Antonio del Valle, was a soldier in the Spanish army who came to California in 1819 and was administrator of Mission San Fernando Rey de España. Del Valle himself joined the army as a cadet in 1825 at the Presidio of Santa Barbara. In 1828 he was promoted to second lieutenant and transferred to the Presidio of San Diego. In 1832, his commander became involved in a power struggle with the commandant of the Presidio of Monterey, where Antonio served. Ygnacio's side won the conflict on the battlefield, causing a rift between father and son, and they never spoke again.cite web | url=http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/lw2052.htm | title=Ygnacio del Valle, Landowner | publisher=Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society | accessdate=2007-04-09]

Ygnacio then moved to the Monterey Presidio and was in charge of the secularization of Mission Santa Cruz and Mission San Francisco de Asís. He became a trusted officer, enough to be left in charge of the Presidio in José Figueroa's absence.cite web | url=http://ranchocamulos.org/History/index.htm | title=Historical Overview | publisher=Rancho Camulos Museum | accessdate=2007-03-28] For his service to the Mexican Army, del Valle received the Rancho Tejon land grant in 1843. During this time, he married Maria de Los Angeles in 1842, who died in childbirth five years later.

Ranchos

Antonio died in 1841 without leaving a will. On his deathbed, he decided he wanted to reconcile with his son and, in a letter, offered Ygnacio several properties, including the convert|48612|acre|km2|0|sing=on Rancho San Francisco land grant he had received. Unfortunately, he died before the letter was delivered to Ygnacio,cite news | url=http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/sg090199a.htm | title=Del Valle descendant pursues her roots | publisher=Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society | first=Marci | last=Wormser | date=September 1, 1999 | accessdate=2007-04-09] but the son returned to the family homestead to administer the ranch anyway. Without a will specifying how the estate was to be divided, Jacoba Feliz, Antonio's second wife who remarried after his death, filed a lawsuit to claim part of the land, which was the site the first recorded discovery of gold in California, [cite book |author=Rawls, James, J. and Richard J. Orsi (eds.) | title = A golden state: mining and economic development in Gold Rush California|series=California History Sesquicentennial, 2 | year = 1999 | location = Berkeley and Los Angeles| publisher = University of California Press | id=ISBN 0-520-21771-3 | pages=3 ] sparking a minor gold rush in 1842, six years before the more famous California Gold Rush. Eventually, the lawsuit was decided and the land was split, with Ygnacio receiving the convert|13599|acre|km2|0|sing=on Rancho Camulos.

However, del Valle did not live on this land initially, instead residing in the Olvera Street area of Los Angeles, where he was active in local politics. In the 1840s, he served on the "junta" (the equivalent of a city council) as a member and its secretary, as well as treasurer of civil government under Governor Pío Pico. In 1850, he was elected "alcalde" of Los Angeles and served only a short time before the city was incorporated as an American city, but during his tenure he established the Los Angeles Rangers, an early law enforcement group.cite news | url=http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/times111101.htm | title=Del Valle Family Played a Starring Role in Early California | publisher=Los Angeles Times | first=Cecilia | last=Rasmussen | date=November 11, 2001 | accessdate=2007-04-09] After California achieved statehood later that year, del Valle served in the California State Assembly for a short period. He was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1852. That same year at the age of 44, he married 15-year-old Ysabel Varela. Del Valle remained on the City Council for five years, after which he devoted his time to improving Camulos. The del Valle family, including five children, finally moved to the rancho in 1861.

Later life

However, the late 1850s and early 1860s were difficult for ranchers in Southern California. Severe flooding had caused great damage to many ranchos. Despite this, the Del Valle family, like many Californios, continued to live the luxuriant lives of landed aristocracy. [cite book | title=Ramona Memories: Tourism and the Shaping of Southern California | first=Dydia | last=DeLyser | chapter=Rancho Camulos: Symbolic Heart of the Ramona Myth | page=67 | publisher=University of Minnesota Press | year=2005 | id=ISBN 0816645728 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=L9Y4gQMMKP8C&pg=PA78&dq=%22rancho+camulos%22&sig=ACfU3U2s7B3MpWNBcje7YeZzv85JCLZ6XQ#PPA67,M1] Del Valle had to pay off the debts of his stepmother, Jacoba Feliz, in return for which received part of her land inheritance. He had already sold off his Rancho Tejon to pay his own debts as well. The floods were followed by droughts which lasted for three years, which forced del Valle to sell off his remaining land. He was left with just 1,500 acres (6 km²) of his Rancho Camulos, but the ranch survived these hard times and became a thriving operation, the source of the first commercially grown oranges in Ventura County.

Through 1870, the del Valles had seven more children, although only five of the twelve would live to adulthood. One, Reginaldo, became the youngest-ever president of the California State Senate at age 28 and was instrumental in the preservation of Mission San Fernando, as well as the movement to have the El Camino Real marked with bells.

Ygnacio del Valle died in 1880 and was buried on his rancho. Ysabel took over the running of rancho until 1900, then moved back to Los Angeles. In 1905, the ailing woman "refused to die" until she could be reunited with her long-dead husband. His remains were exhumed and moved to Los Angeles. Soon after their arrival, Ysabel died, and she was buried in the same coffin as Ygnacio.

References