1865 letter from Robert S. Baker and E.F. Beale to Romulo (also spelled Romolo) Pico, the son of Andres Pico, from LA County Recorder's Office, Miscellaneous, Book 3, Page 172-173.
This letter was recorded after Andres Pico had died on February 14, 1876, at the request of Francisco Pio "Chico" Forster (1841-1881). Francisco was the son of land baron John (Don Juan) Forster. John's wife Ysidora was a sister of Pio Pico, Andres' brother. So Francisco was the nephew of Andeas Pico. After Andres's death, there was a legal battle between Romulo and Pio Pico over Andres' probate.
San Fernando May 22, 1865.
Don Romolo Pico
San Fernando Mission
My Dear Romolo
We write to you because we wish you to explain our letter fully to your father and could not express ourselves sufficiently well in Spanish. On our arrival at the house of Hernandez, where we stopped for a few moments in accordance with our promise to you, we found him exceedingly incensed against your father and yourself, he having already suspected the valueless character of the mining title he had received from Don Andres. He declared himself the discoverer of the Spring, and the owner and occupant in actual possession and that he was advised by a lawyer to hold the whole. That he had shown it to you and Don Andres, and promised you a portion, and that in return you now intended to endeavour to claim the whole. He was exceedingly indignant and was fully determined to sell his rights to anyone who would buy them excepting yourselves, to whom he said he would not sell.
Under the circumstances, knowing the man would sell to some person immediately, and for our own sakes and your protection, we determined to purchase his title for we did not know how much or how little of his story to believe and there was not a moment of time to be lost as at any hour some one might buy of him in Los Angeles. In fact at that very time he was and had been negotiating a sale to a friend to whom he had given the refusal. We said at once it is better for us to act immediately. If his story is true, the title certainly is in him and we will buy it and share it with you and your father. If it is not true, there is no harm done to anyone. Should his title prove good, we will deed one half of the property at once to you and Don Andres, but if it is not good of course we do not expect anything of yours. We simply bought because the man would have sold immediately to some one else and if his title was good you would have lost all, whereas by our purchase we could protect you by giving you the half the property.
This man Hernandez claims that he has full and quiet possession of the place, and has had from the first, and that he and his partner came here at the ages of twelve and sixteen, which makes them American Citizens. If this is the case, the fact that you have recorded a claim to the land would not be of any value as no land unsurveyed by the United States Surveyor Generals Office, and subject to public entry can be held by merely making a record of it against an actual possession and occupancy. We put a number of questions to these men, Hernandez and Perea, and took them in writing with their answers and with a competent interpretor and if they have answered truthfully, it seems to us it is most fortunate for you that we have bought them out. We had no intention to do so, but it was evident that they had fully made up their minds to make immediate disposition of their rights and we purchased as much to save you as to benefit ourselves and if they have title you and Don Andres shall have half of what we have bought.
We beg you will come up immediately and see us on this important matter. We would have returned the same day to the Mission to see you, but we had to act on the moment with these men to prevent their selling to others and, that done, our business obliged us to make up for lost time by hurrying home.
Very truly your friends
Robt. S. Baker
E. F. Beale
A full true and correct copy of the original recorded at request of Francisco Fo[r]ster. March 22, 1876, at 35 minutes past 2 PM.
Charles E Miles
County Recorder
