The Alvarado Neighbors: 404 A

The sisters who lived in 404 A and who shared a common wall with William Taylor were Muriel Valentine and Agnes Valentine Graves. The sisters had previously lived in 414 A, bordering Alvarado Street and directly across from the Lawrence family. Muriel, born 15 June 1884 and Agnes on 22 May 1887 were born in New York to Richard Valentine and Julia Lowry. Muriel was an auburn haired and blue eyed physician who earned the French de guerre award by General Petain for her services in World War 1. During the war, she commanded an ambulance unit, some 16 machines, with great efficiency capturing the notice of the French Command.
Agnes Valentine married Robert “Bob” Graves III born 22 October 1888 to Robert Graves and Charlotte de Grasse. Bob’s parents divorced when he was 12 and his father remarried the widow of Henry Bradley Plant, railroad tycoon, bringing quite a fortune to Bob’s life. Bob Graves and Agnes married in 1908 in Connecticut and eventually divorced and Agnes moved to Los Angeles. Bob was a tall blue eyed actor who appeared on stage in New York and later moved to Hollywood and built a successful career in acting.