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 131

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

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F. E. BENNETT. The prosperity of a town depends upon the progressive spirit of its citi- zens. Were it possible to give to every village a citizenship composed of men as energetic and resourceful as is Mr. Bennett, that hamlet would soon develop into a growing city with modern improvements and substantial business enter- prises. The town of Arroyo Grande owes much to the substantial citizenship of Mr. Bennett. who ever since coming to the place has been a leader in civic progress and a contributor to local enterprises of undoubted worth. Ever since he entered into business here in 1897 he has ranked among the leading men of the place and meanwhile has established a business of substan- tial proportions and increasing dimensions.

While Mr. Bennett came to the Pacific coast from Kansas he is a native of a state still further eastward. His parents. Joseph and Mary ( Houser) Bennett, were born in Michigan and Connecticut respectively and were married in

y W Battles

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Michigan, where all of their seven children were born. From Michigan they moved to Kansas and engaged in farm pursuits, the mother dying on the Kansas homestead at the age of fifty years, while the father, now retired, still makes his home in that state. During the Civil war he gave faithful service to the Union cause as a member of a Michigan regiment and ever since the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic he has been warmly interested in its work. Of his five children now living two are in California, one in King City, Monterey county, and the other at Arroyo Grande.

During the residence of the family in Michi- gan F. E. Bennett was born August 17, 1861. Primarily educated in the common schools of that state, he completed his grammar-school studies after moving to Kansas at thirteen years of age. Upon leaving school he gave his at- tention to farm work and continued in agricult- ural pursuits in Kansas for a brief period. No- vember 6, 1883, he arrived in Arroyo Grande, and for a number of years afterward he engaged in ranching in this vicinity. On the organization of the Farmers Co-operative store he was ap- pointed a member of the first board of directors and afterward was chosen manager of the store, which he conducted with noteworthy success for five years. When the building was burned to the ground and the business closed out, he opened a grocery and feed store, and has met with grati- fying success in the management of the same. To an unusual degree he possesses the confidence of people throughout this section of country and this confidence is shown in the fact that those who began to trade in his store years ago are still his best customers and warmest friends. His pleasant home in the town is presided over by the lady whom he married in 1887 and who was Miss Effie Stevenson, a native of Illinois. In his family there are three children, Cora. Ralph and Esther. Though not a partisan in politics. he has the courage of his convictions and never fails to give stanch allegiance to Re- publican principles. The only political office which he has held. that of constable. he filled for eight years in Arroyo Grande. Fraternally he has been identified with the Knights of Pythias at Arroyo Grande since 1890 and also belongs to the Woodmen of the World in his home town.

GEORGE W. BATTLES was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., June 15, 1816. In 1824 he removed to Pennsylvania and in 1846 located in the middle west. in Ipava, Fulton county, Ill. During the early part of his resi- dence there he conducted a wagon manufac- tory, later establishing a mercantile business

in which he was equally successful from a financial standpoint. A deep interest in the west, however, had been occuping his thoughts, and in 1852 he crossed the plains to California and engaged in gold mining in Placer and Tuolumne counties. Returning in 1853 he dis- posed of his interests in Fulton county, and 111 the spring of 1864 went to Iowa en route to California. Starting from Lewis, Cass county, Iowa, in 1865 with his family, he again made the overland journey behind slow-plodd- ing oxen, finally locating in Sacramento coun- ty about eighteen miles from the city of that name. After carrying on agricultural pursuits in that locality for some time, in 1868 he re- moved to the southern part of the state and in Santa Barbara county, not far from Santa Maria, took up a homestead claim. On this ranch, which had been his home for nearly thirty-five years, his earth life came to a close January 3. 1905. when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years, six months and nineteen days.

Both in Illinois and in this state Mr. Battles was well known for his public spirit and enter- prise, and in the former state was a member of the Home Guard. During his early days in California he realized the advantage which would accrue in the county by settling the early land grants, and a great deal of his time and thought was expended to bring about this condition. Educational matters also had a stånch ally in him. and the establishment of the school district in his home locality was brought about as a result of his untiring efforts. Politically he was a stanch Republican and always gave his support and influence for the good of the party.

JOSEPH GREGORY. The pioneers of the west were not exempt from hardships and vicis- situdes : indeed, their lives were one continued round of privations nobly endured and sacrifices cheerfully made. The spirit of optimism which they displayed has come down as an inheritance to their descendants, so that now no state in the Union can present to the world nobler instances of courage and patient endurance than does this commonwealth by the shores of the western sea. Noteworthy among the pioneers of the state, who braved many misfortunes and rose above many obstacles, may be mentioned the name of Joseph Gregory, who for years has owned and operated a farm in San Luis Obispo county. The tract comprises eighty-three and one-half acres, much of which is in fruit, while the balance is in on- ions, potatoes, sugar heets and other truck prod- ucts.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A native of Upper Canada, born February 15, 1831, Joseph Gregory was one of thirteen chil- dren, two of whom emigrated to New Zealand and two ( himself included) settled in California, while the others remained in the east. The brother who came to the west spent his last days in the home of Joseph, and the latter now is the sole representative of the family in the state. The parents, Daniel and Annie (Tinlin) Greg- ory, were natives of Canada and New York respectively, and remained on their Canadian homestead during all of their lives, the father living to be eighty-two years of age, while the mother died at sixty. The quiet country home of the family was the place where Joseph Greg- ory passed the uneventful years of youth and the neighboring schools afforded him educational advantages meagre in comparison with those of the present day, yet sufficient to furnish him with the foundation of his present wide fund of information.

On leaving home in 1854, Mr. Gregory came to California via the Isthmus of Panama, which he crossed on mule-back, and then sailed by boat to San Francisco. For a time he worked in the mines of Eldorado county, but mining brought him no returns and he forthwith engaged in other activities. For three years he carried on a saw-mill, but a flood destroyed the plant and caused him a heavy loss. Forced to start anew, he went to the valley near San Jose and em- barked in the raising of sheep, but there again misfortune met his diligent labors, for the dry years came on and the lack of water and pas- turage caused the animals to die in large num- bers. Undaunted hy this new catastrophe, he started out once more to make a livelihood for himself, and this time he took up ranch land and embarked in general agricultural pursuits. About 1882 he came to San Luis Obispo county and settled near Arroyo Grande, where he has since labored perseveringly and with a fair degree of success. In all of his plans and enterprises he has had the counsel and cheerful companionship of his wife, whom he married in 1862 and who was Miss Mary Ann Miller, a native of Indiana. Of their union six children were born, namely : Annie L., Jessie, Joseph, Daniel, Nellie (who died at the age of twenty-two years) and Mag- gie.

The family are identified with the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church and have many friends in their part of San Luis Obispo county, for they possess the sterling attributes of character that win and retain friends. Interested in edu- cational affairs, Mr. Gregory served for many years as school trustee and filled the position ac- ceptably to the patrons of the school and the tax- payers of the district. Ever since becoming a voting citizen of the United States he has given

his allegience to the Republican party and has championed its men and measures by ballot and influence. In addition to his ranch interests he has bought stock in an oil company that owns a productive well in the valley near his home. Among the people of his acquaintance he is hon- ored as a man who has seen and overcome many hardships and won his way to success after ex- periencing the vicissitudes of life in a frontier environment.

BERTRAND PEYREGNE. As may be judged from his name, Mr. Peyregne is a Frenchman, and all of the refinement and gra- ciousness of that nationality are his in large measure. Born in the ancient town of Tou- louse, France, in 1828 he received a careful training in the schools of that city and at an early age he began to be self-supporting. Farming was his choice of vocation, and this he followed in his native country for a num- ber of years, or until he came to the United States in 1851. The vessel in which he set sail from France anchored its cargo in New Orleans, and in that southern city he re- mained for three years, finding employment there as peddler of goods. From there he went to Cincinnati and stayed ten months. Dur- ing all of this time the news from the gold fields of California was the common topic of conversation and was described in detail and at considerable length in the newspapers of the city where he was then living, so that his interest in and final removal to the scene of the excitement was a most natural conse- quence. Debarking at San Francisco March 3. 1855, he at once made his way to the mines of Sonora, Tuolumne county, the rush to that part of the country then being at high tide. In his venture as a miner it is safe to conclude that he was fairly successful at least, for it is known that he followed the business success- ively for twelve years. Leaving Tuolumne county in 1867 he went direct to Los Angeles, where for a number of years he engaged in buying and selling cattle.

It was during the year 1874 that Mr. Pey- regne came to Riverside county and took up land from the government for the purpose of making a home for his family. As may be in- ferred the land was entirely uncultivated and of improvements there were none; however, he spared neither labor nor such means as he could command to put it in a habitable condi- tion, and the adobe house which he erected at that time is still the family residence. During the early days of his experience in the Menifee valley he engaged quite extensively in the raising of sheep, an industry which netted him

N.f. lor

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

an excellent income. Since 1885, however, he has given his attention more exclusively to ranching, and though well advanced in years is still active and takes the same interest in his affairs that prompted and brought suc- cess in the efforts of early years. The ranch comprises one hundred and eighty-five acres, and lies in close proximity to Leon, which is his postoffice and market town.

At Newhall, Los Angeles county, in 1871, Mr. Peyregne was married to Miss Vervanua Moreil, who was born in Ventura, June 10, 1856. All of the six children born of their marriage are living and are named in order of birth as follows: Clara, who is married, and with her husband, Jesse C. Mitchell, makes her home in Stockton; Joseph, a resident of San Pedro: Lonise, at home: Alexander, also in San Pedro; and Henry and Alice, both of whom are also at home with their parents. Mr. Peyregne was early in life made familiar with the teachings of the Catholic faith, and his own children have also had a similiar training, the family worshipping in the church of that denomination at Leon. There is prob- ably no one in the Menifee valley who is not familiar with the name of Bertrand Peyregne, which is a synonym for all that is just and up- right, this being the universal verdict of those who have been in close touch with his life and habits for the past thirty-two years, or ever since he became a pioneer settler in the val- ley.

NATHANIEL F. COE. Now living re- tired in Palms, Los Angeles county, N. F. Coe is of eastern birth and parentage and is a son of Cyrus and Elsie (Fenton) Coe, born in Massachusetts and New York state respect- ively. While still a young boy the father was taken to New York state, growing up on a farm in the vicinity of Jamestown, Chautau- qua county, and it was there also that his mar- riage with Elsie Fenton occurred. Their en- tire married life was spent in that locality, the mother dying in Jamestown in 1836, and the death of the father occurring in 1840. In or- der of birth the names of their nine children are as follows: Cornelius, Horace, Sidney, Richard, Miles, Franklin, Emily J., Minerva J. and Nathaniel F.

Born in Jamestown, N. Y .. October 1, 1835. Nathaniel F. Coe was only one year old at the time of his mother's death, and his fath- er's death four years later left him an orphan at five years of age. Thus early bereft of his parents he was taken into the home of an uncle, by whom he was cared for until strik- ing out for himself when twelve years old.

Going to Pittsburg, Pa., he worked as s' able boy for a friend of his uncle for two years, during which time his wages were necessarily small, owing to youth and inexperience. His next position, while no less menial, gave him an opportunity to see and learn more of what was going on in the world, and he looks back upon the three years as chore boy on an Ohio river boat as one of his most valuable experi- ences. The year following, when seventeen years of age, he engaged in the milling busi- ness, but from the fact that he gave it up one year later it is safe to presume that he was rot altogether successful in the undertaking. He next resumed river boating. this time on the Mississippi river, giving this up three years later to become foreman in a sawmill for I. Staples at Stillwater, Minn. This fur- nished him employment during the winter season alone, however, and during the sum- mers he rafted logs to the mill on contract. After he had been in Mr. Staples' employ for three years he was seized with a desire to see more of the world, and started out intending to remain six months in each state which he visited. After remaining the allotted time in Whiteside county, Ill., he started out for an- other location, and was attracted to the lead mines around Galena, Jo Daviess county, and thus it happened that he remained in the state one and a half years. From there he visited the southern states, and the year 1861 found him in lowa. At the first call to arms in the Civil war he responded, becoming a member of the Thirty-first Iowa Infantry, Company I, under command of General Sherman. During the three years which he spent in scout and forage duty he escaped capture until within four months of the end of his enlistment, when he was taken as a spy. He was fortunate in escaping the fate of many of his comrades who were shot down in cold blood, but he nevertheless suffered incarceration in An- dersonville prison for three months. After his release he returned to his place of enlist- ment and was honorably discharged from the service in 1865.

It was at this point in his career. in 1865, that Mr. Coe formed domestic ties by his mar- riage with Mrs. Emma (Stinton) Curtis, who was born in England, but came to America when eight years of age. After their marriage they settled on a quarter section of govern- ment land in Plymouth county, Iowa. The years spent on this farm were fairly success- ful ones, but the far west had become more attractive to him on account of the even climate and rich harvests which the longer seasons made possible, and hither Mr. Coe

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HISTORICAL. AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

came in 1886. The forty acre ranch which he then purchased in La Ballona district was the scene of his active labors for many years, and since selling the ranch to his son Clarence he and his wife have been living retired in Palms, where he owns considerable property. They became the parents of eight children, two of whom, Estella and Minerva, died in early childhood. Those living are Cyrus R., Eugene L., Edward A., Clarence E., Elsie E. (wife of R. W. Nesbitt) and Franklin L. Mr. Coe is a member of Fort Fisher Post, G. A. R., of Santa Monica. Left an orphan at five years of age, and thrown upon his own re- sources at an age when most boys are enjoy- ing the greatest freedom, much credit is due Jlr. Coe for the straightforward course which he then planned, and by strictly adhering to it throughout life, has not only experienced the contentment which goes hand in hand with right doing, but has also accumulated a competence for his old age.

FRED BROWN. Since his arrival in San Luis Obispo county in 1874, Fred Brown has been a zealous promoter of its agricultural ad- vancement and has attached to himself those material and general compensations necessary to the happiness and well being of intelligent, refined and capable people. He is one of the best known men of the community whose residence in Southern California has strength- ened the prevailing regard for the thrifty qualities of the French nation.

In an humble home in Lorraine, situated along the German border in France, Mr. Brown was born May 24, 1833. At the time comparative peace existed throughout the provinces. In Lorraine. John Brown, the father of Fred, pursued the occupation of farming, but he had mastered the trade of baker, and for years manufactured and sold in a little shop, the bread and delicacies in the making of which his countrymen excel. His wife, Margaretta (Ohlehan) Brown, as- sisted with the management of both farm and shop, and at the same time reared her eleven children with due regard for thrift. She lived to be eighty years old, but her husband died at the age of sixty-five. Two of her sons came to America.

Fred Brown received a common school edu- cation in his native land, and at the age of cighteen arrived in America, where, in Penn- sylvania, he worked at the blacksmith trade for two years. He came to Santa Clara coun- ty, Cal., in 1858, and after farming for three years moved to Salinas county, where he worked on two different farms and gained

quite a start as a wage earner. In 1874 hie be- gan to work on a dairy ranch in San Luis Obispo county, and five years later came to his present ranch, of which he soon after pur- chased a small part. He now owns four hun- dred and eighty acres of land, one hundred acres of which is grazing land, upon which he engages chiefly in the raising of barley, beans, cattle and horses. He has always main- tained a progressive farming policy, and has availed himself of the innovations and meth- ods approved by individual thinkers and the experimental colleges of the country. His ranch is a typical one for this part of the state, and its improvements are in keeping with the extensive acreage and a variety of resources.

The family of Mr. Brown consists of him- self, his wife, formerly Margaret Donovan, and three children, John, Dan and Josephine. Mr. Brown is liberal in politics, but has a strong leaning towards the Democratic party. Mrs. Brown is a member of the Catholic Church, and he is generous in his contribu- tions to charitable and other organizations throughout the county. At the age of sev- enty-three his interest in life has lost none of its vigor, his mind none of its alertness, and his heart none of its sympathy or kindliness. He remains a genial, well-balanced and use- ful citizen, and a man whom all delight to known and honor.

CARL O. LANTZ. A native of Sweden, Carl O. Lantz is ably sustaining the reputa- tion which his countrymen hold for grit, en- ergy and determination, and although during the first years of his residence here he met with misfortune in the loss of his residence by fire, his courage was undaunted and immedi- ately he set about to acquire a new one. It is not necessary to say that he succeeded, for where there is a will there is a way, and upon his present ranch he is most comfortably lo- cated in a fine home, his land comprising five acres in orange grove and sixty acres planted to grain crops, a part of the latter acreage be- ing rented ground. He was born July 29, 1867, in Imcland, Sweden, the son of An- drew and Hannah Lantz. His mother died in that country in 1885. at the age of fifty- eight years, and the father later came to the United States. His death occurred in 1902, when he was seventy-nine years old, while on a visit in Towa.

After acquiring a common-school education in Sweden Carl O. Lantz, at the age of eigh- teen years, immigrated to America and located in Montgomery county, Iowa, where for five years he was variously employed. Becoming

Mark J. Berry

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

interested in the opportunities said to be awaiting the ambitious young man in South- ern California, in 1800, he decided to investi- gate, and for one year was located in River- side. Convinced that he could make a suc- cess of ranching in this state he purchased a ten-acre tract in Alessandro valley and from that time on added to his possessions until he now owns thirty acres. There were no orange groves in this location when he set- tled here and the trees which are now yield- ing him a handsome income were planted by himself. It was on this place that his first house was burned, but he built another and better residence and now has as well up-to- date barns and outbuildings.

In 1895 Mr. Lantz was married in Iowa to Miss Hilma Axellina Isakson, a native of Sweden, and this union has been blessed by the birth of three children, of whom Carl Walfrid and Alice Axellina are the only ones living, the oldest child being deceased. The family are religiously connected with the Luth- eran Church, and exercise an clevating influ- ence upon the community in which they re- side. Politically Mr. Lantz is an advocate of the principles embraced in the platform of the Republican party and is actively interested in all enterprises which are of a progressive na- turc. He is a man of admirable personal qualities, is well liked and has many friends.

MARK T. BERRY. From the bleak and snow-clad woods of Maine to the sunny val- leys of Southern California, over plains and mountains, represents the interval between Mr. Berry's youth and his advancing years. As a boy he lived on a farm in Maine and at cighteen years of age he began to work in the forests and lumber mills. following the indus- try then and yet one of the most profitable avocations in that region. The family of which he is a member settled in Maine during an early period in American history and his parents, John and Hannah (Bunker) Berry, were natives of that state. For years the father engaged at the trade of ship-carpenter. but in 1852 he followed the tide of emigration that was steadily drifting toward the undevel- oped west. Settling in Minnesota, he took up a raw tract of land. began to till the soil, and afterward followed farming during his remain- ing years of activity. When he died, in April of 1881. he had reached four-score years of age, and his wife was seventy when she died four years prior to his demise.

In the village of Burnham. Waldo county, Me., Mark T. Berry was born September 3. 1830, and near that town he passed the years

of boyhood. On taking up active work in 1848 he followed lumbering in Maine. During No- vember of 1851 he removed to Minnesota and carried on lumbering in that state until 1854, when he took up surveying. During 1859-60 he was surveyor-general of the Second Minne- sota district, and in 1862 received an appoint- ment as deputy provost-marshal and recruit- ing officer for the state militia. July 18, 1863, he was commissioned captain of a company in the Twenty-ninth Minnesota Infantry, Home Guards, and served in the troubles with the Indians, while in August of 1864 he helped to raise a company for the Union army. On the 30th of that month he was commissioned first lieutenant of Company E, Hatch Independent Minnesota Cavalry, and remained in active service until some time after peace had been declared, being mustered out with the com- pany May 6, 1866, after an honorable war rec- ord.

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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 131

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