Biography of Peter J. Filano

Peter J. Filano, residing three miles south of San Bernardino, is one of the oldest and most prosperous pioneers in the valley. He was born in the southern part of France, November 4, 1820, the oldest of a family of three children. When a young man he went to Africa, and for nine years engaged in the slave trade on the east and west coasts. In 1845 he sailed from Maca to China and took slaves, then from China to Salem, Massachusetts. He followed the sea for fifteen years. In 1848 he sailed from New York to New Orleans, and … Read more