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Documents for the History of the Daniel Freeman Family and the Rancho Centinela.
CSLA-33
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Title: Documents for the History of the Daniel Freeman Family and the Rancho Centinela. CSLA-33
Dates: 1792-1995 (dates of the originals)
Collection number: CSLA-33
Collector:
Forsyth, Betty
Collection Size:
8 archival document boxes; 1 oversize box; 1 flat file
Repository:
Loyola Marymount University. Library. Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90045-2659
Abstract: This collection consists of primary sources (mostly copies) and notes that Betty Forsyth (d. 2006) compiled on the Daniel
Freeman family, their Rancho Centinela, and local towns, such as Inglewood, California.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Spanish
Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount
University.
Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility
for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or
executors.
[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Documents for the History of the Daniel Freeman Family and
the Rancho Centinela, CSLA-33, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount
University.
Forsyth family gift. Accession number: 2006.27
The Canadian businessman and lawyer Daniel Freeman (1837-1918) came with his family to Los Angeles area in 1873, where the
Rancho Centinela became the center of the family's fortune. His wife Catherine leased the Ranchos Aguaje de la Centinela and
Sausal Redondo from Sir Robert Burnett of Scotland in 1873--the name Rancho Centinela was that given to the combination of
the two ranchos under their joint ownership by Sir Robert. During Mexican rule in California the ranches had been owned by
members of the Avila and Machado families. After his wife's death in 1874, Daniel Freeman assumed the lease, eventually buying
the ranchos. The Centinela Adobe was the well-known ranch house of Freeman's rancho. From his rancho holdings came the foundation
of Daniel Freeman's business interests, and from them the town of Inglewood would also be birthed, with his indirect involvement.
Betty Forsyth (d. 2006), of Manhattan Beach, was an active member of the Centinela Valley Historical Society, an organization
concerned with the local history of Westchester, El Segundo, and Inglewood, California. During the over twenty year association
with this organization Ms. Forsyth collected primary sources, mostly copies, related to these area's early history, especially
the Ranchos Centinela and la Ballona, and the families most intimately acquainted with them, the Machados and the Freemans.
On her death, her family donated these materials to Loyola Marymount University, with Mike Engh, S. J., serving as the intermediary.
The materials were divided into two collections based on subject matter, one of which is this collection on the Daniel Freeman
family and their Rancho Centinela, CSLA-33: Documents for the History of the Daniel Freeman Family and the Rancho Centinela.
CSLA-33 consists of materials related to the family history of the Daniel Freeman family; the family's ranch, the Rancho Centinela;
Freeman business enterprises; and the local towns which grew around and on the rancho. The Canadian businessman and lawyer
Daniel Freeman (1837-1918) came with his family to Los Angeles area in 1873, where the Rancho Centinela became the center
of the family's fortune. His wife Catherine leased the Ranchos Aguaje de la Centinela and Sausal Redondo from Sir Robert Burnett
of Scotland in 1873--the name Rancho Centinela was that given to the combination of the two ranchos under their joint ownership
by Sir Robert. (During Mexican rule in California the ranches had been owned by members of the Avila and Machado families.)
After his wife's death in 1874, Daniel Freeman assumed the lease, eventually buying the ranchos. The Centinela Adobe was the
well-known ranch house of Freeman's rancho. From his rancho holdings came the foundation of Daniel Freeman's business interests,
and from them the town of Inglewood would also be birthed, with his indirect involvement.
Genealogies, newspaper and journal articles, photographs, personal reminiscences, research notes, and business records make
up the collection. Much material is copies that Betty Forsyth made for her research and for the records of the Centinela Valley
Historical Society. This is especially true of photographs and of business records. Thus, in the box and folder list, the
date given is that for the original source from which copies were made.
The holdings of the Freeman Family and Rancho Centinela collection have been organized according to subject matter or topic
into series, each with a box and folder list providing indices to the series' holdings. The original order of the materials
was not clearly discernible.
- Series 1: Daniel Freeman Family Records
- Series 2: Freeman Business Companies and Related Companies
- Series 3: Rancho Centinela and Centinela Adobe
- Series 4: Cities
- Series 5: Research Notes and Miscellany
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Freeman, Daniel, 1837-1918
Sausal Redondo Rancho (Calif.)
Rancho La Centinela (Calif.)
Real estate development -- California, Southern -- History -- Sources
Inglewood (Calif.) -- History -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Real estate developers -- California, Southern -- Biography -- Sources
Land titles -- California -- Los Angeles County
Land titles -- California -- Inglewood
Ranches -- California, Southern -- History -- 19th century -- Sources