Collection: Books and Periodicals

About This Item:

Title: A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Publisher: Lewis Publishing Company Published: 1891 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Source(s): Google Books # of Pages: 713 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-22 00:25:09 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:11:29 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 06:30:36

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 713  

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. 15 from the Sonoma region, and provided also that in the case of San Rafael they might return if they wished at any time within a year. New converts might come in from any direction to the mission they preterred, but no force was to be used. Under these conditions and restrictions the tiery Altimira entered upon the task of Christianizing Sonoma County heathen. While he did not let pass an opportunity to inveigh against the perverse and narrow-gauge methods of the old missions, he seems tu have entered with the zeal of a Paul into his missionary work. Bancroft, who has all the data to enable him to speak with absolute certainty, says: “Passion Sunday, April 4, 1824, the mission church, a somewhat rude structure 24 x 105 feet, built of boards and whitewashed, but well furnished and decorated in the interior, many articles having been presented by the Russians, was dedicated to San Franciscu Sulano, which from this date became the name of the miasion. Hitherto it had been properly New San Francisco, thongh Altimira had always dated his letters San Francisco simply, and referred to the peninsula establishment as Old San Francisco; but this usage became inconvenient, and rather than honor St. Francis of Assisi with two missions it was agreed to dedicate the new one to San Francisco Solano, ‘ the great apostle of the Indies.’ It was largely from this early confusion of names, and also from the inconvenience of adding Asisi and Solano to designate therespective Saints Francis and Solano that aroee the popular usage of calling the two missions Dolores and San Solano, the latter name being replaced ten years later by the original one of Sonoma.” Elsewhere we have said that right here in Sonoma County the Catholic and the Greek Cross met, and it but lends luster to the pages of history to record that though coming by different roads they met in friendship; for, with deft hands, the communicants of the Greek church at Ross shaped gifts for ornamentation and decoration of the Catholic mission of Sunoma. Altimira remained in charge at Sonoma until 1826, when he was superseded by Buenavertura Fortuni. Altimira had displayed considerable energy in his field of labor, fur at Sonoma he had constructed a padre’s house, granary and seven honses for the guard, besides © the chapel, all of wood. Before the year 1824 closed there had been constructed a large adobe 30 x 120 feet, seven feet high, with tiled roof and corridor, and a couple of other structures of a‘lobe had been constructed ready to roof, when the excessive rains of that season set in and ruined the walls. A loom was set up and weaving was in operation. Quite an orchard of fruit trees was planted and a vineyard of 3,000 vines was set out. Bancroft says: “ Between 1824 and 1830 cattle increased from 1,100 to 2,000; horses from 400 to 725; and sheep remained at 4,000, though as few as 1,500 in 1826. Crops amounted to 1,875 bushels per year on an average, the” largest yield being 3,945 in 1826, and the smallest 510 in 1829, when wheat and barley failed completely. At the end of 1824 the mission had 693 neophytes, of whom 322 had come from San Francisco, 153 from San Jose, 92 from San Rafael and 96 had been baptized on the spot. By 1830, 650 had been baptized and 375 buried; but the number of neophytes had increased only to 760, leaving a margin of over 100 for runaways, even on the supposition that all from San Rafael retired the first year to their old home. Notwithstanding the advantages of the site and Altimira’s enthusiasm, the mission at Sonoma was not prosperous during its short existence.” Thus far we have followed the fortunes of the church in its missionary work north of the bay. While it was not as fruitful of results as the church probably expected, it at least paved the way for secular occupation. As it had been in the south, so too in the north an attempt at colonization was sure to follow in the paths made easy by the pluck and perseverance of the padres. SPANIARDS PRESS UPON THE RUSSIANS, By the year 1830 the influx of the Spanish had so encroached upon the territory occupied