Elizabeth Street was initially laid out west of Lake Avenue, presumably as part of the 1886 Howard Place tract. Although the street wasn’t labeled on its map, the tract was owned by John E. Howard (1840-1898), his wife was named Elizabeth (1847-1918), and there was no likelier namesake at that time and place. Our subject was born Elizabeth Henry in the village of Montague, MA. She was the only surviving child of Nathan F. Henry, a tavern keeper-turned-banker, and his wife Loenza. Nathan’s November 1884 obituary suggested that he died a wealthy man; that would explain why, just two months later, his sole beneficiary Elizabeth had the means to flee frigid Massachusetts for sunny California with her husband John (they married in 1867) and their daughters Mary and Bessie. See Howard Street for more on the Howards’ brief time in Pasadena. The portion of Elizabeth Street east of Lake was first known as Santa Fe Street – an homage, along with neighboring Atchison and Topeka streets, to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. It was combined into Elizabeth in 1908 per city ordinance.
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