Baptism of Mariano Coronado

Mariano’s baptism took place at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Napa, CA, on 30 April 1859.  According to St. John’s Church history[1], the first entry in their baptismal and marriage books was on October 1, 1858, so Mariano’s baptism registry was in the early days of the church.

Here is a copy of the baptism entry from the church records.[2]

The record lists his birth as 17 April 1859 (couldn’t find his birth-date anywhere else).  Notice that his full baptized name (in Latin[3]) is “Josephus Anicetus Mariana de Jesus Coronado”.  He was “Manama” in the 1860 Census[4] at age one and he was “Maryannie” in the 1870 Census[5] at age eleven (and listed as female).  On his marriage license he was “Mariano”.[6]  Later in life he became known as Marion Coronado and M.P. Coronado (for Marion Pascual Coronado).

According to the baptism entry, Mariano or Mariana is the son of “Jesu Laureto Coronado” and “Guadalupa Bie”.  Although there were variations in spelling over the years, because many of the data records depended on the name as spoken to the recorder, Mariano’s parents were Loretto Coronado[7] and Guadalupe Villa[8].

Witnesses at the baptism were “Raphalus Corona” and “Florentina Enos”.  Witnesses to a baptism are usually relatives or close friends of the family.  “Raphalus Corona” could have been Rafael Coronado, a man who lived close to the Loretto Coronado family in the Spanish-town area of Napa.  He might have been a brother or cousin of Loretto, but I have not been able to prove any direct connection.  But both men had the same last name, lived close to one another and were about the same age.

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[1] St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Napa, Napa, California, Our History, How We Got Started, 2010.  http://stchurch.stjohnscatholic.org/about_history.php  The Catholic Church community in Napa had been holding services in makeshift locations.  A physical church building was not completed until June 1860.

[2] Copy of the church files obtained by Donna Alfonso from the clerk at the St. John the Baptist Church, Napa, Napa, California, April 1987.  Copy is in the possession of Hal Phipps.

[3] Catholic Church records in the middle of the 19^th Century were commonly written in Latin.

[4] 1860 U.S. Census, Napa, Napa, California, page 113, family 896, digital image, Ancestry.com from National Archives microfilm M653, roll 61.

[5] 1870 U.S. Census, Napa, Napa, California, page 54B, family 441, digital image, Ancestry.com from National Archives microfilm M653, roll 75.

[6] Marriage License, Mariano Coronado & Louisa Madrid, Napa Township, Napa county, California, recorded 24 November 1884.

[7] Variations: Loreto Coronado, Loretta Coronado, Loreta Coronado

[8] There were many variations in her name because she may not have been able to write her name and the spelling was dependent on a spoken language and a recorder who may not have understood the Spanish language.  For example, the letter “V” is pronounced as a soft “B” and the double “ll” was pronounced as a “Y”, such as in the word “yea”.  Variations to her name: Guadalupe Bia, Guadelupe Ville, and Guadalupe Via.

Introduction to the Family

The purpose of this website is to document and explore the family history of the Coronado Family who lived in and prospered in Napa and Solano Counties in northern California starting in the 1850s.  I hope that this website will become a forum for exchange of information, pictures and stories and that all Coronado relatives and friends will join in the discussion.

My maternal grandfather, Mariano (Marion) Coronado (1859-1934), and grandmother, Louisa Madrid (1862-1950) were married 24 November 1884 at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Napa.  Both Mariano and Louisa were born in and grew up in Napa.

Family history says that the dashing Mariano was smitten by Louisa’s charms the first time he saw the pretty young lady in the front yard of her home in the “Spanish town” area of Napa.  He vowed to himself at the time that he would marry her.

 

Louisa

Mariano

After their marriage they lived for a time in Napa and then moved to Vallejo by 1887 where Mariano worked on the Tobin Ranch.  Mariano purchased 3 ½ acres of land in August 1891 on the Vallejo Napa Road – the main road between Napa and Vallejo – about three miles north of Vallejo proper.  He and Louisa raised their family there from the late 19^th Century into the early 20^th Century.  They owned the Coronado Inn (sometimes called the Three-Mile House) – Mariano ran the bar and Louisa prepared the food to go with the drink.

They raised a large family - in all they had 13 children, 10 of whom lived past childhood.  The children were fiercely independent and lived highly successful and interesting lives in and around Vallejo and Napa as well as elsewhere in California.  The family contributed to the growth and history of pioneer days in the State

How Mariano and Louisa were able to get all ten children together at one time for a picture will remain a mystery.

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Who were these Coronado children and what did they do?  Where did Mariano’s father and mother come from and why did they settle in Napa?  In subsequent posts to this website, we will explore more details of our Coronado family and its history.