This collection consists mainly of letters and questionnaires written between 1904-1908 related to the inquiries of Mary Forman (1843-1918) about specific details of the history of mid 19th-century Los Angeles, California. General topics include Los Angeles history, California state and local government, crime, medicine, architecture, education, land allotment, churches, agriculture, Indians, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.

Mary Agnes Gray Forman (1843-1918) came to the Los Angeles, California, area as a child in 1851 from Covington, Kentucky, via El Paso, Texas. Her father was killed by Indians during the journey from Texas to California; her mother, Charlotte, married John Rowland in 1852. In 1862, Mary Agnes Gray married Charles Forman (1835-1919), a California and Nevada pioneer who was, among other things, the owner of a successful coal mine, a Major General of the Nevada Volunteers, a Knight Templar, a Deputy Secretary of State (of California), and a surveyor (in Los Angeles). After moving to Los Angeles from Nevada, Charles Forman founded the Kern River Company, which provided Los Angeles with electricity from the Kern River, and which later merged with the Pacific Light and Power Company, of which Forman became secretary. He was also a prominent member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

158 pieces in 2 boxes

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