James Reavis - Second Claim

Second Claim

Before the collapse of his first claim, Reavis realized the complex series of conveyances on which he based his claim to the Peralta grant represented a serious weakness to his plans. To overcome this weakness Reavis had begun the work to establish an heiress to the grant while he was still preparing his first claim.

Reavis claimed to have heard rumors of a Peralta descendant as early as his 1875 arrival in California. It was not until 1877 however that he met the heiress. While traveling on a train, he spotted a young lady who bore a striking resemblance to the second baroness. After inquiring about her identity and background, and learning she knew of the name Maso, Reavis told her that she was most likely the heiress to a large fortune. As the young lady had no papers establishing her identity, it was left to Reavis to find them. The pair exchanged letters with each other until the end of 1882. At that time Reavis visited her in Knights Landing, California, where she worked as a house servant, and proposed marriage. The couple were married in a civil ceremony dated December 31, 1882. Following their marriage, Reavis enrolled his new bride in a convent school to train her in the skills expected of a well-born lady.

After his first claim collapsed, Reavis returned to California to collect letters of introduction to influential New Yorkers from his friends and business contacts. To these he added a number of Spanish contacts from his association with Spanish reporter Carlos Satana and a friendship with the Spanish consul stationed in San Francisco. Reavis then traveled with his wife, who was presented as his ward, to New York. There he met with persons such as U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling, former U.S. Congressman Dwight Townsend, Henry Porter of the American Bank Note Company, and Hector de Castro. John W. Mackay was so impressed by Reavis' papers that he agreed to finance a search of the Spanish archives for additional documents. To this end, Mackay provided him with a US$500/month stipend, an amount sufficient for the Reavis party to travel in a manner consistent with an influential family.

In December 1885, the Reavis party sailed for Europe. Upon reaching Spain, Reavis began searching archives in Madrid and Seville for information related to the second Baron and his descendants. It took several months of searching before Don Jesus Miguel's will leaving his estate to Sophia was located. In addition to the various documents he located in the archives, Reavis also acquired several portrait paintings and daguerreotype photographs of individuals he claimed to have been his wife's ancestors. Spanish members of the Peralta and Ibarras, believing Sophia was a long-lost relative, entertained Reavis' wife while he was performing his search. After he located the desired papers, Reavis and his wife publicly announced their marriage and recorded their marriage contract with the United States legation's chargé d'affaires. The announcement was met with a new round of celebrations before the couple left Spain to make a tour of Mediterranean ports. The couple did not return to the United States till November 1886.

Upon his return, Reavis visited New York to renew his acquaintances with various political and business leaders. Showing his recently acquired documents to these luminaries netted Reavis several useful endorsements. James Broadhead, who in 1884 believed the claim would be denied, followed his examination by proclaiming, "The Peralta claim has been submitted to Mr. Conkling, Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. Hurd who have pronounced it good. I have associated with them in the case and my opinion coincides with theirs. Mr. J. Addison Reavis is the gentleman who is pushing the claim and his is a man of remarkable energy and persistence." Roscoe Conkling in turn stated "I can say, however, that having been consulted ... and having made a somewhat careful examination of the ancient papers and other papers produces, of which there are many, and on the facts and history of the case, I find they all go to show Mrs. Reavis to be the person she believes herself to be, namely the lineal descendant of the original grantee." In addition to the endorsement, Conkling introduced Reavis to Robert G. Ingersoll. Ingersoll was so impressed by Peralta papers that he agreed to represent Reavis in his efforts to have the new claim confirmed.

From New York the Reavis party went to California. There Reavis obtained an affidavit from Alfred Sherwood certifying he had known Sophia and her parents since her birth, she had been born in San Diego County, California, and that she had been left in the custody of Don Jose R. C. Maso following the death of her mother and twin brother when her father had need to travel to Spain.

By the time Reavis returned to Arizona Territory in August 1887 he was using the name "James Addison Peralta-Reavis". He went to Tucson to file a new claim on behalf of his wife, Doña Sophia Micaela Maso Reavis y Peralta de la Córdoba, third Baroness of Arizona. Before making the formal filing, Reavis hired a carriage and took a trip to the mountains south of Phoenix. During this trip he and his wife happened across the "Inicial Monument" that marked her great-grandfather's land.

Formal filing of the second claim occurred on September 2, 1887. Included with the official copies and photographs of original wills and codicils was a photograph of the third Baroness standing before the "Inicial Monument". With the discovery of this marker, the claim was shifted 8 miles (13 km) south. To address possible inconsistencies with his original claim, Reavis claimed he suspected some of Willing's papers to be forgeries, but upon advice of his lawyers had filed his initial claim to initially establish the grant before U.S. authorities and to buy time while searching for proof of his wife's identity. Reavis also posted a US$10,000 deposit to assure an official survey of the grant. Surveyor General John Hise refused to allow the survey as it would imply government approval of the claim.