USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, Volume II > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
JOHN D. BICKNELL, answering our re- quest for the data for a brief sketch of his life, wrote us as follows:
Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 5, 1907. Historic Record Co., Los Angeles, Calif.
Gentlemen: Answering your request that I furnish you a sketch of my life to be used by you in your History of Los Angeles and Envi- rons, will state that I was born in Chittendon county, Vermont, June 25th, 1838. About the year 1850 my parents removed to Wisconsin. Was educated in the public schools, Albion Academy, and the State University of Wiscon- sin. Moved to Howard county, Missouri, early in 1859. In the spring of 1860 joined a company of immigrants and crossed the plains from Missouri river to California with an ox train. I had charge of the train. Was five and one- half months making the trip to Sacramento. In 1862 was prospecting in the wilderness lying north and east of Fort Walla Walla, in the State of Washington. Returned to Wisconsin in the year 1863 and entered the University of that state. Was admitted as an attorney at law in the Supreme Court of the State of Wiscon- sin in 1865. Commenced practice of law in Dade county, Missouri, in the spring of 1867. and remained there until 1872, when I moved to Los Angeles, and ever since that time until very recently have been in the active practice of my profession in this city. Whatever record I have made as an attorney at law is incor- porated and forms a part of the records of the courts of this state. While it is true I have had more or less to do in helping our citizens in building up Los Angeles, from a town of about eight thousand inhabitants in 1872, to its pres- ent population, yet it does not occur to me that there are any facts other than above stated which would be of any general interest. Ordi-
narily I deem it well for a person to leave his biography to be written by others after he has completed his career.
Yours very truly, JOHN D. BICKNELL.
JOHN HYDE BRALY. In the colonial days of our history John Braly, a Scotch-Irish Presby- terian, left the land of the Covenanters and found- ed a home among the pines of North Carolina. He reared a family of four sons, of whom the youngest, James, was born during the war of the Revolution. He grew to manhood in his native state and in 1799 married Ruth McCullough, a daughter of one of the first families of the Caro- linas, and like himself reared in the Presbyterian faith. The spirit of immigration was strong up- on them, and in 1811 they became pioneers of the territory of Missouri, then the frontier, event- ually locating in St. Louis county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They reared a family of seven children, namely: Frank, John E., James, Finis, Carolina, Ann and Ruth. The second son, John Eusebius Braly, was born in North Carolina January 28, 1805, and was there- fore a little more than six years old when the family removed from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi valley. Among the primitive sur- roundings of a beginning civilization he grew to manhood, and May 6, 1829, was united in mar- riage with Susan Hyde. She was also a native of North Carolina, her birth occurring July 3, 1805. Her father, John Hyde, born in South Carolina, was a descendant of Lord Hyde, of England. He married Elizabeth Shuck, of Penn- sylvania, and in 1816 they moved with their fam- ily of ten children to the territory of Missouri, and settled in Franklin county, where Mr. Hyde was shortly afterward assassinated by Indians, The life of the pioneer mother in the rearing of her large family, in the midst of trial, privation and danger, was one which surely tried her soul, but as surely proved her right to be enrolled among the beginners of a nation. Both herself and husband were strong Methodists and reared their children in this faith.
Their heritage of pioneer instinct proved stronger than the comforts of a well-established home, and in 1847 John E. Braly and his wife, with their seven children, followed the westward
580
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
trend of civilization for the land that then was but little known-California. They began the journey in the spring of the year, equipped with ox-teams and all necessary provisions; at Fort Hall they met General Harney, who told them of the California revolution and the Donner dis- aster and persuaded theni to change their course toward Oregon. The trials of that journey can never be realized by the present generation, who cross the continent in less than three days, en- throned in the luxury unsurpassed by all the comforts and elegance of home,-Pullman, din- ing and observation cars. They might be said to have crept westward, covering a small portion of their journey each day, traveling across bar- ren tracts of land, under a burning, pitiless sun, with danger always with them and a constant outlook required to guard against a surprise from the Indians; however, they reached Dr. Whitman's mission in October, all surviving the strain and hardships of the wearisome trip. After resting they went on to The Dalles, and there learned of the dreadful massacre by the Indians of the mission they had just left. Everything but beds and clothing were left at The Dalles, while the party worked their way in Indian boats under the pelting rains and snows down the Columbia river to the present site of Portland, arriving on Christmas Day, 1847, after a journey of nearly nine months.
Oregon did not remain their home long, for on Christmas of 1850 they were permanently located in the Santa Clara valley, where the father and mother passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Braly was a Cumberland Presbyte- rian preacher and one of the organizers of the first church of that faith in Oregon in 1848, also one of the three ministers that organized the first Cumberland Presbyterian presbytery of Cal- ifornia at his own home in Santa Clara in 1851. Throughout his entire life he was a devoted ex- ponent of his religious beliefs, and better even than his precepts was the exemplification in his life of the highest Christian ideals. He was universally honored for the qualities of his man- hood, demonstrated in all his walks of life,- his patience and courage in the midst of a pioneer civilization : his persistence in the face of all obstacles ; the triumphant culmination of his life -June 10, 1898,-"falling asleep in Jesus." In
his wife he had a worthy helpmate and one who never failed him in all their years of union,-a tender, gracious, womanly woman, a faithful Christian, and unselfish in her wifehood, mother- hood, and the sisterhood which she gave to all mankind. She was spared to bless the younger generation for an unusual number of years, pass- ing away in 1898, when nearly ninety-three years old. Her seven children were all natives of Franklin county, Mo., and named in order of birth were as follows: Sarah Ann, James Co- lumbus, John Hyde, Margaret Elizabeth, Frank Clark, Susan Isabella and Eusebius Alexander. Some years prior to their passing away both her- self and husband made their home with their eld- est daughter, Sarah, who married Dr. Benjamin Cory, of San Jose.
The third child in the family of his parents, John Hyde Braly was born in Franklin county, Mo., January 24, 1835, and as a lad of twelve years accompanied his parents across the plains to the section of country which has ever since re- mained the scene of their activities. The trip, which to the elder members of the family meant grave responsibilities and burdensome duties, was to him one long summer of novelty and interest -the camping places, the gorgeous scenery, the gayly decorated tribes of Indians who forced them to pay tribute in the shape of flour and bacon, all remain in his memory as links in a chain which led to their far-away home in the Mississippi valley. Their arrival at the mission in Oregon was not so much an event in their journey as their leaving it, a movement impelled by the premonition of the mother of the family, who, al- though ill with the mountain fever, was so im- portunate in her desire to go that she was placed on a bed in a wagon, and the march was resumed toward The Dalles, which place was reached in about three weeks. There the news had preceded them of the terrible massacre at the mission, which meant the beginning of the Cayuse war.
Leaving their wagons, cattle and nearly all of their effects at The Dalles, they took Indian canoes and moved down the Columbia river, finally reaching the Cascade Falls. There the men built a flat boat on which they floated down below the falls to the mouth of the Willamette river, and worked their way up to where Port- land now stands. It was then a dense forest. On
581
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Christmas eve, for the first time in nearly nine months, the Braly family found themselves under the shelter of a roof, and the pattering of the rain above them must surely have sounded like the sweetest music in their ears, knowing they were safe from its discomforts. The early spring of '49 found them en route once more for Cali- fornia, and in July they reached a little settle- ment on the Sacramento river called Fremont, where they stopped, built a log house and called the place their home until December of the fol- lowing year. The Santa Clara valley held out attractions which made them seek that spot for a permanent home and near the old mission of Santa Clara was established the family home- stead, which so remained up to the death of the father. While living in Fremont the two sons, James and John H., freighted provisions and all kinds of miner's supplies to the mining camps of Roses Bar, Nevada, Grass Valley, etc., finding it a lucrative occupation. On one six days' trip one wagon and team earned $600, while a driver, hired for one trip, was paid at the rate of $16 per day, or one ounce of gold dust.
Mr. Braly was seventeen years old before he acquired the rudiments of an education, beyond such instruction as that received in the home, as there were no school facilities in those early pioneer days. About that time a county sub- scription school was organized and the elder Mr. Braly subscribed for five scholars. John H. Braly became a student and there acquired the thirst for knowledge which led him eventually into the paths of an educator. Until attaining the age of twenty-one he availed himself of the opportunities presented by the schools of the Pacific coast, among them the University of the Pacific, when he gained the consent of his parents to return east to complete his education. In November, 1856. he took passage on the John L. Stevens to Panama, crossed the Isthmus, and on another steamer made the journey to New Orleans via the beautiful bay of Havana. At New Orleans he took passage on one of the mag- nificent steamers on the Mississippi river to Tennessee, where in Lebanon he spent the en- suing three years of his life as a student of Cum- berland University. Diligence and persistence won him the honors of his class in his graduation, and in the summer of 1859 he once more found
himself a resident of California. Shortly after his return to the state he was called to the man- agement of a little college in Old Sonoma Town, in Sonoma county, known as Cumberland Col- lege, where he presided as president for two years. Mr. Braly had not contemplated follow- ing this occupation upon his return to California, having planned to take up the study of law, but finding himself without means and with the abil- ity to enter this field of labor he felt impelled to take this step. It is certain that he could never regret the active, earnest service of the ensuing twenty-five years, for his usefulness could not have been surpassed in any other field of labor. He brought to bear in his work of instructor a characteristic enthusiasm and energy, a conscien- tious preparation and oversight, which accom- plished results that placed him among the suc- cessful educators of the state. Resigning his po- sition in 1861 he was married in the fall of that year to Miss Martha Jane Hughes, of Hayward, Alameda county, Cal. Together they established a boarding and day school in the beautiful little valley of San Ramon, Contra Costa county, in which location Mr. Braly continued for two or three years. Disposing of these interests he then returned to his farm in Santa Clara county and at the same time that he carried on agricultural pursuits taught the neighborhood school. In 1865 he rented his farm and assumed charge of the St. Helena schools in Napa county, in which occupation he continued for two years, when he once more returned to Santa Clara county, where he was elected county superintendent. He was one among the first trustees of the State Normal School when it was located in San Francisco, and also became a member of the board of trustees when it was located in San Jose, being one of the building committee that erected the first normal building. In the spring of 1873 he was elected vice-president of the San Jose Normal School. which position he held for eleven years, resign- ing December 20, 1883.
Mr. Braly's retirement from educational work was for the purpose of taking up some line of business which would enable him to give his chil- dren better advantages. He had met with con- stant success as a teacher, his enthusiasm and en- ergy as well as ability, a motive power in many of the noteworthy achievements in the county. He
582
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
loved his work and gave himself to it, retiring before enthusiasm was lost. In 1883 he located with his family in Fresno, organized the first bank there, the First National, and also planted an orchard and raisin vineyard just outside the town. Success accompanied both efforts and Mr. Braly found himself well launched upon the business life which he had essayed. During his residence in Fresno he organized the Selma Bank and the Bank of Tulare, and had the management of all three banks until his removal to San Diego in the winter of 1887-8. In the latter city he or- ganized the Bank of San Diego and soon con- solidated it with the First National of that place, of which he had the management for two years, during the terrible tumbling of values and de- pression following the bursting of the boom.
Perhaps the most trying part of Mr. Braly's life was passed in San Diego. In April of 1888 he lost a daughter and the following spring Mrs. Braly's mother, Mrs. Hughes, who was making her home with the family, also passed away. His health became impaired and he found it necessary to give up all business. After resigning his posi- tion in the bank and selling out his interest in San Diego, he returned to the old home in San Jose. There they spent the winter of 1890 in the midst of the scenes of his early activities and brightest days. In the following spring they re- turned to Southern California and in Los An- geles became identified with business interests, chief of which was Mr. Braly's connection with the Southern California Savings Bank. Through this movement great things have been accom- plished, the bank growing from a modest begin- ning to one of the most substantial banks of this character on the Pacific coast. This bank was organized on the 16th day of January, 1885, and was first located on the corner of Spring and Court streets, in a small room 20x40 feet. In 1891 Mr. Braly and his son, Arthur H. Braly. became actively identified with its affairs, two years later Mr. Braly becoming president and his son cashier. Through the trying times of '93 Mr. Braly gave his strongest efforts to sustain- ing the bank and succeeded in keeping its doors open, continuing in business and at the same time enlarging its quarters and adding equipment. Nearly one year passed before the bank felt safe in risking a small mortgage loan. Gradually con-
fidence was restored, business improved and the future assumed a brighter outlook. Prosperity returned in full measure and with it the for- tunes of the Southern California Savings Bank were assured. The business continued to grow until in March, 1902, the directors, believing in the future of the city of Los Angeles and South- ern California, concluded on the erection of a substantial building. Today one of the most beautiful business blocks in the city is the result of this decision. It stands at the corner of Fourth and Spring streets, a twelve-story, fire and earth- quake proof building and is owned by the Union Trust Company, until recently bearing the name of the Braly Building, in honor of the man who was a prime factor in its erection. The first floor of this building is occupied by the bank which has for its home one of the finest rooms west of the Mississippi river; the public space is wainscoted in oriental marble, the counter fronts being of the same; the screens above the counters are of solid bronze metal of beautiful design and workman- ship, while the interior fittings are of solid ma- hogany. A waiting room, equipped with cozy seats, desks and telephones, is a feature of note. Lighting and ventilation have received particular attention and are among the most noteworthy features of the building. The offices above are especially handsome, roomy, light and well venti- lated, and both attractive and convenient for the conduct of business.
Mr. Braly's home is located at No. 38 St. James Park and well indicates the refinement and cul- ture of its occupants. Mrs. Braly is a woman of gracious dignity and kindliness and during the years of their married life has proven a faithful helpmate in all her husband's undertakings. She was born in Washington county, Mo., November 23, 1842, a daughter of Zachariah Hughes. He was a native of Blount county, Tenn., born in 1795, a high-grade, Protestant, Irish gentleman, in quality and character a great and good man. He was twice married and was the father of thir- teen children. His second marriage, with Per- melia Edgar Jamison, occurred in April, 1832, he being a widower with six children and she a widow with two. She was a niece of the Rev. Finis Ewing, founder of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church. She was born in Gallatin county, Ky., May 26, 1806, and in her eighteenth year
H.V. Markham
585
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
was married to John Jamison, by whom she had two children. Left a widow when twenty-four years old, she married Mr. Hughes two years later and became the mother of seven children : Jabez, Fisk, George, Wesley, Martha Jane, Lucy and Frank. Mr. Hughes died at his beautiful home at Eden Vale, Alameda county, September 22, 1867. Mrs. Hughes shortly afterward be- came a member of her daughter's home, where she remained until her death at San Diego, before mentioned. She was a woman of rare worth of character, revered and beloved by husband, chil- dren and neighbors. It has been beautifully said of her, "love controlled her heart and love con- trolled her tongue." With her husband she had become a pioneer of California in 1852, he hav- ing previously made a trip in 1849, re- turning home in 1851, and bringing his
family across the plains a year later. In Eden Vale they established one of the most beautiful homes in Alameda county, where he and his wife lived and toiled for their children until the day he passed to the still brighter home beyond.
The name of John Hyde Braly swells the roll call of men who build for all time, and whose in- terests are of such practical and essential nature that their successors must follow closely in their footsteps or lag behind in the march of progress and civilization. The superstructure of his life is founded upon the resources of a great, new state, and upon those universal principles of toleration and humanity which man, from the age of civil- ization, has cherished as his highest ideals. He has always been devoted to the cause of education, encouraging a high standard and personally in- teresting himself in the erection of many schools in both Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties. It has been said of him that no appeal for assist- ance in behalf of a worthy public enterprise of whatever nature was ever made to him in vain. He is a man of great generosity of heart, con- tributing liberally and cheerfully of his means toward the relief of suffering wherever he sees it. In religion he is a member of the Emanuel Presbyterian Church. His religion is a part of his life, living and giving the two principles up- on which he has done business. He is widely known as a man of unimpeachable honor, and all his transactions in business are free from that
narrow and selfish spirit so characteristic of the modern commercial world. He is liberal in char- acter, broad in his friendships, and in spite of en- grossing cares has never allowed business to be the chief and only aim of his life ; he is a promi- nent Mason, being a Knight Templar and a thirty- second degree Scottish Rite Mason; is a valued member in social circles; and a husband and father whose happiest hours have been passed in the sacred atmosphere of home. He has two sons and one daughter living (having lost two daugh- ters and one son) : Arthur H., vice-president and cashier of the Southern California Savings Bank ; Harold H., a mining and civil engineer ; and Emma Louise, who is now the wife of H. G. Bundrem, a harness merchant of Los Angeles. They have been faithfully reared in the belief of their ancestors, all being members of Emanuel Church. From whatever point of view Mr. Braly's career be regarded it may safely be said that he is one of the representative men of Los Angeles. The record of his well-spent and nobly inclined life is one to which his descendants may revert with feelings of pride, conscious of the knowledge that he is entitled to a conspicuous place in the historical literature of the state of California, in whose early development he took an active and important part.
HON. HENRY H. MARKHAM. The Markham family, represented in California by Hon. Henry H. Markham, former congress- man and governor of the state, was established in America during the colonial period of our history. In Connecticut the name flourished for many generations, a motive power in polit- ical, professional and business life of New England. In Brookfield, Conn., March 2, 1738, occurred the birth of Brazilla Markham, to whom manhood brought the responsibilities of business life. He settled in Pittsford, Vt., and later in Essex county, N. Y., his death occurring in the latter state, in the town of Wilmington, June 1, 1824. His wife, formerly Ann Whittaker, was born September 1, 1758, and died in Wilmington in 1804. In their family was a son, Nathan B., who was born in Pittsford, Vt., April 27, 1796, and who in manhood followed the training of his youth
36
586
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and engaged in a business career. For many years he was located in Wilmington, N. Y., as an iron manufacturer. Later in life he re- moved to Manitowoc, Wis., where his death occurred January 22, 1882. He was a man of strong integrity and honor and became one of the most prominent citizens in the com- inunity he made his home. Fraternally he was a Royal Arch Mason ; politically he was a Whig during the existence of that party, and afterward became a stanch Republican. He was early taught the principles of patriot- ism, and as a lad of eighteen years served as a minute man in the war of 1812, participating in the battle of Plattsburg, in 1814. The mus- ket he carried is now in the possession of his son, Hon. H. H. Markham, who values it highly. The fortunes of Nathan B. Markham were allicd by marriage with those of an old Scotch family long established on American soil. Susan McLeod, to whom he was united in Wilmington, New York, May 10, 1827, was born in Sullivan, N. H., September 22, 1801, a daughter of Deacon Thomas and Patty (Wilder) McLeod, natives respectively of Boston, Mass., and Sullivan, N. H. In 1790 Mr. MeLeod located in Sullivan, where he re- mained for some years, later removing to Essex county, N. Y .. where he engaged in farming until his death. He was an influential man in the county and held a prominent place in the Presbyterian Church. His wife, born in 1794, was the representative of an old co- lonia! family of New England. On October 15, 1882, less than a year after her husband's death Mrs. Markham passed away. She was the mother of ten children, six sons and four daughters, all of whom lived to manhood and womanhood. Four of the sons became law- yers and were prominent in their profession. J. D. is a practicing attorney in Manitowoc, Wis .; Alice married John Killen and died in Manitowoc, Wis .; Byron, deceased, was a business man of New Lisbon, Wis .; Perley resides in Benzonia, Wis .; Elisha Alden re- sides in Groton, Mass .; Clarissa became the wife of Nelson Darling and died in New Lis- bon; Delia died in New York; Henry H. is the subject of this review; Earl died in Nee- nah, Wis .; and George C. is an attorney and
first vice-president of the Northwestern Mu- tual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.