| |
| ALEXANDER DRYBURGH |
| |
Among the many interesting characters who joined Rotary in
its early years, was Alexander Dryburgh, a hotel proprietor.
Born in Scotland in September 1860 at Ceres in Fife, he
emigrated to North America in 1880. We do not know where he
landed but by the time he arrived in Emerado, near Grand Forks,
North Dakota in 1881, he was married to Margaret Wilkins from
Acle, Norfolk, England. In July1882 (or 1883), their son Arthur
was born **. On March 22, 1883 (or 1884),
their daughter,
Ethel, was also born in North Dakota**. For the next few years,
nothing is known for certain about their whereabouts. However,
in Dryburgh’s obituary in the Los Angeles Times in 1923, he is
described as going from Aberdeen, South Dakota to Chicago.
Additionally a baby girl’s birth and death is recorded on
February 19, 1888 in Minneapolis to Alexander and Margaret
Dryburgh of 77 Highland Avenue, and this is almost certainly
them. In the same L.A. Times obituary there is reference to
another daughter called Louise. This is the Grace Louise
Dryburgh shown as born in Colorado in 1900. But in the 1900
census, the family is in Pine Bluff City, Arkansas, where
Alexander is shown as a ‘hotel proprietor’. In 1901, a report in
the Chicago Tribune describes the elopement of daughter Ethel
Dryburgh with Frank Brown from Chicago and they get married in
St Joseph, Michigan. Alexander is now shown as the proprietor of
the Monroe Hotel, Monroe, Louisiana. However, in 1904 he is
shown in an advertisement as Manager and President of the New
Southern Hotel in Chicago. In 1906, he is shown on the roster of
the Chicago Rotary Club and is still the manager and proprietor
of the New Southern Hotel in Chicago, with “special
rates for Rotarians” |
 |
Another report in the Tribune in October 1906 shows that he
was divorced by his wife, Margaret, on the grounds of desertion,
and on Christmas Day that year, he marries Jennie Lay Shyrock in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jennie was born in Halifax, Canada, about
1876. and was 16 years younger than Alexander. In 1906 and again
in 1909, Paul Harris was a guest at the Chicago hotel, both men
appearing at the hotel on the 1910 Census. Surprisingly Jennie
is not among the people at the hotel. Nor is a daughter called
Louise.
Alexander was still on the Rotary Club roster and
remained so for several years. However, by 1913, he had also
leased two further hotels, the Virginia and the Gladstone and
later that year, he took over another hotel, the Vendome. The
HOTEL MONTHLY suggests that the Vendome was remodeled to become
the Gladstone Hotel. Dryburgh remained a Chicago member until at
least 1916. Below is the entry from the Chicago Club roster. |
 |
He finally left Chicago in 1919, and appears with his wife
on the 1920 Census in La Canada Flintridge, Burbank, California.
where he is shown as a hotel owner. However, it is not certain
whether his house in California was a hotel or not. He retained
ownership of the Virginia and Gladstone hotels in Chicago ,
although his son Arthur took over their management. Again, his
obituary calls him a “winter resident” so it may be that he did
not move into Burbank until he had bought a house there. This
time the 1920 Census shows Grace Louise Dryburgh as ‘Born in
Colorado in 1900’, and her relationship to the head of household
is ‘daughter’. The house which Dryburgh bought was originally
called the Villa Ardnaree and was on occasion used as a film
set. The Los Angeles Times report of the purchase is dated April
16, 1919. The property included 8 acres and had 16 rooms and 5
bathrooms; it had tenant houses and a garage big enough for 5
vehicles. The Villa was renamed Dryburgh Hall and it was there
that he died on March 22, 1923. After his death, the State
Controller in L.A. assessed his estate as worth $136,327,
a
considerable sum in those days. |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
NOTES
** The dates in the LDS and Census records are
frequently at variance with each other and even within the
records themselves.
The help of Los Angeles librarians in
Burbank and La Canada Flintridge, and of the Jefferson County
Museum, Pine Bluff City, and of Julia Reed of the Newberry
Library in Chicago, is gratefully acknowledged Thanks also to
Dr Wolfgang Ziegler, RGHF, for the Chicago Club rosters. |
| |
| Provided by RGHF senior historian
Basil Lewis, 24 January 2013, and posted by
Jack Selway |
|
