USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
304
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
FRED LAWRENCE BAKER. Were a stranger to inquire concerning the prospects for industrial development in Los Angeles the loyal citizen would respond with an epitome of the re- markable history of the Baker Iron Works and would describe the little machine shop on North Spring street, started in 1872 by a Frenchman and purchased in 1879 by Milo S. Baker ; a busi- ness then so small that Mr. Baker was able to respond to all orders for machine work without any assistance other than that of an extra man in busy seasons. So thoroughly was the work done in every instance that trade increased and the need of larger quarters caused a removal to Second and Main streets. With the growth of the city there was a corresponding increase in the business and in 1886, on the incorporation of the Baker Iron Works (the oldest business of the kind in Southern California) headquarters were established on Buena Vista street (now North Broadway ) and College streets. Fully seven acres are now occupied by the different departments of the enormous business that had its start in the North Spring street shop. The development of such an industry proves the possibilities of Los Angeles for manufactures in every line, for the results achieved by the Baker family might be duplicated by other men of equal capabilities and efficiency. Naturally it has not been a question of environment alone. The men at the head of the business have stamped their intelligence and char- acter upon their product. The quality of the output is the highest and receives commendation even from the keenest of competitors, while its approval is further guaranteed by such contracts as those for the structural iron and steel work on the Security Bank, Union Trust, Douglas, John- son, Grosse and Auditorium buildings, and the Van Nuys and Alexandria hotels. Five hundred men, many of them possessing the highest skill in their special lines, are given steady employment at the works and form an aggregation of able as- sistants that bespeaks the merits of the open shop.
Special interest attaches to the history of a pioneer family of prominence. When Milo S. Baker brought his wife and children to Los An- geles county in 1873 they were the first outside family to join the Indiana colony (now Pasa- dena), which settlement hitherto had been com- posed of seventeen families all from Indiana. The Baker family, originally from New England, had become identified with Michigan and Fred
Lawrence Baker was born in Lansing, that state, February 10, 1865. His father, Milo S., had walked from the capital city of Michigan to the mining camps of California during the summer of 1848, but after several months had returned to the old home via Cape Horn, on the first voyage of the Gen. Winfield Scott. Again, just prior to the Civil war, he made another trip to California and traversed the state during the eighteen months he remained, then returning east via Panama. Like others of the name he was fearless in tem- perament, patriotic in spirit and bold in adven- ture. He was proud of the fact that he never worked for wages, although he started out in the world on his own account at the early age of thirteen years. His brother, Gen. Lafayette C. Baker, born in 1826, was chief of the United States secret service bureau during the Civil war and reached the military rank of brigadier- general. After the assassination of President Lincoln he was instrumental in effecting the cap- ture of the murderer, John Wilkes Booth. His death occurred at Philadelphia, Pa., July 2, 1868, about the time of the publication of his work, "History of the United States Secret Service," which settled authoritatively some disputed points of the war. In their home town, Lansing, Mich., Milo S. and Lafayette C. Baker erected the Downey house, in 1868, now the leading hotel in Lansing. In the early '60s Milo S. Baker built up the Eureka foundry, the site of which is now occupied by a livery stable.
The grandfather of General Baker and Milo S. Baker was Remember Baker, a cousin of Ethan Allen and one of his captains in the Green mountain brigade, also a veteran of the French and Indian war. It is recorded that Remember Baker was the first American officer killed in the Revolutionary war. The wife of Milo S. Baker was Harriet Lawrence, a niece of the illustrions Capt. James Lawrence (1781-1813), who at the head of the Hornet met and captured the British vessel Peacock, but later as commander of the frigate Chesapeake was mortally wounded in an engagement with the Shannon. As he was car- ried below he cried out the immortal words, "Don't give up the ship, boys."
Through the death of Milo S. Baker in 1894 the responsibilities connected with the manage- ment of the Baker Iron Works fell upon the shoulders of his son, Fred Lawrence Baker. That he proved equal to the emergency the subsequent
305
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
record of the business abundantly proves. All the more remarkable is his success when it is known that he never had more than six months of schooling in his life. Some men possess in themselves the essentials of the highest success without the aid of instruction in the higher schools of learning and without even the benefit of a common-school education, and of such mentality is Mr. Baker, who is unusually well informed upon all subjects of importance and in his special line of business possesses a breadth of knowledge attained by few. The work of the corporation extends through California and into Arizona and Northern Mexico, and its supervision requires not only experience, but also quickness of compre- hension, trained mental faculties and sagacity of judgment. Connected with him in an executive capacity are Milo A. Baker, vice-president ; W. C. Kennedy, secretary ; Harry S. Hitchcock, treas- urer ; and J. Foster Rhodes, director. Besides the presidency of the corporation Mr. Baker has filled other positions of great importance and is now president of the California Iron Works of San Diego, the first iron works established in South- ern California; vice-president and treasurer of the Pacific Gasoline Company; director of the Sierra Vista Ranch Company ; treasurer and di- rector of the Brea Gasoline Company ; director of the Harbor View Land Company; and from 1904 to 1913 was president of the Founders and Employes Association, an organization standing for the open shop in Los Angeles.
Notwithstanding the pressure of personal busi- ness enterprises Mr. Baker has found leisure to aid in civic projects and time and again has proved the loyalty of his citizenship by intelligent and well-directed efforts toward the local ad- vancement. As a director of the Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Board of Trade he has been effective in promoting bene- ficial movements. From 1892 to 1896 he repre- sented the Second ward in the city council and during that time he gave unstintedly of his influ- ence to promote worthy plans. During a service of four years as a member of the board of water commissioners (William Mulholland being an- other member at the same time) he consummated the $27,000,000 aqueduct project. For one term he was vice-president and for one term president of the Merchants and Manufacturers Associa- tion, in which offices he made the upbuilding of Los Angeles his chief ambition. It would be dif-
ficult indeed to find a citizen more loyal to the city than Mr. Baker. This is due not only to the fact that he has lived here since about eight years of age, but also comes from his insight into the possibilities of the place and his belief in a most prosperous future awaiting the people who cast in their fortunes with those of the growing city. November 28, 1887, he married Miss Lillian May Todd, daughter of Oscar Todd, of Los Angeles. Their family comprises three children, namely : Earlda M., wife of W. J. Wallace; Marjorie M., who married Guy C. Boynton ; and Lawrence Todd Baker. Besides being a member of the Midwick Country Club of Alhambra, the Los Angeles Athletic Club and the California Club (in which latter he holds office as vice-president and a director), Mr. Baker is president of the Auto- mobile Club of Southern California, vice-presi- dent of the Automobile Association of America, and is president of the Inter-Insurance Exchange of the Automobile Club. He has been a prominent factor in the building of good roads throughout this section of the state, it being his ambition to secure for Southern California highways that will be the delight of tourists from every part of the world and that will give to motoring a pleas- ure unrivalled by the most beautiful roads of other countries.
MILO A. BAKER. The vice-president and superintendent of the Baker Iron Works of Los Angeles, Cal., is Milo A. Baker, who was born in Lansing, Mich., March 14, 1868, the son of Milo S. and Harriet Baker. He attended the grammar and high schools in Los Angeles until the age of fifteen, at which time he was employed in his father's iron foundry as assistant, spend- ing from three to five years in work in every de- partment of the business with which he thus became thoroughly familiar, and in 1895 he was made vice-president and superintendent of the Baker Iron Works, of which company his father was the president.
In his political interests Mr. Baker is allied with the Republican party, while fraternally he is a Mason, of the Scottish Rite degree, a Shriner and member of the Royal Arcanum, being a mem- ber also of the Sons of the Revolution and of the Sierra Madre Club, California Club and a life member of the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
306
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
JOHN O'SULLIVAN. One of the pioneer dairymen of Los Angeles is John O'Sullivan, for many years owner of one of the largest dairies in the city and later president of the Glenn Holly Dairy Company, but now engaged in walnut cul- ture at East Whittier, where he owns a hand- some ranch, all in full bearing. During the long years of his residence in Los Angeles Mr. O'Sul- livan was prominently associated with many prominent movements for the upbuilding of the city and was at one time a very heavy real estate holder, owning some of the most valuable prop- erty in the city at that time. He came to Cali- fornia more than forty years ago, and has con- tributed his full share toward the development of the city and county, which have been his home continuously since.
Mr. O'Sullivan is a native of Canada, having been born at Kingston, province of Ontario, March 8, 1845, the son of Patrick and Catherine (Delany) O'Sullivan. His father was a native of Ireland, and located in Kingston in an early day, where he was employed as an expert bookkeeper. The son grew to manhood in his native province, receiving his education in the local public schools. In 1868 he went to Norwich, N. Y., where for a time he was employed on a dairy farm, and later in a factory where ham- mers were made. It was in 1875 that he eventual- ly came to Los Angeles and found employment on a dairy farm, of which he soon afterward took over the management. Later he entered the em- ploy of the city, being in charge of a chain-gang, and still later he purchased a tract of thirty acres at the corner of Hollenbeck avenue and Lorena street. Here he established a dairy and conducted an extensive and prosperous business until in March, 1913, when he disposed of this property for the purpose of subdivision. In the meantime, however, a dairy association had been formed, known as the Glenn Holly Dairy Company, of which he was president. His herd of milch cows were known to be the finest in the locality, being composed of Jersey, Durham and Holstein stock, and numbering almost one hundred head.
At all times Mr. O'Sullivan was interested in various enterprises other than his dairy and much valuable city property passed through his hands. At present he owns a frontage on Fourth and Fickett streets which is very valuable. After selling his dairy property, for which he received a handsome sum, he purchased twenty-five acres
in East Whittier, for which he paid $30,000, the property being in walnuts and one of the best producing groves in the region.
Mr. O'Sullivan has been twice married, the first time to Miss Mary Walsh, a native of Ireland, and of their union were born six children, four sons and two daughters. Of these the elder two, Daniel and Mary A., both born in New York state, are deceased, while the others, natives of Los Angeles, are now residing in Los Angeles and vicinity. They are: Francis J., Edwin T., John J. and Grace. The first wife died in 1892, and later Mr. O'Sullivan was married to Margaret (Coughlin) Moraraity, by whom he has one son, Marcellus. Mr. O'Sullivan is a prominent mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus, being one of the charter members of the Los Angeles order, an honorary member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and also a member of the Pioneer Society.
OTTO BRODTBECK. Measured by the ordinary standards, the life of Mr. Brodtbeck was not long, but measured by the results of his re- markable career its duration was sufficient for the accomplishments of great purposes. In the fifty years that were given him on earth, he had lived so wisely and efficiently that the ideals of youth were achieved, the hopes of boyhood were brought into fruition and the aspirations of mature man- hood for a career of service to his chosen com- munity had their realization in helpful citizenship. The half century that formed his life-span divided itself into three periods of unequal duration. The first period was covered by eight years in Switzer- land, where he was born April 6, 1845, and where his father, Maj. Samuel Brodtbeck, member of an ancient Swiss family, had received thorough military training in the army of the republic. The second period was covered by residence in Iowa and Illinois from 1853 until 1883 and by service of a few years during that time in the Union army during the Civil war. The family was living in Dubuque at the opening of the war, and father and son, the latter then a youth of sixteen, offered their services in behalf of their adopted country, espousing the cause of the Union with an ardor that subsequent hardships and privations in camp and on the battlefield failed to diminish. Through- out the war the younger man remained in the
309
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
ranks, but the father, with a knowledge of mili- tary tactics that from the first made him a power in the service, rose to be major, continuing in that rank until the expiration of the war.
The third period in the life of Mr. Brodtbeck was his residence in California, where he lived one year in San Diego and spent the remainder of his life from 1884 until his death, April 24, 1895, in Los Angeles. This period was in many respects the most vital and forceful part of his career. Certainly it was the most interesting to him and the most productive of permanent re- sults. Having had charge of several large estates in the east and having proved masterly in organ- ization, thorough in detail and efficient in the over- sight of great financial interests, he was prepared to enter into the material upbuilding of Los An- geles with intelligence and keen discrimination. In the handling of real estate he exhibited rare judgment. Seldom was his opinion concerning property reversed by subsequent developments and in his judgment as to values he displayed a sagacity that seemed intuitive. The realty in- terests of the city suffered a serious loss in his passing, for he had continued in the very fore- front of property development until the end. A deep devotion to the welfare of Los Angeles was manifest in all his acts and he was scarcely less devoted to other parts of Southern California, whose great orange groves and peaceful farms, pleasant villages where sunshine always prevails, and unchanging atmosphere of prosperity ap- pealed to his business instinct no less than to his artistic tastes. To a man of his temperament politics gave no appeal, and, aside from voting the Democratic ticket in national elections, he took no part in party affairs. A believer in the philanthropic principles of Masonry, having at- tained the thirty-second degree, he maintained an association with some of its branches until his death. He was also a believer in the uplifting in- fluence of the churches and was a frequent attend- ant at the services of the Presbyterian Church as well as a generous contributor to its missionary societies. He was a member of the state legisla- ture of Illinois, representing Madison county, for a number of years. In St. Louis, Mo., March 18, 1873, he married Miss E. Weinheimer, a native of Highland, Ill., and a daughter of Henry and Anna (Franz) Weinheimer, the former a mer- chant at Highland for many years. Four children were born of the union, but two of these died in
infancy and Otto W. passed away at the age of twenty-six, at Phoenix, Ariz., where he was the city representative of R. L. Craig & Co., of Los Angeles. Of his family Mr. Brodtbeck is sur- vived only by his wife and one child, Adele, now Mrs. Earl Cowan, both of Los Angeles.
DAVID HEWES .* In the history of a people a period of unrest and expansion begets individ- uals whose lives serve to inspire subsequent gen- erations. Such a period was that half century preceding the Civil war; and in the very middle of that period was born the subject of this sketch, the story of whose life, and recognition of whose achievements, accomplished through perseverance against great odds, cannot but serve to encourage all who come to know it.
David Hewes has impressed his personality upon everything with which he has had to do. Being a man with but one purpose in view, that of being able to create such things as might serve others and at the same time to place himself in a position enabling him to do those very things, he has had a busy life. Few, indeed, are those who can look back over a span of nearly a century, with mind undimmed by age, and in possession of health and strength.
Such, however, is the happy situation of Mr. Hewes. He was born in Lynnfield, Mass., May 16, 1822, and today, in his ninety-fourth year, lives on his ranch at Orange, Cal., in the Santa Ana valley, in developing which he has had much to do. This ranch he has happily named Ana- pauma. the "place of rest."
There are living many persons who recall Mr. Hewes in the prime of life, as a vigorous, but somewhat slight man, of average height, whose eye was undimmed and whose hair and beard re- tained their youthful shade, a rich deep brown, long after that period when grey first begins to give to others the dignity of age. Always of ener- getic temperament, with his mind never at rest, as soon as he retired from one sphere of activity he entered upon another. This has been his record through life. Until forced by the circumstance of advancing years he never rested from activities which would have seemed sufficient for a young
*This outline sketch is abridged from "The Life of David Hewes," by Eben Putnam, which will appear in a volume of Reminiscences by Mr. Hewes. The abridgment was made by Mr. Putnam at the request of the Publishers.
13
310
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
man; not until he had passed his ninetieth year did he cease to drive his own horses, or to hesitate to visit, unattended, the crowded streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco, attending to his busi- ness. He visited the East in his eighty-eighth year, and at that time contemplated making a fourth visit to those European centres of art he so well loved.
Today, it is his daily custom to motor about his extensive ranch property, observing and directing the operations there carried on, and on occasion visiting Los Angeles on both business and pleasure. Always an abstemious man with regard to the pleasures of life, never using tobacco or wine, and practicing those virtues demanded by one who professes Christianity and lives up to his professions, Mr. Hewes stands today as a living example of what a clean life, interest in his fellows, and a determination to live his life to the full, may accomplish.
The traits he possesses are an inheritance from a worthy line of ancestry, as well as the results of an upbringing among members of a community who valued the Christian virtues, and whose re- ligion taught them to put their professions into practice.
The parents of David Hewes were Col. Joel and Ruthe Tapley Hewes, both of energetic tem- perament and of sincere and strong convictions. Colonel Hewes was one of the early New Eng- land Methodists. He felt called upon to do his part in the religious life of his time, and his family was influenced not only by the ardent enthusiasm of the father, but by the calmer but quite as sincere and persistent religious fervor of the mother.
Colonel Hewes died December 18, 1827, at the early age of forty-one years, of tuberculosis,* which he fought with all the strength of a de- termined nature. His widow re-married, April 19, 1829, Oliver Swain of Lynnfield, and lived until September 13, 1851. David, the youngest son, remained with his mother until he reached the age of fourteen. He was then apprenticed to his brother-in-law, Benjamin Cox, until he should reach the age of seventeen and one-half years. Heretofore he had attended the district school, and it was now stipulated that he should receive six weeks schooling each year. His faithful per-
formance of those duties which fell to him led Mr. Cox to allow him the privilege of twelve weeks schooling during the last year. When his term of apprenticeship was ended he arranged to remain with Mr. Cox, paying for his board with his services. He was thus enabled to attend West Reading Academy and to prepare for Phillips Academy at Andover. Instead of immediately entering Andover, Mr. Hewes served for four years as clerk to Allen Rowe of Stoneham, a merchant and shoe manufacturer. He thus ob- tained not only means with which to pursue his education, but a knowledge of mercantile trans- actions which was to stand him in good stead in later life.
He was admitted to the Teachers' Seminary at Andover in March, 1844, and to the classical de- partment the following September, and graduated in due course, having a part at commencement. He entered Yale with the class of '51. Letters preserved in the family, written by Mr. Hewes during his life at Andover and Yale, show that he was active in the religious movements of the students in both institutions. While at Andover, perceiving the field afforded by the rapid growth of the then newly established town of Lawrence, he established a Sunday School which was very successful, and which after his departure from Andover was maintained in connection with Dr. Whiting's church, the Lawrence Street Congrega- tional Church.
At the end of his freshman year at Yale, Mr. Hewes found himself obliged to seek some means to meet the cost of further education. It seemed best to accept the offer of Mr. Goodrich, the publisher of "Peter Parley's Merry Museum" and the "Mother's Companion," to canvass for subscriptions for those publications on a liberal commission. He spent the following year in this business, and was very successful. In Lowell he made $400 in one month. Although offered a responsible position by Mr. Goodrich, at the then unusually good salary of $1200 a year, he de- termined to return to Yale, and was admitted to the sophomore year of the famous class of '52. In 1849, learning of the need of building materials on the Pacific coast, he purchased several of the galvanized iron houses manufactured by Peter Naylor, and shipped them to San Francisco, by way of the Horn, in charge of a cousin.
Shortly after the departure of his cousin the latter's wife and child died. Failing to intercept
*Lewis, the historian of Lynn, notes the increase of this disease in Lynn coincident with the increase in the shoe industry. Being a contagions disease, the proper management of which was not understood, it made great inroads upon the people.
311
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
the ship, David Hewes felt it incumbent upon himself to carry the sad news to his cousin and relieve him of the responsibility of the business venture he had entered into. Knowing that by an immediate departure he should reach San Francisco before the ship on which his cousin had sailed, he proceeded by steamer to the Isthmus, and thence by steamer to San Francisco. His journey was not devoid of adventure. The Crescent City on which he sailed from New York broke down off Florida, and a small party of its passengers were transferred at sea to a small schooner. Although deeply laden, this vessel reached its port in safety. The voyage up the Pacific Coast was subject to all the untold incon- veniences and discomforts, especially trying to one accustomed to the refinements of life, which an over-crowded vessel, on which a very miscel- laneous company had embarked, was prone to. However, eventually the Golden Gate was passed and on the 6th of February, 1850, David Hewes set foot on the soil of San Francisco. Mr. Dun- bar, to whom he had letters, advised Mr. Hewes to proceed at once to the new settlement at Sac- ramento, and there being no news from the ex- pected ship, after a brief visit of three days in San Francisco, Mr. Hewes proceeded to Sacra- mento.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.