Miguel Cordero retired from active military service in 1833, and was granted the two square league Rancho Las Cruces.
[3] Miguel Cordero died in 1851, at about the same time the U.S. Congress passed "An Act to Ascertain and Settle Private Land Grant Claims in the State of California".
Maria Antonia Jimenez died in 1858, and an undivided interest in Rancho Las Cruces to each of their 9 children.
Establishing title became a priority after the enactment of the Homestead Act of 1862, when the US Surveyor General began measuring tracts for settlers.
Congress approved the petition; the district court heard the case and confirmed the grant.