USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 43
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Mr. McGaugh was born in Daviess county, Mo., November 16, 1844, the son of J. W. and Sarah Jane (Edwards) McGaugh, his father being a native of Tennessee, while his mother was born in Kentucky. As before mentioned, the family
crossed the plains in 1850 and settled in Grass Valley, Nevada county. The mother died in De- cember of that year, leaving three small children, all natives of Missouri. The father engaged in placer mining in Grass Valley until the spring of 1853, when he, with his children, returned to Missouri by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and again took up the care of the old farm. Remain- ing there until the spring of 1857, he then again came to California by ox teams, bringing with him a band of cattle. Driving his cattle to the Sacramento valley, he settled in Yolo county and engaged in the stock business until 1860, when he removed to Big valley, Lake county, where he continued in the cattle business and farming until 1869. It was in that year that he came to Los Angeles county and purchased a ranch near where Rivera now stands, paying $25 per acre for fifty acres of choice land. Here he established a home and resided until his death in 1893. He was one of the prominent men of the valley and took an active part in the development of its industries, being one of the first men to set out walnut trees in that section. Three children by the first mar- riage still survive, they being Philip G., the sub- ject of this sketch ; Mary J., now Mrs. Holloway ; and Mathew J. There are also two children by a second marriage, William G. and Sarah B., the latter now Mrs. Goodwin.
Philip G. McGaugh started farming for him- self in 1872, renting a seventy-acre property and engaging in diversified farming with great success. In 1880 he purchased forty acres which now form his home place and commenced to improve and develop it along permanent lines. For a time he gave much attention to raising corn, but in 1881 set out walnut trees, two of the original trees being still standing. He also planted orange trees, and now has a twenty-acre grove of oranges and the same of walnuts.
Mr. McGaugh has been twice married. The first time was in 1879, the bride being Miss Martha E. Speegle, born in California in 1852. Her mother, Mrs. H. L. Montgomery, was a pioneer of the early days. Mrs. M. E. McGaugh died in 1893, having borne her husband four children, all na- tives of Los Angeles county, where they are well known today. They are : James Philip, Laura M., Mary E. (now the wife of A. L. Meller) and Albert S. Mr. McGaugh's second marriage oc- curred in 1898, uniting him with Miss Margaret F. Williams, born in Watsonville, Cal., her father
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having come to California in 1842, and later hav- ing located in Orange county. The second wife of Mr. McGaugh passed away in 1903.
The long residence of Mr. McGaugh in Los Angeles county has served to identify him with many movements that are closely associated with the development of the industries of the state, and to give him a fund of valuable information regarding vital facts of a day gone by. He is a member of the Southern California Pioneer So- ciety, of the Odd Fellows of Downey, and for many years was a member of the school board of Rivera. For two years he was deputy sheriff un- der Sheriff Mitchell and for seventeen years he was a director of the Walnut Growers Association of Rivera, of which he was one of the charter members.
ELISHA K. GREEN. His residence in Los Angeles Mr. Green dates from May 21. 1873. He was born in the township of Gaines, Orleans county, N. Y., August 28, 1839, being a son of Eri Allen and Joanna (Kelley) Green, also natives of New York state. His maternal grandfather, John Kelley, a soldier in the War of 1812, was a man of great mechanical and inventive genius, and as such became well known among the people of Monroe county, N. Y., where he made his home near Rochester. The paternal grandfather was a farmer of New York and descended from a Massachusetts family who in turn traced their lineage to Scot- land. From New York E. A. Green moved to Eaton county, Mich., in 1844, and improved a farm from the woods, spending his remaining years in the cultivation of the tract. In religion he was a Baptist. He was one of the active organizers of Kalamazoo College and subse- quently maintained an interest in its progress. His death occurred in Charlotte, Eaton county, Mich .: his wife died in 1857. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom E. K. was the seventh. He received a public school and academic education in Charlotte, Mich., and from eighteen until twenty-six years of age taught school in Eaton and Ionia counties, Mich. While in Chester township, Eaton county, he was elected school inspector for that township.
After graduating from Bryant & Stratton's
Business College in Chicago in 1864, Mr. Green returned to Michigan and remained there over a year. He then removed to Batavia, Ill., and secured employment as bookkeeper in a large manufacturing establishment. Four years later he resigned to enter the grocery and crockery business, and after another four years he sold out his business in order to come west. Novem- ber, 1872, found him in California, and the prospects impressed him so favorably that in the spring of 1873 he brought his family here and embarked in business as a manufacturer of windmills and pumps, his factory being on Aliso street, Los Angeles. Some of the wind- mills he made are still standing in Southern California. At a later period he sold hydraulic pumps and gasoline and steam engines, selling the same in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, and as far to the north as Santa Barbara and Ventura. By means of a water rod he located many wells, a principle which he had understood forty years ago, but had not applied until some years after coming to Los Angeles. This principle is now being recog- nized and used by scientific men, and others are investigating to satisfy themselves as to its merits. To Mr. Green is due the credit for starting the first artificial water works in Southern California. On account of having sales in different places, he became familiar with every town in Southern California and had friends everywhere. The last location of his factory was on Ord and Buena Vista streets, Los Angeles, where he remained until retiring from business in 1896.
The real estate interests of Los Angeles owe much to the wise judgment of Mr. Green. He laid out Green tract, comprising seven acres between Eighth and Ninth streets and Valencia street and Union avenue, and opened up Green avenue through the block, which he has since built up. His purchase on the hill in 1873 was the first made west of Figueroa street, and by putting up windmills and later building a water system of his own he was able to irrigate his place and set it out in trees. During the long period of his residence in the west he has seen many changes, and some of them have been remarkable. At first freight rates were so high that the carload of windmills he brought cost him $750 in freight, and for years afterward he paid rates equally as high. He recalls vividly
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the selling of his first mill to Prudent Beaudry, the first sale he made in California. At first it was not easy to find customers, but after a time, as the people began to know him per- sonally and feel confidence in his honor and judgment, his trade increased until he had all he could manage. As an example of the esteem in which Mr. Green was held by everyone who had dealings with him, there may be cited a somewhat remarkable incident. He had loaned $150 to a man he had once employed, receiving a note therefor, the man going east with the expectation of an early return. Not seeing him for fully seven years, the matter had been dis- missed by Mr. Green, who at first did not recognize the man when, after that long space of time, he called upon him, stating that he owed him a sum of money ; and although Mr. Green said it was now outlawed, the man in- sisted upon returning the money to him at that late date.
For four years Mr. Green was a member of the city council of Los Angeles, being elected to that office December 5, 1879, his certificate of membership being signed by W. W. Robin- son, clerk of the city of Los Angeles at that time. During the period of his service in the council, Mr. Green devoted two or three days each week to council duties, but received no wages for this work. The development of water was one of the perplexing problems that the councils of those days were called upon to solve, and there were other questions almost as diffi- cult and annoying brought before them for solution. The securing of water for irrigation facilities necessitated bringing the water a distance of eight miles, and this task was ac- complished during his term of office. Through his connection with the Society of Los Angeles Pioneers, of which he is a charter member, Mr. Green keeps in touch with other old settlers and enjoys with them an occasional meeting to call to mind the days of auld lang syne. Through much of his life he was a Republican, but the importance of prohibition principles led him to ally himself with the party pledged to oppose the liquor traffic. In religion he has been identified with the Independent Church of Christ.
The marriage of Mr. Green in Eaton county, Mich., united him with Miss Lomira C. Halla- day. They became the parents of two children :
Floyd E., an assayer and chemist ; and Ruth L., wife of David Ferguson, of Los Angeles, agent for the North Pacific Steamship Company. The Halladays are of Scotch and Welsh extraction and were early settlers of Connecticut, going thence to the vicinity of Brattleboro, Vt. Mrs. Green was a daughter of David and Nancy (Carpenter) Halladay, natives of Vermont. After she accompanied the family to Eaton county, Mich., she engaged in teaching school for a time. Two sisters and a brother now live in Ionia county, Mich., while two brothers, Daniel and Monroe, reside in Santa Ana, Cal. Mrs. Green passed away in her home in Los Angeles, June 14, 1913.
JOHN E. JENISON. The pioneer merchant and farmer of Downey, Cal., John Ewing Jenison, was born near Petersburg, Menard county, Ill., December 10, 1838, grew up on his father's farm, and, having enlisted at Springfield, Ill., in 1861 in the Tenth Illinois Cavalry, he served for four years and four months in the Civil war, taking part in most of the important encounters, notably those at Vicksburg, New Orleans and Little Rock, at which last he was wounded, and serving with the most famous of the Civil war generals, Grant, McPherson, Logan and Maury.
After being mustered out at Springfield, Ill., Mr. Jenison engaged in farming near Sugar Grove, Ill., on an estate of one hundred acres. His earlier home in this state was situated not far from the house where Abraham Lincoln, be- fore he became famous, used to come to borrow books for the purpose of reading law, and Mr. Jenison once heard Lincoln speak in the court house yard. On account of ill health Mr. Jenison came to California in 1875 and traveled for a while in this state, stopping for a time at San Jose and in the Santa Cruz mountains thereabouts, also living for a while among the mountains back of the town of Glendora in the hope of regaining his health amid outdoor life and mountain air. In 1878 he settled in Downey, purchasing there sixty acres of land to which he later added the pur- chase of eighty-five acres. At present he is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres and fifty- five acres in separate tracts, but both near Downey, and ten acres near Signal Hill and Long Beach. For many years he was engaged in the
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dairy business, being the owner of seventy-five Holstein cows, and also raised alfalfa extensively. In partnership with Earl Greening he entered the general mercantile business, which he followed for many years under the firm name of Jenison & Greening, retiring from active business life in 1914. For six years he was a member of the school board of Downey, a part of that time serv- ing as president of the board.
The wife of Mr. Jenison was Susan B. (Cham- pion) Jenison, a native of the state of Kentucky, who died October 2, 1914, and they were the par- ents of two children, namely : Roy L., who mar- ried Miss Poage and is the father of one daugh- ter, Lelia Bell; and Mrs. Girlie Hass, who has one son and one daughter, Ewing and Myda. Roy L. Jenison is now conducting a fine modern dairy on the home ranch, consisting of one hun- dred and ten cows of Jersey, Durham and Hol- stein breeds.
CAPT. GUSTAV PAUL WEGENER. Prom- inent among the sturdy old families of Germany for many generations has been the Wegener fam- ily, the interests of which have always centered near Berlin. In this family have been men of note in all generations, the male line of the fam- ily producing statesmen, soldiers, sailors, and writers of distinction and ability. The progen- itor of this family in America was Capt. Gustav Paul Wegener, who for many years was a resi- dent of Alhambra, and who was the founder of the attractive local playground known as Wal- halla Park. Captain Wegener came to Cali- fornia in 1884 and from 1889 until his death, November 12, 1912, he made his home in Alham- bra. He is especially well known throughout this section of the county, for his interests were varied and he was always closely in touch with a multi- tude of activities and made a host of friends and acquaintances in all walks of life.
Captain Wegener was himself a native of Ber- lin, Germany. He entered the Marine school as a cadet and later served in the German navy. Following this he sailed the seas as captain of a merchant marine ship, and owing to his splendid training in part, and also to his natural ability, inherited no doubt from forbears who had sailed the main, he became a famous navigator. His
father, Robert Wegener, was Lord Mayor of a Dutch precinct near Berlin, and was also the founder of a private asylum at the same place. This asylum has continued to remain in the fam- ily, at this time being the property of Amile Wegener, a retired major of the German Army, and the son of Robert Wegener, while a sister is in charge of the same.
It was in 1881 that Captain Wegener first came to America to remain. He located at Mobile, Ala., where he was naturalized as an American citizen, and where he was married to Miss Louise Burkhardt, also a native of Germany, born at Hanover. She came to the United States in 1881, making the trip across the Atlantic on the ship of which Captain Wegener was in command, this being his last ocean voyage as well as his last command of a ship. While in Mobile Captain Wegener conducted the St. James Hotel, of which he made a decided success. From there he went to New Orleans, where he was connected with the Exposition grounds, and later went on to San Francisco, making this latter move in 1884. There he became traveling salesman for a piano
company, and it was while discharging his com- mercial duties that he made his first trip to South- ern California. In 1889 he finally came to San Gabriel, where he bought land and commenced to improve it for a home. Later he disposed of this property and purchased twelve acres of raw land, a barley field in fact, on what is now South Wil- son avenue, Alhambra. On this place he lived the remainder of his life, improving it by plant- ing orange trees, palms and other ornamental shrubbery, and making it into an attractive home place. He also developed a water plant, erecting a pumping plant, driving a well and installing a twelve-horsepower engine, all at a cost of about $5,000. Later he converted this property into a pleasure park, naming it Walhalla, and construct- ing a swimming pool and skating rink, and arrang- ing attractive picnic grounds. Another industry which interested Captain Wegener was bee cul- ture, and at one time, in an early day, he had a thousand stands in the mountains, from which he took twenty-five tons of honey in a season.
In addition to his splendid business ability Cap- tain Wegener was also a writer of note, contribut- ing articles to various publications, among them a German paper in Milwaukee, Wis. In addition to his other occupations and interests he invested heavily in real estate in Alhambra and vicinity,
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making his purchases with such wisdom and fore- fornia and the gold fields being his objective point. sight that they netted him handsome profits on his transactions.
The home life of Captain Wegener was always especially attractive. There were eight children, four sons and four daughters, all but one of whom are living at this time, well and favorably known in Alhambra and vicinity. They are: Hans; Max, now deceased; Ellen, the wife of E. Landffear, and the mother of two sons; Mar- garet, the wife of Dr. Frank Crandall; Robert, who has charge of Walhalla Park; Hazel; Paul, and Charlotte L. Mrs. Wegener still survives her husband and makes her home at their original residence in Walhalla Park.
LEVI HARRIS. There is no more cosmopol- itan state in all the Union than California, and happily located within her great bounds are na- tives of practically every country of the earth. But of this varied citizenship no nation has sent us more honorable or honored citizens than has our sister country of England. One of the sons of this great empire, who has been for many years a resident of California, having passed almost forty years in Los Angeles and Duarte, where he now makes his home, is Levi Harris, prominent orange grower of the San Gabriel valley. Mr. Harris was a pioneer in his section of the state as well as in his chosen occupation of citrus cul- ture, in which he has met with very marked suc- cess. He now owns extensive groves of orange and lemon trees at Duarte and also a desirable residence property with an adjacent orchard of various trees, which he planted many years ago and which are still in bearing.
Mr. Harris was born in Somerset, England, April 5, 1843. A liking for tilling the soil influ- enced his early life and led him to learn the trade of gardener in his native land. When he was twenty-two years of age he determined to come to America and landed at New York in 1865. From there he went to Nebraska City, Neb., from which point he started across the plains, Cali-
He drove six yoke of cattle with a freight train, and after four months of weary travel reached Salt Lake City. In the meantime he had changed his mind about going to California and instead turned northward into Montana, thence back across the plains to Omaha, Neb. Shortly, how- ever, he again started west, this time locating in the Truckee valley, near Reno, Nev., where he remained for three years cutting wood for use in the quartz mills of that vicinity. At the end of that time he returned to Salt Lake City, and from there traveled south through Utah to Cali- fornia, coming by the Death Valley route and arriving in Los Angeles in 1872. For fourteen months he was station keeper for the stage line then operating between Los Angeles and Bakers- field, and later engaged in the nursery business in Los Angeles, on Washington street, in partner- ship with a Mr. Brown.
It was in 1878 that Mr. Harris first came to Duarte, locating on the ranch where he now makes his home. He purchased forty acres of unim- proved land and entered into partnership with James Robertson. After clearing the land and bringing it under cultivation they planted orange trees, the stock, which was brought from Los Angeles, being raised from seed. Some of the trees of the original grove are still standing on the home place, and though now more than thirty years old are still bearing. Later he and his part- ner divided their interests, each taking one-half of the original forty acres. At a still later period Mr. Harris purchased sixty-two acres adjoining his place, all but seventeen and a half acres of which he has since sold. His property is now planted to Navel and Valencia oranges almost entirely and is one of the highly improved places of the vicinity.
The marriage of Mr. Harris occurred in 1883, uniting him with Miss Clara L. Norton, a native of New York. Of this union have been born three children, two daughters and a son, all natives of Duarte. Lorena is the wife of Ed Smith of Mon- rovia, and the mother of one child; Violet M. is the wife of Palmer Seeds, also of Monrovia, and Levi N. is associated with his father on the home place. Both daughters attended higher institu-
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tions of learning in Los Angeles for a number of years.
Aside from his business integrity and his re- sultant popularity Mr. Harris is prominent in re- ligious work also. Both he and his wife are in- fluential members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Duarte and take an active part in the affairs of that organization. They are members of the various societies and charitable organiza- tions and assume their full share of responsibility. Mrs. Harris is especially active in the Ladies' Aid Society and in the several missionary societies of the church.
JAMES D. GILCHRIST. The changes which the years bring to California cities have been realized by no one more than by James D. Gilchrist and his wife, who in 1879 made their home in Pasadena, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist were among the pioneers of the town, and seeing the possibilities for future develop- ment there, Mr. Gilchrist invested in a ten-acre orange grove on Los Robles avenue, where he engaged in fruit growing. Finding life and prospects in this western city satisfactory, he later on purchased various pieces of real estate in Pasadena, among them being twenty acres on California street. The Gilchrist business block on West Colorado street built by him is still standing as a monument to his interest in the early days of the place, though the name of the building has now been changed. The acreage which he bought has been subdivided and now forms a part of the center of the city. Where his orange grove stood, its symmetrical rows of trees bright with golden fruit and shel- tered from cold winds by the snow-capped mountains, beautiful residences have now sprung up ; green lawns and well-paved streets shaded by soft-foliaged acacia and pepper trees have superseded the orange groves which nev- ertheless continue to perfume the air in the less built-up parts of the city. Colorado street, where the Gilchrist block stands, its builder would hardly recognize in these busy days when it is lined with fine modern structures and forms the main business street of Pasa- dena.
A native of New Hampshire, Mr. Gilchrist
started out for himself as a young man and went to Carrollton, Ill., which was in those days considered far "out west." There he com- menced the study of the law, which he com- pleted in Topeka, Kans., where he was admit- ted to the bar. After practicing law for some time in Topeka he went to Chicago, where he entered the newspaper business, his first as- sociation of the kind being with The Evening Courier, of which he eventually became city editor. When this paper was merged with The Post he continued his editorial work with that paper.
On account of the health of his wife, formerly Alice R. Dana, a native of Illinois, in 1879 Mr. Gilchrist came to California, where he died in 1892 after having spent thirteen years in carry- ing on the advancement of the new country which he had made his home. Mr. Gilchrist was a Mason and a Republican in politics and a man who will be remembered as one of the early landowners in one of Southern Califor- nia's most beautiful cities.
What the California climate has done for Mrs. Gilchrist is shown by the fact that, coming to this state as an invalid in 1879, after thirty- five years she is still enjoying life on the west coast of which she can testify to the health- giving qualities. Like many another, she came to this state for her health, and coming in time she has been enabled to enjoy many years of life in this beautiful climate. For a number of years she has made her home at the pretty seaside city of Redondo Beach, where she built herself a handsome residence on the Esplanade, overlooking the ocean, and finds life at the shore almost as delightful during California's winter months as during the summer.
JOHN SCOTT. A man who has been more than ordinarily successful in his chosen occupa- tion of citrus culture, and one who has done much for the development and promotion of this great industry, is John Scott, of Hillside, near Duarte, where he owns and operates one of the finest orange groves in the great citrus belt. The meas- ure of his success is largely, if not entirely, due to the sterling qualities of the man, his application and industry, all of which have culminated in giving him a thorough knowledge of horticulture
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