Charles H. Eilers Collection
Scope and Contents
The Charles H. Eilers collection (1872-2001; undated) contains nine boxes and 5.27 linear feet of real estate documents, deeds and title papers, tax reports, receipts, statements, court papers and legal documents, ledgers, correspondence, photographs, newspaper articles, books, yearbooks, pamphlets, family history and genealogy, and obituaries.
The collection focuses on Charles H. Eilers and his family, and their farm in the Carson California area; and contains photographs, letters, legal documents; and family history and genealogy papers. Additionally, a number of documents concern Henry Eilers specifically, such as school accolades, photos, and yearbooks. Correspondence in the collection is in a mix of English and German and includes letters from Alexander Allison (regarding possible purchase of C. H. Eilers’ farm), Martha Schrader (written in German, content may include information on immigrant life in Illinois), Anton Luebkemann, postcards from Germany, and WWI German Soldier photograph postcards. Documents concerning the farm include real estate and financial documents, tax documents, ledgers of financial and operational concerns, photographs of the farm and farm operations, and correspondence concerning the farm.
Also included in the collection are published works by Robert Gillingham on the Rancho San Pedro, and Charlotte Trejos on Carson California.
Note on folder and item titles: Each folder is given a title covering all documents within. A majority of the individual items have been assigned item numbers by Charles Eilers and begin with the letters CHE followed by a letter for the type of item and number in the series. Folders with more than one item will have a listing with a title for the entire folder, and subsequent folder listings for each item.
Dates
- 1872-2001; undated
- Majority of material found within 1889-1958
Creator
- Eilers, Charles H. , 1875-1948 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Conditions Governing Use
Per the collection donor, only records concerning the Eilers’ Dominguez farm may be considered for publication. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biographical / Historical
Charles H. Eilers was a German immigrant and long time resident and farmer in the Los Angeles County area now part of Carson. Charles was born in the area of Varel Germany on March 13, 1875. He came to the United States in 1889 at the age of 14 with his cousin Anton Luebkemann, and first lived in Redondo Beach where Anton ran a dairy known as “Klipton by the Sea”. Eilers worked on Anton’s dairy until he repaid Luebkemann for the transportation costs of coming to America. In 1896 he attempted to gain land through the Homestead Act of 1862, but did not complete the five years of custody required to receive ownership. After gaining citizenship in 1897 he purchased a track of land in 1898 in the Dominguez Colony, a sub-division of the Rancho San Pedro. At this time the area was referred to as Cerritos and was open farmland with nothing more than a single country store. For the first several years Charles leased the land to others to farm. During this time Eilers lived and worked elsewhere, including for the Hemet Land and Water Company, returning to Germany for a year, and in Santa Paula for the Lemoneira Company.
In 1904 Charles returned to the Dominguez plot and began farming. He married Josephine Dillon in 1907, a daughter of one of the earliest families to settle in the area. They had five children: Gary, Henry, Anna, James, and Elizabeth. The farm produced sugar beets, corn, alfalfa, and black-eyed beans. It was a simple family operation run by Charles and after his death in 1948, by his son’s Garry and Henry with only a couple regular employees. They sold the farm in 1957 under the pressure of high property taxes.
Extent
9 boxes (six document cases; three oversized boxes; 1 map case folder)
5.27 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
German
Abstract
This collection contains materials related to Charles “Carl” H. Eilers (1875-1948) and his family. The Eilers family owned and farmed Rancho San Pedro lands between Dominguez, Alameda, Del Amo, and Santa Fe streets in what was to become Carson, CA from 1889 to 1958. Included in the collection are deeds and title papers, tax reports, receipts, statements, court papers and legal documents, ledgers, correspondence, photographs, newspaper articles, and books. The bulk of the material is in English, with some correspondence in German.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into eight series:
- Series I: Books and Printed Material, 1919-2001
- Series II: Manuscript and Typed Material, 1904-1966; undated
- Series III: Maps, 1903-1957
- Series IV: Documents, 1898-1968; undated
- Series V: Letters and Postcards, 1903-1967; undated
- Series VI: Certificates, Receipts, Ephemera, 1896-1971
- Series VII: Photographs, 1889-1969; undated
- Series VIII: Eilers Panoche Valley Ranch, 1907-1978
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated to CSUDH Archives by Charles Eilers (Grandson of Charles H. Eilers) 2014-2022.
Separated Materials
Oversized material is located separately from the rest of the collection in Map Case 2, Drawer 3.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kendall Hinesley in January 2015. Original organization of the papers was conducted by Charles Eilers. Additional accruals donated from 2017-2022 were processed by Karen Clemons; 2022. Original order created by Charles Eilers was maintained when applicable.
- Agriculture -- California -- Los Angeles
- Allison, Alexander
- Compton (Calif.)
- Del Amo Estate Company
- Dominguez Estate Company
- Eilers, Charles H. , 1875-1948
- Germany
- Gillingham, Robert C. (Robert Cameron), 1896-
- Land titles -- California -- Los Angeles County
- Los Angeles (Calif.)
- Photographs
- Postcards -- Germany
- Rancho San Pedro (Calif.)
- Schrader, Martha
Creator
- Eilers, Charles H. , 1875-1948 (Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Charles H. Eilers Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Kendall Hinesley 2015; updated and revised by Karen Clemons; 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections Repository
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson CA 90747
310-243-3895
archives@csudh.edu