The Descendants of Early San Diego are a group of people who can trace their ancestral history back to some of the first Spanish settlers who came to Alta California, as it was known at the time.
On Saturday in Old Town at the Howard J. Ballard Parent Center, the group gathered for a lunch to share their stories in hopes of preserving that history.
“We're part of the founding Families of California, and our organization has been around for 44 years now,” Connie Rascon Gunther, the group’s chair, told KPBS. “And it's been focused on history, preservation and education and keeping a lot of our heritage alive.”
Poster boards with long family trees showed how living descendants were connected through generations to their ancestors who came to California hundreds of years ago.
Many of the descendants said their ancestors were “Soldados de Cuero” or leather-jacket soldiers; these were the Spanish soldiers who established and manned the presidios in California, according to the California Mission Guide.
The Spanish also played a part in the American Revolutionary War. King Charles III of Spain provided supplies and desperately needed cash to the Continental Army, according to the American Revolution Museum.
“We're (also) celebrating the leather jacket soldiers and their contribution to George Washington's army, because at the time they were trying to break away from Britain,” Rascon Gunther said. “And so we were instrumental in that independence of our nation.”
And a member of the Kumeyaay Nation attended the lunch as well to represent the first people in San Diego and the tribes that were here when the Spanish arrived.
“We've seen every single, you know, change in San Diego from the Spanish to the Mexican period to the American period,” said Daniel Rios of the Kumeyaay Nation. “And, you know, we're still here today. We're thriving.”
That shared history across generations, centuries, and nations is what brought the group together for 44 years. Rascon Gunther said it's important to share those stories with one another, to keep the history alive.
“We're learning to be cordial to each other and preserving our stories, the good and the bad, and continue to tell our stories so that we can learn from our mistakes and continue to build our country as a country that we wanted to have freedom in,” Rascon Gunther said.
