José de la Guerra was born 1779 at Novales,
Cantabria,
Spain. When he was 13 De La Guerra went to
Mexico City in
New Spain, to live with his maternal uncle Pedro Gonzales de Noriega, a wealthy merchant. De La Guerra joined the frontier army in 1793, working for the paymaster general. In 1796, his uncle the major merchant obtained permission to export otter hides from Acapulco to Manila on the galleon. De la Guerra was appointed a cadet in 1798 at the
Presidio of San Diego in
Alta California. He was promoted to
alférez (ensign) at the
Presidio of Monterey in 1800, and was its acting Commandant in 1804. In 1806 he was made lieutenant at the
Presidio of Santa Barbara. From 1807 to 1815 he was lieutenant at the
Presidio of San Diego, and was, for a short time during 1806–1807 the
commandant. From 1815, De La Guerra served at Santa Barbara, becoming captain in 1817. He became Commandant in 1827, succeeding
José Darío Argüello, who was promoted to Governor of
Alta California. De La Guerra also became a Deputy (
diputado) to the Mexican National Congress in 1827. De La Guerra served as Commandant until 1842, when he retired after 52 years of service in the army. De La Guerra was a
Californio popularly known as
El Capitán. From land grants and purchases, De La Guerra became owner of over 1/2 million acres (2000 km2) in present
Santa Barbara,
Ventura,
Marin, and
Sacramento counties, California. These include
Rancho Simi,
Rancho Las Posas,
Rancho San Julian,
Rancho Los Alamos and
Rancho El Conejo. De La Guerra married María Antonia Carrillo (January 8, 1786 - December 26, 1843), daughter of
José Raimundo Carrillo, on May 16, 1804. They had seven sons (Jose Antonio, Juan, Francisco,
Pablo, Joaquin, Miguel, and
Antonio Maria) and four daughters (Teresa,
Angustias, Anita, and María Antonia). De La Guerra died in 1858 and is buried in the church crypt at
Mission Santa Barbara with his wife. His house, called the
Casa de la Guerra, still stands and is a historic landmark of downtown
Santa Barbara. ==See also==