I present this draft preview of the introduction to a potential upcoming work of mine - a history of the Jolly Boy Saloon in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
During the time that I was employed at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park in the capacity of a historian, a project that I was very pleased to work on was the history of the Jolly Boy Saloon. After completing what was required, I continued to delve into the convoluted story of the building, the place, the spot...
Begun some years ago, what is presented here is the first of several chapters that will be previewed on my blog. It is also offered in a pdf format and kindle format for download and consideration. I am hoping for comments, any comments – like it, hate it, preferred format, etc., constructive or otherwise. Also, the cover design is a draft, working copy and nowhere near final. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated as well.
Following this, the work will be published, in its entirety, either in the kindle format, as a pdf, or in one big blog post. I am still pondering that as well.
Thank you.
Good Evening...
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kindle format
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2LfMphQjcS_SUNkY0dJbGhjclk/view?usp=sharing
pdf format
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2LfMphQjcS_c1huUVdqN1hTbUE/view?usp=sharing
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PREFACE
When thinking of places to visit and things to do in Old Town San Diego, “La Casa de Bandini / Cosmopolitan Hotel” and “La Casa de Estudillo” spring immediately to mind as well as various other museums, shops and restaurants. Lesser known but nevertheless an important part of the history and a significant contributor to the atmosphere and “feel” of OTSD is “La Casa de Aguilar-Serrano / Jolly Boy Saloon & Restaurant”.
To fully understand the true significance of the “Jolly Boy Saloon & Restaurant” as it is now known, it is essential that its own background as well as the story of its predecessor, “La Casa de Aguilar-Serrano” and the original “Jolly Boy Saloon” be told in its entirety. This means grappling with the morass that is landholding in Old Town San Diego, especially during the late-Mexican and early American periods.
From the early days of the Mexican Ranchos right up to the present day, land ownership and property issues are matters of great concern to residents of San Diego. One has only to peruse any of the modern news media to quickly uncover the importance and value that present-day San Diego residents place upon real estate-related issues.
In striving to gain a more detailed and complete understanding of property ownership in Old Town San Diego, this paper will document, in the format of a detailed chronology, the history of a single parcel of land: Lot 3 Block 46 according to the plat of Old San Diego surveyed by Cave Couts in 1849 and Lot 3 Block 408 by the official map of the City of San Diego by Charles Poole in 1856. In essence, this paper will detail the story of the saloon in its various incarnations.[1]
Very rarely are such histories so simply described, so simply executed...
INTRODUCTION: SURROUNDED BY SERRANOS
Before beginning the exploration of the Jolly Boy Saloon & Restaurant, the issue of multiple Casa de Serranos requires some resolution. Additionally, two women, referred to as “Rafaela Serrano” in existing documents, are each associated with different Casa de Serranos. The potential for confusion was great and indeed has lead to much misunderstanding.
The research for this document is based upon a synthesis of other’s works, as well as data from myriad other sources, of which local newspapers were the most common. Though these sources were, at times, contradictory, the most serious difficulty encountered in compiling this document was the realization that there was more than one structure referred to as “Casa de Serrano” during the early and middle of the nineteenth century in San Diego. There were three:
· First, there was the Casa de Serrano / Ensworth Store (Lot 1 Block 44/426) - also known as the Casa de Doña Rafaela Serrano, located next to the original Casa de Pico;
· Second, the Casa de Aguilar-Serrano (Lot 3 Block 46/408), at some point before November 1854, was turned into the Jolly Boy Saloon. It fronted the Plaza and ran along Calhoun Street.
· Third, and finally, constructed sometime after 1849, there was the Casa de Serrano (Lot 4 Block 56/410), the actual residence of Jose Antonio de Jesus Serrano and family. This “Casa de Serrano” was located next to the Casa de Carrillo; near the corner of what would become Wallace and Juan Street;
This brief section is my attempt at understanding which Casa de Serrano is associated with which Rafaela Serrano. See Figure 1 for location of these three homes in San Diego.
Casa de Serrano / Ensworth Store[2]
The earliest Rafaela Serrano lived in the Casa de Serrano that was situated next to the old Casa de Pico adobe on Juan Street. This adobe, later known as the Ensworth Store, was constructed sometime around 1825.
Francisco Serrano, founder of the Serrano family in Alta California, married Maria Balbaneda Silva on February 7, 1783 at the Presidio of San Diego.[3] Francisco and Maria Serrano had eleven children:
- Maria Rafaela, born 1784. Died in infancy.
- Leandro, born 1785.
- Jose Eugenio, born 1786.
- Maria Theodora Ramona, born 1787.
- Maria Rafaela Antonia, born around 1788.
- Maria de los Angeles, born about 1791.
- Maria Dominga, born about 1792.
- Rafael Tomas, born about 1794.
- Maria Rosalia, born about 1796.
- Manuel Maria, born 1799.
- Jose Antonio Fernando, born 1804.
While the second child, Leandro, would eventually father Jose Antonio de Jesus Serrano – the man who opened the original Jolly Boy Saloon in 1854, it is with the fifth child, Maria Rafaela [in bold face above], however who is the “Rafaela Serrano” that we are currently focused upon. As now evident, this “Rafaela Serrano” was the aunt of the aforementioned Jose Antonio de Jesus Serrano. Following her death in late 1846, this Casa de Serrano passed through many hands. Though taken over again by the Serranos in the late 1840s, it was sold off again by them in 1853 and settled for a brief time from 1864 as the Ensworth Store.
Figure 1: Modern interpretation of Couts' 1849 map of San Diego, from Pourade's "The Silver Dons."
Casa de Serrano[4]
The second Rafaela Serrano under discussion was a Serrano by marriage. She was Rafaela Maria Nieves Aguilar, daughter of Rosario Aguilar. Rosario fathered nine children:
- Blas Carlos, born c. 1808-11
- Maria Carlota, died in infancy Nov 26, 1811
- Maria Antonia Agnes, born c 1812-17
- Rafaela Maria Nieves, born c1817-22
- Maria Benedicta, born 1819
- Juan Jose, born 1821
- Anastacia, born c 1826
- Pilar, born c 1828
- Ramon, born c 1830 (died 1846 in the Pauma Massacre)
In 1834 or 35, Rafaela Maria Nieves married Jose Antonio de Jesus Serrano, the son of Leandro Serrano. The Serranos had ten children:
- Jesus
- Maria
- Adalaida – married Hayes
- Luis A., born March 12, 1846 – inherited the Casa de Serrano
- Rosa – married Andrew Cassidy
- Ramona
- Catarina
- Lorenza
- Juan Maria
- Adolfo
The couple inherited the Casa de Aguilar from Nieves’ (as she was called) father, Rosario Aguilar after his death in 1847. Sometime later, they converted this structure into the Jolly Boy Saloon.
This Casa de Serrano did not appear on Couts 1849 map, though the adjacent Casa de Carrillo did appear.[5] Apparently, the residence of Jose Antonio Serrano did not exist at the time Couts drew his map in 1849. Jose Antonio Serrano’s June 1854 tax return listed his property. It described two houses and associated land. But which houses? It could have been any of the three possibilities. Serrano’s 1855 tax return provided the answer. It listed two houses owned by Jose Antonio:
· Lot 3 Block 46 – the Jolly Boy Saloon
· Lot 4 Block 56 – the Casa de Serrano residence.
In a deed dated March 1868 between Andrew Cassidy and Jose Antonio Serrano[6], the property, Lot 4 Block 56/410 and fronting Washington Street between Juan and Jackson Streets, also known as the Casa de Serrano, is described as “our residence”. And finally, William Smythe in his “History of San Diego,” referred to the Casa de Serrano as “a two-story house on Juan Street, nearly opposite the one last named [Reyes-Ybanez house – ed.], belonging to Rafaela Serrano. This is now owned by Louis Serrano and was occupied until a recent date.”[7] This “Rafaela” is none other than Maria Rafaela Nieves Aguilar de Serrano. Luis Serrano was her son.
Figure 2: Blue arrow: Casa de Serrano/Ensworth Store - next to Casa de Pico; Green arrow: Casa de Serrano – next to Casa de Carrilo; Red arrow: Casa de Aguilar-Serrano – no longer extant.
Casa de Aguilar-Serrano
The Casa de Aguilar-Serrano, and the land upon which it sat, will be subject of the remainder of the exploration of this paper.[8]
[1] The parcel upon which the Casa de Aguilar-Serrano would (and the Jolly Boy Saloon & Restaurant would later) reside was Lot 3 of Block 46/408.
[2] On Figure 1 as blue bubble #1.
[3] Marriage and birth information taken from Old Town Character Sketches and Studies, Serrano Family.
[4] On Figure 1 as green bubble #3.
[5] See Figure 1 as well as Appendix for reproduction of Couts original map.
[6] Deed Book 3:115.
[7] Smythe, William E., History of San Diego. Chapter 4.
[8] On Figure 1 as red bubble #2.
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