According to this small, unsourced, but published blurb;
“SAN DIEGO’s PORTUGUESE COLONY was founded in the 1860s when JOSEPH MEDEIROS and MANUEL F. MADRUGA came to work here as whalers.”
(*Source: San Diego EVENING TRIBUNE – Tuesday, February 13, 1951 – Pg. 30)
*Editorial Note: No more specific information was given beyond these two names and the 1860-1870 decade, and (so far) I’ve yet to find sourced documentation to “prove” this claim…, although I’m nevertheless intrigued that someone else felt strongly enough about the veracity of this detail to get it published in the local newspaper (!?). Stay tuned…