Santa Cruz County History - People

See also articles under "Recreation and Sports" and "Films". For additional information about the people of Santa Cruz, see Santa Cruz County Biographies at the California Genealogy and History Archives.

• Old Soldiers: Santa Cruz County Civil War Veterans, by Robert L. Nelson
  
• A Walk Through Time: A Historical Guide to Santa Cruz Memorial Park, by Janet Krassow and Randy Krassow
  

Boffman, Dave

• Uncle Dave's Story: The Life of Ex-Slave Dave Boffman, by Phil Reader
  "For thirty-six years he lived quietly on a small homestead which was located atop a ..."
  

Cowell Family

• Henry Cowell and His Family (1819--1955): Introduction, by Laurie MacDougall
  "The S. H. Cowell Foundation is named after Samuel Henry Cowell,"
  
• The Gold Rush and the Early Years (1850-1865), by Laurie MacDougall
  "In order to appreciate the business climate in which this fortune was begun and expanded, ..."
  
• Lime and the Lime Business, by Laurie MacDougall
  "In order to understand the development of the Cowell business, it is essential to know ..."
  
• The Santa Cruz Years (1865-1897), by Laurie MacDougall
  "By 1865, Henry was in control of a thriving business in San Francisco, with significant ..."
  
• The Tragic Year (1903), by Laurie MacDougall
  "The year 1903 was fateful for the Cowells. Henry Cowell was shot in the shoulder ..."
  
• The S. H. Cowell Years (1911-1955), by Laurie MacDougall
  "There were now three surviving members of the Cowell family, S. H., Isabella and Helen. ..."
  
• Notes and Research Bibliography, by Laurie MacDougall
  

de Laveaga, Jose Vicente

• DeLaveaga Left His Fortune for Parks and for Charity, by Ross Eric Gibson
  "De Laveaga Park could be called the Golden Gate Park of Santa Cruz. Sitting on ..."
  

Everson, William

• The Death of a Poet, by Geoffrey Dunn
  "A great American poet is dead. William "Bill" Everson, known during much of his career ..."
  
• A Personal Memory of Bill Everson, by Geoffrey Dunn
  "Autumn, 1975. Kresge College, UCSC. Hot, auspicious. You remember the way he moved, the shuffle ..."
  

Foote, Mary Hallock

• Mary Hallock Foote, Writer and Illustrator. 1847-1938, by Edna E. Kimbro
  "Two weeks after her marriage in 1876, Mary Hallock Foote reluctantly journeyed west with her ..."
  

Ford, Charles

• Landmark that Grew Up: Hard Childhood Served Charles Ford Well, by Ross Eric Gibson
  "Many a heart was broken on Valentine's Day when the flagship Charles Ford & Co. ..."
  

Gally, James Wellesley

• Judge Gally
  "James Wellesley Gally was born December 8, 1828, at Wheeling, West Virginia. He studied medicine, ..."
  

Gourley, Sarah Hinton

• My Early Childhood Memories, by Sarah Hinton Gourley
  "Sarah Hinton Gourley (1849-1940) was seven years old when she arrived in Santa Cruz in ..."
  

Hecox, Laura J. F.

• Laura J. F. Hecox, by Frank Perry
  "From 1869 to 1941 the federal government maintained a white, two-story lighthouse at Santa Cruz. ..."
  

Jackson, Oscar Thomas

• Oscar Thomas "O.T." Jackson, by Phil Reader
  "As a young man, he had cut hair for a number of years at a ..."
  

McCaskill, Annie M.

• Annie M. McCaskill, by Rechs Ann Pedersen
  "Annie M. McCaskill, "Woman of Achievement," "Woman of the Year", was a Santa Cruz businesswoman ..."
  

McCrackin, Josephine Clifford

• Josephine Clifford McCrackin, by Stephen Michael Payne
  "In October and November 1880 a writer, Josephine Wompner Clifford, purchased a total of twenty-six ..."
  

McKiernan, Charles

• Mountain Charley, by John V. Young
  "Most colorful of Santa Cruz Mountain characters of the pioneer days was Mountain Charley McKiernan, ..."
  

Parkhurst, Charley

• Silent Charley-- Charley Parkhurst, by John V. Young
  "The stage for Santa Cruz, on Thursday last, containing eight or nine passengers, upset about ..."
  

Pitts, Zasu

• ZaSu Pitts: Actress 1898-1963, by Barbara Giffen
  "A career actress who successfully made the transition from silent movies to talking pictures to ..."
  
• ZaSu Pitts Photo Gallery
  "ZaSu Pitts grew up in Santa Cruz. In her book, "Candy Hits" she recalled..."
  

Scribner, Tom Jefferson

• Tom Jefferson Scribner, 1899--1982
  "On the 1500 block of Pacific Avenue sits a bronze sculpture of an elderly man ..."
  

Stagnaro Family

• 1001 Stagnaros, by Geoffrey Dunn
  "One of Robert "Big Boy" Stagnaro's earliest childhood memories is of a small hole next ..."
  

Waterman, Minerva

• Minerva Waterman, Librarian 1876--1952, by Margaret Souza
  "Minerva Waterman, who became a librarian through a quirk of fate, ended up serving in ..."
  

White, Mintie

• Mintie White, Teacher, 1850-1937, by Margaret Koch
  "In Watsonville there is an elementary school named for a teacher who once said, "I ..."
  

Winterhalder Family

• Pioneer Spirit: A History of the Winterhalder Family in Santa Cruz County, by Geoffrey Dunn
  "Well into his ninth decade, George Lyle Winterhalder still has a sparkle in his eyes ..."