User:Asiaticus/sandbox/Joaquin Valenzuela

Joaquin Valenzuela (1810-1858), alias "Joaquin Ocomorenia" or "Nacamereno,", a Californio, was was reputed to be one of the Five Joaquins Gang until 1853 when it was broken up after the death of Joaquin Murrieta. Valenzuela subsequently became a confederate of the Jack Powers Gang.

Early Life

Joaquin Valezuala was born in 1810. In 1839, at age 29, he was living in Los Angeles. From 1846 to 1847 he was the juez de campo at San Gabriel.

During the Mexican American War, Joaquin Valenzuela joined the 1846 Californio revolt by Flores against the American occupation. serving as a leader of a detachment that went north to join the army under Manuel Castro that was to harass and delay the advance of Fremonts army from Monterey to the south. This detachment fought in the Battle of Natividad and "exasperated at the heavy loss of some 15 or 20 which they had sustained, they had started south with the avowed intention of killing every American they found." They captured several Americans near San Luis Obispo, including, William A. Streeter, Francis Zeba Branch, and Capt. William Dana.

After hearing of Valenzuela's threat to kill all the Americans he found Castro had hurried forward to prevent him from carrying it into execution. Castro ordered Valenzuela to let Branch and Dana go free to protect their families, giving them passports to allow them to move freely with his permission. The remainder stayed with Castro on his return to Los Angeles, Streeter was left at his home in Santa Barbara.

Later Valenzuala lived for a time in Santa Barbara in 1850. From Streeter we know he had also been there for some time before the war and had been successfully treated by Streeter for a dangerous medical condition that had threatened his life.

Joaquin Valenzuala was was reputed to have joined the the Five Joaquins Gang of Joaquin Murrietta becoming known also as "Joaquin Ocomorenia". Under these names he subsequently hunted by the California Rangers.

Joaquin Valenzuala remained with the gang until 1853 when it was broken up after the death of Joaquin Murrieta. Valenzuela subsequently became a confederate of the Jack Powers Gang, led by Jack Powers in Santa Barbara County and his associate Pio Linares in San Luis Obispo County, stealing cattle and involved in the robberies and murders of victims and witnesses to these crimes.

He claimed that he had dropped out of the gangs activities in 1857. In 1858 he was living with his wife and working at the Rancho Emigido for David W. Alexander. He was known there by the nickname of Nacamereno. There he was found by one of the posses of the San Luis Obispo Vigilance Commmittee looking for members of the Jack Powers Gang that had murdered three men and kidnapped a woman at the Rancho San Juan Capistrano del Camote.

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References

DEFAULTSORT:Valenzuela, Joaquin}}
Category:1858 deaths]]
Category:Criminals from California]]
Category:Californios]]
Category:Outlaws of the American Old West]]

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Pioneer Register of California, (From the History of California, Vol. II.-V.) Pioneer Register and Index 1542—1848,Valenzuela v.5, p.755

Valenzuela (Antonio), at Sta B. before '37, wife Maria Ant. Felix; grantee of land at S. Juan Cap. '41. iv. 626; land at S. Gabriel '43. iv. 637; at S. Gabriel '46.

V. (Desiderio and Dolores), at Los Ang. '46-8.

V. (Estanislao), soldier of the S.F. comp. '27-31; at Los Ang. '46.

V. (Felipe and Francisco), at Los Ang. '46.

V. (Gaspar), zanjero at Los Ang. '44. iv. 633; resid. '39-48.

V. (Ignacio), invat Sta B, '32, wife Felipa Fernandez, child Juana.

V. (Ignacio), named in '46. v. 162.

V. (Joaquin), at Los Ang. '39, age 29; at S. Gab. '46-7 as juez de campo. v. 628; at Sta B. '50.

V. (Jos‚), at Los Ang. '46.

V. (Jos‚ Maria), at Los Ang. '15. ii. 350; soldier at Sta B. '32; alcalde at Sta B. '35. iii. 654; maj. at Sta B. mission '38. iii. 656-7; admin. at Purisima '38-41. iii. 666; iv. 648; still at Sta B. '51. His wife was Josefa Cota, with 4 children before '37.

V. (Jos‚ Sabas), at Los Ang. '46.

V. (Luis), soldier at Sta B. '32, wife Josefa Rocha; at Los Ang. '46-8.

V. (Manuel), soldier of Sta B. 1799; settled at Los Ang. 1800. ii. 349.

V. (Manuel), corp. at Mont. '36, age 22.

V. (M ), juez de campo at Los Ang. '38. iii. 636; still there '48.

V. (Pedro), settler at Los Ang. 1798. ii. 350; at Los Ang. '46; d. S. Juan Cap. '68.

V. (Prospero), owner of land at S. Gab. '43. iv. 637.

V. (Ramon), at Los Ang. '46-8.

V. (Salvador), ranchero at Sta B. '45.

V. (Secundino), at Los Ang. '39-46.

V. (Segundo), settler at Los Ang. 1800-19. ii. 349, 354.

The following account of the capture and lynching of Joaquin Valenzuela is from the substance of a series of letters written by Walter Murray, a leader of the vigilantes of San Luis Obispo to the San Francisco Bulletin during the month of June 1858, and recorded in Myron Angel's book The History of San Luis Obispo County:

"The party that went in pursuit spent a week of fruitless search in the hills. The murderers being well mounted, easily eluded them. At the rancho of San Emilio, however, they took one Joaquin Valenzuela, alias Joaquin Ocomorenia, who was identified by several persons as one of the five Joaquins, who were mentioned in the Act of 1853, authorizing the raising of Harry Love's company of rangers. This man is also an old accomplice of Jack Powers, spoke of him as his patron, and is a man steeped to the lips in guilt. He is well known at the mouth of the River Merced, and on the San Joaquin, and owes justice a score which fifty lives can never pay. He was hung in full sight of the whole people of San Luis, in broad daylight, by the voice and assistance of all the respectable men of the county, and died acknowledging his guilt, asking pardon of his friends, and warning all malefactors not to tell their secrets, even to their own countrymen. "Porque así se pierde," said he - that is: "Thus you lose yourself."

The Los Angeles Clamor Publico gave an account of the lynching of Joaquin Valenzuela in San Luis Obispo county, translated in the Daily Alta California, 14 June 1858:

"Thus it is that justice is executed in this country, where they pretend there are laws, and rights and liberty. They lie! Here when they pretend to punish a crime, they commit another still greater."

"Following the example of the other towns of California in similar cases, a Committee of vigilance was formed [in San Luis Obispo.] Parties of men started out in all directions to arrest suspected persons. A few days afterwards, this rabble, styling itself "The People," publicly executed, in San Luis Obispo, an innocent man, named Joaquin Valenzuela, generally known by the nickname of "Nacamereno." Don David W. Alexander, who has just arrived in this city, on whose ranch the unfortunate man was employed, says he was torn from his labor and the bosom of his family, and that he had never left his home for a moment. Here then is another deed of blood which will be a mark of infamy forever on the reformers of the morality and law in San Luis Obispo.

In reply to the accusations of El Clamor Publico Walter Murray wrote,

A VETERAN BANDIT.

Now we come to the innocent Joaquin Valenzuela. This man has never been charged with either the Nacimiento or the San Juan Capistrano murders. But he was an acquaintance and comrade of the murderers — brother to one, chum to another, and was proven before the committee to be as full of crime as an egg is full of meat. In 1853 he was a partner of Joaquin Murietta — the veritable Joaquin. It is notorious that he was one of the five Joaquins upon whose heads Governor Bigler set a price, and to catch whom Capt. Harry Love's Company of mounted rangers was organized.

Just before that time he kidnapped an American child, Anne, daughter of an American named Smith, and brought her down to the San Joaquin River, where he and his Mexican female partner brought her up to learn Spanish and hate the Gringos. The Americans living there took the child away, and advertised for her relatives. The father made his appearance and claimed his child. He accompanied this Joaquin across the ferry on the San Joaquin, at the mouth of the River Merced. Joaquin returned; Smith never. The inference is that Smith was killed by the black villain. A skeleton supposed to be his was afterwards found a league or two from the ferry. I refer for these facts to D. P. Brown, of Stockton; to the mother of the child who lives there now, and to those who lived at and near the mouth of the River Merced, in the years 1853-54.

When the Harry Love's Ranger Law was passed, this Joaquin Valenzuela, alias Ocomorenia, came down to the Tulares and to Santa Barbara County. Here he made acquaintance with Jack Powers. In his company Powers inured himself to fatigue on horseback "in the pursuit of stolen or strayed cattle," as the great Jack's eulogist has it, but which rightly interpreted means, "in stealing his neighbor's cattle." There is evidence before the committee here, which will one day be printed, showing that Powers and Joaquin Valenzuela stole cattle together from Guadalupe, Santa Maria, and Nipomo, and drove them to the mines by way of the Tulares. He has been engaged in this nefarious pursuit off and on ever since he came to this section of the country. He was captain of a band of robbers near Purissima, in Santa Barbara County, nearly two years ago, and committed several robberies there. He is a miscreant of the deepest dye, a hardened sinner, the very type of a criminal. When he was being brought in, he told Captain Mallagh that he thought he ought not to be molested, as he had condescended to be honest for a year past. Creo que Vindes no deben de molestarme ahora, siendo que be condescendido por una ano.

This man was invited by Jack Powers at Santa Margarita, on the night of the horse-race there, on November 30th last, to take part in the murder at the Nacimiento. He replied, "I have formerly been in such things, as you know, but I have given it up." He declined going. When arrested, and asked if he knew Powers, he said yes, he was his patron. He seemed to think that the magic name of Powers would be a tower of strength to him. When brought afterwards before the committee, and when he found out that Powers was compromised, he denied any acquaintance with him. Afterwards acknowledged that Powers had invited him to accompany him above on a "business speculation."

This is the " innocent" man who has been torn from the bosom of his family by a mob and " done to death." Mr. David W. Alexander, of Los Angeles, says that this man " has never been absent a moment from his home." This gentleman forgot, perhaps, to tell the editor of the Clamor Publico, that in November last he loaned this man $100 to bring his wife, from Los Angeles; that he (Alexander) was informed at the time of the arrest, that at that very time when he was supposed to be in Los Angeles, he was here in San Luis in company with Jack Powers and other worthies, at the races in and near this place; that he stayed here several weeks, and that during that time instead of living with his wife, whoever the lady may be, he kept with an abandoned Mexican prostitute, for whose sake two men have been stabbed, and two shot within the last six months. For aught Mr. Alexander knows, this man was at the Nacimiento murder on December last. However, he is not charged with it. Now, as this gentleman has forgotten the above particulars, he has forgotten, doubtless, that this Joaquin s a notorious thief How is it then that Alexander Godoy, of Cuyama, Mr. Alexander's next neighbor, and one of Mr. Fremont's veterans, is thoroughly acquainted with the man's character? How is it that this man's character is notorious to every one except Mr. Alexander? Is not this gentleman, like hundreds of other rancheros in the southern country (not Americans, however) content to hire a vaquero without asking questions as to his character, or even if he knew him to be bad, content if he thinks the man will not rob or murder him? I think this is the gist of the matter.