Yiorgos (Caralambo) Allen (abt. 1828 - 1913)

Born about 1828 in Asia Minor

Died 2 Sep 1913 at about age 85 in Montebello, California

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Biography

George (Caralambo) Allen is Notable.

Yiorgos (or George) Caralambo (? - September 2, 1913) became famous as an early American West settler, who was a camel driver hired by US Army in 1856 for the Camel Corps experiment in the Southwest. The camels were to be tested for use in transportation across the "Great American Desert."^[1]

Caralambo, was born of Greek ancestry. He was living in Smyrna when he was selected for the Camel Corps.

Caralambo and the other camel drivers arrived at the Port of Indianola in Lavaca County, Texas with their animals on the USS Supply.

In Steven Dean Pastis' article "Go West Greek George," the eight men are identified: Caralambo, Hadji Ali (later known as Philip Tedro), Mimico Teodora (Mico), Hadjiatis Yannaco (Long Tom), Anastasio Coralli (Short Tom), Michelo Georgios, Yanni IIIato and Giorgios Costi.

The Camel Corps hauled supplies to build the Butterfield Overland Stage Route from St. Louis, Missouri to Los Angeles. The route was completed by September 1858.

Through his service in the Camel Corps, Greek George met Major Henry Hancock, a Harvard trained lawyer and wealthy Los Angeles landowner.

Hancock allowed Greek George in a failed plan to build a farmhouse with stables to house the dromedaries in the northwest part of Rancho La Brea, in present-day West Hollywood.

Greek George remained at Rancho La Brea well into the 1870s, taking care of Major Hancock's cattle and horses. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1867 and changed his name to George Allen.

On May 14, 1874, Tiburcio Vásquez, one of the most notorious Californio bandits in the 1870s and 1880s, was captured while hiding out at the home of Caralambos, who by then was known to locals as "Greek George". Vásquez, who terrorized Southern California for over twenty-three years, frequently used Greek George's farmhouse as one of his numerous hideouts.

The site of the L-shaped house, two miles beyond Cahuenga Pass on the south slope of the Santa Monica Mountains, near Nichols Canyon, is in present-day West Hollywood, thought to be near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and King's Road.

Greek George had gone to Los Angeles for the day, to find news of Sheriff Billy Rowland's activities. George's wife and baby, along with one member of the bandit crew, were the only people at the house along with Tiburcio Vásquez.

George's wife saw the raid coming, screamed and tried to slam the kitchen door. But as Vásquez tried to run, he was shot and captured.^[2]

Greek George Allen later moved to Montebello, California and died near Mission Vieja San Gabriel in 1913.

His grave is at Founders' Memorial Park, Whittier^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia article: Yiorgos Caralambo
2. ↑ Nadeau, Remi A., City-Makers: The Men who Transformed Los Angeles from Village to Metropolis During the First Great Boom, 1868-76. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY 1948. pg 148
3. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Los_Angeles_County%2C_California