USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > A history of California and an extended history of Los Angeles and environs, Biographical, Volume III > Part 8
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 | Part 60 | Part 61
Three trips to his native country have been made by Mr. Pourroy during his residence on the Pacific coast, and on April 14, 1903, while in New York, he was married to Rosena Rambaud, also a native of France. Returning with his bride to Los Angeles in the same year, he invested his savings in east side real estate, showing good judgment in his purchases, and has now retired from active business life, and devotes his time to attending to his large real estate holdings in Los Angeles. A list of the property which he bought and still owns comprises two lots at the corner of Fifth and Crocker streets, whereon a business block now stands ; an unimproved lot at the corner of Sixth and Ceres streets ; sixty feet on Stanford avenue (formerly Ruth avenue), on which stand two cottages, near Fifth street; and thirty-five feet of frontage on Stanford avenue, a corner lot where he has erected the Eugene hotel, a four- story modern brick structure consisting of sixty three rooms. Aside from his real estate interests, which have brought to Mr. Pourroy a large meas- ure of prosperity, the fact that he is actively con- cerned in forwarding the welfare of the western city where he has chosen to make his home is evidenced by his membership in the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Los Angeles, which is proud to number among her sons self-made men
of foreign birth who, like Mr. Pourroy, exert themselves to add materially to the advancement of her welfare and prosperity.
HON. ROBERT M. LUSK. If any degree of success rewarded the efforts of Judge Lusk, and if any prominence came to him in civic life (and there are many who regard his prominence and success as exceptional), it may be attributed to his own force of character and determination of will. Of southern birth and a member of an honored old family that lost its possessions in the terrible tragedy of interstate strife, the fall of the confederacy found him on the threshold of youth, with ruined plantations and desolate homes around him on every hand. Only a character of unusual force could have come through such an ordeal stronger, firmer and more efficient, as did this southern lad, whose persistence enabled him to surmount obstacles, secure an education and rise by slow but steady degrees out of obscurity into professional power and permanent prestige. In early life he became familiar with that isolated but interesting mountain region lying near the borders of Tennessee, Georgia and North Caro- lina. The house where he was born in 1851 stood within a stone's throw of the state line of Georgia, but was located in Bradley county, Tenn., and the old plantation of his youthful memories stretched its broad acres through a valley shel- tered by the mountains.
The poverty of the south at the close of the Civil war did not daunt the resolution of Mr. Lusk to acquire a thorough education. For a time he attended a college at Hiawassee in Georgia near the state line of North Carolina. Upon discontinuing the study of the classics for that of the law, he matriculated at Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tenn., where he com- pleted the regular course and obtained his degree. Seeking a favorable location for the practice of the law he was induced to go to Texas and there opened an office at Bonham, where he married Miss Clara Pope. In 1876, three years after he had opened his office at Bonham, he was elected mayor of the town. A service of four years in the mayoralty was followed by election to the office of prosecuting attorney. During 1885 he was elected to the state legislature without making a single speech in his own favor or taking part in
554
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
the campaign. In 1888 he was appointed judge of the superior court. A year later he retired from the office, declining to serve another term.
An almost continuous service in public office, including the positions before named as well as that of county judge and minor posts of responsi- bility, would seem to have precluded Judge Lusk from active identification with the bar of Bon- ham, but such did not prove to be the case. On the other hand, for years he stood at the head of his profession in his county in Texas. A com- prehensive knowledge of Texas laws, as well as the general laws of the country, caused his counsel to be sought continuously in matters of grave importance, often involving amounts of great magnitude and enterprises of wide im- portance. In 1902 he came to Los Angeles to make his home and engage in practice. In this city he became a pioneer in the reform political movement. On the occasion of the first non- partisan campaign in 1906, when most of the reform candidates were defeated (himself in- cluded), he was a candidate for city tax collector. Three years later, as a good government candi- date for the city council, he was elected for a term of two years. When Judge Works, who was president of the council, resigned to become a candidate for the United States senate, Judge Lusk was chosen to serve in that important posi- tion. During 1911 he was again elected to the city council for a term of four years. A true patriot, loyal to the welfare of the community, when his health failed he persisted in devotion to the work of the office, feeling that he owed more to the welfare of the city than to himself. At all times he was diligent in the service of the city. No measure was neglected that would promote the general interests. His self-sacrifice sapped his waning vitality and after suffering more than five months he passed away February 23, 1913, at his home, No. 147 North Soto street, Boyle Heights. The funeral services were conducted by the pastor of the Boyle Heights Presbyterian Church, of which he had been a generous sup- porter, and the burial ritual at Evergreen ceme- tery was in charge of the Masonic bodies of Los Angeles. For years the Judge had been a promi- nent Mason and while living in Texas had served as grand master for the state, in which position he disbursed the funds sent by Masonic bodies from all parts of the world for the relief of
destitute Masons in Galveston after the destruc- tion of that city.
Surviving Judge Lusk, besides his widow, are three daughters and three sons, namely: Mrs. Frank Taylor, of Los Angeles; Mrs. C. M. Mills, of Pasadena; Miss Ruth Lusk, who resides with her mother at Boyle Heights; Henry, an elec- trician; Lieut. Oscar S. Lusk, an officer in the United States army ; and Paul Lusk, an engineer on the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is a source of gratification to all lovers of Los Angeles that the city has attracted to its citizenship men of learning, true patriotic spirit and the highest ideals of life, and among these perhaps none dis- played a deeper devotion to the civic welfare, while certainly none labored more earnestly in behalf of permanent advancement, than did Judge Lusk, whose name is recorded in the city records as councilman and in the hearts of his friends as self-sacrificing citizen, efficient attorney and true philanthropist.
Following are the resolutions adopted by the city council upon the death of Judge Lusk, who was at that time an associate member of the council :
IN MEMORIAM
It is with profound sorrow that we are called upon to chronicle the death of Robert Martin Lusk, an associate member of the council, which occurred at his home in this city on Friday, Feb- ruary 23, 1913.
Judge Lusk was a native of Tennessee. He was born January 25, 1851, on a plantation near the border line of Georgia. He received his edu- cation in the schools of his native state and ob- tained his degree in law at Cumberland Univer- sity. Later he removed to Bonham, Texas, where he married Miss Clara Pope. Of this union were born eight children, of which three sons and three daughters, with the widow, survive him. He became county judge, district attorney and mem- ber of the legislature. Eleven years ago he came to Los Angeles with his family to make this city his future home. Here he became active in civic affairs and in 1909 was elected to the council, where he served until the expiration of the term as president of this body. In December, 1911, he was re-elected for a four-year term.
While it is a sad task to perform, yet it affords distinct and genuine satisfaction to bear witness to the noble and exemplary character of our fel- low member. As a citizen his name stands for
VM Freever-
557
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
integrity and fair dealing. As a public official he discharged the duties of his office with rare sin- cerity, ability and honor. In the sacred relation- ships of home he was strong and devoted, and to the tenets of the religion which he professed he was steadfast; a gentleman by nature, he was considerate in the extreme of the feelings and desires of his associates, and treated his opponents with chivalrous courtesy.
With this brief expression of our appreciation of Judge Lusk as a man and without attempting a more detailed review of his life work and many virtues, be it
Resolved, by the Council of the City of Los Angeles, that this memorial be spread upon the minutes and a copy thereof be transmitted to the several members of the family of the deceased, and be it further
Resolved, That as a token of respect to the memory of this honorable and faithful public servant, the City Hall flag be placed at half mast, and so remain until after his funeral, and that, without further transaction of business, the Council do now adjourn.
Adopted by the City Council at its meeting February 25, 1913.
GEORGE WILLIAMS, President. CHAS. L. WILDE, City Clerk.
VINCENT MORGAN GREEVER. A resi- dent of California for almost thirty years, during which time he has been a factor in the activities of Azusa, Vincent Morgan Greever is today one of the most influential and pro- gressive citizens of Los Angeles county, and a power for good in his home town. Not only is he one of the most successful orange growers of the valley, but he is also vice-president of the First National Bank of Azusa, and has taken an active part in educational matters.
Mr. Greever was born in Smyth county, Va., January 8, 1858, was there reared on a farm and passed his boyhood days, his education being received in the academies of the state. Later he engaged in the hardware business at Lynch- burg, Va., but on account of ill health he came to California in 1887, locating at Azusa, where he secured a position in a grocery store. Later he engaged in the grocery business for himself in the same block, under the firm name of
Bridges & Greever. After a time Mr. Bridges sold his interest and the firm became known as the V. M. Greever Company, which for more than fifteen years conducted a successful busi- ness in food staples. In 1898 Mr. Greever pur- chased a twenty-five-acre orange grove and in the meantime has made a deep study of citrus culture, and is looked upon as one of the best authorities on that subject in the valley. A few years ago he retired from the grocery busi- ness and has since devoted his time exclusively to his citrus interests. He is a director of the Azusa Citrus Association and one of its most influential members.
The interest of Mr. Greever in things educa- tional has been expressed in a most practical and effective manner. He served for many years as a member of the Azusa board of educa- tion, and is now a member of the board of directors for the Azusa Union high school. It was he who made it possible for Azusa to have this Union high school by selling to the school board the handsome site of eight acres where the buildings stand for a merely nominal sum. He also gave the land for streets to be opened through to the school grounds, and also grounds for a private right of way for an ap- proach and for playgrounds.
The general affairs of the municipality have also been of much interest to Mr. Greever, and he has given freely of his time and ability for the public welfare. For two years he was chair- man of the board of town trustees and took an active part in securing many valuable public improvements, being particularly active in securing the public park and the new library building. Another service of great import which he rendered the city was the aid given in securing the Pacific Electric Railway service to Azusa. He obtained the appropriation neces- sary and was one of a committee of three who finally secured the road.
Real estate has always appealed to Mr. Greever as the best possible investment in Southern California and on his own account he has transacted many important deals, the land disposed of being his own property in every instance. He has always stood for local im- provements of the highest order, being strongly in favor of the good roads movement, and was, in fact, the first man to introduce the clay gravel road into the San Gabriel valley.
558
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
The marriage of Mr. Greever took place in Monrovia, June 25, 1902, uniting him with Miss Marguerite Porter, who was born in Butler county, Pa., September 29, 1876, the daughter of Kerr and Ellen Porter. Her primary educa- tion was acquired in Butler county and later she graduated from the Grove City (Pa.) Col- lege. Subsequently she came to California to visit her half-brother, Rev. J. P. Stoops, pastor of the Presbyterian church at Monrovia, and this continued thereafter to be her home. Be- fore her marriage she taught school for two terms in Los Angeles county. At her death, October 19, 1911, she left one daughter, Vir- ginia. Mr. Greever is today recognized as one of the most prominent citizens of Azusa and also throughout the valley is known as a man of sterling worth and unfaltering integrity.
CHARLES A. BURCHAM. It was given to the discoverer of the Yellow Aster mine to pro- mote materially the development of the resources of the commonwealth in which he was a native son and lifelong resident. Life is measured not by years, but by intensity. Were the record of Mr. Burcham measured by duration of existence it would not be called long, for there was given to him little more than five decades in which to experience all the changes of life. But viewed by accomplishment, his life was indeed long and eventful. Within its span he saw much of dis- couragement and much of success, he spent many a weary day with shovel and pick prospecting in remote mountains or lonely valleys and many a night the sky was his roof and the stars his candles. On the other hand destiny also gave to him the cup of success filled to the brim. Honors came to him and prosperity and achieve- ment. So high was his reputation as a mining operator that his judgment upon a prospect be- came the last word for thousands of investors.
Eventful as was the closing decade of the life of Mr. Burcham the first decade was remarkable only for the quiet and even flow of the stream of existence. Vallejo was his native city and No- vember 6, 1859, the date of his birth. Schools in the northern part of the state gave him a work- ing knowledge of the three R's and in 1876 he was graduated from a San Francisco business college, but experience and observation were his
principal instructors and self-culture aided him in acquiring a rounded, comprehensive knowledge of the world of thought and action. During young manhood he came to the southern part of the state and embarked in the cattle-raising busi- ness near San Bernardino, where he remained until the lure of the mines led him into the occu- pation that gave him fame and fortune. All un- expectedly, too, came the turn in the tide of fate. Chance seemed to direct his steps toward the land of the hidden ore. In the spring of 1895, ac- companied by John Singleton and Fred M. Mooers, he started upon a prospecting trip into Kern county, with the expectation of remaining on the desert for some time. After days of wan- dering, on the 25th of April the party suddenly and unexpectedly found free gold in paying quan- tities at the foot of some low hills. Farther up they discovered the wonderful quartz deposits of the Yellow Aster.
In a moment weariness of body and discour- agement of mind were forgotten. The elation of the party can only be imagined, but not de- scribed. With practical business shrewdness they returned to Randsburg and organized the company which remains a close Los Angeles cor- poration. Since then over two million tons of ore averaging $3 per ton have been taken from the mine and about eight million tons already blocked out remain to be mined and milled. The fame of the Yellow Aster is not limited to Cali- fornia, but extends the world over. Its shares liave always been held at a high price and have lacked the speculative tendency of such mining stock, for such has been the steady development and such the riches of the mine that dividends have been a regular feature of the business. Dur- ing 1887 Mr. Burcham had married Dr. Rose La Monte, who lives on Mount Washington, and maintains offices in Los Angeles and has charge of the business management of the mine. A woman of remarkable acumen and executive abil- ity, she was a sagacious co-operator with Mr. Burcham in his enterprises and at his death was able to assume the entire management of the large estate. While his interests were not con- fined to mines, they represented his most im- portant investment and occupied the greater part of his time, although in addition he was an officer in several other companies. The Elks and Odd Fellows numbered him among their mem- bers, and socially he was prominent in the Jona-
559
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
than and California Clubs. He passed away sud- denly August 15, 1913, at Westlake hospital, Los Angeles, after an illness of several weeks which, although so serious as to keep him from his of- fices in the Coulter building, gave little indication of so speedy and fatal a termination. Thus ended a career inseparably associated with the history of the Yellow Aster and worthy of perpetuation in the annals of the state.
J. J. VOSBURGH. Though now a resident of the city of Los Angeles, Cal., Mr. Vosburgh con- tinues his association with the cattle business in Arizona, in which state he is the owner of a great deal of land. The larger part of his business life has been taken up with the cattle industry in Arizona, Kansas and Missouri, both as sales man- ager for a livestock company and as an inde- pendent raiser and trader of cattle.
New York state was the birthplace of Mr. Vos- burgh, he having been born in Chittenango, that state, on June 15, 1844, the son of John and Mar- garet Vosburgh. His education was received at the grammar and high schools until the age of six- teen years, at which time he went to Titusville, Pa., and was employed by his uncle who was engaged in the lumber business there. After two years in his uncle's employ, Mr. Vosburgh re- moved to Kansas City, Mo., and became sales manager for Greer-Mansfield Company, livestock dealers of that city, and having spent another two years with this firm he undertook cattle trading independently in the state of Kansas, where he remained until 1872. At that time he went to Silver City, Idaho, engaging in general merchan- dise business there with his uncle, which he left in 1876 to go to Globe, Ariz., where he became one of the first locators, serving also as the first postmaster of the place, and agent for Wells Fargo Company. Later he went into the cattle business again, this time in Arizona, and though removing with his family to Los Angeles in 1888, he continued his interest and ownership in that business in Arizona.
Mr. Vosburgh was married in Kansas City, Mo., to a Miss Tipton in October, 1883. He is a director in three companies, namely, the Farm- ers' and Merchants' Bank, the Provident Pledge Corporation and the Wharf and Storage Com- pany. In his political preferences he is a mem- ber of the Republican party.
DR. FRANCIS MARION POTTENGER. As the first ethical physician on the Pacific coast to limit his work to the study and treatment of tuberculosis, Dr. Francis Marion Pottenger has been a pioneer in a field where he has been able to render invaluable aid to suffering humanity, and has blazed the way for splendid work in the study, prevention and cure of this terrible scourge, the white plague. His training in the beginning was along broad lines of general practice, with an avowed intention to specialize in obstetrics and the diseases of children, but the death of his first wife from tuberculosis caused him to awaken to the crying needs in this line, and he determined to make this his life work. As a part of this work he opened at Monrovia, in 1903, the Pottenger Sanatorium for Diseases of the Lungs and Throat, and is there working faithfully to master this dread disease. The institution has grown from a very small beginning, at the time of its establishment having accommodations for only eleven patients, and now housing one hun- dred. The Pottenger Sanatorium is known throughout the world as one of the most suc- cessful of its kind. Dr. Pottenger has literally lived with his patients at the sanatorium and by this close association he learned to know them and their peculiar needs, and, being an original ob- server, has been able to add many new facts to the knowledge of this disease.
Dr. Pottenger was born at Sater, Ohio, Sep- tember 27, 1869. His father, Thomas Pottenger, was also a native of that place, born February 16, 1840, while his mother was Miss Hannah Ellen Sater. His father attended the public schools of his native city and later engaged in farming, un- til the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Ohio Infantry, on the one hundred day service, and then returned to Sater and again engaged in farming. He remained there until 1904, when he disposed of his interests and came to California, locating at Monrovia, where he has since lived in quiet retirement. Francis Marion Pottenger also attended the public schools of Sater until he was sixteen years of age, when he entered the pre- paratory department of the Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, attending during 1886-88. He then entered the collegiate department of Ot- terbein, graduating in 1892 with the degree of Ph. B. In 1907 he obtained the degree of A.M., and in 1909 was awarded the honorary degree of
560
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
LL.D. Following his graduation from Otterbein he matriculated at the Medical College of Ohio, where he attended for a year, following this with another year at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, where he received his degree of M.D., graduating with the highest honors of his class and winning the first gold medal.
On April 5, 1894, two days after his graduation, Dr. Pottenger was married to Miss Carrie Burt- ner, of Germantown, Ohio, and left immediately for study abroad in the hospitals of Europe, much of his time being spent in Vienna. Return- ing in December, 1894, he opened a practice at Norwood, Ohio, and later became assistant to Dr. Charles A. L. Reed, a noted surgeon of Cin- cinnati, and was shortly after made Assistant to the Chair of Surgery in the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery. In 1895 Mrs. Pottenger developed tuberculosis and Dr. Pottenger gave up his practice and came to California, locating at Monrovia, where he opened a practice. His wife's health, however, failed to improve, and he again gave up his practice and returned to her home in Germantown, Ohio, where he devoted his time to her care until her death in 1898. It was at this time that he determined to make the study and treatment of this dread disease his life work, and returned to Monrovia to resume his practice there. In 1900 he went to New York, where he did post-graduate work along this line, returning in 1901 to open his offices in Los Angeles as the first ethical physician on the western coast to limit his work to tuberculosis. Two years later he opened his sanatorium at Monrovia, and since that time has given untiring personal effort to this work. He has been abroad several times, visiting the most famous sanatoriums of Europe as well as of America, studying with the world's greatest scientists in an effort to the better fit himself for the work he has outlined, namely, the waging of an unfaltering war against the white plague. He has written three books dealing with different phases of tuberculosis, and has also compiled about seventy-five papers and nu- merous lectures on the subject.
It was through Dr. Pottenger's efforts that the Southern California Anti-Tuberculosis Society was formed, and for three years he was its presi- dent. He is keenly interested in all scientific sub- jects and has given his support and co-operation to various societies whose efforts are for the con- serving of human health and life. Among these
may be mentioned the following: The Los An- geles County Medical Association (of which he lias been president ), the Los Angeles Clinical and Pathological Society, the Southern California Medical Society (of which he has also been pres- ident), the Medical Society of California, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Medicine, the American Therapeutic Society (of which he has also been president), the American Climatological Association, the Mis- sissippi Valley Medical Association, the Los An- geles, California, National and International As- sociations for the Study and Prevention of Tu- berculosis, and the American Sanatorium Asso- ciation. Other scientific organizations of note with which Dr. Pottenger is associated are the American Academy of Political and Social Sci- ence, the Archaeological Institute of America, and the International Geographical Society. He is also a member of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution and the Society of Colonial wars.
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.