Romualdo Pacheco

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Romualdo Pacheco

Romualdo Pacheco (born October 31, 1831 in Santa Barbara , California , † January 23, 1899 in Oakland , California) was an American politician . He was the twelfth governor of California and represented that state in the US House of Representatives . To date, he is the only governor of California of Latin American origin.

Early years

Romualdo was born in Santa Barbara in 1831 to Ramona Carillo Pacheco and her husband Jose Antonio. His parents belonged to the upper class of society in what was then the Mexican province of Baja California . His father, who died early, was an advisor to the Mexican governor in Baja California. His stepfather, a Scot named John D. Wilson, sent young Romualdo to Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaii for further training . At the age of twelve he began training with the Mexican merchant navy. Soon afterwards he got caught up in the turmoil of the Mexican-American War of 1846. His ship was seized by the Americans and he was taken prisoner. After taking an oath of allegiance, he was released.

Political career

Pacheco's descent from a leading family in ancient California was instrumental in his political career, which he began in 1850. He enjoyed the trust of the long-established residents as well as that of the Anglo-Americans. After the founding of the Republican Party , he became a member. He was an elected MP to the California State Assembly from 1853 to 1855 and again from 1868 to 1870 ; from 1857 to 1863 he was a member of the California Senate . During the Civil War he was named Brigadier General of the National Guard by Governor Leland Stanford . He should disarm anti-union militias. He was then the successor to Delos R. Ashley briefly State Treasurer of California and finally State Senator again. In 1871 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of California. In January 1875, Governor Newton Booth resigned to serve as a US Senator in Washington, DC . His deputy Pacheco was promoted to governor. However, he only had to fill the remaining nine months of the legislature in this office.

After his term of office he ran for a seat in Congress and was elected with a majority of one vote. His opponent Peter D. Wigginton , however, had the election result contested. In 1878 his application was granted and Pacheco had to give up his seat again. So he was initially only between March 4, 1877 and February 7, 1878 member of Congress. In the fall of 1878 he ran again in the congressional elections and managed to return to the US House of Representatives. After being re-elected in 1880, he was able to complete two legislative terms there between March 4, 1879 and March 3, 1883.

Old age and death

After that he ran cattle breeding on a ranch in northern Mexico for five years. In 1890 he became the United States Ambassador to Honduras , El Salvador , Nicaragua and Guatemala . In 1893 he returned permanently to Oakland, where he died on January 23, 1899. Since 1863 he was married to Mary McIntire, with whom he had the children Maybella (born 1865) and Romualdo. The son died in childhood.

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personal data
SURNAME Pacheco, Romualdo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1831
PLACE OF BIRTH Santa Barbara , California
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1899
Place of death Oakland , California