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Local Since 1769
There was, however, one thing the two men shared in common, the Pathfinder to the Portola- From this lineage, our family shares an intimate history with some of
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240 years ago, in 1769, the Spanish undertook what was to become known as "la ultima conquista," or the last conquest. An expedition headed by the last of the Spanish Conquistadors, Gaspar de Portola, headed north for the mystical and unexplored land of California. Included in this expedition was the president of the Franciscan Order, Junipero Serra, who would go on to found the first Christian church on the West Coast of the United States. Their respective goals could not have been more different, the Conquistador and the Priest, one looking to secure a strategic stronghold on the North American coast, the other looking to create his vision of a Utopian Franciscan society.
Serra Expedition, my 6th-generation grandfather, Joseph Francisco de Ortega, a Spanish officer who would later become the very first Commandant of the first Spanish Royal Presidio, founded right here in San Diego in the year 1769. He would be the first of several generations of Soldados de Cuera to serve the Spanish crown in colonial California.
the most significant historical events in the history of California, and in particular, San Diego. When the Ipai (now known as the Kumeyaay) rebelled against the Spanish and attacked the Mission de Alcalá in Mission Valley in 1775, there were but six Spaniards to walk out of the Mission alive. One of those was my 5th-generation grandfather, José Vincinte de Ortega, second son to Joseph Francisco and just an infant at the time of the attack.
Many years later, in the year 1824, word of Mexican independence reached the outer territory of California. Around the same time, José Vincente's son - my 4th-generation grandfather - married a woman by the name of Maria Encarnacion Pico, who was the first cousin to the last Mexican governor of California, Pio Pico. When a band of Californios battled the numerically superior U.S. 1st Dragoons at the Battle of San Pasqual in what would become the bloodiest battle of the Mexican-American War in California, they were led by Pio's brother and Maria's first cousin, Andres Pico.
Now, some 240 years after our family first came to the shores of sunny Southern California, we are still here. Eight generations of San Diego history and counting (and still waiting for a Superbowl victory)! We hold a sincere and deeply held pride in this heritage, and it shows in our hometown loyalties and deep knowledge of - and our family's role in - San Diego's history. It is with this pride and knowledge that we happily avail ourselves for the purpose of private tours and speaking engagements. It is with this strong familial tie and sense of belonging that we take part in activities meant to make our hometown a better place, such as our newly launched Cafe Escuela School Fundraiser Program.