Jonathan Temple

Jonathan Temple
Born	August 14, 1796 Reading, Massachusetts
Died	May 31, 1866 San Francisco, California
Spouse(s)	Rafaela Cota

Jonathan Temple, or Don Juan Temple, (August 14, 1796 – May 31, 1866) came to Mexican California in 1828 and became a large California rancho landowner, cattle rancher, and one of the region's wealthiest citizens.

Jonathan Temple was born in Reading, Massachusetts, to Jonathan Temple (Sr.) and Lucinda Pratt. From at least 1823, Temple was a merchant living in the Hawaiian Islands. In 1827 he migrated to the Pueblo de San Diego in Mexican Alta California, where he was baptized a Roman Catholic. In 1828 Temple moved north to the Pueblo de Los Ángeles, where he opened the settlement's first store, a business he operated for almost thirty years. His younger brother. Francisco P. Temple. joined him there later.

Jonathan Temple married Rafaela Cota (1812–1887) in 1830, and they had one daughter, Francisca Temple (1831–1893). In 1836, Temple hosted the first vigilance committee to form in California at his Los Ángeles residence. The committee later executed two lovers accused of the murder of the woman's husband, thereby committing the first lynching in California.

In 1843, he purchased Rancho Los Cerritos from his wife's relatives, the Cota family. His 1844 adobe survives as part of the Los Cerritos Ranch House National Historic Landmark site. Both Temple and his ranch house played roles in the Mexican-American War. Temple created a thriving cattle ranch and prospered, becoming after Abel Stearns, the wealthiest man in post-statehood Los Angeles County.

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