USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 5
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Captain Thom was born on his father's planta- tion at Berry Hill, Culpeper county, Va., June 20, 1825. His father, John Thom, was a soldier of distinction, a gentleman and a scholar, as well as a statesman of marked ability, and he was an officer in the War of 1812, commanding a regi- ment of volunteers through the entire period of military activity. For thirty years he served in the State Legislature as senator, and upon retir- ing from that office he was commissioned by the governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, to be "High Sheriff" of his county, as some
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partial compensation for many years' service as magistrate. His grandfather was a Scotchman of note, and distinguished himself at the battle of Culloden, fighting under the banner of Prince Charles Edward, the Pretender Stuart, who, in commemoration of his great valor, presented him with a gold snuff-box.
and salt beef was $250 a barrel, with other things in proportion.
Mining, under these not too pleasant conditions, soon palled upon the young adventurer, and he went to Sacramento and opened a law office. He became an agent for the firm of White & Jen- nings, a lumber and general merchandise company from Oregon, with a salary of $500 a month, part of his chief duties being the collection of their rents and general supervision of their property. The great flood of the Sacramento valley occurred in the early '50s, and through this Mr. Thom passed with many thrilling experiences, his re- sponsibility for the White & Jennings Company holdings adding not a little to his anxieties. The second flood was more disastrous to his comfort and ease than the first. While in Sacramento Mr. Thom built up an appreciable law practice, and at various times was associated with other clever attorneys. The disastrous conflagration that destroyed most of the business portion of the city burnt his library. In the fall of 1853 Mr. Thom left Sacramento, having received the appointment of assistant law agent for the United States Land Commission in San Francisco. Here one of his duties was having supervision of the work of some twenty-five clerks and draftsmen. In the spring of 1854 he was ordered to Los Angeles, where he was employed by the govern- ment to look up testimony to be used in the land cases. That work being finished, he resigned from his government position and was appointed by the council of Los Angeles city attorney, and by the supervisors district attorney of the county (to fill unexpired terms), holding both offices at the same time. Later he ran for the office of district attorney and was elected by a large majority. He served in this capacity with such success and so well satisfied his constituency that he was elected to the same office for three terms at different times. Other honors quite naturally grew out of the quality of his public service, and in 1856 he was elected to the state senate by a large majority, from a district in which now lie the counties of San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial. While in the legisla- ture he was a member of the judiciary committee and chairman of several important committees.
Receiving his education in private schools, Cap- tain Thom took an extensive course at the Uni- versity of Virginia, including law in all its branches, and received a license to practice his profession in all the courts of his native state. The call of the west, however, was ringing through the land, and the adventuresome blood of the military forefathers which warmed in his veins responded with a thrill, and in 1849 he was one of a party of thirty picked young men bound for the far west, the enchanted Land of Gold. The party was well equipped for its trip across the plains, having riding-horses, eight wagons drawn by mules, plenty of supplies, and eight negro cooks and wagon-men. They were in no hurry and took plenty of time, finding as they did some new interest and adventure at every step of the way. They stopped wherever fancy pointed and remained until satiety set in. Their first stop was at Ash Hollow, Dak., where they spent six weeks with the Sioux. A thousand Indians, war- riors and squaws, were encamped there, and the young men from Virginia found them a noble body of men, and even hospitable and gentle in their domestic life, and well worthy of considera- tion and study. These Indians had just come from a great battle, or rather a series of battles, with the Pawnees, and were celebrating their vic- tories and regaining their own wasted strength. Journeying onward, the party passed many herds of buffalo dotting the wide plain, and now and then paused long enough for an exciting chase. They arrived at Sacramento late in November, and here the party disbanded, scattering over the new country as their fancy called, a majority of them going to Rose's Bar on the Yuba river, and dying almost to a man, in six months, of typhoid. Mr. Thom, with a party of personal friends, en- gaged in mining on the south fork of the Ameri- can river, and on Mormon Island, and later on in Amador county. The prices of food products were almost prohibitive, and, although wages were The excitement of the Civil war penetrating even to the Pacific coast, the fighting blood of Mr. high, the cost of living was so great as to make the problem of a livelihood a very vital one. Thom was stirred, and he journeyed back across Potatoes tliat winter sold as high as $5 a pound, the continent to his native Virginia, where he
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offered his services to the Confederacy at Rich- mond. He served in the army as a volunteer officer with the rank of captain, without charge to the government, from Gettysburg (where he was slightly wounded) to the last battle fought, the battle of Sayler's Run, and conscientiously did his duty at all times and on all occasions. He was paroled at Petersburg. At the close of the war he returned to Los Angeles, where he was confronted by a statute of the state prohibiting anyone from practicing his profession who had actively sympathized with the Confederacy. Hav- ing lost everything "save honor" through the for- tunes of grim-visaged war, this was distinctly a heavy handicap. When hostilities had ceased, his old ante-bellum friends, Gen. W. S. Hancock, General Ord and others, tendered their good wishes to him. Shortly after his plight became known, a pardon from President Johnson was handed Captain Thom, by whom obtained for him he never was able to learn. His name, however, was all the recommendation that was needed in the Angel City, and within a short time his law office was doing a thriving practice. His services were soon needed in another capacity also, and he found himself elected mayor of Los Angeles by a striking majority, the vote cast being exceed- ingly large. He served one term and then re- turned to his private practice of the law, which by this time required his entire attention.
Being a firm believer in the future that awaited the city of his adoption, it was but natural that Captain Thom should invest heavily in real estate, and this he did with such wisdom and foresight that his holdings increased in value by leaps and bounds. At an early date he secured possession of a large tract of several hundred acres north- east of the city, and a portion of this he planted to oranges, lemons and olives, entering upon an extensive cultivation of these fruits. This ranch is now in part the site of the thriving city of Glendale. Parts of the tract were subdivided and sold off for city purposes at various times, but at the time of his death he held much valuable acreage in that section, as well as much property in Glendale itself. The acreage is still devoted to the culture of fruit, and some valuable groves are among the possessions which he owned.
Captain Thom, in spite of his extensive law practice and his large personal interests, was always active in all movements pertaining to civic welfare, and the business life and prosperity of
the city in general were ever as dear to his heart as were his personal affairs. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He was one of the incorporators of the Farmers & Merchants Bank (now the Farmers & Merchants National Bank ) and was on the board of directors from the time of incorporation.
Mrs. Thom is a native daughter of the Golden West, her father having been a prominent physi- cian in Marysville in the pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Thom became the parents of one daughter and three sons. The daughter is the wife of Arthur Collins, of London, England, while the sons, Cameron DeHart, Charles Catesby and Erskine Pembroke, are all well known in Los Angeles, where they were born and reared.
Captain Thom had retired from active practice, although he continued to direct the conduct of his vast business interests up to the time of his death, February 2, 1915. He was reckoned as a power in the affairs of the city and county where his influence for so many years had been a benefit to mankind and a source of general strength and power for good.
That Captain Thom was held in high regard by former business associates the following resolu- tions, passed by the board of directors of the Farmers & Merchants National Bank at the time of his death, amply testify :
"In view of the passing of our beloved brother ; in view of his achievements, his splendid qualities as a man, his love and devotion to his family, his distinguished services to both the city and county of Los Angeles,
"Be It Resolved, That we sincerely deplore the death of Captain Cameron Erskine Thom; that therein this community has suffered a loss of a man of energy, honesty and ability, a citizen whom she could well be proud of, and whom she could ill afford to lose ; that we deplore the passing of one more of those rugged pioneers of Los Angeles, who devoted the best years of his life to the upbuilding and advancement of this coun- try; that his wife and children have suffered an irreparable loss in the death of a loving husband and a devoted and indulgent father. Let their consolation be the memory of his love for them, his devotion as a husband, his justice as a father, his worth as a man, his integrity as a citizen, and the profound respect with which he was regarded by his fellow men.
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3 D wilson
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"Be It Further Resolved, That this resolution be spread upon our minutes in full, and an en- grossed copy thereof transmitted to his bereaved family, to whom we tender our most heartfelt sympathies."
BENJAMIN DAVIS WILSON. A native of Tennessee, Benjamin Davis Wilson was born in Nashville December 1, 1811. At fifteen years of age he went into business for himself at Yazoo City, above Vicksburg. There he traded with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians until compelled to leave by bad health, when he went to Fort Smith-an outpost up the Arkansas river. From there he went to Missouri, and joining the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, crossed the plains with them. In the fall of 1833 he reached Santa Fe, and there joined a trapping party bound for the Gila river and Apache country to trap beaver. This expedition met with considerable success, and in the spring of 1835 he returned to Santa Fe. He now fitted out a company him- self and went back to the Gila. In one of these expeditions he discovered a ruined town and many evidences of a past civilization, wholly un- accountable to the Mexicans.
party to "Point of Rocks," one hundred and fifty miles south of Santa Fe on the El Paso road, and buried the remains of twelve men there slain by the Indians. He now spent some time in Santa Fe merchandising for other parties. The good chief, Mangas, afterwards visited him there, and long partook of his bounty. In 1837 a revolution broke out in this town; Governor Percy and many others were murdered, and the mob carried the heads of their victims through the streets on poles, crying. "Death to the Americans; death to the gringos!" Mr. Wilson and six other Ameri- cans concealed themselves until peace was re- stored, but only escaped through the good offices of an Indian chief named Pedro Leon, who was friendly to Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Wilson now bought out the stock of goods he had hitherto taken charge of, and remained in Santa Fe until the fall of 1841. Finding that the hatred felt for Americans made it unsafe to re- main longer in New Mexico, he, in company with John Rowland, William Workman, William Gor- don, William Wright, and others, to the number of about forty, started overland for California early in September. They drove sheep with them for food. and all reached Los Angeles in safety about two months later. These others came to settle, but Mr. Wilson's plan was to visit China, and from there return home. Failing, however, to procure a ship for China, he finally purchased the Jurupa ranch, stocked it with cattle, and set- tled down to the life of a rancher at the place where Riverside now stands.
At this time the Apaches were on the best of terms with American frontiersmen, and their chief -Juan Jose-a well-educated man, was fre- quently in Mr. Wilson's camp. On the other hand, a deadly feud existed between the Apaches and Mexicans; and the Americans, trapping in the Mexican country without authority, there In 1844 Mr. Wilson married Dona Ramona Yorba. daughter of Don Bernardo Yorba, one of the owners of the Santa Ana ranch. In the fall of that year he was severely wounded by a grizzly bear( which had slain one of his cows) while tracking it through the woods. Upon recovering from his wounds he ambuscaded the bear. wounded him, and in a general hunt next day, killed the ferocious beast, but a second time narrowly escaped death. In the fall of 1845 he took charge of an expedition into the Mojave country to punish the marauding Indians. On their way his party camped at a lake where the bears were so numerous that twenty-two men lassoed eleven in one evening, and the same feat was repeated on their way home, making twenty- Bear Lake, which name it has ever since retained. was, to some extent. a feeling of "common cause" between them and the Apaches. About this time the Mexicans procured one James Johnson (an American) assisted by a man named Gleason, to betray and murder the chief, Juan Jose. In re- taliation the Apaches massacred a party of Ameri- can trappers under Charles Kemp, and then took Mr. Wilson and two companions prisoners, with the avowed object of putting them also to death. By connivance of the new chief. Mangas, Mr. Wilson was allowed to escape. He was pursued by the infuriated warriors on horseback, but suc- ceeded in making cover before daylight. By forced marches, almost wholly without food, and nearly naked, he succeeded in eluding the savages, and reached Santa Fe (over 100 miles distant ), ) two bears killed on the trip. Hence he named this entirely destitute. Two days later he conducted a
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During this campaign he was severely wounded by an Indian outlaw named Joaquin, with a poi- soned arrow, but killed his adversary in the en- counter, and his own life was saved by an Indian servant who sucked the wound. After resting and refitting, Mr. Wilson marched his command into the Cahuilla country in search of two renegade mission Indians, who were committing depreda- tions on the ranchers. Taking the chief Carbezon (Big Head) a prisoner, he succeeded in inducing the tribe to deliver up the heads of the outlaws. He then organized a second expedition against the Mojaves and succeeded in killing a number of men and bringing in many women and children captives. These had all formerly been mission neophytes and were now returned to San Gabriel Mission.
In 1845 Mr. Wilson raised a company to assist in the defense of Los Angeles against Michel- torena, and was one of the two embassadors who, under a flag of truce, succeeded in winning Micheltorena's American force over to the side of Governor Pico, the result being Micheltorena's abandonment of hostilities and embarkation at San Pedro next day.
Upon the breaking out of war with the United States Mr. Wilson was ordered by Governor Pico to raise a company and prepare for active service against the Americans; but this he re- fused to do, on the ground that he was himself an American citizen. He was threatened with arrest, but on sending his parole was allowed to remain peaceably on his ranch. He refused Gov- ernor Pico's friendly offer to grant him any large tract of land in the state he might desire; and bore that gentleman's parting compliments to Commodore Stockton. He accompanied the Commodore into Los Angeles (the army following in the evening ), and not a blow was struck. Some days later Commodore Stockton handed him his commission as Captain and detailed him to watch the frontier and guard against a surprise from the Mexican general, Castro. To aid him in this duty Mr. Wilson organized a company of twenty- two Americans. After some time, everything ap- pearing to be safe in that neighborhood, he took his company into the mountains on a hunt, and while thus engaged learned of the revolt by the Indians against Lieutenant Gillespie, whom Stock- ton had left in charge of Los Angeles. Mr. Wil- son now repaired to his Jurupa ranch and there
received a letter from Col. Isaac Williams, of the Chino ranch, inviting him and his party there, and promising them plenty of ammunition. This proved to be a piece of treachery on Williams' part, and while here the Americans were sur- rounded by a native force under Varela, who fired the building in which they had fortified themselves and compelled a surrender of the whole party. From this time until the re-occupa- tion of Los Angeles by Stockton and Kearney, Mr. Wilson and the other Americans were held prisoners. After the re-occupation he performed many signal services for the American command- ers, and aided, perhaps more than any other man in Southern California, in restoring peace and good feeling between the Americans and natives.
During all this time Mr. Wilson had been heav- ily engaged in merchandising in Los Angeles, as well as in cattle ranching at Jurupa. In 1850 he was a delegate to a convention held at Santa Barbara for the purpose of procuring a division of the state-the southern portion to remain as a territory. This project, however, failed. After organization of the state he was elected the first county clerk of Los Angeles county, Dr. Wilson W. Jones acting as his deputy and receiving all emoluments of the office. Mr. Wilson was also elected mayor of the city in 1851. In 1852 he was appointed Indian agent for the southern dis- trict, by President Fillmore ; and assisted General Beale in forming the reservation at Fort Tejon. In 1854 he succeeded the widow of Hugh Reid in ownership of large landed interests at San Ga- briel. In 1855 he was elected state senator from Los Angeles and served the ensuing term; also in 1869-70. From that time until his death, March 11, 1878, he resided on his Lake Vineyard ranch in San Gabriel valley. His first wife having died March 21, 1849, he married Mrs. Margaret S. Hereford, February 1, 1853. A daughter of Mr. Wilson by his first wife is the widow of J. De Barth Shorb, Esq., of San Gabriel valley. Of his second marriage two daughters were born, Annie and Ruth. Ruth became the wife of George S. Patton, December 11, 1884, and two children were born to them, George S. Patton, Jr., (who grad- uated from West Point Military Academy in 1909, and is now a lieutenant in the Fifteenth United States Cavalry), and Anne Wilson Patton.
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WILLIAM HAYES PERRY. The busy years of an eventful career found their fulfillment in the life of one of Los Angeles' old pioneers- William Hayes Perry, whose inherited traits of character led him not only to seek his fortunes among the less tried opportunities of a new coun- try, but to establish a home and surround it with all the refining and uplifting influences which accompany progress and development. His parents were pioneer settlers of Ohio, where they endured the privations and hardships incident to life in a new country, establishing a home and giving of the best of their efforts in the develop- ment of the commonwealth. Their son, William Hayes Perry, born in Newark, Ohio, October 17, 1832, was reared among the primitive surround- ings of a pioneer home, in the midst of whose duties he attended the crude school in pursuit of whatever education it was possible for him to procure. Following the custom of the early days he became an apprentice in youth and learned the trade of cabinet-maker, which occupation was in- terrupted by the accomplishment of his desire to try his fortunes in the land but shortly before made famous by the discovery of gold. In 1853, immediately following his majority, he joined a party of about fifty men and women made up at Council Bluffs, lowa, and with them began the usual perilous journey whose destination was "the land of sunshine and flowers." The party had with them a large band of cattle, sheep and horses (Colonel Hollister, of Santa Barbara, bringing back with him to the coast a large number of stock), and this presented quite a temptation to the Indians, who constantly attacked them. Not until February, 1854, did the party finally reach Los Angeles.
The first employment of Mr. Perry in the thien small city of Los Angeles was at his trade of cabinet-maker, and in this work he managed to accumulate some means. After one year occupied thus he opened the first furniture store and fac- tory of the town, in partnership with an acquain- tance, the firm name being Perry & Brady. Enter- prise and ability were the only requisites of the business, as there was no competition demanding a display of capital. The firm grew in importance, and after the death of Mr. Brady in 1858 the late Wallace Woodworth purchased an interest in the business, which was then known under the name of Perry & Woodworth ; in 1864 S. H. Mott purchased an interest in the business and they
were henceforth known as Perry, Woodworth & Co. The original business of the firm was the manufacture and sale of furniture, but other in- terests later became a part of the organization. In 1865 Mr. Perry, through Captain Clark, applied for a franchise to furnish gas for the city, and combining with others built the works and began the manufacture. In 1873 the firm of Perry, Woodworth & Co. changed from the manufacture of furniture and the cabinet business to dealing in lumber, mouldings, doors, sash, blinds, builders' hardware and finishing supplies of all kinds. With the growth of the city and the demands upon their business, the plant was enlarged and constantly improved with all the modern devices in machinery and general equipment. Their plant was located on Commercial street, extending through to Requena street, where they built a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad for the accommodation of their shipping. This plant was put up in 1899, the original building having been destroyed by fire. The death of Mr. Woodworth occurred in 1883, after which the business was incorporated as the W. H. Perry Lumber & Mill Company. They owned timber lands in various places along the coast, logging camps, sawmills, vessels, wharves, spur tracks to the railroads, and handled the lumber from the tree to the structure into which the finished product goes. This brought to the company profits undivided by suc- cessful competition, and also proved a wonderful power in the work of development of the Pacific coast country. Along this same line of business Mr. Perry organized the Los Angeles and Hum- boldt Lumber Company of San Pedro, with the object of sending lumber to all points in Arizona ; and also the Pioneer Lumber and Mill Company of Colton, near this city, to supply the country adjacent to that point. The Los Angeles Storage Cement and Lumber Company, which supplied to builders of Los Angeles lime, plaster. fire-brick, cement, hair and other materials used on build- ings, is another corporation in whose organization he was the most prominent factor and the con- trolling element.
Mr. Perry's identification with the business en- terprises of Los Angeles was such in the past years that scarcely an improvement or mark of development missed the masterful touch of his hand. In 1868 the waters of the Los Angeles )river had been leased to a company with the privi- lege of laying pipes in the streets of the city and
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supplying water to the citizens. The company did not meet with the success it had anticipated and after eleven years had not succeeded in establish- ing a sound financial basis. At that time (1879) Mr. Perry was elected president and general manager of the company, and continued to act in that capacity until the sale was made to the city. Seeing that the supply would not equal the de- mand he purchased three other small companies, becoming president and manager of them as well. Under his able supervision the stockholders re- tired from the water company very rich men.
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