# Julian Ames > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Julian_Ames > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Julian_Ames.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Ames > Source revision: 1347874654 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American politician (1807–1866)}} {{Use American English|date=October 2025}} {{no footnotes|date=November 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Jesse Wilbur Ames | image = File:Julian_Ames_1807_-_1866_headstone.jpg | caption = Julian Ames's headstone at Pioneer Park. | birth_name = Jesse Julian Ames | birth_date = 1807 | birth_place = [Amesbury, Massachusetts](/source/Amesbury%2C_Massachusetts), U.S.{{fact|date=April 2026}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1866|2|1|1807|1|1}}{{fact|date=April 2026}} | burial_place = [Calvary Cemetery, San Diego](/source/Pioneer_Park_(San_Diego)) | occupation = Sailor, Pioneer | spouse = Perfecta Espiñosa | children = Matilda ("Mary"), Nievas, Francisco ("Frank"), Samuel, Daniel, José | module = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | office = [President of the Board of Trustees of San Diego](/source/Mayor_of_San_Diego) | term_start = 1853 | term_end = 1855 }} | website = }} '''Jesse Wilbur Ames''' (1807 – February 1866), also known as '''Juliano Ames''', was a [San Diego](/source/San_Diego) pioneer. He was born in [Amesbury, Massachusetts](/source/Amesbury%2C_Massachusetts){{fact|date=April 2026}} but arrived as a sailor in [San Diego](/source/San_Diego) in 1820, from [Plainfield, Connecticut](/source/Plainfield%2C_Connecticut). Captain Ames was baptized into the [Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) faith as '''Jesse Julian Ames''', which allowed him to own property and other rights. He married Perfecta Espiñosa in 1838 at [Mission San Diego de Alcala](/source/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcala). She was born 1821 in [La Paz, Baja California, Mexico](/source/La_Paz%2C_Baja_California_Sur), the daughter of Pusamino Espiñosa, an officer in the Spanish Army and commander at La Paz who went to San Diego in 1820. They had daughters, Matilda ("Mary") and Nievas, and sons Francisco ("Frank"), Samuel, Daniel, and José. In 1846, when the [Mexican–American War](/source/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War) broke out, he was on an otter hunting expedition on the [Baja California](/source/Baja_California_Sur) coast, with [Philip Crosthwaite](/source/Philip_Crosthwaite), John Post, John C. Stewart, and William Curley. Learning of the war at the [Misión Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Viñacado](/source/Misi%C3%B3n_Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_del_Sant%C3%ADsimo_Rosario_de_Vi%C3%B1acado) near [El Rosario, Baja California](/source/El_Rosario%2C_Baja_California), they all returned to San Diego and served in the [Battle of San Pasqual](/source/Battle_of_San_Pasqual). They reached the town late at night, and were wakened by a loud knock on the door early in the morning. It was Captain Gillespie, who said: "There can be no neutrals in this country; you must either enlist for three months (as the war will probably be over by that time), or be imprisoned on the Congress." Ames volunteered in the war. Ames was [president of the board of trustees for San Diego](/source/List_of_mayors_of_San_Diego%2C_California) during 1853–1855, when the city had no mayoral form of government. Captain Ames bought [Rancho Cañada de los Coches](/source/Rancho_Ca%C3%B1ada_de_los_Coches) in 1859 from the Catholic Church, which served as a stop for the [San Antonio](/source/San_Antonio%2C_Texas)–San Diego mail, nicknamed the "Jackass Mail". The ranch was located about 25 miles east of San Diego. Ames planted a double cactus hedge around the ranch house and raised sheep and cattle. Later, he built one of the first grist (flour) mills in the county and built a dam to supply his ranch with reliable water. Ames also made the best soap south of Los Angeles, opened a blacksmith shop, and made lime for whitewash. At his ranch, Ames would throw lavish fiestas that drew guests as far away as [Santa Barbara](/source/Santa_Barbara%2C_California) and Los Angeles. Ames's adobe home was destroyed in the 1880s by vandals who thought valuables were hidden in it. The ruins were removed around 1925. Ames died in 1866 while getting his wagon out of the mud. He is buried in the Calvary Cemetery, now Calvary Memorial [Pioneer Park](/source/Pioneer_Park_(San_Diego)) in [Mission Hills](/source/Mission_Hills%2C_San_Diego). His wife Perfecta died 1890 and also is buried there. ==References== * ''Louis Rose: San Diego's First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur'' by Donald H. Harrison (2004). {{ISBN|0-932653-68-5}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160314054056/http://www.sandiegohistory.org/books/smythe/2-12.htm Biography (San Diego Historical Society)] from Smythe's ''History of San Diego'', pp. 285–286 * Text of San Diego Historic site 425, La Canada de los Coches Rancho * 1850 Census, San Diego, California, p. 280A {{S-start}} {{Succession box | title = President of the [San Diego Board of Trustees](/source/Mayor_of_San_Diego) | years = 1855–1856 | before = [Louis Rose](/source/Louis_Rose) | after = [Thomas Collins](/source/Thomas_Collins_(San_Diego_politician)) }} {{S-end}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Julian}} Category:1807 births Category:1866 deaths Category:Sailors from Massachusetts Category:19th-century people from North Carolina Category:Date of birth missing Category:19th-century American sailors Category:People from Amesbury, Massachusetts Category:American emigrants to Mexico Category:Mayors of San Diego Category:Politicians from San Diego --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Julian Ames](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Ames) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Ames?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.