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 128

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

USA > California > 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 128

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During 1876 Mr. Swycaffer went to Arizona with one hundred and ten head of cattle, thir- ty-six head of horses and a sixteen-mule team, the latter being utilized for freighting at Globe for two years. Owing to a drought he lost many of his cattle and eventually sold his team, which the purchaser took away and forgot to pay for. Next he engaged in prospecting in the Dragoon mountains and found silver, but not in sufficient quantities to justify mining. A later experience as a miner in the Chirichua mountains brought him into dangerous con- tact with the Apaches and in order to save his life he was forced to leave. During the year 1882 he went back to Arizona with his son,

Jefferson, and Melvin L. Seargent, the first husband of his daughter, Isabel. Returning to the Chirichua mountains (where he had a copper mine), he discovered, at a depth of one hundred feet, a paying lot of ore and named the mine Young America.

As president of the first board of trustees in the first mining district organized in the Chir- ichua region, Mr. Swycaffer was instrumental in framing many of the laws by which the dis- trict was governed, one of these laws providing for the exclusion of Chinamen. His son-in- law, Mr. Seargent, who owned an apiary and had thirty-seven tons of honey, took a car of ten tons through to Kansas City. The money received from the honey was intended to develop the Boss Racket mine, but Mr. Sear- gent was murdered for the money and his body was never found. His unfortunate fate changed the plans for the mine, and Mr. Swycaffer was finally obliged to give up the property, after which he returned to California. Politically a Democrat, he served as public administrator, member of the county board of supervisors and under three different sheriffs held the office of chief deputy. His popularity was great, and had he desired any office within the gift of oth- er pioneers, such a position would have been tendered him promptly, but he declined nom- inations for judge and representative, pre- ferring to devote himself to private affairs. Throughout all of his life he has been inter- ested in educational work and on the organiza- tion of the first board of school trustees he was chosen a member, in which position he did much to develop the school system to its pres- ent efficiency. In the days when San Diego Lodge No. 35, F. & A. M., had its meeting place in an old adobe building destitute of ev- ery comfort, he was initiated into the order, and has since retained his interest in the phil- anthropic work of the fraternity.

Not only does Mr. Swycaffer have the honor of being one of the earliest permanent settlers of San Diego county, but his wife also enjoys the same distinction, for she came to this re- gion in 1854. A native of Texas, she bore the maiden name of Martha Ward and was a young girl when she settled in San Diego, where she met and married Mr. Swycaffer. Twelve chil- dren were born of their union, eight of whom are still living. One daughter, Mrs. Pauline Nicholson, died at Foster, San Diego county, and Annetta died in August, 1906. Those now living are as follows: Isabella, now the wife of E. C. Doyle, of La Jolla ; Martha, who mar- ried Joseph Foster, of Foster; Jefferson D., a stockman engaged in ranching near Julian ; Beatrice, who married Alonzo Price and lives in San Francisco; Frances, Mrs. Angel Corona,

Edwin 6. Segnon

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living at Douglas, Cochise county, Ariz .; John, who is engaged in mining at Globe, Ariz .; Louis, a stockman living near Foster, San Die- go county ; and James, who follows the butch- er's trade at San Francisco. Not only did Mr. and Mrs. Swycaffer rear a large family, but their acquaintances state that obedience and respect were given them by their children when small, and now that all have gone into homes of their own and have scattered into different localities, they have proved honorable citizens and energetic workers, in every respect worthy of the esteem in which they are held. In the seaside town of La Jolla, within sight of the great ocean to the west and the smiling val- leys to the east, Mr. Swycaffer is passing the twilight of his strenuous existence, blessed by the friendship of the pioneers, the admiration of the rising generation, and the affection of those allied with him by the closest ties of re- lationship.

EDWIN C. SEYMOUR. Through his able service in official capacities and through his judicious leadership in the Grand Army of the Republic, ex-Senator Seymour has won a prominent position among the progressive men of California and has wielded a more than local influence for many years. While taking an active part in public enterprises he has also devoted considerable attention to the care of his orange grove of ten and one-half acres, which he purchased in 1891 and which is sit- uated near Highland, adjoining on the west the state hospital for the insane. Upon the homestead he has erected an elegant residence, whose exterior attractions are supplemented by interior charms, forming one of the places that have won for Highland and vicinity a reputation for beauty of homes and pictur- esqueness of environment.

Of eastern parentage and ancestry, Mr. Sey- mour was born in Oneonta. N. Y., October 23, 1845, being a son of Elias Chidsey and Lucy (Loveland) Seymour. His education, received in country schools near Troy, Bradford coun- ty, Pa., was limited to the three R's, but after- ward was broadened by self-culture and travel. While still a mere lad he learned the trade of cabinet-maker under his father and for a long period he followed that occupation in connec- tion with carpentering. During the progress of the Civil war he enlisted at Pittsburg in Company C. Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania In- fantry, assigned to the Tenth Corps, Army of the Potomac, but later transferred to the Twenty-fourth Corps. Among the engage- ments in which he participated were those of the Wilderness, Charleston Harbor, Fort

Wagner, two battles at Fort Fisher, and many skirmishes. After witnessing the surrender of Johnston at Greensboro he was honorably dis- charged at Newbern, N. C., at the close of the war and after he had seen one year of active service in the field. On his return to the old home he followed the printer's trade for a time, but later resumed the carpenter's business.

Coming to California in 1881 Mr. Seymour settled at Riverside. Two years later he came io Highland, San Bernardino county, where he engaged as manager for the West Coast Lumber Company. Resigning the position at the expiration of three years, he entered into public life. In 1888 he was elected sheriff and two years later again was chosen to occupy the office. which he filled with fearlessness, justice and impartiality. Especially was he ac- tive in ridding the country of horse thieves, twenty-eight of whom he had confined in the jail at one time. His service as sheriff was so efficient that his party (the Republican) se- lected him as their candidate for state senator in 1894, and he was duly elected to the posi- tion, which he filled for four years. While taking an active part in all measures for the benefit of the people and the welfare of his constituents, he attained the greatest promi- nence through his bill for the removal of the state capital from Sacramento to San Jose, a measure which was passed by a considerable majority. However, the people of Sacramen- to became so excited over the projected change that they succeeded in retaining their city as the capital of the state. Prior to removing to California Mr. Seymour was prominent in lo- cal politics in New York and for a time offi- ciated as supervisor from the seventh ward of Elmira, N. Y., during which time he had charge of the erection of Fitch's bridge five miles north of that city.

The marriage of Mr. Seymour was solem- nized June 2, 1866, and united him with Martha M., daughter of Levi and Lucinda (Walling) Goddard, and a native of Bradford county, Pa. They are the parents of four children, namely : George G., a merchant at Johannesburg, South Africa: Ida L., wife of J. W. Curtis, an at- torney of San Bernardino; Edward L., who is engaged in the printing business at San Ber- nardino; and Martha M., Mrs. John Algeo, of Alhambra, this state.

Becoming a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows in 1868, Mr. Seymour was initiated in Genesee Lodge at Rochester, N. Y., and later passed all the chairs. Several times he represented the lodge in the New York Grand Lodge and afterward was chosen in the same capacity in California. While making his home at Elmira, N. Y., he became

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identified with the Royal Arcanum, and since coming west has become connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen at San Bernardino. From early days he has been in- terested in the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1884 he organized the post at San Bernar- dino, and in addition he enjoys the distinction of having founded the posts at Riverside, Red- lands, Colton, San Jacinto, Elsinore, Corona and Ontario. The organization of the South- ern California Veterans' Encampment AS- sociation in 1888 was largely due to his intel- ligent efforts, supplementing those of other enthusiastic Grand Army members. In rec- ognition of his able services he was honored with the office of department commander cf the Grand Army of California, which position he filled for one year. By veterans all over the state he is well known and universally honored as a man who loyally served the coun- try in times of war and in times of peace and proved himself in every issue the friend of progressive measures and a champion of truth and justice.

THOMAS KNEALE. Prominent among the foremost citizens of San Diego is Thomas Kneale who, as an extensive contractor and builder, has been actively associated with the development and growth of the city, and as proprietor of Knealc. Park, which he has transformed from a barren tract of sage-covered land into a beautiful garden plot, has added greatly to its attractions. A man of liberal views and of greatest integrity, ener- getic and progressive, with undoubted business tact and judgment, he is influential in financial, civic and social circles. The oldest of a family of five children, he was born, September 22, 1849, on the Isle of Man, near Ramsay, where, as a child, he had as a near neighbor and an acquaintance the well-known author, Hall Caine. His parents, Thomas and Jane ( Clayton ) Kneale, were life-long residents of that place, his father, a mason by trade, being a general contractor and builder.

As a boy, even before leaving the district school, Thomas Kneale began working with his father, and before attaining his majority was proficient in the mason's trade. Immigrating to America in the fall of 1869, he spent six or seven years in Chicago, Ill., in 1870 starting in business as a mason for himself, and during the great fire which practically destroyed the business part of the city, the building on which he was filling a contract was burned. With characteristic enter- prise he continued his work, and was the first to set a gang of men to rebuilding in the burnt dis- trict. In 1879 he went to Leadville, Colo., where he was employed at his trade, and also followed

mining for several years. Locating in San Diego in 1886, he has here built up a very large and profitable business as a contractor and builder 11 brick and stone, doing much of the important mason work on many of the prominent build- ings of the city, including, among others, the Keating, Marston, Cline, Richelieu and Sefton buildings.

A standing monument, however, to Mr. Kneale's good taste and enterprise is Kneale Park, which is located on Mission Cliff, at the head of Madison avenue, where he has recently completed his palatial residence. This tract of land is advantageously located, overlooking not only the Mission valley, but affording a fine view of the Pacific ocean and Point Loma. At the time of its purchase by Mr. Kneale it was a dreary waste, giving no evidence of its present beauty. Clearing it from sage brush, he began its improvement, having it laid out as a land- scape garden, with beautiful walks and drives, setting out trees of different kinds and from different countries, some of which he imported, in 1893, from the Isle of Man. Many flowers and tropical plants add to the attractions of the place, making the park one of the loveliest spots . in this part of Southern California.

In Oakland, Cal., Mr. Kneale married Nettie Leet, who was born in this state, and was here reared and educated. In his political affiliations Mr. Kneale is a Republican, and in his religious beliefs is an Episcopalian. He is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, and has done much to promote the good of the order. He was made a Mason in Chicago ; was master of the Leadville Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; is now a member of Silver Gate Lodge No. 296, F. & A. M. ; of Leadville Chapter, R. A. M. ; of San Diego Commandery No. 25, K. T .; of San Diego Con- sistory No. 5, which has conferred upon him the thirty-second degree; of San Diego Chapter, O. E. S., and of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

JOHN L. JOHNSON. Among the sturdy, thrifty and industrious farmers of Los Angeles county is John L. Johnson, whose well-kept and finely appointed ranch is advantageously located near Compton. As a general farmer and stock- raiser he has been successful, and his crops of grain and the products of his dairy bring him in good profits. Like many other of our prosper- ous agriculturists he was born across the sea. his birth having occurred, June 24, 1862, in Sweden, where his parents have spent their entire lives. He is a son of John Anderson, but on coming to this country he changed his name to Johnson, being John's son.

During his earlier life John L. Johnson fol-

Г.Р. Г. Петров

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lowed the sea, being employed principally on English vessels. As a seaman he has circum- navigated the globe and has visited all the im- portant ports of Europe and Asia, including those in China and the Philippine Islands. Coming to California on one of his voyages, he left his ship at San Pedro, and from there went to Los Angeles, where he worked at any hon- orable employment that he could find. He as- sisted in building a stage road in the mountains, after which he worked as a hay bailer for five years, during which time he saved $1,000. With judicious thrift and sagacity he invested his money in land, in 1890 purchasing ten acres of his present ranch. He began farming on a mod- est scale and was soon enabled to buy another ten acres of adjacent land, and a few years later he bought another tract equally as large, and now has thirty acres of land, worth at least $800 an acre. In his agricultural labors Mr. Johnson displays much ability and skill, his ranch yielding abundant harvests of alfalfa, corn and fruit, and his improvements are of an excellent character, including among others the erection of a commodious and conveniently arranged residence, and substantial barns and farm build- ings, all of which greatly enhance the value as well as the beauty of the property.

In 1890, in Los Angeles, Mr. Johnson mar- ried Catherine Naeil, who was born in Russia, and came to California with an aunt during young womanhood. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, namely: Caro- lina, aged fourteen years; William, who died in infancy; and Carl Ludwig, aged seven years. Politically Mr. Johnson is a straightforward Re- publican, and religiously he belongs to the Con- gregational Church.

WALTER P. TEMPLE. An inheritance of ability, courage and enterprise has served to make of Walter P. Temple one of the esteemed citizens of Los Angeles county, where in the vi- cinity of El Monte he is engaged as a horticultur- ist and rancher. The pioneer of the family, Francis Pliny Fisk Temple, without a mention of whom no history of Los Angeles county could well be written, was one of the men who led the advance guard of the mighty hosts who brought American civilization to this sunny land. He also inherited characteristics of high quality from a long line of New England ancestors, his birth having occurred in Reading, Middlesex county, Mass., February 13, 1822, and in that section he was reared and educated. He was possessed of that sturdy independence of thought and self- reliant spirit that led his English ancestors to leave the well-trodden paths of their native land and seek among the broad opportunities of the

western world an advancement of both self and nation, which left the impress of their personality and kindred spirits upon the land they sought. His education completed, Mr. Temple set out for California by way of Cape Horn, arriving in Los Angeles in the summer of 1841. Here his broth- er, Jonathan Temple, with the energy and ability characteristic of the family, had established him- self in business as a pioneer merchant as early as 1827. The brothers were associated in busi- ness for several years, and upon severing their connections Francis began to deal in real estate, purchasing property in both town and county. He became largely interested in Rancho Potrero Grande, Potrero de Filipe Lugo rancho, the Merced ranch, the San Joaquin rancho, San Emedio rancho, and also being one-half owner of Rancho Tejon, which contained twenty-two leagues of land.

September 30, 1845, Francis P. F. Temple was united in marriage with Antonia Margarita Workman, only daughter of William and Nicolasa Workman, the latter born of an old Spanish fam- ily at Santa Fe, N. Mex., in 1802. Mrs. Temple was born in Santa Fe in 1831, and after her marriage made her home on La Merced ranch, in the San Gabriel valley, twelve miles east of Los Angeles. Mr. Temple had built an adobe house . after the old Spanish style, and made other im- provements which increased the value of his prop- erty. He engaged for a time in breeding stock and the buying and selling of cattle, in which enterprise he was uniformly successful. In 1851 he set out a vineyard of fifty thousand vines and twenty acres of miscellaneous fruits, and count- less other improvements ; a lover of fine horses he spent a fortune on blooded stock, paying $7,000 for Black Warrior, a large amount for Billy Blossom, and altogether expending something like $40,000 in this line. In 1868 he engaged in the banking business in Los Angeles with I. W. Hellman and his father-in-law, the late William Workman; three years later the partnership was dissolved and the firm was thereafter known as Temple & Workman, their business being car- ried on in Temple block, which Mr. Temple had erected. They conducted an extensive business all over the Pacific coast, as well as at eastern centers, and by this means were among the most influential men in the upbuilding and develop- ment of Los Angeles. In 1875 the firm failed and the greater part of the vast fortune of Mr. Temple was voluntarily given up to meet all de- mands, but the financial disaster made such an impression upon him that he never recovered his health and spirits, his entire afterlife saddened and perhaps shortened by it. His death occurred April 27, 1880, on the home place and his in- terment took place in La Puente. He had al- ways been a potent factor in public enterprises

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of all descriptions, and many a landmark recalls the worth of his citizenship. Among other val- uable donations may be mentioned the site for the Puente schoolhouse. His death was greatly deplored by all who knew him, and his memory to-day is held among those of the early pioneers of Los Angeles county. He was survived by his wife, who died in 1892. They were the par- ents of eleven children, of whom eight attained maturity : Thomas, who died in Los Angeles in 1892; Frank W., who died in Puente in 1888; William, who resides in Northern California; John. H., a resident of Los Angeles ; Charles P .. of Santa Monica; Walter P., of this review ; Maggie A., wife of Samuel P. Rowland, of Puente ; and Lucinda, wife of M. M. Zuinga, of Clifton, Ariz.

Walter P. Temple was born on the Merced ranch in the region known as the old Mission, June 7, 1870, and was reared in his native county. After receiving a preliminary education in the common schools he attended St. Vincent's Col- lege, of Los Angeles, and also took a commercial course in the Woodbury Business College, also of that city. After completing his education he returned home and remained with his mother until her death. The years of 1894-95 were spent in traveling in old Mexico, after which he re- turned to California, and locating on the home property, has ever since remained engaged as a horticulturist. The old homestead has under- gone changes since the early days of the state, the adobe house, characteristic of the early days. as well as the later built brick residence, are both gone, but there still stands as a landmark one of the most magnificent palms in Southern Cal- ifornia. This was planted by Don Juan Ramirez. a leading horticulturist of Los Angeles, forty- five years ago; the seed was brought from Mex- ico and but two trees were planted in the state, Don Juan making Mr. Temple a present of this at the birth of his first daughter about 1865; the other palm stands on Aliso street in Los Angeles, before the old Ramirez home. Mr. Temple's property consists of fifty acres of land located on the Whittier and Pasadena road, three and a half miles south of El Monte ; forty-five acres are planted to walnuts and five acres to apples. En- ergy and ability have resulted in financial returns which have made Mr. Temple independent. He takes a keen interest in his work and seeks con- stantly the advancement of this industry, which is so important in the growth and development of Los Angeles county, and indeed of all South- ern California.

In San Diego Mr. Temple was united in mar- riage with Miss Laura Gonzales, a native of Los Angeles county, and they have one child, Thomas Workman. In his political affiliations Mr. Temple is a Republican : he takes a deep interest in edu-

cational development and is now serving as school trustee of La Puente district and officiating as clerk of the board. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Temple is one of the places of hospitality for which Southern California is noted; friend and stranger alike are welcomed, entertained and sent upon their way with the courtesy of a well dis- ciplined southern home. Both are held in high esteem throughout the county, appreciated for the qualities of character displayed during their long residence here, and numbering their friends with a liberality which bespeaks their own gen- erous natures.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. The substantial and influential citizens of Valley Center have no better representative than John Q. Adams, a prosperous merchant, who stands high among the keen, progressive business men of his com- munity. As one of the earlier settlers of this part of San Diego county, he suffered all the hardships and privations of pioneer life, in com- mon with his neighbors, who were few and far between, laboring hard to secure a home for himself and his descendants. Ever loyal to the home of his adoption, he aided in every possible way its growth and development, whether re- lating to its agricultural, manufacturing or mer- cantile interests, and well deserves the high es- teem and favor in which he is so universally held. A son of the late John T. Adams, he was born, March 20, 1849, in Westchester county, N. Y., where he received a common school edu- cation.

A native of Scotland, John T. Adams was fitted for a professional career, and when a young man entered the employ of the British government, and for a few years taught school in the Bermuda Islands. Settling afterwards in the United States, he became associated with railroad life, for a number of years being a civil engineer. He married Anna Morton, who was born in the Bermudas ninety-one years ago, and is now living in Salem, Marion county, Ill. Of their union ten children were born, and of these two are living in San Diego county, John Quincy, the subject of this sketch, and his sister, Mrs. Harriet Burnham of San Diego.

After spending a few of his youthful years in Canada, John Q. Adams, in 1867, went to Illi- nois to live. He spent but a short time in that state, however, going westward to Kansas, where for awhile he was employed in burning lime for the government. In 1869, on the com- pletion of the United Pacific Railroad, he was a passenger on the very first west-bound train, going to Elko, Nev., where he took the stage to White Pine. There he met his father, whom he had not seen for fourteen years, and with

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him went to the mines. Subsequently buying an outfit, he came overland to Los Angeles, thence to San Diego, arriving in the latter city December 14, 1869. A few days later he located a government claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Valley Center, and this he afterwards sold to W. H. H. Dinwiddie, and for eight years thereafter was in the employ of the govern- ment. Embarking in mercantile pursuits in 1884, Mr. Adams has since been successfully engaged in business in Valley Center, and has here built up an extensive and lucrative trade, being now the leading merchant of the place. In his under- takings he has been very fortunate, accumu- lating considerable wealth, owning not only village property, but having a valuable ranch in this vicinity.

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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 128

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