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

At the birthplace of the East Bay: Peralta Hacienda Historical Park tour

One of the exhibits built into the reconstructed adobe wall

CGS members recently had the opportunity for a tour of the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park in Oakland. Those who signed up were richly rewarded. Our enthusiastic and very knowledgeable docent Inshirah Berakah led a two-hour tour of the six-acre park and the interior of the 1868 Victorian-style Peralta home.

Inshirah began the tour at a multi-lingual park entry sign and walked us through the outdoor exhibits, explaining each and demonstrating why she is the kind of teacher we want in all our schools. We saw the borrow pit where the Peraltas threw their trash in the early 19^th century, excavated by an archeological team in 2004. She explained each of the items in the alcoves of the reconstructed adobe wall that once surrounded the family compound. The most recent exhibit consists of a series of large banners that tell the story of migrants from Mexico and Central America.

One of the outdoor interpretive signs

For those who don’t know – this site is the birthplace of the East Bay. It was the centerpiece of a 44,700-acre land grant given to Luis Maria Peralta in recognition of his service to the King of Spain. The site includes an outline of the original 1820 adobe home and of another built in 1840.

Inside the house, Inshirah showed us their most recent art exhibit, created by migrants now living in Oakland – a combination of poignant paintings and beautifully executed mini quilts that tell their life stories. In one of the rooms the posters and booklets produced from the genealogical research done by CGS volunteers is still proudly displayed and we were told continues to pique visitors' interest.

The original kitchen, fully furnished, has several displays of foods and medicinal plants. A poster on the kitchen wall lists about 25 audio programs available – each telling a piece of the Peralta story. Peralta provides free audio sets so anyone can take a self-guided tour and learn all about the different aspects of what it was like living on the rancho.

The family room where our tour concluded

The dining room table is covered with large laminated maps each telling a different part of our docent’s story. On display are an old saddle; an artist's installation honoring Maria Galindo, the wife of Antonio Peralta; maps illustrating migration patterns, and much more.

Guided tours are offered by appointment Wednesday–Saturday, 2:30-5:30 p.m., and are well worth the time. Visit http://www.peraltahacienda.org for more information.

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Juan Bautista de Anza Traveling Exhibit: Discover the Diversity of Early California

CGS Vice-president Ellen Fernandez-Sacco visited the de Anza exhibit at Oakland City Hall and sent this report:

A small bilingual traveling exhibit on the de Anza Expedition of 1775-1776 was on view at the City Hall in downtown Oakland. Organized by the National Parks Service and the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, it also included a film screening of “The Anza Expedition” and a panel discussion by representatives of the Oakland Black Cowboy Association, the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park and the Juan Bautista de Anza National History Trail part of the National Park Service. 

The De Anza Expedition led 240 men, women and children over 1200 miles and was intended to populate and colonize Alta California and establish a supply route between Sonora to the San Francisco Bay. The settlers founded San Francisco and San Jose. The De Anza National Heritage Trail extends from Nogales on the U.S. Mexico border through Southern California, through the Coast region to San Francisco. Native people guided the expedition over their trade routes comprised of trails and landscapes they knew for centuries. Profound changes ensued. 

Eventually, the establishment of the Mission system destabilized and destroyed Native ways of life in California. Settlers and Native people interacted and intermarried to create a unique California culture.

Of particular interest to readers interested in California genealogy and family history are the documents on the National Parks Service Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail website, which includes a 268-page Historic Resource study with a bibliography and an Ethnography of the settlers of San Francisco.

Some primary source documents (original journals) and other resources are on the Web de Anza site.

California Spanish Genealogy at SFgenealogy chronicles the story of the soldiers of the De Anza Expedition.

A free, 22-page downloadable supplement on impact of the expedition on Native peoples along the trail, Native People, the Anza Expedition, and the Settlement of California, was originally published in 2008.


Photographs and links courtesy of Ellen Fernandez-Sacco.


Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.