Mission 2000 Database

Notes:
Son of Juan Bautista de Anza (presidial captain) and Maria Rosa Bezerra Nieto of Fronteras, Sonora, Mexico
Grandson of Antonio de Anza (pharmacist) and Lucia de Sassoeta of Hernani, Guipuzcoa, Spain
Grandson of Antonio Bezerra Nieto (presidial captain) and Gregoria Gómez de Silva of Janos, Chihuahua, Mexico
Born July 1736, possibly at Fronteras but more likely at Cuquiarachi, Sonora, Mexico
Juan Bautista de Anza, senior, killed by Apaches on May 9, 1740, when the younger Juan Bautista was not quite three years of age
Joined Spanish militia in December 1751 at San Ignacio, Sonora, Mexico - Became a "cadete" in presidial cavalry in 1754 under the tutelage of his brother-in-law, Gabriel de Vildosola, at Fronteras, Sonora, Mexico
Advanced to cavalry lieutenant at Fronteras in 1756
Made captain of the Tubac, Sonora, Mexico (now Arizona) Presidio in December 1759
Married Ana María Pérez Serrano on June 24, 1761 at Arizpe
Became known for his abilities as a soldier fighting Apaches in the north (today Arizona) and Seris in the south (near present-day Hermosillo, Sonora) 1766-1773
July 25, 1767 - Ordered to arrest Jesuits on the Sonora River
Requested permission from the viceroy to discover a route to Alta California in 1772, something his father had done in 1737 but was killed by Apaches before he could make the journey
Led an expedition to discover a route to Alta California, leaving Tubac in January 1774 and arriving back there in May after having successfully found the route and traveling to the newly established Presidio of Monterey
Advanced to lieutenant colonel by the King after completing the successful expedition of discovery
Began organizing a second expedition in Mexico City in January 1775 to colonize the San Francisco Bay
Began recruiting colonizers in Culiacan, Province of Sinaloa, Mexico in March 1775
Continued recruiting in the villages of Sinaloa and El Fuerte in the Province of Sinaloa, and Alamos, in Sonora in March, April, and May
Spent the summer in Horcasitas, the capital of Sonora at that time, training his new recruits for the difficult crossing of the Apache country that lay ahead of them
Arrived in Tubac from Horcasitas in mid-October, 1775, and continued preparations there
Left Tubac October 23, 1775 with 300 people and 1000 head of livestock (no wagons or carts - all supplies were loaded on pack mules every morning and unloaded every night)
Manuela Pinuelas died that evening from childbirth complications - The child lived to see California
In all, only three other people died in the year-long journey, and they died from a plague that struck the town of Horcasitas when they were there that summer
In total there were nine live births and one miscarriage among the women of the expedition between Culiacan, Sonora, and San Gabriel, Alta California
The expedition arrived in Monterey, California in March, 1776
Chief Palma and three other Yuma Indians were taken to Mexico City by Anza where they received catechism and were baptized on February 13, 1777 They received confirmation at the cathedral in Durango on the return trip to Sonora on April 3, 1777
Upon his return to Mexico City, Anza was made commander of all the troops in Sonora in the fall of 1776
Made Governor of New Mexico in 1777
In 1779, with 800 men and 2500 horses, he led an expedition across New Mexico and Colorado, across the Arkansas River to engage the Comanches under the command of Chief Cuerno Verde
Cornering the said chief near Rye, Colorado, the campaign killed him and several other head men and precipitated the longest lasting peace treaty ever signed by the Comanches and any of the governments of Spain, Mexico, or the United States
Anza led an expedition to the Hopi country that same fall to try to help save that people, who were dying from a long-lasting drought
Led an expedition in 1780 to discover a route between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Arizpe, Sonora, which was the capital of the Provincias Internas - an expedition that was successfully completed
Asked to be released as Governor in in 1786 and his request was granted in 1787 - Made commander of the Buenaventura Presidio (previously Fronteras Presidio) in 1787
Made commander of all the troops in Sonora shortly thereafter
Made commander of the Tucson (now Arizona) Presidio in the fall of 1788
Conducted a review of the troops at Tucson, returned to his home in Arizpe, and died there suddenly on December 19, 1788
Buried in the side chapel of Nuestra Señora de Loreto in the cathedral at Arizpe.