Nailed Gold Coins around Door

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
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I am thinking that if he had enough coins to use them as ornaments....he probally buried a few also..................

Ignoring entirely the Indian's right, acquired by centuries of
possession, the Spanish and Mexican authorities coolly gave to the prominent
among their own people immense tracts of land, including always the choicest,
best watered spots, upon which the Indian villages were located. Within the
comparatively small portion of the county, which lies upon the western slope of
the mountain range, fifteen such large grants were made, the titles to which
were subsequently confirmed by the United States, the aggregate area included
amounting to over 333,546 acres.

Few of the original grantees obtained possession of a larger territory than
did Bernardo Yorba, although of his vast estate only the Rincon grant and the
Sierra (Yorba) rancho, aggregating over 22,000 acres, were located within the
borders of the county. He, however, owned the Rancho Canyon de Santa Ana,
granted to him directly, and also a large interest in that magnificent tract of
62,000 acres known as the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, which the Spanish
government had in 1810 given to his father and Juan Pablo Peralta. Thus did Don
Bernardo Yorba's acres extend from the Temescal, in this county, to the ocean
near Newport Beach. His big adobe ranch house was located on the Canyon de Santa
Ana rancho, and views of its ruins, together with the little old chapel and the
family cemetery, can still be seen from the Santa Fe trains. Here he ruled a
tract as large as some European states. His great flocks and herds and vast
fields of grain brought him a most princely income, which enabled him to extend
to all a liberal hospitality. Tradition says that he nailed gold coins as
ornaments around the doorways of his home. In 1849 he purchased the right to
take brea from a thousand acres in the heart of the present Fullerton oil
fields, which he used as fuel. He died in 1858, leaving a family of seventeen
children, and a widow who died only a few years ago.
http://books.google.com/books?id=wm...bqkhgo&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3
 

S

stefen

Guest
Whoever originally wrote this article obviously was not familiar with the geographic area. Rancho Yorba (now Yorba Linda / Anaheim Hills) is 15 miles east of Fullerton, possibly 20 miles southeast of Brea and 40 miles or more from the Rincon area.
 

OP
OP
Gypsy Heart

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
12,686
338
Ozarks
It says..."
In 1849 he purchased the right to
take brea from a thousand acres in the heart of the present Fullerton oil
fields, which he used as fuel. "

It says he owned 62000 acres ...which is roughly 97 square miles
Thus did Don
Bernardo Yorba's acres extend from the Temescal, in this county, to the ocean
near Newport Beach.
 

S

stefen

Guest
As stated, whoever originally wrote this article obviously was not familiar with the geographic area.

I want everyone to know that I am not attacking Gypsy...its the article itself that is questionable.

These areas are within what is now Orange , San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. There is a mingling of numerous Spanish Land Grants and specific named areas within these grants.

Brea (the City and not to be confused with La Brea-Tar Pits which is in west Los Angeles area) is probably 10 to 15 miles from Fullerton...and the Oil Fields were in northern Brea and Brea Canyon (relatively close to Pomona located in Los Angeles County) which is a far cry from Fullerton.

Don't confuse his partial interest in the Rincon grant that is located in another county (Riverside).

97 square miles is not a particularily large area.

To better understand the geographic area, one must refer to the Spanish Land Grants' map.
 

S

stefen

Guest
Here is a map of Orange County, which by the way consists of 948 square miles or 10 times greater than Santiago De Santa Ana.

Please note the geographic relationship of some of the named locations...Rincon, however is located in another county (Riverside) which is a far distance from Newport...Rincon area is actually east of the outer lower portion of the map...

As stated, the author of the article needs to be familiar with the geography when relating partial facts...and the facts would be better suited if graphically presented...

The true rancho is actually a part of Placentia, Yorba Linda and easterly Anaheim...emphasis on the word "part"...of what is now known as Santa Ana Canyon...
 

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pegleglooker

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hey gang,
Here is a link to a map of the original Yorba land grant ( I couldn't get it to print or copy )

http://imgzoom.cdlib.org/Fullscreen.ics?ark=ark:/13030/hb8000084f/z1&&brand=oac#

Here is also what it says about the map: BTW this was listed as a private land grant


Title:
Rancho de La Sierra : situate in the Counties of Los Angeles & Sn. Bernardino, Califia., claimed by Don Bernardo Yorba, containing 17,084 acres or 3 sq. leagues, 4,064 acres / [George Hansen]
Creator/Contributor:
Hansen, George 1824-1897
United States. District Court (California : Southern District). Land case. 126
Date:
1855
Subject:
Rancho La Sierra (Yorba, Calif.) -- Maps, Manuscript
Scale not given -- (W 117°36'/N 33°52')
Note:
Shows drainage, roads, survey markers, boundaries, adjoining ranchos, etc.
Includes table of boundaries.
Oriented with north toward the upper left.
Pen-and-ink and watercolor.
"I hereby certify the above to be a correct plat of the Rancho de la Sierra as surveyed by me ... in the month of October 1855. Los Angeles City, November 2, 1855. Geo. Hansen, Deputy County Surveyor of Los Angeles County."
Relief shown by hachures.
4362 L182
From: U.S. District Court. California, Southern District. Land case 126 SD, page 92; land case map E-1135 (Bancroft Library).
Physical Description:
1 ms. map : col. ; on sheet 50 x 61 cm.
Language:
English
Local Call Number:
Land Case Map E-1135
Collection:
Landcase Maps Collection
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000;

If you look to the far right of the map, the word Temescal appears. Upper left shows Rincon, and Snatiago on the bottom. It's just too bad I can't get it to print or copy....

PLL
 

Urban Prospector

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The remains of the Yorba adobe were pushed into a barranca about 1923 to prevent further vandalism.That barranca would be the place to search. The map doesn't seem to include the land were the adobe was, it shows the rincon or "corner" were the Santana, Green and Fresno watersheds converge.
 

boogeyman

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Gypsy Heart said:
It says..."
In 1849 he purchased the right to
take brea from a thousand acres in the heart of the present Fullerton oil
fields, which he used as fuel. "

It says he owned 62000 acres ...which is roughly 97 square miles
Thus did Don
Bernardo Yorba's acres extend from the Temescal, in this county, to the ocean
near Newport Beach.
Hi Gypsey!

Don't think so.... Most of the land around El Toro, Irvine etc Were owned by the James Irvine Family. South of that was owned by (As my memory fogs up) Rancho Mission Viejo [blank] . The Irvine house was fairly close to the old El Toro Marine Base, until it burned down. There should be some maps and other info up on the web. The Irvine family was quite interesting, with a suspected homicide leading up to a lot of questions about the house burning down with a lot of the family records.

Check Bowers Museums web site. The museum is at Main St. & 18th St. in Santa Ana ca. This is an excellent museum for research on things relating to Southern California. If anyone is in the area, I highly recommend spending a few hours there.
 

pegleglooker

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Hey gang,
If you guys want a GREAT book for the history of Riverside, with some things about San Bernardino county. then you should have " Along The Old Roads " by Steve Lech. It starts with the Spanish exploration ( 1772 ) and continues till 1893 and is AWESOME!!! VERY VERY detailed long book ( over 900 pgs ), but I think there is no other book that would be more valuable. I found a copy on alibris for $ 160, but I got mine in Palm Springs for $ 80. The store name was " desert map and aerial " 760-346-1101. Detail info on the land grants, including who they were granted to, and the history of ownership on the land.
For example, Jose Antonio Yorba was given a 75,000-acre land grant in 1810 ( called Santiago de Santa Ana ). As Steve says " the Santiago de Santa Ana grant encompassed virtually all of Santa Ana Canyon area of Eastern Orange county, as well as much of Northern Orange County and Newport Bay ".... Going as far east as Gypsum Canyon. ( he quotes a personal conversation with historian Phil Brigandi as his source, and Phil His the head archivist for Orange ). By 1825 Jose's sons Bernardo and Tomas were grazing herds east of Jose's grant, so Bernardo applied for and received the Canon de Santa Ana Rancho ( which encompasses Yorba Linda ). But the boys kept grazing more and more easterly, and received another grant they called La Sierra from Governor Pico on June 6th 1846 ( 17,500 acres ). Here is a pix of the Yorba home...

yorba2.jpg

yorba1.jpg
Bernardo Yorba began building his adobe home, the Rancho San Antonio. It was demolished in 1927. A monument is located on Esperanza Road, about one-half mile east of Imperial Highway

I don't know where the home would have ended up, but I thought I would share what I found...

Enjoy
PLL
 

boogeyman

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Peg,

Thanks for filling in my fuzzy spots. Can always count on you to fill in the blanks with good data!!

Question. What was the name of the ranch that ran from the south end of James Irvines ranch down to about Capistrano. (Knew I should've written it down).

Have you been to Bowers Museum in Santa Ana? Used to be a great source of info. Always had a good time there & they're about the most helpful people I've ever met. Great displays too! They changed things up frequently, told me that since they were a smaller museum they didn't want to get stagnant like some of the big Ca. Museums.
 

S

stefen

Guest
One shouldn't confuse the Yorba grant with the the former Irvine Ranch.

The Irvine Ranch, which comprises about a 5th of Orange County, historically, grew out of the 185-square-mile ranch James Irvine I, Benjamin and Thomas Flint, and Llewellyn Bixby founded in 1864 from three adjoining Mexican land grants.

Irvine and his partners initially purchased Rancho San Joaquin from Jose Antonio Sepulveda, the coastal portion of the present-day ranch. A drought that killed his livestock forced Sepulveda to sell his ranch in 1864.

The partners purchased Rancho Lomas de Santiago—largely unfarmable due to its steep, hilly terrain—in 1866 from William Wolfskill, who had used it largely as a sheep ranch. Flint, Bixby and Irvine were among the claimants of a title lawsuit that later divided Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1868.

Bixby himself later settled in Long Beach California and founded the Bixby Ranch...

Joan Irvine, a local decendant is still active in Orange County.
 

pegleglooker

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Ho Boogeymen,
Sorry to say, my info is limited to Riverside county ( with a little on San Bernardino )....But it looks like Stefen has it covered.....

PLL
 

Old California

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
221
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Central California
Hi Gypsy,

I've been meaning to respond ever since you posted about the coins with a hole, Been busy lately and finally got around to giving some info regarding the holed coins.

I've found several silver seated coins with a punched square nail hole in them and maybe they did the same with gold coins? What I have heard from several of the old timers this was for good luck and settlers would nail them above the front door.

Call it superstitious but it makes sense, I'd like to hear others comment on this if they too have heard the same.

Now, I've also found several seated 1/2 dimes with tiny holes drilled into them. These were sewn onto clothing so they had a less chance of loosing them, If you ever held a bust or seated 1/2 dime you can see the reasoning for sewing them onto clothing.

Below, is a picture of some of the finds I made from a particular area in Santa Clara County. It's one of Tom In Salinas sites he has invited me to detect on several occasions and what I did was put together a small display for one of the adjoining property owners of that area and gave him this display. Please note, Due to the site and without giving the location I blocked out the general area in the picture.

One of the coins in the display is a seated dime with a square nail hole punched into the center, The other seated is a 1/2 dime and you can see how small it is compared to the holed seated dime.

Anyway, Hope others can comment and maybe Tom can chime in as well on the good luck (holed coin over the door) matter.

God bless, Paul (Ca)
 

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Joe(TX)

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.....Paul.....The coin that you say has a nail hole in it....sure looks like it was more likely a bullett hole.....Joe
 

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