Early Monrovia Structures Research

John Devine

Birthdate:

The Clemenson family arrived in El Monte from San Bernardino in 1873, but they had been struggling in California for much longer than that.  In 1852, the family arrived in San Diego after a long wagon train trip from Missouri.  They then moved to San Bernardino.

James Devine Cleminson was born February 14, 1870, in San Bernardino.  His father, also named James, decides farming isn’t working well for the family, so they move to El Monte and meet the Gray family.   Eventually, James Devine becomes a partner with his father in ranching and developing a dairy farm. He also invests in real estate in Monrovia and continues to hold it for a number of years without building on it.

James D. Cleminson married Elizabeth Lulu Caldwell, granddaughter of Josiah Gray in 1893.

Besides the dairy farm, Cleminson branches out in other endeavors, becomes wealthier, rises to a position of prominence in El Monte, and buys 46 acres north of El Monte, just outside the Monrovia City Limits.  He dies, in El Monte, on July 27, 1939.

Sources

1860 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah.

1870 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah.

1880 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com.  Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah

1900 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah

1910 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah.

1920 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah.

1930 United States Federal Census.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Inc.  2009.  Provo, Utah.

California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.  2017. Lehi, UT, USA.

CaGenWebProject. http://www.cagenweb.com/re/losangeles/ElMonteBios/CLEMINSON_JamesD.htm

California, Death Index, 1905-1939.Ancestry.com.  Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.  2013.

California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images.

California Voter Registers: 1882, 1884, 1888:  California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 19; FHL Roll Number: 976928.

City of Monrovia Tax Records 1896-1901.  Monrovia City Hall.              415 S. Ivy Ave., Monrovia, California

U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.  Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com, Operations, Inc., 2011.  Provo, UT, USA.