Jacobo Sedelmayr (1702–1779) was a Jesuitmissionary in New Spain, known for his explorations of the Pimería Alta.
Biography
Sedelmayr was born in Bavaria in 1702,[1] and entered the Society of Jesus in 1722.[2] He embarked from El Puerto de Santa María for Mexico on November 22, 1735, along with more than forty other Jesuits. His ship, the Santa Rosa, ran aground off San Juan de Ulúa on February 18, 1736, and the group of Jesuits proceeded on land to Mexico City by way of Pueblo de Los Ángeles.[3]
Sedelmayr conducted extensive explorations of O'odham territory, making eight expeditions between 1737 and 1754.[5][6] There he encountered the Maricopa and Halchidhoma, whom he hoped to bring into reductions.[6][7] In his 1748 journey up the Colorado River, he reached its junction with Bill Williams River, despite encounters with unfriendly Yuma.[5][3] He believed there were mercury deposits along the upper Colorado.[5] Sedelmayr also explored the entire length of the Gila River,[1][5] and advocated for expanding the Spanish missions all the way to its shores.[1]
^ abcdeNaylor, Thomas H.; Polzer, Charles W. (1986). The Presidio and Militia on the Northern Frontier of New Spain: pt. 1. The Californias and Sinaloa-Sonora, 1700-1765. University of Arizona Press. p. 420. ISBN978-0-8165-1692-6.
^ abBennett, Peter S.; Johnson, R. Roy; McCarthy, Michael M (1982). Special Report No. 10. University of California, Berkeley. p. 14.
^ abcde"Jacobo Sedelmayr". www.nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
^ abcdMapp, Paul W. (1 December 2012). The Elusive West and the Contest for Empire, 1713-1763. UNC Press Books. pp. 33, 84. ISBN978-0-8078-3894-5.
^ abMartínez, Ignacio (22 October 2019). The Intimate Frontier: Friendship and Civil Society in Northern New Spain. University of Arizona Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN978-0-8165-4064-8.
^Braatz, Timothy (1 January 2003). Surviving Conquest: A History of the Yavapai Peoples. U of Nebraska Press. p. 59. ISBN978-0-8032-1331-9.