Philip Sichel (born about 1823 in Germany) was one of the first eight "recognizably Jewish"pioneers to settle in Los Angeles, California,[1] afterthat city became part of the United States in 1848; he was listed in the first Los Angeles census in 1850. He was a member of theLos Angeles Common Council, the governing body of the city, from May 7, 1862, to May 6, 1865,[2] and was on the Los Angeles CountyBoard of Supervisors in 1864, resigning on August 18 of that year.[3]
^Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials,1850-1938, compiled under direction of Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles (March 1938, reprinted 1966). "Prepared ... as a report on Project No. SA 3123-5703-6077-8121-9900 conducted under the auspices of theWorks Progress Administration."
^Board of Supervisors, citing Norton B. Stern, "The Location of Los Angeles Jewry at the Beginning of 1861,"Western Jewish Historical Quarterly, andHarris Newmark,Sixty Years in Southern California, 1863–1913
