Jose
Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, Jr. was the only Hispanic who has served
as Governor of California. He was born in Santa Barbara, California
on October 31, 1831, to Ramona Carrillo de Pacheco and Captain
Jose Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, a prominent Californio family.
Captain Pacheco, a native of Guanajuato, went to California in
1825 as an aide-de-camp to Governor Echeandia. Captain Pacheco
died at the First Battle of Cahuenga Pass when Romualdo was five
weeks old. A few years later Romualdo's mother remarried a Scotsman,
Captain John D. Wilson. Wilson sent young Romualdo to be educated
in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the age of twelve he returned to California
and was apprenticed to a trading vessels agent, under whose guidance
Pacheco became an excellent seaman. In July 1846, during the Mexican-American
War, while he was sailing up the coast to Yerba Buena with a cargo
of trade goods, American officials stopped and searched Pacheco's
ship. He was held briefly and released at Yerba Buena after taking
an oath of allegiance to the United States.
An excellent horseman, Pacheco engaged in
ranching and his expertise with the lasso made him the only California
Governor known to have roped a grizzly bear. He also did some
mining during the California Gold Rush. He began his political
career in 1853, when he was elected judge of the San Luis Obispo
Superior Court. His fluency in English and Spanish, in addition
to his ability to garner the support of both prominent Californio
families and the newly-arrived Anglos, contributed to his political
success. He became active in the Democratic Party, and in 1857
he was elected to the State Senate; subsequently he was reelected
twice. Pacheco was one of the first Hispanics to denounce slavery
and pledge allegiance to the Union, and in the early 1860's he
changed party affiliation to the Union Party.
In 1860 Pacheco took an extended trip to
Europe. He returned to California in the summer of 1861, just
in time to start campaigning as a Republican for a seat in the
California State Senate. He won the election, but did not spend
much time in Sacramento, because Governor Leland Stanford appointed
Pacheco a brigadier general, with command of the State Militia's
First Brigade and was instrumental in forming the 1st
Battalion of Native Cavalry of the California Volunteers.
In May 1862 Pacheco received orders to take immediate possession
of all weapons previously issued to various military companies
within Los Angeles County, with the exception of those held by
Union loyalists. In September 1862, Pacheco was reelected to the
State Senate where he served until 1863. During the Republican
State Convention of 1863, Governor Stanford nominated Pacheco
for the position of state treasurer; he was elected and served
as state treasurer until 1866. During this time Pacheco stayed
abreast of Mexican political events, and in 1864, when Mexican
President Benito Juárez sent General Placido Vega to San
Francisco to raise funds for the war against the French Empire,
Pacheco put Vega in contact with affluent citizens who could contribute
to the Juarista cause. In 1869 Pacheco was once again elected
to the State Senate. In June 1871 Pacheco received the Republican
Party nomination for Lieutenant Governor, and Newton Booth received
the nomination for Governor. Both Pacheco and Booth were elected.
During his service as Lieutenant Governor, Pacheco was warden
of the San Quentin penitentiary, where he worked to ameliorate
conditions. In 1875, when Newton Booth was elected to the U.S.
Senate, Pacheco became Governor of California. In this position
he stressed the importance of higher education and worked for
the development of the University of California and the State
Normal School in San Francisco.
In November 1876 Pacheco was elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives by a margin of one vote. His
opponent, Peter D. Wigginton, contested the election and the case
was referred to the House Committee on Elections. Meanwhile the
Republican leader in the House, James A. Garfield, answered Wigginton's
charges of election fraud by stating that Pacheco held the certificate
of election, which was conferred by the Supreme Court of California.
Pacheco was seated on October 17, 1877 and was appointed to the
Committee on Public Lands. On February 7, 1878 the House Committee
on Elections refused to accept Pacheco's certificate of election
and voted in favor of Wigginton.
Upon Pacheco's return to California, he
joined a San Francisco brokerage house and later became a partner
in a firm called Hale & Pacheco, that mainly dealt with mining
investments.
On September 3, 1879 Pacheco was once again
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was reelected
two years later. In the House Pacheco became a member of the Select
Committee on the Death of President Garfield, where he recalled
Garfield's plea on his behalf. In the 47th Congress Pacheco chaired
the Committee on Private Land Claims, becoming the first Hispanic
to chair a standing committee in Congress.
After his service in Congress, Pacheco moved
to the state of Coahuila in northern Mexico, where he managed
a large cattle ranch for five years.
In December 1890, Pacheco was appointed
U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Central
American States. The duties involved in maintaining diplomatic
relations with the entire region were more than one man could
handle; therefore, in July 1891 Pacheco was named Minister Plenipotentiary
to Honduras and Guatemala, a post he held until June 21, 1893.
At the end of his service he returned to California. He died on
January 23, 1899 in Oakland, California.
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Jose
Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, Jr. was the only Hispanic who has served
as Governor of California. He was born in Santa Barbara, California
on October 31, 1831, to Ramona Carrillo de Pacheco and Captain
Jose Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, a prominent Californio family.
Captain Pacheco, a native of Guanajuato, went to California in
1825 as an aide-de-camp to Governor Echeandia. Captain Pacheco
died at the First Battle of Cahuenga Pass when Romualdo was five
weeks old. A few years later Romualdo's mother remarried a Scotsman,
Captain John D. Wilson. Wilson sent young Romualdo to be educated
in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the age of twelve he returned to California
and was apprenticed to a trading vessels agent, under whose guidance
Pacheco became an excellent seaman. In July 1846, during the Mexican-American
War, while he was sailing up the coast to Yerba Buena with a cargo
of trade goods, American officials stopped and searched Pacheco's
ship. He was held briefly and released at Yerba Buena after taking
an oath of allegiance to the United States.