Finding aid for Camarillo family papers, 1852-1952 MVC070
Finding aid prepared by Krystell Jimenez, 2021.
This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura
County Community Foundation.
Museum of Ventura County
July 2021
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Ventura County
Title: Camarillo family papers
Identifier/Call Number: MVC070
Physical Description:
3.85 Cubic Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1852-1952
Abstract: The Camarillo family of Ventura County traces its heritage back to Juan Camarillo, Sr. Born on May 27, 1812 in Mexico City
to Luis and Maria Camarillo, Juan came to California with the Hijar-Padres Expedition in 1834. He married Martina H. Hernandez,
the great-granddaughter of Jose Francisco Ortega, in 1840 or 1841 at the Santa Barbara Mission. They had 14 children, but
only six survived: Adolfo, Juan, Adelaida, Aldegunda, Maria, and Arcadia. Juan Camarillo, Sr. died in 1880, leaving ownership
of the land to his wife. Martina owned the land, which was managed primarily by her son Adolfo, until her death on April 15,
1898. Adolfo, born on October 29, 1864 in Ventura, took over management of the family ranch at the age of 16, following the
death of his father. He oversaw the ranch's transition from cattle to primarily lima beans, citrus, and walnuts. His son,
Frank A. Camarillo, oversaw the family's business until his death in 1952. The collection includes Adolfo Camarillo's diaries,
correspondence, photographs, deeds, family records, business records, and ephemera.
Physical Location: Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior
to your visit.
Language of Material: Materials are primarily in English but include materials in Spanish
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access materials must be made in advance by contacting the
Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, have
not been determined. Contact the Research Library for further information: library@venturamuseum.org
[Identification of item], Camarillo family papers, (Collection MVC070), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura,
California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Fitzgerald; gift; 1989. Sewell; gift; 1995.
Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2021.
Our collections are processed using MPLP methods so that we can prioritize access for users and identify potential priorities
for more detailed processing. If while using our collections you think there is something that should be added or amended
in the finding aid, we welcome your input. You can notify staff in the reading room or send us an email at library@venturamuseum.org.
Be sure to include the collection number and name and the box number you were working with in your email.
The Camarillo family of Ventura County traces its heritage back to Juan Camarillo, Sr. Born on May 27, 1812 in Mexico City
to Luis and Maria Camarillo, Juan came to California with the Hijar-Padres Expedition in 1834. He married Martina H. Hernandez,
the great-granddaughter of Jose Francisco Ortega, in 1840 or 1841 at the Santa Barbara Mission. They had 14 children, but
only six survived: Adolfo, Juan, Adelaida, Aldegunda, Maria, and Arcadia. He arrived in Ventura in 1857, began acquiring land,
and eventually came to own all of Rancho Calleguas, which he purchased from the Ruiz family. He died on December 4, 1880,
and passed the land onto wife, Martina.
Martina owned the land, which was managed primarily by her son Adolfo, until her death on April 15, 1898. Adolfo, born on
October 29, 1864 in Ventura, took over management of the family ranch at the age of 16, following the death of his father.
He oversaw the ranch's transition from cattle to primarily lima beans, citrus, and walnuts. He married Isabella Menchaca in
January 1888. Following a fire in 1892, Adolfo built the large-frame house that still sits on the ranch. He was a devout Catholic
and served on numerous political bodies within the county. He also became famous for breeding white Arabian-Morgan horses
that became known as Camarillo horses. He died on December 10, 1958 at the age of 94.
Juan E. Camarillo, Jr. was born on April 4, 1867 in Ventura. He never married. Juan was also known as a devout Catholic. He
donated land for St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, and in 1913 he commissioned the construction of St. Mary Magdalene Memorial
Chapel in Camarillo. He moved to Argentina in 1916, where he lived for around 15 years, before returning to Ventura. He died
at his ranch house on August 21, 1936.
In 1908 there was a family dispute over Martina's will and the sisters filed a lawsuit. Arcadia testified in court that their
mother had wanted to destroy her former will and write a new one in which all her children had equal rights to the ranch,
but their brother Adolfo had tricked Martina and intentionally mistranslated the Spanish "hijos" to mean only sons rather
than children. Arcadia alleged that she had been denied her rights and financially neglected by her brother when she had asked
for help. Juan alleged that Arcadia had attempted to blackmail him for an "infamous crime." The courts settled in favor of
Adolfo. For those interested, further resources on the family's history and contributions to local institutions are available
at the MVC Research Library.
The collection includes Adolfo Camarillo's diaries for the period 1885-1941, as well as notes and transcriptions created by
staff, correspondence, photographs, deeds, business records, and ephemera. The correspondence includes both personal and business
letters, with a number of letters being to and from siblings. Subjects covered include management of the family farm, land
ownership, disputes over Martina's will, and family involvement in county politics. Box 3 contains the contents of two albums
that were foldered for better preservation; however, original order has been maintained and the contents of each page of the
album have been foldered together.
This collection has been arranged at the collection level, with detailed box descriptions included.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Camarillo -- Buildings -- Churches -- St. Mary Magdalen
Rancho Calleguas -- Records and correspondence
Camarillo (Calif.) -- History
Family farms
Mexican American families -- California -- Ventura County
Agriculture -- California -- Camarillo
Box 1
Diaries and daybooks 1885-1941 August 21
This box contains the diaries and daybooks of Adolfo Camarillo. There are 12 volumes with dated entries in Spanish and English.
Translations and transcriptions were completed by former staff and almost all of the diaries have a transcript and/or a set
of notes that go along with it.
Box 2
Family papers and records 1857-1943
This box contains the following: a copy of
Early Spanish-California Folk-Songs, collected by Eleanor Hague, harmonized and set for voice and piano by Gertrude Ross, and published by J. Fischer and Bro.,
New York (1922); Tweedy Rouce's invoices, tax statements, nursery plant lists, correspondence, cards, and other materials
related to the Camarillo Ranch business from early 1900s and a brochure from the 1941 California State Fair; the testimony
of Arcadia Mahoney (sister of Adolfo and Juan E. Camarillo) for a suit regarding their mother's will, dated 1908; letter from
lawyer Orestes Orr regarding settlement of the former case by the California Supreme Court, dated October 1908; papers on
"The Railroad Comes to Camarillo" by Florence Brown Dawson; planning for Camarillo by Bill Freur; a Christmas speech by Adolfo
Camarillo in Spanish; the society news section of the
Camarillo News, January 1, 1929; printed business cards, stationery, and Christmas cards; blank checks, tax bills, and receipts; deeds for
the period 1865-1875.
This box also contains correspondence that includes: family letters dated 1857-1870s and 1900-1941; notes from around 1908;
correspondence on farming and selling businesses, and some letters addressed to Mother Martina Camarillo, 1898-1908; letters
regarding the Pleasant Valley School, Board of Supervisors, and the California State Fair, dated 1907-1908, 1940; letters
on the California State Automobile Association, dated 1908; letter between Adolfo Camarillo and J.P. Harrington regarding
place names and local history, 1953-1957; Frank A. Camarillo's letters to and from various organizations, 1942-1943; and letter's
regarding Frank A. Camarillo's Selective Service registration and 1 snapshot of Edith, circa 1942-1943.
Finally, there is also a folder of a wide variety of ephemera such as a Patterson Ranch ice cream souvenir, a ticket for the
1938 UCLA vs USC football game, postcards, cards, brochures, advertisements, Pierce Arrow Motor Car specification sheet, Mah
Jong score cards and a booklet, a blank medical examiner's form in Spanish, and regulations booklet for the 1941 California
State Fair. There is also a photo album that largely includes Juan E. Camarillo's travels and family life in Camarillo, as
well as some loose photographs of family members that have not been identified or dated.
Box 3
Family albums and photographs 1852-1952
This box contains the contents of 2 family albums and 5 large photographs. The contents of the albums have been foldered for
preservation. The materials on each page of the albums are foldered together and original order has been maintained.
The album labeled "Carmen Camarillo Jones" contains: a decree of distribution of the estate of Juan Camarillo (March 1882);
documents and correspondence related to Juan Camarillo's estate (1892); corrected field notes for Rancho Calleguas that are
badly damaged (circa 1875) and a typed transcript of the field notes; photocopies of Bank of A. Levy certificates (circa 1905);
an indenture contract between Martina H. de Camarillo and her sons, Adolfo and Juan (1891); Martina H. de Camarillo's wills
(1885, 1890); a letter signed Martina H. de Camarillo expressing a desire to update her will to include all her children (1896);
Adolfo Camarillo and Isabella Menchaca's marriage certificate (January 9, 1888); letter from Adolpho to Isabella re: Dona
Martina's death (April 1898); Juan Camarillo and Martina Hernandez Camarillo's funeral notices (1880, 1898); a funeral notice
for Susanna Elwell Menchaca and notes on funeral notices (1899); correspondence to Adolfo Camarillo from Jno. S. Chapman,
attorney, regarding a bill (August 31, 1906); correspondence from Juan Camarillo regarding damage to a vineyard (circa 1870s);
notes for poem written by Frank Camarillo (1905, 1906); letter from T.R. Bard to Juan Camarillo, Sr. regarding profits from
leasing land (November 15, 1875); letter from Francisca Camarillo to one of her sisters (February 24, 1870); bills of sales
and agreements between the Camarillo brothers and suppliers (1878-1891); a tally of crops and accounts on Fireman's Fund Insurance
Company stationery (1891-1894); notes and a tally for crop (1895); a note or advance from A. Levy for A. Camarillo for agricultural
products (March 1898); a lease from A. Camarillo to U.T. Ruiz (November 1, 1915); Deed No. 48 Gabriel Ruiz to Juan Camarillo
(September 22, 1875); San Francisco "Figaro", Vol. IV, Number 250 (October 3, 1870); and a booklet titled
Music for the Camarillo March, composed by L. Sandstone in honor of Juan Camarillo (October 1989).
The second album includes the following contents: court records for the estate of Aldegunda C. del Campo (1927); a letter
to the Franciscan Fathers of California from Juan E. Camarillo deeding property (circa 1933); Juan E. Camarillo's will, records
of his properties, and correspondence (1933-1936); letter from Adolfo Camarillo to his father (December 1876); permission
to build Camarillo family crypts at St. Mary Magdalene's in Camarillo and plans (1952); Frank A. Camarillo's military correspondence
and honorable discharge papers (1918-1919); lease from Martina H. Camarillo to James Fisher, J.N. Pawelti [unclear], W.L.
Davis, and W.F. Willoughby (1891, 1892); receipt for burial plot for Adolfo Camarillo in Santa Clara Cemetery, Catholic Church
of New Jerusalem (April 26, 1898); Camarillo family letters, including to the de la Guerra family (1868, 1872, 1881); deed
from Mercedes de la Palma y Mesa to Martina H. Camarillo (February 28, 1880); Adolfo Camarillo correspondence to E.E. Everett
re: Encino Ranch waterways (August 1922); letters confirming baptism of Adolfo Nicefero Juan Menchaca Camarillo at Santa Clara
Church in El Rio (1906, 1942); permit for Adolfo Camarillo to cross highways with a tractor (September 30, 1918); tally of
accounts for Adolfo Camarillo (September 1906); settlement of claim made by Mary A. Conrad, mother of employee killed in accident
on Camarillo farm (March 16, 1928); agreement to close businesses on Good Friday signed by several businesses (March 29, 1918);
letter from Juan Camarillo to California comptroller (July 1852); sales form for car parts for Adolfo Camarillo (March 19,
1918); sales report for oil from Camarillo (March 1921); and receipt for sale of beans (September 2, 1915).
The five photographs include: a framed photograph are Juan E. Camarillo, Leo Carrillo, and Emilio Passaras. Passaras was Camarillo's
secretary and may have been his companion; a framed photograph of Juan E. Camarillo with unidentified Franciscan brothers
(July 1936); a photograph of an unidentified family member (circa 1930s); and two photographs of University of Santa Clara
students (1914). Frank A. Camarillo attended the University of Santa Clara.