Don Antonio Francisco Coronel (October 21, 1817 – April 17, 1894) was a Californio politician and ranchero who was Mayor of Los Angeles and California State Treasurer. Coronel was considered one of the first preservationists in Los Angeles,LA Magazine - Becoming Los Angeles and his private collection formed the basis of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Career
Antonio Francisco Coronel was the son of Ygnacio Coronel, born in Mexico City in the last years of colonial New Spain. Coronel was 17 years of age when he came to Alta California with his parents in 1834, as a part of the Híjar-Padrés Colony.genealogy.com Jose Ygnacio Franco Coronel
In 1838, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of Tribunals for the Pueblo de Los Ángeles. In 1843, he became Justice of the Peace (Juez de Paz, the equivalent of Mayor at that time). During the Mexican–American War in 1846–47, Antonio was a captain and sergeant-at-arms in the Mexican artillery and took part in military operations against the United States. Participating in the Battle of Dominguez Rancho, the Battle of Río San Gabriel and the Battle of La Mesa. He continued resistance under General José María Flores until Flores decided to leave California. Coronel and others then surrendered while Flores and a small remnant retreated to Sonora.
Once the war had ended, Antonio Coronel was the first Los Angeles County Assessor from 1850 to 1856. In 1853, Coronel became Mayor of Los Angeles. Coronel was a ward councilman on the Los Angeles Common Council (1854–1867)Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials: 1850–1938, Compiled under Direction of Municipal Reference Library City Hall, Los Angeles March 1938 (Reprinted 1966)
He was the California State Treasurer from 1867 to 1871. In 1873, Coronel married Mariana Williamson.Schmal, John P. The Four Latino Mayors of Los Angeles HispanicVista, May 23, 2005
Coronel collected indigenous artifacts from California and Mexico, and mission-era relics. After his death his widow donated them to the Chamber of Commerce which put them on display in an exhibit of Californiana in their downtown headquarters. Coronel's donated collection made the basis for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Antonio Coronel became the owner of Rancho Los Feliz.Antonio Coronel
Personal life
He was married to Mariana W. de Coronel.
His brother, Manuel F. Coronel, was the first Zanjero of Los Angeles. He had a sister, Maria Antonio Coronel, who married Alexis Godey in 1863.Alexis Godey, by Walt Wheelock, June 1965
Further reading Coronel, Antonio; edited by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. (1994). "Tales of Mexican California." Bellerophon Books, 122 Helena St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
References