The Evening News. October 5, 1916.

12. Days Of The Dons. Part I.

Until 1816 only two Anglo-Saxons had come to Santa Clara valley. They were John Gilroy, a Scotchman, and Robert Livermore. Gilroy landed at Monterey in 1815 from a Hudson Bay company ship. Ill with scurvy, he was cast upon the shore and left to die. But Gilroy did not die; the climate cured him. He settled on a ranch near the town bearing his name, married a Spanish heiress, has his day of prosperity and power, and died old but poor. Robert Livermore came to San Jose in 1816 and went to Livermore Valley. His wife was a Miss Higuerra.

At this time the white population of San Jose and its vicinity was only a few hundred. They were mostly Spaniards living on widely separated ranches, acquired through Spanish grants. They came to California by way of Mexico. Among the families of the early part of the ninetenth century best known in San Jose were the Picos, who lived on the site Of the present Post Office and whose garden extended to First street. The de Narvaez, now called Narvaez, Were other great landowners. The first Narvaez was a Spanish officer, and later the Alcalde of San Jose. The ancestor of the Narvaez today in San Jose at that time owned a great San Bautista ranch. It extended from Edenvale to the Willows and beyond. It included the Lone Hill Vineyard ranch.

The Arguellos of Santa Clara owned the Pulgas ranch, of which the famous El Quito olive ranch is a part.

In what now is called Hall's valley the Bernals were lords of property that has made several men millionaires. Their ranch bore the name of the Canada de Pala. The Berryessas had a great domain in the Almaden country. The Alvisos, for whom the Embarcadero was named, were owners of a vast estate which now includes the town of Milpitas. Their property was also in the Half Moon Bay country. The Chaboyas owned the great Yerba Buena ranch at Evergreen, which joins the Bernal ranch.

Among the first Spaniards to come to this valley were the Ortegas, who owned the San Ysidro ranch near Gilroy, and the de la Rosas, who had a vast property near Milpitas. The Sunols, who were both Spanish and French, owned Los Coches, near the Mission San Jose.

Most of these families were of Castilian origin and their social importance was determined not so much by the extent of their domain, as by the freedom of their blood from any taint of the Mexican or Indian.

Much has been written of the dazzling luxury of the days of the Dons, but this is somewhat exaggerated. The houses were simple, one-story buildings with tiled roofs and a porch in front. Some of the great families had their houses built around a court or patio, but there were only a few of these in California. Even the De la Guerra house at Santa Barbara today would be considered merely a substantial bungalow for a well-to-do man.

The splendid raiment of the Spaniards is also considerably exaggerated. People bought rich, substantial clothing, the richest silks, heaviest cloths, but changing fashions did not greatly influence the Dons. In 1790 there Were three pairs of scarlet silk stockings sold in San Jose. This means that there were three women of fashion in the Pueblo. At that time scarlet as well as blue silk stockings were greatly in vogue among the Spanish women.

The wives and daughters of the Dons did their shopping when the great Russian, English and Yankee vessels came into harbor at Monterey and traded on the sands for hides and tallow, the currency of the day. Occasionally the captain and some of his officers came over to San Jose with pack trains. They brought beautiful laces, shawls, fans, furniture. A few of these are now in possession of the Spanish families, but the collectors have bought most of them.

The furniture of the Dons was not luxurious. Much of it came from England, France and China. The beautiful old Spanish chests, for instance, as well as the beautiful Spanish shawls, were made in China.

They had very little silver and few fine porcelains.

The one extravagance of the Dons was the silver saddle. A Don has been known to give a league of land for one saddle.

The Spanish Californians' most destructive extravagance was gambling -- monte, cock-fighting, bull-fighting, horse-racing. He gambled all night. Children gambled buttons off their clothes. Those early gambling debts were the foundation of many a Yankee fortune.

The Spaniards borrowed of the Gringos. The Gringos were always ready to land -- at from one hundred to one hundred and fifty per cent interest. One of the Castros gave a party. He borrowed five thousand dollars from a Gringo and paid ten per cent a month interest. As a usual thing the Gringo was paid in land. The Gringo was honest. Everyone was honest. The Don was a friend of everyone, everyone was a Don's friend. The Gringos surveyed the land. He gave himself good measure. Some ranches near San Jose were surveyed by Americans for themselves so that ten thousand acres were taken when only one thousand were paid for.

The law? Litigation was expensive and troublesome. After the American occupation, law was against the Spaniards. Still the Dons borrowed of the Gringo. He had no fear of the sharp-eyed, fair people from the Atlantic coast. The Don's motto was, "Tomorrow never comes."

And so, today in San Jose you will find the smallest houses occupied by the descendants of the Dons. They often occupy humble positions, but many of the younger generation show talent for music and all the arts.

(To be continued)

Transcribed by Claire Martin, for the Santa Clara Co. CAGenWeb Project. 2007

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