Gonzales, Juan J.

Juan Jose Gonzales (1807-1854) was a Californio son of a Spanish/Mexican soldier. Juan settled in Santa Cruz on the mission plaza. He was the first appointed mayordomo (overseer) of Mission Santa Cruz property following secularization in 1834. The name "Gonzelas" [sic] was listed as a property owner in Block 2 of the 1866 Santa Cruz map. The map shows the Gonzales property as the middle one of three along the west side of the mission plaza. To the north was Henry Rice, and to the south was Francisco Alzina, who married a Gonzales daughter, Maria Carlotta (1829-1920). A note from a newspaper clipping on the Find-a-Grave page says the Gonzales property was sold at auction in 1856.

• John L. Chase, The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture (4th ed. 2023), Chapter Four, item (25), page 96.
• 1833: was granted Rancho Pescadero.
• 1834: first mayordomo of former Mission Santa Cruz property following its 1834 secularization.
• 1836: joined the Alvarado coup (commissioned a captain)
• 1840: was the local official charged by Alvarado in with rounding up foreigners in what became known as "The Graham Affair".
• see also Gonzales family