Charles Hoyt Thorpe (1876-1965) was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Katherine Rosina French (1836-1926) and her second husband Benjamin Thorpe Jr. (1829-1912), who married in Iowa in 1863. That same year Benjamin was drafted into the U.S. Army, but bought a substitute and instead opened a general store in Earlville, Iowa, and later a dry goods store in Cedar Falls. In 1886 Benjamin's business failed and the family moved to Los Angeles in 1887. Charles worked as a messenger and on a paper route from the age of 13, and graduated from the Scientific Course at Los Angeles High School in 1896. He attended the Normal School from 1897-1899 and was a country school teacher in Whittier, California, from 1899 until 1900. Charles lived in San Francisco from 1900 to 1906 and experienced the San Francisco Earthquake. In 1907 he married his cousin's half-sister Mary Moore and the couple lived on the Thorpe family's ranch near Covina, California. Charles earned course credit at various colleges throughout his life, including at Cornell University in 1908 and Santa Barbara College in 1928. He also continued to teach school and became the head of the Mechanic Arts Department at Los Angeles High School in 1926. The Thorpes moved to Malibu in 1932.
From the description of Journal of Charles Hoyt Thorpe, 1913-1938. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 705370643
