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Facts and Events
About Carlos Grant Illingworth
Carlos Grant Illingworth was the son of James Illingworth (1843-1907) and Emaline Jacobs (1843-1925). Carlos was born 30 April 1873 in Mt. Carroll, Carroll County, Illinois and died 26 October 1946 in Orange County, California. He married Leah Blanche Baker on 17 June 1909 in Randsburg, Kern County, California. He was listed as “Grant” Illingworth in later records and also on his gravestone, and as "C.G. Illingworth" in newspaper articles.
Carlos moved with his family at age 5 to Kansas, where he started school, but shortly thereafter his family moved to the Pomona Valley area in Southern California. They moved to Upland where young Carlos opened his own business. He bought a wagon team and started contracting for grading and leveling land. Carlos lived in Upland until 1896, when he moved to Randsburg, Kern County, California, where found early success in business where he contracted to haul ore for a mining company. He bought out another hauling company, and shortly afterwards, entered into a partnership with Charles F. Lancaster, buying a mercantile store in January 1898 with $1,000 in inventory. [Illingworth actually bought out Charles Lancaster’s business partner, F.L. Smith] . In the 1898 California Voter Register for Randsburg Precinct, Kern County, it lists Charles [sic.] Grant Illingworth, Merchant, Age 25, Height: 5'9½", Complexion: Light, Eyes: Blue, Hair: Brown, Born: Illinois, Place of Residence: Randsburg, Date of Registration: July 28, 1898.
Carlos Illingworth was married three times; first in 1897 to Agnes B. _____ (maiden name unknown), who was listed in the 1900 U.S. Census with Carlos. They must have divorced within a few years as Agnes had re-married Frank Henderson Levl, on 20 October 1905 in Alameda County, California [Source: California Marriage Records}. He married second, Marietta “Maude” [maiden name: Spalding] Roberts on 4 May 1904 in Los Angeles County, California , but they divorced sometime around March 1908 when Carlos filed for divorce. Carlos Illingworth’s third wife (and mother of his children) was Leah Blanche Baker, whom he married on 17 June 1909 in Randsburg, Kern County, California.
Carlos Illingworth also invested in several gold mines in the area. One mine struck “picture rock gold” and by 1912 was paying him $300 net profit. In 1914, his store was doing distribution to other stores, but he and his business partners were having problems with their local competitors, mainly from the east. The store was robbed several times, and in one such robbery, Carlos was robbed at gunpoint and along with a helper, were dropped off in the middle of the desert without water, but they made the hike of 43 miles. The Sheriff, John C. Ralphs [brother of George A. Ralphs, co-founder of Ralphs Grocery Co.] and District Attorney of San Bernardino County arrested the suspects, and although the robberies slowed down, they did not stop for some time. The May 1916 robbery described in the aforementioned biography was “the largest robbery in San Bernardino County history” and shortly thereafter, in 1918, Carlos Illingworth moved his family to Santa Ana, California.
On September 12, 1918, Carlos Illingworth filled out his World War I Registration Card, as required by the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917 and third registration for all men age 18 through 45, as shown below. There are no military records to indicate that Carlos did serve in World War I, likely due to the fact that he was 45 years old, as stated on his World War I Draft Registration Card, the maximum age that was required to register, but the record does provide useful information, such as his occupation as the owner of Orange County Tire Company, which was then located at 102 North Main Street in Santa Ana, California. Also he was listed as “Tall”, with “Medium Build”, “Blue” eyes” and “Brown” hair.
Apparently the first business endeavor that Carlos Illingworth embarked upon after his move to Santa Ana California was to purchase a Tire Shop. On 19 February 1918, Carlos filed a “Certificate of Doing Business Under a Fictitious Name” for Orange County Tire Co., in Orange County, California Court, which was announced in the Santa Ana Register on 27 February 1918
A few years later, Carlos Illingworth went to work for an up and coming grocery chain, Alpha Beta. He had purchased a great deal of stock, becoming a major stockholder and managed a store on Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Carlos watched the grocery industry grow and wanted Alpha Beta to open a self-service store in the area where Newport Blvd. and Harbor Blvd. connected, called “the wedge”. The other Alpha Beta owners didn’t think it was a good idea, so Carlos threatened to sell his stock in the company. The owners re-considered and agreed that Carlos could open the store, which Carlos Illingworth’s son Jim [James Grant Illingworth] would manage for several years. After the business continued to grow, Alpha Beta would open another store in Costa Mesa, which Jim Illingworth would later manage. Jim’s brother, Jack Pershing Illingworth [1917-1994], who was previously managing the Alpha Beta store in Lake Elsinore, California, would take over the Costa Mesa store after his brother Jim moved stores. Jack Illingworth would later manage the Alpha Beta store on 1010 S. Main Street in Santa Ana, California, which later became a Super A Foods Store and is now a Northgate-Gonzalez Market. [October 2017].
Carlos Grant Illingworth and his second wife Leah Blanche [Baker] Illingworth had at least five children together:
- 1. Myrtle Blanche Illingworth, b. 12 March 1910 in Randsburg, Kern County, California, d. 9 December 1997 in Orange County, California.
- 2. James Grant Illingworth, b. 2 January 1913 in Randsburg, Kern County, California, d. 8 March 1999 in Irvine, Orange County, California.
- 3. Helen Louise Illingworth, b. 7 June 1915 in Los Angeles County, California, d. 21 December 2007 in Laguna Hills, Orange County, California.
- 4. Jack Pershing Illingworth, b. 30 June 1917 in Orange County, California, d. 9 March 1994 in Orange County, California.
- 5. Robert Clark Illingworth, b. 9 January 1926 in Orange County, California, d. 28 April 1982 in Dana Point, Orange County, California.
Carlos Grant Illingworth passed away 26 October 1946 in Santa Ana, Orange County, California and his wife Leah died on 2 March 1963, also in Santa Ana.
Image Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Find A Grave.
Carlos Grant Illingworth
Birth: Apr. 30, 1873
Mount Carroll
Carroll County
Illinois, USA
Death: Oct. 26, 1946
Orange County
California, USA
Family links:
Spouse:
Leah Blanche Illingworth (1888 - 1963)
Inscription:
Husband, Father
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=307198&GRid=58985077&
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).
- California, United States. Great Registers, 1866-1898.
Randsburg Precinct
Great Register, Kern County, 1898
4883 Illingsworth, Charles [sic] Grant.. Merchant, Age 25, Height: 5'9½", Complexion: Light, Eyes: Blue, Hair: Brown, Born: illinois, Place of Residence: Randsburg, Date of Registration: July 28, 1898.
- Rand Desert Museum, Randsburg, California.
Charles F. Lancaster and F. L. Smith — Lancaster & Co.
According to Geo. W. McPherson, in his History of Randsburg, Mr. Lancaster and Mr. Smith established a general merchandise store in Randsburg in December of 1896. In 1899 Mr. Lancaster served on the Citizens Committee. C. G. Illingworth bought out Mr. Smith in January of 1898. It is presumed the store set at the location that C. G. Illingworth did business for 18 years which is the bank building on the Northwest corner of Butte Ave. and Jewell St.
October 21, 1899: “LANCASTER & CO’S new building is fast approaching completion and they expect to occupy it by the first of December. It is 25 x 60, built of stone, with a fine cellar under the back end and when completed will be absolutely fire-proof.” –Randsburg Miner
http://randdesertmuseum.com/site/randsburg/merchants-2/
- Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, California)
pg. 7, 13 December 1899.
Lancaster & Co. moved Saturday into their new store. This is the finest building In Randsburg. Underneath, the store is a large stone basement. It is provided with Iron doors and shutters and is absolutely fireproof.
- United States. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T623).
ame: Carlos G Illingworth
[Carlos Illingworth]
Age: 27
Birth Date: Apr 1873
Birthplace: Illinois
Home in 1900: Township 11, Kern, California
Sheet Number: 5A
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 35
Family Number: 141
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Agnes B Illingworth
Marriage Year: 1897
Years Married: 3
Father's Birthplace: England
Mother's Birthplace: England
Occupation: Mechant (General)
Months not employed: 0
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Can Speak English: Yes
House Owned or Rented: O
Home Free or Mortgaged: F
Farm or House: H
Household Members: Name Age
Carlos G Illingworth 27
Agnes B Illingworth 22
- United States. 1910 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T624).
Name: Carlos G Illingworth
Age in 1910: 36
Birth Year: abt 1874
Birthplace: Illinois
Home in 1910: Township 11, Kern, California
Street: Butte Avenue No House Numbers
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Leah B Illingworth
Father's Birthplace: England
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Retail Merchant
Industry: Department Store
Employer, Employee or Other: Employer
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: House
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 0
Household Members: Name Age
Carlos G Illingworth 36
Leah B Illingworth 21
Marietta F Mc Clure 64
Edith M Mc Clure 16
David Garrett 35
Myrtle B Illingworth 0
- United States. 1920 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T625).
Name: Carlos G Illingworth
Age: 46
Birth Year: abt 1874
Birthplace: Illinois
Home in 1920: Santa Ana Ward 4, Orange, California
Street: W Second
House Number: 602
Residence Date: 1920
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Blanch L Illingworth
Father's Birthplace: England
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: None
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Household Members: Name Age
Carlos G Illingworth 46
Blanch L Illingworth 31
Myrtle Illingworth 9
James G Illingworth 7
Helen L Illingworth 4
Jack P Illingworth 2
Rebecca Drake
- United States. 1930 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T626).
Name: C Grant Illingworth
Birth Year: abt 1874
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Illinois
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Home in 1930: Santa Ana, Orange, California, USA
Street address: West Second
Ward of City: 4 part
House Number: 602
Dwelling Number: 57
Family Number: 72
Home Owned or Rented: Owned
Home Value: 10, 000
Radio Set: Yes
Lives on Farm: No
Age at First Marriage: 32
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: England
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Manager
Industry: Grocery Store
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker
Employment: Yes
Household Members: Name Age
C Grant Illingworth 56
Blanche Illingworth 41
Myrtle Illingworth 20
James Illingsworth 17
Helen Illingsworth 14
Jack Illingsworth 12
Robert Illingsworth 4
- United States. 1940 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T627).
Name: C G Illingworth
Age: 66
Estimated birth year: abt 1874
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Illinois
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Home in 1940: Santa Ana, Orange, California
Street: West Second
House Number: 602
Farm: No
Inferred Residence in 1935: Santa Ana, Orange, California
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 2A
Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 29
Occupation: Manager
House Owned or Rented: Owned
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 2000
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 8th grade
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 48
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker in private work
Weeks Worked in 1939: 52
Income: 1500
Income Other Sources: No
Household Members: Name Age
C G Illingworth 66
Blanchard Illingworth 51
Robert Illingworth 14
- History of Kern County, California: with illustrations, descriptive of its scenery, farms, residences, public buildings, with biographical sketches. (San Francisco [California]: Wallace W. Elliott, 1883).
Carlos Grant Illingworth — Illingworth & Lancaster — Illingworth & Larrick — Illingworth & Green — Illingworth & Dunnell — Miner’s Supply Store
Mr. Illingworth childhood was passed in various places, he having been born in Mt. Carroll, Carroll County, Ill., April 30, 1878, and from there brought by his parents when he was aged five years to Wichita, Kan. Here he was sent to school for a short time, in 1887 moving with his parents to California and settling at Pomona, where they stayed but a short time. In the same year they moved to Upland, San Bernardino County, and Mr. Illingworth went to work for himself. Buying a team he started into the contracting business for grading and leveling land, remaining in this vicinity until 1896, when he came to Randsburg to contract with the Yellow Aster Mine Company to haul ore for them.”
Mr. Illingworth bought out F. L. Smith of the Lancaster & Co. Store in January of 1898. It is stated that when he started the inventory was worth a thousand dollars. He and Mr. Lancaster ran the store well into 1899 however by 1900 Mr. Lancaster is no longer listed in any of the records. In the 1902 business directory the firm is listed under the name of Illingworth & Larrick. In 1903 Grant took on a partner by the name of Harry Green.
This is about the time Mr. Illingworth’s first wife, Agnes, quit showing up in the records. It is now known whether they were divorced or she passed on. In April of 1904 it was reported that he had sold his interest in the business to J. W. Green and moved to Upland, Ca. where his father lived. However by June of the same year he was back in town with a new wife. An old fashioned Charivari was held, with reportedly badly outs of tune instruments. Although they had been married for several weeks their friends in Randsburg did not want them to think that the marriage had gone unnoticed.
Although listed in the 1905 Suits-Schuman Business Directory for 1905 as the firm of Illingworth & Green, in August of 1904 C. G. Illingworth again became the sole proprietor of the store and Mr. and Mrs. Green left for Colton, Ca. with plans to go on to Goldfield, Nev. The business continued to grow and in 1907 an addition was built on the store. The Miner’s Supply Store that was originally built in 1896 is still standing. It is on the Northwest corner of Butte Ave. and Jewell Street and is locally as the bank building. Actually the part of the building that was built in 1896 is the second store front in from Jewell St. It is 24 feet wide. The first store front in from Jewell is the 18-foot section that was added in 1907. The rest of the building was added in the early 1920’s.
C. G. Illingworth was successful businessman but unfortunately was not so in his married life. He was divorced from his second wife, Maude, in 1909; at about the time he acquired a partner by the name of Carl L. Dunnell. At This time besides the store in Randsburg they had opened a store in Atolia. He was however shown as being married to Maude in 1912, it is assumed that the divorce did not take.
Grant did not limit his efforts to the mercantile business. He invested more than $10,000 dollars in developing the Santa Ana mine in the Stringer District. His friends all thought him crazy but he struck picture rock gold and in September of 1912 the mine was paying him $300 a day net profit over production costs. In 1913 he incorporated the G. B. Mining & Reduction Company of which he is president and majority shareholder. In 1915 he was involved with the Phoenix mine in Johannesburg.
In August of 1912 Fred Young, the son of Austin Young who had been a postmaster in Randsburg prior to moving to Skidoo to run the Skidoo Mercantile had purchased a Metz car. On the 25th of 1912 August Fred and Grant left Randsburg and motored to Los Angeles, arriving there that evening. The next day the drove to Oceanside and met with Geo. Grover the founder of the Randsburg Miner. From there they journeyed to Coronado and La Mesa where they met with Thomas McCarthy who was one of the original businessmen in Randsburg. Mr. Illingworth must have enjoyed this trip as he soon purchased his own automobile, and hired a chauffeur. His automobile was an Elmore, which he purchased in 1912. The Elmore automobile was equipped with a four cylinder, two cycles, valve less motor, the only automobile equipped with this type of engine at that time. He rented this vehicle out as a sideline. He also had a blacksmith shop that he leased to Livinggood & Noble in 1914. The automobile was a great addition to the Illingworth & Dunnell business, however in December of 1914 it resulted in Mr. Illingworth being mixed up in a bit of trouble. As reported in the Randsburg Miner there was a bit of a mix-up at Searles (Trona), and Grant was held at gunpoint and taken prisoner. The paper stated:
“A recurrence of the trouble which occurred last year at the big borax deposits ofSearles Lake began on Christmas day between the representatives of a company from the east and the American Trona Company. What the merits of either company to possession of the property The Miner no knowledge. The items set below are what has occurred in the interest of some of the Randsburg business men. Messrs. Rasor and Boley, the engineers of the eastern people ordered a large supply of groceries from Illingworth (sic) and Dunnell to be sent out to their camp. These were to be sent out in Illingworth’s (sic) auto. Despite the rumors that the auto would not be all (owed) to reach its destination it was sent out in charge of a driver. On arrival at a point where the road bisects the deposits it was stopped by a party of men presumably belonging to the Trona Company and impounded, the machine being fastened with chains to prevent its removal. The driver walked to the town and phoned to Mr. Illingworth (sic), who immediately went to Judge Maginnis and swore out an arrest. “Tex” Lovett and a deputy drove over to the scene of the action and, as they neared, a man was seen taking the chains from Illingworth’s machine. Constable Lovett read the warrant and arrested Leo Leon, a deputy sheriff, Andrew Dunne, a boss in the employ of the Trona Company and Charles Bates, claiming to be a detective from Los Angeles, and brought them to Randsburg. From the latter three revolvers, a blackjack, and a pair of handcuffs were taken.
On Friday Mr. Illingworth undertook to drive his auto to the lake to fulfill his contract of the delivery of the goods. In crossing the deposits the auto got stuck, and just got free when they were met by five armed men, one of whom shouted “hands up.” Mr. Illingworth (sic) and his party called their bluff and refused to do so, and after some parley were allowed to proceed. Before going far they were met by a larger armed party, who forced them to leave their auto and drove them towards the Trona Camp at the point of guns. Mr. Illingworth’s (sic) party were met by a Mr. Wilkinson, who treated them to a dose of English off-hand style and refused their request for a drink of water, although he knew they had been for hours on the dusty desert.
Wilkinson then ordered Mr. Illingworth (sic) and his party to set off on foot home to Randsburg, a hike of 43 miles across the desert, which by this time was pitch dark, and also would not give them a canteen. The Trona gunmen headed them off the deposits and along two miles of the county road, keeping Illingworth (sic), Rasor and Boley covered by their guns, which in itself it (sic) an offense against the state. The party got to Randsburg on an auto truck.”
The following Tuesday Sheriff John C. Ralphs and Deputy District Attorney Hodge of San Bernardino were sent out to Trona to put an end to the “Wars” and to arrest the instigators of the holdup and detention of Mr. Illingworth and his party. It is interesting to note that this was not the last war over the claims in Trona and in November of 1917 according to the Inyo Independent one of the warring parties had the infamous Wyatt Earp in their employ at Trona.
In 1914 Illingworth & Dunnell added the stone addition to the store, which is on the end of the building next to Jewell St. This addition held a vault. They also installed the first automatic gas station (gas pump?) in 1914. The vault contained safety deposit boxes, which were rented out at the rate of 50¢ a month. In 1915 they added to their line of businesses the Ford Agency for Randsburg. The inventory value of the store and its four warehouses in 1912 was in the neighborhood of $100,000.
In May of 1916 the largest known robbery in Randsburg took place. The vault of the Illingworth & Dunnell store was broken into. A loss of between $10,000 and $20,000 was reported. Half of this money belonged to the residents of the area who had rented safe deposit boxes and the rest to the firm of Illingworth & Dunnell. The door of the vault was at first reported to have been left open but later reports say that the door to the vault was locked at the time of the robbery. Smashing of the combination opened this door. The door to the safe inside however was open due to a defective combination lock, however the door to the strong box inside was locked. The strong box lock was opened either through a knowledge of the combination or by and expert burglar. A strange point of the burglary was that if the thief could unlock the combination lock of the strong box by listening to the tumblers why did he have to smash the lock on the vault door with a single jack and chisel. The locks on the safety deposit boxed were also broke off with the aid of a single jack and chisel. If this robbery was ever solved is unknown. The firm was however sued by some of the depositor in July of 1916, claiming careless and lax methods in caring for the money. Among those suing were John Ganta, $3,500; Frank Feelmuth, $730; Owen Clark, $530; Cal Williams, $800; J. M. Hepp and D. A. Dent, $600; H. W. Smith, $275; and John W. Luter, $697.67. C. G.Illingworth and his family left Randsburg in 1918 and moved to Santa Ana.
October 6, 1918: “$6000 DAMAGE SUIT IS STARTED HERE – Suing for $6000 damages, the case of John Venta against A. Illingworth was started in Department 3 of the Superior Court this morning. It was expected that the case would submitted late this afternoon.
Jenta alleges in the complaint that he had several hundred dollars in the safe deposit box at the Illingsworth store at Randsburg in 1915, and that the safe was robbed of its contents, causing him to lose his entire savings.” – Bakersfield Californian.
December 17, 1918: “FAVORS DEFENDENTS IN THE $4500 SUIT – Ruling in favor of the defendant, judgment was today handed down by Judge Peairs in the suit brought by John Jents against A. Illingworth ET. Al. for damages amounting to approximately $4500. The case was heard in September.
The suit was brought because of the loss of several thousand dollars in a robbery at Randsburg several months ago.” – Bakersfield Californian
September 4, 1920: “Randsburg Safe Robber Case Is Finally Decided. – In the case of John Gents against Illingworth & Dunnell, Randsburg storekeepers, has been decdided in favor of the merchants by the state supreme court to which the case was appealed.
Gents, the assignee of depositors in the safe of the store company, sued to recover $6383. This amount was alleged to have been deposited by plaintiff’s assignors during the tungsten boom of 1918, when the town of Randsburg was crowded, and many prospectors used the store safe to guard their valuables.” — Bakersfield Californian
http://randdesertmuseum.com/site/randsburg/merchants-2/
- United States. Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives Microfilm Publication M1509, 1987-1988).
Name Carlos Grant Illingworth
Race White
Birth Date 30 Apr 1873
Street Address 602 West Suond
Residence Place Orange, California, USA
Physical Build Medium
Height Tall
Hair Color brown
Eye Color blue
Relative Leah Blanche Illingworth
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