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The earliest example I have is Jose Antonio Bolcof of Russia, who became a Mexican about 1833. Who beat him?

cf. Who was the first foreigner to be naturalized as a Mexican citizen?: several Texans got in before Bolcof.

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    Related: William Wolfskill. He was naturalized in 1828 in the New Mexico area, but moved out to California after that. Nov 29, 2016 at 21:01
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    "In 1814, John Gilroy, a Scottish sailor on an English ship, was left in Monterey because of illness. He was baptized and naturalized, then married a daughter of a well-known ranchero and became a ranchero himself. The present-day town of Gilroy bears his name." - users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/Mex_Americans.html
    – ed.hank
    Nov 29, 2016 at 23:03
  • @called2voyage if Stearns was naturalized in 1828 and was in Monterey in 1829 he is the winner so far. Looks like Wolfskill wasn't in California until later. Dec 2, 2016 at 5:21

3 Answers 3

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I found these two while researching your other question.

"In 1814, John Gilroy, a Scottish sailor on an English ship, was left in Monterey because of illness. He was baptized and naturalized, then married a daughter of a well-known ranchero and became a ranchero himself. The present-day town of Gilroy bears his name.

In 1822, William E.P. Hartnell who represented the British firm John Begg & Co. signed a three-year contract with the missions for their production of hides and tallow. As the first foreign businessman, Hartnell soon converted to Catholicism, married into a ranchero family, and acquired Rancho Patrocinio del Alisal."

from http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/Mex_Americans.html

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  • According to my reading Hartnell got citizenship in 1830 and Gilroy in 1833. Dec 2, 2016 at 5:20
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    Ahh i see, he came over in 1814 but took 20 years to be a citizen, that makes sense, i assumed 1814 was the date for both. also im curious what are those sources? doing this research made me interested in the topic!
    – ed.hank
    Dec 2, 2016 at 12:31
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Looks like being 1828. Hittell's "History of California" says:

On April 14, 1828, the Mexican congress passed a naturalization law.... In June, 1829, [Governor] Echeandia issued a circular in reference to the subject; and almost immediately afterwards a number of applications for naturalization were presented. William G. Dana, an American, had already in July, 1828, upon making the necessary declaration, been allowed to marry an "hija del pais" or daughter of the country and become naturalized....

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    Does that passage make clear that this was in Alta California? Dec 6, 2016 at 12:44
  • I found that Dana arrived in Alta California in 1825, so it would appear that he was naturalized there rather than in Mexico proper. Of course this is from Wikipedia so take what you will from that. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rancho_Nipomo
    – ed.hank
    Dec 6, 2016 at 18:05
  • @ed.hank Good enough for me. Dec 6, 2016 at 19:35
  • @called2voyage Echeandia was the Alta Californian governor. Not sure why this was handled at the regional level since as observed in the other related question, others were already obtaining citizenship in Texas. Dec 7, 2016 at 19:53
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Abel Stearns emigrated to Mexico in 1826 and naturalized in 1828. In 1829 he moved out to Monterey, California, and he eventually settled in Pueblo de los Ángeles, which would become the Los Angeles that we know today.

The RootsWeb biography says:

One year after his marriage, he purchased the 28,000-acre Rancho Los Alamitos, near present day Long Beach and Seal Beach, to use as a summer home. As a trader who settled in Los Angeles, Stearns had become one of the area's wealthiest citizens and the largest landowner in Southern California.

The Online Archive of California says:

Stearns was in Mexico City 1826-1829

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  • I think this is going to be the winner unless we can find an earlier one, i am still searching.
    – ed.hank
    Dec 2, 2016 at 16:55
  • I wonder where he was from 1826-1829. Dec 6, 2016 at 7:11
  • More on Stearns. Unfortunately it still doesn't mention where in Mexico he was from 1826-1829. Dec 6, 2016 at 16:49
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    @AaronBrick It appears Stearns was in Mexico City from 1826-1829, so not in Alta California. Dec 6, 2016 at 16:53

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