West
David S.
Birthdate:
May 1847
Birthplace:
Ohio
Date of Death:
25 Mar 1921
Place of Death:
Monrovia, Los Angeles, California
Occupation:
Rancher
Properties Owned:
David S. West was born in May of 1847 in Ohio to Calvin B., a school teacher, and Elizabeth (Hudson). The 1850 census lists the value of West’s real estate as $1,000.
The 1860 census shows the West family living in Oregon, but Calvin is not listed on the census. So it is unclear if he moved with the family to Oregon and then died or died before the family left for Ohio. Elizabeth West was left well off with her real estate valued at $1,000 and her personal estate at $850. Her son David is recorded as being a farmer.
David West married Merit Emily Wright in Oregon in 1873, and he worked as a farmer. Iit doesn’t seem as if they ever had children. However, Merit’s nephew Lester and niece Esther Pearl Wright lived with them for their rest of their lives. Esther Pearl came to them when she was three and her brother one-year-old.
Though David West started off as a farmer, by 1900, he was working as the city recorder for the city of Roseburg, Oregon.
Sometime around 1909, David, Merit, and Esther Pearl came to Monrovia. They first lived at 149 N. Magnolia Avenue (renting) until they bought the property at 127 E. Lime Avenue (Lot 19, Block B, Town of Monrovia) from Adaline F. Wright who was Merit's sister-in-law and the stepmother of Esther Pearl. They didn't move there right away but rented it out until they were ready to move. The 1916 California voter list shows David West’s occupation as a rancher. In Monrovia where there are many citrus orchards, being a rancher would have meant working in agriculture rather than with animals.
The Wests spent the rest of their lives at 127 E. Lime Avenue along with their niece Esther. After David West's death, Merit and her niece continued to live in the house. The last listing for them at that address is in 1939.
Emily Merit West died on January 8, 1942, on Orange County, California.