You are correct. Ernest Marquez is interesting. He is the author of a number of historical books about the Los Angeles/Santa Monica/Malibu area. He's the Historian of La Senora Research Institute www.lasenora.org. His primary interests lie with the history of the late 1700s through 1870.

A couple of corrections. He does not live on land that used to be the Rancho. That grant was awarded to his great grandparents. He does own the small 1840s family cemetery (the sole private cemetary of that era extant in Los Angeles County.)

That cemetery is one of three parcels of the 1839 Mexican Land Grant, Rancho Boca de Santa Monica.

La Senora Research Institute is also located on that former Rancho. It has two properties:
First: the exclusive use of a Mexican Hacienda (not a Rancho Era structure but built in the 1920s by Mexican opera star Jose Mojica). That almost 2-acres of botanical gardens and adobe structures does contain three Rancho era structures. A poorly (remodeled?) Day Stable, the kiln and workshops, and the Chapel.

Recently - in conjunction with getting Cultural Heritage Landmarking on a parcel between the street and the above referenced cemetery, La Senora purchased that land and is in the process of creating "Santuario San Lorenzo" an early Alta California native garden to serve as the entrance to the Cemetery for our education programs. (By the way, on our website you'll note that one of our education programs won the California Governor's Award in 2009.)