USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 15
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[ Since the above was written Mr. Dillon passed away May 2, 1915, and his remains were interred in Calvary cemetery.]
AUGUST BROSSMER. Descended from a long line of sturdy German ancestry, and him- self a native of the Fatherland, August Brossmer was also a pioneer in the west, having come to Los Angeles to make his permanent home in 1868. The journey hither was made from Mon- tana, where he had gone with his wife the pre- ceding year, shortly after his arrival in America. From the time of his arrival in Los Angeles until
his death, in 1889, Mr. Brossmer proved himself to be a worthy citizen, applying his efforts in such a manner that he accumulated an appre- ciable property, and surrounding his family with the comforts and advantages that the city afforded at that time. He was known as a man of ability and worth, a good friend, a reliable business man, and an altogether desirable citizen of the grow- ing metropolis of the west.
Mr. Brossmer was born at Ettenheim, in the province of Baden, Germany, June 4, 1841, the son of Michael and Theresa Brossmer. He grew to manhood there, attending the parish schools and later learning the trade of cabinetmaker. Be- sides himself his brother Sigmund (who was also located in Los Angeles for a time) and his sister, Mrs. Stephen Frey, were the only children of his father's first marriage. It was in 1867 that Mr. Brossmer and his wife came first to America, making the trip across the Atlantic on board the steamship Hansa and landing at Hoboken, N. J. From there they went west to Montana, making the journey by way of St. Louis and thence up the Mississippi river to Fort Bend, there taking teams for the remainder of the way. They went first to Helena, Mont., and from there to Pipe- stone, also in Montana, remaining at this latter place for two months. However, they were not pleased with this part of the west and so deter- mined to try their fortune in the southwest. Ac- cordingly, with Alexander Hennenger, a brother of Mrs. Brossmer, they started by way of Salt Lake City and the southern route for California. They reached San Bernardino in December of 1867, remaining there until May, 1868, at which time they removed to Los Angeles to make their permanent home.
For a time after coming to Los Angeles Mr. Brossmer worked at his trade as a cabinetmaker, but the splendid opportunities offered even at that early date caused him to engage in the more lucrative business of contracting and building, which enterprise he followed during many years with great success. He was recognized as a man of influence in the growing community and his business ability was generally appreciated throughout the county. His death, which oc- curred December 28, 1889, was a distinct loss to the city, and was sincerely mourned by many loyal friends. He was a member of the Red Men, among whom he is well remembered and also a member of the Turner Society.
Andrew Blaissell
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Mrs. Brossmer, who still survives her husband, is a woman of great strength of character and executive ability. Before her marriage she was Miss Euphrosina Hennenger, also a native of Et- tenheim, Baden, Germany, born February 9, 1843, the daughter of Josepli and Cecelia (Mueller) Hennenger. She received her education in the public schools of her native village, and when she was twenty-two years of age she was married to Mr. Brossmer. They had no children of their own, but an adopted daughter, Waibel, was reared with all the love and care of an own child. She was married to Thomas Neuner, a well- known local business man, who died within a short time, and several years later she was again mar- ried, now being Mrs. J. E. Sills.
Mrs. Brossmer was the companion of her hus- band in the truest sense of the word, and her long residence in Los Angeles has made her especially well versed in the past history of the city. She has seen it grow from a mere village to its pres- ent splendid dimensions, and both she and her husband always possessed the most unwavering faith in its future greatness, which faith is still as bright with Mrs. Brossmer as it was when she first came here, almost fifty years ago. In the early days of the city, when Mr. Brossmer was a prominent figure in the general life and activity of the county, he quite clearly foresaw the possi- bilities that were offered for stupendous growthi and development in the southwest. Many of the early buildings were erected by him, and some of these are still standing, although for the most part the progress of events has swept them away with other landmarks of a day gone by.
ANDREW GLASSELL, SR. From the pe- riod of his arrival in California during the pio- neer days of 1852 until his death, nearly fifty years later, Mr. Glassell was intimately asso- ciated with the profession of law in this state, with the exception only of the momentous days of the Civil war. His influence was apparent during the formulative period of the state, when men of powerful minds and strong wills were needed to place the commonwealth upon a sub- stantial basis; nor were his achievements less commendable during those later years of prog- ress and development which have rendered pos- sible the high standing of California today.
Many of the qualities so noticeable in the life of Mr. Glassell were his by right of in- heritance from Scotch ancestry. He was the fourth in direct succession to bear the name of Andrew Glassell, the first having been a worthy Scot whose son and namesake founded the family in Virginia. In a family of six chil- dren, whose parents were Andrew and Susan (Thornton) Glassell, the last survivor was An- drew, born in Virginia, at the ancestral home (known as Torthorwald) September 30, 1827. When seven years of age he was taken to Sum- ter county, Ala., where his father became a cotton planter near Livingston. At seventeen years of age he entered the University of Ala- bama, from which he was graduated in 1848. The study of law he began under the preceptor- ship of Hon. Samuel W. Inge, and on being admitted to the bar commenced a general pro- fessional practice, during which time he en- joyed the friendship of Hon. John A. Camp- bell, at one time a justice of the supreme court of the United States.
As before stated, it was in 1852 that Mr. Glassell cast his fortunes with the new state of California. The recommendations which he brought from Judge Campbell not only secured his admission to the bar of the supreme court of this state, but also gave him at once a high rank among its lawyers, and he was soon ap- pointed a deputy of the United States district attorney of California at San Francisco. His especial assignment was the trying of a large number of land cases, some of which were then pending before the United States land commis- sion, appointed under act of Congress of March 3, 1851, to settle the titles to lands in this state. After three years in this position he resumed private practice in San Francisco and so con- tinued until the war, when, on account of his southern sympathies rendering it impossible for him to take the test oath, he temporarily closed his office, and until after the termination of the war engaged in running a steam saw mill and manufacturing lumber and staves near Santa Cruz. With the close of the war he again took up professional labors, selecting Los An- geles as his future home and entering into partnership with Alfred B. Chapman, a friend of his boyhood and at one time an officer in the regular army. For a time the firm title was Glassell & Chapman, but the admission of Col.
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George H. Smith, January 1, 1870, caused a change of name to Glassell, Chapman & Smith ; and for a short time Henry M. Smith, now de- ceased, and the late judge of the superior court of Los Angeles county, was a member of the firm. In 1879 Mr. Chapman retired to engage in horticultural pursuits, and later George S. Pat- ton, a nephew of Mr. Glassell, was admitted as a junior partner. This association continued until 1883, when Mr. Glassell retired, to enjoy in his declining years the leisure and comforts which he had so worthily merited and won.
During his residence in San Francisco Mr. Glassell married Lucy Toland, whose father, Dr. H. H. Toland, was the founder of the To- land Medical College, now the medical depart- ment of the California State University. Nine children were born of this union, namely : Su- san G., who became the wife of H. M. Mitchell and is now deceased; Minnie G., Mrs. Harring- ton Brown, of Los Angeles; Hugh; Andrew ; William T .; Louise G., the widow of Dr. J. DeBarth Shorb, of Los Angeles; Philip H., de- ceased ; Alfred L., of Los Angeles ; and Lucien T., deceased. Mrs. Lucy Glassell was born in South Carolina and was a mere child when brought to California, where her death oc- curred at thirty-nine years of age. In religion she was a faithful member of the Catholic Church. Six years after her death Mr. Glassell was again married, his second wife being Mrs. Virginia Micou Ring, of New Orleans, who died in Los Angeles in 1897. The death of Mr. Glassell occurred at his home, No. 352 Buena Vista street, Los Angeles, January 28, 1901. Many tributes of respect and honor were paid to his memory by those who had been asso- ciated with him during the years of his pro- fessional activity. Among others we quote the following from the memorial adopted by the attorneys of Los Angeles and prepared at their request by a committee consisting of Stephen M. White, A. M. Stephens, A. W. Hutton, J. R. Scott and J. A. Graves.
"At all times since the formation of the co- partnership of Glassell & Chapman down to the time of Mr. Glassell's retirement, the firm of firms of which he was the head enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. He and his co- partners were favorably known throughout the state and especially in this section, and they
were usually retained on one side or the other of every important civil suit tried in this county and vicinity. The records of the several tri- bunals, state and federal, abound with evidence demonstrating the extent and importance of the litigation so ably conducted by and under the supervision of Mr. Glassell, and to these records reference is made as the highest and best evi- dence of his reputation, worth and ability as a lawyer. Not only was the firm of Glassell & Chapman active practitioners of the law, but they did much to develop and improve this sec- tion of the state. They did not, as so many owners of large tracts of land have done, wait to become enriched by and through the enter- prise of their neighbors, but took an active in- terest in all matters calculated to induce immi- gration and the upbuilding of Southern Cali- fornia. One instance of their deals in real estate may be cited. About 1868 they became the owners of a large tract of land in the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. This tract was subdivided and a large irrigating canal constructed to conduct the waters of the Santa Ana river to the farming lands and to the town of Richland, which was laid out by them, and the land offered for sale upon terms most fa- vorable to settlers. This little town of Rich- land is now the city of Orange. The canal of the Semi-Tropic Water Company has been from time to time extended and enlarged until today it forms a large part of the property of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company and a portion of the finest system of irrigation in the southern part of the state.
"Mr. Glassell was one of the incorporators, and for many years preceding his death one of the directors, of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles. He also took part in the organization of the Los Angeles City Water Company in 1868 and continued to be one of its large stockholders. About the same year the firm of Glassell & Chapman acted as the attor- neys in the incorporation of the Los Angeles & San Pedro Railway Company, by which com- pany the first railroad in Los Angeles county was constructed. They were its attorneys con- tinuously until the road was transferred to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, when the firm became local attorneys for this latter com- pany. As a lawyer and as a man he was scru-
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pulously honest, direct in his methods, open and frank in all his dealings, and toward the mem- bers of the bar always extremely courteous and affable, but at the same time in the trial of a case bold and vigorous. He was generous to those who were associated with him in his cases and always quick to recognize and acknowledge their services rendered in the common cause. He was liberal to the young men who entered the profession through his office and more than one member of your com- mittee remember with gratitude his kindness, helpfulness and generosity, and it is most pleas- ing now to remember that in all of their inter- course with him they cannot recall one single coarse expression or a single instance in which even for a moment he laid aside the bearing of a gentleman. He was a sound lawyer, deeply versed in the principles of his profession and thoroughly posted as to precedents affecting the questions in hand. He was a safe adviser and practical rather than brilliant. He was not an orator, but always terse, clear and forcible in argument. He was at all times thoroughly pre- pared at the trial, and in the preparation acted upon the theory that he is the best lawyer who drafts his pleading and other papers so thor- oughly as to leave no weak points for the at- tack of his adversary, and consequently but lit- tle need of oratory to defend them. In his busi- ness dealings with his debtors he was merciful and forbearing, often reducing or remitting the debt when its enforcement might have seemed to be harsh. Each member of your committee has personally known Mr. Glassell for more than a quarter of a century and can without reservation attest that they never heard ex- pressed any suspicion of the man. By devotion to his profession and by rare business sagacity he accumulated a large fortune, but by far the richest legacy he leaves behind him is the repu- tation which he earned by a lifelong course of honest dealing in his professional and business career. Notwithstanding his retirement from the practice hereinbefore noted, his life was a laborious one and full of responsibilities, and it is said by one who was very near to him in his latter days that he was ready to lay down the burdens of life and rest. His mortal career is ended; his life's roll is made up and at its conclusion is written the endorsement, 'An hon- est and just man.'"
EDWARD HOWARD BENTLEY. The genealogy of the Bentley family in America IS traced back to William Bentley who with his brother, John, crossed the ocean to Providence, R. I., about fifteen years after that colony had been planted by Roger Williams. The brothers were natives of Cornwall, England, and sons of Sir Roger Bentley, a representative of the old Norman nobility in whose blood had been mingled that of the sturdy Anglo-Saxon race. As John died in Providence without issue, it is to William that the family lineage is traced, for he left a large family. It is known that he was a young man of about twenty at the time of joining the Provi- dence colony in 1651, so it is probable that the date of his birth was about 1630. His death occurred in the year 1720. One of his sons, William, was born in Rhode Island in 1668 and in 1703 married Mary Eliot, a great-granddaughter of the famous missionary to the Indians, Rev. John Eliot, of the Massachusetts Bay colony. One of the five chil- dren of William was Jonathan, born near Provi- dence in 1705 and in young manhood a pioneer of Rensselaer county, N. Y., where in 1735 he married Mary Rathbourne. Of their two children the son, George Rathbourne Bentley, born in Rensselaer county in 1740, became a captain in the Revolutionary war and a member of the personal staff of George Washington. At the battle of Trenton, N. J., he was seriously wounded and lost a leg, but recovered and at the close of the war returned to his New York home.
The eldest son of Capt. George Rathbourne and Mary (Cavendish) Bentley was William Bentley, whose birth occurred in Rensselaer county, N. Y., in 1785, and who served in the war of 1812, after- ward being granted a pension for wounds re- ceived in the service. He removed to Canan- daigua, Ontario county, N. Y., and later to Allens- hill, same county, where in 1838 his earth life came to an end. In 1808 he had married Sofia James, daughter of Jonathan James, an officer of the Revolution. Born of the union were the fol- lowing-named children: Preston Miller, Peter Allen, Mary, Jonathan J., Hiram, Edwin Rath- bourne and Martin Van Buren. The last-named died in Detroit, Mich .; Peter Allen passed away at Compton, Cal., in July, 1896; Preston Miller, Jonathan J. and Mary are still living in Macomb county, Mich. Edwin Rathbourne (or Ruthven, as the middle name was usually spelled) Bentley )was born at Allenshill, Ontario county, N. Y.,
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November 30, 1820, and died at Armada, Macomb county, Mich., November 23, 1876. In his native county he had lived as a boy, but seeking the greater opportunities afforded by the newly opened central west section he had established himself on a Michigan farm in young manhood. In Macomb county he married Mary Howard Dunham in 1850. Five children were born of the union. The eldest, Mary Ellen, born at Mount Clemens, Macomb county, Mich., in September of 1852, became the wife of Fred M. Garlick in 1873 and died at Owosso, Mich., twenty years later, leaving three children, all residents of Mich- igan. The second daughter, Corrinne E., born at Mount Clemens in September, 1855, married Os- man C. Seelye about 1876 and is now living in Laporte, Ind. The third child and only son, Ed- ward Howard Bentley, was born in Detroit, Mich., November 23, 1857, and became a prominent at- torney in Los Angeles. The fourth member of the family, Kate Evelyn, was born at Detroit in September, 1863, and is the wife of F. E. Kohler of Owosso, Mich. The youngest daughter, Edith May, was born at Armada, Mich., in 1868, and is the wife of Charles Rubekam, of Owosso.
Educated in law at the University of Michi- gan, Edward Howard Bentley came to Los An- geles about 1879 and for thirty-five years engaged in the practice of law in this city, meanwhile rising to a position of great prominence at the bar and among the jurists of the state. He was a member of the law firm of Wicks, Lucas & Bent- ley, while at a different period he had as a part- ner J. R. Dupuy, then the district attorney. From the time of casting his first ballot he supported Democratic principles. May 13, 1885, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth N. Wris- ten, of Fresno, a daughter of the late W. D. and Agnes A. (Dew) Wristen, who crossed the plains with a "prairie schooner" during the period of western colonization and mining development. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Bentley comprises two sons. The elder, Howard Edward, an en- gineer, married Miss Beatrice Allen and resides in Los Angeles. The younger, Basil Wristen, is a resident of Chicago. The honorable career of Ed- ward Howard Bentley came to a close June 29, 1913, after an illness of only seven days. The large attendance of professional associates at his funeral attested to the high regard in which he was held. Ex-Governor Henry T. Gage, Will D. Gould, Len Clairborne, Harry L.
Dunnigan, Grove E. Walter and James R. Redd served as active pallbearers, while the hon- orary pallbearers were Frank Binford, Frank Adams, Capt. J. Irving McKenna and Wallace Wideman. Interment was made in the Rosedale cemetery. With the passing of Mr. Bentley there was removed another important link that connected the past with the present. At the time of his arrival in Los Angeles the population of the city was about eleven thou- sand. Within ten years he had seen it grow to fifty thousand and at the time of his death the population had reached almost one-half million. As the city had grown his own law practice had increased and a gratifying degree of financial prosperity rewarded his long life of professional devotion. Side by side with civic advancement there had been a corresponding expansion of his own professional interests, so that his name was almost as well-known in the city of metropolitan proportions as it had been in the smaller town of the '80s. In each decade of growth his name stood for honor, research and those other virtues indispensable to professional success and to civic influence.
FRANCIS SIDNEY HUTCHINS. In com- ing to the United States and taking up the stren- uous activities of the cattle industry Mr. Hutch- ins relinquished the cultured associations that had become familiar to him in the home of his father, John George Hutchins, an honored member of an old and well-connected family of England. A region remote from the thriving city of Bristol, where he was born on New Year's day of 1855 and where he received exceptional advantages in the schools, became the center of manhood's enter- prises and afforded him an opportunity to make good in his chosen occupation of stock-ranching. When but seventeen years of age he left England and joined an older brother, Alfred, in America. where ultimately he developed an extensive and important cattle business on the plains of Colo- rado. That was the prosperous period of the industry in the west and he reaped the benefit of the rising prices and abundance of range. Within a decade after he had bought his first herd of stock he ranked among the well-to-do and efficient cattlemen of the country and his brand was to be seen in large numbers all through his section of the stock country.
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A visit to the old home in England was made memorable by the marriage of Mr. Hutchins to Miss Amy Webster Hugo in August of 1884. Mrs. Hutchins was born at Exeter, England, on the last day of the year 1856 and was a member of a prominent family of her native city, where her father, Walter Hugo, ranked among the lead- ing surgeons. Three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins came to Los Angeles and there he gave his remaining years of activity to the management of his large interests and to the enjoyment of domestic and social relations. His ample means made possible a life of retirement from business stress and afforded him opportu- nities for culture and travel. In the midst of such fortunate conditions he never forgot the duties of citizenship but gave liberally of time and influence to the furthering of enterprises for the upbuilding of Los Angeles. Although not active in political affairs he kept posted in regard to the general issues and gave his ballot to Democratic principles. In his native country he had been trained in the faith of the Church of England and after coming to the United States he adhered to the doctrines of the Episcopal Church, during the latter part of his life officiating as warden of the Church of the Ascension at Boyle Heights. Sur- viving him are Mrs. Hutchins and six children, namely : Amy Webster and Walter Sidney, who reside with their mother; Beatrice Hugo, who married Henry Perkins and lives at Santa Cruz, Cal .; Mary Edith, at home; Dorothy Whistler, the wife of Harry Raynor, of Los Angeles, and Francis Stanley, at home. The sons and daugh- ters are well educated young people of refined tastes, with a large circle of friends among the best families of the city.
HON. ABBOT KINNEY. Were a stranger to inquire concerning the distinctive traits of Mr. Kinney and the talents which have brought his name into prominence throughout Southern California, he would be interested and perhaps even amazed by the variety of the answers given to his query. Lovers of literature, those whose lives are largely de- voted to critical study of the latest works in history, art or fiction, would emphasize the startling range of knowledge expressed in the authorship of books discussing widely diver-
gent problems. Realty men, those who have given their lives to the buying and selling of property and the handling of large deals, unanimously consider him great from the standpoint of a promoter of the favorite coast town of Venice, which indeed owes its exist- ence, not to say its growth, to his tireless energy, progressive optimism and unwavering loyalty in the face of catastrophe and tem- porary defeat. Orange growers, those who consider this region solely from the standpoint of its adaptability to citrus-culture, regard as most vitally important his identification dur- ing the early '80s with the orange industry and the subsequent development of other hold- ings, notably Kinneloa ranch near Pasadena. Nor are there wanting many public-spirited citizens who regard as most important of all his efforts to ameliorate the condition of the Indians, to develop the Yosemite into a park of which the entire state may be proud, to secure the enactment of the Australian ballot law, to protect stock-raisers during periods of drought, to secure the removal of all local and state taxes on ocean-going ships owned by California, and to promote other move- ments of unquestioned value to the permanent prosperity of the west.
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