Imperial
County
Biographies
DANIEL
P. CHOISSER
Daniel
P. Choisser, widely known educator, has been the capable principal of the
Calexico Union high school and superintendent of the district elementary
schools during the past eight years. He
was born in El Dorado, Illinois, February 5, 1875, his parents being John A.
and Caroline (Musgrave) Choisser, who were also natives of that state and have
passed away. The father, a successful
farmer and raiser of livestock, died in the faith of the Baptist Church.
Daniel
P. Choisser, the only surviving member of a family of four children,
supplemented his grammar school education by a high school course at El Dorado,
Illinois, and subsequently engaged in the profession of teaching for a
time. He was graduated from Ewing
College at Ewing, Illinois, with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1902, while
two years later, in 1904; the same institution conferred upon him the degree of
Master of Arts. He followed the teaching
profession in Illinois for eight years thereafter and served as superintendent
of schools in Milliken, Colorado, from 1916 until 1918. In the latter year Mr. Choisser came to
southern California, locating in Oxnard, Ventura County, where he taught
science in the high school until 1920.
He then took up his residence in Calexico, where he continued his
educational work, serving as principal and teacher of science in the high
school for five years. During the past
nine years, since 1925, he has filled the positions of high school principal
and superintendent of the district elementary schools, which have made marked
progress under his wise and efficient supervision. Mr. Choisser is a member of the National
Education Association and the California Teachers Association and represents
the administrative group of Imperial County in the council of the C. T. A.,
southern section. He is also an
ex-president of the Schoolmasters Club of the Imperial Valley and has long been
numbered among the leading and successful educators of this part of the state.
In
1904 Mr. Choisser was united in marriage to Miss Edna Seargeant of Ewing,
Illinois, a daughter of James A. Seargeant, who was a trustee of Ewing College
at Ewing. Mr. and Mrs. Choisser are the
parents of three children, as follows: Ruth, who is Mrs. Herbert M. Lightburn, of Long Beach, California, and has a daughter,
Marion; Helen, a student at the University of Redlands; and Daniel, a high
school student.
Mr.
Choisser is a member of the Rotary Club.
During the period of the World War he was active in Red Cross and other
work, and his support and cooperation can be counted upon at all times in the
furtherance of projects looking toward civic advancement. He is interested in the organization of Boy
Scouts and fraternally is a member of Calexico Lodge, No. 412, F. & A.
M. Mr. Choisser is a lover of fine
horses, having owned a number of gaited saddle horses.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. V, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 305-306, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Imperial County Biographies