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 127

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

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born in New York, a daughter of Stephen and Eleanor (Scofield) Point, who removed to Akron, Ohio, and there engaged in farming. In 1849 Mr. Tibbet set out for California accompanied by his family, leaving Missouri July 14 and ar- riving in Los Angeles February 17 of the fol- lowing year. He went at once to the mines in Eldorado county and met with phenomenal suc- cess, in one day taking out as much as $8,580 in gold. He soon returned to Ohio with his family and again in 1853 the journey was made across the plains, Mr. Tibbet bringing with him a drove of sheep and cattle, and after a perilous trip over the Spanish trail they reached Los Angeles county in safety. He then located in El Monte and engaged in farming, later removing to Comp- ton and eventually purchasing a hundred-acre ranch four miles northeast of Santa Monica, where his death occurred April 18, 1904, his wife having passed away in 1892. They were the parents of four children, James H., who died in Compton in 1880; Samantha J., Mrs. Snoddy ; Jonathan F., of Riverside; and Phoebe, wife of Percy A. Arnold, of the Palms.

Mrs. Snoddy was educated in California and here in 1873 she was married, and coming at that time to her present home she has ever since remained a resident of this place and section. She is a woman of refinement and culture and held in high esteem by all who know her. She has been a member of the Degree of Honor and officiated as its treasurer for eight years. She is the mother of three children, namely: John B., a farmer in the vicinity of El Monte; Mary E., wife of Andrew McClintock, a farmer residing west of Savannah; and Nina I., Mrs. Ashton, of El Monte.

GABRIEL GISLER. Whatever of success has been achieved by Mr. Gisler during his resi- dence in California may be attributed to his own keen and capable judgment and his industrious cultivation of the soil in Ventura county. Born in Switzerland April 8, 1858, he was reared under the sunny skies of his native land until he was nineteen years of age, during which time he had become proficient in the common-school branches and had also acquired a working know- ledge of the painter's trade. With this equip- ment he severed his connection with his native land and bought passage to the new world, the boat in which he crossed the Atlantic casting anchor in the harbor of New York City. His interest did not lie in that part of the country, however, and he lost no time in seeking the western coast, which he had heard was teeming with possibilities for young men of push and determination. For a time after his arrival in Ventura county he worked at his trade, but gave

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this up to gain practical experience in the man- agement of a ranch, which observation had taught him was the most profitable employment in this part of the country. Eight years in the employ of others with mature experience had given him an insight into ranching which quali- fied him to start out independently, and with the means which he had laid by in the mean time he leased ninety acres of land near Oxnard, the same property which is his home at the present time. His speciality is the cultivation of beans.

In 1893 Mr. Gisler was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Reimann, a daughter of William and Catherine Reimann, an extended account of whose family will be found else- where in this volume in the sketch of the father, William Reimann. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gisler : Ida, William and Fred, to whom every advantage at the disposal of their parents is being given to fit them for the responsibilities of life. The family worship in the Catholic Church at Oxnard, and politi- cally Mr. Gisler is a Democrat, although he re- serves the right to vote for the opposite party if the candidate in question is better qualified for the position. Much credit is due Mr. Gisler for the position which he holds in his com- munity to-day, for when he came here twenty- eight years ago he was without means or friends, and is now recognized as one of the substantial ranchers of the county, and his friends are as numerous as his acquaintances.

CLYDE L. HOOVER. A place of promi- nence is given to Clyde L. Hoover among the business men of Long Beach, where he has been located for the past five years and successfully engaged in a mercantile enterprise at No. 115 East Second street. He was born in Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, September 18, 1871, a son of N. A. Hoover, a native of the same place, and the descendant of one of the pioneer families of that section. At the age of seventeen years N. A. Hoover enlisted in the Seventy-first Regi- ment, Ohio Infantry, and served throughout the Civil war. He was a contractor by occupation and engaged in this work in Ohio until 1874, when he removed to Kansas and in Larned fol- lowed the same occupation. Later he engaged in contracting in Cottonwood Falls, Chase county, same state, finally returning to Ohio and locat- ing permanently in Garrettsville. He has always taken a prominent part in public affairs, frater- nally is associated with the Odd Fellows and is a prominent factor in the upbuilding of his sec- tion. His career has been marked bv the sterling traits of character inherited from his ancestors, who were members of the Society of Friends.

His wife, formerly Julia Egan, a native of Ohio, is also living. Besides Clyde L. they have two sons living, Herbert H., chief dispatcher for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Salt Lake City, and Wallace K., a rancher in Tulare county, Cal.

When three years of age Clyde L. Hoover was taken to Kansas and reared in that state, re- ceiving his education in the schools of Cotton- wood Falls. At the age of eighteen years he took up the study of telegraphy with the Santa Fé Railroad Company, being located at Strong City. He was later employed by this company in Kansas and also in Texas. In 1888 he made a trip to California where he remained a short time, and there after until 1892 remained at home. Locating again in California at this date he spent one year in Visalia and one year in Vina on the Stanford ranch, when he returned to Texas and engaged with the Santa Fé Railroad Company. Returning to the vicinity of his old home he engaged in farming near Cottonwood Falls for five years. Coming to Southern Cali- fornia in 1901 he established a hardware busi- ness in Long Beach, which he has since conduct- ed with unusual success. At the same time he has interested himself in mining enterprises in River- side county. In Cottonwood Falls, Kans., Esther Moffitt, a native of that state, became his wife. Her parents, members of the Society of Friends, came from the vicinity of Richmond, Ind. She graduated from the high school of Cottonwood Falls and afterwards engaged as a teacher until she married. They are the parents of one daughter, Gertrude. Mr. Hoover was made a Mason in Zeredetha Lodge No. 80, Cottonwood Falls, Kans., and has since been raised to the degree of Royal Arch Mason in Long Beach Chapter No. 84. He is also identified with the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica and the Eagles, and socially is a member of the Cosmopolitan club. Politically he is a stanch adherent of the principles advocated in the plat- form of the Republican party.

HERBERT PILE. With a practical knowl- edge of all matters pertaining to the cultivation of the soil, Herbert Pile of Ramona, has met with unquestioned success as a grower of fruit, and has acquired a fine position among the representative agriculturalists of this section of San Diego county. His ranch, lying about two and one- half miles from the village, is well improved, giving substantial evidence to the passer-by of the excellent care and skill with which it is man- aged, presenting a beautiful picture of quiet country life, the abode of thrift and refinement as well as of peace and plenty. A son of the late Henry T. Pile, he was born, October 16,

W.B. Redlion

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1860, in England, where he spent the first five years of his life.

Born, reared and married in England, Henry T. Pile immigrated to the United States in 1865, settling first in New York State, where he was for many years engaged in business as a commis- sion merchant, being thus employed until his death, at a comparatively early age, in 1878. He was a man of stanch integrity, eminently trust- worthy in all relations of life, and was a member of the Episcopal Church. He married Sophia E. Butler, who was born in England, came to California some years after the death of her hus- band, and until her own death, in 1903, resided with her son Herbert. She was highly esteemed for her many virtues, and was a consistent mem- ber of the Baptist Church. She bore her husband three children, of whom one, Mrs. Horace Rob- erts, is deceased. Those living are, Herbert, the subject of this sketch, and Nellie, living with her brother, over whose household she gracefully presides, giving hospitable entertainment to their many friends and acquaintances.

Five years of age when he crossed the ocean with his parents, Herbert Pile acquired the rudi- ments of his early education in the common schools of Yates county, N. Y., completing his studies at Starkey Seminary, in Starkey, N. Y. Subsequently going to Jersey City, N. J., he worked at the laundry business for seven years, after which he spent three years in California, visiting different sections of the state. At the end of this time he went back to New Jersey and spent three years at his former occupation. Vis- ions of the future possibilities of California as a place of residence and business haunted him, however, and in 1887 he determined to locate here permanently. Coming, therefore, to this county in that year, he purchased his present ranch, which he has since improved and occupied. Mr. Pile has here sixty acres of rich and arable land, which he devotes to the cultivation of fruit of dif- ferent kinds, each season raising valuable crops of olives, figs, apricots, peaches and nectarines, which he sells, at the highest market prices. In his political views Mr. Pile is a firm adherent of the Republican party, but he has never been an aspirant for official honors.

'WALTER B. REDBURN. While the state of Illinois was yet in the frontier period of colonization John Redburn, a native of Mary- land and a descendant of an old southern fam- ily, left the home of his boyhood and identified himself with the pioneers of the Mississippi valley, settling in Frankfort, Ill., and grad- ually building up a profitable business as a merchant. After his removal to Iowa in 1860 he became prominent in the work of the Mis-

sionary Baptist Church and acted as pastor of the congregation at Centerville, besides which he held the office of moderator in the denom- ination for seventeen consecutive years. Far beyond the allotted span of man's existence he remained vigorous in mind and body, and at the age of ninety-two years passed away, in May, 1900, his last years having been spent at Moulton, Iowa, in retirement from ministerial or mercantile labors and in the enjoyment of the esteem of a large circle of acquaintances. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rach- el Sullivan, was born in Pennsylvania and died in Bedford, Iowa, two years after his demise.

Among thirteen children, of whom three sons and six daughters still survive, Walter B. Redburn was the youngest son and the tenth in order of birth. It was the ambition of his parents to give their children the best educa- tional advantages available and when he had completed the studies of the common schools he was sent to Lewis College in Glasgow, Mo., where he remained a student for one and one- half years. On taking up active pursuits he secured a tract of land near Seymour, in Wayne county, Iowa, and there engaged in tilling the soil. The occupation, however, was not entirely congenial and after a few years he turned his attention to the mercantile busi- ness. From youth he had been an earnest be- liever in Christianity and, under the inspiring influence of his father's self-sacrificing minis- terial labors, he was influenced to become ac- tive in Christian work, uniting with the Meth- odist Episcopal denomination. After a time he was licensed to preach and held pastorates both in Missouri and Iowa, but owing to ill health relinquished preaching and removed to the Pacific coast.

Since coming to Long Beach in August of 1903 Mr. Redburn has engaged in the real-es- tate business as senior member of the firm of W. B. Redburn & Son and has his office at No. 144 Pine avenue, where he conducts a general brokerage, real estate and money-loaning busi- ness. Among the tracts in which he has been interested are the Huntington Beach tract of ten acres, the Fairview tract of six acres, the AcCoslyn tract of five acres and the Pride of Alamitos tract of ten acres. He purchased the Krosnest, a large apartment house of sixty rooms located on the corner of Third and Pa- cific streets, and syndicated the site of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at the cor- ner of Fifth and Pine. Hc was selected secre- tary of the building committee of that church, one of the finest buildings of the kind on the coast, the site costing $32,000, building $107,- 000, and the furnishings $25,000. He has also planned and is the instigator of the $500.000

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hotel to be erected at Monrovia. It will be known as the Hotel Redburn and will be one of the finest hotels in Southern California.

Besides the management of his various in- terests along the line of his chosen business, he holds stock in the Long Beach buckle factory and aided in the organization of the Inner Harbor Gas and Electric Company, incorpor- ated in 1905, of which he acts as president and member of the board of directors. His only son, George W. (born of his marriage to Miss Margaret John, of Moulton, Iowa), is asso- ciated with him in business and proves a capa- ble and resourceful assistant.

Though no longer connected with the min- istry, Mr. Redburn retains his deep interest in religious work and as a trustee and leading member contributes to the welfare of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Long Beach. As a public-spirited citizen he maintains a warm interest in affairs relating to his town, state and nation, and neglects no duty incum- bent upon a patriot. Whether the work be that of attending a primary or casting a vote at elections, he is always to be relied upon to be present, ready to take an intelligent part in matters in hand. Before coming to the coast he was active in Masonic work in Redfield, S. Dak., where he belonged to the blue lodge and chapter, and aided in upholding the principles of philanthropy and brotherhood for which the- order stands; and in addition he has been a prominent worker in the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

JAMES M. MITCHELL. During his resi- dence of twenty years on his present ranch near Pomona Mr. Mitchell has demonstrated the pos- session of superior knowledge along the line of orange culture, and is a well-known authority on that special subject. In all, he has sixty-nine acres planted to this fruit, valencias and navels exclusively, and from one tract of seventeen acres he gathered in 1906 seven thousand boxes of oranges. In order to utilize the oranges which are too small to market he has been instrumental in establishing a marmalade factory in Pomona. As yet this industry is in its infancy, but if present plans are developed there is no doubt but that it will be one of the most important industries in the town in an incredibly short time.

Of Scotch-Irish descent on the paternal side, James M. Mitchell was born in Franklin county, Ohio, October 1, 1835, the eleventh in a family of twelve children born to his parents, John and Elizabeth (Brewbaker) Mitchell, the latter a native of Pennsylvania, while the father was born in Ireland of Scotch parents. He came to the I'nited States when only eleven years of age and

settled in Pennsylvania, continuing there until reaching manhood, or until his marriage with Miss Brewbaker. With his young wife he re- moved to the adjoining state of Ohio, in 1818, and engaged in cutting cordwood on the spot now occupied by the state house in Columbus. From that year until 1840 he continued in Ohio, and in the latter year removed to Illinois, where he took up land from the government. To this he later added more land by purchase, until he finally owned six hundred acres. It was in 1853 that he disposed of his holdings in Illinois and re- turned to Ohio, there purchasing land in Franklin and Pickaway counties upon which he lived the remainder of his days. Both parents lived to reach advanced years, the mother dying when in her eighty-first year, and the father when eighty-five years old. During his early years he was a stanch Whig, and upon the organiza- tion of its successor, the Republican party, he transferred his allegiance and never swerved from his hearty support of the grand old party. Fraternally he was a Mason, holding member- ship in the lodge at Columbus, Ohio, and with his wife was a member of the Universalist Church. Of the large family of children born to this worthy couple, only two are now living, James M. and his brother Thomas J., the latter a resident of Ohio.

At the time the parents removed from Ohio to Illinois James M. Mitchell was a lad of about five years and his education was received in a subscription school in Cumberland, Ill. Until he was nineteen years of age he worked on the farm with his father and then branched out for himself by purchasing forty acres in the vicinity, paying for the same $50. To some extent he carried on general farming, but made a specialty of handling and raising cattle and hogs. In 1853, with his parents, he returned to Ohio, where he bought forty acres, to which he added from time to time until he owned two hundred acres. He continited farming there until 1869. when he rented his farm and took a respite from the routine which he had followed steadily for so many years and came to northern California on a visit. Returning to Ohio he once more settled down to agriculture, but again in 1874 came to this state, this time with the intention of remaining longer than when he came five years before. After carrying on a dairy ranchi near Los Angeles for about nine and one-half years he returned once more to Ohio to take charge of the old family homestead. The years he had spent in California had made him dissatis- fied with the east, however, and after running the home place for three years he gave his farm of two hundred acres to the Weslevan Ohio College at Delaware, from which he enjoys an annuity of four per cent, and which is to

JOSEPH SWYCAFFER

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

continue throughout life. It was immediately after the disposition of his Ohio property that he again came to Los Angeles county, and in the vicinity of Pomona purchased the property upon which he resided until April, 1906, when he built his beautiful residence on the corner of West Third and Parcell streets. His ranch consists of sixty-nine acres entirely in oranges, in the raising of which he is successful far be- yond the average rancher. Another interest which has claim upon his time is the Sanitary laundry of Pomona, a new and thriving industry which is destined to be a success. Besides own- ing the building in which the laundry is located, Mr. Mitchell also owns other city property, in- cluding many valuable lots and a residence on Fifth and Parcell streets.

In1 1860 Mr. Mitchell was married to Miss Anna Phillips, who was his faithful companion for many years, or until her death in California when in her seventy-second year. Mr. Mitchell's second marriage occurred in 1904 and united him with Mrs. Anna Linsley, a native of Iowa, who by her first marriage is the mother of five chil- dren, all of whom are residents of Pomona. Mr. Mitchell has been associated with the Method- ist Episcopal Church throughout his adult years, having been a class leader for over forty years, besides filling other offices in the church and Sunday-school from time to time. His convic- tions in regard to the traffic in liquor have led to his joining the Prohibition ranks, and for over thirty years he has stood by his chosen party, believing in its ultimate triumph in the suppression of the manufacture and sale of in- toxicants.

JOSEPH SWYCAFFER. The biography of this pioneer of Southern California, with its record of pioneer experiences and perilous ad- ventures, resembles a page from the history of the far-distant past, for there is little in the civilization and improvements of the twentieth century to remind one of the dangers which he encountered and the obstacles which he over- came. The courage which forms one of his most remarkable attributes descends to him from his ancestors, for the family in preceding generations was conspicuous for personal brav- ery of its male representatives. His paternal grandfather. Anthony Swycaffer, was born on the borders of Switzerland and in boyhood accompanied his parents to America, settling in Baltimore county, Md. At the opening of the first war with England he enlisted as a pa- triot and served with valor on many a hotly- contested battlefield, receiving wounds which forced him to walk with a crutch during the last thirty years of his life. Notwithstanding

this infirmity he labored industriously on his farm and earned a livelihood for his wife and children by his own painstaking diligence. Among his children was a son, John, who was born in Maryland and died in Ohio after a lifetime of activity as a farmer. With charac- teristic bravery he fought in the war of 1812 and assisted in winning victory for the Amer- ican arms at Bladensburg, Md., and at the bat- tle of the Meadows near Baltimore. During early manhood he married Magdeline Orr, who was born in Maryland and died in Ohio; her father, Michael Orr, came from the borders of Switzerland to Maryland in early life.

Among the five daughters and two sons com- prising the family of John Swycaffer, the sub- ject of this narrative was next to the eldest and is the sole survivor. Born in Anne Arun- del county, Md., April 6, 1820, he there attend- ed the first free school, under the public school system, taught in the United States. In 1830 he accompanied the family to a farm near Fred- erick, Md., and at the age of fourteen years went into that town to learn the confection- er's trade, but, not liking the occupation, he se- cured employment on a stage line crossing the Alleghany mountains to Brownsville, Fayette county, Pa. Later, however, he served a three years' apprenticeship and worked at the trade. At the age of twenty years he began to work in an oyster house at Clear Spring, Washing- ton county, Md., but soon turned his attention to farming and operating a stage line. During the last year of the Mexican war he enlisted in Company I, First Maryland Light Artillery, Ringgold's battery, and marched to Fort Mc- Henry on orders to proceed to New Orleans. However, the armistice changed the plans of the generals and the battery thereupon was or- dered to California. On January 2, 1850, the troops left Fort McHenry and took passage on the Transport, which sailed around the Horn and landed at San Francisco August 19, thence by boat to San Diego, landing at this harbor August 26. The long voyage had been attend- ed by many hardships. Salt pork was the principal article of food. Scurvy broke out among the soldiers, who endured terrible suf- ferings. Eighty-four men left New York, but in six months the number was reduced to for- ty, and the survivors were almost wrecked in health by reason of disease and privations.

With their headquarters at the old Mission of San Diego county, the soldiers were em- ployed for three years in service against the hostile Indians of Southern California, and at the expiration of that time they were honorably discharged. In recognition of his services as a soldier Mr. Swycaffer receives a pension of $8 per month from the government. After

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leaving the army he was employed as a gov- ernment mail carrier between San Diego and Fort Yuma across the desert and over the mountain. These long lonely rides were ac- companied by the greatest dangers and he had many a hair-breadth escape, yet he was a man of such undaunted courage and fearlessness that he seemed to enjoy the excitement and the peril, although often experiencing a feel- ing of sadness as he passed the bleaching bones of many who had met death on the desert. While wild animals proved troublesome, he found his fellowmen far more dangerous, and more than once he almost fell into the hands of desperadoes and cut-throats. Mr. Warnock, who carried the mail opposite to him, was also a Mexican veteran and a pioneer of San Di- ego county.

After three years of steady service as mail carrier Mr. Swycaffer entered the quartermas- ter's department at the government quarters in San Diego and for one year had charge of the shipment of goods to Benicia. Meanwhile he had taken up and stocked a ranch in the Ballena valley above Ramona and in 1856 he built the necessary farm buildings on the prop- erty and removed to the ranch, where he en- gaged in raising cattle and horses. Unfortun- ately the surveys placed his land within the Santa Isabel ranch. With Mr. Warnock he fought the case in the courts for five years. The grant-holders offered each of them five hundred acres in settlement, but they resolved to fight the case, knowing they were in the right. In answer to the offer they declared that they would fight the survey as long as they had a hoof or horn or a dollar. Eventually the case was decided by the courts in their favor, but they received only one hundred and sixty acres each. However, although gaining notlı- ing for themselves, they were of the utmost service to their county, for they established a precedent in Southern California and opened this beautiful valley to settlers much sooner than otherwise would have happened.

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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 127

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