Diego y Moreno, Fr. Francisco Garcia b. September 17, 1785 d. April 30, 1846 Bishop of California. A native of Lagos in the Mexican state of Jalisco, Fr. Diego was ordained a priest in 1808. From 1816 until 1819 he was Master of Novices and in 1832 was given charge of the College of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Zacatecas. That same year he was appointed Prefect of the California mission system and personally served at Mission Santa Clara from 1833 until 1836. In 1840, he was appointed by Pope Gregory XVI as the first Bishop of Upper and Lower California, a position he held...[Read More] (Bio by: G.Photographer) Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California, USA Plot: Church Sanctuary
Figueroa, Jose b. 1792 d. September 29, 1835 Mexican Governor of California. A native of Mexico, Don José Figueroa came to prominence during Mexico's revolution against Spain. Becoming a General in the Mexican Army, he was appointed to the post of Commandante-General of Sonora and Sinaloa in 1824. In 1833 he was appointed the sixth Mexican Governor of Alta California, serving until his death in 1835. During his administration, he is most often remembered for carrying out the policy of secularization of the California missions in 1834...[Read More] (Bio by: G.Photographer) Mission Santa Barbara Cemetery, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California, USA
Maria, Juana d. October 18, 1853 Folk Figure. Known simply as the "Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island," Juana Maria was a member of the Nicoleño Native American tribe who lived on San Nicholas Island off the coast of California. In 1811 native Alaskan hunters were dropped off on the island where they quickly entered into conflict with the Nicoleño and as result devastated the tribe's population. In 1835 the mission padres of California ordered that the few remaining residents of the island were to be moved to the mainland for...[Read More] (Bio by: G.Photographer) Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California, USA
