USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 30
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dence on Mission road (later destroyed by fire).
After having engaged as head draftsman for Frank J. Capitain for several years, Mr. Krem- pel became a partner of Mr. Capitain, but in 1894 embarked in individual practice, continuing alone until 1911, when he admitted Walter E. Erkes into partnership. The three great sugar factories at Chino, Oxnard and Huntington Beach repre- sent his architectural skill in the line of indus- trial structures. He practically built the city of Oxnard in Ventura county and erected among others the hotel, grammar school, Masonic Tem- ple, the bank buildings of Henry Oxnard and A. Levi, the Oxnard department store, the Maulhardt brick block, the quarters of the Ventura Power Company, the business block of Lehman & Water- man, together with the residences of both Mr. Lehman and Mr. Waterman. Other buildings for which he drew the plans and superintended con- struction are the Sunset Inn at Santa Monica, the Santa Barbara high school, the Arlington Heights grammar school, two school buildings in Los An- geles, the great Maier brewery, the Anheuser- Busch agency, the casino at Santa Monica for the Anheuser-Busch Company, the German hospital on Boyle Heights, the Hartmann apartments on Washington street, the Matthias apartments on Eighteenth and Flower, the F. A. Hartmann and L. Harris mausoleums, the Times-Mirror build- ing on First and Broadway, the Central fire sta- tion on Figueroa street and four other engine houses for the city of Los Angeles, and the beau- tiful residences of the late Joseph Maier on Six- teenth and Figueroa streets, August Winstel on Twelfth and Alvarado streets, Dr. Joseph Kurtz, F. A. Hartmann, Fred Maier and Louis Schwarz, besides many other buildings, public and private, that mark the architectural advance of the great southwest.
Outside of organizations strictly professional Mr. Krempel has identified himself with the Jona- than Club and Turnverein Germania; the Sons of Hermann, of which he is past grand president ; the Masons, in which he has risen to the thirty- second degree, and has been active in the Knights Templars Commandery ; and the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. His family consists of his wife and three children, Jack, Paul and Lucile. Mrs. Krempel, formerly Miss Emilie Kuhrts, is a native of Los Angeles and a daughter of the honored pioneer, Jacob Kuhrts, owner and builder of the Kuhrts block at No. 107 West First street.
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The family was founded in America by Henry and Catherine ( Matthieson) Kuhrts, who mi- grated from Germany to New York in 1836. When eleven years of age Jacob Kuhrts went to sea as cabin-boy. August 6, 1848, when his ship cast anchor at San Francisco, he abandoned the life of a sailor and sought employment in the mines. In 1858 he became a pioneer of Los An- geles, where in 1865 he opened a grocery on Spring street. Besides being the first city street superintendent, he served as a fire commissioner for years and in 1889 was president of the city council. May 1, 1865, he married Susan Buehn, who was born in Baden, Germany, February 19, 1848, the sixth daughter of Martin and Lena Buehn. An uncle, John Buehn, was among the first owners of the famous Catalina Island. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Kuhrts comprised four children, George, Emilie, Grace and Edward, of whom the eldest daughter, Mrs. Krempel, has been a life-long resident of Los Angeles, educated in its schools, interested in its philanthropies and a cultured promoter of its highest progress.
MAJOR WILLIAM S. DE VAN. The heri- tage of a long line of ancestors, the flower and chivalry of the south, implanted in the heart of Major De Van such a deep affection for the land of his birth that he entered the service of the Confederate army and served with recognized efficiency as an officer under Stonewall Jackson, of honored memory throughout the southland. The possession of fine mental powers led to his appointment for important official positions under Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, yet so great was his military skill and physical courage that he also fought in the heat of battle and at the front of his regiment. Many of the most desperate encounters of the war left an indelible impression upon his mind through per- sonal participation. It was his good fortune to escape wounds, but often he saw his friends, the gallant young soldiers of the south, fall by his side. Born in Alabama November 10, 1839, a son of William and Adeline (White) De Van, and educated in Mississippi, he was at the threshold of maturity when the Civil war began. Every fibre of his being thrilled with patriotic devotion for the south and with the fiery ardor of youth he gave himself to the cause which he be-
lieved to be right. The war ended, the president of the lost cause, himself a most intimate friend of the elder De Van, in exile, plantations ruined and commerce destroyed, he with a multitude of other devoted young southerners set himself reso- lutely to work at the task of rehabilitation, and in advancing the welfare of the southland he gained prosperity and financial independence for him- self, being for years successfully engaged as a cotton broker in New Orleans, where he was a leading member of the Cotton and Stock Ex- changes.
A pleasure tour through the west in 1882 gave to Mr. De Van his first glimpse of Los Angeles and impressed him so favorably with the possi- bilities of the then small city that in 1886 he came to make this his permanent home. From that year until his death, October 28, 1901, he was a prominent factor in realty development and handled large tracts of land, at times in the in- terests of others, but principally for himself. While success crowned his identification with Los Angeles it is not to be presumed that he met with no difficulties or that there were no obstacles to overcome. He saw the high tide of progress caught in the sullen under-current of the panic of 1889 and only a few years later he saw another era of financial depression descend upon the country, but as success did not unduly elate, so defeat did not unduly daunt his optimistic spirit. That he was able to overcome obstacles is proof of the latent qualities of the man. At no time in his career did he enter the political arena ; in fact, politics was to a degree distasteful to him and he maintained an independent attitude that kept him aloof from any party. In religion he was of the Episcopalian faith.
The marriage of Major William Simpson De Van was solemnized at New Orleans September 24, 1868, and united him with Mary M. Winkley, daughter of John F. and Susan S. (Todd) Wink- ley, natives respectively of Massachusetts and Maine. Mrs. De Van, a native of New Orleans, was educated there. Five children comprise the family, namely: Frank W., of New York City; Mary A., the wife of Dr. T. L. Patterson, of Ken- tucky ; Durward S., of Los Angeles; Leo C., of New Orleans; and Matilda, who resides with Mrs. De Van on West Twenty-fourth street, Los Angeles. The only son now residing in this city, Durward S., was born in Mobile, Ala., in 1876; his marriage united him with Miss Rita 1
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Merrill. For five years he was employed in the National Bank of California, in which his father officiated as a director for a considerable period. Since 1902 he has engaged in the real estate busi- ness and in the sale of stocks and bonds, and is a member of the Los Angeles Stock Exchange. Among local organizations with which he is con- nected may be mentioned the California and Los Angeles Country Clubs.
GEORGE GEPHARD. In the far-away days when the name of California was as magic to draw the gold-seeker and a lure to miners from every part of the world, there crossed the plains from Pennsylvania a German youth, rugged of frame, sinewy of muscle and capable of great endurance in hardships, a typical frontiersman of the period. Although this young gold-seeker was a native of Germany, born in 1830, he had no recollection of the country of his birth, for he had been brought to America when an infant in arms, and his early memories were associated with a German settlement in Pennsylvania. The monotony of work at home, livened only by chance village happenings, was broken by the ex- citing news concerning the discovery of gold in California. The love of adventure, latent in his soul, was roused to highest pitch and he began to make preparations for a trip to the then un- known country beside the sunset sea. The sum- mer of 1850 found him traveling with an expe- dition of emigrants across the plains, fording riv- ers, winding around mountain trails, pursuing paths blazed by earlier travelers and finally land- ing, weary in body, empty of purse, but rich in hope, at the destination of the caravans of that era, the mines. Laborious was the task that awaited him, but his rugged constitution seemed not to suffer in the least from the strenuous man- ual work, the exposure in mine and camp or the lack of the appetizing and abundant fare that had been his daily portion in the old Pennsylvania home. Aside from mining he engaged in lumber- ing in Nevada county and at one time owned a tollgate from Grass Valley to Smartville.
After twenty-five strenuous and profitable years in the northern part of the state, in 1875 Mr. Gephard came to Southern California and from that year until his death in 1901 he was a resident of Los Angeles, a well-known property
owner, progressive citizen and firm believer in the growing prosperity of his adopted community. In his investments he exercised discrimination and displayed sagacious judgment, so that at the time of his death he held the title to very valuable property on Broadway, Hill, Fifth and Temple streets, in addition to his old home place on North Grand avenue and other real estate. Citi- zenship with him was not limited to the narrow round of personal profit. To an unusual degree he was loyal to his city, devoted to the civic wel- fare, proud of any advance made in educational matters, a contributor to movements of far-reach- ing results. Every great and beneficial measure had in him a firm although quiet supporter, but if he had a "hobby" it might be said to have been the State Normal School. When a site was to be purchased for this institution, in order to se- cure the desired appropriation, he personally as- sumed charge of solicitations and raised the $8,000 needed for the buying of the land. There were many who in later years testified to the in- estimable value of his services in that crisis, but at the time it required an optimistic spirit and boundless faith in the city's future to push a mat- ter none too popular.
Partisanship had no place in the mental at- tributes of George Gephard, although he was a stanch Republican and active in the interests of the party. First and foremost and beyond all else, he was a public-spirited citizen and cham- pioned all worthy movements, irrespective of political ties. For one term he served as a mem- ber of the city council and for years he held mem- bership in the Chamber of Commerce. Although his party was then in the minority, he came with- in a few votes of being elected county treasurer. Other positions would have been tendered him had his ambitions turned in such direction, but he was an unassuming man, fond of private life and the quietude of home, caring little for the stress of politics or official associations. Religion united with the other elements that rounded his character and perfected his life. For a long period prior to his death he held membership in St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, of which he served for ten years as treasurer and to the maintenance of which he was a most liberal con- tributor. At Grass Valley, this state, September 14, 1863, he married Miss Mary Frances Graves, daughter of Daniel and Sophia T. (Temple) Graves, the father a pioneer of 1849 and a
Alonzo le Pota.
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gold-miner during that period of history. Of a family of five children Mr. and Mrs. Gephard lost three by death. There now survive two daugh- ters : Frances B., widow of Capt. J. J. Meyler, and Mary M., wife of George I. Kyte ; also one grand- child, Robert Meyler, now a student in Cornell University.
ALONZO C. POTTER. It is the proud claim of Los Angeles that no other city has attracted to its permanent citizenship so large a proportion of men of mental acumen, fine per- sonality, splendid energies and forceful char- acter, and certainly none other has been able in so large a degree to arouse an intensity of devotion and fervor of loyalty that lies at the foundation of all civic advancement. Partici- larly noticeable were these traits in the char- acter of the late Alonzo C. Potter, whose keen perception led him to select Los Angeles as the city destined to become the metropolis of the great southwest and whose faith knew no wa- vering in the midst of financial depressions and the discouragements incident to a nascent en- vironment. In the end his faith was vindicated and his judgment justified. With all the changes that destiny brought to his adopted city in the thirty-five years of his identification therewith, the ultimate achievements were those of mar- velous progress, bringing in their charge wealth and contentment and personal promi- nence to him as to other pioneers who had borne the brunt of every civic effort.
The call of the west took Mr. Potter from his boyhood home at Marion, N. Y., to Iowa, where he had a conservatory of music in Fair- field. Talented in music and a lifelong devotee of the art, he yet deserted it for the fascinating role of pioneer real-estate operator after his arrival in Los Angeles in 1879. Shortly after coming here he bought four acres for $8000. The tract extended south and west from near Seventh and Figueroa streets and through the center of the property he opened Potter Park avenue. The residence 'occupied grounds ex- tending from Potter Park avenue to Eighth street and back for one block, thus giving ample space for the landscape decorations that made the property one of the most beautiful on the street. A delightful hospitality radiated from this elegant home. At the time it was erected
Los Angeles perhaps had less than eleven thousand souls; ten years later the popula- tion had grown to fifty thousand and when, at the age of seventy-eight years, December 9, 1912, Mr. Potter breathed his last in the same old home, the city of his choice had grown to be the home of little less than one-half million persons and the old homestead, a mere slice of what he had paid $8000 for at the time of his arrival, was worth probably twenty times that amount, while he had other realty holdings to give him a place among the wealthy citizens of Los Angeles. In this substantial manner was his faith in the city vindicated. Nor was he less honored in social life than successful in realty operations. His home was the center of an old-fashioned hospitality that knew no stint. Strangers often came to view his pri- vate grounds, being particularly interested in what was said to be the oldest rubber tree in Southern California, although the other trees and the flowers were well worthy of admiring attention. To these visitors he was uniformly courteous, but it was especially among the friends of long years of association that he was seen at his best and that his gracious dig- nity melted into the freedom of intimate inter- course.
Religion mingled with the other elements that ennobled the character of Mr. Potter and deepened the influence of his purposeful life. For years and until his death he officiated as a deacon of the First Baptist Church, of which bis widow, Mrs. Della E. Potter, and her daughter are still members. The fine organ that is the pride of the congregation was the gift of Mr. Potter in 1884, and was removed to the present church in 1898. For a time he was connected with the old Baptist College. Owing to his long and influential association with the work of the congregation, his funeral was held in the church and the organ pealed forth a last requiem over a life well spent, a character crowned by Christian principles and uniting a fine mind with a charitable heart. Besides his widow Mr. Potter is survived by an only daugh- ter, Katherine, whose husband, Dr. A. H. Win- ter, passed away November 1, 1912, and whose life, from the time of her birth at the old family residence on Figueroa street, has been associated with this section of the city.
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MRS. LUELLA M. McDONALD. For many years, in fact since 1874, when she first came to Los Angeles for her husband's health and settled in Laurel Canyon, Mrs. Luella McDonald has been intimately associated with the history of the county and has been an important factor in its development. She was then Mrs. Kimble, but her first husband lived only until 1880, and within a comparatively recent period she was married to Mr. McDonald. As Mrs. Kimble she was asso- ciated with her husband in many business enter- prises of importance, and after his death con- tinued to conduct her affairs with wisdom and foresight. She is at present the owner of much valuable real estate in Los Angeles and the sub- urbs, and has erected a large number of houses on property of her own, both for rental and for purposes of sale. She is prominent in social cir- cles and possesses a great many warm friends and admirers.
The life history of Mrs. McDonald is full of interest and action, for she has always been wide awake and keenly alive to all that has passed about her, and has lived deeply and well. She is descended from good old Dutch stock, al- though herself a native of West Pittston, Pa. Her father was Nicholas Wycoff Lowe, a native of Holland and reared in Germany, being edu- cated at the famous German university of Heidel- berg. He was the son of Henry S. Lowe, a na- tive of Germany and a minister of the Lutheran church. His mother was Leah Wycoff, a native of Holland, where she was reared and educated and where her marriage to Henry S. Lowe oc- curred. Her parents wrought in linen and flax, raising the flax and manufacturing the cloth on their own place. After their marriage the young Lutheran minister and his wife lived for several years in Berlin, where he preached in the state Lutheran church. There were six children born of their union, and two of the sons were educated at Heidelberg. Of these Nicholas, the father of Mrs. McDonald, was next to the youngest, the other members being Hannah, Cornelius, Mary, Catharine and John. The family name was orig- inally spelled Loew, but was later changed to the present spelling of Lowe.
Nicholas Lowe came to New Jersey in the early '40s, when he was still a young man. He re- sided there for a short time, familiarizing him- self with the customs of the new country, and later located in Pennsylvania, where he was admitted
to the bar and commenced the practice of law at Wilkes-Barre. He was married at Dallas, Pa., April 1, 1847, to Miss Clarinda Honneywell, a native of that city. She was the daughter of William Honneywell who was the first man to settle in Dallas township, Luzerne county, Pa. Young Mr. Lowe continued the practice of law for a number of years, when failing health com- pelled him to seek a more active occupation. He accordingly went into the lumber business, in which he prospered, amassing an appreciable for- tune from his efforts.
The reports that were sent back to Germany by the son who had come to America were so flattering that within three years. after Nicholas Lowe crossed the water his parents followed him, locating also at Dallas, Pa., where the father died at the early age of forty-four years. His mother continued to reside in Pennsylvania until her death in 1904, she being then but fifty-seven years of age.
In the family of Nicholas Lowe and his wife there were born five children, of whom Luella Marie, now Mrs. McDonald, was the first born. The others were Marianette, now the wife of James Mayo, of Pittston, Pa .; Emma H., who died at the age of five years ; Eliza A., who died at the age of seven years ; and Stella V., now the wife of William Kennedy, a resident of Los An- geles and a member of the firm of F. W. Braun, wholesale druggists. The girlhood of Mrs. Mc- Donald was passed in Luzerne county, Pa., where she attended private schools, later also attend- ing the Wyoming Academy and Seminary at Kingston in the beautiful Wyoming valley. Here she completed the classical course in 1862, the youngest member of her class. She then entered the Normal School at Bloomsburg, taking a special teachers' course, and after finishing she taught in Pittston, Pa., and Pontiac City, Mich., for a pe- riod of three years. She was married April 9, 1872, in Luzerne county, Pa., to Oscar F. Kimble, also a native of Pennsylvania. Shortly after their marriage Mr. Kimble was taken ill with pneu- monia, and was left almost an invalid. His health continuing to be a matter of much concern, they determined to come to California about eighteen months after their marriage, and arriv- ing at Los Angeles settled in Laurel Canyon in 1874. Here they went into the bee business and built up the Western Star Apiary into a large and prosperous concern. They commenced their un-
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dertaking with but sixty hives, and soon increased their supply until they eventually possessed more than a thousand stands of bees. They were the pioneer apiarists of Laurel Canyon, and since then there have been many who have followed in their footsteps, but none with greater success.
Mr. and Mrs. Kimble were pioneers in the truest sense of the word. They came to California by way of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific to San Francisco, and down the coast by boat to San Pedro. There were no wharves at San Pedro then, and a lighter transported them and their goods to the shore, as a part of the cargo on the boat was the first lumber for the wharves at Santa Monica and for the building of the first house there. There was a vast difference in Los Angeles also. Speaking of the city at that time, Mrs. McDonald says: "When you got beyond Third street you were in the country." The life in Laurel Canyon was a real pioneer existence. The nearest white neighbor was four miles away, and Mrs. McDonald remembers very well meeting Vasques, the noted bandit, who was executed in 1874, when he was at liberty in the hills. Mr. Kimble planted the first Irish potatoes to be marketed in this locality. He was prominent in many of the local affairs, being a popular member of the local gun club, and the best wing shot in the state. He was actively interested in the con- struction of the first wharf at South Santa Monica, and altogether with his wife invested some $1400 in the venture. It was built by a cor- poration which Mr. Kimble and a party of friends organized under the corporate name of the South Santa Monica Wharf Company and of which he was the first secretary. Other officers of the com- pany were Ivan A. Weid, president, and L. Lich- tenberger, treasurer. The life of this company was short, its financial failure following within a few years, but its work was an important step in the development of Santa Monica.
Another enterprise which was fostered and developed by Mr. Kimble was the use of cement in construction work. He was the first man to introduce this plan in Los Angeles county, his con- signment of cement being the first brought into the county, and coming down from San Francisco by water.
Although the financial affairs of this enterpris- ing young couple were prospering in their new home, it became apparent that Mr. Kimble could not possibly live for long, and they disposed of
their interests and returned to their former home in Pittston, Pa., where his death occurred in 1880. Mrs. Kimble continued to reside at Pittston for a year, taking up the study of elocution and making much progress. A serious throat trouble, how- ever, made it impossible for her to follow this line professionally, and she later determined to return to Los Angeles and make her home here. This she accordingly did, and since her return has been actively associated with the development of the city. She owns much valuable property and has built twenty-three dwelling houses in Los Angeles county, which she has sold to advantage.
While a woman of more than ordinary busi- ness ability, Mrs. McDonald also has decided literary tastes. Her library is well stocked with the works of the best authors and with these she is delightfully familiar. One of her keenest in- terests of recent years centers about the Southern California Historical Society, in all of the affairs of which she takes an active part. She is vitally interested in all matters pertaining to the history of California, and has made much valuable re- search into the musty records of the early days. She is a warm personal friend of Prof. James M. Guinn, Southern California's historian, and to- gether they have done valuable work along his- torical lines.
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