USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, Volume II > Part 52
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MARION DAVIS CARTER, M. D. It was not to first make a success in life that Dr. Carter came to California, for in his home in the middle west he had successfully built up and was con- ducting a large and lucrative medical practice at the time of his initiatory visit to the Pacific coast. So pleased, however, was he with the conditions, not only of climate, but with the agricultural and horticultural possibilities of the section, that with his first visit came the deter- mination to sever his former relations and locate permanently in Southern California. This deter- mination was ultimately fulfilled, and he has never had cause to regret his choice of a home, as he has met with the success which he antici- pated not alone for himself, but in the general upbuilding and development of the country.
Marion Davis Carter was born in Waverly, Morgan county, Ill., July 26, 1857, the young- est in a family of six children, of whom three are now living. The family came originally from Ohio, the paternal grandfather, John Carter, being a native of that state and an early settler of Jacksonville, Ill., where his death eventually occurred. His father, Nathan Carter, was born in Indiana and became a pioneer farmer of Mor- gan county, Ill., thence removing to Hamilton, Mo., and from there to Saline county, Neb., where his death occurred. His wife was for- merly Nancy Masters, born in Tennessee, a
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daughter of Robert Masters, the representative of an old southern family. She survives her husband and makes her home in Los Angeles with her son, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. Marion D. Carter received his prelim- inary education in the public schools of Dwight, 111., after which he became a student in the Wes- leyan University in Bloomington, Ill. Upon leaving school he taught for two years, and with the means thus accumulated completed his professional education by taking the medical course in the Missouri Medical College, of St. Louis, Mo., from which institution he was graduated March 2, 1882, with the degree of M. D. He began the practice of his profession in Hamilton, Mo., remained there a year, then removed to Tobias, Neb., and there built up a wide practice. This was the business he sacri- ficed to come to California in 1902; he had visited the Pacific coast in 1900 and determined to locate here permanently at that time. This he did as quickly as he could settle up his affairs in Nebraska, and here he has since remained. He is now located at No. 2711 Central avenue and in the management of a lucrative business, the thorough understanding he has brought to bear in medicine and surgery as he practices it. and his evident appreciation of all modern thought and methods, having won for him a most friendly criticism from those with whom he comes in contact. A further preparation for his work was made by the study of special courses in the Chicago Polyclinic.
In Nebraska Dr. Carter was united in mar- riage with Miss Jessie Heinzman, a native of Fremont, Iowa, and born of this union are three children, namely : Ray, Merle and Eileen. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while fraternally Dr. Carter is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Polit- ically he is a stanch advocate of Republican prin- ciples, although he has never cared for official recognition. In the line of his profession he is a member of the County, State, and American Medical Societies.
SAM KUTZ. The record of the first repre- sentative of the Kutz family in America is not definitely established, but it is known beyond
doubt that the family originated in Holland and that one of the early settlers in this country founded the city of Kutztown, Berks county, Pa. As far back as the great-grandparents the family can be traced in direct line to Pennsyl- vania, for it was in that state that their son John, the grandfather of Sam Kutz, was born. John Kutz was one of the valiant defenders of Amer- ican rights, fighting in behalf of this country in the war of 1812. By trade he was a lime manufacturer. The next in line of descent, John P. Kutz, was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., January 1, 1821, there spending his earlier years and during mature life following the cabinet- maker's trade in his native state. Removing to Ohio with his family in 1853, he followed his trade in Ashland for two years and in 1855 moved still further west, locating in Morris, Grundy county, Ill. For about six years he car- ried on a lucrative business as contractor and builder, but gave this up in 1861 and settled on a farm in that vicinity, the same on which his death occurred forty years later, when in his seventy-eighth year. By his marriage with Eliz- abetli Brecht, also a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lebanon county January 2, 1822, nine chil- dren were born, all of whom are still living. Mrs. Elizabeth Kutz was a daughter of Henry and Hannah ( Edwards) Brecht, on the maternal side descending from one of the best-known fam- ilies in the east, Jonathan Edwards, the famous theologian and at one time the president of Princeton University, coming from the same branch of the family. Mrs. Kutz also passed away on the homestead in Illinois.
Sam Kutz was a lad of eight years at the time of the removal to Illinois, his birth having occurred in Reading, Pa., February 13, 1847. As he was then of school age he became a pupil in the public schools of Morris, where, up to the time of the opening of the Civil war, he was counted one of the most promising students. His older brother, William, volunteered at the first tap of the drum, entering the service as a mem- ber of Company I, Fifty-fifth Illinois Volun- teers, and serving as fife major until the close of the war. The desire to emulate his brother made text-books less attractive than formerly, a state of affairs which became more intense as the months went on. It was on a Saturday in
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November, 1863, when he offered himself as a volunteer musican, and though he was only sixteen years old and small of stature, he hoped to be accepted from the fact that his father and brother, who were both excellent musicians, had been accepted in the service. As he had hoped would be the case, youth and stature were no bar to his acceptance, and the records showed that he was mustered in as a drummer in Com- pany D, Ninety-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry. at Camp Butler. He served in the Department of the Gulf, throughout Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, participating among others in the battles of Mobile, Spanish Fort, Fort Blakely and Whistler, Ala., the last mentioned battle occurring April 12, 1865. Throughout his entire service of three years he escaped injury. After the war was over he went to the frontier as a member of Sheridan's army, and March 3. 1866, received his honorable discharge at Spring- field, Ill., when he was only a few days past nine- teen years of age. Although he had escaped sickness or injury while on the battle field his system had become filled with malaria and upon his return to Morris his first thought was to recuperate his health. Youth was in his favor, however, and it was not long before he was able to take up work at the carpenter's trade, following this in connection with his father, who, as previously stated, was a contractor and builder.
It was in 1874 that Mr. Kutz became identified with the west, locating that year in Los Angeles, where he easily found all that he was able to do as contractor and builder. Twelve years after locating here, in 1886, he was elected overseer in the city prison, filling the position for two years, this being immediately followed by his appointment as deputy constable, for a term of two years. Resuming work at his trade once more, he was soon forced to give it up as his fellow citizens had, in January, 1891, appointed him to the office of deputy county clerk, under county clerk T. H. Ward. Four years later he was re-elected under T. E. Newlin, and the expiration of this term also witnessed his re- election, his third term being under Charles W. Bell. No more convincing statement could be made as to his ability than to relate that he was elected to his fourth term in January, 1903, to
serve under C. G. Keyes, having filled the office in all about sixteen years. He now is clerk of Department No. 8 of the superior court.
Soon after his return to Morris, Ill., follow- ing his service in the army, Mr. Kutz formed domestic ties by his marriage with Miss Carrie Borton, who was born in Fairview, Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1847. Ten children have blessed this marriage, all of whom have been reared to lives of usefulness, and are not only a credit to their parents, but are likewise a credit to the community in which they live. As is natural to expect of one who took the interest in the wel- fare of his country which Mr. Kutz displayed when a boy of sixteen years, one of his most cherished memories is the time spent in the service of his country. With comrades of long ago he gathers around the campfires of Bartlett Logan Post No. 6, G. A. R., and among the number, ever growing less, none is more interest- ing than Mr. Kutz. For two terms he has served as commander of his post, and the fact that he succeeded himself in the office but strengthens the fact of his popularity, for he is the only one who has thus been honored. He is also a mem- ber of the Fraternal Aid, having been its first president, and is likewise a member of the Los Angeles Pioneer Society. Politically he is a stanch defender of the principles of the Repub- lican party. The personality of Mr. Kutz is pleasing. His rugged, open-hearted manner makes him a welcome visitor in any gathering, and none know him but to respect and honor him.
HON. J. P. TRANSUE, member of the Cali- fornia legislature and State Board of Building and Loan Commissioners, was born at Bethle- hem, Northampton county, Pa., January 3, 1866, on the old family homestead of the Transues, who caine originally from France, the two emi- grating brothers originally spelling the name Transeau. They became early settlers of North- ampton county, Pa., and there J. P. Transue's father, Sammel B., engaged as a farmer: later he located in Hecktown and followed the occtt- pation of a miller until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment. During his service he received a se- vere saber wound, from the effects of which he
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died in 1866. His wife was in maidenhood Sarah J. Schweitzer: she was a daughter of Jacob von Schweitzer, who emigrated from Germany and located in Hecktown, where he engaged as mer- chant and hotel man, and also served as post- master. Mrs. Transue is still living in Pennsyl- vania, making her home in Bethlehem. She is a member of the Lutheran Church.
Of the three children born to Samuel B. and Sarah J. Transne two are now living, J. P. Transue being the youngest of the family. He was reared in his native town and received his education in the public schools, and also at- tended the high school, although at the age of twelve years he found it necessary to seek his own livelihood. He made his home with an uncle, Samuel Rittenhouse, until old enough to become apprenticed to learn the trade of deco- rator and painter, which he did under Beck, and after completing the course of work he also learned the business part of the enterprise. Leav- ing this position he accepted the position of bookkeeper with the Moravian Book Company, then under the management of H. T. Clauder. Later he entered a wall-paper establishment in Bethlehem, and again was engaged in a similar business in Philadelphia with M. M. Kayser & Co. By this firm he was sent to Minneapolis, where in 1884 he opened a branch house for them and continued as its manager for five years. Resigning at that time (1889) he went to Seat- tle, Wash., and there engaged as manager for Graham & Dalton, who were in the same line of business. Resigning from this position he en- tered the employ of the Seattle Gas & Electric Company, with whom he continued until 1896, when he came to Los Angeles. Here he was first engaged in the wall-paper business, acting as manager for T. Frank McGrath until the spring of 1902, when he was elected secretary of the Los Angeles Mutual Building and Loan Association.
In the fall of this same year Mr. Transue was nominated on the Republican ticket as a member of the Assembly from the Seventy-third district, and was elected, and in 1903 felt it necessary to resign the secretaryship of the build- ing and loan association. In the session of 1903 he took a prominent part in enacting legislation and assisted in the election of United States Sen-
ator George C. Perkins, and also served as chair- man of the committee on commissions and pub- lic expenditures, as well as being a member of several other important committees. Re-elected in 1904 he served in the session of 1905 and helped elect United States Senator Frank P. Flint, and during this session was chairman of the committee on building and loan associations. At this session also he was appointed a member of a "holdover" committee to draft laws and submit to the next legislature. In the extra ses- sion of 1906 he was a member of the committee on ways and means. In the year 1906 he was again elected for the session of 1907, in which he served as speaker pro tem of the house of representatives. During this session he was in- strumental in the passage of some very much needed legislation regulating building and loan associations. January 7, 1906, he was appointed a member of the State Board of Building and Loan Commissioners, of which he is chairman, the commission having a general supervision of all building and loan associations doing business in California. While filling his important posi- tion as a legislator he was also active in public affairs in Los Angeles county, serving from Janu- ary, 1905, to January, 1907, as deputy county auditor.
Notwithstanding his engrossing cares Mr. Transue has taken a keen interest in social and fraternal life and is identified with several promi- nent organizations, among them the Odd Fel- lows; he was made a member of this order in Ridgeley Lodge No. 85 in Minneapolis, of which he is a Past Grand, and he is now associated with Semi-Tropic Lodge No. 371, I. O. O. F., of Los Angeles. In the order of the Woodmen of the World he is identified with La Fiesta Camp No. 63, of which he is a Past Council Com- mander; and is also a member of the Fraternal Brotherhood and the Women of Woodcraft. Po- litically he is a stanch advocate of Republican principles and is active in the advancement of these interests, being a member of the Union League Club. Mr. Transue's success in life is mainly due to hard work and the habit of careful attention to details. He is a close student of human nature, treats all with courtesy, and as a genial gentleman, he makes many friends and stands high in both business and social circles.
Lewis g Merritt
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LEWIS J. MERRITT. The Merritts are descended from French Huguenot stock on the paternal side, ancestors having fled from France at the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes to Kent, England. The branch of the family from which Mr. Merritt of Pasa- dena is descended came to America and settled in Connecticut early in the seventeenth cen- tury ; the great-grandfather served seven years in the Revolutionary war and died at the age of one hundred years. The grandfather, Thomas, was one of the first settlers of Chau- tauqua county, N. Y., where he married Heph- zebeth Jewitt. Lewis J. Merritt was born in Hanover, Chautauqua county, N. Y., Novem- ber 9, 1848, and the following year his parents removed to Warren county, Pa., thence in 1853 to Ashtabula county, Ohio. This last move was made in order to secure better school privileges for the children of the family, but they did not remain in that location long ; the father, in 1855, went to the head of Lake Supe- rior and in 1856 the mother and eight sons fol- lowed him and settled in Oneota, Minn., then the frontier. They were among the first white families of Minnesota in the vicinity of Lake Superior and upon the land which they devel- oped into a farm a part of the city of Duluth now stands, thriving and prosperous with its harbor teeming with commerce. In those early days the mode of travel was by steamboats on the lake or over the Indian trails, the mail be- ing carried on the backs of Indians over the trails in the winter and by steamboats during the summers.
In 1858 and 59 the government cut a mili- tary road from Superior to St. Paul, but it was not until 1870 that the Lake Superior and Mis- sissippi Railroad was built ; the latter was later known as the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad and now as the Northern Pacific Short Line. In this isolated country Mr. Merritt reared his family, engaging in the lumbering business. For many years the only doctor and nurse at the head of the lake was Mrs. Merritt, who often went through storms in winter, by dog- sleigh or in a small steamboat in summer, to at- tend the sick, her name being remembered to- day among those who experienced the hard- ships of that pioneer time. Lewis J. Merritt
was educated in the common schools until he was thirteen years old when he began to work in sawmills, contracting for the sawing of laths in the summer and attending school dur- ing the winter. When fifteen years old he shipped as a sailor on a sailing vessel and fol- lowed this life for four or five years. Decem- ber 26, 1869, he was married to Eunice An- nette Wood, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, they being the first white couple married in St. Louis county, Minn. In 1871 a daughter, An- nice, was born in Oneota, and August 17, 1872, a son, Hulett Clinton, was born. In 1873 Mr. Merritt went west to aid in building Custer Barracks at Fort Lincoln, N. Dak., and the fol- lowing year he moved his family to Atchison county, Mo., where he engaged in farming for about thirteen years and then returned to Duluth and in company with his brothers, Leo- nidas, Alfred and Cassius C., for three years was occupied in prospecting for iron. The success he achieved may be seen in the great Missabe Range, first discovered and opened up by the Merritt brothers. The first iron discov- ered was Mountain Iron mine in township 58. range 18, the next being Biwabik in township 58, range 16 and then the Missabe mountain, township 58, range 17. These great properties hold the key to the iron situation in the North- west.
In 1889 Mr. Merritt and his son, H. C., formed a company known as L. J. Merritt & Son and in the years that followed their opera- tions placed them among the most successful and prominent business men of the Northwest. Mr. Merritt was for several years a director in the Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines, an $80,000,000 corporation, now merged into the United States Steel corporation in which Mr. Merritt is one of the heavy stockholders. The manner in which Mr. Merritt amassed a fortune shows his possession of more than or- dinary business ability, as well as indefatig- able effort, and entitles him to the position he holds among the leading financiers of the Northwest. He has also placed his name among the citizens of worth and ability, hav- ing given no little effort toward the material upbuilding of Duluth, the Merritt family hav- ing built the Duluth Missahe & Northern Rail-
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road, now the largest dividend payer per mile of any railroad in the United States, netting $22,000.00 per mile in 1907. In fact, the gen- eral development of Duluth was only made possible by the opening up of the great iron mines, which virtually made the city of the lakes. In the fall of 1896 he removed to Pasa- dena where he guides his business interests in the east by occasional visits and a mind trained to the understanding of details even at a dis- tance. He has just completed one of the most beautiful homes in Pasadena, the city of beau- tiful homes, finishing many of the rooms in solid mahogany, a part of which came from Peru and some from Guatemala, others in weathered oak, and still others in myrtle wood. The residence, with its grounds, is one of the most complete and attractive homes in the city. Mr. Merritt has four children living : Hulett C., also a large stockholder in the L'nited States Steel Corporation, and who re- sides in a magnificent home on South Orange Grove avenue in Pasadena ; Bertha ; Lewis N .; and Evelyn. Both himself and wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Po- litically he is a stanch adherent of Republican principles.
ROBERT STEERE. As a merchant of Los Angeles, Robert Steere was connected for many years with the commercial interests of this city and while acquiring a competence won a place of importance among the business men and rep- resentative citizens. A native of New York, he was born in Laurens, Otsego county, December 27. 1833. a son of Rufus and Eliza Ann ( Brown) Steere, both of whom were descendants of old Rhode Island families, the former, born in 1799, being the seventh in line of direct descent from Roger Williams. Rufus Steere was reared on his father's farm near Gloucester, R. I., but in young manhood removed to Otsego county, N. Y., when it was a pioneer country, and there en- gaged in the manufacture of leather, operating a tan yard for many years.
Robert Steere was reared in his native county, receiving a primary education in the schools in the vicinity of his home. Upon the completion of his studies he gave his father assistance in the
tan yard for several years, and upon the death of the latter in 1850 took charge of the business and successfully conducted the same for two years. He then apprenticed himself to learn the tinner's trade in Laurens, N. Y., and in the win- ter of 1854 he removed to St. Paul, Minn., where he remained three years engaged in this line of work. In search of a better business location he went to Sioux City, Iowa, where he found em- ployment at his trade. Later going to Nebraska he joined a government surveying party and for five months was engaged in chain carrying. He then resumed his trade and followed the same until 1859, in which year he, with two others, built a yawl at Sioux City, running down the Missouri river to Omaha, Neb. There Mr. Steere fitted out an ox-team with a party of seven to cross the plains, leaving that place on May 7. They had intended to locate at Pike's Peak, but en route met many returning emigrants who gave them discouraging accounts regarding the mines there, and accordingly they continued their jour- ney through to California by the Lander's cut-off. The journey was one of hardship and trial, the trip across the forty-mile desert with no water and no stopping place being particularly trying and also disastrous, as the heat proved so intense that they lost all but one ox. This animal they used the best they could, each man, however, being compelled to carry the greater part of his luggage, except that which they were forced to leave behind them on the plains. With great effort this lone ox was urged across the Hum- boldt desert and lived through the terrible or- deal ; they disposed of him for $20 and with the money bought flour at fifty cents per pound, and with the bacon they had on hand served what they called a camper's meal, which was highly relished by the half starved men. After resting a day or two they engaged passage with a freighter for Placerville, Cal., where they arrived September 6. Being short of means, and lodging places being scarce, they secured a room in what seemed to them a palace after their long and wearisome trip under the open sky-the loft of an old brewery, which they occupied for a time. Each man soon set out for himself in an effort to make a livelihood, Mr. Steere finding as his only employment the blacking of stoves, taking a contract for fifty of them for a hardware firm
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of Placerville. He followed his trade that winter and in the following spring located at Mud Springs (now Eldorado), Cal., where he en- gaged as a clerk in a store for three years. At the close of that time he purchased the business and successfully conducted the same until 1868. In the meantime he was appointed postmaster of the place and also agent for Wells Fargo & Co. Express, and June 4, 1864, he was made deputy internal revenue collector of the fourteenth di- vision of the Fourth district of California and held the last-named office until 1868. Being taken ill about that time he decided to return east, and accordingly, March 18, took passage on a steamer bound for New York, where, in his old home, he spent the following six months ; thence he traveled westward to Bloomington, Ill., where he had a brother living. He remained in that locality for seven years, when he again made the journey to the Pacific coast, this time, however, traveling by rail over the route which had required so much time, patience and self- sacrifice for the early pioneers of the west.
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