Bay Miwok - History

History

Documentation of Miwok peoples dates back as early as 1579 by a priest on a ship under the command of Francis Drake. Identification and references to the Bay Miwok tribes exists from California Mission records as early as 1794.

Spanish-American Franciscans set up Catholic missions in the Bay Area in the 1770s, but did not reach the Bay Miwok territory until 1794. Beginning in 1794, the Bay Miwoks began to migrate to the Franciscan missions, most to Mission San Francisco de Asís (of San Francisco), but some others to Mission San José (in present-day Fremont). All but the Ompin and Julpun in the northeast were at the missions by the end of 1806; the latter two groups moved to Mission San José during the 1810-1812 period. The first baptisms and emigration to the missions of each tribe were:

• In 1794-1795, 143 Saclans were baptized at the San Francisco Mission (25 more in later years).
• In 1799-1805, 152 Yrgins were baptized at the San Jose Mission.
• In 1801-1803, 77 Jalquins were baptized at the San Francisco Mission.
• In 1804, 127 Tatcans were baptized at San Francisco Mission.
• In 1805, 44 Volvons were baptized at the San Jose Mission; another 54 were baptized at Mission San Francisco over 1805-1806.
• In 1810, 146 Chupcans were baptized at the San Francisco Mission.
• In 1811, 103 Julpuns were baptized at the San Jose Mission; others fled to the east and north, and continued to come in for baptism until as late as 1827.
• In 1811, 99 Ompins were baptized at the San Jose Mission; 15 more were baptized in 1812.

Missionary linguist Felipe Arroyo de la Cuesta obtained the only extant Bay Miwok vocabulary during a visit to Mission San Francisco in 1821.