José Vicente Féliz
Born
José Vicente Tomás Féliz y Esquer

c.1741
Álamos, New Navarre, New Spain
(now Sonora, Mexico)
Died1822 (aged 80–81)
Santa Barbara, Alta California, First Mexican Empire
(now California, U.S.)
NationalitySpain Spain (1741–1821)
Mexico (1821–1822)
Occupation(s)Soldier, settler
SpouseMaria Ignacia Manuela López Piñuelas y Murrieta

José Vicente Féliz (ca. 1741 – 1822) was a member of the 1775–76 Anza expedition that brought the first settlers to California. In 1781, he was one of four soldiers which guarded the settlers which founded the settlement of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels), which would become Los Angeles. He took on a leadership role in the founding and governance of that pueblo, in essence becoming the city's first mayor, and was rewarded for his efforts with a Spanish land grant in the hills above Los Angeles, in the area of what today still bears his name: Los Feliz.

Early life and immigration to California

Féliz was born Álamos, Sonora, Mexico in approximately 1741.[1] In 1775 he joined the expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza, to bring colonists from Mexico into California. Along with his pregnant wife, Maria Ygnacia Manuela Pinuelas, and their eight children, Féliz began the trek in October 1775, departing from Tubac, Arizona. Tragedy befell the Feliz' along the way, when Maria went into labor as the group was on the outskirts of what is today Tucson, Arizona. While the delivery was successful, Maria died during childbirth, and was buried at the Mission San Xavier del Bac.[2] Padre Pedro Font, in his diary, described the event: "We set out from Tubac at eleven in the morning, and, at half-past three in the afternoon, halted at the place called La Canoa, having traveled some five leagues to the north-northeast. This night the wife of a soldier was delivered; she died in childbed, and the next day was taken to the mission of San Xavier de Bac for burial."[3] The group continued on to arriving at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel arriving there in January, 1776.

By 1781, Féliz was still stationed at the San Gabriel mission when a group of 44 settlers arrived, on their way to found a new city further south, what would become known as Los Angeles. Some of the settlers had contracted smallpox, and so were quarantined for a short time, during which another group of settlers arrived. Feliz was selected as one of four soldiers to accompany the now total of 44 settlers, the pobladores to their new pueblo.[4][5] On September 4, 1781, Féliz led the pobladores the eight miles from San Gabriel to the town site on the bank of the Río Porciúncula, where they founded the city of Los Angeles on a site chosen by Felipe de Neve, governor of California.[2] The name first given to the settlement is debated. Historian Doyce B. Nunis has said that the Spanish named it "El Pueblo de la Reyna de los Angeles" ("The Town of the Queen of the Angels"). For proof, he pointed to a map dated 1785, where that phrase was used. Frank Weber, the diocesan archivist, replied, however, that the name given by the founders was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula", or "the town of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula." and that the map was in error.[5] Feliz was appointed the settlement's first commisionado, literally the first mayor.[6]

Rancho Los Feliz

Some time between 1796 and 1802, Feliz was awarded a land grant to the east of the Pueblo de Los Angeles. One of the first land grants in California, it consisted of 6,647 acres (26.90 km2).[1][7] Bounded on the east by the Los Angeles River, the land, known as El Rancho de Nuestra Señora de Refugio de Los Feliz (Ranch of Our Lady of Refuge of the Feliz Family) Felipe de Goycoechea reported five ranchos in private possession in 1795, none of them the Feliz rancho. An 1802 letter from Goycoechea, on the other hand, assumed Borica or some other governor granted Vicente the rancho. The grant comprised what is today Los Feliz, Griffith Park, East Hollywood, and Silver Lake.[8][9] The rancho remained in the Feliz family until 1863.[10] The area's boundaries were the Los Angeles River to the north and east, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the west.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Schmal, John P. (April 17, 2004). "The Mayors of Los Angeles". LatinoLA. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Rancho Los Feliz: An Anza Expedition Legacy" (PDF). National Park Service. September 1997. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Expanded Diary of Pedro Font". Center for Advanced Technology in Education, University of Oregon. October 23, 1775. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ Kelsey, Harry. 1976. "A New Look at the Founding of Los Angeles." Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly. 55:4, Winter. pp. 326–339.
  5. 1 2 Bob Pool, "City of Angels' First Name Still Bedevils Historians." Los Angeles Times (March 26, 2005).
  6. ↑ "Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Recommendation Report" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. August 21, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ Felchlin, Marva (May 29, 2012). "It's in the Cards!". Autry Museum of the American West. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Feature Detail Report for: Los Felis". U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  9. ↑ Gerber, Marisa (May 7, 2013). "'Los Feliz': How you say it tells about you and L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Curse of the Felizes". Griffith Park History Project. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  11. ↑ Masters, Nathan (August 22, 2012). "How L.A. Got One of the Country's Largest Urban Parks". KCETLink. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
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