Another in a regular series of fascinating, intriguing, or thoughtful tales about people and places in Nado history — presented by your Coronado Historical Association
It’s not normally a surprise to discover stories of a “first born” when studying the history of a place. But in Coronado’s case, it was quite a surprise to discover that Coronado’s first baby was named, well .. “Coronado.”
More specifically, this baby was crowned with the unlikely (and demanding) name of “Coronado Theophilus Bertram Beaudry” shortly after his birth on May 20, 1887. Coronado was the youngest of seven children born to John B. Beaudry and his wife Helma.
Coronado’s father was French Canadian and had immigrated to the United States in 1877. He married Helma, whose family were Swedish immigrants, in 1885. John Beaudry was an architect and builder by trade and undoubtedly came to Coronado to help with the huge Hotel Del building project as well as smaller developments for businesses or homes, all rising from the largely vacant acres of the city owned by the Coronado Beach Company.
As an indication of what a small town Coronado was at the time and the close-knit nature of the community, the wife of Hampton Story (a partner with Elisha Babcock in establishing the Coronado Beach Company and building the Hotel Del) became the baby’s godmother and presented the young lad with a silver baptismal font and cup. The Beaudrys raised a wood-framed home on D Avenue just north of Fifth Street.
We know that a fire destroyed that house by the mid-1890s and the Beaudry family moved to Los Angeles but information is rather sparse after that. Coronado’s father died at age 65 in 1924 and his mother lived for twenty more years.
Records for young Coronado are harder to find. Our detective work has uncovered that Coronado registered for the draft during World War I but there is no record of any service. For a time he lived in Kern County working as a surveyor but returned to Los Angeles to live with his parents by 1920. A 1920 census entry for Coronado Beaudry lists a single man of 32 years but no record has surfaced in any subsequent census, so there is some chance that he died early in life. (BL) Genealogist Rebecca Baker contributed to this article. www.coronadohistory.org
