Vicente de la Osa
{{short description|Californio landowner (1808–1861)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vicente de la Osa
| image = CHS-8944 Painted (drawn?) portrait of Vincente de la Osa.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Portrait of Vincente de la Osa (USC/CHS)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1808|01|06}}
| birth_place = Presidio of San Diego
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1861|07|20|1808|01|06}}
| death_place = Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Vicente de la Osa (January 6, 1808{{snd}}July 20, 1861), baptized Jose Vicente de los Reyes de la Ossa, was a Californio city official, tavern owner, and cattle rancher who owned Rancho Providencia and Rancho Los Encinos in what is now the San Fernando Valley area of Southern California in the United States.
Biography
De la Osa was born at the Presidio of San Diego, where his father was a corporal. After his mother died when he was a baby he moved to Mexico as a child, then back to Los Angeles where he became a Pueblo of Los Angeles official, serving as secretary, councilman and "syndic". He married Rita Guillen at Mission San Gabriel in 1832.{{Cite web |title=Brief History of Vincente de la Osa and Family |url=https://historicparks.org/documents/DeLaOssaHistory.pdf|website=historicparks.org|access-date=2023-11-12}} In addition to serving as a public official he owned and operated a tavern.
He was formally granted Rancho Providencia in 1843. Six years later he sold Providencia and "bought an approximate third of Rancho del Encino. He sold La Providencia for 1,500 pesos and paid 100 pesos for the first of several purchases that before long gave him the use of the entire ranch". De la Osa built a nine-room adobe near the Encino Springs in 1849.{{Cite web |title=LOS ENCINOS STATE HISTORIC PARK |url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/ |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=CA State Parks |language=en}} The residential adobe still stands at Los Encinos State Historic Park, but there was originally a second adobe, now long gone, "believed to have some fourteen rooms, housed the storage, work rooms and employee quarters".
After the decline of the California Gold Rush-fueled cattle boom, de la Osa "compensated by establishing a small vineyard, raising some sheep, and letting out rooms to travelers".{{Cite web |title=Los Encinos State Historic Park History |url=https://los-encinos.org/history.html |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=los-encinos.org}} In 1856 and 1859 he held a relic political position called Judge of the Plains that adjudicated disputes between ranchers. De la Osa died in 1861 leaving a pregnant wife with 12 children; Rita de la Osa later sold Rancho Los Encinos to one of her daughters and a son-in-law who served as Los Angeles county sheriff.
File:Rancho de Los Encinos cattle brand Don Vicente de la Osa on July 12, 1834.jpg
File:Los Encinos De La Osa Adobe southern face.jpg house built by Vicente de la Osa at Rancho Los Encinos]]
File:Huntington SR Box 21(07).01 Rancho Encino San Fernando Valley 1868 survey.jpg
De La Osa Street in Los Angeles is named for Vincente de la Osa.{{Cite web |last=Radio |first=Southern California Public |date=2008-03-08 |title=De La Osa Street |url=https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/street-stories/2008/03/08/24210/de-la-osa-street/ |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=Southern California Public Radio}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:De la Osa, Vicente}}
Category:People from Encino, Los Angeles