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 119

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

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

work of the organization, and also for three years he served as secretary of the Republican county central committee. During the campaigns of 1904 and 1905 he acted as chairman of the Repub- lican city central committee, and wielded a strong influence in the interests of his party.

Significant of the esteem in which Mr. Mc- Garvin has always been held was his appointment in 1893 to the position of assistant manager of the Los Angeles county exhibit at the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, where he discharged the duties devolving upon him in a peculiarly capa- ble manner. The following year he acted in a similar capacity at the Mid-winter Fair in San Francisco, and has since then held many other positions of equal responsibility. Fraternally he is a member of Los Angeles Lodge No. 290, F. & A. M .; Signet Chapter No. 57, R. A. M .; Los Angeles Commandery No. 9, K. T .; and Al Malaikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Socially he is a member of the Jonathan Club and Union League, in both of which he is a popular member and valued for personal qualities as well as the ability which has distinguished his entire career. Mr. McGarvin owes much of his success to a happy combination of personal characteristics, being gifted with a genial nature which knows nothing but friendship in his intercourse with those about him. Although stanch in his politi- cal convictions-no man more so,-yet he is never antagonistic nor forces men to the opposi- tion through this element of character; instead, his own convictions are so strong, so free from prejudice, that he invariably makes a friend every time he makes an acquaintance. He is held in the highest esteem as a citizen of Los Angeles, whose interests he can be counted upon to up- hold. December 19, 1900, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Una Taylor Adams.

CHARLES KELLY. There are many who believe that Charles Kelly of San Diego has no superior throughout Southern California as a judge of horses and they further assert that his stable of road horses is the finest in all of this region. It is his theory that road horses should be bred so as to secure the very best results for appearance, build, disposition and endurance. The fact that he has an exceptionally fine herd of animals is largely due to their having been in- bred with the Morgan strain, acknowledged to possess the greatest intelligence and the best dispositions of any of the breeds. In his stable he has a stallion, standard bred, and in color black, Sagewood by Silkwood, with a record of 2:0734. While this is a fine animal, Mr. Kelly considers that it is surpassed by his mahogany- colored stallion Clinton, sired by Ralph, by Her- cules, by a brother of Lexington ; dam of full-

blooded Morgan. Mr. Kelly believes that Clinton is the finest stallion in Southern California and he recommends him to horse traders desiring to secure in their roadsters fine dispositions and great power of endurance.

A native son of California, Charles Kelly is a member of a pioneer family of this state. When gold was discovered in the western mountains, Matthew Kelly, a blacksmith of Arena, Iowa county, Wis., determined to seek a livelihood in the far west, but it was not until 1851 that he completed the arrangements rendering possi- ble his removal from the old shop and home. Coming via the Horn he took up mining pursuits, but soon resumed work at his trade and opened a shop at Deadwood, near Auburn, Cal., where $16 was his regular price for shoeing horses and often he received as much as $20 for such work. In 1853 he was joined by his wife, Emily ( Por- ter ) Kelly, whom he had married in Arena, Wis., and who came west via Panama. While they were living at Deadwood their son, Charles, was born August 7, 1862, he being the fifth among nine children, all of whom are still living. As early as 1853 Robert, a brother of Matthew Kelly, came to Old Town, San Diego, and became in- terested in stock .raising. In 1868 Matthew brought his family to San Diego on the old ship Orizaba, and among his fellow passengers was Alonzo E. Horton, the founder of San Diego, and for years its most distinguished citizen.

The two brothers, Robert and Matthew Kelly, owned an old grant, Agua Hedionda, near Ocean- side, which they improved, the property still being known as the Kelly ranch. There Mat- thew died in 1885 and there his widow yet makes her home. When the family removed to South- ern California Charles Kelly was a boy of six years, hence his education was acquired in San Diego county. Remaining at home until the death of his father; he then succeeded in part to the management of the estate and remained at the old ranch until 1895, the year of his settlement in the city of San Diego. Here he bought a livery business owned by Wesley Smith, on the corner of Third and F streets. At that time he had only three vehicles and eight horses in the stable, but since then he has increased both until now he owns next to the largest livery stable in San Diego, having seventy-five horses and a suitable equipment of vehicles. On the ranch, where he still owns fifteen hundred acres, he is engaged in raising fine driving horses and cattle and now has one hundred head of horses in pasture. When they are ready to be sold 01 when colts are at an age suitable for breaking, he brings them into the city stable. His horses are now to be found all over Southern Califor- nia, and those who once have purchased from him do not hesitate to say that the colts raised on

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his ranch are as fine as the region produces. The ranch is devoted almost wholly to stock raising and the hay and grain produced each year are utilized principally for feed.

The Kelly residence at No. 3348 A street, San Diego, is presided over by Mrs. Kelly, who was Lovinia Irwin, a native of Illinois, but from 1868 a resident of California. Their three children are named Herbert, Genevieve and Irwin. While upholding Republican principles at national elec- tions, Mr. Kelly is somewhat independent in his attitude toward local politics, believing the in- telligence and honesty of the candidate to be of greater importance than his opinion upon the national issues. As the representative of the fourth ward he is now serving his second term in the city council. During the building of the schoolhouse on Union and F streets he was offi- ciating as a trustee of schools, and gave his support to the needed improvements, as he does to all measures for the benefit of the city. At one time he served as a director of the Cham- ber of Commerce and that organization, which has accomplished so much for the advancement of local interests, has ever been the recipient of his support and intelligent allegiance.

ALEXANDER ORMSBY LEE. In the line of his profession no one is better known in Pomona than Dr. Lee, who came here in 1897 and established himself as a veterinary surgeon, and the wisdom of his choice both as to a pro- fession and also as to location have been more than gratifying in the years which have passed. His reputation as a skilled practitioner has reached far beyond his immediate locality, the call for his services taking him to all parts of Los Angeles county, as well as into San Ber- nardino county.

The earliest member of the Lee family of whom we have any definite knowledge was the grandfather, who was born in Ireland of Eng- lish antecedents, and who on bringing his fam- ily to the new world, established his home in Ontario, Canada. Among the children in his family was Samuel, who was born in County Derry, and whose boyhood years were associat- ed with the pioneer conditions which then ex- isted in the vicinity of Markham, York county, where his father settled. Subsequently he him- self settled on a heavily wooded tract in the vicinity of St. Marys, Perth county, which he cleared and made habitable for his family, and it was there that his earth life came to a close in 1883. Before her marriage his wife was Mar- jorie Donogh, she too being a native of Ire- land, born in county Connaught. She survived her husband fourteen years and passed away on the Canadian homestead in 1807.

Of the eleven children born to Samuel and Marjorie (Donogh) Lee all are living with one exception, and Alexander O. is the eldest son. He was born on the family homestead in the vicinity of St. Marys, December 14, 1862, and was given a fair education in the public schools of that locality. Upon attaining his majority in 1883 he went to Toronto and associated himself with the firm of Gerard Hentzman & Co., piano manufacturers, under whom he learned the busi- ness and later became foreman of the sounding- board department. His association with the firm in various capacities covered a period of ten years, during which time he proved himself a capable and conscientious workman and gained the re- spect and friendship of his employers. In 1893 he resigned his position to enter the Ontario Veterinary College at Toronto. He graduated as a veterinary surgeon two years later and without loss of time established a practice in Markham, York county. Later he removed his office to Toronto, about twenty-two miles south, and in addition to his practice had a one-half interest in a livery stable there. Notwithstand- ing the fact that he was succeeding well in the east Dr. Lee had become deeply interested in the Pacific coast country and hither he came in 1897, locating the same year in Pomona, with which city he has since been closely associated. As he was the pioneer veterinary surgeon in this city it goes without saying that he had no difficulty in building up a large practice, and his name is now well known all over Southern California.

Before coming to the west, in Toronto, Can- ada, Dr. Lee was married to Miss Elizabeth Johnston, who was a native of that city. The duties of his profession do not exclude Dr. Lee from outside interests, for he is one of the town's most enthusiastic citizens, being a mem- ber of the Board of Trade and also a member of the volunteer fire department. In his political sympathies he is a Republican, and fraternally he belongs to Pomona Lodge, I. O. O. F., the Independent Order of Foresters and the Fra- ternal Aid. With his wife he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the work and support of which both are equally interest- ed. To keep in touch with the latest ideas and discoveries along the lines of his profession Dr. Lee is a constant reader of literature bearing upon the subject, and is also affiliated with the southern auxiliary of the California Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Lee is an expert with the rifle, and for six years, dating from 1885, he was a member of the Queen's Own Rifles, which throughout the kingdom was known as the crack regiment, and in which he served as corporal. as such serving in the rebellion of 1885.

Qq Row ley

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

QUENTIN J. ROWLEY, M. D. A gentle- man of talent and culture, well educated, and having a large professional experience, Quentin J. Rowley, M. D., of Downey and Los Angeles, is widely and favorably known throughout this section of Los Angeles county as a skillful phy- sician and surgeon, and as one of the leading members of the medical fraternity he enjoys a large and lucrative practice. A native of Wis- consin, he was born, November 21, 1852, in Co- lumbia county, a son of Asa Rowley.

Born and reared in New York state, Asa Row- ley followed the march of civilization westward when young, becoming a pioneer settler of Co- lumbia county, Wis. Taking up a tract of land that was still in its primitive wildness, he clear- ed a homestead on which he resided for many years. A man of strong individuality, he be- came influential in local affairs, and for four terms served as justice of the peace. Moving with his family to Minnesota in 1863, he located near Austin, where he followed general farm- ing for twenty years. In 1883 he came to Los Angeles county and at Monta Vista was success- fully engaged in general ranching at his death, January 9, 1907, leaving a finely improved farm. He married Elizabeth Smith, who was born in Scotland, and died in 1904, on the home ranch.

After his graduation from the high school in Austin, Minn .. Quentin J. Rowley entered the University of Minnesota, where he took the full course of study, receiving the degree of B. A. Subsequently, as chemist of the Minnesota state board of health, he spent two years at Red Wing. Going from there to New York City, he began the study of medicine at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, from which he was gradit- ated with the degree of M. D., in March, 1884. Deciding to locate in California, Dr. Rowley came by water, via Galveston, Tex., to the Pa- cific coast, arriving just as the memorable epi- demic of smallpox was at its height, and was immediately appointed by the California state board of health as inspector, a position that he filled with ability and fidelity for three years. Locating in Downey in 1887. he built up an ex- tensive and remunerative practice in that vicin- ity, where he is esteemed and respected as a citizen of worth and integrity, and is verv popu- lar as a physician and surgeon, his knowledge and judgment being recognized and appreciated. He is an able business man, and in the early fall of 1905 was made vice-president of the Los Nie- tos Bank of Downey. In August, 1906, Dr. Rowley removed his office to the Grosse building. Los Angeles.

Dr. Rowley has been twice married. first, in June, 1887, at San Bernardino. Cal., to Mattie C. Browning, a native of Alabama. She died October 30, 1898, leaving three children, namely :

Gladys, aged seventeen years; Earl, a bright lad of fifteen years, now attending Pomona Col- lege, and Mattie, aged seven years. June 25, 1903, Dr. Rowley married Lida Ardis Craw- ford, the descendant of a prominent pioneer family of Los Angeles county. Fraternally he is associated with many secret organizations, be- ing a member of Downey Lodge, No. 220, F. & A. M .; Independent Order of Foresters, Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of the Maccabees, and of the Fraternal Aid Society. Religiously he belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal Church and is a liberal contributor to- wards its support.

ERNEST S. HOWE. Adjacent to the vil- lage of Ramona lies the small and well-kept ranch that is owned and occupied by the Howe family and that bears an air of orderli- ness and thrift indicative of the proprietor's energy and 'industrious habits. The sixty-five acres are kept in a high state of cultivation and are tilled in such a manner as to produce the greatest possible results in return for the care bestowed upon them. A specialty is made of the dairy business, for which industry the land is well adapted. Ernest S. Howe, who has made his home upon the tract for some years and who is responsible for its improved appearance, came from Iowa at the age of twelve years, and during much of the time since then has lived in Southern California. His parents, James M. and Sarah (Nims) Howe, were natives respectively of New York and Illinois and in early life removed to Iowa, where they met and married. While they were living at Osage. Mitchell county, that state, their son was born November 5, 1873, and in that locality he received his primary educa- tion.

By reason of the serious physical decline of the father in 1885 the family removed from the rigorous climate of northern Iowa and sought the more favorable environment of California, although they scarcely dared to hope that the invalid would be permanently restored to health. However, they were grat- ified to see a quick improvement and in a short time the father had regained his health. For two years after coming west the home was at Otay and in 1887 removal was made to Ramona, where a ranch was purchased and occupied. Some years ago the property was sold and the father removed to Montana, where he died in the spring of 1906, aged sev- enty-eight years.

During the years of youth Ernest S. Howe made his home with his parents, leaving their home when he established a home of his own.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

October 12, 1899, he was united in marriage with Concepcion Stokes, member of the pio- neer family of Ramona valley and a sister of Aristides E. Stokes, in whose sketch appears the family history. Born of their union are three children, Dora Ann, Josephine May and Ernest S., Jr. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Howe took his wife to Washington and for a year he worked in the Franklin mines in that state. From there he removed to Townsend, Mont., where his father then lived, and for three years he was employed in that section. During the residence of the family there the elder two children were born. Since leaving Montana they have made their home upon their farm near Ramona, where they have a large circle of personal friends. In religious belief Mrs. Howe was reared in the Catholic faith and always has been a sincere member of that church, attending its services and con- tributing to its maintenance and its charitable enterprises. While Mr. Howe has never been partisan in politics, he keeps well posted con- cerning matters pertaining to the welfare of our country and the prosperity of the nation, and in national elections he casts his ballot for Republican candidates, although in local matters he votes for the man rather than the principle involved and maintains an independ- ent attitude.

IRVING N. McGUIRE. The Argonauts of '49 for the most part were men of purpose and well-defined ideas. Located in the shadowy past, with their trails and successes dimmed by distance, this class of men take on a dignity and nobility which pales into insignificance the efforts of men who have the stimulus of competition, the encouragement of the multi- tude, and the help of settled conditons. Rep- resentative of the makers of this part of American history is I. N. McGuire, who, while included among those who wrought variously and substantially in the pioneer days of the state, is yet a living force in the present of Santa Barbara county.

Mr. McGuire was born in Jackson county, Mo., August 16, 1832, and in 1838 accompanied his parents to Buchanan county, the same state, where his early education was acquired in the subscription schools. His father and mother. James and Sarah (Wilcox) McGuire, were natives of Kentucky and North Carolina respectively, the latter going to Kentucky when twelve years of age. In 1830 the parents located in Missouri. In 1849, when I. N. was seventeen years old, the family outfitted for the long journey across the plains, which they accomplished with ox-teams in about six

months. Their experiences were of a milder nature than is recorded of many. The elder McGuire was the civic father of Vacaville, for upon pitching their belongings upon the site of this town, he built the first house within its limits. He lived to share in the activities of the community but a few months, his deatlı occurring in 1851, at the age of fifty-three. His wife, who lived to be eighty-two years old, died in Texas. She was the mother of eight children, of whom one son and three daugh- ters are living, two daughters being in Cali- fornia and one in Idaho. The parents were members of the Baptist Church, and the father was a supporter of the Democratic party.

Near Vacaville, Solano county, I. N. Mc- Guire took advantage of the unclaimed ranges to engage in the cattle business, continuing so engaged until removing his stock to Sonoma county in 1853. Purchasing a ranch of four hundred and eighty acres, he engaged in grain and stock-raising for twenty years, increas- ing prosperity following in the wake of his energy and resourcefulness. In 1873 he re- moved to San Luis Obispo county and en- gaged in the sheep business, having at one time thirty-five hundred head. The dry sea- son of 1877, however, resulted in great loss. and he gradually disposed of the balance of the sheep. In 1880 he established a mercan- tile business in the town of San Luis Obispo, three years later locating in Santa Maria, where he engaged in the drug business until 1887. Mr. McGuire at this time purchased the interest of S. Clevenger in the Santa Maria Times, and ever since has been a factor in moulding the liberal policy of this paper.

The political activities of Mr. McGuire have covered a wide range, and have included par- ticipation in practically all of the local under- takings of the Democratic party. He was supervisor of San Luis Obispo county several terms, also deputy-sheriff, constable and jus- tice of the peace. In Santa Maria he has filled the office of city recorder, and has been a jus- tice of the peace for the past four years. The first marriage of Mr. McGuire occurred in Sac- ramento in 1854. to Sarah Condit, who was born in Iowa, and whose death occurred in 1887. Mrs. McGuire left six children, of whom we mention the following: Oscar married El- la Brvan, and has a family of seven children ; William C., a resident of Pomona, Los Ange- les county, is married and has a family of six children ; Mortimer L., a rancher of the Santa Maria valley, married Lulu Humbert, and has two children: Alice M., the widow of George IV. Jenkins, has two children ; Nellie O., wife of F. H. Farmer, of San Francisco, has five children ; and Sarah A., wife of Rev. J. E. Mc-

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Cann, of Alabama, has seven children. The second marriage of Mr. McGuire occurred in Bloomfield, Cal., uniting him with Ney . Hors- ley, a native of Illinois, whose death occurred in 1892. In 1904 Mr. McGuire married Mrs M. E. Clark, who was born in New York state. He was made a Mason in 1858 in Lafayette Lodge No. 126, of which he is past master. For ten years he was master of various lodges and served about that length of time as district deputy. He is now a member and past master of Hesperian Lodge No. 264, F. & A. M., of Santa Maria, being the oldest Mason in point of membership in his lodge. In all of his trans- actions he has been guided by probity, and his service and judgment invariably have tended toward the bettering of the conditions by which he was surrounded, and with the development of which he has been conspicuously identified.

MAJOR GUSTAVUS F. MERRIAM. When our country was first attracting per- manent settlers to the bleak coast of New England there crossed the ocean in 1637 a young man bearing the name of Joseph Mer- riam, whose family accompanied him on the long voyage and settled with him in the midst of a cheerless frontier environment. He was & clothier in Kent, England, in which busi- ness he accumulated considerable means. He outfitted a vessel and loaded it to bring to America. In 1641 he died and his will was one of the first instruments to be placed in the public records of Boston, where it appears in volume 1, page 28. Among his descendants may be mentioned Charles and George Mer- riam, publishers of Webster's dictionary. Will- iam Merriam the Third was the father of two sons, Matthew and Nathaniel. The former was graduated from Yale and became a Con- gregational minister, filling various pastorates in the Burwich colony of Massachusetts (now the state of Maine). From this promi- nent preacher descended Nathaniel Merriam, a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Next in line of descent was Gen. Ela Merriam, a sol- dier in the war of 1812 and afterward a brigadier general in the state militia. Ex- tensively engaged in agricultural pursuits, he not only conducted a large farm and dairy, but in addition was proprietor of a stage line carrying mail and passengers between Utica and Sacket Harbor.

On establishing a home of his own, Gen. Ela Merriam married Lydia Sheldon, whose grandmother. Mrs. James Sheldon, was a daughter of Thomas Lord, a pioneer of 1735. in Hartford, Conn. General Merriam lived to be seventy-nine years old, passing away No-

vember II, 1873, while his wife survived him until 1886 and died at the age of eighty-six years. Their son, G. F. Merriam, was born in Lewis county, N. Y., October 17, 1835, and received an academic education, in St. Lawrence and Lewis counties, after which he entered the Annapolis Naval Academy. Re- signing from there in 1858 he removed to Kan- sas and engaged in business at Lawrence un- til 1861. Upon the opening of the Civil war he entered the Union service as first lieu- tenant in the Third Artillery of New York Volunteers and was stationed in North Caro- lina, where he drilled and prepared for field service twelve batteries, he being the ordy one there sufficiently familiar with military tactics to perform the duties of the position. In the fall of 1862 he was promoted to be major of the Fifth Artillery of New York Volunteers and served as such until the close of the war. During the last eighteen months of service he was in command of Maryland Heights op- posite Harper's Ferry.

When the war had ended Major Merriam re- turned to Kansas and embarked in the mercan- tile business at Topeka. After ten busy years he was obliged to remove from Kansas ow- ing to his wife's health and came to Cali- fornia in 1875 with the hope that the coast climate might prove helpful to her. Immedi- ately after his arrival in San Diego county he took up land eight miles northwest of what is now the town of Escondido and became the earliest settler of Twin Oaks valley. In 1879 he set out a vineyard with the intention of making a specialty of raisins, but he found the grapes could not be dried successfully, and so he established a winery and has since engaged in the manufacture of wine. In addition he has six hundred stands of bees and makes a specialty of the apiary business. For many years he kept a record of the rainfall for the government and now continues in the work for his own pleasure and profit.

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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 119

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