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Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 5349

Scope and Contents

The Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records document John B. Leonis'--along with Leonis' grandson, Leonis C. Malburg's--businesses and stewardship of Vernon from its founding in 1905 until the turn of the 21st century.

Components of the collection include:
  1. Source material for Richard Nordin's biography, The Iron Fist: The Immigrant Journey of J. B. Leonis to Riches and Power in Southern California (4 large plastic storage containers).
  2. Material from Leonis Malburg's time as a mayor and city councilman of Vernon (4 file drawers).
  3. Files, Vernon site plans and escrow papers from 1924 to 1959 (4 drawers).
  4. Business records of J. B. Leonis from 1920 to the 1950s including correspondence, checks and other business records (17 drawers plus 21 ledgers).
  5. Records on the Leonis property in Hancock Park at 247 South Hudson Ave, including invoices and other papers from the 1926 purchase and construction.

Dates

  • Creation: 1907 - 2015

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Biographical / Historical

John B. Leonis was the City of Vernon's founding father and led the city through his position as mayor and as president of First National Bank of Vernon. Leonis also owned significant land holdings in the area.

Leonis Malburg (1929-2017) was an American politician and grandson of John B. Leonis, who served as Mayor of Vernon, California from his election in 1974 until his resignation in 2009. He started on the Vernon City Council in 1956. Malburg and his wife were convicted of conspiracy, perjury, and voter fraud in 2009, leading to his resignation.

Extent

107.625 Linear Feet (89 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records document John B. Leonis'--along with Leonis' grandson, Leonis Malburg's--businesses and stewardship of Vernon from its founding in 1905 until the turn of the 21st century.

Additional collection guides

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Leonis Malburg estate, March 2018.

Processing Information

The collection is unprocessed. The collection number does not currently reflect the numbering scheme for regional history collections. The collection number will change during future processing.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Finding aid for the Leonis-Malburg City of Vernon records
Status
Unprocessed
Author
Bo Doub
Date
2021 March
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2023 March: Finding Aid updated by Marissa Chavez and Sarah Jardini for History Associates Incorporated

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository

http://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections
Contact:
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States

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Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.