Amador, Yorba, López, and Cota families correspondence, 1853-1897

Summary

Creators:

Amador family, Cota family, Yorba family, and López family

Abstract:

This collection comprises hand-written correspondence among members of the Amador, Yorba, López, and Cota families in the region of Orange County, San Diego County, and Baja California from 1853 to 1879. Items include personal letters and business receipts. The collection documents the family matters of several prominent Californio families in the decades following the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the admission of California to the Union (1850). The correspondence largely concerns the health of family members, births, deaths, family events, family visits, and business transactions. Several letters also contain references to national boundaries, language problems, military movements, and epidemics. Members of the López family in San Diego are the recipients of more than half of the letters, while members of the Amador family, some of whom were based in San Juan Capistrano, are the largest group of letter writers, accounting for one-quarter of the collection.

Extent:

0.4 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language:

Spanish; Castilian .

Preferred citation:

Amador, Yorba, López, and Cota families correspondence. MS-R032. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection comprises hand-written correspondence among members of the Amador, Yorba, López, and Cota families in the region of Orange County, San Diego County, and Baja California from 1853 to 1879. Items include personal letters and business receipts. The collection documents the family matters of several prominent Californio families in the decades following the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the admission of California to the Union (1850). The correspondence largely concerns the health of family members, births, deaths, family events, family visits, and business transactions. Several letters also contain references to national boundaries, language problems, military movements, and epidemics. Members of the López family in San Diego are the recipients of more than half of the letters, while members of the Amador family, some of whom were based in San Juan Capistrano, are the largest group of letter writers, accounting for one-quarter of the collection.

Biographical / historical:

The Amador, Cota, Yorba, and López families were four prominent Californio families who received land grants and settled in California in the nineteenth century. Bernardo Yorba was granted Rancho Yorba, Jose Antonio Yorba and Juan Pablo Peralta were granted Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, Francisco Cota inherited Rancho de Ballona in present-day Los Angeles, José María Amador was granted Rancho San Ramón, and Cornelio López and Bernardo Higuera were granted Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes.

Acquisition information:

Acquired, 1974.

Processing information:

Processed by Kurt MacMillan and Audrey Pearson, 2007.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged first by format, then chronologically.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Mexican American families -- California, Southern -- Correspondence.
Mexican Americans -- California, Southern -- Correspondence.
Letters -- California -- 19th century.
Letters -- Mexico -- Baja California (Peninsula) -- 19th century.

Names:

Amador family -- Correspondence
Yorba family -- Correspondence
López family -- Correspondence
Cota family -- Correspondence

Places:

California, Southern -- Correspondence.
Baja California (Mexico : Peninsula) -- Correspondence

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. These materials are in the public domain. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Preferred citation:

Amador, Yorba, López, and Cota families correspondence. MS-R032. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Location of this collection:

UC Irvine, Orange County Regional History Collection

P.O. Box 19557

Irvine, CA , US

Contact:

(949) 824-3947

spcoll@uci.libanswers.com

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