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HomeShop at BookSurgeJuvenile FictionSocial IssuesGeneral (see also headings under Family)Testimonios de Florencio Serrano: Alta California Remembered, 1834-1850 |
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Viva los testimonios! Feb 19, 2010
By Dennis Copeland
Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewiez furnished us with long-sought translations into English of several first-hand accounts of early California in their book Testimonios, consisting of thirteen interviews of women recalling life in Spanish and Mexican California. More generally, testimonios are the interviews with pioneer Californios and Mexicans, which were transcribed by Hubert Howe Bancroft's staff of interviewers. A few translations of other testimonios are also available. Sadly, these represent only a fragment of the rich treasure trove of the recuerdos and historias in Spanish waiting for the student of California history. This situation is rapidly changing-- heralded by William Wilkinson's publication of Francisco Serrano's Apuntes para la Historia and Recuerdos Historicos, printed together as Testimonios de Florencio Serrano, Alta California Remembered, 1834-1850, with English translation to the Spanish original on facing pages. Serrano, who arrived with the ill-fated Hijar-Padres colonists of 1835, successfully settled and created a livelihood for himself and his family in Monterey, the capital of Alta California. A teacher, he soon assumed other prominent positions, including judge and Monterey's alcalde, a combination of mayor, justice, and chief administrative officer, during the turbulent transition period to American rule. Serrano's testimonies reveal a wealth of historical detail with intriguing characterizations of some of the leading figures in early California history. From Governors Figueroa and Alvarado to the failed 1849 hanging of a noted bandito, Wilkinson renders the complexities of his subjects, both of Serrano himself and the rich and changing texture of the California historical landscape. Serrano's personal characteristics echo throughout the text, from his anguish over judicial decisions to his sense of honor and fairness. Serrano's Testimonios is a vivid, essential resource for the serious student of California history as well as the more casual reader interested in California's origins. Wilkinson also provides a gracefully written and informed introduction to this significant historical period in which Serrano participated, along with a highly useful glossary and appendices. Highly recommended.
Lively first hand account of Mexican California Feb 13, 2010
By Randall Ham
"REH"
This book deserves an honored place in the library of any historian or history buff interested in early California.
Among the greatest treasures avaliable to students of California history are the "testimonios", the recollections of surviving Californios (Hispanic California pioneers of the Spanish-Mexican eras) taken by historian Hubert Howe Bancroft and his agents. Most of these testimonios remain in manuscript form, and are only avaliable to visitors to the Bancroft Libary at U.C. Berkeley, but a small number have been published, among which, thanks to Mr. Wilkinson, those of Florencio Serrano now take their place. Serrano's testimonios contain valuable information about political figures and events of Mexican California, as well as a detailed description of the customs and life-styles of the era. Of particular interest is his account of his tenure as alcalde (mayor/magistrate) of Monterey during the U.S. military occupation, when, with little force at his command, he had to cope not only with bandits, but with the rowdy discharged members of Stevenson's New York Volunteers. Also of interest is his account of explorer/military adventurer John C. Fremont, for whom he, and other Hispanic Californians, remembered as an arrogant bully.
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