USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, Volume II > Part 2
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A native son of the state, born in Los An- geles June 10, 1874, Claude S. Holman received his entire training in the common and high schools of this city and county and when still comparative- ly young began to assist his father in looking after his business interests. Starting out in busi- ness on his own account some time later, he be- came associated with W. I. Hollingsworth under the firm name of W. I. Hollingsworth & Co., real estate brokers, a partnership which existed for ten years and during which time a large volume of business was transacted. At the end of this time, however, the partnership was dissolved, since which time Mr. Holman has continued in the real estate business alone, handling Los An- geles business property exclusively. His local office is in the Union Trust building.
A marriage ceremony celebrated October 16, 1901, in Los Angeles, united the lives of Claude S. Holman and Miss Elizabeth Lebus, the latter a daughter of Lewis and Martha C. Lebus. Mr. and Mrs. Holman have two children, Margaret and Katherine. At this writing Mr. Holman is erecting an elegant modern residence on Hamp- shire street, between Wilshire boulevard and Seventh street, which when completed will rep- resent the acme of perfection in the builder's art. Mr. Holman is a member of but one fra- ternal order, the Free and Accepted Masons, his membership being in Southern California Lodge
of Los Angeles. The fine personal character- istics which stood out so prominently in the father and made him a man among men, are found in no less degree in the son, who in following his high ideals is setting an example which the rising gen- eration would do well to take for their guide.
HON. THOMAS ROBERT BARD. As a man of exceptional talent, high character, a statesman of eminent ability, and a distin- guished lawmaker ex-Senator Bard has left the impress of his individuality upon the legis- lation which was enacted during the period of his connection with our national legislature, and no man of this state has a wider or more favorable reputation among his former col- leagues of the senate. His is a family which has for many generations been one of promi- nence, antedating the founding of the United States government on this continent, and while on a trip to Italy in 1905 Mr. Bard suc- ceeded in tracing his lineage back through the British Isles, through France and into Italy, where in the ninth century the family left its record, at Ft. Bard, Piedmont. The history of the family in America begins with Archibald Bard who came from the north of Ireland, and settled near Gettysburg, Pa. The next in line was Richard Bard who was born in Pennsyl- vania, served in the French and Indian war, and in April, 1758, after Braddock's defeat he and his wife were captured by the Indians and held for a ransom. Mr. Bard succeeded in making his escape after ten days' captivity, but his wife was carried away and held cap- tive for two years and five months before her whereabouts were discovered and her release secured by the payment of forty pounds ster- ling to the Indians. Richard Bard also served in the Revolutionary war. Captain Thomas Bard, the son of Richard, was born in Frank- lin county, Pa., and took part in the second war with Great Britain in 1812. This brings us to Robert M. Bard, the father of Thomas R. He was born at Chambersburg, Pa., being an attorney of prominence who was consid- ered the leader of the bar in his section of the state. He was also a strong man in political circles and the year before his death was nom-
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inated by his party as a member of congress. His death occurred in 1851, at the age of for- ty-one years, in Chambersburg, a most suc- cessful and promising career being cut off in the prime of life. David and William, broth- ers of Richard Bard, were the founders of Bardstown, Ky.
On his mother's side. also, Mr. Bard has in- herited good blood. She was Elizabeth Lit- tle, born in Mercersburg, Pa., the daughter of Dr. Peter W. Little, who was born in York county, Pa., was a graduate of the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, read medi- cine under Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadel- phia, spent his lifetime in the successful prac- tice of his profession and died at Mercersburg. His wife was Mary Parker, a daughter of Ma- jor Robert Parker, who was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and in private life after the war conducted a merchandising business. His sister was the wife of General Andrew Porter, whose great-grandson is General Hor- ace Porter, late ambassador to France. While visiting her son Mrs. E. L. Bard died at Berylwood, his home, near Ilueneme, in Ven- tura county, on the anniversary of her birth- day, December 7, 1881. There were four chil- dren in the family, two daughters who reside in Chambersburg, Pa., and two sons. The younger son, Dr. Cephas L. Bard, was the foremost physician in Ventura county for many years and died in 1902, loved and re- spected by all who knew him. A sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this volume. The re- maining son is Thomas Robert Bard, who was born in Chambersburg, Pa., December 8, 1841, and spent his boyhood days in that town.
After preliminary work in the public schools Mr. Bard attended Chambersburg Academy and graduated from that institution when seventeen years of age. Having decided to study law he secured an opportunity to read under Judge Chambers, a retired su- preme justice of Pennsylvania, but soon learned that his tastes inclined to a more active occupation and he secured a position on a railroad corps and worked for a while on the Huntington & Round Top Railroad in Pennsylvania. After this he resumed the
study of law for a short time, then accepted an offer from his uncle by marriage, David Zeller, to enter his office as bookkeeper, he being engaged in a grain and forwarding busi- ness at Hagerstown, Md. These were excit- ing days, for at this time the Civil war broke out and Mr. Bard, who was an enthusiastic reader of the "Atlantic Monthly" and the New York Tribune, which publications print- ed strong abolition articles, was one of very few people in Hagerstown who openly es- poused that side of the question before the be- ginning of the war.
While the war was yet in progress Mr. Bard became an assistant to the superintend- ent of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, hav- ing charge particularly of the movement of trains carrying military supplies. While an incumbent of this position he became ac- quainted with Colonel Thomas A. Scott, sec- retary of war, and president of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, and was induced by him to take charge of his large land holdings in Cali- fornia. Mr. Bard started about the 20th of December, 1864. via the Panama route, spent Christmas of that year on the sea, and ar- rived in San Francisco January 5, 1865. While a part of Colonel Scott's property was located in Humboldt and Monterey counties the greater area of the three hundred and fifty thousand acres of land was located in Los An- geles and Ventura counties, and in the last named locality Mr. Bard made his home.
Mr. Bard was the pioneer in the develop- ment of the oil fields of that section of the state, and as superintendent of the California Petroleum Company sunk some of the earliest oil wells in California on the Ojai ranch. The results of this work were not equal to the ex- pectations of the company, and in 1868 the work was abandoned. Among other oil en- terprises in which he was interested and was the organizer are the Union Oil Company of California, the Torrey Canon Oil Company and the Sespe Oil Company, of which he was president, both of which were ultimately ab- sorbed by the Union Oil Company. In 1868 he subdivided the Rancho Ojai and sold it as small ranches and a little later disposed of the Rancho Canada Larga in the same way. It
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is a notable fact that while there has been much trouble over titles to lands comprised in the various grants in this state, there have never been any controversies over the acres disposed of by Mr. Bard. In 1871 he built the wharf at Hueneme and laid out the town. He subsequently acquired the ownership of this wharf from Colonel Scott, built warehouses, enlarged and improved the landing and ex- ploited its advantages until it became a very important shipping point, handling more ag- ricultural products than any other wharf south of San Francisco, it being possible for him to secure cheap transportation rates on account of the returning lumber schooners from ports below. The building of the wharf at Hueneme encouraged others to engage in such enterprises at places on the coast, as ex- posed and unprotected as was Hueneme; and as the mechanics whom he employed on the Hueneme wharf were desirous of securing further employment in their business, they took contracts in his name, but on their own account, to build wharves along the channel. Among others were the wharves at More's landing, Gaviota, Santa Cruz Island, and the wharf built for the Los Angeles & Independ- ence Railroad at Santa Monica.
Mr. Bard next subdivided for Colonel Scott the Rancho El Rio de Santa Clara o la Colonia and secured some undivided interest for him- self in that grant. He became one of the prin- upal owners of the ranchos Simi and Los Posas, and bought as well, from the company he represented, the San Francisco ranch which he afterwards disposed of to Henry Newhall. He was largely interested in sheep raising several years ago and at one time he and his co-partner owned thirty-five thousand head. During the dry years following 1875 thousands were lost, but the business was con- tinued, and later success made the venture a profitable one as a whole. Since its building Mr. Bard has been president of the Hueneme Wharf Company and was one of the organ- izers of the Bank of Ventura, serving as pres- ident of that institution for many years. He was likewise an organizer of the Hueneme Bank and is now its president. He was one of the supervisors of Santa Barbara county
and when Ventura county was created he was one of the commissioners appointed to organ- ize this county. Although in charge of such extensive business interests, no movement calculated to be of material benefit to his sec- tion of the state went without his support, and both time and means were freely given to every interest deserving the attention of a good citizen.
The political career of Mr. Bard has been a long and honorable one which culminated in a term in the United States senate. He was sent as a delegate to the Republican National Convenion in 1884 when James G. Blaine was nominated for the presidency, being the only elector from California sent to the electoral college in 1892. At a special session of the state legislature in 1900 Mr. Bard was elected to the United States senate by a unanimous vote of the Republican members of the state senate and served his term with great credit to himself and satisfaction to the people whom he represented. Whenever a question came up for his decision he studied the pros and cons of the matter deeply before expressing an opinion, which however when once arrived at was almost invariably right. He made an especially thorough study of the Panama Ca- nal project, even before assuming his sena- torial duties at Washington, and in the con- sideration of the amendments to the first Hay- Pauncefote treaty his colleagues accorded to Senator Bard the credit of having offered cer- tain suggestions which resulted in several of the important amendments to that document.
When Mr. Bard assumed his duties as su- perintendent of the lands and wharf at Hue- neme he met with opposition from some of the residents. His life was even threatened at times and it is said that upon one occasion a gibbet had really been erected for his execu- tion. Mr. Bard felt himself in the right on disputed questions, however, and pursued the even tenor of his way apparently unconscious of trouble, and the time came when even those who were once his pronounced enemies be- came his stanch friends.
It was in 1876 that Mr. Bard began to im- prove the grounds of his beautiful home and make it what it is today, one of the finest res-
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idence places in the state. There are fifty acres of ground attached, half of which is laid out in a park and contains trees, plants and flowers from all parts of the world. Floricult- ure has always been one of the most pleas- urable recreations of Mr. Bard, and in his flower gardens are found many fine roses which were originated on his grounds.
His marriage, which occurred in 1876, united him with Miss Mary, daughter of C. O. Gerberding of San Francisco, founder of The Evening Bulletin of that city. She was a native of San Francisco, and became the mother of eight children : Beryl B .: Mary L., wife of Roger G. Edwards of Saticoy ; Thom- as G .; Anna G .; Elizabeth Parker; Richard; Philip; and Robert. All are now living ex- cept Robert, who died at the age of two years. Mr. and Mrs. Bard also opened their home to an adopted daughter, Alethea Malden, a young English lady.
Mr. Bard was made a Mason in Ventura and is now a member of Oxnard Lodge, F. & A. M., and of Oxnard Chapter, R. A. M., and of the Ventura Commandery, K. T. He is a member and liberal supporter of the Presby- terian Church, and a man of superior integrity and rectitude. There is a pronounced yet un- explainable influence felt in the presence of some people that can be accounted for in no other way than that it is caused by the in- ward thoughts and high motives of the per- son to whom they are ascribed. When in the presence of such a man one feels, instinctive- ly, that he has lived a pure and upright life and is one who can be trusted implicitly with- out fear that any confidence imposed in him will be betrayed. There is no necessity to eulogize a man of the well known reputation and eminence of Senator Bard, yet it will not be out of place to mention that he possesses to a remarkable degree this personal magnet- ism, as it is popularly called. While naturally endowed with the qualities which win the love and esteem of his fellow men, there is a strength of purpose in all his actions without which it would be impossible for him to live the blameless life he has with a career so filled with public and private duties as have fallen to his share.
MRS. MARGARET HUGHES. One of the finest residences to be seen in Los Angeles is that owned and occupied by Mrs. Hughes, at No. 34 St. James Park, where with true California hospitality she entertains her hosts of friends, who come from the most cultured and refined homes of the city. On the maternal side she comes from Revolutionary stock, her great-grand- father participating in that struggle as a lieuten- ant. Her grandfather, Conrad Miller, fought there under Colonel Bower in the Fifth Virginia Cavalry. His marriage united him with Mar- garet Groscup, a native of Philadelphia, Pa., and the daughter of Col. Nicholas Groscup, a title which he won at the siege of Quebec, in the French and Indian war. Conrad Miller also par- ticipated in that conflict and it was on the battle- field that he met Colonel Groscup. The latter was a large landowner in Kensington. Frances Miller, the daughter of Conrad and Margaret (Groscup) Miller, became the wife of William Harvey, and to them was born a daughter, to whom they gave the name of Margaret. When about ten years of age Margaret Harvey went with her parents to Philadelphia, there becom- ing a pupil in Miss Ashton's Seminary, at that time one of the most noted ladies' schools in the east.
In Philadelphia Margaret Harvey became the wife of Hon. Isaac Walker Moore, whose fore- fathers on both sides came to this country with William Penn, settling in Chester county, Pa. The land on which this early immigrant settled at that time is still in the possession of and the home of one of his descendants. Mr. Moore was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and was a grad- uate of the University of Pennsylvania. Besides being an artist of considerable note, he was 10 less well known in legislative halls, being a mem- ber of the Pennsylvania legislature. His death occurred in Philadelphia, and his remains lie buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Mrs. Moore's second marriage occurred in Philadelphia and united her with William F. Hughes, a resident of that city. Personally he was a man of commanding proportions, whose qualities of head and heart were no less con- spicuous, and in whatever circles he moved he was well known as a man of thorough business integrity, on whose word one might rely most im-
Fud & d. Rindge
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plicitly, it being as good as his bond. Besides being president of the City Bank of Philadelphia, he also rented from the state and superintended the farming on League Island, having charge of it for twenty-seven years, and after his lease ran out the island was sold to the government. Some time prior to his death he had a magnificent bronze statute of himself executed by a noted sculptor and placed on the family lot in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. Here his remains are interred, his death having occurred in that city April 5, 1871.
Owing to the ill-health of her daughter, Josephine, Mrs. Hughes found it necessary to seek a more even elimate than prevailed in the east and in the hope of finding a suitable location in California she started for the west April 15. 1874, in company with her son, Walter S. After a stay of two weeks in Santa Barbara she came to Los Angeles, and so charmed was she with the city from the first that she decided to make it her future home. Returning to Philadelphia for her family in June, the following October found her again in Los Angeles, she having made the trip with a party of fourteen by way of the Isthmus of Panama. The party received royal treatment throughout the trip, and what is usually looked upon as a trying ordeal proved one of the most delightful experiences in Mrs. Hughes' life. They sailed from New York on board the battle ship Richmond, and before debarking at Panama a ball was given in their honor. From Panama to San Francisco they sailed under Captain Dear- born, who also showed them many courtesies, and from the latter eity they sailed back to San Pedro, thence to Los Angeles.
At the time Mrs. Hughes came to Los Angeles there were only two vacant houses in the city, one of which she secured, this being on Second near Broadway; there she made her home until removing to Hill street between Third and Fourth. Still later she purchased a ranch near Anaheim, upon which she made her home until 1885, in which year she once more took up her residence in Los Angeles. In 1875 she purchased twelve and one-half acres on Adams and Figueroa streets, extending north to Twenty-third street. The purchase price of this property was $275 per acre, and after holding it for six months she sold the entire tract for $9,000, thus nearly trebling
her original investment. It was in 1887 that she bought her present home on St. James Park, where she has a comfortable home set in the midst of well kept grounds. Mrs. Hughes is much loved by her many friends, all of whom re- ceive a cheery uplift whenever they come under the spell of her sunny disposition. While on a visit to the state in 1874, Edwin Forest, the noted actor, remarked to Mrs. Hughes as his prophecy, that in fifty years the actors, artists and singers of the world would be from Southern California, for, being reared under these beautiful skies, and in the midst of its magnificent scenery, to say nothing of its salubrious climate, they could not be other than artists. Mrs. Hughes was a charter member of the Woman's Club of Los Angeles, but is not connected with the club at this writing.
FREDERICK H. RINDGE. The late Frederick H. Rindge holds a place in the an- nals of Southern California unsurpassed by that of any other citizen, won not by his great wealth nor yet by his use of it, but by the in- herent qualities of noble manhood which dis- tinguished his career. His death, which oc- eurred in Yreka, Siskiyou county, Cal., August 29, 1905, removed from the society that had known him, a philanthropist, a Christian gen- tleman, a successful financier and a man of affairs, and above all a man of noble mental and moral stature, unswerving integrity and honesty of purpose, whose life, though closing in comparatively early manhood, was ever a power for good and an influence toward bet- ter, purer and higher things. His is a career which will never pass from the memory of those who have known him, for its influence will live for all time in the lives of the many who have felt the power of his strong, earnest and upright manhood.
Mr. Rindge was the representative of an old eastern family, the name having been estab- lished in New England during the colonial period of our country. His father, Samuel Baker Rindge, was a prominent woolen im- porter and manufacturer of Cambridge, Mass., where his citizenship was productive of much material benefit to the city. Frederick H. Rindge was born in Cambridge in the year
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1857 and spent his boyhood and young man- hood. in that city. His preliminary education was received in private schools and with tutors with whom he prepared for college, entering Harvard University one year before President Roosevelt. During his third year his health became impaired. A few years later he re- ceived a degree from his Alma Mater. He suc- ceeded to the large estate left by his father, a care and a responsibility which generally taxes men of his age to their utmost capacity. That he proved equal to the task is evidenced by the fact of his successful career, during which he doubled his wealth. He brought to bear upon the business interests left him by his father the same ability and energy which have characterized his efforts in all enter- prises. He was a true philanthropist, studying the needs of the human family and endeavor- ing to uplift it in every way he could. He be- licved that people should not wait until they died to make their bequests, but should make them during their lifetime. Following out this belief he gave liberally to many causes and studied closely the effect it had upon the com- munity where he gave it. Several substantial monuments were the result of his generosity to his home city, as well as an imposing city hall and a handsome public library which he built and presented to Cambridge. His crown- ing gift was the crection of the Rindge Manual Training School, which was conducted at his own expense for the period of ten years, when it was turned over to the city of Cambridge. This was the first manual training school in the state of Massachusetts, and from it sprung lip a system of schools which is now a pride to the state. As a direct result of the estab- lishment of the Rindge Manual Training School the Massachusetts state legislature passed a law making compulsory the estab- lishment of similar schools in all cities over twenty thousand population.
The interests of Mr. Rindge became identi- ficd with those of Los Angeles in 1887, when he became a resident of Southern California. A detailed description of his association with business enterprises since that date would form a history of itself, for as he was ever found ready to espouse the cause of public or pri-
vate interests he was called upon daily to lend the influence of his name and wealth to incipi- ent plans. He early established his interests here on a firm basis, one of his first invest- ments of importance being the purchase of the Malibu ranch, above Santa Monica, where he made his home for a large portion of the time. That magnificent expanse of mountain and valley were a source of much pleasure to him, and there he expended much money in bring- ing the lands to a state of high cultivation and beauty. He erected a fine home, and al- though far removed from neighbors or settle- ment it was supplied with every modern con- venience. In 1904, at a great expense, he built a wagon road up the coast for the con- venience of the ranch interests, and as the house had been destroyed a few years before by fire it was Mr. Rindge's intention to build again, as life on this vast estate held a pleasure for him surpassed by no other. Malibu ranch stretches as a shoe string along the coast line from a point a little north of Arch rock far beyond Point Dume into Ventura county. It is a mile wide at some points and at others broadens out, containing in all about twenty thousand acres of land.
In the city of Los Angeles Mr. Rindge be- gan to make judicious investments in the busi- ness districts shortly after his location in Southern California, and that his vision at that early date was keen and sure is evidenced by the fact that his property has about doubled in value up to the present time. The Rindge block, at the northeast corner of Third and Broadway, was owned by him, and it was largely through his aid that the handsome Conservative Life building, at Third and Hill streets, was built. Apropos of this building may be mentioned Mr. Rindge's association with the Conservative Life Insurance Com- pany, an organization established in this city about six years ago, when he was elected president and thereafter he discharged the duties of that office. His moral influence was as keenly felt in this line as in all others that engaged his attention, fellow officers and all employes experiencing the kindliness of his nature, the friendliness and generosity char- acteristic of his dealings with those about him.
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