Peralta Family Tree

 

By Chris Pattillo

 

The Website Content Committee is pleased to announce the latest addition to the CGS website: the genealogical tree of the Peralta Family, now accessible to members through our website. The Peraltas were the first non-indigenous family to settle in the East Bay. Their story is about the Bay Area and the State of California. Antonio Peralta was the first European to construct a home and live in the East Bay. He and his three brothers, Ygnacio, Domingo, and Vicente Peralta, inherited their land from their father, Luis Maria Peralta, who received a 44,800-acre land grant by the King of Spain as compensation for his service in the Spanish army.

The Research Committee of CGS undertook this research project in 2008 on behalf of the Friends Board of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, located in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. The research team was led by Lavinia “Vinnie” Grace Schwarz along with members Judy Bodycote and Dick Rees. Other contributing members were Verne Deubler, Arlene Miles and Marilyn Willats.

The Friends of Peralta hosted a dinner to thank the Research Committee
for all their work. (L-R) Judy Bodycote, Peralta descendant Ken Talken,
Vinnie Schwarz, and Tom Frye and Deborah Cooper of the Oakland Museum

The Peralta Family Tree includes some 700 descendants of Gabriel Antonio Peralta and Maria Francisca Xavier Valenzuela, some of whom still reside in the East Bay. Source information is available at the CGS Library. A portion of this tree along with supporting research material can be seen at the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park. It is part of a permanent exhibit on display inside the restored home of Antonio Peralta. The home is open to the public and docent-led tours can be arranged to see the exhibit, the house and grounds.

Copyright © 2021 by California Genealogical Society