A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 104

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1184

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Though not . identified with any denomina- tion, Mr. Bean has ever been a generous con- tributor to movements for the upbuilding of the people. His charities are no less effective because given without ostentation. Many struggling against an adverse sea of fate have been helped by him at some crisis when hope became faint. Firm in his belief in the value of an education, though he himself achieved success with scarcely the advantage of a grammar-school education, he has been a friend of the public-school system and has favored the most advanced theories of ped- agogy. The large holdings which give him a position among the wealthy citizens of the

Southern Coast country have not held him aloof from his fellowmen or made him less responsive to their needs and ambitions, but on the contrary he maintains a fellow-feeling for all, and especially for young men obliged, as was he, to carve their own success in the commercial world without the prestige of in- fluence or wealth.

JOSEPH AMBROSE WELDT. One of the most prominent and influential business men of San Pedro is Joseph Ambrose Weldt, who was born in Wilmington, April 22, 1868, and has ever since resided in the vicinity, be- coming identified with many important enter- prises in the development of this section of the state. He is of German-American parentage, his father having been a native of Germany, although he came to this country when a small boy. He landed in New York City, where he learned the trade of silversmith, later served in the United States navy on the Frigate Rior- dan, experienced the earthquake at Valparaiso, and after his dismissal from the naval service went to St. Louis, Mo. He did military duty during the war with Mexico in 1846 and in the '50s, when the First Regiment of Dragoons was sent out to guard the companies of emi- grants on their way to California, he became first sergeant of Company H. He finally located at Fort Tejon, where he engaged in ranching, merchandising and freighting to Los Angeles. In 1862 he removed to Wilmington, where he bought a tract of land and devoted himself to farming, stock-raising and dairying, becoming the first settler in that section of country. His marriage to Caroline Malone, who crossed the plains with the Alexanders, occurred at Santa Fe, N. Mex. Her death occurred at Wilming- ton in 1897. Mr. Weldt is still living there, at the age of eighty-five years, and is still hale and hearty.

There were five children in the family of which Joseph Ambrose Weldt is a member, his oldest brother, David, being a pilot at San Francisco; the next, Edward, died in San Pedro: Frank, who was a justice of the peace, is also deceased; and John died at Wilming- ton. Joseph A. spent his boyhood days on the farm and received his education through the medium of the public schools of Wilmington. In 1886 he went to San Pedro and clerked for his brother David, who was a ship-chandler there, then in 1888 established a business of his own as ship-chandler and grocer. He suc- ceeded in builing up a fine business and in 1904. having outgrown his old quarters, he erected a large new building for the store on Beacon

Archie Smith

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and Sixth streets. He is identified with many of the important business interests of San Pedro and is a leader in all departments of public life. He is one of the directors of the Bank of San Pedro, was the organizer of the Citizens Savings Bank of San Pedro, of which he also is a director, and has built a number of fine residences in the city. He served for several years as school trustee, and since 1892 has filled the office of city treasurer of San Pedro.

In his political affiliations Mr. Weldt is a Democrat, and fraternally he holds member- ship in a number of lodges, among them being the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, Eagles, and Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the San Pedro Parlor, N. S. G. W. He is a faithful public servant, a successful private business man, and a tireless worker for the good of the community in which he resides and is held in the highest estcem.

ARCHIE SMITH. An authority on orange . party affiliations interfere with good local culture and one of the most successful grow- government, where he lias an opportunity of knowing the character of the candidate, his purposes and aims. For the past eighteen years he has served as school trustee. Fra- ternally he is identified with the Foresters. In addition to his interests already mentioned Mr. Smith is serving as manager of the San Marino Growers' Packing Association, which he was instrumental in organizing in 1905, composed of the Huntington Land & Improve- ment Co., George S. Patton, Bradbury Es- tate Company and John D. Bicknell, all in- terests of considerable magnitude. They handle about one hundred and seventy-five cars of fruit each year. ers in this section, Archie Smith is located in the vicinity of San Gabriel, where he oc- cupies a high position in the respect and es- teem of his fellow citizens. He is a native of California and a lifelong resident of the San Gabriel valley, his birth having occurred here November 8, 1864; his father, Alexander Smith, a native of Wisconsin, came to Cali- fornia in 1850 and became interested in the mines of San Gabriel canvon, remaining in this section until about 1870. In 1859 he sent east for his family to rejoin him. He at- tained the age of seventy-seven years, while his wife, formerly Sarah Silkwood, a native of Illinois, passed away when sixty-seven. Mr. Smith was a Democrat on national issues, but locally was always counted upon to sup- port the man whom he considered best quali- fied to discharge official duties. Both himself and wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their three surviving children are all located in the vicinity of San Gabriel.

The preliminary education of Archie Smith was received in the district school in the vi- cinity of his home, which country as he saw it as a boy was grant land and covered with bands of horses and cattle, and the only building was the stage station between San Gabriel and Los Angeles. His school days over he learned the wine making trade and became manager of a winery in Puente. Following this business for about five years, he came to his present location, where he has since resid-

ed with the exception of one year spent in Los Angeles, engaged in general contracting. The Titus ranch, as the place is known, con- sists of five hundred and fifty acres, of which one hundred and twenty acres are devoted to the cultivation of oranges, consisting of navels, valencias and seedlings, while the bal- ance of the land is given over to grain-raising. For the past eighteen years he has acted as manager of this fine property and in the mean- time has brought it to a high state of cultiva- tion. He also owns a ranch of thirty-one acres, one and one-half miles north of San Gabriel, all devoted to oranges in full bear- ing, and on this property he has erected a handsome, ten-roomed house, modern in all its appointments, and has put up fine barns and outbuildings. In 1882 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Anna N. Allen, a native of Butte county, Cal., and born of this union are three children: Leo S., Nellie M. and Archie E. In his political relations Mr. Smith is a Democrat on all national issues, but like his father is too good a citizen to let

ERLE GERARD. In a city which is grow- ing as rapidly as is Long Beach at the pres- ent time there are large opportunities for the thoroughly competent mechanic to establish himself in a thriving business. Erle Ger- ard, who is engaged in blacksmithing and is proprietor of the Imperial carriage shop, has demonstrated his ability as a workman and his business acumen, and although it is but a little over a year ago that he established his business it is now recognized as one of the largest and most successful of the kind in the city. His shop, which is located at No. 630 East Fourth street, fills a commodious build- ing 50x100 feet and is fitted up with all nec- essary modern machinery and tools enabling the workmen to turn out all jobs in a first class manner.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

It was on October 25, 1879, that Mr. Ger- ard was born in Crawfordsville, Ind., the son of Abner H. and Mary T. (Stover) Gerard, the former a native of Dayton, Ohio, and the latter of Crawfordsville, Ind. Both parents are now living and the father is engaged in busi- ness with the son, having charge of the paint- ing department. Mr. Gerard was reared in Indiana, where he acquired an education in the public and high schools, and later grad- uated from Hall's Business College. After the completion of his school work he entered his father's blacksmith and carriage shop in Crawfordsville and there learned the different branches of the trade and followed this em- ployment until the breaking out of the Span- ish-American war. April 26, 1898, he enlisted as a member of the One Hundred and Fifty- eighth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infan- try, Company M, and after six months' serv- ice was honorably discharged and mustered out with the regiment November 4, 1898. He then became First Sergeant of Company M. Third Indiana National Guards, serving until 1901, when he retired. It was in 1903 that he became a resident of Long Beach and in July, 1905, that he established his present business here.

The first marriage of Mr. Gerard united him with Miss Imogene Osburn, who was born in Sullivan county, Ind., and died in Redlands, Cal. She became the mother of two children, Mary and Jesse. In Long Beach he was later married to Miss Beulah Rosenberg, a native of Robins, Iowa. Mr. Gerard is a mem- ber of Mckinley Camp of Spanish-Ameri- can War Veterans at Long Beach and politically is an advocate of the principles embraced in the platform of the Republican party. As an enterprising and progressive citizen he is actively interested in the upbuild- ing of the city in which he resides, and where he is held in the highest esteem by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.

FR. JOSEPH JEREMIAH O'KEEFE, su- perior of the Mission of San Luis Rey, is de- voted to the work in which he has for many years been actively engaged, and by his abil- ity, quiet persuasion and his earnest enthu- siasm has improved the material as well as the spiritual condition of those who have looked to him for help, comfort and advice. He is now rebuilding the Mission, which, when completed, will be a reproduction of the original structure in outline, but will be much more substantial and durable, and will prove a lasting monument to his energy and re- ligious zeal. He was born November 8, 1842, a

son of Dennis and Margaret (Smith) O'Keefe, who became the parents of six children, five of whom are living. His father, who for sev- eral years was engaged in business in Boston as a cooper and as a refiner of whale oil, came to California in 1853, and after mining for a while settled in San Francisco and there re- sided until his death.

In 1854 Joseph J. O'Keefe came with his mother and her children, of whom he was the eldest, to California to join the father, sailing from New York to Greytown on the ship Northern Light, from there coming direct to San Francisco. The following two years he attended what is now the Garfield school, in his leisure time being employed as a clerk in a drug store that stood on the corner of Wash- ington and Kearney streets. From 1858 until 1860 he continued his studies at St. Thomas Seminary, and then entered the Franciscan Order at Santa Barbara, where he was fitted for the priesthood. He was subsequently or- dained deacon in Los Angeles by Bishop Amat, and in 1868 was ordained priest by the ·same bishop at Santa Barbara. The Fran- ciscan College in that city being opened. Father O'Keefe had charge of it from 1868 until 1875. Going then to Mexico, he re- mained there for a time and soon after his return to Santa Barbara in 1879 was made su- perior of the Mission, a position which he ably filled until 1882, when by orders from Rome in 1885 it was merged into the College of the Sacred Heart. In 1892 Father O'Keefe, who had previously made several trips to Mex- ico, went to El Paso, Tex., to meet Father Alva, who was on his way to visit the San Luis Rey Mission, with a view to accepting it from Bishop Mora and converting it into a school.

Father O'Keefe returned to California with Father Alva, who accepted the Mission, and he has since served as superior. The Mission when he assumed its charge was a complete ruin, but he has continued its improvements ever since, devoting his entire time and energy to its completion. The arches are practically the same as in the old building, and the new building, the foundation for which was laid in August, 1904. will have the same general appearance. The part being rebuilt is one hun- dred and eighty-six feet in length from the side of the church, exclusive of the arches. with walls three feet thick. the first story being fourteen feet high, made of adobe, the second one-half story nine and one-half feet high. The building will be one of the finest of its kind in Southern California, and when completed with new roof, beams and other needed improvements will be able to with-

Bryant Howard

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD).

stand the ravages of time for years. The church has been repaired with the remaining good tiles, the balance with corrugated gal- vanized iron roofing. In addition to having charge of the San Luis Rey Mission Father O'Keefe attends the missions at Oceanside, Vista, Fallbrook, Calaveras and Riverside school district and south to San Dieguito.

BRYANT HOWARD. Mental endow- ments of a superior character and the influ- ences which surround the life of the son of a southern planter of the ante-bellum tyne, found expression in a personality so striking as to make the late Bryant Howard admired by all to whom his name was familiar. He was reared in his native city of Buffalo, N. Y., and by various sojourns in other large cities he gained an intimate knowledge of American life, to which he added the cosmopolitan in- formation gained by continental travels. It was his privilege to enjoy a tour of Europe with President James A. Garfield and Profes- sor Rhodes as companions, together with other men of fame. Among such companions he was thoroughly at home, for his mind en- joyed contact with cultured minds. To the possession of poetical talent he added a taste for literature in its other forms, while a re- tentive memory enabled him to retain the thoughts and facts gleaned from history, sci- ence and art.

Mr. Howard was born in Buffalo, N. Y., May 17, 1835, the representative of a family many years established on American soil, in- heriting characteristics which were afterward eminent features in his career. His identi- fication with the city of San Diego began in 1870, directly following a tour of Europe, and from that time on until his death he was a prominent figure in the commerce and finan- cial life of the place, aiding with all the vigor of a forceful personality to promote its growth and secure the development of its best inter- ests. The delightful and unvarying climate and the sunlit bay with its advantages for the anchoring of the great ocean steamers he pre- dicted would be factors in the permanent pros- perity of the town. With an enthusiastic faith in the city, in the year of his arrival he or- ganized the Bank of San Diego, the first insti- tution of its kind here established, and was elected cashier. For years the bank stood un- shaken by decadence of booms and shrinkage of real estate values, and the institution was loved by its founder with a devotion akin to that of father for child. The untarnished rep- utation of the bank was his pride and joy. Under these circumstances the blow came to

him with: unusual force when, during the stress of the panic of 1893, the directors felt obliged to suspend business, owing to the shrinkage in value of their assets. This insti- tution in 1879 had been combined with the Commercial Bank of San Diego, under the name of the Consolidated Bank, a state bank, and on the first of October, 1883, was reor- ganized as a national bank, called the Consol- idated National Bank, whose deposits in 1887 were over two million dollars. The final clos- ing of the doors in 1893 was proven by sub- sequent developments wholly unnecessary and greatly to be deplored. In the final settle- ments all depositors were paid eighty-five cents on the dollar, so their loss was slight, but Mr. Howard himself never recovered from the shock, and after suffering from failing health for a considerable period he passed away October 12, 1901.

In addition to his interest in financial cir- cles Mr. Howard was active in his efforts to advance the welfare of the city, and his spirit of progress and enterprise being quickly rec- ognized by his fellow townsmen he was early looked upon as a citizen to whom public honor or duty was a personal trust. In 1872 he was appointed one of a committee of San Diego citizens to welcome Tom Scott and his asso- ciates, and worked with great energy and en- thusiasm to secure terminal facilities for the Texas Pacific Railroad. In 1873 he went to England in the interests of San Diego, hoping to be able to open a line of trade between this port and Liverpool. For a lengthy period, he served as president of the San Diego Flume Company, and manager and principal owner of the San Diego Daily Union, as well as a number of other large corporations. Until his health failed he was one of the most energetic and successful financiers of Southern Califor- nia, taking a prominent and active part in every important business undertaking of this section. He always worked with untiring zeal for the welfare of San Diego, and the beauti- ful city of to-day owes much of its present growth and prosperity to his efforts, as he was instrumental in inducing many capitalists to invest here, besides securing loans for va- rious business enterprises. His faith in San Diego was unbounded, and during his long residence here he devoted the best years of his life and his greatest efforts to the upbuilding of the city and county. His literary ability was not the least of his gifts, and when stricken with illness he was engaged in com- piling a history of San Diego county, which was nearing completion.

Surviving him, and the only son of his first marriage. Mr. Howard left a son. Roscoe, who

670

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

now holds the office of manager of the Puget Sound Telephone Construction Company, of Washington. Roy, the son of his second mar- riage, also survives and resides near his moth- er's home in San Diego, where he is a manu- facturer of marine gas engines. Mrs. Howard was formerly Miss Medora Hereford and is a native Californian, born, reared and educated in Los Angeles, where she was well known in the social circles of her girlhood days. Throughout his home town and county Mr. Howard was well known as a man of most in- flexible principles of honor, a banker possess- ing a thorough knowledge of finance, a friend to the needy and to those in bereavement and distress,-all in all a well-rounded character whose citizenship was of permanent benefit to his adopted city. As a member of the Demo- cratic party he was interested in measures for the success of that organization, whose prin- ciples he espoused from boyhood and support- ed with the fixedness of an unchanging mind. Though himself of Unitarian belief, all creeds and faith had the encouragement of his sym- pathy and assistance, while movements allied with education and philanthropy also relied upon his practical helpfulness.

J. J. HOLLOWAY. During the pioneer period covering the American colonization of California the Holloway family crossed the plains with the primitive methods of trans- portation then in vogue and established a home in the midst of a frontier environment. The parents were John and Nancy K. (Foster) Holloway, natives respectively of Kentucky and North Carolina, but later residents of Illi- nois, where they met and married. Subse- quently they became residents of Benton coun- ty, Mo., where their son, J. J., was born Jan- mary 26, 1839, and where he received the rudi- ments of a common-school education. It was on the 15th of April, 1850, that the family bade farewell to friends and familiar associations and began the long journey with wagons and oxen. As they crossed the plains they suf- fered considerable annoyance from Indians, but no lives were lost and no property de- stroyed. On arriving in California they set- tled in Sutter county and took up ranching and stock-raising. Two years later the father started back to Missouri with the intention of buying stock, but while on the way back to California he was drowned in Green river, June 16, 1853. The mother survived him for a long period, and passed away in 1890, at the age of seventy years. Of their seven children only three are now living, two in California and one in Mexico.

During the period of the Blackhawk war John Holloway enlisted in a company and aid- ed in subduing the Indians, and he also ren- dered efficient service in the Mormon war. At one time he officiated as captain of Company E, Missouri Mounted Volunteers, which com- pany was mustered into service at Fort Leav- enworth for the Mexican war and did not dis- band for one and one-half years. During the brief period of his residence in California he became a man of large influence in his county and often spoke in public assemblies upon the slave question, in which he was deeply inter- ested. Though he did not have educational advantages in his youth, he possessed a fine mind and a retentive memory and became a man of broad learning. Few men of his com- munity surpassed him in command of language and oratorical gifts, and as a speaker he al- ways won the admiration of his hearers.

At the time of crossing the plains J. J. Hol- loway was a lad of eleven years, quick to com- prehend the conditions he saw on every hand and prompt to make himself useful in every emergency. After the death of his father he worked to support himself and assist his moth- er in the care of the family, and by his un- wearied labor he succeeded in paying for a farm in Sutter county, but the floods of 1861- 62 caused him the entire loss of his posses- sions, and he sold out for an insignificant sum. For three years following he worked at Grid- ley, from which place he crossed the mount- ains to Clover valley, and in 1864 settled in Surprise valley in Modoc county. The first by-laws of the organization of that county were written by him, and he wielded a large influence among the pioneers of that region, where he was extensively engaged in the stock business. Late in the year 1868 he removed to the vicinity of Santa Maria, but the ensu- ing year he moved to the Oakvale district, where he remained until December, 1891. During the latter year he sold his land and re- moved to Los Alamos valley, Santa Barbara county, where now he owns about eight acres of oil land and farms two hundred and fifty acres of grain land and pasture.

The first marriage of Mr. Holloway took place December 22, 1870, and united him with Rebecca T. Miller, who was born in Sonoma county, Cal., and died June 13, 1883, at the age of twenty-nine years. Afterward he was united in marriage with a sister of his first wife, Mrs. Sarah E. Linebaugh, who died January 31, 1899, at the family residence in Santa Barbara county. Born of the first mar- riage were the following children: Lucy E., Mrs. W. B. McCroskey, who has four children and lives at Pomona; Dora B., Mrs. John

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Glines, the mother of four children ; Nancy E., who died at the age of two years; Albert J., who is unmarried and resides in San Luis Obispo county; Everett P., who died August 24, 1905, at the age of twenty-seven years ; James W., living in Santa Barbara county ; and a child who died in infancy. The chil- dren of the second marriage were four in num- ber, but the third, Cornell D., died at the age of thirteen years. Those now living are Char- lotte H., Carlyle and Francis.

Among the organizations with which Mr. Holloway is identified may be mentioned the Knights of Labor and the Santa Maria Grange, together with the State Grange. Interested in the Democratic party as one of its stanch adherents, he always has been a voter of the regular ticket in state and national elections. In local elections he usually votes the straight ticket, although he believes the character and personal reliability of the candidate to be of greater importance than the opinions he may possess concerning party issues. For four years he held office as deputy assessor, but with that exception he has declined official po- sitions and has given his attention wholly to agricultural affairs. He long has been con- nected with the Christian Church and has con- tributed to its organizations, as well as to oth- er movements calculated to advance his com- munity or to promote the welfare of the race.

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A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 104

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1184

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1184