In preparation for this year's Latino Heritage Parade and jamaica I've been doing research that I hope will provide me with a sense of who was living in Pasadena from 1912-1932.
Because we don't have an existing Latino Heritage collection I get to explore the archives.
Among the more interesting tools available is Thurston's Directory. This is a precursor to what I knew as the Yellow and White Pages - combined. There are advertisements galore and information on residents' addresses. Depending on the year the Thurston's was published a listing might be - Verdugo, Philip, laborer, r. 213 W. Green. Pretty straightforward stuff, once you know that r. stands for renter and h stands for homeowner.
But then, there's a listing that reads - Villa, Raymond, h ns E. Walnut, 2 h e of N.Allen av, Lamanda Park. I translate this as ..north side of E. Walnut, two houses east of N. Allen av, Lamanda Park. Lots of information here incuding the fact that this is very likely the e end of town. We're visiting someone in an un-numbered part of Pasadena. Imagine. Lots of research went into this directory. I'm betting someone took the railcar or car to visit the area in person. Perhaps Mr. Thurston?
So who was Mr. Thurston? The short answer is, I don't know I couldn't find a great deal about him on the net. Given other deadlines I'm probably not going to do a lot of research about him.
Here's a bit of what I do know.
Albert G. Thursston lived in Pasadena and in the 1900 Census lives on Kirkwood Avenue with his wife, Eva T. and his daughter, Dorothy. His neighbors mostly speak English and hold jobs that include:
Schoolteacher, dressmaker, attorney at law, minister, farmer, stonecutter, day laborer, housekeeper, and nurseryman. His neighbors have migrated from over a dozen states as well as Germany, Mexico, England, Austria, and Canada.
The chart below is from Thurston's 1909 Directory. It is clear that in this era Pasadena was growing at a rate we're not used to thinking of when we think of the Good Ol' Days or the lives of those on Millionaire's Row. Thanks to Mr. Thurston, we have a sense of who some of those other folks were.
The chart below is from Thurston's 1909 Directory. It is clear that in this era Pasadena was growing at a rate we're not used to thinking of when we think of the Good Ol' Days or the lives of those on Millionaire's Row. Thanks to Mr. Thurston, we have a sense of who some of those other folks were.
See you in about a week.
Fantastic stuff, Roberta. I love this.
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating to be going through both the 1910 Census and Thurston's from about the same time. It's beginning to form a sense of folks places and positions, figuratively and literally, in the area and the time. Next week I'll share a bit about a woman who demanded i learn more about her based on a census entry.
DeleteAre you working at the Hale building, or the museum? I'm planning visits to both soon, maybe today.
ReplyDeleteI do most of my work at the Pasadena Museum of History. Haven't yet done much at the Hale Building.
DeleteI've sent you a message via email.
DeleteRoberta, I will follow your blog. Very interesting; though I am not a Pasadena resident. Hope it does not matter.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Rosy. I hope you enjoy the blog. I don't think anyone has to be from Pasadena to read it or get what I'm writing about. Sometimes I write about family (including animals) or heritage/history or whatever caught my fancy. I try to catch most of my typos and grammatical mistakes. I'm not always successful, but I try.
ReplyDelete