USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, Volume II > Part 56
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In June, 1900, Dr. Cochran was united in marriage with Miss Alice Cowan, a resident of San Francisco and the daughter of William Cowan. In keeping with his efforts to stand abreast of the times in all matters pertaining to his profession Dr. Cochran is an active mem- ber of the Los Angeles Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Socially he is a member of the California and Country Clubs.
JAMES CHARLES KAYS. The life-work of James C. Kays has been so intimately woven with the fabric of civic affairs during the past thirty-three years that a history of Los Angeles would not be complete without frequent men- tion of his name. Whether engaged in private or public business, he has always stood for the same principles of integrity, justice and kindli- ness toward his fellow-man, and no member of the community has enjoyed a larger measure of its confidence and good will.
Mr. Kays is a descendant of Irish ancestors, and was born in Santa Barbara, Cal., May 5, 1850, the son of John C. and Josephine (Burke) Kays, the father a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, and the mother a native of California. Both parents are deceased, the mother dying in 1875, when only forty-five years old, and the father passing away in 1897, at the age of eighty- four. Eleven children were born to them, the second child being the subject of this sketch. The others were Thomas C., a rancher in New Mexico; John, Nellie and Lola, who reside in Santa Barbara; Michael C., who for the past twenty-five years has been in the employ of the Coulter Dry Goods Company ; William, who was accidentally killed when he was thirty years of age : Manuel, who died at the age of thirty-two; Josephine, who passed away in the bloom of her young womanhood, aged twenty-five; and two children who died in infancy.
James C. Kays' boyhood days were passed in
the public schools of Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez, but financial reverses which befell his father gave a temporary check to his education when he was thirteen years of age. He then en- tered the general merchandise store of his uncle, Capt. Thomas W. Moore, at Santa Ynez, Cal., as a clerk, which position he held for four years. He then matriculated at the Christian Brothers' College at Santa Ynez, but after two years of struggle gave up his course for lack of funds. At the age of twenty young Kays went out into the world to seek his fortune, going first into the mining regions of Nevada and afterwards drifting back to California and taking up a resi- dence in the mining town of Cerro Gordo, Inyo county. Here, with the small capital which he had managed to save up, he established a general merchandise store. In the main the undertaking was a success, but the earthquakes which dis- turbed the country for months at a time during the year 1873 made it an undesirable location and at the end of two years the business was closed out. Returning to Santa Barbara, Mr. Kays shortly afterward located in Los Angeles. where he felt confident larger opportunities awaited him. In this he was not disappointed, as the event proved. In the fall of 1874 he accepted a position as bookkeeper with the hard- ware firm of Harper & Long (now Harper & Reynolds Co.), whose place of business was then located in the Downey block, the site of the new postoffice, now in course of erection.
In 1877 and 1878 Mr. Kays served as deputy under County Clerk A. W. Potts. Later he was under-sheriff, serving with Sheriff Henry M. Mitchell, continuing in the same capacity in the administration of Sheriff W. R. Howland. In 1879 he was elected to the office of city treas- urer and in 1882 and 1884 he was twice elected his own successor. In 1885 he held the position of United States revenue stamp agent under Col- lector Ellis. During the fall of 1886 the Re- publican party of the county having come into a majority of about four thousand, the Demo- crats cast about for the strongest men available to head their ticket, and they nominated Stephen M. White and L. J. Rose for state senators, George S. Patton for district attorney and James C. Kays for sheriff. Much to the surprise of all parties concerned, the Republican majority was
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overcome and the above named candidates were elected. Mr. Kays filled the office of sheriff most acceptably for one term.
From 1889 to 1892 Mr. Kays was the receiver for the Citizens' Water Company, and managed the works which supplied the hill section of the city. As trustee for the bondholders he operated the plant for two.and one-half years. In 1898 came to a focus a long-standing controversy be- tween the city and the water company for the taking over of the domestic system for the en- tire city. There was a strong sentiment in favor of public ownership; the contract of the com- pany had expired, and there remained the alter- native of renewing the lease or purchasing the plant. Here was the rub: The water company asked what most of the citizens thought an ex- orbitant price; the city council proposed to pay a sum which the water company declared was little better than confiscation. To meet this strained situation, a commission of arbitration was appointed to determine upon a price which would be equitable all around. Mr. Kays, as a man who held the fullest confidence of the peo- ple of Los Angeles, was named as arbitrator for the city. The matter was finally adjusted by awarding the water company $2.000,000 for their plant-considerably less than they had asked, but something more than the council had offered. On this basis the trade was concluded, and all parties in interest conceded that the arbitrators had made a wise and just decision. It proved a most fortunate investment for the city. Within five years the revenues had increased over $10,000 a month-enough to pay interest on the bonds and satisfy the sinking fund, this in spite of the fact that rates to consumers were con- siderably reduced and large amounts appropri- ated for betterment and extension of the plant. The city of Los Angeles would not now part with the property for five times the original price.
What is today known as the Dollar Savings Bank and Trust Company of Los Angeles was originally chartered April 23, 1891, as the River- side Savings and Loan Association, and was carried on under this name until February 17, 1902, when Mr. Kays, with several associates, bought the old charter and changed its name to the one which it bears today. The Dollar Sav-
ings Bank and Trust Company was organized with a paid-up capital of $50,000, and on March 2, 1904, was capitalized at $100,000. The officers of the institution then were William Mead, pres- ident : James C. Kays, vice-president ; James B. Gist, assistant cashier : and James L. Davis, sec- retary : and its board of directors, William Mead, James C. Kays, W. C. Patterson, R. N. Bulla, J. E. Fishburn, Fred L. Baker and C. E. Don- natin. At the present time the executive officers are, James C. Kays, president ; William D. Steph- ens, vice-president ; and Wilson G. Tanner, sec- retary and cashier. Mr. Kays is also identified with the First National Bank of Hollywood, of which he was one of the organizers. Another monetary institution with which Mr. Kays is connected is the Central Bank of Los Angeles, of which he is a director, and still another is the Bank of Glendale, which he helped to or- ganize, and of which he has been president from the date of its charter.
While it would seem from the foregoing that little time could be spared for matters outside of his manifold banking interests, still Mr. Kays is deeply interested in civic affairs. He was one of the original members of the Chamber of Com- merce, served on its board of directors for many years and is now the treasurer of the institution. He was also one of the organizers of the Asso- ciated Charities, of which society he has been vice-president since its organization, and is a director in many similar organizations for the benefit of his fellowmen less fortunate than him- self. As a respite from business cares and anx- ieties, he finds relaxation in social intercourse with fellow-members of the California Club, one of the leading organizations of its kind in the city, and is one of the charter members of the Newman Club, an organization of Catholic lay- men of which for many years he has been presi- dent.
In Boonville, Mo., January 30, 1883, James C. Kays was united in marriage with Miss Alice Benedict, a daughter of Walter Scott Benedict, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this vol- ume. Four children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kays, all of whom are living and a credit to their parents. The eldest. James Walter, is paying teller in the Dollar Savings Bank and Trust Company: Ruth Josephine
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makes her home with her parents at the family homestead on Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood : Ce- celia Catherine is a student at the Notre Dame College, San Jose. Ruth is a graduate of Trin- ity College, Washington, D. C. She and the youngest child, Florence Frances, are both at home.
FRANK SIMON CLOUGH. No name is more intimately connected with the early religious and ethical growth of Los Angeles than that of Frank S. Clough, a life-long Christian worker and humanitarian, whose precept and example serve to strengthen one's faith in the goodness and possibility of human nature, and one's ad- miration of a self-sacrificing, disinterested and beautiful life.
Mr. Clough was born in Gilmanton, N. H .. May 9, 1839, and was the fourth in a family of six children born to Simon and Mercy Pres- cott (Elkins) Clough, both natives of New Hampshire and of old and prominent New Eng- land ancestry. Mr. Clough was educated in Gilmanton Academy until the age of nineteen, when he went to Salem, Mass., where he clerked until twenty-one years of age. From then until 1867 he engaged in the house-furnishing busi- ness, selling out in the last-mentioned year to come to California. The next year he located on a farm at Green Meadows, five miles south of Los Angeles, engaging in farming and dairying for nine years. In 1877 he purchased the old Noble ranch of twenty-one hundred acres in the San Timoteo canon, about eight miles north- east of Redlands. He began improving it for a modern dairy and established the Clough dairy, which is still continued under the same name. He brought fifteen hundred acres of the ranch under cultivation, established irrigation from streams and springs on the place by the building of large reservoirs, and fenced it into sixteen dif- ferent pastures. He built substantial and mod- ern buildings for every department of the dairy, but unfortunately, just as he had established the dairy with improvements, his demise occurred, February 28, 1888. The marriage of Mr. Clough was solemnized in Salem, Mass., April 21, 1864, uniting him with Sarah Elizabeth Wood, a native of that place. She was the daughter of George
and Margaret (Gardner) Wood, natives respect- ively of Andover and Salem, Mass., and of old Puritan stock. Mrs. Clough received her educa- tion in Salem, Mass., where she was brought up by Christian parents. Since her husband's death Mrs. Clongh has resided in Los Angeles, making her home with her only child, Gertrude, the wife of Rev. A. C. Smither, one of the leading ministers in the Christian Church and pastor of the First Christian Church of Los Angeles for seventeen years.
When Mr. and Mrs. Clough came to Southern California, Los Angeles was a small place having one-story adobe stores and houses clustered around the plaza of the old pueblo and the first substantial building erected was the Temple block. They were very active in the founda tion of the First Christian Church and were both charter members, and Mrs. Clough is now the only charter member remaining in the con- gregation, there being one other of the original members living. The congregation was organ- ized in the old court house, the present site of the Hub store, and from this beginning five other congregations and many missions have sprung Mr. Clough was a very active worker in the church and its upbuilding. He was very public- spirited and was ever ready to give liberally of his means towards the development of Southern California.
THOMAS F. CROFT. No resident of Pasa- dena is better known probably than Thomas F. Croft. Of English descent on the paternal side, he was born in Painesville, Lake county, Ohio, April 30, 1836, a son of William Croft, a native of England, who when a young man came to this country, settling in Painesville, where for twen- ty-five years, or the remainder of his life, he plied his trade of carriage-maker, although he finally became an extensive carriage manufacturer in that city. His marriage united him with Eliz- abeth McGrew, a native of Ohio, and a most excellent wife and mother, who survived him only a few years.
The home atmosphere surrounding the early life of Thomas F. Croft was conducive to right living and high ideals, his parents exemplifying in their daily living the principles which they
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strove to inculcate in his own life. His primary training was received in the common schools of his native city, after which he attended Paines- ville Academy, which completed his educational career, aside from the business course which he later took in Bryant & Stratton's Business Col- lege. For four years after leaving college he filled a position as bookkeeper in the Mad River Bank at Springfield, Ohio, the only position which he ever held in the east, for at the end of this time, in 1854, he came to California and entered the employ of the Wells-Fargo Express Company at Downieville, a position which he held until the year 1862. The Civil war had then been in progress for a number of months and as yet he had resisted the temptation to re- sign his position and join the ranks. The year last mentioned, however, found his name among those who enlisted for service in the United States navy. He was appointed assistant pay- master by Abraham Lincoln, with headquarters at New Orleans, Rear Admiral S. P. Lee com- manding the squadron. For three years or until the close of the war he filled this position, and after receiving his honorable discharge returned to his old home in Painesville for a visit.
After spending a pleasant time in rest and re- cuperation among friends and relatives Mr. Croft again came to the west, settling in Pasa- dena, where during later years his name became a household word for his accomplishments in connection with what was known as the Indiana Colony. This enterprise had its inception in Indianapolis, Ind., hence its name, and it was through the instrumentality and direction of Mr. Croft that the project was carried through to a successful end, redounding not alone to the credit of the colony, but was practically the mak- ing of the city of Pasadena. In order to give a more comprehensive idea of the project under- taken by the Indiana Colony we quote below verbatim from an account of the same as written by Hiram A. Reed.
"On December 26, 1873. John S. Griffin deeded to Thomas F. Croft (Book 27, p. 251) all of the partition tract No. I as marked on the Rey- nolds' map, containing 2,576.35 acres; and another parcel of lands described by metes and bounds, and containing 1,357 acres ; total 3.933.35 acres, with all waters arising on these lands or
otherwise pertaining to them. Consideration $25.000.
"The San Gabriel Orange Grove Association (commonly called Indiana Colony) had been organized November 13, 1873, and had been negotiating for the purchase of this body of land from Dr. Griffin, with Judge Eaton acting as his agent. At this time ( November 13) Griffin and Wilson still owned the land jointly. Griffin was anxious to sell out, but Wilson was not, and some difficulty arose between them in regard to it. This caused delay, and for a while threatened to break up the colony project entirely. Mr. Croft was one of the original incorporators and trustees of the colony association, and all this critical time he went to Wilmington (December 13) to confer with Phineas Banning and B. D. Wilson, and succeeded in bringing about an un- derstanding which finally resulted in the agree- ment of partition between Wilson and Griffin, dated December 18, 1873, as above cited. This en- abled Griffin to go on and complete the sale which he desired to make. But now the colony people could not at once raise the amount of money necessary to meet his terms. Mr. Croft then privately, at his own expense, procured a com- plete abstract of title, which covered every trans- action affecting the ownership or any auxiliary rights connected with this body of land, from November. 1843, to December, 1873; and upon this he purchased the land himself under the above cited deed of December 26, in order to secure it beyond further delay or difficulty for the colony association. The abstract referred to is a voluminous document, comprising nineteen sheets of heaviest grade abstract paper, 81 2x13 inches, printed in close lines of small type. and cost Mr. Croft over $50. He preserves it vet as a valued relic of the colony's cradle-bed time, and I am indebted to him for its use in preparing this schedule of the many changes in ownership and other rights which have occurred in the history of Rancho San Pasqual.
"Mr. Croft's diary shows that he first visited the ranch on October 13, 1873, in company with D. M. Berry and J. H. Baker. Reynolds was then making the tract survey for Griffin and Wilson, and Croft and Berry came out from Los Angeles frequently to note the progress of the survey and study out the lay of the land. Mr.
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Berry was negotiating on behalf of the colony for the land they wanted, and he insisted on hav- ing their strip project eastward along where east California street now runs, instead of northward along the Arroyo Seco. Wilson wouldn't have it that way, because it would leave his own land in a very inconvenient shape and the efforts to coerce him in this matter brought about the anger and hot blood between Wilson and Griffin above referred to and delayed the colony purchase all through November. Mr. Croft saw Mrs. Griffin and got an understanding with her; then, on De- cember 13. he went to Wilmington as peace- maker and colony land buyer himself, and gained his case successively with Mr. Banning, Mrs. Wilson, and finally with Mr. Wilson. Then, on December 15, his diary says : 'This day determined stakes and points of satisfactory division of Rancho San Pasqual with B. D. Wilson on the grounds.' On December 16 he met Wilson at Surveyor Reynolds' office in Los Angeles and arranged details of boundary to be recited in the conveyance. December 17, lawyers were at work preparing the articles of agreement on segrega- tion of interests between Wilson and Griffin. De- cember 18 Wilson and Griffin signed these arti- cles, without which the colony purchase from Griffin could not be consummated. The question of colony funds, spot cash, now made another balk, so on December 26 Mr. Croft paid Griffin $6,250 cash himself, and gave his note for the balance, $18.750, in one year, and received the deed, as above mentioned.
"On December 29, 1873, three days after Grif- fin's conveyance of the entire colony tract to Croft, Thomas F. Croft deeded all his right, title and interest therein to the 'San Gabriel Orange Grove Association, a corporation duly organized under the laws of California,' etc. Considera- tion $25,000 (Book 27, p. 267), the same as he paid. The association then assumed all of Mr. Croft's notes and obligations, according to an agreement which he had made with Dr. Griffin beforehand, and paid them by quarterly assess- ments on the shareholders, or by sale of lands when it could be done.
"On January 27, 1874, the colonists assembled on Reservoir Hill, and each made selection of his own choice of lots in the tract as platted by
the colony's surveyor, equal to his number of shares of stock in the association."
Mr. Croft's portion of the tract consisted of sixty acres, the improvement of which he began at once by planting trees, mostly fruit trees, although a portion was devoted to forest and ornamental shade trees. In order to carry out a plan which he had cherished in regard to grow- ing raisin grapes he also set out a portion of the land to vines, and at one time was one of the principal grape growers in this section and had made large preparations for preparing raisins for the market. Conditions were not right for ripen- ing the fruit, as the nights were too cool and the sun not hot enough, so the project which he had in view had to be abondoned after an enormous outlay. Subsequently he turned his attention to raising hay, grain and oranges, apricots and other fruits. In connection with this he also engaged in the real-estate business, dealing in both city and farm property, besides which he subdivided his own sixty-acre ranch, selling portions of it from time to time, although he has retained enough for a fine home property. His property in Pasadena does not represent his entire hold- ings by any means, for he has considerable valuable land in Long Beach, and has a cattle ranch of twenty-five thousand acres near Dorsey, N. Mex., upon which he herds one thousand head of cows.
In 1888 Thomas F. Croft was united in mar- riage with Miss Errietta A. Wallace, a Canadian by birth, but from early childhood a resident of the United States. Politically Mr. Croft is a Republican, and from the time of casting his first vote has never swerved from the rule which he then made to cast his ballot for candidates of that party cver afterward. His service in the Civil war makes him eligible to that ever lessen- ing band of noble veterans banded together under the name of the Grand Army of the Republic, he being a faithful and welcome member of John F. Godfrey Post. From a financial standpoint Mr. Croft has made a brilliant success of his life, and this too without any taint of overreach- ing on his part, but on the other hand many who have been financially embarrassed have been re- lieved by his aid. Not only in a financial sense, but from a broader aspect Mr. Croft's life may be viewed as one well worthy of emulation.
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COL. SHERMAN PEASE. The example of independence and self-reliant effort set by the early pioneers of California have been ad- mirably emulated by the younger generation, whose business enterprise and progressive spirit have erected well on the stanch foundation laid by the first citizens of this great western com- monwealth. The Pease family is noteworthy in this instance, the head of the family, Niles Pease, having attained a prominent place in the com- mercial activity of Los Angeles, where his sons- Sherman and Herbert, are now named among the most prominent and successful business men. The elder of the two, Sherman Pease, was born in Thompsonville, Conn., in 1869, the descendant of an old and prominent New England family whose members participated in the struggle for independence. His parents, Niles and Cornelia (Gleason) Pease, were both natives of Connecti- cut, in which state the father engaged for many years as a furniture manufacturer. For com- plete details of the life of the elder man refer to his personal biography, which appears else- where in this volume.
Sherman Pease spent the first fifteen years of his life in his native city, receiving a preliminary education in the public schools which was com- pleted in the Woodbury Business College of Los Angeles after his parents' removal to this city in 1884. He graduated from the commercial department of this institution, whose sessions were held in the old Pico house, and then en- tered his father's store on Spring street, between First and Second streets, and began a study of the business in its smallest details. He applied himself with the spirit and energy characteristic of the entire family and in time became a partner in the enterprise, which in 1897 was incorporated as the Niles Pease Furniture Company, with his father as president. He continued in the busi- ness until December, 1904, when it was sold to the Pacific Purchasing Company, the latter rep- resenting the combined business of five similar enterprises in this city. Until 1906 Mr. Pease was interested in the sale of real estate and then incorporated the firm of Pease Brothers to en- gage in the furniture business, and became one of the incorporators of the Niles Pease Invest- ment Company, of which Niles Pease became president and Sherman Pease vice-president.
This company erected the large building at Nos. 640-646 South Hill street to accommodate the in- terests of Pease Brothers. The company occu- pies the entire building, which consists of eight stories 75×140 feet in dimensions, and built of reinforced concrete and absolutely fireproof. The first floor is devoted to the display of elegant furniture and is the most elaborate in the city, while a varied stock, complete in every line of furniture, carpets, curtains, and drapery, is to be found in the house. Mr. Pease is president and treasurer of the concern, while his brother, Herbert, is vice-president.
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