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.