USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume II > Part 52
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
( Thomas) Eaton. Of Canadian birth and educa- tion, shortly before her marriage, Mrs. Lloyd came to California in company with a sister of Mr. Lloyd. She passed away March 7, 1915. Not only had she occupied a high posi- tion socially, but in business she was considered unusually capable, and her interests were further expanded by membership with the Eastern Star and the Ladies of the Maccabees, and by atten- dance upon the services of the Presbyterian Church. When the first fiesta was held in Los Angeles Mr. Lloyd was appointed a member of the committee having in charge the plans for the entire carnival and the carrying through of the enterprise with perfect success. Although an active Republican in politics, he never sought office, preferring to devote himself entirely to the management of his personal business interests. His fraternities were the blue lodge of Masons, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Independent Order of Foresters and No. 99, B. P. O. E., and in his later years he was honored as one of the oldest surviving members of the lodge of Elks, whose philanthropies and social functions had been aided by his co-operation.
CHARLES A. PARMELEE. A Native Son of the Golden West, having been born in Solano county, Cal., near Dixon, December 25, 1865, and having spent his life-time as a resident of his native state, Charles A. Parmelee is one of the most substantial and respected of the business men of Los Angeles city and county. His parents removed to Los Angeles when he was still a youth, and he has throughout the years of his manhood been intimately identified with the life of the city, taking an active interest in all matters of public weal, and being a prominent figure in commercial circles for more than twenty- five years.
Mr. Parmelee is the son of James and Eliza- Leth (Tyler) Parmelee. His father crossed the plains in a "prairie schooner" in 1864 and settled in Solano county. Later he removed to Los Angeles, where he resided for many years and where his death occurred several years ago. Mrs. Parmelee, Sr., still makes her home in Los An- geles, where she has many friends and where several children reside.
The early life of Mr. Parmelee was spent on
419
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
the farm in Solano county, where he first attended school. Later he attended the public schools in Los Angeles, and was a member of the first class to enter the State Normal school here, on its opening. He did not complete his Normal course, however, as the inclination for business was stronger than his liking for a professional career, and in 1885 he stopped school and entered the employ of his brother, Z. L. Parmelee, then in the crockery and glassware business at No. 210 North Main street. He remained here in the capacity of a clerk for eight years, at which time he purchased an interest in the business from his brother and the firm incorporated under the name of the Z. L. Parmelee Company. In 1899 the brother (Z. L. Parmelee) withdrew from the firm and a partnership was formed with Dohrmann under the firm name of Parmelee-Dohrmann Company, under which title they still transact business, being now one of the oldest and best known of the larger Los Angeles business houses. Mr. Parmelee was elected vice-president and general manager of the corporation and has so continued since. Under his wise and careful direction the business of the concern has not only prospered, but has been greatly developed and extended.
Other interests have also claimed their share of the attention and consideration of Mr. Parme- lee. He has invested extensively in real estate, turning his interests at various times at an ap- preciable advantage, but always increasing his city holdings, possessing as he does implicit faith in the future greatness of the city and in its continued prosperity. He is also associated with several enterprises of note outside of his own particular business undertaking, prominent among which may be mentioned the Commercial Na. tional Bank, of which he is an influential director.
Aside from his business interests Mr. Parme- lee is well known in social and club circles, where he is deservedly popular. He is a member of the Union League Club, the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and is actively interested in all the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce. He is also a prominent member of the Fraternal Brotherhood. Together with his family, Mr. Parmelee is a member of the Methodist Church and a communi- cant at the First Methodist Church at Hill and Sixth streets, where he has attended regularly for many years.
The marriage of Mr. Parmelee and Miss Alice
Evelyn Heath, of San Francisco, occurred in that city June 19, 1891. Mrs. Parmelee is the daughter of Albert and Caroline Heath, her parents being well known California pioneers. They came first to California in 1866, making the trip around the Horn, and locating in Santa Cruz. Later they removed to San Francisco, where Mr. Heath engaged in the practice of law for many years.
Mrs. Parmelee is the mother of two sons, Lester Vernon, twenty-three years of age, and Charles Allan, a lad of sixteen, who is still attend- ing the public schools of the city.
Mr. Parmelee has always been associated with the political activities of the Republican party, and stands stanchly for the party principles, while he also advocates, in all local issues, the movement for good government and the support- ing of the right men for public service.
HERMAN WASHINGTON FRANK. With a higher ideal of citizenship than a mere limitation of his time to personal business affairs, Mr. Frank has aided in many movements for the permanent upbuilding of Los Angeles ever since he came in 1887 to make this city his home. A continuous residence of more than a quarter of a century here has made him familiar with every phase of civic advancement and has qualified him to express valuable opinions in regard to problems connected with the general welfare. Perhaps in no respect has his citizenship been more helpful than in his long identification with the Los An- geles Board of Education, and the general for- ward trend of the public-school system at that time was the subject of frequent comment, such progress being particularly noteworthy in view of the rapid increase of the population and the con- sequent difficulty in providing sufficient accommo- dations for the pupils in the day schools. During his ten years' service on the Board of Education the number of schools in the city grew from fifty- five to one hundred and seventy-five, and the greater part of this growth occurred while he was chairman of the board of finances.
The fluctuations caused by periods of great expansion or of depression have been witnessed by Mr. Frank, but the one has caused no undue elation and the other has failed to affect his op- timistic faith in the great future of Los Angeles. During seasons when work was difficult to secure
420
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
by day laborers he has interested himself in their behalf and as chairman of the relief committee in 1898 he succeeded in raising a fund of $30,000, which was expended in the building of roads through Elysian park, a most practical undertak- ing for the furnishing of steady employment dur- ing a period of depression. Indeed, the whole tenor of his citizenship has been practical and this one quality stands out pre-eminently among the traits that individualize his character.
Portland, Ore., is the native city of Mr. Frank and the 4th of July, 1860, the date of his birth, his parents having been Abraham and Matilda Frank. At the age of fourteen he became a clerk in a country store at Weston, Ore., where he remained for three years. With the savings of that period he paid his expenses while attend- ing Whitman College in Washington. For five years he engaged as bookkeeper in a San Fran- cisco wholesale clothing house and for a similar period he traveled in the interests of the firm. During 1887 he came to Los Angeles and the fol- lowing year was united in marriage with Miss Sadie Harris. About the same time he became a member of the firm of Harris & Frank, successors to L. Harris & Co., outfitters for men and women, boys and girls. Of this firm he is now president. Its steady growth may be attributed largely to his keen business oversight. While the manage- ment of the large business has necessarily con- sumed much of his time, he has found leisure for other enterprises, being at this writing president of the L. Harris Realty Company, Incorporated, besides acting as a director of the National Bank of California, also secretary and a director of the Riverside Vineyard Company, Incorporated. On the organization of the Merchants & Manufactur- ers' Association he became a charter member and for eight years was a member of the directorate, besides holding the office of president for two terms. His connection with the school board covered three terms, during one of which he was honored with the presidency. For twelve years he stood at the head of the Associated Charities, the organization through which the greater part of the city's philanthropies finds distribution and the recognized medium for ministering to the un- employed. Numerous social and fraternal organ- izations have been benefited by his identification, notably the Jonathan, Los Angeles Athletic and Concordia Clubs, the Modern Woodmen of America, Maccabees and Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks. For years he has been active in Masonry and a director of the Masonic Building Association.
HENRY S. WILLIAMS. A successful oil operator, real estate man and financier, as well as a prominent club man, Henry S. Williams is also a singer of unusual ability, being known as a cultured and artistic vocalist and soloist, and holding one of the best, if not the best church position of any singer in California. He has been for fourteen years the bass singer in the First Presbyterian Church at Pasadena, and previous to that, for nine years bass singer at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles.
The parents of Mr. Williams were pioneers of Dixon, Lee county, Ill., the father being in the banking business at Dixon for many years with a Mr. Ells, his death occurring when the son was only twelve years old. The son of Stephen S. and Teresa (Gunn) Williams, Henry S. Williams was born at Dixon, Ill., January 27, 1867, and had one sister, Mrs. Jennie Maltman, who died in Los Angeles in 1904, where the mother came with her family in 1883, after her husband's death. The son completed his education at the Los An- geles high school, graduating in the class of 1889, immediately after which he became engaged in the real estate business. Later he became inter- ested in the Capital Crude Oil Company, in the Santa Paula field, in Ventura county, as owner of a one-quarter interest in the company. Mr. Williams was also field manager of the Los An- geles Oil and Transportation Company, in all, remaining with the oil business, where he met with eminent success, from 1890 until 1902. He then sold out all his oil interests and went back to real estate, having kept his real estate interests in Los Angeles during the period that he was in the oil industry. Experiencing the years of the panic from 1893 to 1896, he understands hard times as well as prosperity, but has made a success as a financier and a real estate man. His office is now located at No. 736 Herman W. Hellman building, Los Angeles, where he at- tends to his varied investments. Mr. Williams has bought and sold hundreds of dollars' worth of property in the city, and loans money, which is mostly his own.
On July 31, 1901, Mr. Williams was united in
James to milland
423
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
marriage with Miss Nellie St. Clair, a native of Arkansas, who came to California with her par- ents when a child. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are the parents of one son, Henry St. Clair, and make their home at their beautiful mansion at No. 337 Kenmore avenue, Los Angeles, where they enjoy all the comforts of the up-to-date American home. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Pasadena, where Mr. Williams sings, and the social clubs with which he is associated are the Union League, the City and the Annan- dale Country clubs, he being also a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. In politics Mr. Williams is non-partisan. He ran for assemblyman in District No. 75 in 1905, in the great fight against Southern Pacific domination of California politics. A great admirer of the present governor, Hiram Johnson, and his strong supporter, he is also a Roosevelt man, and pro- gressive in nature and disposition as well as in politics.
JAMES H. MILLARD. The most valuable heritage that a man may leave to the state or nation is children that will uphold the tenets of true faith in right living and right thinking, by industry, honesty and conscientious atten- tion to the duties of life : and although James H. Millard, an early California pioneer, lived but a short time after coming to Los Angeles county to make his home, his two daughters have rendered splendid service to the city and county and have kept his name and his memory alive. They are Mrs. R. D. Lowry and Mrs. Thomas E. Robinson.
Mr. Millard was a native of New York state, born in Steuben county, March 20, 1830, the son of Henry D. and Elizabeth (Hadley) Mil- lard, both descendants of old New York famil- ies, his father being engaged in the lumber business. James H. Millard was reared and educated in New York state and in Illinois, his parents removing to the latter state when he was about twenty years of age. In that state he taught penmanship in Carroll and Ogle counties for several winters and later engaged in farming, following this latter occupation for about ten years. He then engaged in the agri- cultural implement business in Carroll county until his health failed, when he removed to
Sterling, Ill., and retired from active business life. In 1877 he came to California on a visit and determined to remain, having become im- mediately enamored of the country and the climate. He established a home at Duarte, but lived to enjoy it only about fifteen months, passing away May 12, 1878. The marriage of Mr. Millard and Miss Elizabeth Irwin took place October 26, 1853, in Steuben county, N. Y., and the death of Mrs. Millard occurred in Los Angeles December 29, 1905. There were two children born of this union, both daugh- ters, who have since made their homes in Los Angeles.
Of these daughters, Rosamond D. married Hiram N. Lowry, a native of Illinois, born in Carroll county. He came to California as a young man, locating in Eureka, Humboldt county, where he was employed in teaching in the public schools the while he pursued his law studies. Later he was admitted to the bar of the state, being at that time only twenty-one years of age. In 1873 he came to Los Angeles, teaching school for a few years, after which he practiced law until his death, in 1883. Mrs. Lowry has continued to make her home in Los Angeles, having resided on West Fifteenth street near Hill for almost thirty-five years. Her marriage to Mr. Lowry occurred in Los Angeles in May, 1877. In the real estate busi- ness she has made many large transactions from which she has realized a handsome profit. The other daughter, Alice, was married to John P. McNamer in 1881. He was born in Carroll county, Ill., and received his education at Beloit College, at Beloit, Wis. Coming to Los An- geles in 1873, for several years he was engaged in teaching school, but in the early '80s he re- tired, and in 1884 passed away. Mrs. McNamer was later married to Rev. Thomas E. Robin- son, whose death occurred in 1906. Since that time the two sisters have made their home together at the residence of Mrs. Lowry on West Fifteenth street.
HORACE HILLER. For many years a prominent lumber merchant of Los Angeles and also associated with the lumber industry of San Pedro for a number of years, Horace Hiller was one of the best known men in the city and was
424
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
highly respected and honored by all who knew him. He came to Los Angeles in an early day and during his long residence here was closely associated with the various commercial industries of the city and county. His death occurred here, May 23, 1898.
Mr. Hiller was a native of New York state, and was born in Hudson, March 18, 1845, the son of Henry and Henrietta ( Winans) Hiller, both of whom are now deceased. His father was well known along the Hudson, and was a member of the Steamboat Transportation Com- pany, operating on the Hudson. His mother was a descendant of the noted Baltimore Winans family. She was the mother of fourteen chil- dren. Horace, the late honored citizen of Los Angeles, was educated in the common schools of Hudson until he was fourteen years of age. His father dying at that time he left school and thereafter worked for an uncle in New York city until he was about seventeen. Going to Men- dota, Ill., at this time he was employed there until toward the close of the Civil war, when he en- listed in the Union army, serving in the One Hun- dred and Thirty-second Illinois Volunteers as an orderly. Soon after his enlistment he was taken severely ill and was sent home ; later he was taken to New York, and still later to Hudson, where he spent a year recuperating.
After regaining his health, Mr. Hiller returned to Mendota, Ill., where he engaged in the trans- portation business together with his brother-in- law, under the firm name of A. J. Warner & Company. In 1867 he moved to Franklin Grove and built an elevator, and went into business in partnership with Benjamin West, remaining in this connection for about four years, when he sold his interests and came to Los Angeles county, where he continued to reside until the time of his death. Most of this time he was a resident of the city, making many warm friends in the mean- time, and is still well remembered by the older residents.
On coming to Los Angeles Mr. Hiller pur- chased a small tract of land on Pico street and rented acreage adjoining from Major Toberman. This part of the city was at that time well in the country, and land was held at what today seems a merely nominal value. He soon entered the employ of Perry & Woodworth, lumber dealers, with which firm he remained for a period of four- teen years. He was an expert accountant, and
later he kept the books for the water company, the gas company and the electric light company. At a still later period he went to San Pedro as manager for one of the large lumber companies, in charge of their interests there, remaining for two years. At the end of that time the firm dis- posed of their interests in San Pedro, and Mr. Hiller returned to Los Angeles and engaged in business for himself, organizing and managing the Los Angeles Lumber Company, with head- quarters at Fifth and San Pedro streets. He was president and manager of the new company, and for many years conducted their affairs with great financial success. He was also interested in the Los Angeles Sewer Pipe Company, being one of the organizers, and a heavy stockholder. He was president of this company at the time of his death.
Aside from his business interests Mr. Hiller was interested in all the affairs of the city which tended toward civic welfare and the general social betterment of the city. He was a Republican in his political affiliations, and served as councilman at one time. He was also prominent in fraternal circles of the city, being a member of the Masons, of the Blue Lodge, and also of the Odd Fellows. He was a member of Stanton Post, G. A. R., and active in all the affairs of the local organizations of the Grand Army.
The marriage of Mr. Hiller took place in Men- dota, Ill., March 16, 1867, uniting him with Miss Abbie Pearce, the daughter of Willet and Anna M. Pearce. Her mother's family was one of the prominent old Holland Dutch families of New York, dating back to the Revolutionary times. Mrs. Hiller herself was a native of New York city, having been born March 16, 1846. When she was about eleven years of age she removed with her parents to Mendota, Ill., where she grew to young womanhood. Her early education was received in the public schools of Mendota, and later she attended the Normal school at Normal, Ill., graduating with honor. She bore her hus- band three children, two sons and a daughter. Of these Henry W. is married to Kate Goode- nough, and resides at Sespe, Ventura county, Cal .; they have six children. Willet H. is married to Hilma Albertina Hackenson, and re- sides at Sespe, Cal .; they have three children. Henrietta (deceased) was married to A. E. Lit- tle, now deceased, and was the mother of two children.
425
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
Following the death of her husband in 1898, Mrs. Hiller removed to Hollywood, where she re- sided for several years, and about three years ago she went to Sespe, where she now makes her home with her younger son.
JOHN DOWNEY WORKS. During the eventful years of her life the city of Los Angeles has been the proud mother and foster-mother of many splendid sons, men who have sat in the inner councils of the state and of the nation, and who have won places of proud recognition among the nations of earth. Among these may be men- tioned United States Senator John Downey Works, who since 1911 has been serving Cali- fornia in the upper house of Congress. Senator Works is a pioneer Californian, having come to this state in 1883 and since that time continuously resided within its confines, although not all of that time in Los Angeles. He has been promi- rently associated with many of the great legal cases during that time, and has a splendid record as an attorney. He stands especially high with his fellows in the legal profession, where he is highly respected as a worthy opponent and greatly esteemed as a co-worker. His knowledge of jurisprudence is far above that of the average attorney, and in matters of the technical details of the law he is practically infallible. Since being elected to the United States Senate he has made an enviable record for himself and has served his state with distinction and honor, and has been instrumental in securing the passage of certain measures that have been directly beneficial to the commonwealth of California, and especially so to Southern California.
Senator Works is a native of Indiana, born March 29, 1847, the son of James A. Works. He enlisted in the Civil war at the age of sixteen and served eighteen months, or until the end of the war. His early education was received in the public schools of his native state. He was ad- mitted to the bar in Indiana in 1868, and for many years practiced in that state, winning for himself an enviable place in the legal annals of the state, and being prominently associated with several cases of more than ordinary importance.
It was in 1883 that Senator Works first came to California, locating at San Diego, where he commenced the practice of law and was at once
recognized as a man of extraordinary ability. In 1884 he was appointed as judge of the Superior Court, and the following year was elected without opposition. After serving with distinction for one year he resigned to resume the practice of law in partnership with Hon. Olin Wellborn. In 1888 he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of California to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice Mckinstry. This unexpired term lasted for one year, and in 1889 he declined to be a candidate for re-election.
The residence of Senator (then Judge) Works in Los Angeles dates from 1896, when he moved to this city and formed a co-partnership with Bradner W. Lee which lasted for twelve years. For a part of this time his son, Judge Lewis R. Works, was a member of this firm. Senator Works has been associated at various times since coming to California with men of worth whose names are well known throughout the state and who have won distinction in their profession. He was a member of the firms of Wellborn & Works and of Works & Works in San Diego, and of the firm of Works & Lee, later changed to Works, Lee & Works, in Los Angeles. For more than twenty years he has been a prominent mem- ber of the American Bar Association and is at present an honored member of the California Bar Association and of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
The first noteworthy public service rendered by Senator Works was in Indiana in 1879, when he was a member of the lower house of the State Legislature. In 1910 he was a member of the City Council of Los Angeles and its president, and since his residence here has always been prominently identified with the political and mu- nicipal affairs of the city, and is known as an especially influential member of society. His service in the United States Senate has been marked for its careful attention to the needs of the state at large and his close touch with all matters which pertain to the welfare of the people of California. He is conservative but progressive, and is decidedly in favor of all movements which tend to the upbuilding of hu- manity and the progression of government.
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.