Santa Barbara

The initial list of those to garrison the Presidio and Missions of the Channel of Santa Barbara was prepared 30 Oct 1781 at San Gabriel by Ortega. (Bancroft Library, U. C. Berkeley, CA 15 PSPBM machine pages 106,107,108). Asterisks have been placed by those known to have married or fathered children.

Lt. Josef Francisco Ortega*

Ensign Josef Arguello*

Sergeants: Pablo Antonio Cota*; Ignacio Olivera*; Hermenegildo Sal*.

Corporals: Jose Maria Ortega*; Alejandro de Sotomayor*.

Soldiers:

Jose Carmen Arana*; Jose Prudencia Arangure;

Francisco Calvo*; Jose Antonio Cortes; Mariano Cota;

Idelfonso Dominguez*;

Anastasio Maria Felix*; Victorino Felix*; Rosalino Fernandez*; Josef Miguel Flores*;

Francisco de Paula Garcia*; Felipe Gonzalez*; Jose Gonzalez*; Thomas Gonzalez; Julian Guerrero*;

Justo Hernandez*;

Joaquin Iguera*;

Francisco Juarez*; Augustin Leiba; Jose Lobo*; Francisco Salvador de Lugo*; Ignacio Lugo*; Luis Lugo*; Juan Ignacio Martinez*; Francisco Javier Mejia*; Juan Andres Montiel*;

Juan Matias Olivas*; Ignacio Olivera*; Francisco Ontiveros; Jose Ontiveros*; Manuel Orchaga/Machada*; Ignacio Maria Ortega*;

Jose Parra*; Jose Victorino Patino*; Luis Pena*; Jose Maria Polanco;

Vicente Quijada*;

Martin Reyes*; Ignacio Rodriquez*; Joaquin Rodriquez*; Jose Estevan Romero*; Alejandro Ruiz; Efigenio Ruiz*; Francisco Maria Ruiz; Fructuoso Ruiz*;

Loreto Salazar*; Jose Maria Samaniego*; Guillermo Soto*: Eugenio Valdes*; Melicio Valdes*; Juan Ignacio Valencia*; Jose Manuel Valenzuela*; Jose Villa*.

From the same reference noted above, pages 60-1 and 70-1, the statement was made that on 1 Jul 1782, that the list was the same except for Francisco Ontiveras; Francisco Juarez (died); Jose Antonio Cortes (died); and Jose Prudencio Arangure. (The other three may have died or transferred back to Mexico to other Presidios. No families are known for any on this list.) Owen H. O‰Neill, in his History of Santa Barbara County, page 54, gives the 1 July list, as taken from Lt Ortega‰s report, to be that above, with the four missing persons.

There is another list of those who were at the founding ceremony for the Presidio. (Hawley, Walter A. The Early Days of Santa Barbara, California, Appendix I, “Los Soldados de Cuera,” p 96. It included some names not shown on the above lists: Sergeant Jose Carrillo*; Privates: Jose Ayala*; Juan Ballesteros; Salvador Cervantes; Juan Dominquez*; Isidro German*; Juan M. Romero*; Jose Ruiz; Tadeo Sanchez*; Juan Franco Soto; Jose Valencia*; and Vicente F. Villa. (The authority for this list is not known, but it does not seem as valid as the official reports by Lt Ortega.)

Fr. Zephyrin Engelhardt, O. F. M., in his Santa Barbara Mission, 1923, p 40, includes for the founding ceremony the names shown by Hawley plus the names of some Indian attendants, whose military status has not been determined. (They all had Christian names, which were generally used only for those Indians from Mexico who had been indoctrinated as Spanish.) They were: Jose Calixto; Hilario Carlos; Rafael Gerardo; Jose Loreto; Manuel Orcha; Pedro Ramon; Jose Salazar; Marcos Valera; and Luis Yaquis. (This list is also suspect because some of the names are quite similar to the first and second given names of known soldiers.)