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and never before presented a claim. A former business associate of
Limantour's named Auguste Jouan publicly claimed Limantour was a fraud. Jouan wrote that François Jacomet told him Emile Letanneur had forged the papers. Jacomet corroborated the falsehood at first, but was later found to have gone into a court in Mexico where he swore he knew nothing about any fraud. Letanneur was summoned to appear, and initially confirmed the story of fraud, but then he too recanted. A grand jury indicted Limantour for criminal fraud and perjury. The U.S. government secured $ 70,000 (about $ 2,465,077 today) in funding to secure Letanneur's conviction.
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disbursements were numbered as were the accompanying receipts. There were no entries of credits and charges in opposite columns as Abrego had testified, no charge in the books against
Micheltorena in the amount of $ 70,000 or $ 80,000, or of any other amount. Hopkins told the court that there was no charge to Limantour and credit to Micheltorena for a certificate for lands in Upper and Lower California for more than $ 6,000 nor any reference to any such item. He told the court that he found no transactions between Limantour and Micheltorena.
24:
171:. A week later he added claims to additional lands in Northern and Southern California, totaling 924.34 square miles, or 594,783 acres (240,700 ha). In January, 1856, the three members of the United States Land Commission agreed with Limantour's claims to San Francisco, and the next week, granted him the claims north of San Francisco as well. Unsurprisingly, everyone who believed they owned land on which he now held legal title to were extremely upset. Limantour began accepting
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February 27, 1843. A clerk named
Vicente P. Gomez said he went to the Recorder's office in the former state capital of Monterey at the request of José Castro to find papers relevant to a property owned by Castro. There he accidentally found the original Mexican espediente, or packet of documents with official seals and signatures, in the Recorder of Monterey's office in 1853. He said
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Suspicions were soon aroused about the truthfulness of the claims. Two studies completed soon after
California became a state, the first by Captain Henry W. Hallecka, and the second by William Carey Jones, a lawyer and linguist, had not found Limantour's grants. Limantour had never occupied the land,
205:
United States
Attorney Delia Torre presented additional evidence that the Limantour documents were fraudulent. He introduced a series of photographic enlargements that compared the Limantour documents side-by-side with land-grant documents of known authenticity. It was obvious that the lettering and
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Vicente Gomez had previously claimed during 1853 four leagues of land in his name through his attorney, Pacificus Ord. When the board of land commissioners denied his claim, he appealed to the United States
District Court in San Francisco. The US District Attorney, who happened to be Pacificus Ord,
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Archivist R. C. Hopkins testified that all of the items and entries by Abrego in the records were witnessed with his signature, and sometimes the signature of the recipient. Monthly and yearly balance sheets were examined and audited by the
Governor or another officer. He testified that all of the
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for a $ 25,000 fee. The
Recorder and Deputy Clerk in the Recorders Office in Monterey during the period Gomez said he found the espediente testified he had never seen any such document. He said that Gomez was the first person to tell him of Limantour's claims, and that Gomez told him Abrego was
126:
Limantour supplied the
Mexican government of Governor Manuel Micheltorena with goods and loans, Limantour said often in exchange for land grants. Mexican government records were often incomplete and not well documented. Limantour offered as proof a grant signed by Micheltorena in Los Angeles on
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represented to the
Appeals Court that Gomez claim was valid, and they sustained his appeal. The case made its way to the US Supreme Court in 1859, where evidence was introduced that Gomez had conveyed half of he land to Ord. The Supreme Court voided the claim.
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the official seals on the Limantour papers were significantly different from the others. On November 19, 1858, Limantour's claims were determined in Federal court to be fraudulent. Limantour was arrested in December 1857, but posted bail and fled to Mexico.
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in October 1841. Although much of the cargo was saved, Limantour was stranded in California with no means of transport. During his time in northern California, Limantour sold his cargo for cash and credit to the local elite, but the value of the
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involved, but that Gomez thought the claim was fraudulent. A box of Mexican financial records were coincidentally located at the United States Armory in Benicia, California. Among the papers were Treasurer José Abrego's account books.
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Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California: June Term, 1853 to June Term, 1858, Inclusive June Term, 1853 to June Term, 1858, Inclusive
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155:; Tiburon peninsula, the Farallones, Alcatraz; four square leagues of San Francisco (all the land south of California Street); Rancho Ojo de Agua; the eleven square league
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payments from land-owners in San Francisco, collecting according to his detractors between $ 200,000 and $ 250,000, assessed at 10 per cent of property value.
431:
A Pamphlet Relating to the Claim of Senor Don Jose Y. Limantour to Four Leagues of Land in the County Adjoining and Near the City of San Francisco, California
401:, 1958, Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, pp. 389-451, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
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581:
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236:"Limantour. The Maritime Heritage Project, San Francisco, California. Sea Captains, Ships, Merchants, Merchandise, Migrations"
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342:"Finding Aid to the Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, circa 1852-1892"
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218:, was Secretary of Finance of Mexico from 1893-1911. Joseph Y. Limatour died in Mexico City in 1885.
34:(1812 – 1885) was a French merchant who engaged in the California sea trade during the years preceding
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in 1831, and was based after 1836 in Mexico City. He traded all along the Pacific coast from
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90:, Commander General of California, was a major exception and he owned
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Federal Justice in California: The Court of Ogden Hoffman, 1851-1891
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86:’s cargo far exceeded the local capacity for purchase. General
112:. In a three-way deal, Vallejo purchased the Gale's schooner
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wanted cattle to drive back up north, and Limantour wanted a
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California Place Names, University of California Press, 1960
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for 350 cows, and then transferred ownership to Limantour.
16:
For the Mexican politician and Secretary of Finance, see
412:"A Nice Piece Of Real Estate | AMERICAN HERITAGE"
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bears his name because he wrecked his schooner, the
370:"A Nice Piece Of Real Estate | AMERICAN HERITAGE"
214:He was married to Adele Marquet, and their son,
151:. The claims included eighty square leagues of
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475:The Public Career of Don Jose Ives Limantour
461:The Public Career of Don Jose Ives Limantour
38:in 1846. He was also known in California as
36:American occupation of that Mexican province
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131:advised him to take a copy, which he did.
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147:for 47 square leagues (200,000 acres) of
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143:In 1853, Limantour filed claims at the
295:History of the Supreme Court Volume I.
267:Hoffman, Ogden; Hubert, Numa (1862).
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592:19th-century American businesspeople
368:Reinhardt, Richard (December 1971).
434:. Whitten, Towne and Company. 1853.
201:Limantour arrested, flees to Mexico
577:19th-century French businesspeople
69:to California. Limantour Beach in
14:
482:. etd.lib.ttu.edu. Archived from
57:Limantour was a ship captain and
449:. University of Nebraska Press.
50:Limantour was born in 1812, in
587:Businesspeople from California
526:Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico
508:Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1886).
1:
273:. N. Hubert. pp. 425–426
167:; and the six square leagues
582:People of Mexican California
445:Fritz, Christian G. (1991).
179:Documents proved fraudulent
163:; the eleven square league
159:; the eleven square league
608:
572:French emigrants to Mexico
161:Rancho Cienega del Gabilan
15:
511:The History of California
399:Limantour v United States
104:and his company from the
88:Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
416:www.americanheritage.com
374:www.americanheritage.com
292:Myers, Gustavus (2012).
240:www.maritimeheritage.org
71:Marin County, California
98:with plenty of cattle.
157:Rancho Laguna de Tache
145:Public Land Commission
61:trader. He arrived in
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469:Texas Tech University
122:Limantour land claims
32:Joseph Yves Limantour
27:Joseph Yves Limantour
26:
562:People from Ploemeur
524:Michael Werner,2001,
216:José Yves Limantour
149:Mexican land grants
18:José Yves Limantour
489:on August 15, 2011
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534:978-1-57958-337-8
346:www.oac.cdlib.org
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567:French merchants
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190:special counsel
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169:Rancho Cahuenga
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139:Claims approved
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165:Rancho Lupyomi
153:Cape Mendocino
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115:Star of Oregon
106:Oregon Country
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40:José Limantour
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305:9781458300546
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491:. Retrieved
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465:dissertation
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459:Aston, B W.
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557:1885 deaths
552:1812 births
129:José Abrego
102:Joseph Gale
79:Point Reyes
546:Categories
222:References
210:Later life
67:ValparaĂso
54:, France.
384:8 January
311:9 January
277:8 January
173:quitclaim
493:April 3,
467:(1972),
110:schooner
84:Ayucucho
75:Ayacucho
63:Veracruz
52:Ploemeur
477:(1972)"
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302:
96:Sonoma
59:Breton
487:(PDF)
480:(PDF)
77:, on
530:ISBN
495:2010
386:2021
313:2021
300:ISBN
279:2021
46:Life
380:(1)
94:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
