Our featured February 2nd speaker is Brendan Riley. He was raised in Vallejo and had a 39-year career as a writer and editor with The Associated Press. In retirement, he returned to his hometown and has produced two books focusing on the history of Vallejo, Mare Island and other areas of Solano County. He writes a "Solano Chronicles" history column for the Vallejo Times-Herald and has served on the boards of the Vallejo and Mare Island museums. Brendan also has spent many years researching his own family history.
Mr. Riley will be talking about General Vallejo and city of Vallejo history. California historian H.H. Bancroft once wrote that Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was not "strict in his relations with women." Today's researchers have provided the details: Vallejo fathered five children with women other than his wife, with whom he had 16 children. Vallejo's relationships reflected a socially stratified, male-dominated machismo culture of his time. It's an understatement to say that genealogists have a challenging time sorting out his family tree.
This meeting will NOT be on Zoom. The event location is at Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum at 734 Marin Street in Vallejo California. Masks are encouraged but not required. The meeting starts at 1:30 pm PST on Thursday afternoon February 2nd.