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Ea. “La California” | Page last modified: |
The Day-Books
El Piquete attic, 2008
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Ea. “La California” | Page last modified: |
The Day-Books
El Piquete attic, 2008
Available day-books
Click on a button below to see the diary for the year.
Transcribed & PDF files ;
PDF files only.
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We have transcribed the day-books verbatim — as written, without correction. All spelling and grammatical errors have been retained unchanged. To aid the reader with Spanglish terminology, unfamiliar names (people & places), and old measures (weights, distances, currencies, etc.) we have provided a set of: Reference Pages. We recommend you have these available — they will open in a separate window or tab.
See also the Livestock Brands described at the foot of this page.
1878-1887: The earliest diaries are missing, likely destroyed by damp and/or mice. However, a few selected quotes are found in Alfred’s Chronicles, written in 1938. CAUTION: The quotes are not verbatim, having been edited for content and grammar:
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The “La California” estancia day-books that have come down to us are a log of the activities at the estancia, covering the years 1888 through 1907. The main protagonists are the second generation Benitz family members and their key employees.
For many years, the day-books lay forgotten in a back room at La California, where rats and mice chewed them up. Discovered in the late 1970's, the diaries were moved to the attic at El Piquete. The first surviving day-book covers the year 1888; it is badly damaged along one side. The day-book for 1889 is missing, but the subsequent diaries beginning with 1890 are complete and undamaged, except for damp stains.
The first diaries are written entirely in English (with many Spanglish terms). Beginning in 1902, the daily entries are made in English or Spanish. By 1903, Spanish entries predominate. The entries are brief, most likely scribbled hurriedly at the end of each day. Spelling and punctuation suffered greatly; sentences are reduced to phrases, periods and commas are scattered at random. We have deduced from the content and handwriting that most of the early entries were made by John and Herman, some by William and Alfred, some by segundos (apprentices) and assistant managers such as Mr. Macintosh. Where possible, we have indicated the likely author.
Note on Language: The diaries’ principal authors began with the Benitz brothers William, Alfred, John, and Herman. They grew up in the city of Oakland (California) where they were not exposed to U.S. ranching terminology. Consequently, they learned the terminology of their new trade after arriving in Argentina. Unfamiliar with the correct English terms, they either resorted to Spanish (usually misspelt) or Spanglish – Spanish terms mangled into English, either learned from their English-speaking neighbors or invented by themselves.
They wrote in English because it was their first language upon arriving in Argentina; German was their second, and Spanish a distant third. They had been educated in English and German as children at Fort Ross, English at the schools in Oakland, and learned Spanish only after arriving in Argentina (in 1874). Already teenagers, they most likely learned Spanish “on the job” out of necessity for it would have been the language of the workmen. Apparently, it was not until 1902 that they were sufficiently fluent in Spanish to make entries entirely in Spanish – per the hand-writing, both English and Spanish entries were made by the same person.
~~~~~~ Livestock Brands ~~~~~~
Lists of Estancias
& Brands
(Alfred’s 1877 Diary)
Often spoken of as the “JB” brand it is actually a B with decorative hooks of equal size top & bottom – likely added to make the B unique. William Benitz registered it soon after he purchased La California, January 1875. This brand was also used by his son Alfred at Laguna Yacaré and Los Palmares (1884 to 1901). It is still the La California brand in 2020. It is the Nth entry in book Nº2 of the Santa Fé province registry of cattle brands.
Known as the "Dos Corazones" (Two Hearts) brand it was probably the first brand used at
La California. It is the Nth entry in book Nº1 of the Santa Fé province registry of cattle
brands. Because it is an older brand we suspect it was available and could be used while the registry office researched
their records to ensure the requested
brand was sufficiently unique (a slow manual process). In 1947, F. Malcolm Benitz took this brand for his use when he
established El Piquete on his share of La California; he also registered it in Corrientes province. In 2018, the
brand was sold with part of “El Piquete”, but retained in Corrientes.
© Peter Benitz (Benitz Family)