USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 42
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
While in Duarte Mr. Wardall was intimately associated with the affairs of the community and actively engaged in various plans for the improve- ment and development of the section. He was one of a committee of nine men who organized and built the water system there. There were two wa-
335
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
ter systems built, the Duarte Mutual Water Com- pany and the Beardsley Water Ditch Company, Mr. Wardall being the president of both com- panies. He was one of the founders of the Duarte Orange Growers' Association and of the Duarte and Monrovia Fruit Growers' Association, and is still a stockholder in the last mentioned associa- tion. In Monrovia Mr. Wardall is associated with many of the important commercial affairs of the city. He is a stockholder and director in the Granite Savings Bank of Monrovia, and is a stockholder in both the First National Bank and in the American National Bank of Monrovia.
Aside from his business associations Mr. War- dall has been a prominent figure in fraternal circles for many years. At Osage, Iowa, he joined the Masons when he was twenty-one years of age, and became a charter member of Northern Light Lodge of Northwood, Iowa, of which he was organizer and first senior warden. He is now a member of the Monrovia Lodge of Masons.
The marriage of Mr. Wardall took place in Northwood, Iowa, September 29, 1867, uniting him with Miss Jane E. Bigalow, the daughter of Roswell and Emeline ( Stacy ) Bigalow, and the descendant of an old New England family. She is a native of Wisconsin, born February 10, 1851. Seven children were born of this union, five of whom are living and are well and favorably known in Monrovia. The eldest daughter, now deceased, was Mrs. Sarah F. Mosher, and her son, Merle, has been reared by his grandparents. Gladys is also deceased. Of the five living chil- dren we mention the following : Mabel, now Mrs. White of Gilroy, has two children and three grandchildren ; Ralph H. is principal of the Com- mercial high school and also principal of the night school at Manila, Philippine Islands ; he is a great traveler, having encircled the globe twice, and inade one visit to the home of his paternal grand- parents in old England; Mrs. Anita Reading is a resident of Venice, Cal .; Ray Clifford of Pasa- dena is married and has one daughter; and Mildred is still at home with her parents. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wardall are popular with a wide circle of friends and are prominent socially. They are both members of the Monrovia chapter of the Eastern Star, and are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
THOMAS LEAHY. When Thomas Leahy came to Los Angeles in 1851, at the age of seven- teen, it was merely a tiny Spanish village, with but two other white boys in the place, and here he spent the remaining years of his life, missing the half-century mark by half a year, his death occur- ring March 3, 1900. During the long and fruitful years of his residence here he was closely identi- fied with the commercial activities of the city, hav- ing been variously associated with the best in- terests of the life that flowed on about him. In the days when the city was young and the need for men of ability and strength of purpose was keen, he gave gladly of his time and ability, serv- ing in the city council, and in other capacities for the public welfare. His children were born and reared within the limits of the Angel City, and still make their homes here, having now grown to manhood and womanhood, and are in their turn giving of their best for the upbuilding and progress of their native city.
Mr. Leahy was a native of Ireland, born in County Cork, August 10, 1834, the son of John and Johanna (Kellen) Leahy, likewise natives of Ireland. He received his education in the best private schools of the day, and so was well equipped for battles that he later fought so ef- ficiently. The lure of the new lands called him, and when he was seventeen he came alone to America. locating at once in California, where an uncle, Don Mateo Kellen, was engaged in business in Los Angeles. He remained in the employ of this relative until 1867, when he engaged in business for himself, being interested in the retail boot and shoe business, with a store on Main street near Commercial Way, in the old Farmers and Mer- chants Bank Building. In 1879 he retired from commercial pursuits and gave his time to the care and enjoyment of his forty-acre ranch, located on Alameda street, in what is now the heart of the manufacturing district, Ninth street having been opened through this property. Mr. Leahy was a stanch Democrat and a strict adherent to the principles of his party, and as a representative of the party served as a member of the Los Angeles city council from 1876 to 1879. At various other times he received evidence of the confidence re- posed in him by the members of his party and his fellow citizens.
The marriage of Mr. Leahy took place in Los Angeles, February 11, 1873, uniting him with Miss Caroline Garthorne, the daughter of Charles
336
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
and Sarah (Christee) Garthorne, and a native of New Orleans, La. She came to California with her parents when a child and located in San Fran- cisco, where she received her education in private schools. Of this union were born six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom are now making their homes in Los Angeles, where they are well and favorably known. They are: George, manager of the mechanical department of the Los Angeles Railway Company; Sadie, re- siding at home ; Edward, assistant foreman of the wiring department of the Pacific Electric Rail- way Company ; Lena, residing at home ; and Her- bert and Louis, the two sons last mentioned con- stituting the Leahy Manufacturing Company. Louis, the youngest member of the family, is of a decidedly inventive turn, and has patented many articles of great value and utility, and it is these articles that the Leahy Manufacturing Company is engaged in making and promoting. He com- menced his work along this line when he was but fifteen years of age, at that time perfecting an oil burner and a spark-changing device, and later developed more intricate devices which have been perfected and put on the market. He owes much to the devotion and constant help and encourage- ment of his mother, who has, and has always had, the greatest faith in her clever sons. She is a woman of rare poise, full of enthusiasm and ability, and has been certain from the first that "her sons had the greatest oil burner in the world." The sons in turn fully appreciate the aid that their mother has given them.
The Leahy Manufacturing Company is one of the growing concerns of Los Angeles. All of the patents are their own and their specialties include devices for automobiles, marine and stationary gas engines, all sorts of oil regulating valves, oil strainers, oil pumping systems and a general line of machine work. Their offices are on Alameda street, and are located well within the tract that was at one time their father's vineyard.
Since the death of Mr. Leahy his widow has continued to make her home in Los Angeles, where the major part of her life has been passed. Her sons have taken all business responsibilities from her shoulders and she is left free for the enjoyment of hier many friends and neighbors. She makes her home in Wilshire place, where she has a comfortable residence, which is shared by her daughters.
REUBEN A. MEREDITH. Crossing the plains, mountains and deserts on horse back from Texas more than forty years ago, and locating near El Monte, and since that time making Los Angeles county his home, Reuben A. Meredith is indeed one of the pioneers of the county, as well as one of its most honored citizens. He has a splendid record as a soldier, having served long and faithfully on the losing side during the Civil war, and being in many of the greatest engage- ments of that conflict. He is now residing in Covina, on College street, where he purchased an acre of land in 1907.
Mr. Meredith is a native of Alabama, born in Sumter county, April 30, 1840, the son of Reuben A. and Ann E. (Harwood) Meredith, both natives of Virginia. The Harwood family was originally from Scotland, coming to America in Colonial times and settling in Virginia. On the paternal side Mr. Meredith is of Welsh descent, his fore- bears being of a very distinguished family, his grandfather, Dr. R. Meredith, being a noted physician and a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. Meredith was reared in Alabama, where he was educated and later served an apprenticeship of five years at the blacksmith trade, which he followed for a number of years. On the declaration of war between the North and the South he enlisted in the Confederate army, April 30, 1861, serving with Company G, Fifth Alabama Infantry, Con- federate States of America, and seeing service under Generals Beauregard, Johnston, Lee, Stone- wall Jackson, and others, and was under the command of General Jackson when he was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville. Mr. Meredith was in many of the best known and bloodiest bat- tles of the war, among which may be mentioned the battle of Seven Pines, the seven days fight before Richmond and Gettysburg, in both of the Fredericksburg campaigns, the battle of Cold Harbor, the battles of the Wilderness and Spott- sylvania Court House. He was with Early in the Shenandoah valley, in the Petersburg campaign, and at the surrender at Appomattox. At Chancel- lorsville he was captured and held a prisoner for ten days in Washington, D. C. Mr. Meredith en- tered the service as a private, but was soon pro- moted to sergeant, and served in this rank during the remainder of the war.
After the close of the war Mr. Meredith re- turned to his home in Alabama and opened a blacksmith shop at Gainesville, remaining there
C.C. F. Cialst
339
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
until 1868, when he went to Corpus Christi, Tex., later joining a wagon train party and journeying with them as far as El Paso. The call of the far west was strong at that time, and many families from the South, especially from Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama, had left for California, locating in Los Angeles county, and thither he turned his face, making the last part of the jour- ney in company with three friends, all crossing the plains and mountains on horse back. At the end of six months Mr. Meredith reached Los Angeles and soon afterward located at El Monte, where he engaged in the fruit growing business until 1894, when he purchased a ranch of twenty acres near Covina and settled upon it. This property he improved and planted to oranges, making a success of the undertaking. In 1907 he sold this property and purchased his present home place in Covina.
Since coming to Covina to make his home Mr. Meredith has identified himself with the various interests of the community and is recognized as a progressive, public spirited citizen. He has served as a director of the Covina Orange Grow- ers Association, and was one of the promoters of the Columbia Land & Water Company. He is also well known fraternally, being an influential member of the Odd Fellows and United Work- men, being affiliated with the Covina lodges of both organizations. In politics he is a Democrat and is well informed on all questions of the day, and a clear and logical thinker on all matters of importance. With him resides his sister, Mrs. Mary K. Harris, who is one of the early settlers of the county, having made her home here since Feb- ruary, 1884. Mrs. Harris is a member of the Baptist church and takes an active part in the affairs of that denomination.
CHARLES CHRISTIAN FREDERICK HOLST. Linked inseparably with the early history of Los Angeles is the name of Charles Christian Frederick Holst, who for many years was one of the foremost men in the city and intimately identified with many of the leading enterprises of his day. The power of this man's influence and importance may well be illus- trated through the fact that, while his death occurred in 1880, he is still well remembered by the older residents of the city, and even
many of the younger generation are familiar with his name and associations, although for more than thirty-five years he has been "with his fathers."
A native of Denmark, Mr. Holst was born in Copenhagen August 19, 1835. He received his education in the public schools of Copenhagen. making a specialty of the languages and becom- ing very proficient in Danish, German and English, and later learning to speak Spanish fluently. It was about 1858 that Mr. Holst came to the United States, locating for a short time in St. Louis, Mo. In 1859 he came to Los Angeles and for a number of years he was em- ployed in the court house under A. W. Potts, then county clerk. He was always interested in real estate transactions, however, and soon took up a government claim of one hundred and eighty acres, which he leased to small farmers. It comprised the original Holst tract, the present boundaries of which are Hoover street on the east, north to Sixth street, west to Ver- mont avenue, and south to one hundred and thirty-five feet south of San Marino street. This was called the small La Brae ranch, the earth formation of which was dug up and sold in chunks for fuel, being used by the Coulter Woolen Mills and other similar concerns. Since the death of Mr. Holst his estate has been gradually disposed of by his heirs, together with a tract of one hundred and eighty acres in the Wilshire district left to these same heirs by Mrs. Holst's mother, Mrs. Bertha Hagerman.
Quite apart from his prominence in a busi- ness way Mr. Holst was well known in fraternal and social circles during his life time. He was a member of the Masons, and also was a mem- ber of the Lutheran church and a regular at- tendant on all its services. In the early days he was active in school matters and was in- strumental in building the first school in the west end.
The marriage of Mr. Holst was solemnized in St. Louis, Mo., uniting him with Miss Frances M. Hagerman, the daughter of George and Bertha Hagerman. Of their union were born ten children, all of whom have been well known in Los Angeles, where they were reared and educated. They are: Carlcina, deceased ; Carolyn Bertha, now Mrs. Louis K. Harper, and the mother of six children, Lucy, Lillas, Reuben, Louis, Francis and Charles; Charles
340
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
F., now deceased, who was married to Miss Alvina Stemple; Emily Matilda, who after the death of her first husband, W. O. White, became Mrs. Finley (she has a son, Randolph C. Finley) ; Edward, of San Francisco; Arnold Theodore, who married Miss Frances Yaeger (their daughter, Frances Gertrude, now Mrs. Campbell, has a daughter, Gertrude Campbell) ; Dagmar Louise Cealia, the wife of Theodore L. Stattsford, and the mother of one son, Howard ; Marian Georgia, the wife of Thomas P. Bruce, and the mother of three children, James, Thomas and Louise; Walter, who mar- ried Mrs. Edith Benedict; and an infant son, the fourth child in the family, who died un- named.
Mr. Holst was a progressive man and fully awake to all the advantages that his day offered. He was intimately associated with the municipal and political life of the early history of the city and proved himself an influence in local affairs. His transactions in real estate were confined principally to acreage, but in this line he was a shrewd and careful buyer and knew when and how to sell. The acreage once owned by him, and which is now well within the city limits and thickly settled with hand- some homes, was at that time far out in the country and when acquired by Mr. Holst was practically wild land. It increased rapidly in value during the years that he owned it, and its ultimate sale netted a handsome profit for the heirs of the estate.
JOHN DOLLAND. The life of John Dolland has been diversified with varied interests. Born in Ireland June 20, 1838, he was brought to the United States when a child of only four years and grew up on his brother's farm in Stevenson county, Ill., his father having passed away when he was seven years old. In 1861 he came to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama and settled in Sonoma county, where he taught school of a time near Napa. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in 1862 in the Seventh California Volunteers and became sergeant-major of the post at Fort Yuma, Ariz. At the close of the war he returned to California and bought seventy acres of land at Figueroa and Washington streets, Los Angeles, which he farmed for some
time and then sold for $100 per acre. It is hard at the present day to imagine farm land in this locality which has, since that date, been one of the best residential districts of Los Angeles and is now alive with the busy sound of street cars and automobiles, the handsome residences of a few years past still remaining in their palm-set lawns and withstanding for a time the march of progress which takes the modern home-builder to the newer and western part of the city. After selling this property in town Mr. Dolland took up forty acres of state land near what is now Bimini Hot Springs, then a far distant part of the town. This land he sold for $30 per acre, and even here the tide of population is drifting today, and this less built-up portion of the city with its beautiful view of the mountains is easily accessible by street car.
In company with Governor Downey and Judge Crawford, Mr. Dolland founded the town of Downey in 1874, the business centre of the Los Nietos valley. Lying between two rivers, the place has fine irrigating facilities and is devoted to walnut raising. Here Mr. Dolland in the early days of the town bought an eighty-acre tract of land which he continued to farm for two years, finally selling the same to a Mr. Coke and remov- ing to Norwalk in the same county, seventeen miles from Los Angeles, now the centre of a wide dairy country and important for its crops of alfalfa, corn and barley. In Norwalk, where Mr. Dolland still makes his home, he bought an eighty- acre ranch which comprises his present home, and has farmed the same ever since. Later he added to this by the purchase of one hundred and twenty acres near by, which he sold later and bought one hundred and forty acres at Santa Fe Springs, in the same county, fifty acres of which are situated in a eucalyptus grove, a tree whose wood is valuable for cabinet-making and the oil of which is used for medicinal and other pur- poses. This property Mr. Dolland has now leased to the Petroleum Oil Company, since it proved very valuable oil land, the oil business being a venture which has brought wealth to many a newcomer in California, tall derricks in many parts of the state testifying to the importance of the industry. Mr. Dolland was one of the foun- ders of the Bank of Norwalk and for many years one of its directors. For fifty years he has been an Odd Fellow, and is a charter member and past grand master of Downey Lodge No. 35,
341
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
and past commander of Downey Lodge, G. A. R.
The wife of Mr. Dolland was Miss Annie Gil- lett, a native of Louisiana and the daughter of a Methodist minister who built the first Methodist Church in Los Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. Dolland are the parents of three children, namely : Mrs. Grace Baker of Hollywood, Cal., who is the mother of one son; Mrs. Margaret White, also of Holly- wood, the mother of one daughter ; and Edward, now deceased, who was formerly a teacher in Los Angeles.
RUDOLPH LUDWIG JOHANSEN. Al- though not a native of California, Rudolph Lud- wig Johansen has spent practically his entire life- time in this state, and most of that time in the southern part, principally in Los Angeles city and county. His father was a well-known pio- neer, having come to Los Angeles in 1868, the son being at that time a babe of some five years of age.
Mr. Johansen is a native of Pennsylvania, hav- ing been born in Philadelphia April 28, 1863, the son of Thomas and Ebine (Hesken) Johansen. His father, a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1840, locating at Philadelphia, Pa. In 1867 he determined to better his financial condition by coming to California and that same year he made the trip west and located in San Francisco. For a year he remained in the Bay city and in 1868 came to Los Angeles. Here he purchased a homestead from Frank Allen in the Cahuenga valley, although for some time he con- tinued to reside in Los Angeles. A wheelwright by trade, he bought an interest in a shop with Dan Kistline, located on Spring street, and al- though their business proved profitable, in 1869 Mr. Johansen disposed of his interest in it and removed to his ranch, where he engaged in diversi- fied farming with much success. After remaining on the ranch until 1887, he retired from active business and returned to Los Angeles to make his home.
The boyhood days of Rudolph L. Johansen were spent on the farm of his father and his education was received in the public schools of Cahuenga, where he attended until he was sixteen years of age. At that time he quit school and went to work regularly with his father on the ranch, con- tinuing thus until his father returned to the city in 1887. Since that time he has been engaged in
farming on leased land within the city limits, and has been very successful.
In politics Mr. Johansen is a Republican, al- though he has never been actively associated with party affairs in the city. He is progressive and well informed and awake to all movements which are for the betterment of municipal conditions. He is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and has been a member of their board of trustees for many years.
The marriage of Mr. Johansen took place in Los Angeles, January 12, 1887, uniting him with Miss Elizabeth Richter, the daughter of Herman and Gertrude Richter, and a native of Indianapo- lis, Ind., born March 29, 1868. She bore her husband two children, Harold, who is now a stu- dent in Lincoln high school, and Edwin, who passed away at the age of nineteen.
FERDINAND CARL LUHRING. Promi- nent among the general merchants of Los An- geles in the year 1876 was Ferdinand Carl Luhr- ing, his establishment, which he conducted in partnership with William Rapp, being located on Spring street near First. This partnership, how- ever, was of but short duration, and after dispos- ing of his mercantile interests Mr. Luhring pur- chased a tract of fifty acres on Normandie avenue between Second and Third streets, where he re- moved with his family. Later he added to this until he owned a handsome ranch of almost one hundred acres, where he engaged in the dairy business until his death, which occurred in 1882. This property passed to the heirs of the estate, namely his wife and daughters, but this has been gradually disposed of as the growth of the city made the demand for residence property in that locality sufficiently great to insure a desirable price, the daughters holding at this time but a comparatively small part of the original farm.
Mr. Luhring was a native of Germany, born in Berlin, December 16, 1832, one of a family of thirteen children. He received his education in the German schools, fitting himself for a civil engineer. When he was yet a young man he was sent to South America to erect the first wind- mill that was ever set up there. After the com- pletion of his commission he determined to re- main, and for several years conducted a mechan- ical shop in one of the larger cities of Peru, where he met with much success. Following this he came
342
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
to California, remaining for a short time in San Francisco, and then coming to Los Angeles in 1876 and purchasing a home on First street, near Spring. Mr. Luhring was a man of progressive ideas and was deeply interested in all that per- tained to the welfare of the city. In his political views he was a Democrat, although he was never especially active in politics. He was reared in the Lutheran faith and remained a member of that church throughout his life.
The marriage of Mr. Luhring and Miss Theresa Pohl was solemnized in San Francisco about 1866, and of their union were born three children, two daughters and a son. The son, Ferdinand, died when he was twenty-one, in the year 1900; Dor- othy is now Mrs. T. R. Commins, residing in Mariposa county ; and Anna M., who is married to Edwin M. Glass, is the mother of one daughter, Edna. Mr. Glass is engaged in farming in the Perris valley, Riverside county, besides which he is interested in a large ranch in Ventura county, consisting of some four thousand acres, which he and his partner have leased. Mrs. Luhring passed away in Los Angeles in 1899.
PHILIP G. McGAUGH. Coming first to California in the spring of 1850, when a child of six years, crossing the plains with his parents in a "prairie schooner" drawn by ox teams, and arriving one month before the state was admitted to the Union, Philip G. McGaugh has every right to be called a pioneer in the true sense of the word. It is true, however, that he has not continuously lived in the state since then, having passed the time from 1853 to 1857 in the east; but since the latter date California has been his permanent home, and it was in 1869 that his father purchased a large ranch near where the present city of Rivera stands, since which time Los Angeles county has been the scene of his activities. He received his education in the public schools of his district and grew to manhood on his father's farm. He is now one of the prosperous and influential men of the Rivera district, where he is engaged in fruit culture, having a handsome ranch set to orange and walnut groves.
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.