Thomas Pascoe  Thomas Pascoe (1846/48–1938) was an Englishman who initially worked in the royal navy for 7 years and also witnessed the opening of the Suez canal. After he left the naval service, he migrated to USA, where he became a hotel developer and proprietor in California. According to J.M. Guinn's biography, Pascoe was born 10 March 1847 to George and Isabelle Pascoe in Cornwallm, where he spent his childhood. Conflicting birth dates are 1846 on his gravestone, December 1848, and even 1853. His service career started as a steward in the Royal Navy. He rose to the rank of chief steward and served for seven years as the head of his department in the naval ship "the man-of-war." During his naval career, he visited the Irish coast and the Mediterranean. In 1870, in his naval ship "the man-of-war", he visited Naples, and then Athens. In November 1869, he witnessed the opening of the Suez Canal by Napoleon III. After seven years of service in the Royal Navy he returned to England and started working on his own. Pascoe and his brother, George, migrated to United States. He was then 25 years old. They initially lived in New York City and then moved to Montana. There they joined the United States Marshals Service and served as deputy United States marshals. They were assigned to work at the penitentiary at Deer Lodge. They resigned from this position and started rearing sheep. In 1875, Pascoe ventured on his own and at Colorado Springs, he opened the Pascoe Hotel and Restaurant. He ran this hotel and restaurant for several years. In 1881, he moved to Ukiah, California, purchased the Grand Hotel and ran it for a year. He then sold his interests in Ukiah and moved to Pleasanton, California, and leased the Rose Hotel, which he operated for a year and a half. Pascoe, along with his brother, finally shifted to Los Angeles. Initially, for four months, he was in charge of the Kimball mansion. He then opened his own hotel establishment called the Clifton House, which was located at the corner of Temple and Fort streets. This was a family hotel built by him on modern lines which was the first of its kind in the city. Three years later managing, he bought the Lincoln Hotel, which was located at Second and Hill streets. After refurbishing the hotel he managed the hotel for thirteen years.