USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 27
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The really important venture, however, was in 1891, when Mr. Hauser opened a small packing house on West Washington street, seven miles from the courthouse. This busi- ness grew very rapidly under his skillful man- agement, and in 1904 he was compelled to seek new and larger quarters. The business was re- organized and incorporated under the firm name of the Hauser Packing Company. the several sons of Mr. Hauser being taken into the firm as active members. The company officers are: Julius Hauser, president ; E. C. Hauser, vice-president ; L. A. Hauser, treasurer ; H. J. Hauser, secretary and general manager; F. M. Hauser, assistant secretary, and C. F. Hauser, second assistant secretary. The new quar- ters of the company cover an area of twenty acres at Ninth and Mateo streets, and it is one of the largest enterprises in Southern Califor- nia. The plant is thoroughly modern in every detail, the equipment and furnishings being of the latest improved type and first class in every respect. They were occupied by the firm in 1906, and since that time have been extended and additions and improvements are constantly being made as the continued growth of the business demands them. The close association of Mr. Hanser and his sons in business gives an example of the strong, splendid character of this man, whose enterprises have proven so satisfying a means of occupation for the sons, who have remained with their father rather than follow the too-frequent western manner of "striking out" for themselves.
Aside from his business interests, Mr. Hauser is keenly interested in all local matters of im- portance, and possesses a wide circle of friends. He is associated with all movements of import- ance which concern the civic or commercial welfare of the city, and is a prominent member of the Merchants and Manufacturers Associa- tion, the American Meat Packers Association, the Los Angeles Board of Trade, and the Chamber of Commerce. Fraternal and social orders also have claimed the support and co- operation of Mr. Hauser and he is prominently and popularly known in the orders where he is
member, these including the Masons, a Shriners and Elks.
The marriage of Julius Hauser occurred in Sacramento, September 11, 1878, uniting him with Miss Caroline Herget. She was born
near that city April 28, 1861, a daughter of George and Katrina (Schmidt) Herget, both natives of Germany but early settlers of Cali- fornia. Mr. Herget is deceased and Mrs. Herget is still a resident of the Capitol City. Mrs. Hauser received her education in the schools of her home city and at the time of her mar- riage with Mr. Hauser was but seventeen and one-half years old, but that she was fully pre- pared to accept life's cares and participate in the advancement of her husband's welfare is clearly shown by their many happy years to- gether. She was not only a wife and mother, but in every business deal she was a partner with her husband and by her wise counsel and conservative judgment piloted many a transac- tion to a successful ending. He never em- barked in any undertaking without asking her advice and the prosperity that is now theirs has been the result of their united efforts. They became the parents of five sons and one daugh- ter, as follows : E. C., H. J., L. A., F. M., Louise W. (now the wife of Earl B. Gilmore) and C. F. Under the careful training of their mother these children have been reared to become useful citizens and reflect her character and personal- ity in many ways. Mrs. Hauser passed away in Los Angeles August 22. 1913, and at her passing her husband lost a wise and loving help- mate and the children a loving mother and adviser, her friends a noble companion and leader. She was a member of the German Luth- eran Church and was an active worker in all charitable enterprises for the alleviation of suf- fering wherever she beheld it. Her gifts for charity were many and well placed and her actions were guided by sound judgment and done without ostentation. Hers was a noble character and her influence is indelibly stamped upon the character and lives of her family.
DANIEL FREEMAN. The ancestry of Daniel Freeman is traced back to England, the earliest member of the family of whom there is record having come to America in 1658 and set- tled in New Jersey. On his mother's side Mr. Freeman is of Scotch and Irish descent. He was born in Norfolk county, Ontario, June 30. 1837, and as a young man studied and practiced law, at the same time being the owner of a large shipyard
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at Port Burwell on Lake Erie. He was married in 1866 to Miss Christie, a daughter of Capt. John Christie of the British navy, who was on board the flagship Victory when Nelson received his death-wound. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman are the parents of two sons and a daughter.
Mrs. Freeman's lack of health was the cause of their coming to California, the decision being brought about by the reading of a book called Nordhoff's California, which told of the superior health-giving qualities of this state. Often an unexpected circumstance like this leads to some important step that changes the entire trend of one's life thereafter. Thus it was with Daniel Freeman, who had been traveling through the South with his wife in search of a climate which would be beneficial to Mrs. Freeman. After reading Nordhoff's book, the Freemans started the next day for the west where it was hoped that Mrs. Freeman would regain her health, but in spite of the efforts in her behalf she succumbed one year after reaching the state, in 1874.
From San Francisco Mr. Freeman visited various parts of the state, making investigations concerning the vast ranchos where as early as April the profusion of wild flowers and waving grasses attracted his attention. In September of the same year he leased the Centinela Ranch of twenty-five thousand acres, and acquiring also that known as Sausal Redondo, he was now in possession of property with proportions equal to those of counties in many of the eastern states, covering many miles along the coast and extend- ing almost as far inland as the present limits of the city of Los Angeles. For the ranchos of California's former days were of vast extent, covering immense pasture lands and green hill- sides that extended in gentle undulations to the sea, the names of their Spanish owners in the very early days being also of unbelievable propor- tions. Yet a certain charm is given to this land by the musical Spanish place names which are reminders of the days of the Spanish rule and lend to it the picturesque charm of foreign coun- tries across the sea.
Having acquired his extensive property, Mr. Freeman for a time devoted himself to sheep raising on a large scale, but the loss of an enormous number of sheep during a drought in the winter of 1875-76 caused him to turn his attention in other directions, and the raising of barley and wheat has since been the chief industry
carried on upon his land, large shipments of these grains being made every year to distant points. Since Mr. Freeman's occupation of the ranch artesian wells have been installed whereby the splendid supply of water natural to the territory has been put to good use and the cultivation of oranges has been carried on to a large extent. On the property is still standing the original ranch house, now over one hundred and fifty years old and occupied by A. C. Freeman, the oldest son of Mr. Freeman. A new and beautiful residence, one of the finest in the state and embowered in parkland and gardens in the present town of Inglewood, is the home today of Mr. Freeman, his daughter and her husband, Major Charles H. Howland.
CHRISTIAN GANAHL. It is always an inspiration to read of what men of limited advan- tages, but endowed with purposeful spirits, have made of their lives, and such a career is that of Christian Ganahl, of Los Angeles, who began life as one in a family of seventeen children, his education curtailed by the necessity of early self- support, and he has made such a success of life that now he is at the head of a large western lumber company and has leisure to devote to the enjoyment of travel in both the United States and Europe.
The birth of Mr. Ganahl occurred in the town of Schruns, in the province of Vorarlberg, Austria, May 5, 1835, a province comprised in the westerly portion of the Tyrol and marking the boundary between Austria and Switzerland. Thus Mr. Ganahl's early youth was spent in the midst of rugged surroundings of a distinctively Alpine character. His schooling, which was of the most elementary sort, was concluded when he was only twelve years of age, but it was an educa- tion sufficient for the humble career of the ma- jority of the young men of his time and ac- quaintance, and at an early age he entered the apprenticeship of a tanner, which trade he fol- lowed until 1854, the year of his coming to America. For Mr. Ganahl, even then, was a per- son of strong character and independent ideas. and wished to make more of his life than the circumstances of his home permitted, and he accordingly sailed from Havre, France. for the New World, arriving at New Orleans after a voyage of forty-two days. From New Orleans,
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he traveled up the Mississippi to St. Louis, Mo., arriving at that city with empty purse and no prospect of employment. However, through good fortune and a willingness to work in any capacity, coupled with a habit of frugality, he was enabled in 1856 to continue his journeying to Leaven- worth, Kans., with the object of establishing him- self on a sheep ranch in that vicinity, a plan which was, however, never put into execution, as in 1858 we find him employed in a rope manufac- turing concern in Berlin, Mo. The following year he returned to St. Louis, and remained there until 1884, the year of his arrival in Los Angeles, during which period he had resided uninter- ruptedly in St. Louis, where he had entered the lumber trade in 1859, and in 1861 had organized the leather and shoe finding firm of Jochum & Ganahl, and had been actively identified with the industrial interests of the city.
In St. Louis, Mr. Ganahl was married in 1860 to Mary P. Neyer, from which union there were nine children, four of whom are now living, namely. Amelia, now Mrs. H. F. Reis, of St. Louis; Joseph G., Ottilia and Eugene F. Ganahl, residing in Los Angeles at the present time. His second marriage was with Johanna Berchtold of Belle- ville, Ill., and was solemnized in the Tyrol, Austria, in 1882, by which union he is the father of two children, Constantine C., of Los Angeles, and Sister M. Ignatia, of the Order of the Precious Blood, who now resides in Crete, Neb.
It was in April, 1884, that Mr. Ganahl, having closed out his business interests in St. Louis, re- moved with his family to Los Angeles, and here he has made his home continuously since, from there traveling extensively in Europe and in the United States, this being his favorite form of recreation throughout the last twenty-five years. His business interests in this city have been in the lumber industry in which his has become a well known name. On first coming to Los An- geles he bought out the lumber yard of John Bryson, then located at the corner of First and Vine streets, and established an industry which has grown with the growth of the city, making for himself a reputation for integrity and relia- bility second to none. The firm was organized under the name of the C. Ganahl Lumber Com- pany, and in 1885 the entry of John J. Schallert into partnership with Mr. Ganahl changed the name of the company to the Schallert & Ganahl Lumber Company. After Mr. Schallert's retire-
ment from the partnership in 1890, the firm re- sumed its former name of the C. Ganahl Lumber Company, and in 1903 was incorporated under the laws of the State of California.
While remarkably successful in his business experience wherever entered upon, it will be seen that Mr. Ganahl is a man of retiring disposition, not seeking to put himself forward politically. In the profession of his faith he is a Roman Catholic, and owing to a life of simplicity and unceasing activity, he enjoys today, in his old age, perfect physical health and an alert mind such as have characterized his career from the first.
JOSE DE LA LUZ MACHADO. The family of Machado, as the name indicates, came from Spain, and throughout its branches in California are found the musical Spanish names of Ygnacio, Francisco, Dolores, Ascuncion and Estefana .. In the early days of the history of Los Angeles county, two brothers, Ygnacio and Augustine, sons of Manuel Machado who was born in Spain, owned fifteen thousand acres known as La Bal- lona rancho, which they utilized for extensive stock raising. Augustine married Ramona Sepul- veda, a native of Los Angeles and the daughter of a Spanish gentleman who received from the King of Spain a grant of the San Vicente rancho, on a portion of which property the city of Santa Monica stands today. Augustine and Ramona Machado were the parents of twelve children: Martina, Vicenta, Domingo, Dolores, Ascuncion, Suzana, Francisco, Candelara and Bernardino are all deceased; those living are Jose Juan, Andres and Jose de la Luz. The last named child was born December 17, 1856, in the old adobe house built by the father on Main street, Los Angeles, long ago removed and superseded by business buildings. In those olden days when Los Angeles was only a pasture, Augustine Machado, the father, owned thirty acres on Main street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, as well as seventy thousand acres in San Diego county, and one-third of the fifteen thousand acre La Ballona ranch where he raised cattle extensively, over ten thousand cattle and two thousand horses ranging on his vast domain. He sold hides to trading vessels which came around Cape Horn to San Pedro, the hides being taken to market by Mr. Machado in a heavy wagon called a carreta,
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HermanHO tellenay
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such as we read of in the life of "Ramona" in Mrs. Jackson's story, the wheels of the old wagon being made of solid blocks of wood. Augustine Machado died in 1865.
The son, Jose de la Luz Machado, grew up in Los Angeles, where he received a good educa- tion, attending the colleges of St. Vincent and Santa Clara in Santa Clara county. After grad- uation he entered the office of the county assessor of Los Angeles and for eight years was deputy assessor. Since leaving that office he has devoted himself to farming, being thus engaged for seven years upon seventy acres of land near Palms, Cal., which he sold out when he bought his pres- ent place of nine acres near the old home place, being the owner also of seven acres elsewhere and twenty acres devoted to the raising of alfalfa.
Mr. Machado is a member of the Knights of Columbus of Santa Monica. By his marriage with Melanie Greber, a native of Germany, he is the father of one son, Jose C. Machado, still in infancy.
HERMAN W. HELLMAN. The enterprise sustained by the financial aid and unerring busi- ness ability of the late Herman W. Hellman has given to Los Angeles a decided impetus towards its phenomenal growth and development. For- tunately a wise conservatism held in check any movement which might have tended to inflate val- ues, attract the speculator and thus produce a con- dition disastrous to permanent development. Mr. Hellman's long association with the banking in- stitutions of this city proved his peculiar fitness as a leader in financial circles. A résumé of the life of this pioneer is one which cannot fail to interest those who witnessed his rise in the business world, his subjugation of obstacles in his path, and the position of esteem and respect which he won among the citizens of the city.
Born September 25, 1843, in Bavaria, Ger- many, he was the son of natives of that country, by whom he was reared to the age of fifteen years, receiving his practical training in the com- mon branches of study and also the foundation for the principles which distinguished his business career. At the age of fifteen he decided to try his fortunes away from the shelter of the paternal roof, and accordingly took passage on a vessel bound for the United States. Coming at once to California, he was attracted to Los Angeles and
practically lived in this city and its vicinity throughout the remainder of his life. From the time of his location in the city he was interested in commercial affairs, accepting in June, 1859, a po- sition as freight clerk in the forwarding and com- mission business at Wilmington, conducted by Phineas Banning. He held the position until acquiring some means, when he resigned and re- turned to Los Angeles to associate himself with a cousin in the stationery business. After a suc- cessful career of several years Mr. Hellman with- drew to take up the work independently, also dealing in fancy goods, for which he found a constantly increasing market.
Having been absent from his native land for nearly eleven years, Mr. Hellman disposed of his business interests in March, 1870, and spent the following year in Germany and other countries of Europe. Returning to Los Angeles in No- vember, 1871, he entered into partnership with Jacob Haas, a former schoolmate, and estab- lished a wholesale grocery business under the firm name of Hellman, Haas & Co., and for the ensuing nineteen years conducted an extensive trade throughout Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In the meantime Mr. Hellman had become associated with various en- terprises in Los Angeles, an important movement being the purchase of stock in the Farmers & Merchants Bank. In 1890 he retired from the firm of Hellman, Haas & Co., disposing of his interest to Haas, Baruch & Co., and became vice-president and local manager of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, and from that time until his death, October 19, 1906, he was one of the most widely known bankers of the state of California.
Shortly after his assumption of duties in this bank the financial panic of 1893 brought disaster to many of the monetary institutions throughout the United States; the security with which this bank stood out among others whose doors were closed permanently or temporarily, and the long era of prosperity that followed that crisis, were largely due to the conservatism and good judg- ment of Mr. Hellman. That the deposits in- creased from $2,300,000 to $8,000,000 during his association with the bank was evidence of the confidence inspired by the policy which was ele- mental in the building up of this institution. Out- side of his association with this bank Mr. Hell- man was intimately identified with other financial institutions of the city. In July, 1903, he ac-
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cepted the presidency of the Merchants National Bank, after his resignation from the former insti- tution in May of that year. At the time of his aeath he was acting as president, vice-president and director in twelve other banks in this city and Southern California, in the business of all bring- ing to bear that energy and ambition which as- sured his success in whatever enterprise he en- gaged. Mr. Hellman was also associated with other movements in Los Angeles, one of the most important being the erection of an imposing eight- story and attic building, fireproof and modern in every particular, and accounted one of the finest buildings west of New York City at the time of erection. This immense building was erected at a cost of $1,000,000, and represents one of the largest individual investments of this character in California.
The home of Mr. Hellman was presided over, during his lifetime, by his wife, formerly Miss Ida Heimann, with whom he was united in mar- riage in Italy, July 26, 1874. Mrs. Hellman was born in Treviso, near Venice, Italy. She is a woman of rare culture and refinement and well endowed by nature with those qualities which have won for her a wide friendship and esteem. She is the mother of two daughters, Frida, wife of Louis M. Cole, of Los Angeles, and Amy, wife of S. Aronson, and two sons, Marco H. and Irving H. During his life Mr. Hellman was a prominent member of the Reformed Jewish Con- gregation B'nai B'rith, Los Angeles, of which he was president up to 1901 ; under his administra- tion there was erected on the corner of Ninth and Hope streets an elegant temple, one of the most beautiful houses of worship in the city. The family are liberal supporters of all charitable movements, whether of city, county or state, and are intensely loyal to the interests of Southern California.
Notwithstanding his engrossing business cares Mr. Hellman found time to associate himself with clubs and fraternal organizations, being a member of the California, Jonathan, Concordia and sev- eral other clubs of the city and county, and was prominent in Masonic circles. He became a Master Mason June 14, 1870, in Pentalpha Lodge No. 202, in which he always maintained his mem- bership; was raised to the Royal Arch Chapter August 14, 1883, in Signet Chapter No. 57; in 1906 he took the Scottish Rite degree and was made a Thirty-second degree Mason, and also
belonged to Al Malaikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
In reviewing the life of Mr. Hellman an im- pression is gained not of the opportunities which presented themselves throughout his career, but by the manner in which he understood and grasped a situation. Practically empty handed he came to the Pacific slope in boyhood, at a time when the country was lawless, when the survival of the fittest was the unwritten decree, when it was far easier to sink into insignificance with the multitudes than to rise to the heights which few were successfully attempting. That he proved capable of holding his own in the beginning, the latter position which he assumed as a factor in the most important enterprises of this section of the Pacific Coast has demonstrated. The multi- fold duties which were his as one of the most prominent citizens and business men of the city did not overburden him, but rather spurred him on to stronger and more forceful thought and effort and brought out all the latent ability with which nature endowed him. His position was one acquired by the few even where opportunities have abounded as in Southern California, for it required quick, mental vision and unerring de- cision to know and improve the opportune time. Loyal to the country of his adoption and the city wherein his eventful career was passed, Mr. Hell- man was honored as a citizen whose worth and works had been tested.
JAMES FRANKLIN BURNS. Associated with various large interests in Los Angeles and vicinity for the greater part of the time since 1853, although not a resident of the city during all the intervening years, James Franklin Burns is today one of the influential men of the city, and a prominent member of the legal firm of O'Melveny, Stevens & Millikin, being their de- fense and evidence man, and having prepared some of their most wonderful defenses since his association with the firm in 1906. Previous to that time he was claim agent with the Los Angeles Electric Railway from 1901 to 1906, coming to them from the Santa Fe, for which corporation he had been claim agent from 1889 to 1901, his division being from Albuquerque, N. Mex., to San Francisco. Mr. Burns has also taken an exceptionally active part in the political affairs of
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Los Angeles, having been closely identified with several hotly contested municipal campaigns, and having personally managed the successful cam- paign for the election of Henry T. Hazard to the mayor's chair. He was later appointed chief of police, but resigned after serving eight months.
Mr. Burns is a native of New York, born in Clifton Springs, Ontario county. September 27, 1831. the son of John F. and Eunice ( Noyes) Burns. He received his education in the public schools of New York and Michigan, to which latter state his parents had removed. When he was nineteen years of age he accepted his first business commission, which was to act as com- panion to Professor McIldowney. from Leoni, Mich., to Allegheny City, Pa., he being ill and in need of care and companionship. He remained with his charge for a month, and then secured a position teaching school for the winter in Penn- sylvania, and for the following two winters was similarly engaged in St. Joseph county, Mich. In 1853 he determined to come to California, and in November of that year arrived in Los Angeles. For two years he taught school at the San Gabriel Mission, and then purchased a general merchan- dise store in San Gabriel, which he conducted for two years and then sold to Senator Wilson and Henry R. Miles, making a profit of $10.000 by the transaction. He next engaged in the sheep- raising business, but with disastrous results, and afterward returned to Los Angeles, where he had charge of the United States marshal's office until 1862. Under the Lincoln administration this dis- trict was consolidated with the rest of the state to make one new district, and Mr. Burns was then elected city treasurer, serving for four terms, from 1863 to 1866 inclusive, and in 1867 he was elected sheriff, he being the first Republican ever elected to office in this county. His creditable service led to his re-election in 1869, and at the close of his official term he engaged in the real estate business, and within two years had made a fortune of some $200,000. Many large and im- portant transactions passed through his hands during this time, and at one time he himself owned one hundred and forty acres between Temple and Fifth streets, from Hill street west ; he disposed of the tract for $28.000 more than he paid for it.
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