Luis Manuel Quintero

Luis Manuel Quintero (1725? – 1810) was a New Spain-Colonial New Spain tailor from Guadalajara, Jalisco; who later became one of the 44 original settlers of the Pueblo de Los Angeles (present-day Los Angeles, California) on September 4, 1781.[1]

Luis Manuel Quintero
Born	c. 1725 Guadalajara, Jalisco, New Spain[1]
Died	1810 (aged 85) Santa Barbara, Alta California, New Spain
Nationality	Spanish subject
Occupation	Tailor, cattle rancher
Known for	Los Angeles Pobladores
Spouse(s)	María Petra Rubio
Children	María Gertrudis Quintero María Concepcíon Quintero María Tomasa Quintero María Rafaela Quintero José Clemente Quintero

Quintero's wife María Petra Rubio was born near 1741 and came from Álamos, Sonora.[1] A person of Spanish descent. They bore five children María Gertrudis, María Concepcíon, María Tomasa, María Rafaela, and José Clemente.

Luis Quintero and his wife María Petra Rubio, represent one of the eleven original couples to settle with their families at El Pueblo de Los Angeles in 1781.[2][3] The Quintero family traveled from Sonora to Alta California to be one of the founding families of the new Spanish pueblo in 1781 being escorted along with other settlers and soldiers by Fernando Rivera y Moncada.[4] When Captain Rivera assembled his crew of soldiers and settlers in Álamos in January 1781, Luis Quintero’s destiny was already tied to the historic expedition about to take place. On January 21, his 16-year-old daughter Catharina was married at Purísima Concepción Church in Álamos to one of Rivera’s soldiers, Joaquin Rodríquez. His 15-year-old daughter, Fabiana Sebastiana, was married to another soldier of the expedition, Eugenio Valdés, on the same day. And, on the following day, Luis’s eldest daughter, 18-year-old María Juana Josefa, was united in marriage with still another soldado de cuera, José Rosalino Fernández.[2]

The prospect of never seeing his daughters again may have played a role in Luis' decision to join the expedition, for it is believed that Luis Quintero was the last poblador to sign on the dotted line. When the settlers left Álamos on February 2, 1781, Luis, María Petra, and their eight children were among them. Very little is known about Luis Quintero’s activities in the first half year at the pueblo. But, on March 22 and 25, 1782, Luis served as padrino (godfather) for the Indians confirmed by Father Serra at the San Gabriel Mission. However, a day later, on March 26, 1782, Luis and two other settlers were expelled from Los Angeles by order of Governor de Neve and "sent away as useless to the pueblo and themselves.” Their properties confiscated by the authorities, Luis and his family joined the Santa Barbara Company on their journey to the northwest.[2]

In analyzing the causes of Luis Quintero’s expulsion from Los Angeles in 1782, the tailor Luis Quintero was probably not well suited for the rigors of frontier life. He was not a farmer and, at the age of 55, it was not likely that he could have adjusted effortlessly to the profession of farmer.[2]

Three of Luis’ daughters had married soldiers who were attached to the Expedition of 1781. All three of these soldiers (José Rosalino Fernández, Joaquin Rodríguez, and Eugenio Valdés) were destined to be stationed at the Santa Barbara Presidio in the Spring of 1782, and it is possible that the Quintero family hoped to be closer to those daughters. Whatever the case may be, it is known that Luis Quintero lived out the remaining 28 years of his life as a respectable member of the budding Santa Barbara community, serving as the maestro sastre (master tailor) for the soldiers at the presidio.[2] Quintero died in 1810 in Santa Barbara, after serving as tailor for the soldiers at the presidio.[5]