Prudenciana Vallejo López de Moreno
She was the wife of José Matías Moreno, secretary of state under Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of California.
[3][1] During the U.S. Mexico War, Prudenciana was said to be one of the first people to notice the arrival of the sloop-of-war Cyane in San Diego harbor on July 29, 1846, crying out that “a million gringos are coming.”[4] At age 14, she and the Machado children stood on the roof of the chapel of Casa de Machado y Silvas and watched the lowering of the Mexican flag and the raising of the American one.
[1][5] The U.S. military occupation of San Diego led to bitter divisions among residents who supported American rule and those who remained loyal to the Mexican government.
Do you remember that you danced a great deal?”[1][7] The couple would be separated for many years as war and business drew Moreno away from home for months at a time.
1859), who had come “to remove the bitterness with which my life was filled.” Prudenciana responded by assuring him that their remaining two children, José Matías and Dolores (Doloritas) “are robust and happy and I will see that they play in the sun, have a well-regulated life.” She added, “They take care of me and of each other which pleases me, and I need only your rapid return to be embraced in your arms…”[1] In the 1850s and 1860s, José Matías Moreno was involved in a wide variety of business projects that took him to San Francisco, La Paz, Mazatlán, Guaymas, and Mexico City.
To that end, he enforced a law prohibiting foreigners from owning land within 60-miles of the border, among them Juan Bandini, a Peruvian-born Californio.
José Matías Moreno died of a stroke on November 30, 1869, at the age of 51 and was buried at the ex-Misión de Guadalupe.
Natives of New York, the Flowers had moved to California during the Gold Rush and ended up in San Diego running a wholesale liquor business.
When the Panic of 1873 and the resulting economic depression made it impossible for the family to meet its obligations, Theron Flower tried to foreclose on the property.
After a lengthy lawsuit initiated by Prudenciana's son, José Matías Moreno III, Theron Flower purchased the Rancho ex-Misión de Guadalupe (13,014 acres (5,267 ha)) for $15,000 in 1887.
On a trip to San Diego in January 1878, Savage persuaded Prudenciana to allow him to examine 3,000 or more letters and other materials kept a trunk in Casa de López.
She allowed him to borrow items for use in Bancroft's history, even though "she looked upon her late husband's papers as a treasure," and returned home the next day.
[17] Prudenciana spent the years between 1887 and her death in 1920 living with family members in the Valle de Guadalupe, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
She continued to keep up appearances, having been noted for her meticulous grooming which included gloves and a hat even when making trips to the local store.
She was recalled as a pioneer woman whose life spanned a period of dramatic change in the history of Alta and Baja California.
