Rose La Monte Burcham (August 28, 1857 – February 2, 1944) was an American physician and mining company executive based in Southern California.

Early life and education

Rose Victoria La Monte was born in

Dansville, Steuben County, New York Dansville is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States, not to be confused with the nearby village of Dansville in Livingston County. The population was 1,842 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Daniel Faulkner. The Town of D ...

, the daughter of James La Monte and Eliza Pratt La Monte. Her father was a medical doctor; both of her parents were born in England and emigrated to the United States after the birth of the first child in 1832. Rose was their last child, born when James and Eliza were 46 and 44, respectively. Rose La Monte earned her medical degree at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati in 1884.Robert Jones Burdette, ed., ''Greater Los Angeles & Southern California: Portraits & Personal Memoranda'' (Lewis Publishing 1910): 230.

Career

Rose La Monte moved west for her own health in 1885. She settled in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

, where she became the first woman physician in the city. She invested in real estate, including orange groves. She was a member of the Ebell Club in Los Angeles and of the Southern California Academy of Science. She also served on the board of directors of the Fine Arts League. In 1895 Burcham funded her husband's search for gold in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

. The search was successful, and Rose La Monte Burcham moved to

Randsburg, California Randsburg (formerly Rand Camp) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Randsburg is located south of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of . The population was 69 in the 2010 census, down from 77 in the 2000 census ...

to be secretary and business manager of the Yellow Aster Mining and Milling Company. She was the sole living original officer of the company after 1914 and kept the Yellow Aster mine operating for four years on her own until she sold it in 1918.Bradford Caslon
"Rose La Monte Burcham -- 4900 Pasadena Avenue"
''A Look Back at Vintage Los Angeles'' (November 9, 2011). She was described as "a woman of remarkable acumen and executive ability," by a contemporary writer. In 1904, the ''Los Angeles Times'' counted her as a "Man of Achievement" in California.

Personal life

Rose La Monte married California rancher Charles Austin Burcham in 1887. She was widowed when he died in 1913."Charles Austin Burcham"
''Press Reference Library Volume 2'' (International News Service 1915): 559. She died in 1944, aged 86 years. Her gravesite is at Inglewood Lake Cemetery in Los Angeles; a home she lived in still stands, in the Highland Park neighborhood of the city.

References

External links

*Lorraine Blair, ''Dr. Rose, A Yellow Aster, and the Blooming Women of the California Rand'' (The Library Press 2003) , a recent biography of Burcham. * Linda LaMont Holm
"Dr. Rose Victoria LaMonte Burcham"
''My Family History Blog'' (September 2012); a family history blog post about Burcham.
The records of the Yellow Aster Mining and Milling Company
are archived at the Huntington Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burcham, Rose La Monte 1857 births 1944 deaths American women physicians