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Eulalia Pérez de Guillén Mariné

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Eulalia Peréz de Guillén Mariné
File:EulaliaPerez.jpg
Born1766
Loreto, Baja California
Died1878 (age 112)
Los Angeles, California
OccupationMayordoma
Spouse(s)Miguel Antonio de Guillén
Juan Mariné (1833-1836)
ChildrenRita de la Osa
Parent(s)Diego Pérez
Antonia Rosalia Cota

Eulalia Peréz de Guillén Mariné (1766–1878) was a supercentenarian Californio who was mayordoma (keeper of the keys) of Missión San Gabriel Arcángel and owner of Rancho del Rincón de San Pascual (San Pascual's Corner Ranch), in present day Los Angeles area of Southern California.

Biography

Peréz was born in Loreto, Baja California (then capital of Las Californias), in 1766 to Diego Pérez of Spain and Antonia Rosalia Cota (but named as Lucía Valenzuela by Miguel Blanco). Diego Pérez was a ship captain, thought to come from Salamanca—family members have been unable to trace records of his commission through the Archivo General de Indias or in Loreto, which has been ravaged by hurricanes over the centuries. Her siblings were Teresa, Petra, Juana, Josefa, Bernardo, and León. According to family lore, Capitan Pérez taught his daughter how to read and write, a fact later important to her survival and eventual prominence. She married a sergeant named Miguel Antonio Guillén in the Spanish army and moved with him—on foot, in those days—to Alta California with her children Petra, Isidoro, and Domingo after his return from San Diego where he had earlier helped found the Presidio of San Diego. Miguel died while serving in the garrison at San Diego, leaving Peréz with several children.

She managed to obtain employment at Missión San Gabriel, initially as cook and midwife for those such as Governor Pio Pico.[1] She was eventually made "keeper of the keys" of the missión itself. When she retired, the fathers at San Gabriel rewarded Pérez with Rancho del Rincón de San Pascual,[2] now the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, and San Marino, California.[3] This land had belonged to Tongva-speaking Native Americans, often referred to as Gabrielenos. With the Mexican conquest of California, as a woman, Peréz was unable to keep ownership of property in her own name, so she married a retired Mexican army lieutenant Juan Mariné (d. 1836).[4] According to her descendants, Mariné and his sons lost all the land in a short time by gambling.

Peréz spent many years of her remaining life in the homes of various daughters, including that of Rita de Guillén de la Ossa, wife of Vicente de la Ossa, owner of Rancho de los Encinos, foundation of Encino, California. What remains of that 100-acre rancho is now Los Encinos State Historic Park.[5][6]

Peréz died in the Los Angeles area in 1878. Her death certificate, located in the Los Angeles County courthouse in Santa Ana records that she lived to be 140, but descendants for the most part agree on a more conservative 112 years, making her a "famous centenarian of the early California and of U.S. history.[1] She is buried with the priests in the Mission San Gabriel, a highly unusual honor at that time for a woman: a marble bench inscribed with her name marks the spot.[7] Her numerous descendants married into the Californios or founding Spanish families of old Southern California, including son-in-law Michael C. White aka Miguel Blanco.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c White, Michael C. (1956). California all the way back to 1828. Los Angeles: G. Dawson. OCLC 1883045. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Kielbasa, John R (1997). Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Pub. ISBN 080594172X.
  3. ^ "California Ranchos by County". California Weekly Explorer. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  4. ^ Aileen Fish Underwood (25 Apr 2006). "Los Angeles Area Timeline". CaGenWeb. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  5. ^ Los Encinos Docents Association. "Los Encinos State Historic Park". State of California. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  6. ^ KCET. "Life and Times, episdoe on Los Encinos, first aired October 10, 2007". KCET. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  7. ^ "Eulalia Perez Guillen". Find A Grave. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
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