Rosemead in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

James Divine Durfee

(1840–1920)

— Savannah Memorial Park —

James Divine Durfee Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, December 1, 2018

1. James Divine Durfee Marker

Inscription. In 1855, he joined an emigrant wagon train leaving from Iowa and heading west. He was only 15. They settled in San Bernadino. In 1859 he married Diantha Clemenson and they moved to El Monte where they lived for over 60 years. They owned large parcels of valuable land, and were very active in the community. He was a trustee of La Puente School District for over 25 years. Durfee Street is named for his family. His last wish, to vote for the Harding-Coolidge ticket at the upcoming election is November, was denied when he died in October.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1855.

Location. 34° 4.892′ N, 118° 4.042′ W. Marker is in Rosemead, California, in Los Angeles County. Marker can be reached from Valley Boulevard east of Loma Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9263 Valley Blvd, Rosemead CA 91770, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. John Cleminson (here, next to this marker); John Holt (a few steps from this marker); Mary Alice Rogers (a few steps from this marker); John Guess Sr. (a few steps from this marker); Lester Burdick (within shouting distance of this marker); James E. Henry (within shouting distance of this marker); Siege Mortar

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(within shouting distance of this marker); John Guess, Jr. (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rosemead.

Also see . . . Durfee Ranch at the El Monte Township, and Other Farming Pioneers. 2010 article by Elisabeth L. Uyeda in Los Angeles Revisited. Excerpt:

The Durfee Ranch, a 125-acre farm, once existed near here. The pictured street sign is at the intersection of Durfee and Peck Road, located in South El Monte. Durfee Avenue continues at this point northward through the city of El Monte, becoming disconnected but resumes until it reaches its termination at the border of Arcadia. From the same intersection at Peck, Durfee Avenue is also a country road stretching west into the unincorporated L.A. County section, this time halting at Rosemead Boulevard. Another segment of Durfee begins at the Pico Rivera border, reaching southward until Whittier Boulevard.

(Submitted on August 11, 2020.)

Additional commentary.
1. Last Wish Denied Pioneer
Death Takes Octogenarian of El Monte Before He can Cast Vote for Harding
Article in the Los Angeles Times October 24, 1920.

Cheated of his dearest wish to vote for Harding and Coolidge at the coming election, James Devine Durfee, a resident
Photographed By J. J. Prats, December 1, 2018

2. James Divine Durfee Grave and Marker
of Southern California for more than sixty years and one of the original subscribers to Los Angeles The Times, died late Saturday at his home in El Monte. He was 80 years of age.

The sixteenth child in a family of nineteen children, Mr. Durfee was left an orphan in Quincy, Ill., when less than 7 years old. At 15, after having faced many of the hardships of frontier life in Illinois in the early fifties, he joined an emigrant train of sixty-five prairie schooners at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and started for the unknown West.

After almost five months of hardships, the little band, saddened by the loss of two of its members in encounters with the Indians, reached San Bernardino. Mr. Durfee remained there for three years, and when he was 18 years of age married Miss Diantha B. Clemenson, a resident of San Bernardino. The next year the couple moved to the homestead near El Monte, on which they lived continuously for more than sixty years.

Mr. Durfee not only accumulated a large amount of valuable land around El Monte, but also took a prominent part in movements to advance that section of the county and also in a number of projects of state-wide importance. As a delegate many times in succession to county and State Republican conventions he was widely known in political circles. For more than a quarter of a century he was a trustee of La Puente school and took a keen interest.

Mr. Durfee leaves a widow, a daughter, Mrs. Albert Slack, and a son,
via FindAGrave.com

3. James Divine Durfee (1840–1920)
James R. Durfee, all residing a short distance outside of El Monte. The funeral services will be conducted by Rev. R. M. Webster of Sierra Madre and Rev. J. D. Croan of El Monte at the Durfee home tomorrow at 2 p.m., after which the body will be taken for cremation.

— Submitted August 11, 2020.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2020, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 216 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 11, 2020, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.