Famous for its Victorian houses, this 1886 street honors Carroll Archibald Stilson (1885-1948), son of William Wallace Stilson (1846-1888), co-owner of the original Angeleño Heights tract. Carroll Stilson was born on Christmas Day, mere months after his family came to L.A. from Topeka. He grew up on his father’s tract albeit not on his namesake street. After attending UC Berkeley, he joined his older brother Fielding (1877-1953) in the brokerage biz, then briefly sold cars before settling into a career as manager of a number of “employers associations” – essentially unions for bosses. It’s fair to say that Stilson was a mama’s boy: he lived with his mother Mary (1854-1943) until finally taking a wife, Emma, in 1930. He was 44. Sadly, Emma died less than two years later from peritonitis. Stilson wed his second wife Ivia in 1933, but she too wasn’t long for this world: pneumonia took her in 1939. This second tragedy may have influenced Stilson’s relocation to San Diego the following year. He didn’t dare marry again.
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