USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume III > Part 6
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Mr. Oliver is married and has a family of three children: William E., Jr., aged fourteen ; Jane, aged eight ; and Gordon, five years old.
OSCAR EUGENE FARISH. The descend- ant of a splendid old Southern family, whose fortunes had waxed and waned in the Carolinas for generations, Oscar Eugene Farish came first to Los Angeles in 1895 and has since that time been vitally associated with the affairs of the city and an important factor in all matters of municipal interest. He is a man of wide interests and splendid judgment and is thoroughly in sym- pathy with all movements which stand for the forward movement of the city and its general progression and upbuilding. He has acquired large financial interests which he has administered in such a manner as to greatly increase their value, and now owns some of the most valuable real estate in and near the city.
Mr. Farish is a native of North Carolina, born in Chatham county, July 20, 1868, the son of John W. and Mary Ann (Harris) Farish, his birth occurring on the old family plantation, scene of the family activities for many years. While he was still a child, however, his father deter- mined to seek to improve the family fortunes in the west, and removed to Arkansas, where Oscar received his education in the public schools, later entering the service of the Southern Express Company. Rising rapidly in the confidence of the company, he was advanced to positions of trust and responsibility at Little Rock. Ark .; Lynchburg, Roanoke and Norfolk, Va .; Memphis, Knoxville and Bristol, Tenn. ; and Ocala, Fla.
It was in 1895 that Mr. Farish came to Los Angeles, where he has since made his home, and where his extensive interests now center. For two years after coming to this city he held a position of trust with the Los Angeles Electric Company, but at that time the possibilities in the real estate business so appealed to him, that he resigned his position with the electric company and opened an office of his own, specializing in real estate and oil interests. In 1902 he formed a co-partnership with W. W. Mines, under the firm name of Mines & Farish, conducting a general real estate and rental business. This arrangement continued until April, 1912, when Mr. Farish organized the California Realty Corporation, of which he was elected president and in which capacity he still serves.
The striking business ability of Mr. Farish and his keen interest in all that pertains to the welfare of Los Angeles have made his services on various committees and civic commissions much in de-
IMKellerman.
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mand, and he has thus been associated with several movements whose results have been marked and of more than ordinary importance. Probably the most prominent of these was the consolidation committee of fifteen under whose guidance Los Angeles, Wilmington and San Pedro became the seaport of Los Angeles. He was also for a number of years president of the Los Angeles Realty Board, and was vice-presi- dent for one term of the State Realty Federation. Another public service rendered by Mr. Farish was in the city council, of which body he was a member during 1903-04. He is also a member of the California Club, Federation Club, City Club, Municipal League, Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Mines. Fraternal organizations have always claimed their share of the ability and time of this energetic man, and he is associated with several of the prominent local orders, in whose councils he stands high. Among these are the Masons (he having taken the thirty-second degree), Knights of Pythias, Foresters and Fraternal Brotherhood.
The marriage of Mr. Farish took place in Pasa- dena, December 4, 1895, uniting him with Miss Alice Aspinall Grindrod. They are the parents of two daughters, Muriel Estelle and Gwendolen.
J. M. KELLERMAN. The oil industry has been a profitable one to many a man in South- ern California, and the tall derricks and clumsy machinery which detract from the beauty of the green fields and vacant lots have brought wealth to many of California's adopted sons. Such a one is J. M. Kellerman, who was born in western Pennsylvania, January 29, 1860, the son of Joseph Kellerman, now deceased, and Mary A. (Ginter) Kellerman. He was educated in the schools of that state, and until 1881 was employed in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, leaving there for Wyoming in 1881, and about the middle of January, 1882, coming to Los Angeles. For three years he worked for the Pacific Coast Oil Company at Pico Canyon, Newhall, Cal., going thence to Trinity county, Cal., where he engaged in mining for a year. He was then attracted to the southernmost part of the state, locating for a time at San Diego and Coronado Beach, where he was engaged in sinking a well for water for the Coronado Beach Company. On his return to Los An-
geles he re-entered the oil industry, contract- ing for Stewart & Hardison, and drilling for oil. Of late years he has retired from active business life, being now free to enjoy the genial and health-giving climate of his adopted home. Fraternally he is a member of the P. B. O. Elks No. 99.
The wife of Mr. Kellerman was Maud Wil- son, the daughter of John W. and Virginia (Butler) Wilson.
FRED HATHAWAY BIXBY. Born of pioneer parents, Fred Hathaway Bixby is a native of Wilmington, Cal., where he first saw the light of day April 20, 1875. His father, John W. Bixby, came to Southern California in an early day and through management and pertinacity of purpose won for himself and his descendants a competence as well as a name and place among the men who made the western commonwealth. For more complete details concerning John W. Pixby's life, refer. to his personal biography, which appears in Volume II.
Fred Hathaway Bixby was reared in his native county, receiving his early education in the public schools of Long Beach and Los Angeles, at the age of fourteen years entering the Belmont Mili- tary School of San Mateo county, Cal. Finally matriculating in the University of California at Berkeley, he graduated therefrom in 1898 with the degree of Ph. B. Returning to Southern Cali- fornia, he then assumed the management of the home ranch as well as property owned by his father in the Santa Ana canyon, and since that date has engaged extensively in stock-raising and general farming pursuits. On the home place there are approximately thirty-seven hundred acres all farmed to alfalfa, hay, grain, sugar beets, celery and other vegetables. In his stock-raising he breeds Shorthorn and Hereford cattle and draught horses, Governor, at the head of his stud, having been imported from England. This beau- tiful bay, which weighs two thousand pounds, was purchased from George E. Brown, importer. Among his other fine horses are Charlemagne and Louis, a Tennessee jack. Mr. Bixby has ably demonstrated his ability in this line and occupies a high place among the western breeders of fine stock.
Systematic in all his details, Mr. Bixby has con- stantly added to his equipment until he has every
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facility for carrying on his business, all arrange- ments being made for convenience and excellence in every department on the ranch. His place is one of the most beautiful in this section, the buildings being located on the heights overlooking the mountains, valley and sea, an ideal spot for a home, the land extending six miles along the coast and being in itself a small principality. The old adobe house that was built over one hundred years ago with walls from three and a half to four feet in thickness, has been improved and modernized and yet retains the appearance and necessarily its historical interest that clings to the days when the Spanish dons reigned supreme. The other buildings of the ranch are large and in keeping with the progressive spirit of the owner. Besides managing this property since January, 1907, Mr. Bixby has operated the ranch in the Santa Ana canyon in partnership with his sister, and is also manager of the I. W. Hellman ranch of eight thousand acres, this ranch lying back of Seal Beach and north of Westminster and farmed mostly to sugar beets. He also owns the Rancho El Cajon at Point Concepcion, a ranch of five thousand acres, most of which is grazing land. Here is where he breeds his thoroughbred cattle and heavy horses. He is also vice-president and manager of the El Nacimiento Rancho Company at San Miguel, San Luis Obispo county. This ranch has approximately thirty-six thousand acres, of which about five thousand acres are annually planted to wheat and the balance used for cattle, horse and hog pasture. Mr. Bixby is president of the Los Angeles Warehouse Com- pany and director of the Enterprise Construction Company, Alamitos Land Company, the National Bank of Long Beach and Hotel Virginia, Long Beach. He also owns a half interest in the Three Bar Ranch Company at Roosevelt, Ariz., this being purely a cattle-raising proposition.
In Berkeley, Cal., August 31, 1898, Mr. Bixby was united in marriage with Miss Florence Eliza- beth Green, of that city, and born of this union are five children, namely: Katharine, Florence Elizabeth, Deborah, John Hathaway and Fred- erick H. Mr. Bixby is a member of Delta-Kappa Epsilon and the Skull and Keys Society ; socially he holds a high place among the rising young men of Southern California, appreciated alike for luis business ability and the integrity and fairness which have characterized his business career.
EMMA R. NEIDIG. For many years promi- nently associated with the fraternal life of Cali- fornia, Mrs. Emma R. Neidig made a unique departure from all precedent when she was elected in March, 1914, as supreme president of the Fraternal Brotherhood, a beneficial and fra- ternal organization whose national home is in Los Angeles. This is the first time in the history of fraternal organizations that a woman has been elected to the head of an order which admits both men and women to membership, and in making her campaign Mrs. Neidig blazed the way along a pioneer trail. The membership of the order is about equally divided, and Mrs. Neidig's majority was sufficiently large to give evidence that she had received the support of a large percentage of men, men who appreciated her worth and ability and whose desire for the well being of the organization caused them to give her their en- dorsement. Mrs. Neidig was elevated to the posi- tion of supreme president from that of vice- president, which she had held since 1898, suc- ceeding in the supreme office the late James A. Foshay, who was one of the organizers of the Fraternal Brotherhood. Other fraternal offices of importance which have been held by this capable woman are those of state commander of the Ladies of the Maccabees of the World, for California, 1894 to 1897 ; and supreme lieutenant commander, L. O. T. M. O. W., 1895 to 1897.
Mrs. Neidig, who in her girlhood was Miss Emma Rice, is a native of New York state, born at Havana, July 4, 1852. She is the daughter of Jonas Allen Rice, the son of a Revolutionary drummer boy, and Charlotte E. Chapin, a native of New York state and granddaughter of a soldier of the Revolution. Mrs. Neidig received her edu- cation in the Upper Iowa University, at Fayette, Iowa, graduating in the commercial course in the class of 1867, and later taking Normal School training. She early determined to make teaching her life work, and was first engaged in country schools, later securing a position as primary teacher in graded schools and eventually becom- ing principal of the Bancroft school at Omaha, Neb. After coming to Los Angeles she became clerk to the superintendent of schools, which posi- tion she occupied for some time with great success.
In her political views Mrs. Neidig is a Repub- lican and takes an active interest in all that con-
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cerns the public welfare, being especially keen on all local matters. Her great work, however, is now along fraternal lines, and since the organ- ization of the Fraternal Brotherhood she has been one of the most ardent workers in the field and much of the present success of the order is due to her untiring labor, capable management and skillful judgment. She is a woman of much personal charm, and is regarded by her friends and acquaintances as one of the truest types of American womanhood, comprising, as she does, all the pleasing personal attractiveness of the woman of the old school, and at the same time giving evidence of the business ability, poise and clear-headedness of the modern woman. Under her management the affairs of the Fraternal Brotherhood are in a very flourishing condition.
JOSEPH GREENBAUM. The development of an artistic atmosphere marks the outgrowth of Los Angeles from provincial narrowness into cosmopolitan breadth of vision. Distinctively con- tributory to such advancement has been the work of a number of local artists, foremost among whom ranks Joseph Greenbaum, a genius in portraiture possessing the advantage of profes- sional originality promoted through study under the famous masters of Europe and exhibiting at his studio in Blanchard hall specimens of his talent that augur well for the future of art in Southern California. While attaining his great- est fame in portrait work he has been successful in many lines of effort, as indicated by his original paintings of Arizona and New Mexico desert landscapes and the important pictures, Les Bre- tonnes, La Priere and Catalina (called the En- chanted Isle), the last-named winning the gold medal at the Exposition in Seattle. Others of his paintings have been hung on the walls of the Salon in Paris and received favorable mention in various exhibitions in Munich and other cities.
Born in New York City, November 17, 1864, a son of Herman and Rosalie (Caufmann) Green- baum, and primarily educated in the public schools of the eastern metropolis, Mr. Greenbaum was a high school student in San Francisco and has considered California his home since early youth, although the study of his art has taken him
to Europe for long periods of interesting and profitable professional activity. His was the privilege of studying in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Carl Marr ; at Julian's in Paris under Lefebre and Robert-Fleury; also under Professor Humbert Lindenschmidt and H. Zugel, the famous animal painter, with these gifted men developing the talent which had re- ceived initial instruction in the Hopkins Institute of San Francisco. On returning to the United States he took up the painting of portraits in San Francisco, where he spent two and one-half years of active professional labor. It was not, however, his temperament to be satisfied with anything short of the best, and we find him going back to Paris to resume his studies under the foremost portrait artists of that great center. Four years of marked progress accentuated his second as- sociation with the French capital, whence he re- turned to San Francisco to resume his chosen theme of portraiture. Among the best specimens of his work of that period were the portraits of Mrs. F. Kohl and Mrs. Frank Deering. After the great fire in San Francisco he gave up his studio in that city and came to Los Angeles, where he maintains a studio in Blanchard hall and where he has painted portraits of Mrs. Hancock Banning, Mrs. William E. Dunn, Mrs. Maurice Albee, Prof. C. F. Holder, Phil Stanton, "Lucky" Baldwin, General Otis and Mrs. Charles Wellington Rand. Conspicuous among his recent successes is a life-size painting of Mrs. Anita Baldwin-McClaughry standing by the side of her favorite horse. This and indeed all of the portraits of the artist reveal a facile technique and harmonious coloring. In each he has given of his best, so that the character of the sitter is revealed in its strength of expression or gentle- ness of charm. A touch absolutely sure and a scheme of color always effective mark him the master of his art. So intense has been his devo- tion to his chosen life work that he has had neither leisure nor inclination for social functions or public activities, although popular in the Gamut and University clubs, of both of which he is a prominent member. In an exceptional degree his art is his life and no happier hours come to him than those in which dreams of beauty or faces of power are reproduced on canvas in all of their original strength of expression and beauty of technique.
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GEORGE W. E. GRIFFITH. A man of first-class judgment in regard to financial matters, and though of advanced age, yet enjoying sound health in body and mind, and still active in busi- ness affairs, George W. E. Griffith, the manager of the Highland Park Investment Company, or- ganized by him, is held in high esteem at Highland Park, Cal., and indeed everywhere that he has transacted business.
Born near La Fayette, Tippecanoe county, Ind., December 22, 1833, Mr. Griffith is the son of James Griffith, a native of New York state, a Whig, and a minister of the United Brethren Church, which vocation he followed during his entire life. The mother was Nancy Hunt, also a native of the state of New York, and of her family of three sons and five daughters, George W. E. Griffith was the third youngest. The Griffith family in this country originated with three brothers of the name, who came from Eng- land in 1675, and settled on the Susquehanna river in Maryland. Until the age of fifteen years Mr. Griffith lived in Indiana, growing up with strong anti-slavery sentiments, and receiving his early education in the public schools, but at the age of sixteen he became a student at Mount Pleasant College, Westmoreland county, Pa., where his brother, William R. Griffith, was a professor, and it was in that county that the younger brother met and married his bride, Miss Priscilla Horbach. In the fall of 1855 Mr. Grif- fith went to Kansas, where he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres in Franklin county. which lie improved, building upon it his home. He lived in Franklin county five years, and was its county clerk and recorder at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, and was also elected to the legislature of the state. Mr. Griffith has lived a very strenuous life, having been in the midst of the Kansas troubles, residing at Lawrence, Kans., at the time of Quantrell's raid, when his house and store were burned, and having been person- ally acquainted with John Brown, though unable to take the fanatical views of that leader. Dur- ing the war he served under Captain Shore in the Home Guards for local defense, and in 1863 moved to Lawrence, Kan .. where he engaged in the hardware business. Later, about 1870, he entered the banking business there, in which line he met with phenomenal success, organizing and being connected with several large banks in the cities of Lawrence, Kans., Portland, Ore., and
Seattle, Wash., before coming to Los Angeles, Cal., in which city also he has become well known in financial circles. He was cashier of the Second National Bank and later organized and became president of the Merchants' National Bank. The time of his residence in Denver was between the years 1890 and 1896, where he aided in organizing the Western Farm Mortgage Trust Company, a Kansas Institution with an office in Denver, being also the organizer of the Seattle National Bank in Seattle in 1890, and of the United States Na- tional Bank at Portland, Ore. After coming to Highland Park, Cal., in 1900, Mr. Griffith organ- ized the South Pasadena Bank and later the Bank of Highland Park, as well as the Highland Park Investment Company, to which most of his business affairs are at present confined, and be- fore the settlement of the town he bought and platted ten acres of land where Highland Park is now situated. In his political preferences he is a Republican and believes that the doctrine of protection is a sound doctrine for America.
Mr. Griffith has brought up a family of four children, three of whom are now living, of whom he is justly proud. His wife's death occurred in California, September 26, 1914. Their eldest son also is deceased, Charles E. Griffith, a graduate of Princeton University, his death having oc- curred in Panama, where he took the yellow fever; his daughter Helen, who survives him, being the wife of Dr. Alderson, of Highland Park. The three living children of Mr. Griffith are: Mary, who keeps house for her father at Highland Park and is the widow of Robert M. Osmond and mother of one daughter, Edith, a teacher at the State University of Illinois, at Urbana; Alida, the widow of Rev. Mr. Van Pelt, a Presbyterian minister, and the mother of three children, Reuben, Robert and Ruth, who is a student at Stanford University, the family making their home in Los Angeles; and George W. Griffith, who resides near Frenchtown, N. J., and is engaged in business in New York City.
JOHN B. MONLUX. There is no more important work in any city than that entailed by the supervision and direction of its educational system, and none whose influence on the future welfare of a municipality is more strongly felt. In this respect Los Angeles stands pre-eminently
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above all other western cities, leading the educa- tional procession west of the Mississippi by a splendid advance. It is also a noteworthy fact that even the cities of the far east have made careful studies of the conditions in this city and have pronounced some of the progressive methods here in force of sufficient worth to incorporate them in their city educational systems, while there is no particular in which Los Angeles need feel ashamed. The men and women who have been instrumental in placing Los Angeles in this honored position should, and do, receive the grateful acknowledgment of their service from an appreciative public, for it is one of the many attractions of the city that the educational advan- tages here afforded are second to none.
Prominent among the educators of the city, and one who has contributed his full share toward the attainment of the present high standards, is John B. Monlux, deputy superintendent of public schools in the city since 1903, and for a number of years previous a member of the teaching force of Los Angeles.
Mr. Monlux is a native of Ohio, and was born at North Salem, July 18, 1855, the son of Samuel and Agnes (Clark) Monlux. The boyhood days of the future educator were spent in his native village, where he received his early education. Later he attended the University of Iowa, re- ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1878 and the degree of Master of Arts in 1881. He had specialized in educational work and imme- diately commenced his chosen work, having been engaged in teaching while he was preparing for his Master's degree. From 1879 to 1881 Mr. Monlux was principal of the Oskaloosa (Iowa) high school, and from 1881 to 1885 he acted as superintendent of schools in Fairchild, Iowa. That year he responded to a call from Hastings, Neb., where he served as superintendent of the city schools from 1885 to 1892. In 1894 he removed to Los Angeles, where he has since been located.
It was in 1894 that Mr. Monlux became actively identified with the educational life of the city, with which he has been connected since that time. For the first two years he served as a teacher in the grammar schools, and in 1896 was made principal of the Twenty-eighth street school, in which capacity he remained until 1903. when he was elected to his present position of deputy city superintendent. In this capacity he has been
in close and constant contact with the educational work of the grammar schools and high schools of Los Angeles, where his splendid ability has been of great benefit to the city. He is progressive and broadminded and his interest in the children of the city is the strongest motive in his life and work. He is a general favorite with the teaching force and is active in all the affairs of the teach- ers, both educationally and socially.
The marriage of Mr. Monlux occurred in 1888, at Hastings, Neb., when he was united with Miss Matilda Elizabeth Creeth, who is also well known in Los Angeles, where she possesses a wide circle of friends. Mr. Monlux and wife are both mem- bers of the Congregational Church and are com- municants at the First Congregational Church.
THOMAS EDWARD GIBBON, who arrived in Los Angeles from Little Rock, Ark., on July 17, 1888, has acquired a prominent place among the lawyers of the city. He was born in Prairie county, Ark., May 28, 1860, the son of William R. and Mary Jane (Wylie) Gibbon, and was educated largely by study at home because of the lack of educational facilities in the South imme- diately after the close of the Civil war. His father, a native of Brunswick county, Va., was born March 19, 1832; received his education at the Virginia Military Institute and in the medical department of the University of Virginia, grad- uating from the latter in the year 1855. He afterward practiced medicine in La Grange, Tenn., for two years and then removed to Prairie county Ark., where, with the exception of four years during the war, when his family resided in Texas, and he served in the Confederate army, he continued to reside until the time of his death in 1891. In addition to practicing his profession he was a planter, and the owner of a plantation in Arkansas previous to and after the war.
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