Maria Zacarias Bernal
From Jenny Clendenen's book, MINE: El Despojo de María Zacarías Bernal de Berreyesa:
“María Zacarías Bernal was born in 1791 at the Presidio of San Francisco and was married at fourteen to leatherjacket soldier José de los Reyes Berreyesa. As a mother of thirteen, she lived on Rancho San Vicente, a cattle ranch in the foothills of south San José; her parents lived next door on the vast Rancho Santa Teresa. In fact, the Bernals and Berreyesas owned most of the Bay Area in the mid-1800s.
Ana Maria Jacoba Bernal
Jacoba was the second daughter, that we know of, born to Josefa and Joaquin. She was born two years after her sister at the Presidio of San Francisco. She was married at age 15 in 1804, a year after her sister's marriage and just three months after her sister Maria Antonia was born (eighth of 13 children – possibly more).
Encarnacion de los Dolores
As there is almost no source material on Maria de la Encarnacion de los Dolores Bernal, I'm borrowing from the limited sketches of her eventual husband, José Gervacio Argüello. This story has the least connection to Northern California among all the women in these posts.
Maria Josefa Daria Sanchez of Sinaloa, New Spain
Well into the late 1600s, the presidio of Sinaloa was the northwesternmost outpost of New Spain. Colonists from Spain had forcefully conquered the Indigenous nations of Mexico much as the British were to do in the United States. Sinaloa was one of the most isolated presidios on the northern frontier.
The Bernal Women of the Alta California Ranchos
The intersection of Bernal Avenue and Sunol Boulevard is nearby my house, so I can't get more local than that. For this series of posts, it's a good place to start. The so-called “Tri-Valley” includes the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore, Sunol, and Dublin, California. So who were Bernal and Sunol families?
Testing an embed from Storyteller:
This is a story that I wrote two years ago.
#Cycling
Federating the Pointz Community
Why decentralize a storytelling platform for a community that doesn't exist? Because the world would be a better place if their stories were shared.
Imagine you visit my town and bring your bike along to explore. You ride down picturesque side streets, relax at a local coffee shop, visit historic sites, and have an ice cream cone. You take pictures and make memories. You wish you hadn't taken First Street because of the intimidating truck traffic, but otherwise, it was great.
Now what? Share! Someday, a friend (or depending on privacy settings, a total stranger) will be inspired to do the same self-guided tour.
Sacrifice not forgotten
Major James Hudelson, U.S. Air Force, died on July 30, 1972, somewhere in Thailand.
Several months ago, his burial flag and photo were picked up at an estate sale in California. A nearby coffee shop hung it up and invited the community to help honor his legacy. Today, after five decades, his son has possession of the flag he never knew existed.
This is a test post as a note with minimal text. Just a photo from this morning's cold bike ride.
#BikePleasanton
Show Respect for Women
Last week, my wife and I attended a talk by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. She talked about this iconic photo by Ruth Orkin when Switzer was running the 1974 New York City Marathon.
Kathrine Switzer running in 1974 NYC Marathon
Photo copyright Ruth Orkin
Used with special permission of the Ruth Orkin Photo Archive
What no one noticed for years were the spectators in the photo. Men were applauding, but the women weren't.