Luis Maria PERALTA

                   Two of his sons were named Jose Vicente Peralta.

Luis Peralta, born in Sonora, probably came as a boy with the Anza
Expedition of 1776 to found the city of San Francisco.  He was a
"corp. of the S.F. comp." from 1791 or earlier.  From 1801 he was
a sergeant, taking part in several expeditions against the Indians,
and from 1807 he was comisionado in charge of the San Jose pueblo.
He showed good qualities as a soldier and was recommended several
times for promotion to "alf.," but failed to secure it.  In 1820 he
obtained a grant of the San Antonio Rancho, including the sites of
later Oakland and Alameda, which was occupied by his sons perhaps
before 1825.  The rancho buildings -- the first erected in Alameda
County except at Mission San Jose -- were at San Antonio, later
known as Brooklyn and East Oakland.  Peralta retained his position
as comisionado until 1822, and his place on the comp. rolls as active
sergeant to 1826, and as invalido to 1841; meanwhile continuing to
live at San Jose and serving as elector, treasurer, and perhaps juez
in 1830 to '33.  In 1841 he appears on the padron (census) as 87
years old, his daughters Josefa and Guadalupe (ages 46 and 23) living
with him.  Other daughters were Teodora -- grantee of Buacocha, Marin
County, in 1846 -- and Trinidad.  In 1842 he divided his San Antonio
Rancho between his sons Ignacio, Domingo, Antonio Maria, and Vicente,
and died in 1851 at the age of 97.

The great value of the lands granted to Peralta, the claim that his
daughters were entitled to a share of the property, the alleged
insanity of Don Luis at the time of making his will, and various
rascalities practised by the land-sharks in later years on some of
the heirs, gave rise to complicated litigation which can hardly be
regarded as at an end in 1885.