USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 22
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ing railway lines throughout the country he became associated in the promotion of the Los Angeles and Balboa Railroad and for a time acted as vice-president of the company. His purchases of property in the immediate city today speak volumes for his sagacity and fore- sight, for the twenty acres on which formerly was the family homestead has become a rich possession upon East Seventh street, a thor- oughfare of great business importance, whose first establishment was in a great measure due to the activity of Mr. Sabichi. Unyielding faith in the future of Los Angeles and the courage to support his convictions by personal investment have never brought greater fruition than in the case of Mr. Sabichi, and his inces- sant labors to accomplish what he ever saw to be the greatness of his native city are now gratefully appreciated by the followers in his footsteps, who have come to a realization of his fondest hopes and ambitions.
As a public-spirited citizen Mr. Sabichi nat- urally took a great interest in the political affairs of Los Angeles, and in an unselfish man- ner identified himself with every public move- ment which could be profitable to the city and his fellow-citizens. He became easily a leader of men and affairs, and by force of his person- ality and ability to initiate and accomplish things of importance was on many occasions urged for public office. Though not desiring it, and repeatedly refusing to become a candidate, Mr. Sabichi was elected to the city council in 1871 and re-elected in 1874, acting for the latter term as president of the body. In 1884 the presence of a man of his executive ability and civic rectitude was required to deal with and establish an additional water supply, and re- luctantly he again became a member of the council, and during his incumbency took up and concluded negotiations by which the city ac- quired immensely important water rights upon the Los Feliz Rancho, which in later days have become of incalculable aid and of strategic im- portance to a city of constant growth and de- velopment.
In 1893 Mr. Sabichi was urged by those who well understood his rare qualities and appre- ciated his worth to permit his name to be pre- sented to President Cleveland for appointment as minister to Guatemala, and seldom has an aspirant for public service received so spon-
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taneous and graceful indorsement as was laid before the President, when the thirty-nine sena- tors and twenty-six assemblymen of the state legislature, irrespective of party affiliations, the justices of the Supreme Court of California, the Bench and Bar of San Francisco and Los Angeles, together with merchants, bankers, lawyers and men of affairs throughout San Francisco and Southern California, inscribed a memorial to the Chief Executive, setting forth the abundant personal qualifications of Mr. Sabichi, and the propriety of entrusting a man of his stamp with the national government in the southern country. In addition to his many other public services Mr. Sabichi served sev- eral terms on important commissions of the city, notably on the park commission and with the commission of police.
On May 4, 1865, Mr. Sabichi married Miss Magdalena Wolfskill, the daughter of William Wolfskill, one of the earliest settlers in Los Angeles and the master of a far-famed domain which contained the first orange grove planted in Southern California outside of the ancient missions. The elder Wolfskill was of the same rugged manhood, whose example long survives, and the story of his own life is an- other chapter in the history of California, re- plete with adventure, daring manliness and generosity which were typical of the leaders of his day. Mr. and Mrs. Sabichi were blessed with an interesting family, as follows : Francis Winfield, Magdalena, Johanna, all of whom are deceased; Agatha; Ruth and Naomi, the last two mentioned also deceased; Joseph Rodney, D. D .; George Carlos, M. D .; Leopold, de- ceased ; William ; Louis M .; Rosa and Beatrice.
Mr. Sabichi was a charter member of the Pioneer Society of Southern California and prominently identified with the Native Sons of the Golden West, in which organization he held the office of grand trustee at the time of his death.
The life of Frank Sabichi was ever an open book. His fearless honesty, his frankness and integrity in every association with his fellow- men, his grace of speech and courtliness of manner, his great and generous heart, his char- ity and consideration are treasured by those who were honored to know him. Ever ready to extend his strong arm to help his weaker brother, to afford him aid without offering it
in the humiliating phase of charity, always ready at the call of civic or personal duty, brave and patient in his trials, and yet not undone by the successes that fast and steadily came to his life, he was a man to love and be loved, to labor for himself and others for its own reward, to serve himself, his country and his God. Simple, honest, able, faithful, he passed from earth at Los Angeles on the 12th day of April, 1900, beloved of all who knew him, and mourned for by the hosts who called him friend. "His life was gentle and the elements so mixed
in him that nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a man!' "
EDWARD THOMAS WRIGHT. To have been identified with the citizenship of Los Angeles for more than thirty-five years and in the mean- time to have contributed to civic and community development, to have personally promoted numer- ous enterprises of the greatest value to Southern California and to have been a factor in material, moral and educational progress, such a record entitles its holder to the titles of pioneer and up- builder, and as such Mr. Wright is regarded throughout this section of the state. Varied as have been his activities and lengthy as has been his period of useful service, the impression he leaves with a stranger is not that of old age or even of elderly years, but rather of a man in the very prime of manhood, in the full maturity of physical and mental powers, with a reasonable expectancy of continued decades of profitable service to the city of his adoption. It is as a civil engineer and surveyor that he has engaged throughout the greater part of his western ex- perience, but many other lines of work have taken his attention in certain degrees and public meas- ures also have felt the impetus of his forceful association.
A resident of Los Angeles since the early part of 1875 and about twenty-four years of age at the time of his arrival here, Mr. Wright was born in Elgin, Ill., June 30, 1851, being the son of Paul Raymond and Emily (Harvey) Wright. In 1870 he went to New Orleans, La., and for six months served as journal clerk of the state senate. From that work he returned to the duties of the home farm. In 1871 he went to Colorado and embarked in the stock business, but the rigors of
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the climate and the hardships of the work affected his health. Next he took up the study of land- scape architecture with Cleveland & French, of Indianapolis, Ind., whom he later represented in St. Paul, Minn. With his brother, George F., in 1874 he opened an office in Chicago and took up civil engineering and surveying, but his health be- coming impaired he sought a less rigorous climate. During his long residence in Los Angeles he has taken a warm interest in the advancement of the city and vicinity and has acted as engineer or surveyor in numerous large land operations. His first large contract was for the surveying of the Morris vineyard tract for Hon. H. K. S. O'Mel- veny, a pioneer of Los Angeles, the tract being around Pico and Main in the center of the modern business district. Another important task was the survey and construction of the Cajon ditch, which supplies water from the Santa Ana river to the Anaheim district. He also surveyed and designed the Evergreen cemetery, a picturesque tract in the eastern part of Los Angles. In 1883 he became part owner and a surveyor of the Watts subdivision, including Glendale, Tropico and Eagle Rock, a district originally owned be- tween several Spanish settlers. Upon the com- pletion of this work in 1885 he and three others purchased seven thousand acres in Cucamonga and installed the improvements that formed the basis of the present town, a thriving agricultural center.
Always stanch in allegiance to the Republican party, as early as 1879 Mr. Wright was elected county surveyor on the regular party ticket. Dur- ing that term many improvements were made in or near the city. During 1882 he was elected a member of the Los Angeles Board of Education and served for two years, his associates being Frank A. Gibson, George S. Patten, J. M. Elliott and W. G. Cochran, all important factors in the pioneer history of the place. For the second time elected county surveyor in 1884, he served until 1886 and in 1895 was chosen to the office for the third time. Upon the expiration of the third term he refused to become a candidate again, prefer- ring to devote himself to private work as civil engineer and surveyor. His first marriage took place at Cobden, Ill., December 11, 1873, and united him with Lucy Nicholson, who died in 1900. They were the parents of three children, George, Charles and Grace (the latter now de- ceased). March 5, 1912, at San Diego, Mr.
Wright was united with Capitola B. Wenzil. For years he has been a factor in the social life of Los Angeles and was a charter member of the Jonathan, California and Union League clubs, still retaining his membership in the first-named. Since about 1886 he has been identified with the American Society of Civil Engineers, besides which he belongs to the Engineers' and Archi- tects' Association of Los Angeles. The Society of Pioneers and the Historical Society are also important organizations that have profited by his cordial co-operation. In no sense has his re- moval to the Pacific coast been a disappointment to Mr. Wright, for here he regained his health, founded happy social ties, became a factor in educational work in the early period of the city's growth and aided by his personal efforts in making the great southwest a region of pic- turesque attractions as well as a center of profit- able business enterprises.
JOHN W. BIXBY. Honored among the old pioneers of Southern California is John W. Bixby, who, although long since passed to his reward, still holds a place as a representative citizen of the early days. Born of old New England ancestry, he was a native of Anson, Me., and was reared to young manhood on the old home place, where his parents, Simon and De- borah (Flint ) Bixby, engaged in farming through- out their entire lives. The death of his father in early life placed upon John W. the responsibility of caring for the home farm, which he did in conjunction with his brother, Fred; at the same time, however, he managed to secure a good education, graduating from the normal school of Anson and thereafter following pedagogical pur- suits with those of farming.
His two elder brothers having come to Cali- fornia at an early day, John W. Bixby decided to try his fortune on the Pacific coast, and ac- cordingly, in 1870, after having given his share of the home farm to his brother, he came to Southern California. He had but $30 after his arrival here and he immediately sought employ- ment, engaging at the carpenter trade in Los Angeles county with a remuneration of $40 per month. Later he became foreman for Jotham Bixby, who was largely engaged in the sheep busi-
John Seade
Sarah Anne Meade
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ness and it was not long after that that he en- gaged in a similar enterprise on his own resources. That he was eminently successful is proven by the fine estate he accumulated before his death, which occurred May 6, 1886.
Through the foresight of John W. Bixby the old Michael Reis ranch was rented for sheep raising purposes by himself and his two partners, Jotham Bixby and I. W. Hellman, and later they purchased this twenty-seven thousand acre tract. About 1884, two years after Long Beach had been laid out, they cut off five thousand acres for the Alamitos town site, which embraced all land lying east of Alamitos avenue and extending up to Bay City, taking in Signal Hill. After Mr. Bixby's death the property was divided among the part- ners, his estate receiving seventy-five hundred acres, a hundred acres of which were afterward sold for the town site of Bay City. Property also owned by his children at the present writing con- sists of fifty-five hundred acres which Mr. Bixby purchased in the Santa Ana canyon, the first land he owned in Southern California. These large interests were managed by his wife until 1898. when they were leased to his son, Fred H., for a term of ten years. After the death of his wife the Alamitos ranch was divided between his two children and the Rancho Santa Ana held by them jointly. He had two children, Fred H. and a daughter, Susanna Patterson, the latter the wife of Dr. E. A. Bryant, of Los Angeles. Mr. Bixby's wife was formerly Miss Susanna P. Hathaway, who was born in Skowhegan, Me., a sister of Mrs. Jotham Bixby and daughter of Rev. G. W. Hath- away, a Congregational clergyman, who soon after his retirement in 1862 came to Southern California, where he remained until his death. Mrs. Bixby was educated in the Skowhegan Academy, and was a woman of rare ability and at- tainments. She was a member of the Episcopal Church and was always a willing contributor to all charities in and out of the church. It could be said of her in all truth "None knew her but to love her, none named her but to praise." She left behind her many friends who revere her memory. Mr. Bixby was a member of the Pres- byterian Church, but, like his wife, was liberal both in and out of the church, helping with a liberal hand those who needed help. Politically he was a stanch advocate of Republican principles.
JOHN MEADE. A Los Angeles pioneer of '69, but identified with California for twelve years prior to the time of his arrival in this city, John Meade spent his early years in Ire- land, where he was born in county Limerick, April 30, 1832, and where he had such advan- tages as the national schools offered. The family were inured to the poverty common at that time to the people of the country, and there seemed no opening for a young man of energy and ambition. Under such circum- stances his aspirations turned naturally toward America and particularly toward the Pacific coast. In 1854, at the age of twenty-three, he left Ireland and landed in Philadelphia, where he remained for three years, coming thence to California via the isthmus and landing in San Francisco, where he found employment at day labor. The year 1859 found him in Humboldt county, where for four years he worked in the lumber woods for Ryan & Duff. During the Indian wars in that locality he bore an active part and on one occasion assisted the sheriff at a hanging. Still in his possession, a valued souvenir of that early period of excitement and danger, is an old Colt revolver, as valuable now to be used in self-defense as it was in those perilous days in Humboldt county.
Returning to San Francisco and entering the employ of the Spring Valley Water Company, Mr. Meade left there in 1862 for Benicia. From that year until 1869 he was employed in the United States arsenal. On resigning his posi- tion with the government he came to Los An- geles, then a small city of a few thousand in- habitants. Cows were pastured on ground now improved with massive structures. The popu- lation was largely Spanish with a sprinkling of Americans, Germans and Irish. William Wolfskill, the orange pioneer of California, had developed over one hundred acres in citrus fruit. Grapes for many years had been a source of considerable revenue to the settlers, the French pioneers having developed great vine- yards that were the first in the west. Mr. Meade himself bought one hundred and ten acres at Downey and lived on the ranch for three years, raising corn that sold for $2 per hundred pounds and also netting considerable profit from the raising of potatoes. On dis- posing of the Downey property he bought fifty acres at Vernon from Judge R. M. Widney.
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This ranch he developed in a vineyard and orange grove and when he sold it in 1882 it was with a handsome profit over the original cost. Next he acquired ten acres on Alameda street north of Washington and this he sold during the celebrated boom of 1887. On the corner of Main and Fifth streets he bought property which he improved with two houses and then sold. A lot on the corner of Eighteenth and Hill streets, which he bought for $3750, he sold at the expiration of five years for $17,500.
Throughout the entire period of his residence in Los Angeles the buying and selling of real estate has engaged the attention of Mr. Meade and he has not engaged in business of any kind. At this writing he owns corner property, improved with a residence, on Sixteenth street and Millard avenue ; also a house and lot near the corner of Grand avenue and Adams street and the residence at No. 427 West Twenty-third street which has been his home place during recent years. The only order with which he has affiliated is the Knights of Columbus, an organization of the Roman Catholic Church, in which faith he was reared in the old Irish home. While still living in the northern part of the state, in 1867 he married Sarah Ann Nash, who like himself was born and reared in Ireland. Two daughters blessed the union, but one, Sarah Ann, died at an early age and the mother passed away in 1905, leaving as the only surviving members of the family circle Mr. Meade and his daughter, Mrs. Mary Dwyer, together with the two children of the latter, Fran- ces A . and Jack Dwyer, the daughter a talented musician and the possessor of a sweet and well cultivated voice. Mr. Meade finds great inter- est in contrasting present conditions with those of the past. The modern metropolis with its massive fireproof structures, its great churches and expensive educational institutions, pre- sents little resemblance to the town of 1869 with its frame store buildings and small cot- tages; with its great expanse of vacant prop- erty on Main street near the Plaza, a favorite spot for boys fond of football and other games ; with its small tanneries, breweries and factor- ies employing only the minimum of help; and with its vineyards and fruit orchards covering ground that now sells, not by the acre, but by the square foot. Of all this great work of trans-
formation he has been a witness; in some of it he has borne a part. The quiet but in- tensely patriotic support he gave to the city has made him a promoter of projects for the community wellbeing. For successive decades he has lived and labored for the welfare of the city and none rejoices more than he in the mar- velous advancement made in every line of ac- tivity. Reared in limited circumstances and ex- periencing the privations of an Irish home, he has risen to independence through sagacity, honesty and efficiency, but in all of his success he has never lost sight of the rights of others and the need of many for human sympathy or practical assistance.
[Since the above was written Mr. Meade has passed away, his death occurring at his home May 16, 1915.]
MRS. CATHERINE McDONALD. One of the most noteworthy pioneer women of Los An- geles is Mrs. Catherine McDonald, widow of the late Norman A. McDonald, the pioneer railroad builder and operator of the Southland, well and favorably known throughout the entire state. Mrs. McDonald is a woman of splendid character, strong, forceful and true. She has been a power in her own household in an altogether sweet and womanly way, leading, training, and counseling her children, and during the years of his greatest business activity she was a close companion to her husband, his confidant and friend. She has mothered fifteen children, eight of whom have grown to manhood and womanhood in Los An- geles, where most of them at present reside, filling positions of honor and trust, living monuments to the faith and devotion of their honored mother.
Mrs. McDonald has led a life full of interest and is still thoroughly awake to all the affairs of the day and actively associated with a multitude of interests. She is descended from a noted Irish family, her father being John Redmond, a distant relative of the famous leader for home rule for Ireland of that name. She was born in County Wexford, Ireland, her father and her mother, the latter Mary (Murray) Redmond, being both natives of the same county. Her father was a prominent merchant in his locality and a man of means. When Mrs. McDonald was a child of fourteen he sold his interests in Ireland and taking his wife and two eldest daughters, Catherine and
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Mary, removed to Queensland, Australia, where he engaged in the cattle and general stock-raising business, ranging thousands of head of stock on the prairies and amassing a large fortune from his efforts. When the family left Ireland there were eight children, but the six younger members were left in Ireland, and the daughters who were allowed to accompany their parents were placed in the convent of the Sisters of Mercy at Bris- bane, Queensland, Australia. There they re- mained for a period of four years, when their father determined to locate in California, arriving in Los Angeles in 1869. Catherine was at that time a well educated young lady of eighteen years, with a thorough knowledge of many branches, but especially proficient in music, for which she possessed talent to a marked degree. On her arrival in Los Angeles she immediately secured a position as a teacher of piano with the Sisters of Charity then located on Alameda street, but in recent years removed to Boyle Heights. Here she remained as a teacher in her chosen line until the time of her marriage with Norman A. McDonald, February 6, 1871.
Norman A. McDonald was of Scotch descent, although himself born in Canada. He came to California with the famous rush of '49, being among the first to enter the gold fields of the state after the news of the discovery was pub- lished to the world. The history of Southern California is closely inwoven with his life-story, and for many years he was an influential citizen of Los Angeles county and left his permanent stamp on many of the industries and develop- ments of the city and county. He was a pioneer railroad builder of Southern California, and laid the first piece of steel in the first railway in Southern California, the Los Angeles Indepen- dent Railway running from the city to the harbor at Wilmington, and was conductor on the first train, in 1868.
As superintendent of construction he built the entire line, and after its completion, as conductor and general overseer, he carried on the business of the road until the advent of the Southern Pacific, when he became roadmaster for that system in Southern California, remaining in that position for twenty years and retiring from active life in 1888. The personnel of the management and operating crew of this first railway shows the names of men who have since then been prominently identified with the history of Los
Angeles. The crew consisted of Ben Colling, engineer, who died recently ; Martin Wetzel, fire- man ; Norman McDonald, conductor ; and Frank Monahan, brakeman. J. M. Elliott, now presi- dent of the First National Bank, was the station agent at Compton.
For several years before coming to Los Angeles Mr. McDonald was a resident of San Francisco, where he was also engaged in railroading, and it was from there that he came to Los Angeles to take charge of the construction work of the new line, which was made necessary by the demand of transportation facilities for the freight that was entering the harbor at Wilmington on the steam- ship lines. During his long residence in Los Angeles he became closely associated with the life of the city in many respects, and was always a man of marked influence and strong character. He was a member of the Catholic church, to- gether with his wife and family, and did much toward the upbuilding of the church in this city. He was also prominent in the Knights of Colum- bus and St. Vincent de Paul Society, the church of his affiliation being the Sacred Heart Cathe- dral. His marriage with Catherine Redmond, Mr. McDonald always spoke of as the crowning event of his career, and the children that she bore him, as his greatest blessing. Of these there now reside in Los Angeles the following : Angus ; Mary, wife of Albert Kette; Daniel, associated with the Los Angeles Gas Company ; Joseph, well- known contractor and builder ; Rosa, wife of E. C. Harnes; James T., and George, while another daughter, Aunie, wife of Charles Brosshart, makes her home in Arizona. The death of Mr. McDonald occurred July 25, 1912. at his home in Los Angeles, he then being seventy-nine years of age.
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