Her surname came from the Bishop of Toledo, a name bestowed on orphans brought into Alta California in 1800 to be distributed among settler families in pueblos like Monterey, Santa Baraba, and San Diego. Lorenzana lived with the Carillos, a military family in Santa Barbara, until they were reassigned to San Diego. Growing into a literate young woman; Lorenzana relocated to the mission in San Diego where she became a seamstress, cared for patients in the infirmary, taught students, supervised nursing and the care of the aged. She organized food sales to Indians and soldiers, and trained Indian women to sew and launder clothes. Her experiences were recorded in a series of interviews by H.H. Bancroft in the late 1800s. She witnessed the takeover of the region by U.S. troops and lamented the irrevocable loss of her land following the invasion.

LINKS
San Diego Historical Society The Journal of San Diego History Apolinaria Lorenzana memorias Images