Villanueva, Miguel

Miguel Villanueva was born in Aincioa, Navarra, Spain, on July 4, 1872, to parents Francisco and Fillippa Galduros Villanueva. Raised on his family farm, he immigrated to California in January 1893 and spent six years learning sheep-growing under Miguel Urrutia in Bakersfield. He soon began ranging sheep in Fresno County around Coalinga and the Cantua, eventually establishing his own independent livestock business.

In Fresno County, Miguel partnered with Jose Larrea and later Florencio Serrano to build a large and successful sheep and grain operation. He bought 160 acres on the Cantua, sixty-two acres in Tranquillity for alfalfa, and a residential property at 761 S Street in Fresno. Married in Fresno to Manuela Yturri, a fellow native of Navarra, he raised nine children and became an original stockholder of the Growers National Bank of Fresno.