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 122

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

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Returning to New York state in the fall of 1862, Mr. Burlingham remained there awhile. and in September, 1863. enlisted in Company

H, as a private in the First New York Dragoons, in which he served until the close of the war. He took an active part in twenty- four important engagements, including the bat- tle of Five Forks, where he was under the com- mand of Sheridan, and the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. After participating in the Grand Review at Washington he was honorably dis- charged from the service at Rochester, N. Y. Since that time he has resided in California the greater part of the time. He has been an ex- tensive traveler, having visited along the Pa- cific coast from British Columbia down to Chili, and before attaining his majority had been in seventeen different states and territories, trav- eling through them before the establishment of railroads, when means of transportation were primitive and limited. In 1897 he bought his present ranch of thirty-four acres at West Glendale, where he has crected a commodious and convenient house, and is successfully en- gaged in caring for his land, raising principally fruit and grain.

In December, 1862, in New York state, Mr. Burlingham married Laura Sophia Kidder, a daughter of Rev. Franklin Kidder, a noted Baptist preacher, and they became the parents of four children, namely: Mrs. Augusta H. Moore, of Eldorado county, Cal. ; Mrs. Bernice P. Lewis, living in Mexico; Mrs. Lydia S. Neil of Los Angeles : and Bert F., engaged in mining in Arizona. Politically Mr. Burling- ham is a stanch Republican, but with the ex- ception of being for a time a member of the state central council committee years ago has never held public office. He is a member of Kenesaw Post, G. A. R., of East Los Angeles.

THOMAS CAREY was one of the early settlers of Los Angeles county, whose efforts for the upbuilding of a personal competence and the general welfare of the community have made his name one to be remembered when the roll of honored pioneers is called. He was a native of Ireland, born in Tipperary in the vear 1823. and was there reared to young man- hood and trained in the first practical duties of life. His ambitious spirit, however, could not find sufficient opportunities in the land of his birth and after engaging at various occupations until attaining the age of twenty-nine years he decided to seek his fortune in the western world. In 1852 he crossed the Atlantic and in New York City spent the first few months of his career on this side of the water. Following the call of the west which was then drawing all classes to the far-famed land of California, he continued his journey and via the Isthmus of Panama reached the Pacific state. Like the

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great majority of those who sought their for- tunes in the west at that time he went to the mines and for one year was occupied thus on the San Joaquin river; locating in Benicia at the expiration of that time he made that place his home for ten years, being employed by the government.

In the meantime, November 9, 1867, Mr. Carey married Mary Hinds, also a native of Tipperary, Ireland, and the following year they removed to Los Angeles county. Mr. Carey took up a government tract of one hundred and sixty-one acres and on this farm spent the re- mainder of his life. This property he im- proved and cultivated until his death, dispos- ing of various parts of it until at the time of his demise he had left but thirty-five acres. At the present writing this property is being sub- divided into town lots, as it lies on Vermont avenue and in the vicinity of Vernon avenue and Figueroa street, and in the line of develop- ment of the city of Los Angeles. Mr. Carey's death occurred September 21, 1894, on the home place. As a pioneer, a citizen and a pub- lic-spirited man he attained prominence and was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. His word was universally held to be as good as his bond, for his promises were con- scientiously carried out. He maintained great faith in his adopted country and was always to be counted upon to further any plan for the up- building of community, city, county or state.

After the death of his first wife on the home place, Mr. Carey was united in marriage with Sophia L. Morris, in 1892, and born of this union was one son, Thomas E. Mrs. Carey survived her husband and is now the wife of George A. Blewett, a prominent citizen of this section.

WILLIAM FERGUSON. Perhaps no early settler of California was better fitted by exper- ience and physical make-up to cope with the hardships and privations of a pioneer country than William Ferguson, who also proved equal to the opportunities presented by her manifold resources and in the passing years won for him- self a position of financial standing as well as a place of importance in the social circles of the city of Los Angeles. His father, John C. Fergu- son, a native of Virginia, located in Tennessee in young manhood and there married, and in 1831 became a resident of Arkansas, where he engaged as·a farmer. He brought to bear in his work the sturdy qualities of the Scotch peo- ple, his father having emigrated from Scotland during the colonial period of our history and shortly afterward gave his services in the Revo- lutionary war. He married into one of the old .

families of Pennsylvania, identified with the his- tory of our country from an early colonial period. John C. Ferguson married Elizabeth English, a native of Tennessee, and the death of both himself and wife occurred in Arkansas.

William Ferguson was born January 21, 1832, near Fayetteville, Washington county, Ark., up- on his father's farm, where he spent the early years of his life. His education was received in a backwoods country school, primitive in its ad- vantages and surroundings, and was necessarily limited, and in the present day would not even be counted a foundation for later knowledge. At the same time he was trained to system and habits of industry through the performance of the duties which were his as the son of a farmer. He was in his eighteenth year when, with an uncle and several neighbors, he started by the overland route to California, unable to resist the influence of the glowing reports which had reached his inland home. The journey was made in safety despite the perils with which it was attended, their first stop in the state being at Mud Springs, which they reached August 10, 1850. But a short time was spent in this loca- tion, when they journeyed on to Sacramento, and from there to Nevada City, where Mr. Fergu- son and Joel Ragin engaged in the mines of Auburn, intent upon securing a recompense for the hardships and trials which they had ex- perienced in their overland trip to the coast. In the spring of 1851, when he went to the Salmon river regions, where he thought he might be able to work successfully in the gold mines, Mr. Ferguson passed the worst period of his life and very narrowly escaped death. His strong constitution, however, coupled with his indomit- able will, enabled him to pass successfully through all trials. After a short stay in these regions he proceeded to Trinity county, where he began mining and in the winter of 1852 en- gaged in freighting into the mines with a fair remuneration for his labors. Prior to his min- ing and freighting he served as cook in a mining camp for $150 per month, willing and eager to turn to account any ability which he might pos- sess. His next enterprise was as a blacksmith in Canyon City, where he was fairly successful. In 1857 he disposed of his business interests in Cal- ifornia and returned to his home in Arkansas via the Isthmus of Panama to New York. City, and thence to the southern state.

Mr. Ferguson remained in the patenal home for six months, when he once more came to California with his affairs so arranged that he could make this state his permanent home. Locat- ing in Trinity county in the summer of 1858. he engaged in agricultural pursuits and the manufacture of lumber for three years. Mining attracted him once more and for a time he fol-

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lowed this pursuit in Nevada. In the spring of 1864 he went to Idaho and remained a brief time, returning in October of the same year to the Golden state, and locating in his former place. In the winter of 1864 he removed to the vicinity of Petaluma, Sonoma county, Cal., where he embarked in stock raising, remaining there until 1868, when he came to Los Angeles to settle up the estate of his brother. The south- ern city proved an attractive spot to him and he has ever since remained a resident, giving liis efforts toward the support of all upbuilding movements. He has proved a man of business ability, establishing a livery stable in 1869 and successfully conducting the same for nearly ten years. At the same time he has invested in real estate holdings, relying entirely upon his own judgment and foresight, and his ability to discriminate between inflation and values, and profiting by his many years of experience in dealing with men. In 1870 he purchased stock in the water company of Los Angeles, in which. he later served as a director for many years. About 1890 he engaged in the manufacture of brick, water and sewer pipes, terra cotta and fire brick, and still maintains his interest in this plant, known as the California Sewer Pipe Com- pany. He has taken a deep interest in business enterprises in Los Angeles and has identified himself with many important movements, now serving as director in the Union Savings Bank.

In 1886 Mr. Ferguson built a residence at No. 303 South Hill street, and at that time this was the only building on the street south of Third. At the present writing he is completing a fine residence on the corner of Eighth and Rampart streets, which is to be the future home of the family. This consists of his wife, for- merly Miss Flora Austin, a native of Maine, and two children, Clarence and Mabel. The son and daughter received their education in the public schools of Los Angeles and are graduates of the high school. Mr. Ferguson is a member of the Unitarian Church; to which he gives a liberal support. In his political affiliations he is identified with the Republican party, having cast his first vote for Gen. Winfield Scott. He is a man of exceptional ability and strong moral purpose and as such has made his influence felt in the City of Los Angeles. He is self-made in the best sense implied by the term ; has met with misfortune and hardship in the upbuilding of his fortune; has profited by his contact with men and his experiences. Perseverance and energy, and courage in the face of many ob- stacles, have been the capital upon which he has done business, and he has won against all odds presented. His life history may well be writ- ten as a lesson to those setting forth in life under difficulties and fearing defeat.

DANIEL FREEMAN, since 1873 a resident of Southern California, is the representative of a family long established on American soil, the emigrating ancestor, Edward Freeman, an Eng- lishman, locating in Woodbridge, N. J., as early as 1658. In that state the name flourished for many generations and various members of the family became prominent in public affairs. The grandfather of Daniel Freeman, also Daniel, be- came a Methodist minister in manhood and was sent from New Jersey to Canada in the capacity of missionary, and while giving of the best of his life toward the spiritual development of those about him assisted materially in the growth and upbuilding of the country then known as the Northwest. He preached the first Protestant sermon in the city of Detroit and was active in the establishment of congregations throughout the province of Ontario and the state of Mich- igan. He reared a family of children who were also loyal supporters of progress and development and helpful citizens of the different communities in which they made their homes. Daniel Free- man's father was born on a farm in Ontario and was there reared to a practical manhood, en- gaging in farming throughout his entire life. He married a daughter of Scotch-Irish emi- grants, and the sterling traits of this people were transmitted in large measure to their son, Daniel, whose birth occurred in Norfolk county. June 30, 1837. Although reared on a farm and far remote from educational advantages, he was still early imbued with the desire to obtain an education, and during the years of his young manhood allowed nothing to divert him from this purpose. After securing the foundation for more advanced training he began teaching in a country school and with the means thus ob- tained graduated from a private academy, and later became a student of Osgoode Hall, the law school of Toronto. Likewise graduating from this institution he was admitted to the bar in 1865, and immediately returning to his native town, Simcoe, Ontario, he entered upon the practice of his profession.

Mr. Freeman was very successful in his work and rapidly rose to a position of prominence among the legal fraternity of his city. How- ever, on account of the health of his wife ( for- merly Miss Christie, whom he had married in 1866) he was induced to seek a milder climate, and while traveling in the south in February. 1873. was offered the book "Nordhoff's Cali- fornia" by a newsboy on a train. Purchasing the book he began a cursory reading of its contents. Becoming interested in the possibilities of the state so glowingly described, the family secured accommodations for the trip to the Pacific coast the following day, and in due time they arrived in San Francisco, the metropolis of the west. So

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well pleased was Mr. Freeman with the con- ditions of the state that he at once began look- ing about with a view to purchasing property, but with the thoroughness characteristic of his nature he spent nine months in an investigation of various sections before deciding to locate in Los Angeles county. Here he visited the Centinela rancho, which with the Sausal Redondo, com- prised something like twenty-six thousand acres of land, then devoted to grazing purposes by the owner, Sir Robert Burnett. In September he leased the ranch for five years, with the privilege of buying it within that time, for $6 an acre.

The only industry afforded by this vast tract of land at that time was the raising of sheep, and of the immense herds owned by Sir Robert Burnett, Mr. Freeman purchased ten thousand head. He devoted his time exclusively to this enterprise and had a very large band in 1876. when the memorable drought of that year car- ried off nearly half of them. During the fall of 1875, however, he had tried the experiment of raising grain on six hundred and forty acres of land, and his efforts had resulted in a crop which averaged twelve sacks to the acre, despite the fact that the season's rainfall amounted to only four and a half inches. After his extensive loss by the drought he sold the balance of his sheep, consisting of something like sixteen thou- sand head, to "Lucky" Baldwin, owner of the Santa Anita ranch. Since his first effort in this line, Mr. Freeman has never lost a crop, con- tinuing to develop his land to the highest state of cultivation.

Besides his grain farming Mr. Freeman has given every attention to the improvement of his vast property, one point of its supremacy being its splendid natural water supply, which he has developed by means of artesian wells, which now vield one hundred and fifty miner's inches of water. Water can be found at any point on the ranch at a depth of ninety feet, and an almost inexhaustible supply at one hun- dred and fifty feet. A fine seedling orchard has been budded to Washington navels and Valencias. and is now a source of considerable revenue. With the incoming of a large number of eastern settlers in the year 1885. Mr. Freeman found it expedient to dispose of a portion of his vast ranch. the south half being sold and later divided up into small plots, while the present site of Inglewood is also a part of the famous old rancho. The Redondo branch of the Santa Fe road and the electric lines of the Redondo road cross the ranch and afford unexcelled facilities for marketing the immense crops of hay and grain which Mr. Freeman now raises on his ten thousand acre property. He also leases a part of his ranch.

Mr. Freeman lost his wife in 1874, the year following his arrival in the state. They were the parents of two sons and one daughter. The daughter married Capt. Charles H. Howland, and they now make their home with Mr. Free- man in a magnificent residence, undoubtedly one of the finest in the west. It stands in a parklike enclosure of about sixty acres, all in a state of exquisite cultivation to California's most brilliant flowers and shrubbery, rare plants and superb trees-a perfect Eden of beauty in the semi- tropics. Mr. Freeman takes a deep interest in every movement which has for its end the devel- opment of the resources of Southern California, its growth and upbuilding. In Los Angeles he has been active in the Chamber of Commerce, having served for two terms as its president. For the past seventeen years he has been a di- rector of the Southern California Railway, a branch of the Santa Fe system.

In his personal characteristics Mr. Freeman is a man and citizen who stands exceptionally high among all who have known him in the past thirty years-the length of his residence in Southern California. By inheritance he is en- dowed with strong and forceful attributes of manhood, capable of assuming a position of leadership in the business world : at the same time developing the personal qualities of frank kind- liness, unswerving integrity and the brother- hood of man, which have impressed upon his face with the lines of advancing years, the pur- pose of a manhood sought and won.

WILLIAM W. YOUNG. A skilful and prac- tical agriculturist, systematic and thorough, William W. Young is meeting with noteworthy success in his operations and has acquired an assured position among the younger generation of prosperous farmers. He is a man of liberal views and of greatest integrity, energetic and pro- gressive, and is giving his earnest efforts to- wards the industrial, social and political im- provement of the valley, and more especially of Escondido, where he resides. A son of E. H. Young, he was born September 1, 1873, in Kan- sas, where he spent the days of his boyhood.

A native of Indiana, E. H. Young settled when a young man in Stafford county, Kans., and while living there occupied a leading position among its men of influence, for several years serving as county commissioner. Migrating with his family to California in 1887. he was here successfully employed in agricultural pursuits for about ten years. Since 1897 he has been a resident of Los Angeles, where he is now living. retired from active business. He served as a soldier in the Civil war, taking part in many of the most important engagements of the con-

C. B. Riddick

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flict. In politics he is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He married Lizzie Brown, a native of England, and ten children were born of their union.

Fourteen years of age when he came with his parents to San Diego county, William W. Young completed his education in the public schools of Escondido, and as a farmer's son was well trained in the many branches of agriculture. Choosing for his life work the independent oc- cupation to which he was reared, he worked for Mr. Wohlford for five years, obtaining practical experience in general farming. Subsequently he was employed for a short time in a fruit packing honse, after which, in 1904, he accepted his present position as manager of W. L. Power's fruit ranch, which is devoted to the raising of citrus fruits. It contains sixty acres of rich land twenty-five acres devoted to the raising of hav and grain, while on thirty-five acres are lemon. orange and walnut groves, there being over two thousand trees on the place, the larger number of them being orange and lemon trees. He has recently purchased a choice little ranch of five acres, which he will devote entirely to dairying and chicken raising, two profitable branches of industry.

In 1896 Mr. Young married Ida M. Burritt, a native of New York, and a daughter of C. L. Bur- ritt, of Los Angeles. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Young two children have been born, namely: Marion, now seven years old, and Theo- dore, three years . younger. Politically Mr. Young is a sound Republican ; fraternally he is a member of Escondido Lodge, W. O. W., and religiously he is a constant member of the Methi- odist Episcopal Church.

MRS. MARTHA E. PLATT, of Clarkdale, Cal., was before her marriage Miss Detwiler, the youngest of eleven children born to David and Mary A. (Price) Detwiler, both of whom were natives of Maryland. Of their large fam- ily of children two are deceased, the names of those attaining maturity being as follows : Laura, Mrs. C. Jones ; John, who married Lizzie Gow- ing; Edward, who married Nellie Turner ; Henry; William, who married Mary Baxter ; Thomas; Mary, Mrs. P. Santee; Annie, Mrs. F. Santee; and Martha E., Mrs. Platt. David Detwiler immigrated to Ohio front Maryland early in the last century and in Ohio his daughter Martha was born in 1860. At the first call for able-bodied men in the defense of the Union David Detwiler responded, becoming a member of an Ohio regiment, and serving throughout the entire period of the war. After his discharge he once more resumed work at the carpenter's trade, following this until his death in 1868, at

the age of sixty-two years. Politically he was a Republican.

While on a visit to the home of her brother, Henry L., in El Paso, Tex., Martha E. Detwiler and Harry D. Platt formed an acquaintance which resulted in their marriage in 1888. Mr. Platt was born in New York state in 1859, and in 1880 removed to Texas, when he was travel- ing freight and passenger agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad, a position which he held up to the time of his death in Los Angeles in 1895. His father, Hosea Platt, was born in New York state in 1830, and throughout his life had fol- lowed the butcher's trade in New York. By his marriage he had three children, named in order of birth as follows: Harry D., John and Jennie. Mrs. Platt is the mother of four children, Lucile, Harry, Howard and Edward, all of whom are being trained to fill useful positions in life.

REV. DR. C. B. RIDDICK. Throughout Los Angeles county no name is better known or more highly esteemed than that of Rev. Dr. C. B. Riddick, a retired minister of the gospel, now living quietly at his home in Downey. A man of great religious zeal and enthusiasm, he has spent a useful life, and whether engaged in educational or pastoral labor his ministries have been full of good works and faithful service for his Master, and all who know him love to think of his deeds of mercy, of his unfailing charity, and of his words of cheer, comfort and inspiration. He has acquired distinction not only for his own works. but for the honored ancestry from which he traces his descent, the blood of some of the most prominent colonial families flowing through his veins. A native of North Carolina, he was born in April, 1836, in Gates county, where his father, Henry Riddick, was a leading citizen. His mother was a Miss Mary Brewer, of Suffolk, Va. Mary (Parker) Riddick, the great-grandmother of Rev. Dr. Riddick, was a daughter of Col. William Parker, who, on the battlefield at Trenton. N. J., was brevetted by General Washington him- self. His grandmother was descended from the Alston family, so prominent in the south.

August 7, 1860. in Norfolk, Va., Dr. Red- dick married Lizzie Corprew, who was born and reared in Virginia. She is a woman of rare grace of heart and mind, a sweet-faced Christian woman, who during the forty-five years that she has journeyed beside him along life's pathway has cheered him with words of comfort and counsel. She graduated at the Wesleyan Female College, of which Dr. Rid- dick afterwards became president. The doc- tor had the rare advantage of a private tutor

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for five years, he being a graduate of both Am- herst and Yale colleges. He also attended Randolph Macon College and the University of Virginia. Besides the ten years spent as a teacher, he has filled the pulpits of the lead- ing churches in his denomination, notably in Denver, Memphis, Louisville, Birmingham and San Francisco. He counts it as one of the great distinctions of his eventful life that he was invited to preach the closing sermon of the Ecumenical Conference in Washington City in 1891.

After traveling from Shasta to San Diego Dr. Riddick is convinced that he lives in the choicest section of California. He regards his work at the Preston School of Industry, at Ione, Cal., as the best and most useful of his long life. He accepted the position at the re- quest of Gov. H. T. Gage. almost a life-long friend of his.

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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 122

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