Romualdo Pacheco

José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco (October 31, 1831 – January 23, 1899) was a Californio statesman and diplomat. A Republican, he is best known as the only Hispanic person to serve as Governor of California since the American Conquest of California, and as the first Latino to represent a state in the U.S. Congress. Pacheco was elected and appointed to various state, federal, and diplomatic offices throughout his more than thirty-year career, including serving as a California State Treasurer, California State Senator, and three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life
José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco was a Californio, born in Santa Barbara, California, to a family with prominent connections. His father, José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, had moved to Alta California from Guanajuato in 1825, and served as an aide to José María de Echeandía during his tenure as Governor of Alta California. Pacheco's father was killed at the Battle of Cahuenga Pass in 1831, when the young Romualdo was just five weeks old. His father had shot José María Avila, who had attacked Alta California Governor Manuel Victoria with a lance, but died when Avila's lance struck him.

His mother, María Ramona Carrillo de Pacheco, was a sister-in-law of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and a daughter of María Ygnacia López de Carrillo, the grantee of Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa. After the death of his father, Romualdo's mother married Captain John D. Wilson, a Scotsman, who sent Pacheco to Honolulu, Hawaii, for his education.

At age twelve, Pacheco began an apprenticeship aboard a trading vessel. The Mexican–American War broke out two years later, and he was briefly held by American forces during the Conquest of California while on one trip in July 1846, as he brought cargo to Yerba Buena (modern day San Francisco). The ship he was on was searched, and he made an oath of allegiance to the United States and was released.

Politics
Pacheco's association with a prominent family in the state helped him to gain support as he entered politics in the 1850s. He was also well respected by Anglos coming into the area. Early in his political career in the 1850s, he was a Democrat. He became affiliated with the National Union Party in the 1860s, but was elected to most of his positions as a candidate for the Republican Party.

In 1853, at age 22, Pacheco successfully sought the position of judge in San Luis Obispo County. Pacheco was elected to the state senate in 1857, succeeded his cousin Pablo de la Guerra. He was re-elected two times, serving until 1863. During the American Civil War Pacheco was appointed the rank of brigadier general by Governor Leland Stanford and directed to disarm military companies in the Los Angeles area that were not loyal to the Union.

Pacheco served as state treasurer from 1863 to 1867, then returned to the State Senate until becoming lieutenant governor. He served as Lieutenant Governor of California under Newton Booth until Booth was elected to the United States Senate in 1875. Pacheco then served as governor from February 27 to December 9, 1875, when Lieutenant Governor William Irwin, winner in the September elections that year, was inaugurated.

After briefly serving as governor, Pacheco ran for a U.S. House seat, defeating incumbent Peter D. Wigginton by just one vote. Wigginton contested the election, eventually forcing Pacheco to leave in 1878 when the House Committee on Elections refused Pacheco's certificate of election. Returning to California, he went into business until winning a House seat again in September 1879. He was reelected in 1880.

Diplomacy and death
After leaving Congress, Pacheco lived on a cattle ranch in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila for five years until he was appointed as U.S. Minister to various countries in Central America in 1890.

He returned to California in 1893, and he died in Oakland, at the home of his brother-in-law, in 1899. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery.

Personal life
On October 31, 1863, he married Mary McIntire, a 22-year-old playwright. They had three children, Maybella Ramona, Romualdo, and Enrique.

Legacy
Pacheco not only was the first Hispanic Governor of California, but (as of 2024) the only one in California's history as a state. He is also remembered for being the first Latino to represent a state in the U.S. House of Representatives. Latinos had served as non-voting delegates of territories before, but Pacheco was the first Latino member of Congress with full voting rights.

He was the last Hispanic Republican elected to represent California in the U.S. Congress until Mike Garcia was elected to represent the 25th district in a special election in May 2020, although Frank Coombs, whose mother was Mexican, was a Republican U.S. representative from California from 1901 to 1903, and Mexican-American U.S. Representative Matthew G. Martínez switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party on July 27, 2000 and served in Congress as a Republican until his term concluded on January 3, 2001.