Biography

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YCLD Biographies

Biography folders are filed alphabetical by the last name of the individual or family group. Original photographs found in these files are organized within the AHS-Rio Colorado Subject Photograph Collection. A significant number of individuals also have oral histories filed alphabetically within the YCLD Oral History Collection.  Maiden family surnames of women are noted in parenthesis when known and are useful in connecting family groups. Although the Biography Collection contains many obituaries, the files are not comprehensive nor do they contain all obituaries that may have been published in Yuma County newspapers.  This is an active collection intended for adding new materials. See container list.

Biography

B. Johnny Rube Collection

This collection was previously split between the AHS Yuma and Tucson branches. The materials have been reunited here.  The research files include many hard-to-find sources, aggregated news articles typed from microfilm, and bibliographies. The bulk of photographs are numbered and indexed. They were intended to be published in the History of Yuma Law Enforcement book.  See container list.

C. A. Lindeman Collection

This collection contains materials from Clarence Lindeman’s time in Yuma. This material includes an assortment of business correspondence, legal documents, and financial papers. Also included in this collection are papers from his work with the United War Work Campaign. The publications folder contains abstracts of a U.S. Supreme Court case. Files are organized alphabetically. See container list.

Charles Brinley Collection

The Biographical section contains mostly newspaper articles, and a few short biographical summaries about Charles Brinley. There is also a partial genealogy of the Brinley family. The certificates section has several documents appointing Charles Brinley to various positions, such as Commissioner of Deeds, Revenue Collector, Deputy Collector of Customs, and Vice Consul to Mexico. The Correspondence section contains letters and invitations mostly sent to Brinley but also a few that he wrote himself. Many of the letters have to do with Brinley’s various legal and political positions. The Documents section holds various assorted papers including a divorce case handled by the Territorial Assembly, petitions, and notes on laws. Also in this section are the 1863 minutes of several meetings about the creation of the town site of La Paz, Arizona.. The map section contains a map of the railways of southern California. The Postcard section has three advertisement postcards from the early 1900s, as well as a complimentary railway pass for the Prescott and Arizona Central Railway Company from 1891. The Certificates contain Brinley’s appointments to various offices 1868-1901. See container list.

Charlie Meadows Collection

This collection primarily consists of secondary source material, such as news clippings and short biographies. Among the notable papers of this collection are copies of several pages from Charlie’s diary, a copy of the 1916 edition of The Valley Hornet, and a copy of the Klondike News. See container list.

Clarissa Brown Winsor Collection

The collection consists of biographical files and two scrapbooks, 1940-1968, primarily documenting her career as the Yuma Territorial Prison Museum curator.  The scrapbooks contain numerous original photographs.  The collection also contains Anaconda Mining Company stock certificates under her name, and two articles written by her daughter, Eleanor Winsor Davis, about Clarissa Winsor’s parents at the Sahuarito Stage Station Ranch south of Tucson in the 1870s and 1880s. See container list.

Dick Wick Hall Collection

This collection is primarily composed of business correspondence involving Hall’s many financial ventures. The papers are largely focused in the early 1920s but extend back as far as Besides Hall’s papers, there are also papers belonging to Dick’s brother Ernest Hall, Wenden Justice of the Peace, Cecil Harrington, and the state border inspection station at Ehrenburg. The collection is divided into six series. See container list.

E. F. Sanguinetti Collection

Eugene Francis Sanguinetti was a prominent Yuma businessman. He was born on May 16, 1867 in Coulterville, California to Antone Sanguinetti and Rosa Camiccione. He came to Yuma at AGE 16, inspired to seek his fortune by the success of his neighbor’s eldest son. Soon after his arrival he was hired as a clerk by John Gandolfo, a local merchant and friend of the Sanguinetti family. Sanguinetti quickly rose from clerk to a full partner.  Soon thereafter he bought out Gandolfo to become the sole owner of the business. Sanguinetti quickly began expanding his business from a simple general store to a large commercial empire.  Organized into six series. Series I – Biographical, Series II – Correspondence, Series III – Financial Records, Series IV – Legal Documents, Series V – Memorabilia, Series VI – Scrapbooks. See container list.

Eiden-Harada Collection

Included in the papers of Albert Eiden are letters to Eiden from the Harada family, describing life in the Poston Japanese Internment Camp.  There is also correspondence to Eiden from their son, Takeshi Harada, a Japanese-American in the U. S. Army during World War II. See container list.

Frank Love Collection

The bulk of this collection consists of biographical files copied from Carl Hayden’s pioneer biographies, newspaper clippings, journal articles, microfilm and the internet.  These sources reflect a wide date range and provide the raw material for Frank Love’s newspaper columns, books, class room lectures and public presentations.  The mining materials are especially rich. Many folders include his notes and commentary about conflicting reports in the historical record, quality of the sources, or where alternative conclusions could be drawn. Note that this collection includes only a small sample of Frank Love’s newspaper columns, books, and magazine articles. There is comparatively little personal correspondence with his readers or with other historians.  Arranged in three series then alphabetical and chronologically within. Titles of folders largely represent the original.  Series I: Research Files – includes correspondence, interviews, notes, draft fragments.  Series II: Publications – consists of programs, articles, published materials by other authors or organizations. Series III: Writings – by Frank Love, by his students or were sent to him for feedback. See container list.

Helene Thomas Bennett Collection

Helene Alberta Thomas was born July 5, 1901 in Raton, New Mexico, and was the eldest child of Jonathan Bertie Thomas and Katherine Helen Wendel. Helene’s father was the engineer on a passenger train on the Santa Fe railroad when it wrecked in Earl, Colorado in 1905, killing him instantly. Helene received a degree in chemistry in 1922 from the University of Kanas. Her first job was with the Kansas State Food Lab. She then obtained a Master of Arts degree in Bacteriology in 1924 and went to work for the Kansas State Public Health Lab. The collection consists of biographical files, newspaper clippings, and correspondence, business papers from Thomas Laboratories and photographs, all with a date range of circa 1900-1986. See container list.

John and Anna Stofella Collection

John and Anna Stofella immigrated to the United States sometime in the mid to late 19th century from Europe (their precise point of origin differs between sources). John spent some time as a miner in California before opening a general store and saloon in Yuma. Built near the railroad, the saloon was a popular place for railroad workers.  In addition to his mercantile efforts, John Stofella also loaned money and took   mortgages as security.   John Stofella died in 1914 leaving the store to his wife, Anna, who managed the store until her own death in 1925. This collection contains materials concerning John and Anna Stofella focusing on the general store that was operated from 1899 to 1925. The biographical material includes photocopies of a Stofella family scrapbook, as well as materials relating to historical preservation of the Stofella store building. The financial folder contains an assortment of bills and checks. The collection also contains a number of ledgers used in the operation of the general store. Materials are organized by document type and chronologically within. See container list.

Jose Maria Redondo Family Collection

Jose Maria Redondo was an important figure in the early history of Yuma. He was born in Altar, Sonora, Mexico on March 30, 1830. There is little information on his early years in Mexico. In 1849 he left his family’s ranch in Sonora to find his fortune in the California gold rush. In California he met and married Piedad Contreras from a prominent Sonoran family.   The majority of this collection is biographical material relating to the Jose Maria Redondo family and their numerous relatives and descendants. In addition to the Redondo family, there is material related to the allied families of Balsz, Bossung, Contreras, Elias, Figueroa, and Ronstadt families. This genealogical material represents complex family relationships. Some are confusing due to re-usage of names in the same and subsequent generations. See also Yuma Biography Collection. This collection is arranged in six series. See container list.

Lavern Smith Collection

The center of this collection is a series of letters sent by Lavern Smith to his parents. All of Lavern’s letters date from before his deployment into combat, and discuss daily activities and concerns at the various camps where he was stationed. In addition to Lavern’s letters, there are letters sent to the Smiths by their nephews Albert Ferguson who served in the army in Belgium and France, and Alva Haigood who also served in Belgium. The collection also contains several letters from Lavern’s girlfriend, Peggy (last name unknown), to his family. Aside from the correspondence there is a reproduction of a book entitled “Combat History of the 79th Inf. Div.” This edition of the book was apparently printed in the war zone with captured German printers due to high demand and limited resources. See container list.

Marcell Moser Collection

This collection consists of materials concerning Marcell Moser and her immediate family. There are a variety of personal and business documents representing a long period of time including school records, awards and publications. In addition to the documents there are a large number of family photos spanning more than a century of Marcell’s family history. The majority of the photos are black and white images on photo paper. However there are also a few photos in older photographic mediums such as tintypes and an ambrotype. Other materials include a scrapbook from Marcell’s time at college and assorted memorabilia. The collection is arranged into 16 series. See container list.

Mary Elizabeth Post Collection

Mary Elizabeth Post was an influential school teacher in early Yuma. She was born in Elizabeth Town, New York on June 17th 1841. Her early years were marked with a love of learning, which was supported by her father who purportedly hired tutors to come to their home when the local school was not in session. By the time she was 15, Mary had begun to teach classes as well as take them. In 1862 Mary’s family moved to Iowa where she followed, teaching in a number of different schools around the state.  This collection is arranged in seven series: Series I: Biographical, Series II: Correspondence, Series III: Hall of Fame, Series IV: Manuscripts, Series V: Memorabilia, Series VI: Photos, Series VII: Publications. See container list.

Oatman Massacre Collection

The Oatman Massacre occurred in the early months (February or March) of 1851.   Royce Oatman and his family, pioneers looking to find a new life in California, were traveling towards Fort Yuma from Tucson. The family set out alone, having decided to press on when the pioneer caravan they were travelling with had opted to rest and resupply at a friendly Pima village. The Oatman family were attacked by a hostile tribe (the survivors identified the group as Tonto Apache, while others have said Yavapai or even Maricopa). The parents, eldest daughter, and two youngest children were killed in the attack. Two daughters, the 13 year old Olive and the seven year-old Mary were taken captive and the eldest son, Lorenzo was beaten and left for dead.  This collection contains secondary sources regarding the Oatman Massacre, Olive Oatman’s captivity and release. Also includes photocopies of original materials such Olive’s re-published lecture notes, and other original sources held by the Bancroft Library. See container list.

Ruth Foster Collection

“In the eyes of the world, I am probably called a loner because my family wants no part of living in the hot spot of Yuma…”  So writes Ruth Foster in a brief biographical statement written after a 33-year career teaching English at Yuma High School. She was born September 3, 1903 in Denver, Colorado – the eldest child of Isaiah W. Foster and Cora E. Mosteller.  She graduated from Colorado State Teachers’ College in 1927 and came to Arizona in 1928 where she taught in the Duncan and Marana high schools before coming to Yuma. Ruth received a master’s degree from the University of Arizona in 1937. She was a highly regarded educator who maintained strong connections to leaders in education state and nationwide.  One of her hobbies was writing which is reflected in her prolific correspondence. This collection is remarkable for documenting the professional career and the community service life of an unmarried woman that begins in the late 1920s and ends with the women’s rights movement. In a diary entry, Ruth Foster mentions cleaning out her early files to make room for more recent works in progress. This may explain why the bulk of her correspondence dates from the 1960s despite lifelong friendships and close ties to her brother and sister-in-law.  Because Ruth served in many professional and community leadership roles, the organizational work, community activism, and issue-based research are richly detailed. Original order is unknown. This collection is arranged in four series and chronologically within. Series I: Personal (biographical material); Series II: Correspondence (general, personal, professional) Series III:  Organizations; Series IV: Writings. See container list.

Thomas and Anna Molloy Collection

Thomas Molloy was an attorney in early Yuma. He was born in Ireland around 1863. He arrived in the United States in New York but soon found himself drawn west to Arizona where he settled for a time in Phoenix before coming to reside in Yuma in 1901. In 1903 Thomas was admitted to the Bar after passing his law examinations. During his time in Yuma he served as a prison guard, Clerk of the Court, and Yuma County Attorney. He was also present when President Taft signed the proclamation of Arizona’s statehood. He died of surgical complications in 1923. This collection contains papers concerning the lives of Thomas and Anna Molloy. The majority of the legal documents concern Thomas and a title company. Anna’s papers document her mining interests. The writings are a random selection of materials given to one or the other of the couple, including a humorous attempt to translate the rules of chess into legalese. The materials are organized alphabetically, then chronologically within. See container list.

U.S. Army Quartermaster Depot-Customhouse Collection

The bulk of the collection came from the estate of Mary Kerckhoff, who researched the Customhouse on behalf of the Yuma Assistance League. Other donated items have been added from a variety of sources. This collection is organized into three series: Series I – General: This series contains various documents concerning the Quartermaster Depot and related subjects. These documents include biographical material about various people related to the Depot, copies of ledgers from the time that the Depot was active, and copies of the deeds dating to the period in which the city of Yuma acquired the property. Also included in this series are materials concerning Mary Kerckhoff and her research into the history of the Customhouse. Series II – Publications: This series contains historic structure reports, cultural resource investigation reports, manuals, and interpretive plans. Series III – Media: This series contains media related to the Quartermaster Depot, including newspaper clippings, photographs, an audio interview and a video recording. See container list.

YCLD Biographies

Biography folders are filed alphabetical by the last name of the individual or family group. Original photographs found in these files are organized within the AHS-Rio Colorado Subject Photograph Collection. A significant number of individuals also have oral histories filed alphabetically within the YCLD Oral History Collection.  Maiden family surnames of women are noted in parenthesis when known and are useful in connecting family groups. Although the Biography Collection contains many obituaries, the files are not comprehensive nor do they contain all obituaries that may have been published in Yuma County newspapers.  This is an active collection intended for adding new materials. See container list.

A-Z Collections Index