Sixty Years In Southern California 1853 1913 Containing The Reminiscences Of Harris Newmark

Harris Newmark (1834-1916), son of a modest Prussian Jewish merchant, sailed to America in 1853 to join his older brother in Los Angeles. He made a fortune in real estate, the wholesale grocery business, and hides and wools, becoming a leader in the local Jewish community and the city at large. Sixty years in Southern California (1916) begins with his description of Los Angeles as he found it; judges and lawyers, merchants and shops, churches and other landmarks. In the chapters that follow, Newmark organizes his materials chronologically and outlines his various mercantile partnerships and traces changing patterns of social life in Los Angeles, political factions, railroad construction in southern California, crime and vigilantism, the Chinese Massacre of 1871, and real estate speculations. In a more personal vein, he chronicles Jewish family life and philantropy.

Excerpt from Sixty Years in Southern California: Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark, 1853-1913 With this brief introduction, I give the manuscript to the printer, not' with the ambitious hope of enriching literature in any respect, but not without confidence that I have provided some new material for the local historian - perhaps of the future - and that there may be a goodly number of people sufficiently interested to read and enjoy the story, yet indulgent enough to overlook the many faults in its narration. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Sixty Years in Southern California is a stunning retrospective of California life in the mid-19th and early-20th century, offering vivid first-hand accounts of the state's early history. The six decades of reminiscences by Harris Newmark combine autobiography with the informed social commentary of an insider. The story of California's development informs and captivates, as the author works from his own memory, diaries and the historical records on Southern California to produce a valuable and insightful history. That the author lived and breathed the very culture he describes helps the tone greatly, helping readers to envision the distant past. Newmark confidently portrays life from the years he personally first arrived with his family as a child, through events such as the establishment of the law courts, the town stores, and the evolution of social life. The steady establishment of orchards and vineyards in the distinctly Mediterranean climate, and the settlers' run-ins with the Wild West culture dominant through the early times, is cataloged evocatively. Sixty Years in Southern California is a unique chronicle, being as events in Newmark's life are situated alongside an authoritative history of the region. We see how he personally made friends, became married, established a business, and watched as the society around him grew from humble beginnings to a prosperity staggering in both pace and scale. How the U.S. Civil War was experienced and felt in California, and how technological advances such as the steam train and the telegraph affected life, is mentioned. By 1913 these inventions were already taken for granted: Newmark wisely accounts for the enormous effects such things had, so that the reader may appreciate their significance. Somber events, such as the massacre of the Chinese laborers working on the railways, are also told; indeed, Newmark does not shy from the dark side of California's development. We also see predatory real estate booms, the arrival of sophisticated sales and marketing campaigns to the previously virgin country, and the consequent spikes in population. The later stages of the text account for the great boom in activity in the region, and how the terrible San Francisco earthquake of 1903 affected the entire state. Various commercial dealings between the emergent ruling class of California, many of whom were successful in all manner of enterprise, enlivens and adds drama to the chapters.

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