Summer Outing at Dillon Beach - 1920

Here is a photo of members of the Coronado family taking a summer visit to Dillon Beach, CA, a Pacific Ocean beach, about 20 miles west of Petaluma.  The photo was taken about 1920.  They were obviously not dressed to get into the water.

Pictured left to right in the back: Ione & Marion (Dutch) Coronado, Jim Coronado, Marian (Toots) Coronado.  On the right is Louisa & Mariano Coronado.  Dutch & Ione's children are Marion (with the dog) and Helen.

The Coronado Home & Businesses through the Years

In the last posting I described how the Mariano & Louisa Coronado family moved from Napa to Vallejo and how they eventually settled and built a home on a 3 ½ acre property on the Napa-Vallejo Highway.

In this post, I show how the original house grew as the family grew – from a one-story house to 2-stories and the addition of the Coronado businesses – initially calling the establishment “The Beanery” and then later “The Coronado”.  Remember in past posts, we found that Louisa (in addition to taking care of a rapidly expanding family) used to make big kettles of chili beans for customers.  When they bought 5-cent beer they were entitled to a bowl of chili beans.  Thus, the term “Beanery”.

Here are a series of historic photos of the Coronado residence – starting with the one-story house that was built between 1891 (when Mariano bought the land) and 1899[1].  These photos also document Mariano’s entrepreneurial spirit of responding to market demands.

The Coronado Homestead 1899

In the first photo above, Louisa is sitting on the arched side porch with her 6 children.  A slim Mariano is seen faintly standing next to the side porch.  There seems to be a dog posed in the front yard.  It is definitely a one-story house and probably snug for the young family.  (Note the arched side porch, the placement of the front door, and the two windows between the front door and the arched porch, one window higher than the other.  This helps determine that all these house photos, taken in different years, are the same house.)

The Homestead with Residential Second Floor & First Floor "The Beanery" - post 1900s

A second story is added to the original one-story house sometime after 1900 as the family needs grew (See the second photo above).  “The Beanery” business is added on the main floor.  The sign painted over the front door reads: “The Beanery. All kinds of wines 5c, 10c. M.P. Coronado, Prop.”[2]  Two potential customers are standing in the front and maybe that’s an older and younger Coronado child and dog standing and sitting near the residential side entrance.

Commercial Conversion - "The Coronado"

The third photo (above) shows the two-story home with the placement of “The Coronado” sign above a double-door entrance to the left of the photo.  There appear to be tables set up in the front under the tree and under the roof overhang – maybe for customers.  I can’t be sure, but there seem to be two people in the shadow of the side arched porch.

Expansion of "The Coronado" 1912

The fourth photo (above) of the two-story Coronado house taken in 1912[3] shows that there is a one-story addition on the left that looks like it may have expanded the interior space of “The Coronado” business.  In addition, M.P. Coronado also started another business to keep up with the times.  On the far right in the photo is a hanging sign that reads: “Gasoline, Oil and Carbide[4] for Sale Here”.  It was the beginning of an auto filling station business.

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[1] I estimate that the first photo was taken in 1899 based upon a more detailed photo of the family on the arched porch.  All the photos were originally black & white but were "colorized" using the MyHeritage website.

[2] Mariano Coronado became known as M.P. Coronado at least by 1891.

[3] This photo is from cousin Catherine McIntosh.  Her grandfather, Harry McIntosh, wrote the following about the photo: “The Coronado home, bar & cafe in 1912. The two larger cars are Overlands from A.B.Coronado's dealership in Vallejo. The small car is a Ford c1908 model that was rebuilt and owned by Harry McIntosh.”

[4] Carbide was used in the carbide headlamps of the cars for driving at night.

Early Coronado Family Life in Vallejo

Mariano Coronado and his future wife, Louisa Madrid, grew up in the Napa area.  Mariano lived with his family in the foothills of Yountville and for a while in the Salvador area just north of Napa City.  Louisa lived in Napa City and then in the Yountville area.

Although Mariano and Louisa were married in Napa in 1884 and their first child, Marianita was born in Napa in 1885, they were to raise their large family in Vallejo, just south of the Napa County line.  An intriguing question is: why did they move?

Mariano’s good friend, and witness at his wedding, Manual Madrid[1], had moved to Vallejo in 1880 where he worked on the 1,000-acre Tobin[2] ranch.  In his third year there, he was promoted to manager of the ranch and remained in charge for twelve more years.

I suspect that shortly after his marriage and birth of his first child, Mariano worked on the Tobin ranch with Manual.  Mariano and his family may also have lived in a home on or near the ranch.  Mariano and Louisa’s next three children were born in Vallejo[3]: Dolph in 1887, Hess in 1888 and Guadalupe in 1890.

In early 1891, first-born 5-year-old Marianita took ill with tuberculosis and died on 26 January 1891.  Her death certificate[4] said that she died at the Tobin Ranch, supporting my premise that the Coronado family lived on the ranch.  Misery in the family continued when Guadalupe, who had just been born in 1890, suddenly died on 11 April 1891.

I can only surmise that Mariano finally decided through the grief of their lost children that his new family needed a home of their own.  He didn’t look very far and found a good piece of land not far from the Tobin ranch – about 1 ½ miles away.  The land was between the main road that led from Vallejo towards Napa - and the Southern Pacific railway.  It was a long stretch of land, trapezoid in shape – about 3 ½ acres.

On 22 August 1891, M. P. Coronado[5] paid Simon Corcoran[6] $300 in gold coin for the land, likely savings from wages earned working on the Tobin ranch.

The map to the left is the area north of Vallejo and just south of the Napa County border.[7]  The blue arrow shows the strip of land that M.P. Coronado purchased – between the Napa-Vallejo Road and the Southern Pacific railroad line.  The first red arrow points toward one of the Tobin ranches (1,000 acres in size) that was likely the farm where Manual Madrid and Mariano Coronado and families lived and worked.  It is located about 1 ½ miles from the newly purchased Coronado property.  Just southwest of the Tobin Ranch is another red arrow showing the Vallejo Sulphur Springs location.  After 1895, Manual Madrid would manage and then own this Sulphur Springs – renaming it Blue Rock Springs, which became a well-known resort.

This is a detail showing the 3 ½ acres that Mariano purchased[8].  The Napa-Vallejo road and the railroad are the vertical lines that surround the property.  Note that there is a road that intersects the Napa-Vallejo road just south of the family property.  It was called the Sulphur Spring Road – and was the main road that led to the Sulphur Spring resort and passed by the Tobin Ranch.  Mariano would later open a restaurant and bar at this important intersection.[9]

I don’t know if there was a house on the property that Mariano bought in 1891, but my guess is that there was not.  That meant that Mariano may have organized friends and neighbors to help him build his new home.  He would eventually plant the area with trees (eucalyptus along the road, fig, quince, apple, peach, pear and grapefruit), vegetables, and raised cattle, pigs and horses on the property.

To the right is a photo of the first Coronado home, a modest one story, which Mariano built on his acquired land.[10]

Below is a close up photo of the family on the porch.  Based on the ages of the children these photos were taken in 1899.

Mother, Louisa Coronado, holding baby John (Doc) (3 months old).  Hess in
the middle row (11).  Dolph (12), Jimmy (2), Dutch (7) & Louise (6) in the
bottom row.

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[1] According to my mother, Cecelia Coronado Phipps, Manuel Madrid and Louisa Madrid were cousins.  I haven’t been able to confirm this, but I know that they lived next door to one another in the 1870 Census.  As further evidence of the close family relationship between Manuel and Mariano, Manual Madrid courted Mariano’s sister, Angelita Coronado, and married her in Napa on 18 July 1886.

[2] James F. Tobin was an Irishman born in 1830.  When nineteen years old he moved to America, and settled initially in New York.  In 1855 he moved to California, first San Francisco and then Vallejo.  His first occupation was as a butcher, but he then moved into farming and stock-raising activities.  By 1880 he owned 3,000 acres in the Vallejo area.  History of Solano County, …, A Full and Particular Biography of Its Early Settlers and Principal Inhabitants, Wood Alley & Co, San Francisco, 1879, page 394.

[3] Church baptism records show the children were born in Vallejo; the records are not specific about the actual location.

[4] Certificate of Death, City of Vallejo Death Records, 1891, page 350, accessed from Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[5]  Mariano began to use his initials “M.P.” instead of his Spanish first name.

[6]  Simon Corcoran bought land from John Williamson the previous year.  The property he sold to M.P. was part of his larger purchase.  The property purchased by M.P. on 22 August 1891 is recorded in the Solano County, California, land records, Book 112, Page 154.

[7] This map is a portion of the Historical Atlas Map of Solano County, Compiled, Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys, By Thompson and West, San Francisco, Cal., 1878, page 46-47, map no. 7.  Current GPS coordinates for the locations on the map: blue arrow (family property): https://tinyurl.com/y2u4gqcu ; north red arrow (Tobin Ranches): https://tinyurl.com/y6qhotlt ; south red arrow (Vallejo Sulphur Springs): https://tinyurl.com/y6hzz6vo  (My son, David, identified these current GPS locations and recommended that I include them.)

[8] Ibid

[9] The Sulphur Spring Road is generally where Lewis Brown Drive exists today along with Highway 37.  What used to be the Napa-Vallejo Highway now follows the alignment of Lincoln Highway or Broadway.  The main highway from Vallejo to Napa is now Sonoma Blvd or Highway 29.

[10] These two photos of the first Coronado home and the family are colorized versions of the original black & white photos in my files.  I used the online My Heritage genealogy website which uses a computer generated method of colorizing photos.  They turn out to be clearer than the original black & white photos.

Coronado Family Gathering - Mother's Day 1935

It was the first Mother’s Day for Louisa Coronado after the September 1934 death of her husband, Mariano Coronado.  Six of her children and five grandchildren were there to help Louisa celebrate the day.  Her brother-in-law, Enos Coronado, was also present as well as spouses and other family members.

All were dressed up for the occasion on that Sunday, May 12, 1935, and my Uncle Jim Coronado, as usual, was the official family photographer.  He must have insisted that before they all sat down to eat their meal of enchiladas, beans and salad at the Coronado family home on the Napa-Vallejo Highway, that they pose for a picture to mark the day.  Gathering all the family and spouses in the back yard of the family home on a bright sunny day, Jim brought out a chair for Louisa to sit in the center, and asked all the family members to gather around with the grandchildren in the front near Louisa.  He set up his Kodak on a tripod and when everyone was ready snapped the following photo:

  

On the left was “Uncle” Enos Coronado, Mariano’s brother, with his hand on his hip.  Marion (Dutch) Coronado stood next to him in the buttoned sweater.  Next was Naomi Coronado, wife of husband, Paul, who is standing next to her in light suit and tie.

Next in line from left to right is my mother, Cecelia Coronado, and my father-to-be, Harold Phipps, the tall guy in the center (they were not yet married in 1935).  Next is Marian (Toots) Coronado Hickey.  Next to Toots is Charlotte Campbell, mother of Dorothy Campbell, and mother-in-law to Frank Coronado (Dorothy and Frank are in the photo on the far right).

To the right of Mrs. Campbell is Juanita Coronado, wife of Jim Coronado, the photographer.  Over Juanita’s shoulder is Frank Hickey, first husband of Toots, and father of Paul and Kathleen.

Gathered around Louisa Coronado, seated in the center, are the grandchildren.  On the right, Juanita, the tall one, is standing in front of her mother; and the twins, Jim and Jane are on the far right and left.  Closest to Louisa is Paul and Kathleen, daughters of Toots and Frank Hickey.

Just after this photo was taken, everyone thought Jim Coronado, the photographer should be included in the gathering – so he stepped into the picture and my father took a second photo.  Then everyone breathed a sigh of relief and resumed socializing, eating and drinking.

Adolph Coronado - The Land Developer

Adolph Coronado, the eldest son of Mariano and Louisa Coronado, was always an entrepreneur.  He was an auto dealer and a boxing promoter.  But later in life, when he “retired”, my uncle became a land developer.  The news article that follows was published in the Napa Journal[1] in 1936 as he was beginning to develop residences in an area just north of the Napa State Hospital, which was a prominent landmark that visitors passed as they entered the City of Napa from the south.

Dolph, as we knew him, would eventually build many houses on the large tract of land he owned.  He named one street Coronado Avenue, which is the street where he lived.  I grew up across the street from him in one of the houses on Coronado Avenue that Dolph built for his mother, Louisa Coronado, her daughter and my mother, Cecelia Coronado Phipps, and my father.  We moved into the house in 1948.

____________________________________________________

20 COTTAGES CONTEMPLATED FOR

TRACT OF A. B. CORONADO

Early Development of Acreage Seen;

Cost Said to Be $40,000

Plans for development of privately owned acreage adjoining Napa State hospital into restricted residential districts were disclosed here yesterday.

The disclosure came with announcement that Adolph B. Coronado, owner of a tract of 41 acres, has under consideration extensive building plans which he proposes to complete within the next two years.

Coronado’s plans, call for the installation of two paved streets through his tract during the coming spring season, these improvements to be followed by the erection of four modern cottages each year until a total of 20 homes occupy the area.  The site fronts on Imola lane, directly opposite the state institution.

STREET PLANS

At present there are four cottages on the Coronado tract besides the owner’s home.  They are under rental to employees of Napa State hospital and have been continuously since completion.

TO COST $40,000

In disclosing plans for the project yesterday, Coronado asserted that over a period of five years the cost of improvements will aggregate approximately $40,000.

The present tentative plans of Mr. Coronado call for the building a score of detached bungalows.

A NECESSITY

“I feel that the establishment of a residential district in this locality will serve a useful purpose and bring me satisfactory returns,” said Coronado yesterday.  “There is a plan under way, I understand, to provide for the general expansion of the state hospital.  That means that additional living quarters will have to be provided for from three to four hundred employees and if those accommodations can be provided at small cost and convenient to the hospital, the homes will be occupied throughout the year.”

Coronado took over the acreage several years ago and has gradually developed them with much success.  The homes on the tract at present are modern in every respect.  Among the numerous features is the water supply furnished direct from a 220 foot well.

The Development Tract in 1940

AUTO PIONEER

Prior to taking over his present holdings Coronado for years was engaged in business at Vallejo.  Until retirement several years ago he was the second oldest automobile dealer in point of service, having established the first Overland, Willys-Knight agency at the navy yard city in 1910.

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[1] The Napa Journal, February 18, 1936, page 1, column 1

Marian Coronado Remembers - Part One

Cousin Gary Coronado[1] visited and interviewed our aunt, Marian Coronado, on April 16, 1984 at her home in Calistoga, California.  She was always known as “Toots” or “Aunt Toots” all our lives.  I don’t remember where the name came from.  She was the next to last child born to Mariano and Louisa Coronado – the 12^th of 13 children (the 9^th of the children to live to adulthood).  Toots was born 28 August 1905 in Vallejo, California, and passed away 20 July 1998 in Calistoga.

 

Young Marian Coronado as a glamorous
Senorita

Gary wrote up the interview in question and answer form and I published it in the May 1994 issue of the Coronado Newsletter[2].  This is a portion of that interview.

Q. How much do you know about our family history before you were born?

A. Not a whole lot.  I recall Mama telling the story of how she met Papa.  She was working for a wealthy family, cleaning house.  Mama met Papa in Yountville.  She used to point out the location when we drove by.  The story goes that she took a walk and met Papa near the Napa River Creek.  As you know Papa lived near Yountville.  That was the start of a long, happy, productive relationship.  They were a good team together.

Q. Where were you born?  Describe your home as you remember.

A. All of us kids were born at home.  We were all born in the old antique bed.  I believe it is still in Celia’s home.  I am number nine!

We lived in a two story home.  Our living quarters were above the Inn.  The ground floor was Papa’s place of business.  There was a bar, a dinner room and a dance hall.  We also rented a few rooms.  The boys slept in a bunk house away from the Inn.

Q. What's your earliest memory?

A. My earliest memory is of Grandma Coronado cooking and preparing dinner for our family.  I remember her flapping tortillas over a wooden stove.  There was plenty of eucalyptus wood to burn.  Alongside of the tortillas she would always have a big cast iron pot of simmering chili beans.  She would stack the hot tortillas between flour sacks to keep them warm.  The tortillas never lasted very long because they were our favorite after school snack!  There was always rich butter.  Grandpa Coronado had one milking cow.

In a large round wooden barrel with a crank, Mama would separate the cream from the milk.  The cream was made into butter, the milk into cottage cheese.  She rolled the cottage cheese into little balls, and then poured cream over them.  They were eaten with beans and tortillas.  So good!

My mother loved cooking outdoors and seldom used the kitchen in the house.  She would set aside one day a week to bake desserts.  Our favorites were large sheets of marble cake and ginger bread.  She would have to lock the desserts in cupboards so the children wouldn’t eat it all before dinner.

Q. What was Grandpa like when he was young?  Describe your relationship with him?

A. Papa had a stern, serious manner.  He was a good provider and father.  He was also an Innkeeper, rancher and a vaquero.

He left Mama in charge of the girls.  Mostly, he was in charge of the boys.  He would wake us every morning.  He would only call us once: “Get up, Toots.  Get up, Celia.”  We would respond by pounding on the wood floor with our shoe.  Sometimes, we would roll over and go back to sleep.  He didn’t care if we were late.  And he would just call once.

His pride and joy was his breeding horse, Prince.  People would bring horses to Papa in order to breed them with his prize stallion.  This was also a source of income for us.

He was political.  He liked to discuss politics with his customers.  He was a Democrat.  He wasn’t shy offering an opinion about a political issue.

Papa Coronado, relaxing outside and
getting ready for his siesta

On Sunday he would insist that we all go to Mass.  He would always attend with us.  We had our family pew near the front of the church.  It was in front of the Blessed Virgin statue.  Your father (Doc) would drive the family to church.  Imagine, a twelve year old as a chauffeur.  He wore goggles and a long coat.  We would head off in the morning, arriving about an hour before mass.  Papa was always early, never late.  Any type of gathering required an early arrival.  This was a habit for him in his business, and in his life.

Eating was his number one pastime.  He loved to eat and then, siesta in the afternoon.  Papa always slept upright in his chair outdoors.

Q. What was Grandma like when she was young?  Describe your relationship with her.

A. Mama was the sweetest, kindest lady.  She never raised her voice.  She left that up to Papa.  Mama was in charge of the girls.  She was so kindly, we never wanted to do anything to disappoint her.  Our relationship with her was one of love.

She would collect rainwater in crock-like vessels.  She used the water to wash her face.  She had a beautiful complexion.  Mama also used the water to wash her hair.

Mama’s hands were always busy crocheting and embroidering things for our church and friends.  Most of the applique and embroidery work were done on flour sacks.  She had an old Singer sewing machine, but she rarely used it.  We also had an Apex washing machine.  It was rarely used.  She washed all of her clothes by hand on a washboard in a tub.  Then, instead of hanging them on our round clothesline, she would spread them on top of bushes, alfalfa and fences to dry.

Q. Tell me a story about Grandma that will give us some insight into her personality.

 

Mama Coronado with Polly

A. Well, there are many examples.  I like to think about Mama with her parrot.  She had an old, green parrot named Polly.  He perched on a eucalyptus tree near the summer kitchen.  His cage was in the tree so he could go in and out as he pleased.  She would make toast, dip it into coffee and give it to her bird.  He would like it and would say, “Polly want a cracker” for more.  Polly liked Mama, but didn’t like us kids.  His wings were clipped so he couldn’t fly.  Polly was a mimic.  When Mama called us, he would repeat what she said and then laugh.  One day he crawled down the tree and walked around the yard.  He wandered across the fence to the railroad tracks behind our house.  A freight train came by and Polly wasn’t able to get out of the way.  He was killed.  When night came Mama missed him.  She went out to look for him and found some feathers scattered around.  Then, she found him crushed by the track.  Mama felt very bad about losing her faithful companion.  She mourned her friend for many weeks.

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[1] Gary is the son of John (Doc) Coronado, the 9^th of 13 children (the 6^th of the children who lived to adulthood).

[2] I edited and published the 8-page quarterly Coronado Newsletter from 1993 to 1997.  It contained family articles, news items, and family photos and I sent it to family members.

Early Deaths of Children of Mariano & Louisa Coronado

My grandparents, Mariano and Louisa Coronado had thirteen children born between 1885 and 1906.  Ten children lived to be adults and three children died at an early age.

Marianita Coronado

The firstborn, Marianita, was born 27 July 1885[1] in Napa, before the family moved to the Vallejo area.  According to my mother’s memory of what her mother used to say about Marianita: “She was a perfect child”.

Three more children were born in the next few years: my Uncle Dolph, my Aunt Hess, and my Uncle Guadalupe Serapio, born 30 September 1890[2].

However, when the new year of 1891 began, 5-year-old Marianita fell ill and died on 26 January 1891.  I don’t know whether the death was sudden, but the physician recorded on the death certificate that she died of tubercular meningitis[3] – an infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges)[4].  It must have been a terrible shock and a very emotional time for the young family.  They were living on the Tobin Ranch in Vallejo and had not yet purchased the land on the Napa Vallejo Highway that would become their family home and business location in later years.

Even though Mariano and Louisa lived in Vallejo, Mariano’s family friend and brother-in-law, Manuel Madrid, offered burial space for Marianita in the cemetery plot in Napa that he had bought for his father.  Mariano’s younger brother, Marciano, was already buried in the plot.  Mariano & Louisa accepted Manuel’s offer and Marianita, their beloved first child, was buried on 27 January 1891 at the Tulocay Cemetery in Napa.[5]

But tragedy struck again three months later when 7-month-old Guadalupe fell ill in March and died 11 April 1891[6].  On the death certificate, the physician noted that he had cared for Guadalupe from 20 March 1891 until the day he died and the cause of death was “dentition”[7].  Dentition was listed as a cause of death in this period of time because of issues surrounding the baby’s teething.  The teething process and infection or fever related to teething was a problem for doctors into the early 20^th Century.  In addition, they did not have antibiotics to treat such an infection.[8]

The 7-month old Guadalupe was buried next to his sister in the Napa Tulocay Cemetery on 12 April 1891[9].  It must have been a very difficult year for the young Coronado family.

When I visited the Tulocay Cemetery earlier this year, both Marianita and Guadalupe were listed in cemetery records, but there was no marker on the cemetery plot.  I arranged to have a stone marker prepared and placed on the plot to properly identify the location of where the young Coronado children are buried.

A third young Coronado child, Juan Pilar, died in 1897 and was buried in the Vallejo cemetery, but I will save the specifics for another time.

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[1] There are no birth or baptism records that I could find for Marianita.  The birth date is a calculated one based on her date of death and the number of years (5), months (5) and days (30) that she was alive.  Certificate of Death, Marianita Coronado, City of Vallejo Death Certificate, Book 1, Page 350, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[2] Baptism, Guadalupe Serapio Coronado, St. Vincent’s Church Baptisms, Book 1, Page 479, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[3] Certificate of Death, Marianita Coronado, City of Vallejo Death Certificate, Book 1, Page 350, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[4] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000650.htm

[5] Death Record for Marianita Coronado, Office of County Clerk, Solano County, California.

[6] Certificate of Death, Guadalupe Coronado, City of Vallejo Death Certificate, Book 1, Page 362, located at Solano County Genealogical Society Library.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Here is the explanation of the medical term from a genealogy glossary: "Dentition or Teething - The entire process which results in the eruption of the teeth.  Nineteenth-century medical reports stated that infants were more prone to disease at the time of teething.  Symptoms were restlessness, fretfulness, convulsions, diarrhea, and painful and swollen gums.  The latter could be relieved by lancing over the protruding tooth.  Often teething was reported as a cause of death in infants.  Perhaps they became susceptible to infections, especially if lancing was performed without antisepsis."  http://genealogy-quest.com/glossary-terms/diseases/medical-terminology-beginning-letter-t/

[9] Death Record for Guadalupe Coronado, Office of County Clerk, Solano County, California.