USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume III > Part 51
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In that year he was placed in charge of the office work of the Porter Brothers Company of Chi- cago, in their Los Angeles and Sacramento offices, remaining in this capacity for five years.
The Earl Fruit Company of Sacramento and Los Angeles secured the services of Mr. Averill in 1898, and he was placed in charge of their material department, purchasing all supplies of box and packing material and distributing them to the various shipping agencies.
Failing health on the part of his wife induced Mr. Averill to remove to San Francisco in 1902, and there he entered the employ of the J. K. Armsby Company, remaining for three years. Later he was made sales agent for the Associated Oil Company, his territory being Southern Cali- fornia, with headquarters in Los Angeles, his offices being in the Pacific Electric building. In 1905 he returned to Los Angeles, where he has since resided. This work brought Mr. Averill into close contact with the various phases of the oil industry, and he soon became thoroughly ac- quainted with the various oil fields, and also with the conditions of the industry, which information he is now capitalizing in his business as oil lands broker and dealer in real estate. His authority is recognized, and by careful adherence to his life- long principle of straightforward truth, he has builded a reputation in this line that is proving very valuable, both to himself and his clients.
The marriage of Mr. Averill with Miss Mamie E. Williams took place in Los Angeles, April 26, 1896. One child, a son, Norman W., has been born to them. Both Mrs. Averill and their son are well known in Los Angeles. Mr. Averill is distinctly proud of his family name, and of the position that his father and mother held in the city for so many years. His father, for fourteen years prior to his death, in January, 1911, was secretary of the Board of Education of the city, and in this capacity was one of the best known men in Los Angeles. He was highly esteemed by all who knew him, and was especially popular with the teaching force of the city. His wife had also been closely associated with the schools and various educational and literary institutions of the city for many years, having served as teacher, principal, superintendent, and finally as a member of the Board of Education. She is an honorary member of almost all the principal clubs of the city, and was one of the original founders of the local Young Women's Christian Association.
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THE HOLLENBECK HOME. Overlook- ing on the west the city of Los Angeles and on the east Hollenbeck park with its lake and at- tractive drives, and occupying a terraced tract known as Boyle Heights bluffs, stands the Hol- lenbeck Home for the Aged, founded Decem- ber 1, 1890, by Mrs. Elizabeth Hollenbeck as a memorial to her husband; opened September 6, 1896, enlarged and re-opened in May of 1908, since which time it has had a history of in- creasing service in its line of philanthropy. After the death of John Edward Hollenbeck, which occurred September 2, 1885, it became the most cherished hope of his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Hol- lenbeck, to establish a memorial that would per- petuate his honored name through kindly chari- ties, and she chose, as a most practical form of philanthropy, a home for worthy aged people, residents of Southern California, left without means of support for their declining days. Pur- suant upon her intent she conveyed by deed to John D. Bicknell, James M. Elliott, Frank A. Gibson, Charles L. Batcheller and J. S. Chap- man, thirteen and one-half acres on Boyle Heights bluffs, also the Hollenbeck block on the corner of Second and Spring streets, and the Elizabeth Hollenbeck building on South Broad- way near Seventh, also other property in trust, the object of the conveyance being to provide for the maintenance of the institution. Under the deed of trust Mrs. Hollenbeck retained a life in- terest in the property conveyed, and she pro- ceeded to erect a building adapted to the intended use, which building was dedicated as a Home for the Aged on the 6th of September, 1896, the eleventh anniversary of the funeral of the one whose gracious life and manly character had in- spired the gift.
For a time there was no change in the board of trustees, but with the death of Frank A. Gibson October 13, 1901, a vacancy occurred which at the request of Mrs. Hollenbeck was filled by Rev. William S. Young, D. D., the selection of Dr. Young having been duly approved by the court, June 14, 1902. Another trustee, John S. Chap- man, resigned November 27, 1907, and Curtis D. Wilbur was appointed to fill the vacancy, Decem- ber 26, 1907. John D. Bicknell, who was the author of the original trust deed, passed away July 7, 1911, and on the 3d of August following Hon. Frank P. Flint was duly appointed and con- firmed to fill the vacancy. March 27, 1912,
Charles L. Batcheller resigned as trustee, and on the 23d of April, 1912, Hon. Newton W. Thomp- son was duly appointed and confirmed to fill the vacancy. Dr. Young was elected secretary pro tem March 12, 1907, and on the 20th of February, 1909, he was duly elected as secretary of the Hollenbeck Home Trust. At present the officers of the Trust are as follows: Chairman, J. M. Elliott ; vice-chairman, Frank P. Flint ; and secre- tary, William S. Young; depository of funds, First National Bank of Los Angeles. The board of managers consists of the following women : Mrs. Elizabeth Hollenbeck, Mrs. E. H. Hollen- beck, Mrs. W. S. Young, Anne W. Nixon, M. D., and Miss Mary S. Wilson. Mrs. Emma L. Cusic officiates as matron. One floor of the north, wing is equipped as a modern hospital, with a trained nurse in constant attendance, and the Home also owes much to the thoughtful attention of its physician, C. W. Evans, M. D. During the first year of the existence of the Home twelve men and thirty-four women were received and two passed away during the year. These were the first to be laid away in the beautiful grounds at Evergreen cemetery, provided by the founder of the institution. Since the opening of the Home there have been received thirty-eight men and one hundred and thirty-one women.
The mission style of architecture, adapted to modern conditions, was followed in the erection of the buildings, which are of concrete and brick, plastered over with cement, and covered with tile roofing. The main building contains the admin- istration quarters, dining room, kitchen, parlors and hospital. The dormitory affords comfortable accommodations for the members, who also have the privileges of the library, an attractive building with beamed ceilings, oak floor and large fire- place. A modern laundry, with every desired equipment, adds to the conveniences of the Home. The atmosphere of religion devoid of sectarian- ism lends the influence of peace and contentment to the place. Prayer services on Thursday even- ing and preaching services on Sunday afternoon are held in the chapel, a structure in the form of a Greek cross with a concrete dome, its classic design and artistic interior, with beautiful win- dows and rich-toned organ, affording a rare com- bination of beauty and of art aiding devotion. Friends often provide musical entertainments and stereopticon views or in other ways promote the
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enjoyment of the members through interesting social events.
To protect the welfare of the members of the Home it has been deemed advisable to limit appli- cants to persons of good moral character, not less than sixty-five years of age, who have been resi- dents for at least three years of that portion of California lying south of the north line of San Bernardino, Kern and San Luis Obispo counties. Persons financially able to care for themselves will not be received, nor those deranged in mind or afflicted with incurable or contagious disease. An admission fee of $300 is charged, on receipt of which and after other requirements have been met, the Home receives, boards and lodges the aged persons throughout the balance of their lives, subject to regulations definitely understood by all concerned. While necessarily the Home is operated strictly upon business principles and the maintenance of rules must be insisted upon, the social feature is made very prominent, and it is deemed best, for the health and happiness of the members, that the members should regard them- selves as an integral part of a large family, whose welfare may be conserved by the rendering of kindly, helpful services on the part of each and by those quiet, gracious courtesies that wonder- fully enhance the joy of life.
LEOTIA K. NORTHAM. Among the women of Southern California who have become well known in various lines of activity may be mentioned Leotia K. Northam, who has been a resident of Los Angeles for many years.
Mrs. Northam was born in Galena, Kan., Oc- tober 24, 1881, a daughter of George A. and Mary D. Stoney, both natives of Missouri, and both now deceased, the mother meeting her death in the wreck of the Pacific Electric train at Vine- yard station on July 13, 1913.
When one year of age Mrs. Northam was taken to Arizona by her parents and later brought to California, where she was reared and educated, graduating from the Los Angeles High school, after which she took up newspaper work for the Los Angeles Herald, then a morning paper.
On July 23, 1901, in San Jose, Cal., occurred the marriage of Col. Robert J. Northam and Miss Leotia K. Stoney. Colonel Northam was
born in February, 1848, and died in October, 1912, since which time his widow has given her attention to the management of the business left by him and has become well known throughout the southwest.
HON. GRANT JACKSON. The genealogy of the Jackson family shows a long line of south- ern ancestors. Patriotism was evinced in the participation in the numerous wars of the na- tion's earlier history. During the war of 1812 Robert Jackson was commissioned captain of a company that brought honor to their native com- monwealth, Tennessee, by gallant service. A grandson of the Captain, Major William Jackson, lived in Missouri at the time of the Civil war and helped to save that state to the Union, not- withstanding the fact that his cousin, the then governor, called together a constitutional conven- tion for the purpose of passing a secession ordi- nance. With the courage of his convictions the Major assisted in deposing the state officers and electing officers loyal to the Union. His service at the front lasted throughout the entire war and brought him honor as an officer. Shortly after the close of the conflict he moved to California and settled at Petaluma, Sonoma county, where of his union with Miss Mary C. Francis there was born a son, Grant, June 13, 1869. The family afterward lived at Lompoc, Santa Barbara county, and the son was sent to the public schools of that little town, later continuing his studies in the city of Santa Barbara, where in 1887 he began the study of law in the office of Hon. W. C. Stratton, a pioneer attorney of high standing and consid- erable prominence.
Having been admitted to the bar by the supreme court of California October 11, 1891, Mr. Jack- son immediately took up professional work in his home town of Santa Barbara. Since his removal to Los Angeles in 1902 his influence has been felt in professional and political circles. June 1, 1905, he became associated with Theodore Martin and Lloyd W. Moultrie, conducting a general civil practice until his elevation to the bench in the superior court of Los Angeles, in which capacity he is now serving. He is a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Municipal League, the Chamber of Mines, and the Native Sons of the Golden West. He is also a member of the Gamut Club, Union League, in the latter of
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which he serves on the directorate, and the City Club, and in the line of his profession he is a member of the Los Angeles Bar Association.
GEORGE F. GETTY. The president of the Minnehoma Oil Company, whose property is located in Oklahoma, principally around Tulsa, Cushing, Cleveland and Bartelsville, is George F. Getty, who, since 1906, has made his home in Los Angeles, Cal. A native of Maryland, Mr. Getty was born at Grantsville, October 17, 1855, the son of John and Martha A. (Wiley) Getty, and re- ceived his early education in the public schools of Eastern Ohio. At the age of eighteen years he took a term at Smithville (Ohio) Academy, after which he was graduated from the Ohio Northern University, at Ada, Ohio, July 10, 1879, with the degree of A. B. During his college life he took a very active part in literary work and debating societies and organized and still maintains the Getty debating contest in his college city, and each year gives two prizes for the Philomathean Getty Debate. On his graduation day Mr. Getty bore the honor of being salutatorian of his class. Subsequently he took a law course at the Uni- versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and in that city was admitted to the bar in 1882. He first practiced his profession in Caro, Mich., continu- ing there from 1882 to 1884, in the year last men- tioned removing to Minneapolis, Minn., where he practiced until 1906. While in Caro, Mich., he held the office of circuit court commissioner for Tuscola county. During his residence in Minne- apolis he enjoyed an extensive practice, consisting largely of insurance law, on which he was an authority, and which practice extended over a large part of the United States. He was also at one time secretary of the State Prohibition party and editor of the "Review," a party organ of that state.
The year 1906 saw the removal of Mr. Getty to Los Angeles, Cal., where he has been engaged principally in the oil business, being interested in several corporations, chief among which is the Minnehoma Oil Company, organized by himself in 1903, and of which he was elected president, Judge William A. Kerr being secretary. This company owns one hundred wells, which are pro- ducing five thousand barrels of oil per day, and one hundred men are in its employ.
On October 30, 1879, Mr. Getty was married in Marion, Ohio, to Sarah C. Risher, and they have one son, Jean P., who is interested with his father in the oil property in Oklahoma. A mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce of Los An- geles, Mr. Getty also holds membership in the Gamut Club and the Municipal League, while in his fraternal relations he is a York Rite Mason and a Shriner. The religious associations of Mr. Getty are with the Christian Science Church.
WILLIAM H. ALLEN, JR. The president of the Title Insurance and Trust Company, Los Angeles, is William H. Allen, Jr., who was born at Grafton, Ill., October 12, 1853, the son of William H. and Martha M. (Mason) Allen. After attending the public schools until the age of fifteen years, Mr. Allen was employed in his father's bank until he was twenty-eight years of age, receiving valuable training and experience in all practical lines in the banking business, and becoming owner of the bank, which he sold out after thirteen years of experience in the business. During that time Mr. Allen was also engaged in raising livestock and in the transfer business, and was a director in the Grafton quarry, besides hav- ing interests in the timber industry.
Upon his removal to California in February, 1892, Mr. Allen made his home in the city of Pasadena, where he was a director of the San Gabriel Valley Bank. In 1894 he embarked in the manufacture of office and bank fixtures in Los Angeles, a business which he sold out the following September, at that time becoming presi- dent of the Title Insurance and Trust Company, which office he has continued to hold ever since, having also been a director in the Security Trust and Savings Bank, and one of the directors of the finance committee of the Mortgage Guarantee Company. The interest taken by Mr. Allen in matters of municipal importance and progress is evidenced by his membership in such associations as the Chamber of Commerce, the Municipal League and the Good Roads Club, while he is also a member of the California, Country and Press Clubs.
The marriage of Mr. Allen with Miss Elsie Pettijohn took place in Pasadena, April 6, 1893, and they are the parents of two children, W.
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Herbert, a student at Harvard University, and Ruth P. Allen, a pupil at the Marlborough School in Los Angeles.
WILLIAM A. LAMB. Since the year 1895, when he first came to Los Angeles, William A. Lamb has been prominently identified with the development and civic improvements of this part of the state of California, having real estate and oil interests here, and being active in the estab- lishment of parks and public playgrounds, as well as serving in the State Legislature for the Seventy-Fifth District during the years 1910 and 1911.
A New Englander by birth, Dr. Lamb was born in Mystic, Conn., and received his early edu- cation in Norwich, that state. For ten years he followed the machinist's trade in the cities of New Briton, Norwich, and Meriden, Conn., and later, after having prepared for the ministry at Andover Seminary, Andover, Mass., he was or- dained a minister of the Congregational denom- ination in 1874. He was the founder and first pastor of the church of Peabody, Mass., and had parishes also at Holden and Newton, Mass., and Milford, N. H. After his removal to Los An- geles he preached in this city for two years. He then became interested in civic affairs, serving on the Park Commission and the Playground Com- mission and assisted in organizing the Echo Park Playground. His prominence in politics led to his election as a member of the state legislature, serving in 1910 and 1911. Dr. Lamb invested in real estate in this city and many pieces he im- proved, among them being the Ionia flats on Flower street, as well as a block of stores on Temple and Belmont streets, and he was the first person to build a residence on Ocean View avenue, where his beautiful home now stands. In the oil industry, Dr. Lamb is well known as one of the developers of the Yukon Oil Company of Los Angeles, of which company he has served as president, being also a director and one of the developers of the Santa Ynez Development Company, an organization which owns thirty thousand acres of land in Santa Barbara county. In the Florence Crittenton Home in this city, of which Dr. Lamb is a director, a room has been furnished and named in honor of his wife, whose death occurred July 13, 1914.
The wife of Dr. Lamb was Mary Proctor be- fore her marriage and she was born in Peabody, Mass., being descended from the distinguished New England families of Putnams and from the family of the Concord philosopher, Emerson, and she inherited to an enviable degree the in- tellectual ability of her distinguished forbears. Her father, Abel Proctor, was a brother of Thomas E. Proctor, a Boston millionaire leather manufacturer, and the writer, Edna Dean Proc- tor, was a cousin. At the time of her death, Mrs. Lamb was a director of the Florence Crittenton Home, the Mckinley Home for Boys and the Strickland Home, to which special gifts have been made by her family in her memory. She was also a member of the Psychopathic Society, and had for ten years been a teacher in the Sunday school of the Westlake Methodist Church of Los An- geles. She is survived by her husband, son and daughter and four grandchildren; the son being Judge Porter Emerson Lamb, of Burlingame, Cal., and the daughter Miss Ellen Augusta Lamb, who is prominent in women's clubs and served as corresponding secretary of the Ebell Club for two years. In philanthropic work in Los Angeles where the enterprise of her father has done and is still doing much in the furthering of civic im- provements she is likewise prominent.
Commenting on the death of Mrs. Lamb, the following appeared in an editorial of the Los An- geles Times :
"In the death of Mrs. W. A. Lamb there passed from Los Angeles one of California's blessed women. She was an answer to the charge that the Puritanism of New England is intolerant. Never did heart hold more tender charity than hers. Never was charity expressed more prac- tically than by her. Her heart went out with abundant love to every child of misfortune. Most of all was her kindness extended to the girl who had made a mistake and whose affections had been outraged and deceived. Sympathy was not a theory with her and not mere sentimentality. She was not afraid to take these girls into her own home. In recent years she always had one or two such girls about her, giving them such light work as they were fit to do until the great hour of love and tragedy took them away. She let them make baby things at their leisure and taught them to welcome the supreme event without shame and with courage of heart. This is a les- son not easy for humanity to learn. In theory all
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of us have charity for the erring, but few of us are willing to make the practice intimate and per- sonal. Mrs. Lamb was one who lived what she believed."
ROBERT MARSH. The Marsh genealogy indicates the colonial identification of the family with New England, where several successive generations lived and labored, each in turn becom- ing a potent factor in the material upbuilding of that section of the country. A study of their connection with early history proved that they were quiet, unostentatious but forceful and permanent contributors to community advance- ment. During the latter part of the eighteenth century Robert Marsh held high place in New Hampshire, while in the earlier half of the nine- teenth century his son Joseph was a leading factor in community progress in the same state. In the next generation there became apparent a desire to seek newer lands and it was Joseph E., son of Joseph, who transplanted the name to the then frontier of Illinois. A man of college education, excellent mental capacity and keen insight into the possibilities of the west, he was yet quite young when he decided that New England offered fewer opportunities than the undeveloped regions of the Mississippi valley. The first important move took him to Charleston, Ill., where he en- gaged in the milling of flour. The second move of consequence took him to Little Rock, Ark., where also he operated a mill. A visit to Cali- fornia in 1886 brought to him a realization of the vast opportunities offered by the west, which with its splendid climate, its fertile soil and its growing population of desirable settlers presented an admirable opening to a man of the tempera- ment of Mr. Marsh. As soon as possible he dis- posed of his holdings in Little Rock and came to Southern California, where he lived at San Diego from 1888 to 1891 and since then has made Los Angeles his home. Born at Pelham, N. H., in 1836, in 1862 he married Miss Martha J. Atwood, of the same town. Of their five chil- dren only two survive, namely: Florence A., wife of Col. C. Andrews, of New Orleans; and Robert, whose name introduces this article and whose work as an upbuilder of Los Angeles has made his name familiar throughout this section of the state.
Born in Charleston, Ill., January 20, 1874, and primarily educated at Little Rock, Ark., Robert Marsh completed his high school course in Los Angeles in 1892 and entered the book store of E. T. Cook, with whom he continued for about four years. Next for perhaps two years he en- gaged in the men's furnishing goods business, as one of the owners. During 1898 and a part of 1899 he engaged in the wholesale and retail coal business in New Orleans, but returned to Los Angeles with the conviction that this city offered opportunities unexcelled by any com- munity in the United States. Since 1900 his name has been intimately identified with realty develop- ment and particularly with large enterprises, such as downtown business property and in the open- ing of residence tracts and exclusive home dis- tricts. Through his efforts, in co-operation with other upbuilders equally enterprising, ranch lands have been transformed into suburban areas of handsome homes environed by beautiful parks and other modern improvements. Notable among the residence tracts which he laid out and devel- oped are the Country Club Park, Western Heights, Westchester Place, Country Club Ter- race, Arlington Heights Terrace and Mount Washington. Each of these is a monument to the foresight and artistic vision of Mr. Marsh, who planned and developed them, not merely with the thought of financial returns, but with the hope that their permanent attractions and sub- stantial improvements would lend value to his home city and expansion to its residential dis- tricts. Such has been his prominence as an efficient and trustworthy promoter that the busi- ness handled in the office of Robert Marsh & Co. perhaps equals that of any of the greatest realty corporations in the southwest.
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