*** Source: Thompson, Robert A., Historical and descriptive sketch of Sonoma County, California. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1877, 122 pgs. Notice: This data is donated to the Public Domain by TAG, 2004, and may be copied freely by anyone to anywhere. *** ---page 58--- Miranda was the father of many children, and one of his daughters, Francisca, married a Mexican named Antonio Ortega, who had no settled habita- tion, but lived sometimes with his wife’s family, at this rancho, sometimes with the priests at the different missions, and for several years in Oregon. On the ground of his occasional visits to his father-in-law he set up a claim to being the real occupant of the rancho, and succeeded in obtaining from Governor Alvarado a decree for the land, purporting to have been made August 10, 1840. Thus there were two conflicting claims to the same tract of land. After the death of Miranda, at San Rafael, in 1850, his title was sold by order of the probate court of Marin county, and was purchased by T. B. Valentine of San Francisco. Whether the proceedings at this sale were regular, so as to vest in the purchaser a perfect title, is at least doubtful. The title of Ortega was con- veyed to Charles White of San Jose. After the establishment of the land commission, both of these claims were presented to that tribunal for adjudication. Valentine put in some testimony which was thought to be rather damaging to the success of the Ortega claim, whereupon an agreement was made between the holders of these rival titles, providing that the testimony should be suppressed, the Miranda claim with- drawn, the Ortega claim pressed for confirmation and the proceeds of the sales of the lands covered by it divided between the contracting parties. The Miranda title was thus summarily disposed of by the act of its holder. To clear away the Ortega title by the slow machinery of the law, took several years. It was confirmed by the land commission, was twice before the United States District Court,--first confirmed, and afterwards rejected; and twice before the United States Supreme Court, where it was finally rejected in 1863. The land embraced within the limits of the rancho thus became public domain of the United States, and the government surveys were extended over it. That portion within the boundaries of the incorporated city of Petaluma was ceded to that city by Act of Congress of March 1, 1867, and the occupants of all the remainder obtained patents under the pre-emption law. Valentine besieged the doors of Congress for many years to get an act passed allowing him to present his title to the courts for confirmation. Such a meas- ure would have been a great injustice to the occupants of the land, for although the original title was undoubtedly genuine, and would have been confirmed, he prevented a confirmation by his voluntary withdrawal of it. He was finally satisfied by receiving from the government an issue of very valuable land-scrip for the same number of acres embraced within his grant. EAST PETALUMA That part of the city of Petaluma which lies on the east side of the creek was held under the Vallejo title to the Petaluma grant. The cloud on the west side did not affect it. The tract was originally purchased from General Vallejo by Tom Hopper. On the 27th day of August, 1857, Hopper conveyed to W. D. Bliss, John Kalkman, and Stephen C. Haydon, each, one-fourth inter- est in his tract of two hundred and seventy acres. Up to this time there was no connection between the east and west side of the creek except over a rick- *** end ***