Isabel Ayala, Native American?

Oops, in my zeal to post my first blog I forgot to mention a portion of my heritage. My 25 percent Native American ancestry to be exact. I'm not quite sure how I forgot, considering I look in my mirror everyday. Of my brother, sister and I, my features most reflect our NA DNA, and people have commented on it most of my life. Based on my father's DNA haplogroup, Southern European, and my mother's NA haplogroup, my story is "Spanish boy meets Native American girl".


                                                                       Isabel Ayala

Most of my Native American ancestry is untraceable, but I have my suspicions about my maternal great great grandmother Isabel Marie Ayala. Bless my cousins, who had several pictures and an obituary, for graciously sharing them with me. In these pictures gggrandma appears Indian. According to Santa Barbara California Mission records, Isabel was baptized there, Nov. 19, 1836. She was born to Spanish soldier Juan Ayala and Raphaela Arellanes. Juan and Raphaela's origin is listed as the Santa Barbara Presidio. Isabel was joined by a brother, Juan Delores Ayala, May 6, 1839. His baptismal record indicated that he was a "natural" son and that his parents, Juan and Raphaela were not married. Now at that time, the Chumash Indians lived in the Santa Barbara area. Was Raphaela a Chumash Indian? Is that why she and Juan didn't marry? Questions, questions and more questions!!
Sometime before 1841 Isabel's life took an interesting turn.



                                                                     Nipomo Rancho

Mission records show the death of her brother Juan in 1841 and list his place of burial as Nipomo Rancho cemetery in San Luis Obispo County, CA.The Rancho was owned by William Goodwin Dana, a Boston MA, sea captain who came to California in 1825 and married into a prominent old Californio family, the Carrillos. In 1837 Dana was awarded a 37,888 acre land grant by the Mexican government and established Nipomo Rancho. So why was Isabel's brother buried here?

The 1850 US Census places Isabel in the household of Capt. Dana's son-in-law Henry Jefts in San Luis Obispo Co. And a family picture shows Isabel with Capt. Dana's children. Was she domestic help in these homes? Perhaps, but why would they dress her up and include her in a family picture? Also, I couldn't find her mother in the census or death records. Later information from her obituary says that she was taken into the Dana family as a daughter and grew up in the Dana/Jefts households until she was of marriageable age.

Despite research by various cousins, no familial connection could be found to the Carrillo family. Why was gggrandma living at Nipomo with her family instead of with Juan Ayala. Ah, yet more questions to tempt me down this slippery research path. So many ancestors, so little time!!

GGGrandma married Filipe Grajeda in 1855 but her time with the Dana/Jeft families appears to have been interesting indeed.




                                        General John C. Fremont

During the Mexican-American War, Captain Dana's sentiments were with the Americans. While General Fremont's forces were in the area, Dana allowed Fremont and his men to camp on his land and helped them with horses and provisions.

According to Isabel's obituary, she met and talked to the General during this time.

GGGrandma passed away May 2, 1918. Way, way, way before my time. I would loved to have met her and heard her story. While some aspects of her life might remain a mystery, I'm very thankful for the things I do know about her.

I'm grateful to my cousins for sharing the information they had about her, especially cousin MaryAnn Lespinasse for including so many facts about Isabel in her book about the Grajeda family.

Hopefully, someday I might be able to share this information with now unknown cousins. Meanwhile, I'll add these questions about her life to my growing number of family mysteries.