Overview
Doña Francisca Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo (1815-1891) was a Californio pioneer. A member of the Carrillo family of California, Carrillo was the wife of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. Carrillo was an early settler of Sonoma, California, the town founded by her husband. She survived the Bear Flag Rebellion and went on to oversee the Vallejo estate, Lachryma Montis, until her death in 1891. The city of Benicia, California is named after her.
Early life
Francisca Benicia Carrillo was born on August 23, 1815, in San Diego in Alta California to María Ygnacia López de Carrillo and Joaquin Victor Carrillo.
On January 24, 1830, Francisca Carrillo met a young soldier named Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo who arrived in San Diego in the wake of the Solis revolt. She was 15 and he was 23 years old. Vallejo courted Carrillo over the course of two weeks before leaving for Monterey. It would be over two years Carrillo would see Vallejo in person. The two kept in touch with letters. On October 15, Mariano sent a letter to Anastasio Bustamante, the President of Mexico, asking permission to marry Carrillo. In the letter, Vallejo confirmed that their parents gave permission for the couple to be married. It took two years for Bustamante to approve the couple's request. On March 6, 1832, Carrillo and Vallejo were married at the Presidio of San Diego. José María de Echeandía attended the wedding. Echeandía gave a toast at the reception, during which he said of Carrillo: "I have known his young wife since she was eight years old, and I have had repeated occasions to admire her fine manners."
Matriarch of the Vallejo family
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