Pannells and Langleys in Santa Ana, Part 1

Welcome back, family and friends!

In the early 20th century, some Pannells and Langleys made their way from their birthplace in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, to Santa Ana, California.

Roy Estell Langley (1886–1959) [granduncle; NextGen: great granduncle] seems to be the first to move to Southern California. Before we get to that, I will note that Roy first moved to Kansas City, MO. He lived at 4023 Charlotte and married Margaret Elizabeth Clarke, known as Bessie, on 21 Oct 1909. He was still in Kansas City when his father, Jeremiah Daniel Langley (1857–1917) [great grandfather; NextGen: 2nd great grandfather] died there. More about his unfortunate death will follow later. He may have moved to Missouri to be with two of his sons after his wife died in 1912 (Guy Morgan Langley, Roy and Eula's youngest brother, is also living in Kansas City according to his 5 Jun 1917 Draft Registration for World War I).

It seems that Roy, who was apparently already involved with oil companies, had moved to Southern California by 1920. (A 1920 census record cannot be located that lists Roy and Bessie.) A news clipping from an Oxnard newspaper on 15 Mar 1920 shows him associated with the "Big Four Consolidated Oil" company in Los Angeles.

By 1923 Roy had purchased a house at 1331 Cypress St in Santa Ana CA, according to an 18 Dec 1923 building permit to fix the roof. The census shows him still residing there in 1930. He was an up and coming citizen: he was inducted into the Lions Club and his wife was a prominent member of the Ebell Society of Santa Ana.


In the meantime, Stephen Lemont Pannell (1889–1931) [grandfather; NextGen: great grandfather] and Eula Langley (1888–1975) [grandmother; NextGen: great grandmother] were living in Cleveland, Ohio, where Robert Lemont Pannell (1918–1984) [father; NextGen: grandfather] and Benjamin Daniel Pannell (1923–1988) [uncle; NextGen: granduncle] were born. According to the 1920 census, the family rented a place at 2686 E 128th Street in Cleveland.

Oddly, Stephen Pannell was counted twice in the 1920 census! Even though he was residing with his wife and two-year-old son in Cleveland, he is also shown as living with his parents and siblings in Greenville, Kentucky (he is listed, misspelled, as "Lamont"). Maybe he was visiting, and whoever answered the census questions forgot that he had moved to Ohio at least two years before! 

On the Ohio census, he is listed as "Special Agent" for the "Dept. of Justice," a precursor of the FBI. In the Kentucky census, he is listed as "Secret Service."

In any event, while Uncle Ben was being born in Cleveland in 1923, Roy Langley was already in Santa Ana, eventually starting Langley Oil, headquartered at 1040 E Sixth St. The 1926 ad from the Santa Ana Register (later, the Orange County Register) below shows that he was the Orange County distributor of the popular Hancock Gasoline: "The Cock of Gasoline Alley." 

The following 1930 news clip shows him building an innovative Drive-In Market. It calls him an "oil magnate." He owned numerous properties and was investing a whopping $40,000 in the middle of the Great Depression, worth $620,600 in 2020! He had become a wealthy man.

Soon the Ohio Pannells would arrive in Santa Ana as well. Uncle Guy would arrive as well with his wife, Aunt Mary Ellen. When they came is not clear, but they were all here by the 1930 census. The Pannells moved to 1109 S Flower Street in Santa Ana, on the edge of the Wilshire Square neighborhood.


Stephen (or was he known as Lemont?) and Guy would, at least for a time, work at Langley Oil for their brother Roy. Sadly, Stephen, ill from what I have been told was childhood rheumatic fever that had damaged his heart and having moved his family to a warmer climate to escape the frigid winters of Cleveland and Lake Erie, would succumb in 1931 at age 42. Eula would go to work as a clerk for her brother to help the family survive, raising her 13-year-old and 8-year-old sons as a single mom. She would never remarry.

That's it for Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 to find out what happened next!


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