El Monte in Pioneer Days
One of the Works Progress Administration projects in the 1930s was to research and write biographies of the pioneers of El Monte California. The WPA assigned this project the number of N-5740. Altogether,workers accumulated 118 biographies of men and women. These biographies range anywhere from 25 words to 1,000 words, the amount of content pursuant to available data at the researchers hands.
Compiled and Written for The City of El Monte
by The Works Progress Administration
Project N-5740
Supervisors: C.D. Maxon, Fred J. Brown, Lee Stoddard, Charles G. Mudd
- Alexander, John Henry
- Allgeyer, Henry
- Andrew, Charles G.
- Andrew, Tilghman D.
- Asher, Hugh L.
- Baker, Isaac Funk
- Barnes, William Penn
- Barton, Chester R.
- Barton, John W.
- Bell, Charles M.
- Bell, Thomas
- Bell, William C.
- Blackley, Charley
- Bryant, Barney S.
- Bunyard, Larkin S.
- Burdick, Herbert Alfred
- Burdick, Lester C.
- Callan, Jacob Mitchell
- Cave, Fredrick Payson
- Choate, Roger L.
- Cleminson, James
- Cleminson, James D.
- Cleminson, John
- Cogswell, Prescott F.
- Coleman, Joseph L.
- Cuddeback, Grant P.
- Cuddeback, Moses Clinton
- De Garmo, Rollie F.
- Dobyns, George W.
- Dodson, William R.
- Drake, Alfred C.
- Durfee, James D.
- Durfee, James R.
- Elliott, Alexander
- Elliott, William
- Farmer, Lewis
- Farrington, E.A.
- Forst, Frank A.
- Freer, Jackson
- Freer, James Bascom
- Freer, John H.
- Freer, Lee
- Freer, Martin Stucker
- Freer, Thomas
- Freer, William H.
- Fryer, Henry F.
- Fryer, R. C
- Garey, Thomas Andres
- Gibson, Fielding W.
- Guess, Henry
- Guess, John
- Haddox, John T.
- Hannon, J.C.
- Hartle, Charles H.
- Hayes, John
- Heath, Samuel M.
Samuel M. Heath, came to El Monte in 1851, and died here in 1876. He was noted for his kindness to poor and unfortunate immigrants. - Herbert, Fernando C.
- Hicks, Robert
- Hoyt, Albert H.
- James, William
- Jones, Edward B.
- Kallmeyer, G. H.
- Kerns, Albert Lee
- Killian, J. Scott
- Lambert, Thomas H.
- Lewis, David
- Lewis, Fannie
- Macy, Dr. Obed
- Maltman, Curtis C. M.
- Martin, William C.
- Martin, William Thomas
- Maxson, Benjamin Franklin
- Maxson, Benjamin F., Jr.
- Mayes, Dr. T. A.
- McGirk, John A.
- McMichael, Thomas Reece
- Metcalf, George
- Mills Brothers
- Mings, Braxton B.
- Olmsted, Perry
- Osmund, Michael
- Peck, George H., Jr.
- Peck, George, Sr.
- Prouty, Joseph
- Quinn, Michael F.
- Quinn, Richard
- Reed, Dr. Elgar A.
- Reeves, William A.
- Renfro, George B.
- Repetto, Timoteo
- Ritter, David I.
- Sappington, Francis P.
- Schmidt, Henry
- Selbach, E. W.
- Shirpser, Ephraim J.
- Shirpser, Solomon
- Shobe, C. B.
- Shugg, William
- Slack, Albert
- Slack, Arthur V.
- Slack, William
- Smith, Nicholas
- Snoddy, John B.
- Snoddy, William M.
- Steele, Christopher C.
- Stephenson, John C.
- Temple, Walter P.
- Thompson, Ira W.
- Thurman, Alexander Lamb
- Thurman, John
- Thurman, R. Monroe
- Thurman, Stephen D.
- Tibbet, Jonathan
- Tucker, John A.
- Vise, Annie Francis
- Wiggins, Archie N.
- Wiggins, Thomas Mayes
- Woods, Harry Johnstone
Source: C. D. Mayon, F. Brow, L. Stoddard, and C. Mudd; El Monte from the Pioneer Days. WPA Project No. N-5740, 1936. In record 19-187072. (California Historical Landmark No. 765: El Monte). On file at the SCCIC, CSU Fullerton.