✓ HEADER + opening VERIFIED vs scan n144 (2026-07-06): '1823 Julio 6, San Francisco, Alfz gradᵒ José Sánchez, Diario' — purpose line verbatim 'Diario de la expedición verificado con objeto de reconocer terreno para la nueva planta de la Misión de San Francisco (Solano) principiada el 25 de Junio de 1823'; Day 1 (25 Jun, SF→San Rafael by boat) & Day 2 (26 Jun, San Rafael→Olompali→the Petaluma arroyo) confirmed. *(The fuller itinerary, ethnogeography, and the 4 Jul founding below are on n145–162 — not yet re-read; transcribe before quoting.)* the DIARY of the June 1823 expedition to reconnoiter the site for Mission San Francisco Solano (Sonoma) — Days 1–6 (25–30 Jun): SF → San Rafael → Olompali → Petaluma plain → Laguna de Tolay (named for Coast Miwok chief Tolay) → ⭐⭐ 'el plano llamado Sonoma, de los indios que en otro tiempo vivían en él' (the founding site — oak groves, streams, redwood & fir, a hot spring, salmon in the estero, ⭐ thermometer 11° warmer than SF, 'bien apto para fundar una misión') → the Napa & ⭐⭐ Suisun plains (both named for their former Indian inhabitants); ⭐ Indians light signal fires on sighting the party, the grasslands burned (Indian land management); ⭐⭐ a diplomatic feast — 14 Indians (5 captains) of a Suisun-area ranchería summoned via 3 Christian neophytes & fed pinole/venison 'para preparar una conquista'; rancherías named Petaluma, Libantelegumí, Ululato, Libaytos[?]; gift-diplomacy (cotton shirts, beads, tallow) + conversion exhortation; 3 bears killed; Days 7–9 (1–3 Jul) — Petaluma rejected 'del todo seco,' Sonoma confirmed ('un manantial de manantiales'); ⭐⭐⭐ the FOUNDING DECISION — the escort cmdr José Sánchez, provincial deputy Francisco Castro, & Fr. José Altimira agree to place the mission at Sonoma & set 'la Santa Cruz, primer cimiento,' w/ a strategic-frontier logic (a rancho at Petaluma as a 'ladder' to the NW gentility + one at Napa to 'fence off' the NE gentiles); ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Day 10 (4 Jul 1823) — THE FOUNDING: a field altar; a redwood Holy Cross (7 varas tall) blessed & raised 'dentro del sitio en donde los Gentiles de Sonoma tenían antiguamente su ranchería'; the troop fires a volley; Sánchez & Altimira sing the *Lignum Crucis* & *Crux fidelis* w/ the neophytes; Mass; named 'el nuevo San Francisco (Solano)'; back at the SF presidio by 6 Jul (spans n144–162, signed José Sánchez) ⭐ SPAN, ENDPOINT AND SOURCE CITE ESTABLISHED 2026-08-27 by reading n154–n161 and fetching outward: the diary is headed on n144 and CLOSES on n162 (corner 163 / 48) with the signature 'Jose Sanchez'; Savage's margin cite on n144 reads 'p. 332-61' [= orig. tomo pp. 332–361]. Corner numbers advance by 1 with no jump across n138–n164, so no leaf is missing. Title verbatim: 'Diario de la espedicion verificada con objeto de reconocer terrenos para la nueva planta de la Mision de San Francisco (Solano) principiada el 25 de Junio de 1823.' ⭐⭐⭐ Contains the FOUNDING ACT of Mission San Francisco Solano (Sonoma), entry 10 = 4 July 1823 (n160): an altar de campana raised, a redwood cross 7 varas high blessed, the troop firing a descarga while the Pange Lingua and Cruz fidelis were sung. Site-selection dossier for Sonoma at n155–n159 ('No dudamos de que Sonoma es un manantial de manantiales'); Petaluma plain rejected as 'del todo seco' though 'un punto de vista el mas delicioso'; Indian diplomacy at Napa, entry 7 = 1 July (n154). ⚠ ATTRIBUTION: this diary is commonly credited to Fr. José Altimira; n159 disproves that, the writer naming himself, Francisco Castro and Altimira as three distinct people. The attribution here to Sánchez is therefore confirmed by internal evidence, not merely by the header. Day-entries 7–12 inside n154–n161 are internal sections, NOT separate documents.
| Date | 1823-07-06 (exact) |
|---|---|
| From | alférez José Sánchez |
| Place | San Francisco |
| Series | State Papers, Sacramento |
| Tomo | X–XIX (volume range; this entry is not resolved to one tomo) |
| Original tomo page | XI·332–361 |
| Savage copy page | 145–163 |
| Scan leaf | n144–n162 |
| Document type | verbatim (diary) |
| Source | verbatim transcription |
Read this leaf on the Internet Archive ↗ · leaf n144–n162
alférez José Sánchez, San Francisco, 1823-07-06, State Papers, Sacramento, X–XIX, XI·332–361, Archives of California, C-A 56, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. [the tomo is given as the volume’s full range: this entry has not been resolved to a single tomo within X–XIX]Cite the document by series, tomo and original tomo page, as the literature does; the C-A number locates it in the repository. To cite this catalogue entry itself, use https://archivesofcalifornia.com/record/ca56/ca56-d164.html