Quote:
Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire
LAT July 8, 1906
What must have been one of the earliest houses in Brentwood... Assuming it did get built, does anyone have any idea where it might have been, or where it might still be? |
Here is a rather lengthy bio of Mr Parkyns: (sorry to those of you who don't like long things)
George Arthur Parkyns was born in Wales in 1859. He came to the US in 1875The 1910 Census has him and his wife Jennie living on San Vicente Blvd. in what is called in that census "West Gate Acres", on the street name side of the page and "West Gate Village" at the top of the sheet. The article attached to the picture above notes that it is near the Soldier's Home. The census notes this to be Malibu at that time. There is no street number given in the census.
Parkyns and his wife were married in Chicago in 1884. A Chicago directory lists him in 1885 as being a clerk for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.
They lived in the San Francisco area before coming to Los Angeles. He appears in 1897-1898 in Oakland and in San Francisco in 1901. In 1903 he is listed in a Los Angeles Directory as being an assistant General Freight and Passenger Agent for Southern Pacific with offices located at 261 S. Spring. His home at that time was noted to be at 620 Temple. (the 1902 directory has 920 Temple as his home address) (no houses of that vintage at either address at the present time) Interestingly, a 1902 San Francisco directory lists him but says that he "moved to Los Angeles"
There is a listing for Mr Parkyns in 1907 which notes him to be the Vice President of the Merchants Trust Company. While his residence is noted at that time to be in Brentwood, but once again, the street number is not given.
There is a picture of Mr Parkyns in the Los Angeles Herald, Volume 32, Number 204, 23 April 1905, where he is commenting in the article that there were a lot of people coming to California and that he did not think that it was needed to have a campaign to get the World's Fair in Los Angeles in order to bring more people here. This can be read in the California Digital Newspaper Collection online.
Mr Parkyns died in Los Angeles in 1918 at the age of 64. He and his wife are buried in the Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery in San Rafael, CA.