Title: Autograph Letter Signed - 1858 Gold rush priest of Monterey County
Author: Mora, F[rancis]
Description: 1 pp. + stampless address leaf.To “General” John Wilson, San Francisco. “Your letter reached its destination, was translated into Spanish by me and handed to Mr. Careaga. He says that he did not say that Anzar kept the papers of his property but his own companion, Arias said to have lost them. The papers exist and he knows where they are now. He has examined your letter and has decided to give up his pretending because he thinks that it would cost more than what the land is worth. He is much thankful to you for your kindness, and pains you took on his behave, and your benefit will always be in his memory.” Descended from a distinguished Castilian family of Spanish California, Ramon Carreaga’s landholdings of some 7,000 acres extended from his ranch near the San Juan Bautista Mission to the coast below San Luis Obispo. A small part of this vast land was apparently at issue in this letter to “General” Wilson, the San Francisco lawyer who served as U.S. Land Commissioner for California during the 1850s. Father Francis Mora (1827-1905) the Spanish-born writer of this letter, who spoke no English until he came to America in 1855, spent four years in charge of the Monterey Parish as Priest of the San Juan Bautista Mission. After another six years at the San Luis Obispo Mission, Mora was consecrated Bishop at Los Angeles in 1878, his diocese covering an area of 80,000 square miles, from Monterey to San Diego.
Heading: (California Gold Rush)Place Published: San Juan [Bautista], California
Publisher:
Date Published: August 4, 1858

Some yellowing, tearing at original opening on address portion; very good.