Los Angeles herald., 1890-07-21
EARLY LAND GRANTS.
A Short History Of Some of Them in
This County.

A Short History of Some of Them in
This County.
EDITORS HERALD-The early land
grants in the CALIFORNIA; have been the
bone of contention among the attorneys,
as we'll al. the historians, comprising, as
they do, one-tenth part of the whole
area and the most valuable portions of
the state. About $500, 900 OF acres have
been patented, and nearly 100000 are
still pending judicial inquiry. To those
In Los Angeles county confine myself.
California originally was kingdom
in itself. The area l50 years ago, as de-
| fined by the Spanish authorities, ex-
| tended from Mexico to the Russian
possessions on the north and from
Texas to the Pacific ocean. Conse-
quently the early records are scattered
over a vast territory. The stupendous
undertaking of BANCROFT was rewarded
with bringing to light vast quantity Of
material, but as time passes new and
important documents have been un-
earthed, and will in time be placed
among the archives where they properly
belong. AS it is, many public docu-
ments of great value to the historian are
in the hands of private individuals.
Los Angeles county (including Orange)
was one OF the first settlements of the
Spaniards and consequently we may look
here for some of the earliest, as well as
the most numerous grants. The first
made was one for 200 leagues, having
its southern terminus about where San
Juan Capistrano now stands, and ex-
tending northerly along the coast dis
tance of 20 leagues and 10 leagues back
toward the mountains. This was not a
grant to private individuals, but to the
padres by the Spanish crown to define
the limits over which they were, with
the civil officers, to have jurisdiction
Through this came the many subsequent
grants, and the titles were presumed to
to be based upon it for all the grants
in the county except two or three in the
northwest portion; it's boundaries were
somewhat expansive like the deeds
made by the present city fathers who
sell 35-acre lot and the grantee sue
ceeds in getting forty-fve acres of town
lots out of it.
| Prior to 1855 individual ownership
was unknown except in the puebloso
where under certain restrictions certain
settlers were allowed to hold small tracts
for building and cultivation, the balance
being held for the benefit of the king.
Manuel Nieto and Jose Maria Fer
dugos petitioned Governor FACES in 1884
for certain lands. FACES was uncertain
as to his authority and referred it to the
superior government at Mexico, who re-
piled that he could grant them the lands
to the extent of three leagues each out
side of the pueblo lands, the extent of
which were understood by FACES to be
sixteen leagues, and had been set apart
by the crown for special purposes.
Judicial possession was given to Ver-
dugo, or Ferdugo, and Nieto in 1885,
subject to revocation by the church, and
Nieto's grant was afterwards taken from
him for the use of the mission.
The next possession given was to Juan
Jose Dominguez in 1894. In 1896 we
find the 200 leagues divided into seven
tracts, with well-defined boundaries, ag-
gregating about $50 leagues.
They were the Rancho Portezuela,
bounded north by the mountains, east
by the Mission Vieja, south by the
pueblo, and west by the Mission San
Fernando.
La Zanja of the Nietos, bounded north
by the Mission Vieja, east by the Las
Rahas, south by the sea, and west by
the Rio de San Miguel.
The Suanga, bounded north by the
Pueblo, east by the Rio de San Miguel,
and south and west by the sea. These
three were claimed as private property
by individuals.
The Pueblo of Los Angeles, bounded
north by the Mission San Fernando
and the Portezuela, east by the Mission
Vieja, and south by the Suanga and
west by the Pacific ocean, and held in
trust by the pueblo government.
| The Mission San Fernando lying to
the north of the pueblo or west of the
Portezuela; the Mission Vieja, east OF
the Portezuela and north of the La Zanja
of the Nietos and the tract covering the
place where San Juan Capistrano now
stands, the three last being under con-
troll of the mission fathers, who at a
later date consented to divide them and
allow them to be granted tv settlers, and
even so far departed from their usual
custom as to grant to certain Indians
rights to the soil.
AS time passed the titles became
vested in the occupants. and were con-
firmed by the general government, the
rights of the church being ignored.
After the declaration Ofindependence OF by
Mexico the church property was con-
sidered the legitimate spoils of the re-
public, and was parceled out by the gov
ernors to whoever desired it. Many of
the others shared the same fate, but the
titles are capable of being traced with
much more ease and certainty from the
mission fathers down to the acquisition
by the United States than many of the
titles of our day. In 1852 commission
was appointed to examine into and sep
arate the fraudulent from the genuine
grants, but there were so many docu-
ments destroyed or lost that it was a
difficult task. One half of those con-
frmed were afterwards rejected by the
supreme courts on the discovery Of new
material, and many of the decisions of
the commission were reversed for the
same reason. ]. H. MELvILL.
Los Angeles, July 18th.