USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume III > Part 50
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Mr. Watson has been an important factor in the development of Glendale and has been in- timately associated with every vital movement in the city for many years. He has been a member of the town trustees continuously since the time of incorporation in 1905, giving freely of his time and ability through the succeeding years to ad- vance the interests of the community. He was the second chairman of the board of trustees and held that office for three different terms. He was mayor of the town when, in 1914, the office of city manager was created, carrying with it a reasonable salary, and by special request he re- signed from the office of mayor to accept the newly created office. Glendale has kept pace with modern advancement along all lines, and the citizens take commendable pride in the fact that her affairs are run on a strictly business basis. Modern street lights have been installed similar to those in Los Angeles, and many of the streets have been paved with asphalt. Another advance step which the city has made in late years has been the taking over of the lighting plant, and the lighting system has since been extended to all parts of the residence district. The water system has also come under municipal control and is giving to the citizens the larger and better service which is expected from municipal supervision.
Aside from his business and municipal activi- ties Mr. Watson is interested in a multitude of other affairs, all of which are for the social and civic betterment of his home city. He is a mem- ber of the Glendale Methodist church and for the past nine years has been superintendent of the Sunday school.
The first marriage of Mr. Watson took place in Los Angeles, uniting him with Miss Anna Helm, and one son, William Watson, was born to them. Five years after the death of his first wife Mr. Watson was married, in September, 1914, to Belle Helm, who is a native of Kansas.
FRANK ALFRED COFFMAN. A native son of California, Frank A. Coffman was born in Marysville, Yuba county, November 24, 1861, the son of Charles A. and Mary Elizabeth (Hampton) Coffman. When he was about eight years old the family removed to Los Angeles, in 1869, and here he received his education in the grammar and high schools, the high school which he at- tended standing on the present site of the county court house. From the time he was sixteen until he was twenty-one he worked on his father's ranch at Rivera, and then returned to Los Angeles and for three years conducted a livery stable here. At the close of that time he returned to the ranch at Rivera and for two years was engaged in the nursery business, then taking over the active management of this property, which consisted of four hundred acres. This continued until 1898, when the death of his father occurred, and for the following two years he had charge of the management of the estate. In 1901 he moved onto his present place of one hundred acres, pur- chased in 1890, most of which is in walnuts. The trees were set out piecemeal by Mr. Coffman him- self, and their development has been his especial pride.
Mr. Coffman has taken a more than ordinarily active part in the development of the horticul- tural interests of the Rivera community and is acknowledged to be one of the best posted and most efficient horticulturists in this section of the state, as well as one of the most enterprising and progressive of men. He has made a scientific study of his chosen occupation, and for some time served as state horticulturist inspector of the Ranchito district, his father, Charles A. Coffman, having previously served in the same capacity for three years. Mr. Coffman is also closely identi- fied with the various business activities of his home community and takes a prominent part in all that promotes the best interests of the public. He is a director of the Rivera Walnut Growers Association; is president of the Rivera State Bank, and was one of the organizers of this institution; he has been secretary of the Cates Ditch Company for fifteen years, and has also served as a trustee for the Union High School at Whittier.
The marriage of Mr. Coffman and Miss Eliza- beth A. Standefer, a native of Texas, was sol- emnized in 1897, and of their union have been born seven children, all natives of Rivera, where
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the elder members of the family are now receiv- ing their education. They are: Marshall B., Frances, Marion, Virginia, Grace, and twin daughters, Louise and Lucy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Coffman are well known socially in Rivera, and Mr. Coffman is a prominent member of the Los Nietos Valley Pioneer Association, being one of the first to become identified with this movement. In his political preferences he is a Democrat, but has never sought official recognition, preferring to serve his county and state as a private citizen.
HENRY HOWARD ROSE. The record for efficient public service in Los Angeles city and county held by Henry Howard Rose, present mayor of Los Angeles, covers a period of some twenty-five years (of which seventeen years were spent in public service), and is one of which he may be justly proud. For several years he re- sided in Pasadena, where he was prominently as- sociated with municipal affairs and held positions of trust and responsibility within the gift of the people. Later he was called into the city of Los Angeles, here to assume duties of public weal, which eventually led him to his present honored position as mayor of the largest city on the Pa- cific coast, and one of the best governed cities in the United States, and so universally acknowl- edged.
Mayor Rose is a native of Wisconsin, born at Taycheedah, Fond-du-Lac county, November 27, 1856. He is the son of Henry Fontaine and Mary Ward (Howard) Rose, the father a man of ability and an attorney of note in Wisconsin. The mayor of Los Angeles received his early education in the St. Paul's Parish schools and in the high school of Fond-du-Lac. Following his graduation from high school he entered his fath- er's office, where he studied law, being admitted to the bar of Wisconsin July 8, 1881. He did not, however, immediately commence the practice of his profession, preferring to devote several years to business and to acquiring a practical knowledge of the commercial life of the country. Accord- ingly he accepted a position as traveling auditor for Warder, Bushnell & Company of Chicago, remaining with them for a year, and then accept- ing a similar position with the Wheel & Seeder Company, of Fond-du-Lac, and still later entering the employ of Fuller and Johnson, of Madison.
In all of this time Mr. Rose met with much success and was given complete confidence by his em- ployers, being intrusted with commissions and business of much importance.
Tiring at last of life on the road, Mr. Rose determined to engage in business for himself, and became a member of the firm of Briggs & Rose, in Fond-du-Lac, Wis., for the handling of farm ma- chinery. This association continued with profit from 1885 to 1888. Mr. Rose was desirous of returning to the practice of law, however, and also anxious to locate in Southern California, and accordingly disposed of his interests in Fond-du- Lac in 1888 and removed to Pasadena, where he opened an office for the practice of law, meeting with almost instant success.
Always keenly interested in civic and municipal problems, Mr. Rose at once became prominent in governmental affairs in Pasadena, and his ability as an organizer and leader, as well as his legal ability, soon won him recognition. He became justice of the peace for Pasadena township in 1890, and in 1891 was elected city recorder, which position he occupied for two years.
In that city he was a member of the first com- mission of freeholders and introduced into the proposed charter the initiative and referendum. The charter, however, was defeated by the people.
Mr. Rose's influence was not confined to the suburban city by any means, and in 1903 he was made deputy district attorney of Los Angeles county, where he served for two years. Deserved promotion again found him at the close of his term of office, and in 1905 he was made city justice of Los Angeles, which position he occu- pied until 1913, when he was elected mayor in a hotly contested election, and in which capacity he still serves. He has received his share of praise and censure during his present term of office, but he has proven fearless and unbiased in all matters of public welfare, and has followed his convictions with a quiet courage that has won the respect of even his political opponents. He is progressive and broad minded in his manner of handling public questions, believing that the mu- nicipality should be governed for the good of the many rather than for the favored few.
Socially, Mr. Rose is popular with a wide circle of friends. He is prominently associated with many of the best known of the local clubs and fraternal and social organizations, among which may be mentioned the Masons, his affilia-
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tion being with Arlington Lodge, F. & A. M .; Crown Chapter No. 72, Pasadena; Knight Templar Commandery No. 43; the Elks, being a charter member of No. 57, Fond-du-Lac, where he still maintains his membership; the Sons of the American Revolution, Colonial Wars, Los An- geles Bar Association, American Bar Association, the Southern California Rod and Reel Associa- tion, and the California Club, Caledonia Club and the Celtic Club.
Mayor Rose has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Gertrude Colden Ruggles, of Fond- du-Lac, Wis., at which place they were married August 20, 1884. She died in Los Angeles, May 28, 1909. The second marriage occurred June 12, 1910, at Ventura, Cal., with Miss Leonie Klein. There is one son by the first wife, Augustus Ruggles Rose, a popular member of the National Guards, taking an active part in all their affairs, and being especially active in their recent encampment at Calexico, when they were on guard duty on the Mexican line. In this interest in mili- tary affairs he but follows in the footsteps of his father, who was himself a member of the Fond- du-Lac company of the National Guards of Wis- consin from 1880 to 1888.
[Mr. Rose's term as mayor expired July 5, 1915.]
LOUIS SCHWARZ. A native of Germany, Louis Schwarz was born at Neuburg, October 2, 1847, the son of Louis and Louise Schwarz, also natives of Germany. His childhood was passed in his native village, where he attended the public school, and later he graduated from Wurtzburg College. In 1872 he came to America and the following year located in Los Angeles. However, love for the Fatherland was always warm in the heart of Mr. Schwarz, and in 1892 he returned to Europe and remained in Germany for two years, returning in the end to Los Angeles with renewed allegiance to the Angel City.
The marriage of Mr. Schwarz occurred in this city in 1876, uniting him with Mrs. Lena Henne, the widow of Christopher Henne. She was also a native of Germany, and came to the United States in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz became the parents of five children, all of whom are well and favorably known in Los Angeles and vicinity, where they were born and educated. Of these Louise is the widow of N. F. Wilshire; Laura
is married to R. A. Rowan; Marie is now Mrs. Charles Reed; Adolph is also a resident of Los Angeles ; and Richard is deceased. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Schwarz has continued to reside at the family home in San Marino.
Mr. Schwarz had a fine military record in Germany, through the prominent part which he took in the war of 1871. He passed away at the family home in San Marino February 22, 1913.
CHARLES H. McKEVETT. One of the most prominent oil men in the southern part of the state, and one who was especially active in the development of new properties and new fields, was the late Charles H. McKevett, whose resi- dence from 1886 until the time of his death, June 7, 1907, was at Santa Paula, Ventura county, Cal. Although Mr. McKevett made his home in the Ventura county city much of his business interest centered in and about Los An- geles, and he was a well known and powerful factor in local affairs. The Fullerton oil fields were the scene of many of his oil operations, and he was frequently in charge of the work there himself. In Santa Paula he was recognized as a power that had done more for the welfare of the town than any other, and as such he was honored and respected as the leading man of the community. He was a man of unimpeachable honor, upright, honest and just in all his dealings with his fellow men, building his business pros- perity on the firm foundation of absolute integ- rity.
Mr. McKevett was descended from an ancient Scotch lineage of which he was justly proud. The progenitor of the American branch of the family was the paternal grandsire of the late hon- ored citizen of Santa Paula, Alexander McKevett, who came to America when a boy and settled in New York state. There he married and reared his family, and there also was born his grandson, Charles H., in Cortland county, October 3, 1848. Young McKevett received his early education in the public schools of his district and when old enough to assume responsibility he became inter- ested in the oil industry in Pennsylvania, begin- ning as an operator, then rising to a contractor, and later being an independent operator. He made a careful study of the conditions and details of the Pennsylvania fields, and also of the gen-
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eral conditions throughout the country, and for fifteen years he continued to manipulate oil affairs in Butler, Clarion, Warren and Mckean counties. At that time he determined to make a complete change of base of operation, desiring a change of climate and also of occupation, and accordingly in January, 1886, he came to California in search of a location. He immediately selected Santa Paula as the scene of his future home, although at that time there were scarcely two hundred in- habitants in the village and there were no rail- road connections at all. He purchased four hun- dred and twenty-four acres of the Bradley and Blanchard rancho, his land extending from near the center of the town out into the country. Part of this has been subdivided and sold as town property, but some three hundred acres (planted to oranges, lemons and apricots, and devoted to general farming) still remain of the original pur- chase.
The general affairs of the little city of Santa Paula at once interested Mr. McKevett and he was soon forming plans for the development of the best interests of the community. In 1887 he or- ganized the Santa Paula Lumber Company, of which he was president until its consolidation with the Ventura Lumber Company, after which he was for many years general manager of the com- bined companies. In 1888 he organized the Santa Paula State Bank, with George H. Bonebrake as president, himself as vice-president, and J. R. Haugh as cashier. This bank was converted into the First National Bank of Santa Paula, Septem- ber 23, 1889, Mr. McKevett being elected the first president of the new organization, a position which he retained until his death. The oil indus- try of the west was also calling him, and about this time he became secretary and treasurer of the Graham-Loftus Oil Company, which organization has seventeen wells in the Fullerton field, Orange county. Later he became the owner of a large part of the stock of this company, and also be- came heavily interested in several other compa- nies, having interests in various fields throughout the state.
The record that Mr. McKevett has left in Santa Paula is such as to insure his memory a place in the hearts of the people for many years to come. He was keenly alive to all that pertained to the upbuilding of the city, and did much along this line for which he could not possibly have expected to receive any direct returns. He was
especially interested in education, and the Acad- emy, now the Union High School building, one of the most prominently located structures of education in the entire district, would never have been built but for the unflagging efforts of Mr. McKevett, who made the building and the beau- tifully located grounds possible by his influence and liberal gifts. A few years later Mrs. Mc- Kevett donated outright the magnificent site for the Santa Paula grammar school, upon which has been erected one of the handsomest buildings in Southern California, a fitting tribute to the name of McKevett. During the years of his presidency of the First National Bank, Mr. McKevett was closely identified with many movements for the development of the city and surrounding country and it was seldom, if ever, that he put his hand on the helm that an undertaking was not pushed to a successful issue. Among the local institu- tions that he fostered may be mentioned the Santa Paula Electric Company, now the Ventura County Power Company; the great Limoneira Company, of which he was director and treasurer at the time of his death; the Santa Paula Water Company, of which he was vice-president for many years ; and the Santa Paula Lumber Com- pany, now the People's Lumber Company, with branch plants and yards throughout the county, in addition to those specially mentioned already.
The home life of Mr. McKevett and his family was always delightful and the hospitality dis- pensed at their charming home is one of the most valued memories of their many friends. His marriage occurred in 1873, uniting him with Miss Alice Stowell, a native of Pennsylvania, who was his close companion and friend down through the years until the time of his death. Of their union were born three children, two being natives of Pennsylvania, while the youngest, a daughter, was born at Santa Paula. Of these the son, Allan C. McKevett, is in charge of the large family estate, making his home in Santa Paula. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Santa Paula, and is otherwise connected with the activ- ities of his home city. He is a man of brilliant mind and promise, a worthy son of his distin- guished father. The elder daughter, now Mrs. Charles C. Teague, whose husband is the vice- president of the Limoneira Company, president of the First National Bank of Santa Paula, and otherwise prominent in Santa Paula, is a woman of much charm and ability, a leader of the social
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life of the city and prominent in church and club work. The younger daughter, Helen, the wife of A. Lester Best, now makes her home in Los Angeles.
Mr. McKevett, quite apart from his splendid business ability and his consequent popularity among his business associates, was also well known in fraternal and social circles. He was a member of the Santa Paula Lodge No. 291, F. & A. M .; Ventura Chapter, R. A. M .; Knights Templar Commandery of Ventura; Al Malaikah Temple, N. M. S. of Los Angeles, and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he was a Republican, but never sought public office, preferring rather to give his support to the men and principles of his party, feeling that thereby he was doing his best for his country.
MARCUS CLARK BETTINGER. Thirty years as an educator in the public schools of Los Angeles, and for the past twelve years assistant superintendent of city schools, is the splendid record that Marcus Clark Bettinger brings to the annals of the history of Los Angeles county. That the work of education among the boys and girls of the state is the noblest and best is his firm conviction, and Mr. Bettinger has declined many flattering opportunities to engage in com- mercial pursuits where the financial remuneration would greatly exceed the salary which his posi- tion in the schools paid him, feeling that kind Providence has cast his lines in pleasanter places among the young. That the service has been of a high order is attested by the length of time that he has been retained, and also by the steady ad- vancement which he has made, and also by the tes- timony of hundreds of men and women who are now prominent throughout this and other states, who remember with gratitude their days in school under his tutelage.
Mr. Bettinger is a native of New York, born at Chittenango, Madison county, March 3, 1855. His parents, John and Sarah Bettinger, were for many years residents of New York, the father tracing his lineage directly back to stanch old German stock of Alsace, while the mother's fam- ily is of Connecticut Colonial stock. There were eleven children in their family, nine of whom are now engaged in farming in the eastern states, and are men of ability and worth. The present as-
sistant superintendent of schools in Los Angeles had to struggle for his education, beginning with the district schools of Madison county and later attending Chittenango Academy, in the city of his birth. Following the completion of this course he attended the State Normal School at Cortland, N. Y., and also at Ypsilanti, Mich., graduating from the normal course in 1881. He then en- tered Syracuse University but was obliged to leave on account of illness in his family, during his senior year, and nineteen years later he re- turned and completed his course, graduating in 1904, instead of with the class of 1885. Mr. Bet- tinger commenced his work as a teacher when he was still a student in normal school, teaching in three different schools in New York and thus working his way through both normal schools and university. It was in 1885 that he came to Cali- fornia on account of the ill health of his wife, and was at once appointed to a position in the city schools, being in charge of a little one-room build- ing. The second year he was made principal, and from time to time was promoted to a larger building, with more teachers under his charge and greater responsibilities on his shoulders. His position as assistant superintendent, to which he was elevated in 1903, has been the direct out- growth of his splendid service in the rank and file, and is a well-deserved honor.
The marriage of Mr. Bettinger to Miss Nellie M. Backus occurred in Unadilla, Mich., in 1884, and her death followed soon after their coming to California. In 1888 he was again married, this time to Mrs. Laura A. Gaige, the daughter of Jesse Hollingsworth, of Dubuque, Iowa, the mar- riage taking place at Artesia, this county. There are three sons in the family, all natives of Cali- fornia, and well and favorably known in Los Angeles and vicinity. They are John M., Arthur B. and George E.
In his political connections at this time Mr. Bettinger is a progressive, although he was trained a Democrat. He has not, however, ever followed party lines with any degree of fidelity, being an independent thinker and choosing rather his own men and measures, and giving his sup- port and co-operation to those things which he deemed most worthy and best fitted to serve the public welfare. This is the reason that he is now a Progressive and giving his support to the meas- ures forwarded by this organization. Mr. Bet- tinger is affiliated with several fraternal orders of
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a high class, being a Mason of influence, having joined that order in 1900, and the Royal Arcanum in 1883. In his religious connections he is a Presbyterian, as is also his wife. In addition to his professional work Mr. Bettinger owns a ranch of sixty-three acres at Artesia.
GEORGE EDWARD AVERILL. Some thir- ty-five years ago George Edward Averill came to Los Angeles with his parents, he being then but a lad of sixteen years of age. Since that time his fortunes have for the most part been cast in with the city of his choice, and he has been suc- cessful both in matters financial and in the estab- lishment of a name and reputation that are in themselves the most valuable possession that a man may have. He has for many years been well known in the local business world, and has held various positions of responsibility and trust, al- ways rendering splendid service. During the past eight years he has been engaged as an oil broker and real estate dealer, and here again he has met with much success, and has added new strength to his standing as a man of more than ordinary reliability and business integrity.
Mr. Averill is a native of Iowa, born at Fair- field October 22, 1864. His parents were Norman S. and Anna S. (Wells) Averill, both of whom were exceptionally well known in Los Angeles. They removed to California from Iowa in 1879, locating first at Garden Grove, and in 1880 mov- ing to Los Angeles, where they have since made their home. The son attended the Los Angeles High School up to 1882, when he entered the employ of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, and later became the second manager for the company in Los Angeles. Later he left the employ of the telephone company to enter the service of the W. C. Furrey Company, hardware merchants, then located at No. 159-169 North Spring street, where he learned bookkeeping un- der the tutelage of P. H. Lemmert. In 1885 he became associated with the Germain Fruit Com- pany, and in November of the same year was inade head bookkeeper, with entire charge of the books of the concern, and as their bookkeeper and cashier remained with this company until 1894.
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