James Addison Reavis and the Peralta claim

127 Pages·05.117 MB·English

by  Johnson, N. A

JAMES ADDISON REAVIS AND THE PERALTA CLAIM
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of History
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
by
Newton A. Johnson
May 1942
UMI Number: EP59503
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PREFACE
After reading Will H* Robinson’s, History of Arizona,
the investigator was so struck with the immensity of the
account of the "Bogus Baron of the Colorados," that he re­
solved to make a study of the notorious Baron and his Peralta
Land Grant* Four years of research have brought a fuller
understanding of the stupendous part the Baron played in
Arizona history.
The writer has followed work of previous writers,
having made use of newspaper files, interviews, State and
Federal archives, historical societies, university and public
libraries*
Grateful acknowledgment is tendered to Doctor Owen C*
Coy, Doctor Frank H. Garver, and Doctor Ivan Benson for their
help and criticisms.
To my wife, Betty Johnson, goes a deep appreciation
of her vitally important help in making possible this work
of research.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE................................................. ii
I* MEXICAN BACKGROUND OF THE PERALTA LAND CLAIM . . 1
Spanish background ................ I
Land grants conferred by Mexico ............ 3
Background relations of Mexico and the United
States . ............ . ................ 4
II* BACKGROUND OF TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO..... 8
Office of Surveyor-General for New Mexico
established, 1854 8
Office of Surveyor-General for Arizona estab­
lished .................................... 11
First Peralta claim filed in 1883 12
III* HOW ARIZONA VIEWED THE PERALTA CLAIM....... 15
Influence of claim on Congressional election • 15
Attitude of the P r e s s .................. 15
IV. NEW MEXICO COURT OF LAND CLAIMS ESTABLISHED, 1891 21
Conditions causing the establishment of the
c o u r t ................................ 21
Court personnel and functions.......... 25
Second Peralta claim filed, September 2, 1887 27
Surveyor-General*s Adverse Report on the second
c l a i m ................................ 28
Question of exact extent of Peralta grant * • 45
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
V. TRIAL OF THE PERALTA CLAIM, 1895 .............. 47
Legal talent for Peralta grant.............. 47
Legal talent for the United States Government 48
The case for the Peralta descendants........ 49
Reynolds summarizes adverse findings ........ 51
Evidences of falsity of the c l a i m ............. 52
Interesting aspects of the trial . ........... 55
The claim is rejected......................... 60
Reavis indicted— imprisoned ................... 60
VI. REAVIS, THE M A N .......................... 63
His early life........................ 63
Reavis starts his criminal career ............. 63
Reavis the school teacher • • ............... 65
Reavis, Baron of Arizona • • • • • • • • • • • 66
Reavis begins life a n e w ....................... 72
Last days of Reavis and his wife............... 74
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................... 76
APPENDICES........................................... 79
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ILLUSTRATION pAGE
1. Peralta Claim Boundaries in Arizona and
New Mexico.................................. 2
2. The Modest Extent of Reavis’s C l a i m ........... 30
3. Mrs* Reavis and the "Barony" ............ 43
4* James Addison Reavis, No* 964 ............ 61
5* Reavis’s Twin Sons .......... 67
6* James Addison Reavis and Dona Sofia Loreto
Micaela De Peralta-Reavis........ ............ 69
CHAPTER I
MEXICAN BACKGROUND OF THE PERALTA LAND CLAIM
In 1883,the settlers of Arizona’s Salt River and
Gila valleys were astounded by the colossal land grant
claimed by lames Addison Reavis.^ In view of the fact that
this first claim covered 1,300,000 acres, and Reavis’ second
petition modestly demanded 12,500,000 acres, included the
cities of Phoenix, Florence, Globe, and others, it is worth
while to consider the historical background and events which
made possible such a stupendous claim.
Spanish background. Under the ancient laws of Spain,
the king maintained Nueva Espana as a royal colony. In
order to facilitate settlement of lands, the new territory,
exclusive of lower and upper California, was in 1756 divided
into twelve provinces or intendencias. The Intendencia of
Sonora and Sinoloa was established with Arizpe as its head­
quarters. Most of Arizona’s land grants originated from
there.^
The giving of land grants for establishment of mis­
sions, their buildings, farms and gardens was later to result
^ Will M. Tipton, "The Prince of Imposters," Land of
Sunshine, February-March, 1898, 110.
2 lames H. McClintock, Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal,
Pioneer, Modern. II, 529.
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3
in complication over establishment of ownership upon United
States acquisition of the territory. Arizona missions par­
ticularly in question were those of: Guebabi, located on
the present southern edge of Arizona, and Tumacacori and
San Xavier, in the Santa Cruz Valley.3
Land grants conferred by Mexico. Mexico, for various
reasons from 1821 on, conferred land grants on the same
basis, and under similar methods as previous to independence.
4
Twitehell points out that because of the insurrection
of 1837, and Texan raids in 1843, the attack of the village
of Mora, and Colonel Snively’s defeat of Armijos forces in
Arkansas, led the New Mexican officials to believe that
sweeping political changes would probably take place with
the consequent acquisition of the territory by the United
States. These events and the realization that the Mexican
frontier must be maintained, led the New Mexico authorities
to a policy of granting to the settlers, large land conces­
sions extending entirely across the New Mexican frontier from
east to west.
The land grants to be later known as the Anton Chico,
the Maxwell, the St. Vrain, the Mora, the Nolan, the Montoya,
3 James H. McClintock, History of Arizona, II, 527.
4 Ralph Emerson Twitehell, The Leading Facts of New
Mexican History, II, 196-197.