USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, Volume II > Part 27
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General Bouton's business ability, however, was not lost during his service in the war, and it was brought into play at a time when his country had most need for it. Memphis, an important river port, and geographically cen- tral to a large and wealthy cotton growing country, was a point not easily controlled sat- isfactorily to the general government and in the interest of the people. After many fail- ures and losses, and when confusion and dis- trust had long run riot, General Bouton was appointed provost-marshal of the city, which made him, for the time, dictator in affairs mili- tary and civil, including all trade privileges and care of abandoned property, of which there was much; prisons, scouts, detectives, the police and sanitary regulation of the city, in short, everything in and immediately adja- cent to the city. With the most careful man- agement an expenditure of $9,000 a month was necessary to efficient government. In the ex- ercise of his usual fidelity and the appoint- ment of only the most trustworthy subordi- nates in every department, he soon introduced order; collected and disbursed moneys; paid
all past indebtedness, heavy as it was, and current expenses ; and at the end of six months handed the government of the city over to the newly elected municipal officers and turned over several thousand dollars to the special fund of the War department. Another serv- ice which marked General Bouton as a man of unusual business sagacity was an act of his while serving as provost-marshal. Col. Sam Tate, of the Rebel army, came in to take the prescribed oath of allegiance, and having done this he expressed a desire to recover control of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, of which he was president. The government, no longer needing the road for military purposes, General Bouton drew up a plan or agreement at the suggestion of Gen. John E. Smith, by which not only this but other southern roads in this section, were finally returned to their owners. One of the first and principal stipu- lations in the agreement was that no claim should ever be made against the government for the use or damage to said roads while they were being used for military purposes. All parties in the interest of the company hav- ing signed the agreement, General Bouton proceeded in person to New Orleans and to Nashville and secured the approval of Gener- als Canby and Thomas, department command- ers. Colonel Tate then went to Washington to complete with General Grant, the secretary of war, and the quartermaster-general, all ar- rangements for the transfer of the property. No sooner had he done this than he presented a claim against the government which Presi- dent Johnson, an old friend of his, ordered paid. Enemies of President Johnson charged that he received a part of this, and during the impeachment trial desired General Bouton's evidence on the contract. But, at the sug- gestion of General Grant, he never appeared. After Johnson's death it developed that he had never received a dollar of Tate's money.
On February 28, 1866, on the voluntary recommendation of Generals Grant, Sherman and Rollins, General Bouton was offered a colonelcy in the regular army, which he de- clined. This was over five months previous to Gen. Nelson A. Miles' appointment to a colonelcy in the regular army, so that the ac-
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ceptance of this position would have enabled General Bouton at the present time to occupy the position of retired commander-in-chief of the army.
It was in August, 1868, that General Bouton first came to Southern California, to make his home here ever since and assist materially in the development and upbuilding of the sec- tion. He first engaged in the sheep raising in- dustry, and the following year his ranges cov- ered the Boyle Heights country, while in 1870 he had a camp on the ground now occupied by the thriving little city of Whittier. In 1874 he purchased land in the San Jacinto valley and ranged his sheep over the present sites of Hemet and San Jacinto. Among his other possessions he for many years owned the ocean front at Alamitos bay from Devil's Gate to the inlet of the bay, while the famous arte- sian wells north of Long Beach were bored by him, and what is generally known as the Bouton water introduced into Long Beach and Terminal Island. It was in the early '70s that General Bouton experimented with and succeeded in producing on his old place, at the corner of College and Yale streets, what be- came known as the Eureka lemon, a fruit of superior growth and quality, the buds of which he at that time distributed to several nursery- men. For a number of years General Bouton has been extensively engaged in mining in Arizona and that portion of San Bernardino county bordering on the Colorado river, and in this line has met with the success which has characterized all his other efforts. He has, too, remained a potent factor in the develop- ment of the city of Los Angeles ; has perfect confidence in its future; and in his efforts gives freely of time and money to further every movement advanced for its welfare. The general has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Margaret Fox, whom he married January 20, 1859: she was born in Avoca, N. Y., and died in California August 14. 1891. In San Diego, Cal., March 22, 1894, General Bou- ton was united in marriage with Miss Elsa Johnson, who is connected with some of the best families in Sweden. One child, a son, has been born to them.
The characteristics of a warrior are to a
certain extent those of a pioneer, and both these opportunities have been in large meas- ure General Bouton's to exercise. When he came to Southern California there were but two houses on Boyle Heights where he ranged his sheep ; throughout this portion of the state was the same wilderness lands. To him and others of like calibre is owed the present-day greatness of this section, for no burden was too heavy, no undertaking too difficult for these hardy pioncers, and in their achievement is the unparalleled development of Southern California. A story which illustrates the dar- ing of General Bouton is the following, which appeared in the St. Louis Republican January 8, 1891, in an article entitled, "Stories of Pioneer Daring:" "An equally remarkable dis- play of pure nerve was the exploit of Gen. Edward Bouton in a lonely pass in Southern California in 1879. A quiet, gentle-voiced, mild-mannered man, one would hardly sus- pect in him the reckless daring which won him distinction in some of the most desperate en- gagements of the Civil war. It was he of whom General Sherman said in my hearing: 'He was the most daring brigadier we had in the west.' The terrific artillery ducl . between General Bouton's Chicago battery and two rebel bat- teries at Shiloh, and the desperate three hours at Guntown, Miss., when he and his brigade stood off the savage charge of nearly ten times as large a force, with the loss of nearly two-thirds of their number, will be remem- bered as one of the most gallant achievements of the great war. And the courage which does not depend on the inspiration of conflict and of numbers is also his.
"In July, 1879, he had occasion to visit his great sheep ranch in the wild San Gorgonio Pass, California. The country was then in- fested with notorious Mexicans and American bandits, and travelers always went armed. General Bouton and his partner were driving along the moonlit forest road, when three masked men sprang suddenly from the bushes and thrust in their faces a double-barreled shotgun and two six-shooters, at the same time seizing their horses. It was understood that the general was carrying $18,000 to buy a band of nine thousand sheep, and this the
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highwaymen were after. They made the trav- elers dismount and fastened their arms behind them with chains, closing the links with a pair of pinchers. Another chain was similarly fast- ened about General Bouton's neck, and one of the desperadoes, a cocked revolver in hand, led him along by this, while the other two held shotgun and revolver ready to shoot at the slightest resistance from the prisoner. So the strange procession started off, the high- waymen desiring to march their prisoners away from the road to some secluded spot where their bodies could be safely concealed. Their intention to rob and then murder, fully established by later developments, was per- fectly understood by the captives, and the gen- eral decided if he must die he would die try- ing. As they trod the lonely path in silence, he felt along the chain which secured his wrist, with utmost caution, lest the bandit behind with a cocked shotgun should perceive his intent. Slowly and noiselessly he groped until he found a link which was not perfectly closed, and, putting all his strength into a supreme effort (but a guarded one) he wrenched the link still wider open and man- aged to unhook it. Without changing the po- sition of his hands perceptibly he began to draw his right cautiously up toward his hip pocket. Just as it rested on the grip of the small revolver concealed there, the highway- man behind saw what he was at, and with a shout threw the shotgun to his shoulder. But before he could pull the trigger, Bouton had snatched out his pistol, wheeled about, and shot him down. The desperado who was lead- ing Bouton by the chain whirled around with his six-shooter at a level, but too late, a ball from the general's revolver dropped him dead. The third robber made an equally vain attempt to shoot the audacious prisoner, and was in turn laid low by the unerring aim. It was lightning work and adamantine firmness, three shots in half as many seconds, and every shot a counter."
Thus it will be seen that the traits which have made of General Bouton a soldier, pion- cer and the founder of a western civilization, are an inheritance, and not the accident of nature. The career of the Bouton family has
ever been synonymous with civilization. When it spread abroad among the nations it carried with it a higher grade of civilizing influences, which have left their impress upon the people with whom they came in contact, and the name has always been the harbinger of civil and religious liberty. Their descendants are by comparison numerous as the leaves of the for- est, and dispersed in almost every clime. It has taken deep root, and its fruits are found in other as well as in their own native Bur- gundian soil. For the principle of civil and religious liberty Sir William Boughton in 1356 joined the standard of Edward III of England, when he invaded France, and for the same principle Herard Bowton followed the fortunes of William III of England, who, under Tehom- borge at Portiers and at the battle of the Boyne fought nobly for liberty. Again in the western world and amid a new civilization the name became distinguished in patriotism, and loyalty from the Revolution to the close of Civil strife, and when the days of warfare are ended the name becomes equally distinguished in the simple, practical duties of an American citizen's life. Such is Gen. Edward Bouton to-day, and as such he occupies a prominent place in the esteem of his fellow citizens- honored for the magnificent record he has given to the world and for the example of manhood he has left for his coming genera- tion, and again honored for the part he has played in the civic life of the nation.
JUDGE ALBERT LEE STEPHENS. Iden- tified with many important movements connected with the development of Los Angeles, Judge Al- bert Lee Stephens is named among the promi- nent citizens of this city and held in high esteem for the position he has taken in the life of the community. He is a native of Indiana, having been born in Warren county January 25, 1874; his father, E. E. Stephens, was born in Cincin- nati. of an old Virginia family, the great-grand- father having served in the Revolutionary war under General Washington and endured the hardships of Valley Forge, while he also served in the war of 1812. E. E. Stephens engaged in the pork packing enterprise in Cincinnati for
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some time, later removed to Indiana, and in longs to the Los Angeles County Bar Associa- 1884 he decided to locate in Southern California. tion and the Chamber of Commerce, and takes a prominent part in all movements advanced for the welfare of the general community. After coming to the city of Los Angeles he fol- lowed a mercantile business for some time. He was appointed government meat inspector in 1895 and has held the position ever since. His wife, who is also living, was formerly Araminda Rice, a native of Ohio, born near Cincinnati. They are the parents of two sons and four daughters, all of whom are living.
Albert Lee Stephens was the second child in the family of his parents. He was brought to Los Angeles when about ten years old, and here in the public schools he received a preliminary education. His business training was received in his father's store, while at the same time he took up the study of law in the effort to equip himself for a professional career. Admitted to the bar in 1899, two years later he began the practice of his profession and at the same time became a student in the law department of the University of Southern California, where he also acted as an instructor. He graduated in 1903 with the degree of LL. B. and has since continued both his practice and teaching, at the present time acting as instructor in the conduct of cases in court in the University of Southern California. Since 1906 he has practiced law in partnership with his brother, Jess E. Stephens, who was ad- mitted to the bar in that year. Mr. Stephens early became identified with public affairs and was looked upon by the conservative element among the citizens as a man of sound judgment and executive ability and although a Democrat in his political convictions he has never been un- duly narrow or partisan. It was on the Nonpar- tisan and Democratic ticket that he was nomi- nated in 1906 to the position of justice of the peace for Los Angeles township, and in the elec- tion that followed he was elected by a plurality of about fifteen hundred votes. He took the oath of office January 7, 1907, and has since con- ducted the affairs of this office in an eminently capable manner.
Mr. Stephens takes time to associate himself with fraternal organizations, having been made a Mason in Hollywood Lodge, F. & A. M., and has since become a member of the Los Angeles Consistory and Al Malaikah Temple. He be-
ERNEST A. BRYANT, M. D. It is cer- tain that skilled physicians and surgeons, like the subject of this article, are in great demand wherever they elect to make their place of abode, and it is only the mediocre who are left behind in the race towards success and prominence. Although not a native of the United States, so much of Dr. Bryant's life has been passed on this side of the border that his strongest interests are here, and the loy- alty of his citizenship is a part of his life. He was born in Woodstock, Ontario, in 1867, a son of Dr. J. H. Bryant, a successful physi- cian, who left his native state of New York to practice his profession in Ontario. In 1868 he removed with his family to St. Paul, Minn., where he practiced his profession for many years, when he came to California and made Los Angeles his home until his death in 1901. His wife was Mary Louise Dunn, born in New York and died in St. Paul, Minn. Dr. Bryant's grandparents on the paternal side came from England, and on the maternal side from Ire- land.
Ernest A. Bryant spent his boyhood days in the middle west, his parents having located in St. Paul, Minn., where he received his educa- tion. This was augmented by a medical course at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadel- phia, he having previously studied under a preceptor in St. Paul. He was graduated in 1890, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine, and following this event became interne in St. Agnes Hospital, Philadelphia, where he remained for a period of eighteen months.
In 1891 he came to California and locating in Los Angeles, at once established a general practice of medicine, which speedily grew to one of remunerative proportions. For six years he was police surgeon and surgeon-in-charge of the Emergency Hospital, besides which he continued the general practice of his profes- sion until he was appointed superintendent of
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the Los Angeles County Hospital. He re- mained so occupied for a period of four years, and during this time rose to prominence among the physicians of Southern California, which resulted in his appointment as chief surgeon of the Pacific Electric Railway Company, while he also serves in the same capacity for the Los Angeles Railway Company, the Inter- urban Railway Company, the Redondo Rail- way Company and the Los Angeles Pacific Company. He is also consulting surgeon for the Southern Pacific Railway Company, and surgeon in charge of the Sisters Hos- pital. The many responsibilities which have fallen to him in the various positions he has been called upon to fill are borne by the doctor in a creditable manner, neither lightly, as one who cannot understand responsibility, nor with a gravity which impels gloom in the midst of illness or accident ; but with cheeriness born of his confidence in his own skill and an optim- isin which invests him with all the attributes a patient could desire. He is very popular among those with whom his duties lie, and is highly esteemed both as a physician and as a man.
In 1904 Dr. Bryant was united in marriage with Miss Susanna Bixby, a daughter of John Bixby, a prominent citizen of Los Angeles county, and born of this union are two child- ren, Susanna P. and Ernest A., Jr. Dr. Bryant is identified with various medical associations, among them being the Clinical and Patholog- ical Society of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Medical Society, the Southern Cali- fornia Medical Association, the State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Pacific Coast Association, Railway Sur- geons and the International Association of Railway Surgeons. He holds the chair of pro- fessor of clinical surgery in the Medical Col- lege of the University of Southern California, and is a competent expounder of the science. Dr. Bryant, politically, is a stanch Republican, and socially is prominent in club life, being a member of the Jonathan, California, Los An- geles Country and Union League Clubs. As an enthusiastic automobilist, he is a member of the American Automobile Association and the Los Angeles AAutomobile Club. Through
constant research the doctor keeps in touch with modern methods and at all times brings them to bear in his practice.
WILLIAM ORMOND WELCH. As the nominee of the Republican party at the elec- tion of 1902 Mr. Welch was chosen to fill the office of county tax collector for a term of four years, receiving at the polls a majority of about ten thousand votes. Since he took the oath of office in January of 1903, to the pres- ent time, having been re-elected to the same office in 1906, he has given his entire time and attention to the details of his official position and superintends the work of the sixteen men employed to assist in his department, besides taking charge of the eighty extra men secured during the months of October and November. Prior to entering upon official life he had been variously interested and had gained a wide ex- perience throughout the west while working at railroading and telegraphy.
A native of Kendallville, Noble county, Ind., William Ormond Welch was born January 20, 1863, being a son of David S. and Sarah Buf- fum (Hayward) Welch, born near Lockport, N. Y. The father, who was a merchant by oc- cupation and a stanch Republican in politics, settled at Kendallville in early life and there died about 1871. His widow makes her home in Pomona, Cal., and one of their sons, Charles Sumner, resides at Wichita, Kans., where he holds a position as trainmaster with the Mis- souri Pacific Railroad Company. The only daughter is now deceased. The other son, William O., was reared in Indiana until 1878, when he removed to Paola, Miami county, Kans., and there attended the high school, lat- er taking a commercial course in the Paola Normal. The first work which he secured as telegraph operator and station agent was in the employ of the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad Company. After two years with them he entered the Topeka office of the su- perintendent of the Santa Fe system. In 1882 he went to Tucson, Ariz., as operator for the Western Union Telegraph Company. Later he was employed as assistant dispatcher for the Texas Pacific Railroad at Marshall, Tex.,
Del Marrison
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and next secured employment as operator and agent at Deer Lodge and Melrose, Mont., with the Utah Northern Railroad. Returning to the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company he was with them in Deming, N. Mex., and during this time occurred the strug- gle with the Apaches and the capture of Gero- nimo.
Upon coming to California during the year 1886 Mr. Welch embarked in horticultural pur- suits at Pomona, where he set out and im- proved an orange grove of twenty acres, re- taining the ranch until 1904, when he sold it at a fair profit. Meanwhile he had become inter- ested in the business of buying, drying and shipping fruit, and for three years had carried on a growing business with a partner, but at the expiration of that time he sold his interest. On coming to Los Angeles in 1894 Mr. Welch was employed for a year as deputy county re- corder under Arthur Bray. For four years he was deputy tax collector under A. H. Merwin and for a similar period he held the same posi- tion under John H. Gishi, meanwhile acquiring a thorough knowledge of the work of assessing and collecting, so that he was well qualified to fill the position of collector when elected to the office. Always stanch in his allegiance to the Republican party, he is one of the influen- tial members of the Republican League of Los Angeles and in other ways has aided in local party affairs. While living in Pomona he was initiated into Masonry and now holds mem- bership with South Gate Lodge in Los An- geles, also with Signet Chapter of this city, and is a 32° Scottish Rite Mason. His mar- riage was solemnized in Los Angeles and unit- ed him with Miss Eva Dell Roberts, who was born in Otoe county, Neb., her father, John Roberts, having migrated from Ohio to Ne- braska in a very early period of that state's de- velopment ; eventually he closed out his inter- ests there and came to California, becoming prominent in civic affairs in Long Beach, where at one time he was honored with the office of mayor.
In 1887 Mr. Welch became identified with the National Guard of California, having been promoted while in Pomona to the captaincy of Company D. Upon coming to Los Angeles
he was appointed to the office of assistant ad- jutant general on the brigade staff with the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the Span- ish-American war he served as major of the Seventh Regiment California Infantry, and af- ter being mustered out at the close of the war he resumed the office of assistant adjutant general. He is now serving as a member of the examining board for the First Brigade, having in charge the examining of officers as to their fitness for office in the National Guard.
The personal character of Mr. Welch has been such as to win for him a wide esteem wherever known, and the manner in which he has discharged all official duties in the years of his experience in Southern California has given him a position of importance among the citizens of this section. His success to the present time is an augury of what may be ex- pected for him in the future, for he is a citizen of worth and works and can always be count- ed upon to uphold public honor in whatever position he may be placed.
CORNELIUS G. HARRISON. About nine years previous to his death, Cornelius G. Har- rison had retired from the business activities which had so long engrossed his attention, and in the city of Pasadena rounded out the years of his busy life. He was a native of Illinois, having been born in Belleville in April, 1829, a son of James and Lucinda (Gooding) Har- rison, who were pioneers of the Prairie state when it was the home of the Indian. The son received his early education through the medium of the common school in the vicinity of his home, later entering a select school, and finally McKendree College at Lebanon, where he pursued his studies and graduated. The gold excitement of California induced him to try his fortunes in the Pacific state, and ac- cordingly he crossed the plains in 1851. For two and a half years he was successfully en- gaged in the mines of Placerville (then Hang- town). Returning to Illinois he invested his means in a flour mill in Belleville, an enter- prise which soon grew to profitable propor- tions. In spite of this fact, the memories of California induced his emigration once more,
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