Juan María Marrón

Juan María Marrón (February 8, 1808 – September 17, 1853) was an early settler of San Diego, California.

Life

Marrón was the owner and a skilled rancher and farmer on his own family property,(Rancho Cueros de Vénado) in Baja California Southeast of Tijuana before settling San Diego in the early 1820s. In 1834 Marrón, married Felipa Osuna (c. 1818–December 21, 1871), the daughter of Juan María Osuna. They had three sons and one daughter.

Marrón served as the first Alcade of the Pueblo of San Diego during 1 January 1835 – 1836. He also served as Regidor (Alderman) and also Juez de Paz (Justice of the Peace). He is known to have owned the Rancho Cueros de Venado, located southeast of what is now Tijuana, sometime before 1836. To this present day there is still Marrón family residing there. Like many of the local ranchos near San Diego, that rancho was attacked by the Kumeyaay during the hostilities between 1836-1840. Marrón [1][2]

Marrón applied for a land grant in 1839 but wasn't granted the property known as Rancho Agua Hedionda until 1842.

13,311 acres which is in the southern coastal part of present-day Carlsbad. Agua Hedionda means "stinking water", named after decayed organic material in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

During the Mexican-American War Marrón, believing in his freedom and independence from Spain,supported the Americans. Because of his support of the Americans this caused him many hardships and embarrassment with his friends. One incident was related by Richard F. Pourade in The Silver Dons:

One morning, along the road from the mission, came Alcalde Juan María Marrón, husband of Felipa Osuna, carrying a white flag. He wanted to visit his wife. Capt. Miguel de Pedrorena took him into custody, but Commodore Robert F. Stockton finally gave Felipa and her husband a pass through the lines, to go to their rancho. With their children they walked all the way to San Luis Rey Mission, where another band of Californios seized them and threatened to shoot Marrón for having collaborated with the Americans. They released him but stripped his Agua Hedionda Rancho of horses and cattle.

Later Rancho Agua Hedionda (through much speculation) was acquired from F Hinton and held by the Kelly family for many years. The adobe home of Juan Marron still stands today although modernized by the Kelly's in the late 1960's Another Marron Adobe also modernized in the late 1950's also stands to this day and is resided in by a direct descendant of Juan Marron/Osuna One of if not the only original Ranchos of San Diego to still be owned and lived in by one of Carlsbad's original family's.


Marrón died in 1853 and is buried in El Campo Santo Catholic Cemetery in Old Town San Diego. His wife Juliana died in 1871 and was buried next to him. The Marron family has many generations of proud descendants to this day that still reside locally.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Hubert Howe Bancroft, Henry Lebbeus Oak, Frances Fuller Victor, William Nemos, History of California, Volume 20, History of California (1825-1840), History Company, San Francisco, 1886, p.611 , note 7
  2. ↑ Historia Baja, Chapter 18, p.11 Archived 2005-05-25 at the Wayback Machine. from consag.tij.uia.mx/ebooks/historia_baja accessed May 31, 2014


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