USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 13
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1893; the Midwinter Fair, Atlanta, Ga., 1894; Omaha, Neb., 1896; and the Pan-American Ex- position, Buffalo, N. Y., 1901 ; and he was the California Commissioner at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, Portland, Ore., 1905 ; the Jamestown Exposition, Jamestown, Va., 1907 ; and at Seattle at the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition 1909.
Besides his health, Mr. Wiggins also found hap- piness in Los Angeles, for it was here that he was married, May 5, 1886, to Miss Amanda P. Wig- gins.
MRS. IDA HANCOCK ROSS. Life pre- sents to every earnest heart obligations, the discharge of which is but the builder's work in the formation of character ; and the humility with which triumphs are scored or the courage with which adversity is met, forms the true measure of innate nobility. Such nobility is not a sporadic circumstance in the commonplaces of life, but the flowering and fruitage of an hon- orable lineage, the development of the powers of the soul. Many elements entered into the character development of Madam Ross and ultimately brought her to a rank among the foremost women of the west. Not the least important contribution to her temperament was the influence of heredity, while supplementary thereto were the frontier environment of her childhood, the tinge of romance that colored even the most dreary prospect, the exciting journey across the plains after the discovery of gold and the subsequent identification with the advancement of the west. Necessarily such a career acquired an interest and importance not merely local but statewide in influence and permanent in results. Romance threw its ten- der glow over her history and vivified its changing experiences, into all of which she entered with gracious dignity and queenly courage.
The life which this narrative depicts began at Imperial, Ill., in 1843, and closed in Los An- geles March 15, 1913. Between the two dates there is the record of the career of a remark- able woman. Nor was her ancestry less inter- esting than her own life experiences. When an effort was made to secure freedom from despot- ism for Hungary the patriotic movement met with disaster and one of its leaders, Count Agostin Haraszthy, was exiled from his na-
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tive land in 1840. For that reason he came to America to cast in his fortunes with those of a country where liberty of thought was permit- ted. He had married Eleanora de Dedinskyi, a noblewoman of Polish ancestry, and their daughter, Ida, was born during the early resi- dence of the family in the new world. There were six children when the father and mother crossed the plains via the Santa Fe trail during the summer of 1849, the eldest son, however, remaining in the east in the Annapolis Naval Academy. Count Haraszthy's father also ac- companied the party. The journey was one never to be forgotten by the members of the expedition. More than once the little children felt the pangs of hunger and more than once they were terror-stricken by the presence of hostile savages, but they were spared from their many perils and landed safely in San Diego, where the Count established a home. Soon his fine character, superior ability and broad intelligence brought him into local prom- inence and he was chosen at different times to offices of civic importance, being elected first sheriff of the county and marshal of the city, while his father became first justice of the peace and president of the first city council. In 1852 Count Haraszthy was sent to the legisla- ture from San Diego and was a member of the same term with Major Hancock, his daughter's future husband. Eventually he removed to So- noma county and planted there a vineyard, the original stock of which had been imported from Europe and formed the first vines ever grown in the state for industrial purposes. In 1860 he was sent by Governor Downey to Europe to col- lect cuttings of the finest wine grapes to use in developing the California industry, and he made the trip at his own expense. In 1867 he re- moved to Central America and there he died the following year. It was in 1851 that the mother and children went to New York by sailing ves- sel around Cape Horn and remained in the east five years for the purpose of educating the children. In 1860 the daughter was taken by her mother to Paris to complete her education and remained two years. Upon her return to California she entered society and early in the '60s became the bride of the gallant and popular Major Hancock, whose life had been no less romantic than her own. Hale, hearty and pen- niless, he had crossed the plains in 1849 and in a
rich placer mine he shortly took out $20,000. With shrewd foresight he invested the money in the great Mexican grants, for which he paid $2 or $3 an acre. The largest of these grants, Rancho la Brea, lies west of Los Angeles and on three thousand acres of the land Hollywood, Sherman and Colegrove were built. The re- maining two thousand acres are intact and are conservatively estimated to be worth $3,000,- 000.
A new chapter was opened in the lives of this family of destiny when the noble and beloved Major was taken from the home in 1883, leav- ing the young wife alone, with her two sons to rear and educate. The land was heavily en- cumbered and the outlook seemed dark. The anguish of this bereavement and the hardships that followed were met and borne with a sub- lime courage possible only to a truly great character. Taking the two boys to the little old ranch house, she struggled for two years and did any part of the rough manual labor that fell to her lot, the boys meanwhile attending school near San Francisco, until eventually the hard labor and wise business judgment of Madam Ross enabled her to free the property from the heavy mortgage. It was because of the privations of the period of young widow- hood that in later life she understood so thor- oughly the sufferings of others, entered into warm, rich sympathy with their discourage- ments and longed to extend the hand of prac- tical help to every troubled soul. The years of hardships furnished the keynote to the later years of bounteous charities. They furnished also the keynote to the privacy of her benefac- tions. Not even her most intimate friends knew who were the recipients of her practical helpfulness. It was known that she had a private bank account, used exclusively for charity work, but no one was told how this fund was disbursed. The sole benefaction of which the public heard was the semi-annual treat of ice cream, cake and candy to every orphan that could be found in Los Angeles. One of these happy occasions was her birth anniversary and the other was Christ- mas or Easter.
Surviving Madam Ross is her second hus- band, Hon. Erskine M. Ross, federal judge, a gentleman of culture and scholarly attain- ments, to whom she was married in June ,1909; also one son of her first marriage, George Allan
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Hancock, who for years has carried all the re- sponsibilities of the Rancho la Brea and the oil companies, yet has found leisure to develop his musical talents and is regarded as one of the foremost 'cellists of the country. The family residence on Wilshire boulevard and Vermont avenue is a duplicate of the Villa Medici at Florence, which had been greatly admired by Madam Ross as one of the most beautiful man- sions in Europe. The music room is a marvel of art, the decorative scheme throughout being in white and gold and cut-glass fixtures. As visitors listen to the melody of the large pipe organ, one of the finest in the world, its har- monies bring back from the dim past spirits of romantic days and they are touched anew by the remarkable life of the one by whom the organ and hall and home had been called into existence. Frequently Mr. Hancock himself delights the guests with his 'cello, an instru- ment made in 1772 by Nicolano Gagliano, a pupil of Stradivarius, and considered by all musicians and artists who have seen it to rank among the best in existence, Madam Ross hav- ing spent a great deal of time during her Euro- pean trips making the selection. For the past two years Mr. Hancock has taken care of the business of the Los Angeles Symphony Orches- tra in his offices and has also played with it. The mansion is also remarkable for its rare art treasures, including many pictures collected by Madam Ross in her European travels. It was possible for her to exercise her wise and artistic judgment in foreign galleries during the six months of every year which she passed abroad and thus she became familiar with the world's masterpieces in art. Deeply devoted to music and art, they did not represent the limit of her benefactions ; on the contrary, she loved every- thing tending toward the advancement of hu- manity and would do anything in her power to stimulate interest in worthy projects.
Friends in every quarter of the globe mourned the passing of Madam Ross, March 15, 1913, but particularly was the bereavement felt in Los Angeles, where she had given of her time, influence and means to aid in civic upbuilding and where, during more than one-half century of residence, she had seen a small village de- velop into a thriving metropolis. While the services at the home and in Calvary cemetery were private, more than one thousand persons
gathered in St. Vibiana's Cathedral for the solemn requiem mass by Bishop Conaty and Monsignor Harnett. The presence of so large a concourse of people attested to the popularity of Madam Ross and gave a silent but eloquent tribute to her charming personality and rare spirit. We mourn that such lives must go out of this troubled earth, but God calls them as pioneers to the far country beyond the sunset sea and leaves to the memory of contempo- raries and to the admiration of rising genera- tions the influence of her radiant personality, extraordinary executive ability and exalted con- ceptions of duty.
D. M. McGARRY. A career that naturally divides itself into three parts each about two decades in duration brought financial prosperity and civic prominence to the late D. M. McGarry, honored among the pioneer upbuilders of Los An- geles and remembered in civic charities as a man of generous, far-reaching philanthropies, sympa- thetically and often actively interested in move- ments to improve industrial conditions and pro- mote the happiness of humanity. Himself of Cel- tic ancestry, born in county Antrim, January 20, 1842, he was a true son of Erin in temperament and in the unwavering optimism with which he viewed all of the affairs of life. Hardships could not daunt his courageous spirit, lack of educa- tional advantages did not discourage his ardent determination and poverty was but an incentive to inspire him to industry and perseverance. Fol- lowing the example set by so many of his fellow- countrymen, he came to the United States to se- cure a foothold in the business world. During 1866 he established himself in the retail coal business in Chicago. Gradually at first, and more rapidly later, the business grew under his careful, intelligent and efficient management, and finally he developed a wholesale trade as well as a retail patronage.
A visit back to old Ireland in 1871 was the occasion of the marriage of Mr. McGarry to Miss Margaret McCaughan. The wedding trip con- sisted of a voyage across the ocean and then further travel as far as Chicago, where the young couple established their first home. Four sons were born in Chicago, namely: Michael Joseph, who married Mary E. Quinlan and has four chil- dren ; Daniel Francis, who married Miss Ana
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Doyle, of Pomona; John A., whose wife, Chris- tine, is the daughter of Dr. Joseph Kurtz, an hon- ored pioneer physician of the west; and Patrick J., who married Cecile Hoffmann. The two daughters of the family, Mary T. and Anna M., were born after the removal of the family to Los Angeles.
During the spring of 1881 a visit to California for the purpose of spending a short time with friends in Humboldt county gave Mr. and Mrs. McGarry their first glimpse of Southern Cali- fornia. Needless to say they were pleased with the country. At that time Los Angeles had scarcely more than eleven thousand souls. Business had not yet wakened into life. There seemed few op- portunities for a man of the business experience and capabilities of Mr. McGarry, yet with shrewd foresight he realized the commercial opening at this point and when his wife, charmed with the climate and picturesque scenery, expressed a de- sire to remove from Chicago to Los Angeles, he willingly acquiesced in her views. Returning to his headquarters, he disposed of the business and his other holdings and brought his wife and sons to Los Angeles, where he bought a vineyard at Eighth and Alameda streets. From the first there was no question of return to the east. Bringing their lares and penates with them, he and his wife were content to establish a permanent home in this western city just then springing into life. By 1890 they had the satisfaction of seeing the city rated at fifty thousand population and since then, in spite of depressions and financial strin- gencies, the growth has been continuous and sub- stantial.
With the development of the city the vineyard was subdivided and sold and Mr. McGarry made a specialty of the handling of real estate with Daniel Innes as a partner. During 1883 he was elected to the city council. Again in 1892 he was chosen for that office. For some time he served as a director of the Chamber of Commerce and the early upbuilding of that important institution was attributable in some degree to his patriotic helpfulness and wise co-operation. As a director of the First National Bank of Los Angeles he was for many years identified with the progress of one of the greatest financial concerns in the west. Religion rounded out a character singu- larly admirable from every standpoint. A de- vout member of the Roman Catholic Church, he was exceedingly generous in contributions to all
religious enterprises. Although more than a decade of history has been made in Los Angeles since he passed away, on the 4th of July, 1903, he is still remembered in the prayers of the little children of the orphanage on Boyle Heights and his large benefactions to the institution are still held in grateful recollection. His children are exemplifying worthily and honorably his civic usefulness and sterling qualities of mind and heart. The eldest son, Michael Joseph, who was educated in All Saints' School in Chicago, St. Vincent's College in Los Angeles, Clon- gowes Wood College in county Kildare, Ireland, and Notre Dame University in Indiana, has been a member of the California bar since October, 1894, has served twice as a member of the Los Angeles park commission under Mayors Snyder and McAleer and once as a member of the fire board. Frequently he has been a delegate to political conventions and always he has been an advocate of good government in city and state. Like his father, he maintains a warm interest and active connection with the Chamber of Commerce. At one time he was retained as lecturer for the Knights of Columbus and twice he has been hon- ored with the state presidency of the Ancient Or- der of Hibernians. He is a charter member of Newman Club and past exalted ruler of Los Angeles Lodge No. 99, B. P. O. E. Along pro- fessional lines he is associated with the County and State Bar Associations. Mingled with his interest in civic progress and Democratic affairs, secondary to his professional work yet important withal, is his love of history and literature and his reputation as a Shakespearean authority. These various qualifications have brought him into close touch with people in many different walks of life and have won for him the admiration and esteem of all.
The death of Mrs. Margaret McGarry oc- curred at her home April 28, 1915, removing a pioneer citizen and one well known in church and charitable work in this city.
HENRY DE GARMO. For thirty years a resident of Los Angeles, having come to this city from San Bernardino, where he had been in busi- ness for ten years, Henry De Garmo, as president of the Los Angeles Lime Company, is well known in commercial circles throughout the city, and is
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Samuel Rees
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highly esteemed by all who know him. He is a native of New York state, having been born at Rochester, October 15, 1842, the son of John and Emeline De Garmo. When he was two and a half years old his parents removed to Wisconsin, which was his home until he was about ten years of age. Removal was then made to Ypsilanti, Mich., where he continued his studies in the Nor- mal school for three years, or until the family removed to a farm near Sterling, Ill. There he attended the district school until he was eighteen, in the meantime assisting with the care of the farm, and when his father died about a year later he took complete charge of its management, for several years running the property alone. With his mother and brother he then returned to Rochester, N. Y., where he attended Bryant & Stratton's Business College, and at the end of three years he returned to Sterling alone. There he learned the plasterer's trade, which he fol- lowed in that city until 1868, when he went to Lincoln, Neb., and engaged in the plastering con- tracting business until 1871. In that year he re- moved to Salem, Ore., where he continued in his former occupation for eighteen months. He then came to California, locating in San Ber- nardino, where for ten years he worked at his trade as a contracting plasterer, and then came to Los Angeles, where he has since resided. Here he established a lath, lime and cement business which proved profitable, and in 1889 he incor- porated it as the Los Angeles Lime Company, of which he has been president since. This company handles a complete line of steel lath, steel par- tition, lime, cement and blasting materials.
The marriage of Mr. De Garmo took place in Lincoln, Neb., March 31. 1871, uniting him with Miss Emma Gyger, of that city. They became the parents of two sons, who are prominent in commercial and professional circles in Los An- geles. Elwood De Garmo is connected with Thompson-Bradley Co., of Los Angeles, and Curtis De Garmo is a well-known attorney in this city.
Mr. De Garmo has always taken a keen interest in local affairs and is a true Progressive. He believes in all measures that tend toward the up- building of the city along safe and sane lines of permanent growth, and supports his convictions, regardless of party. As a member of the South- ern California Pioneer Society he is interested in
the early history of California and is especially interested in the preservation of the old land- marks.
SAMUEL REES. That unparalleled growth has marked the history of Los Angeles is not alone due to the unrivaled climate, but also in large degree to the sublime faith in its future possessed by pioneers who exhibited the same optimistic spirit in seasons of discouragement and depression as they did in times of prosper- ity and plenty. From the first day of his iden- tification with the city, Samuel Rees proved to be one of those sunny, cheerful far-sighted citizens, willing to show his faith by his invest- ments, and convinced, even in the face of good- natured ridicule, that the city of his adoption would soon show a network of streets and railroads, with industries and improvements equal to anything to be found west of the Mis- sissippi river. That he has been privileged to witness the more than fulfillment of his proph- esy in the present splendid City of the Angels, stretching in one magnificent sweep from the mountains down to the sea, Mr. Rees counts as amongst his greatest blessings, and today Los Angeles is to him as a favored daughter. over whose youthful days he watched with lov- ing care, guarding, guiding and nurturing her splendid talents, until, in the full flower of her womanhood, she stands the pride of her county, her state, and her nation, and beloved of the world.
When Mr. Rees first arrived here in 1874 he found a sleepy little city of sixty-five hun- dred people, the majority of whom were quite content with conditions, caring little that soil, climate, proximity to the ocean and an ever increasing market for industrial and agricul- tural products formed assets worthy of the serious consideration of the investor and the resident. The newcomer was, however, a man of an entirely different type. A native of Eng- land, he had left his native shire of Stafford when he was a youth of twenty-one years and crossed the waters to seek his fortune in the land of golden opportunities. For a number of years he was employed as a clerk in the office of the Panhandle division of the Pennsyl- vania railroad at Pittsburg, but the call of the pioneer was in his blood and ever sounding in
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his ears, and in 1874 he answered with his journey to the coast, locating at once in Los Angeles, which he chose as the fairest city in the fair land. He was a young man of clear vision, keen foresight and large faith in the growth of the west and particularly in the development of Los Angeles. From the first he looked upon the city as the coming metropo- lis of the coast and laid his plans accordingly. For a time he was in the employ of a leading firm of blacksmiths and wagon makers as book- keeper, but he had no intention of remaining as an employe of any firm indefinitely, and saving his earnings with care and making a careful study of commercial and industrial conditions, he was soon able to venture forth into business for himself.
Accordingly, in due course of time the firm of Rees & Wirsching was organized, with Mr. Rees at the head, and as junior partner Robert E. Wirsching, a pioneer of 1875 and a typical Californian, thoroughly American in sentiment, although a native of Germany. For years the firm engaged in general blacksmithing and in the manufacture of wagons, having a large shop on Aliso street. The independence of the part- ners and their far-sighted ability appeared in their being the first to break away from the dominating influence then held by San Fran- cisco over the Southern California trade. In- stead of sending to the northern city for their supplies they placed their orders directly with eastern firms, and thus became pioneers in the movement which made Los Angeles one of the greatest wholesale centers of the west.
While in the main this firm prospered, they yet endured their share of vicissitudes. per- haps the most disastrous being in 1884, when the great floods caused serious damage entail- ing a loss of about $15,000. Instead, however, of giving up the business and retiring in de- feat, they purchased new goods, made exten- sive improvements in their plant, and inaug- urated radical changes in their methods of car- rying on their trade, and by dint of energy, ability and determination soon again had laid the foundation for enduring prosperity. Later they purchased the business of another large firm and established their headquarters on Los Angeles street, developing there a plant carry- ing all modern agricultural implements and
wagons, as well as continuing an extensive blacksmithing trade.
It is not to be supposed that during these years of business activity Mr. Rees held aloof from property investments. On the contrary, these had taken much of his time and thought. On the east side he had bought seventeen and one-half acres for $20 an acre, and on the south end of the tract, now known as Brooklyn Heights, he had erected a home for himself. This district was then remote from the busi- ness center and there were no improvements or advantages to be obtained . It was even necessary to carry water for household pur- poses in barrels until a cistern could be dug. No one had, up to this time, attempted to estab- lish a home or develop property in this end of town, but the new householder predicted that within seven years it would be a residential dis- trict, accessible by street cars. There were not wanting hard-headed pioneers who believed that he was entirely wrong, but who lived to see his predictions prove true within the time stated. Eighty lots from his property were sold to a Los Angeles syndicate and on other lots he himself erected ten houses which he sold. Streets were cut through and graded, sidewalks put in and settlers were attracted who developed handsome grounds, so that now this is a district of comfortable homes and at- tractive environments. Mr. Rees himself still owns a number of lots in the tract and still resides there, his present home being on the north end of the property, commanding a pic- turesque view of the valley and mountains.
After his first purchase in Brooklyn Heights Mr. Rees bought forty lots near by, paying for them $40 per lot. On these he erected ten houses and sold the property at a fair profit. At different times he has bought and sold other property in Los Angeles, always with a clear- sighted judgment that has guaranteed a profit on the venture. At present he owns a consid- erable amount of city property, scattered in various sections, all so located as to be con- stantly increasing in value. Among his down- town property may be mentioned a business lot on Los Angeles street near Commercial street, and a valuable property on Hope street near the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
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