Hugo Reid's "Letters on the Los Angeles County Indians," written in the mid-19th century, were serially published as Letters in the Los Angeles Star during the year 1852 and republished in 1869 in this same paper. The letters describe indigenous people who lived in the Los Angeles area before and during the mission period. They were known as "Gabrieleno" in reference to the San Gabriel Mission with which this language group was most closely associated. Descendants today refer to themselves by the traditional word "Tongva".
Hugo Reid was born in Scotland, went to sea, took up trade between South and Central American and settled in California in 1932. He became one of the most influential men in the Los Angeles region while California was still part of Mexico. In 1937 he married Victoria Bartolomea Comicrabit, a beautiful and gracious widow from a prestigious Gabrieleno family. He, thus, was able to write about the Gabrielenos from his own experiences and observations.
The letters had a strong impact on Reid's friends and others at the time, resulting in efforts to improve policy and create more humane conditions for the original peoples of this continent. However, by the time these letters were published most Gabrielenos had either died, fled from Los Angeles or had gone 'underground,' i.e. assumed other identities in order to survive. These letters could be of great interest today to surviving descendants of the people who were here before the Europeans came.
A biography of Hugo Reid entitled "A SCOTCH PAISANO: Hugo Reid's Life in California, 1832 - 1852 Derived from His Correspondence," written by Susanna Bryant Dakin and published by University of California Press, Berkeley, California, in 1939, remains an important source of information about the life of Hugo Reid and his wife Dona Victoria. This monograph is based on the Dakin reproductions of these twenty-two letters, included in her book as an appendix to the biography.
This reproduction and design of the letters was done by Sheila Pinkel.
The letters can be viewed by scrolling through the images below, or can be downloaded as a PDF.
Hugo Reid was born in Scotland, went to sea, took up trade between South and Central American and settled in California in 1932. He became one of the most influential men in the Los Angeles region while California was still part of Mexico. In 1937 he married Victoria Bartolomea Comicrabit, a beautiful and gracious widow from a prestigious Gabrieleno family. He, thus, was able to write about the Gabrielenos from his own experiences and observations.
The letters had a strong impact on Reid's friends and others at the time, resulting in efforts to improve policy and create more humane conditions for the original peoples of this continent. However, by the time these letters were published most Gabrielenos had either died, fled from Los Angeles or had gone 'underground,' i.e. assumed other identities in order to survive. These letters could be of great interest today to surviving descendants of the people who were here before the Europeans came.
A biography of Hugo Reid entitled "A SCOTCH PAISANO: Hugo Reid's Life in California, 1832 - 1852 Derived from His Correspondence," written by Susanna Bryant Dakin and published by University of California Press, Berkeley, California, in 1939, remains an important source of information about the life of Hugo Reid and his wife Dona Victoria. This monograph is based on the Dakin reproductions of these twenty-two letters, included in her book as an appendix to the biography.
This reproduction and design of the letters was done by Sheila Pinkel.
The letters can be viewed by scrolling through the images below, or can be downloaded as a PDF.
| reid_final_11x17.pdf |
