of San Rafael in 1846, the year he received his land grant. Even though 

 Gregorio and his family moved to Rancho Baulines in the late 1830's, he 

 maintained an interest in the community growing at Yerba Buena, and by 1845 

 he had applied for and received six lots of property in the village. 15 



Within two years after he moved to Bolinas Bay, Briones took steps to 

 legalize his claim to two square leagues. In 1841, neighboring grantee to the 

 south Capt. William A. Richardson, accompanied by fellow grantees Timoteo 

 Murphy, Domingo Sais and Rafael Garcia, made a rough measurement and 

 demarcation of the ranch boundaries for Briones on the local magistrate's 

 authority. The resulting map or diseno accompanied Briones' application for 

 the land which his son, Pablo, personally carried to the Governor in Monterey 

 and Los Angeles. 



According to Richardson's later testimony, he ran the boundary lines: 



on the South East by Sausalito farm, on which I live 

 on the North West by the place called "Canada Serro" 

 the land of Rafael Garcia, on the North East by the 

 ridge on Mountain of Tamalpais, which runs South 

 East and North West, and on the South West by the 

 Pacific Ocean. 16 



Briones' rancho bordered Bolinas Lagoon and included the mesa lands of 

 the Bolinas peninsula and the timber-rich gulches and steep grassy pastures of 

 Bolinas Ridge. The cattle he raised thrived and multiplied into the thousands. 

 The house which he, his wife, and five children lived in was partially adobe, 

 containing four rooms, two bedrooms, a sitting room and kitchen. Briones 

 received guests with liberal hospitality. He won the respect of his peers as "an 

 honest, upright and truthful man" who with few exceptions, "did not have an 

 enemy in the world." 17 



Although Briones managed well during the transition years of the 



''Bancroft, History 2: 730, 3: 704-706, 4: 669, 5: 669-670, 682-683; Dwinelle, Colonial History. 

 p. 62 and Addenda No. 22, p. 36; Brown, "Rancho Los Baulines," p. 4. 



'"Testimony of William A. Richardson in Land Case 189 ND, Baulenes, Bd. 21. July 24, 1854. 

 Transcript in 174SD, Los Baulenas, Bd. 8, No. 51, in Jacob N. Bowman, "Testimony of William 

 Antonio Richardson in Private Land Grant Cases 1850-1855," pp. 136-138, Bancroft Library, 

 University of California, Berkeley. 



17 Munro-Fraser, Marin County, p. 264. 



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