USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, Volume II > Part 57
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Mr. Pease is married and has two children, Niles and Anita. Although his business interests have been very absorbing he has not allowed them to engross his entire time and attention, as a Republican seeking the advancement of the principles he endorses. He is president of the Union League Club and is a member of the gov- ernor's staff, while both socially and fraternally he is prominent, being a member of the Cali- fornia Club, the Elks and the Masonic organi- zations, having been made a Mason in Southern California Lodge No. 278, F. & A. M., and was raised to the Royal Arch degree in Southgate Chapter No. 98, the Knight Templar degree in Los Angeles Commandery No. 9. Los Angeles Consistory No. 3, and is a member of Al Ma- laikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Personally he has those sterling traits of character which have won him the esteem and respect of his fellow business associates, as well as the friend- ship of those who have come in social contact with him.
D. J. SUTTON. The family represented by this energetic business man of Los Angeles is of English and Scotch lineage and has been identified with American industrial development for a number of generations, the members resid- ing principally in the east, where W. M., father of D. J. Sutton, for years has conducted a grain business at Buffalo. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army and went to the front as a member of the Forty-seventh New York Infantry, in which he served until the close of the struggle. meanwhile winning a lieutenant's commission. In early manhood he
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married Mary Hallett, who is a native of New York and of English descent. Three sons and two daughters comprise their family and among these D. J., born in Buffalo November 28, 1872, is the youngest in order of birth and the only one residing in California. As a boy he re- ceived the advantages offered by the grammar and high schools of Buffalo, after which he had the advantage of a course of study in the Uni- versity of Buffalo.
On taking up active duties Mr. Sutton became a civil engineer and accompanied a surveying corps to the Isthmus of Panama, where he was employed in engineering work connected with the railroad. After eight months in surveying on the isthmus in 1894 he returned to Buffalo and for a time assisted his father in business en- terprises, but in 1896 he left home for the west. His first objective point was Denver and from there he went to Cheyenne, Wyo., coming on to San Francisco in 1899. Shortly after his ar- rival he secured a clerkship and later engaged in the mercantile business in Salinas, where he still owns a one-half interest in a business establish- ment. From there in 1904 he removed to Los Angeles and ever since has engaged in the real- estate business, handling his own properties. While residing in Salinas he met and married Miss Virginia A. Sobranes of that city, and they now have a comfortable home in Los An- geles. Fraternally he holds membership with the Order of Eagles.
HENRY JASON LELANDE. There are few names more closely associated with the com- mercial development of Los Angeles than that of Mr. Lelande, who prior to his election to the office of city clerk in 1903 had been connected with one of the largest book and stationery firms in Los Angeles, and possibly in the state. Subse- quently he engaged in the bond and insurance business on his own behalf for a number of years, or until 1901. It was in the latter year that he accepted a position as correspondence clerk in the city tax collector's office, his election to his pres- ent position as city clerk following two years later.
Mr. Lelande takes commendable pride in the fact that he is a native son of the state, his birth
occurring in Sonora, Tuolumne county, October 28, 1870. His father, Peter J. Lelande, was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1828, and was therefore a young man of twenty-one years at the time the news of the discovery of gold in California was heralded over the world. In September of that year he was one of the throng who surged to this part of the country in the hope of finding sudden wealth in the mines, and indeed his hopes were not all in vain, as for several years he mined with very fair results in Tuolumne county. Subse- quently he became superintendent of a mine near Sonora, and still later bought a large interest in a mine in the same locality. It was in December, 1870, that he became associated with the city of Los Angeles, where he established a wholesale and retail grocery business which at the time was the largest store of the kind in the city. Through- out his working years he continued in the latter business, but prior to his death he disposed of his holdings and lived retired. He passed away in 1888. As a companion through life he chose Miss Adele De St. Cyr, a daughter of Eugene De St. Cyr, who, as the name suggests, was a descendant of French ancestors. Mrs. Lelande survives her husband and now makes her home in Pasadena.
The early school days of Mr. Lelande were passed in Los Angeles, where he was a diligent student, and while he was still quite young had fitted himself to enter Phillips Academy at An- dover, Mass. After completing a preparatory course at Andover he entered Sheffield, the scien- tific department of Yale University. The same painstaking care and diligence which were such noticeable characteristics in his earlier school years were no less apparent in his college days, and as the day of his graduation approached he had high hopes for a successful and honorable dismissal from his alma mater. This crowning glory to his efforts was denied him however, for the sudden death of his father in 1888 called him home before the graduation of his class. As the only son he became his mother's chief depend- ence in settling up and caring for his father's business interests. In 1892 he embarked in the book and stationery business as junior member of the firm of William Edwards & Co., located at No. 114 West First street, Los Angeles. Some years later Mr. Lelande disposed of his interest
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to the Whedon-Webb Company, the latter com- pany finally succeeding to the whole of the busi- ness. It was at this juncture that Mr. Lelande engaged in the bond and insurance business alone, continuing this until 1901, when he accepted a position as correspondence clerk in the tax col- lector's office. As previously stated his election to his present position of city clerk occurred in 1903, and in the years which have intervened his Republican friends, and in fact those of the opposition party, have every reason to believe that the man and the office are suited to each other.
Mr. Lelande was married August 19, 1895, to Mary Winifred Davidson, of Pasadena, a daugh- ter of August R. Davidson, formerly a resident of Buffalo, N. Y. Two children have brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lelande, Marjory H. and Grace Dorothy, the Lelande home at No. 1320 East Fifteenth street being the center of a quiet refinement which has drawn around its in- mates a large concourse of friends and acquaint- ances. In fraternal circles Mr. Lelande is well known, holding membership in Hollenbeck Lodge No. 319, F. & A. M., besides being a member of the Elks, Foresters, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Woodmen and the Tribe of Ben Hur. For a number of years he was identified with the Chamber of Commerce of this city. His birth in this state entitles him to membership in the Native Sons of the Golden West, his member- ship being in Ramona Parlor No. 109, in which he now filling the office of treasurer.
JULES VIOLE. In the United States it is a matter of pride that a large portion of the best and most prominent citizens in the different walks of life have risen to distinction solely through their own efforts, without the aid of wealth, in- fluential family or circumstances over which they have had no control. An instance of the sterling worth which overcomes difficulties and creates its own opportunities is found in the career of Jules Viole, one of the most successful pharmacists in Los Angeles, where he has been in business for nearly twenty years.
A native of France, Mr. Viole was born in Bayonne, Basses-Pyrenees, January 18, 1864. be- ing next to the youngest in the family born to
his parents, Pierre and Dominica ( Betbeder) Viole. Both were also natives of France, the father born in Basses-Pyrenees, where he fol- lowed the combined occupation of tanner and cur- rier. He is now deceased, but the mother is still living. Of the four children born to these wor- thy parents two are living in Los Angeles, Jules and Felix, the latter a well-known surveyor. Up to the age of thirteen Jules Viole attended the public schools of Bayonne, but at that age dis- continued his studies to apprentice himself to a pharmacist. After eight years of practical experience and study he was qualified to follow his profession, having secured a position as phar- macist in Cavignac, Gironde, France. After fill- ing this position acceptably for two years he re- signed and returned to his old home in Bayonne, and about two years later, in 1888, came to the United States, coming at once to Los Angeles. His knowledge and practical experience as a druggist made it comparatively easy for him to secure a position and for ten months he was em- ployed as pharmacist in the drug store of C. Laux. At the end of this time, in June, 1889, he opened a drug store of his own, on what is now San Fernando street, being associated in the business with J. C. Clipfel, under the firm name of Viole & Clipfel. It was not long afterward that they removed their business from the orig- inal location to No. 503 North Main street. The association just mentioned was maintained for about a year, when Mr. Clipfel's interest was pur- chased by John Lopizich, the firm thereafter be- ing known as Viole & Lopizich. Upon the death of Mr. Fullerton the firm purchased his store at No. 427 North Main street, and moving their stock to that location have since con- ducted a prosperous business there, this being one of the oldest drug stores in the city. In 1904 the business was incorporated as Viole & Lopi- zich, and continued as such until 1907, when the corporate name became Viole-McLain Company. Mr. Viole becoming president of the company, George H. McLain secretary, and John Lopizich treasurer. Besides the main store previously mentioned they maintain two other pharmacies, one at No. 226 North Spring street, and the other at No. 220 North Main street, in all of which they do a prosperous business. Mr. Viole is also interested in the Anyvo Company, being
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associated in the business with Mr. Lopizich, the company making a specialty of what is known to the trade as Anyvo cream, also a rouge gras and make-up, which is sold only at wholesale.
In Los Angeles Mr. Viole was united in mar- riage with Miss Angele DeGroote, a native of Antwerp, Belgium, and into their home three children have been born, Andree, Pierre and Yvette. Mr. Viole's interests already mentioned do not represent the limit of his abilities, for he is equally well known in other business connec- tions and also in financial circles. He is finan- cially interested in the Western Lock and Hard- ware Company, the California Granite Manufact- uring Company and also the Telloprint Com- pany. In the organization of the International Savings and Exchange Bank he took a promi- nent part, and is now one of the directors, and was also one of the organizers of the International Bank of Los Angeles, being vice-president and a director of the latter. To some extent he is also interested in mining. Notwithstanding the large demand upon his time from his numerous busi- ness associations he still has time for the ameni- ties of social intercourse, holding membership in the American Order of Foresters, Druids, Knights of Columbus, Society Francaise of Mut- ual Benevolence, and is also a member of the American Pharmaceutical Association. He also belongs to the Merchants and Manufacturers Association and the Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, and in his political preferences he is a Democrat.
EUGENE CAMPBELL, M. D. Prominent among medical men of Los Angeles is Eugene Campbell, a physician and surgeon of note, who has been located in this section of the country for a number of years, and has succeeded in building up a large and constantly increasing practice. He is a native of the middle west, his birth having occurred in Fairfield, the county seat of Jefferson county, Iowa, May 24, 1856. His father, Joel E. Campbell, was a native of Washington county, Pa., in which state his father, William Camp- bell, located when he emigrated from Scot- land. He married Catherine Pool, of Virginia, and reared a family to ways of usefulness. Joel E. Campbell married Annie E. Crawford, a nat-
ive of Virginia, and a daughter of J. F. ~~ w- ford, whose mother was a member of the old Virginia family of Fletchers. Mr. Campbell moved to Fairfield, Iowa, and engaged in mer- cantile pursuits until his death, which occurred in his seventy-seventh year. His wife died in 1894.
Eugene Campbell passed his boyhood and early school days in his native city of Fairfield, re- ceiving an excellent foundation for knowledge in the common and high schools of that place. After his graduation from the high school he at- tended a private academy of Fairfield. His fa- ther being financially able to give him the best advantages he was next located in New York City, where he read medicine, graduating in 1878 from the New York Homeopathic Medical Col- lege and Hospital. He returned to Iowa and in Batavia, Jefferson county, established a practice. Later hic removed to his old home, where he remained a year, thence coming to Los Angeles; again returning to his home city he remained un- til 1893, when he returned to Los Angeles, in which latter city he has ever since remained. He has built up a lucrative practice, which is the outcome of his efforts, and one that is con- stantly growing in size and importance. Always an indefatigable student, he has constantly sought to enlarge his mental training ; in 1890 he gradu- ated from The Golden Square Throat, Lung and Ear Hospital in London, and in 1892 from the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital, while he continues to keep in close touch with modern methods and thought through study of the best medical journals in the country. His experience has been broad, many positions of trust and responsibility having been filled by him, among them the presidency and secretaryship of the Board of United States Pension Surgeons at Fairfield, Iowa; is ex-commissioner of insanity of Jefferson county ; formerly lecturer on phar- macology in the homeopathic medical department of the state university of Iowa, at Iowa City; in- terne at Ward Island Homeopathic Hospital; medical examiner of the Des Moines Life Asso- ciation of Des Moines, Iowa; and ex-secretary of the Southern California Homeopathic Medical Society. He is a valued member of the Los Angeles Homeopathic Medical Society, the American Institute of Homeopathy and the Cali- fornia State Homeopathic Medical Society, while
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socially he is a member of the Jonathan Club. His work is confined entirely to a general medi- cal practice, his office being located in the Laugh- lin building, while his home is at No. 324 South Olive street. He married Miss Minnie Duer, of Batavia, Iowa, and a daughter of C. Duer. They are the parents of three sons, namely : Byron, cashier of J. W. Robinson Company ; Earl B., clerk in the Boston store, and Max, attending school.
BEN E. WARD. In the death of Mr. Ward, August 23, 1907, Los Angeles lost one of her most highly esteemed residents and an energetic and lovable official. At his death his brother county officers passed resolutions of respect and the flag on the court house hung at half mast for thirty days. In 1898 he was elected to the office of city assessor on the Republican ticket, for a term of two years, during which time he gave such complete satisfaction to both parties, that upon the expiration of his first term, in 1900, he was renominated by acclamation and re-elected. He was then nominated for county assessor.
Mr. Ward descended from good old New Eng- land stock, and he himself was a native of that part of the country. Born in West Haven, Conn., April 12, 1856, he was a son of George W. and Julia E. (English) Ward, both also na- tives of the Nutmeg state, where the father fol- lowed the sea. Up to the time he was twelve years old Ben. E. Ward remained in the city of his birth, in the meantime attending the public schools and gaining a thorough understanding of the primary branches. Becoming ambitious to be a wage earner and thus establish his inde- pendence he left school and struck out for him- self, following various avocations until reach- ing his twentieth year, when he became desirous to fit himself for professional life. With the means which he had accumulated during the previous years he entered the law department of the State University of Michigan, located at Ann Arbor, graduating from that institution in 1875.
During the year of his graduation Mr. Ward came to California, stopping first in Sacramento, where for eighteen months he was employed as salesman by the large dry-goods firm of Wein-
stock & Lubin. Subsequently he located in San Jose and entered upon the practice of law, and during the years which followed enjoyed a lu- crative patronage, numbering among his clients some of the most influential people in that city. In 1881 he located in Pasadena, and in 1885 moved into the city of Los Angeles, from the lat- ter year until 1898 being interested in the real estate business more or less, handling both city and ranch property. His career as a public offi- cial has been previously mentioned, serving first as city assessor and later as county assessor. This, however, does not represent the limit of his ability or capacity as a servant of the people, for in 1880 and 1881 he was assistant minute clerk of the state senate.
In Kansas City, Mo., in 1891, Mr. Ward married Miss Jennie Dickinson, a native of Missouri, and to them were born two children, Ben. E. Ward, Jr., and Rachel E. Fraternally Mr. Ward was a member of the Masonic blue lodge, and was also identified with the Elks and the Maccabees. All who knew Mr. Ward recog- nized in him a man of liberal views and generous impulses, one whose high character was worthy of the utmost confidence of his associates.
Mr. Ward's maternal grandfather was Isaac English, who was born March 9, 1782, into the home of Benjamin and Abigail (Doolittle) Eng- lish. The next milestone in his life was his mar- riage, which occurred July 21, 1807, and united him with Catherine Ross, of New London, Conn. By trade a master of trading vessels, two weeks after his marriage he engaged to go on a whal- ing voyage from New London to the South Pacific Ocean on board the ship Leonidas, in charge of Captain Barnes, his younger brother, Nathan F. English, also accompanying him. Ar- riving at the fishing ground they rapidly accu- mulated twelve hundred barrels of oil, but mis- fortune overtook them, in the fact that two- thirds of the crew became ill, principally with scurvy, and it was deemed prudent to start for home, which they did on April 5, 1808. On the way a halt was made at the uninhabited island of Trinidad, for the purpose of replenishing the supplies in the line of water and fish, it was intimated, and among those who landed on the island were Isaac English, of New Hampshire ; Joseph Barney, of Nantucket ; David Branch, of
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Vermont ; Stephen Mann, of New Jersey; and Jason Rogers, of New London. Ere the real purpose of the captain was discovered they found they had been deserted on a lonely island, with- out boat, clothes, medicine or the common necessities of existence. It was a rare occur- rence for a vessel to pass that way, this fact only adding to their fears of complete destruction. The absconding vessel arrived in New London June 23, 1808, and when the inhuman conduct of the captain became known there was great indignation expressed against him. He offered various excuses for his deed, but all were with- out avail, and it is recorded that confidence in him was never again restored, and that from that time on he was unable to secure employ- ment. The excitement and indignation result- ing from this affair finally reached the ears of the government, and after the men had lived on the lonely island for nearly six months they were brought home at the expense of the government. Notwithstanding the long weeks and months of solitude which they had to endure, they never- theless could look back in after years and relate their experiences with considerable gusto. One of these will hear repetition here: It has been mentioned previously that the deserted men were left without medicine, in which case the small supply of spirits with which each man was fur- nished must have been classed as a luxury. Be that as it may, suffice it to say that all with the exception of Mr. English enjoyed their luxury, the latter saving his for use in case of emergency. A use was found for it before long, when a centipede undertook to explore the ear of one of the men. Several drops of the liquor saved by Mr. English brought the intruder out of the ear and thus undoubtedly saved the life of the victim.
William Frederick English, a son of Isaac English and a sister of Mrs. Julia E. (English) Ward, was born December 12, 1809. Like his father he was a sea-faring man, and while in the employ of Clark & Co., shipping merchants, sailed for the West Indies in February, 1838, as super-cargo of the brig Richard. Nothing was ever heard from him afterward, and it is be- lieved that he perished in a violent storm which occurred soon after the ship left the harbor. Pieces of wreckage with the name of the Rich-
ard on them found afterward was proof con- clusive that the ship was destroyed. His mother and wife dreamed simultaneously of his destruc- tion at the time the disaster was supposed to oc- cur, both suffering great agony of mind.
MRS. EMMA RICE NEIDIG. The order of the Fraternal Brotherhood has had the ad- vantage of having among its officers some of the brightest talent and most conscientious residents of the west, and it is to these that the growth of the order can be attributed. Among these is Mrs. Emma Rice Neidig, supreme vice-presi- dent of the supreme lodge of the order, and a woman whose name is widely known and popu- lar among workers of fraternities. She is a na- tive of the Empire state, her birth having oc- curred in Havana, where her father was en- gaged as a merchant. The Rice family came originally from England, Puritan ancestors lo- cating the name in Massachusetts, whence de- scendants removed to New Hampshire. There Benjamin Rice participated in the Revolutionary war and later made his home there; Jonas A. Rice was born and bred in New Hampshire and finally removed to Havana, N. Y., and followed a mercantile enterprise. In 1855 he continued his westward march and went to Iowa, becoming a large landowner in both Chickasaw and Fa- yette counties, and at the same time engaged in business. In 1883 he removed to Dakota and in Ipswich acted as first probate judge of Edmunds county ; his death occurred at the expiration of his term. He is survived by his wife, who now makes her home with her daughter in Los An- geles at the advanced age of eighty-two years. She was in maidenhood Charlotte E. Chapin. a native of New York and daughter of Hezekiah Chapin. a newspaper man of that section; her paternal grandfather served in the Revolution- ary war. Mrs. Rice is a member of the Congre- gational Church.
Emma Rice received her education primarily in the public schools, after which she attended the Upper Iowa University at Fayette, Iowa, and at the age of fourteen years was competent to take charge of a school. For twenty-two years thereafter this was her principal work, while her education continued through an attendance of
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institutes and various schools during the summer months. At one time she acted as principal of the Ipswich school, and later served in a similar capacity in the Bancroft school of Omaha. In 1892 she came to Southern California and for one year was connected with the schools of Los Angeles. At the end of that time she took up fraternal work and this has since occupied her entire time and attention. She' served as state commander of the Ladies of the Maccabees for four years and was then made supreme lieuten- ant commander of the supreme hive and served from 1895 to 1897. She resigned the state com- mandership of the Ladies of the Maccabees to accept the office of supreme vice-president of the Fraternal Brotherhood, being re-elected at each session of the supreme lodge, and holding the first certificate issued to a woman by the Frater- nal Brotherhood. In December, 1906, on the resignation of C. P. Dandy, she became acting supreme president and called the special meeting of the supreme lodge on January 4, 1907, when Prof. James A. Foshay was elected supreme pres- ident and she was again made supreme vice- president. She is very active in this work, and has visited the lodges in all of the fourteen states in which the Fraternal Brotherhood is repre- sented. She is still associated with the Ladies of the Maccabees, and belongs to the Relief Corps, Ben Hur and the Yeomen. Upon all the topics of public interest she has decided opinions, being a Republican politically. She is a member of the Business Woman's Club, and in religion is iden- tified with the Congregational Church. Besides being a woman of rare business ability, of ex- ecutive force and unerring judgment, she has a womanly nature of gentleness and refinement, and has won a host of friends throughout her residence on the coast.
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