Research Guides: Los Angeles History and Culture in Library Special Collections: Civic Leaders and Prominent Los Angeles Families

Resources and Search Strategies

Family papers and papers of Los Angeles’s early civic leaders document Los Angeles’s growth as a city and the development of many of its institutions.

Finding aids for collections related to civic leaders and prominent Los Angeles families can be found in the Online Archive of California

Civic Leaders

Dorothy Chandler Papers (Collection 1421)
Dorothy Buffum Chandler (1901-1997) was the wife of Los Angeles Times owner Norman Chandler, a member of the University of California Board of Regents, and an active participants in Los Angeles civic and artistic life. The collection consists of correspondence and papers related to her involvement with the Los Angeles Music Center, the Southern California Symphony Association, Center Theater Group of Los Angeles, and the Hollywood Bowl Association.
T. Perceval Gerson Papers (Collection 724)
T. Perceval Gerson (1872-1960) was a physician, a member of the cultural conversation group known as the Severance Club, founder of the Hollywood Bowl Association, and director of the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. The collection consists of correspondence, papers, journals, newspaper clippings, photographs, and memorabilia relating to those activities and to his interests in various social and political issues

Prominent Los Angeles Families

Griffith Family Papers (Collection 2060)
Griffith Jenkins Griffith (1850-1919) was an industrialist and real estate developer. The collection contains manuscripts, documents, photographs, glass negatives, newspapers, maps, clippings, magazines, books, and miscellaneous memorabilia of the Griffith family.
Jones Family Papers (Collection 208)
The Jones and Conger families were among the pioneers of California and Nevada. Thomas Conger became state senator in California. Conger's son-in-law, John P. Jones, became senator in Nevada and was the founder of Santa Monica. Jones's son, Roy Jones, helped organize the Ramina corporation, one of the most prominent land development companies in Northern and Southern California.
Powell Family Papers, 1836-1961 (Collection 230)
George Harold Powell was a horticulturist and general manager of the California Fruit Exchange. The bulk of this collection is made up of the papers and correspondence of him and his wife, Gertrude Clark Powell.
Wilshire Family Papers, 1898-1985 (Collection 231)
Henry Gaylord Wilshire (1861-1927) was a real estate developer but also a publisher and socialist. The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, notes, books, pamphlets, magazines, personal papers, photographs and printed materials relating to Henry Gaylord Wilshire, his wife Mary McReynolds Wilshire, and their son Logan Gaylord Wilshire.