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 148

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 148

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

While stopping at Council Grove, the outpost station of the government, Mr. Phelps became interested in the raising of a company known as the Frontier Rifles, of which he was a mem- ber until it disbanded. From Council Grove he traveled eastward to the Missouri river, intend- ing to enlist in the Union army, but he found the quota filled for the present, so he changed his plans and joined a government train en route to Fort Union. The journey was made without spe- cial incident until shortly before their arrival at Fort Union, when Indians and Spaniards fell upon them and captured all of their supplies, leaving them their cattle, however, with which they got through to the fort. Soon afterward word was received of the battle of Bull Run, the defeat of the north, and the call for three hun- dred thousand soldiers. In order to enlist he and sixteen of his associates started at once for the east, and in 1861 he was accepted as a pri- vate in Company H, First Kansas Cavalry, which by ruling of the war department became Company H, Seventh Kansas Cavalry. In the spring of 1864 he veteranized and re-enlisted in the same regiment as saddler sergeant, from which office he was mustered out November 29, 1865, and honorably discharged at Fort Leaven- worth. The regiment of which he was a mem- ber had to its credit a record of one hundred and forty-nine engagements, including Corinth, Holly Springs and Iuka. In the battle of Corinth he lost the sight of his right eye. At Coffeyville they fought all of one day in the year 1863 against Price's army and held their own in the midst of desperate odds.

At the close of the war Mr. Phelps returned

1015

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to the life of a plainsman and visited Colorado in order to ascertain the condition of his three claims at Leadville, but found that the water had failed completely, so he abandoned the claims as well as the life of a frontiersman. Returning to Kansas he clerked at Junction City one year for Captain Wright and William Lockstone. In the interests of these gentlemen he then opened a branch store at Ellsworth and three years later he purchased the business by giving his notes for the indebtedness. Soon the trailing of cattle began from Texas and Ellsworth became a ship- ping point for stock, so that trade increased rapidly and profits were large. For nineteen years he continued in the mercantile business in the same town and meanwhile held the office of county supervisor, also in early days took a lead- ing part in all local activities.

On retiring from the mercantile business in Kansas Mr. Phelps came to Los Angeles in 1885 and shortly afterward embarked in the citrus- growing business at Ontario, where he purchased two groves of twenty acres each. However, not making his home on the land, he met with dis- aster, for the groves were near the mule-cars running from the city and tourists often stopped there and entertained themselves by breaking off limbs loaded with fruit. Their depredations con- tinued to such an extent as to render the busi- ness unprofitable for the owner and he sold out. Since then he has engaged in buying and selling real estate and since 1898 he also has bought and developed oil lands, putting down twenty-nine wells on twenty-two acres of land. At this writ- ing he has royalty interests in eight wells on nineteen lots in the Knob Hill tract and he owns other valuable oil property. Besides being finan- cially interested in the Los Angeles Realty and Trust Company he serves as a member of its board of directors.

The commodious residence erected by Mr. Phelps in 1894 stands at No. 1542 Ingraham street, Los Angeles, and since its erection it has been the home of the family. While living in Ellsworth, Kans., he married Miss Rose Stern- berg, a member of an old and honored family of New York state. Her father, Rev. Levi Stern- berg, was a minister in the Lutheran denomina- tion and at one time held office as president of the Hardwick Seminary near Cooperstown, N. Y., where Mrs. Phelps was born. One of her brothers, George M. Sternberg, M. D., was for- merly surgeon-general of the United States army. Of her marriage there are four children, namely : Bertha, who married Louis R. Garrett, an at- torney of Los Angeles: Frank, who has charge of the Inglewood Water Company; Mary, who resides with her parents; and George, who is employed in the office of Garrett & Bixby, archi- tects, of Los Angeles. The old war days are kept

in mind by Mr. Phelps through his association with Bartlett Logan Post, G. A. R., of Los An- geles, in the work of which he has been interested for a long period, and in addition he has borne a constant interest in every movement affecting the boys who wore the blue in that historic strug- gle. Ever since casting his first ballot he has been a supporter of the Republican party and has accomplished much to promote its local suc- cesses.

JOHN GRIFFIN. From boyhood identi- fied with the history of San Diego county, John Griffin, member of the county board of supervisors and a prominent dealer in real-es- tate at Oceanside, deservedly ranks among the pioneers of this part of the state. A man of broad information and faculties of close ob- servation, genial and companionable in dispo- sition, he often entertains others with narra- tives of pioneer life and many of his tales of those times might worthily be preserved in the annals of the county, in order that future gen- crations might better understand the trials and hardships which the early settlers endured. In securing the present development he has contributed his quota, and meanwhile has gained the respect of all as a citizen of un- blemished character, high principles of honor and strong mental endowments.

Near Austin, Tex., in the county of Milan, John Griffin was born July 21, 1854, being a son of James M. and Sarah (Black) Griffin, natives of Alabama and pioneer farmers of Texas. The family came overland to Cali- fornia in 1869 and settled at Campo, San Diego county, but a year later they moved to San Luis Rey, where the father conducted farm pursuits until his death in October, 1901, at seventy-seven years. The mother is still liv- ing and is now (1906) seventy-six years of age. John Griffin was educated in the public schools of Texas and was a lad of fifteen years when he came to California, stalwart, robust and energetic, well fitted to aid his father in the development of unimproved farm land. At the age of twenty-one he began to farm independently and as the seasons passed he became increasingly interested in the rais- ing of fine stock. His specialty was the pure- blooded Shire horse and at the head of his stables he had pedigreed stallions which he imported from Europe. Today the descendants of his imported stock are among the finest horses in the whole county and due credit be- longs to him for his work in raising the qual- ity of the breeds on the farms.

Renting his land in the San Luis Rey valley (which he still owns). Mr. Griffin came to

1016

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Oceanside in 1897 and since then has engaged in the real-estate business, having handled as much property as any man in the town. As a judge of values he has few superiors. Dur- ing his long residence in the county he has formed an accurate idea of all land values and his judgment is based upon experience, as well as upon faculties of careful observation. Since attaining his majority he has voted the Demo- cratic ticket and has been active in the work of the party. Elected to the county board of super- visors in 1894, he has since served continu- ously as a member of that board and in the capacity of supervisor has aided movements for the development of the county's resources. His election to the office bespeaks his popu- larity, for he was elected on the Democratic ticket in a district usually giving a strong Re- publican majority, but which has given him a majority of as much as one hundred and fifty. For three terms he has officiated as chairman of the board and the welfare of his constitu- ents has been safe in his hands. That his services are appreciated has been shown by his long retention as a member of the board; and indeed, too much praise cannot be given him for his self-sacrificing devotion to the up- building of the county. In city affairs, too, he has been warmly interested, served with energy as city trustee, and was one of the leaders in the establishment of the present water sys- tem of Oceanside, one of the best systems in the entire county.

The marriage of Mr. Griffin took place in San Diego in September of 1892 and united him with Miss Ida Rooker, who was born in this state and is the daughter of a pioneer of northern California. Three children have been born of their union, Lucile, Lloyd and Lura, all of whom are receiving the advantages of the excellent schools of Oceanside. In fra- ternal relations Mr. Griffin is actively identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Fraternal Brotherhood, the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks of San Diego and Oceanside Lodge No. 381, F. & A. M. The family residence is an attractive and com- modious structure, standing on Second street.

People who have settled in Southern Cali- fornia of recent years would find it difficult to appreciate the conditions as they existed in the past, when the cattlemen claimed the broad ranges and the farmers were obliged to con- test for their rights. Years ago the San Luis valley was claimed by the Pico family of Los Angeles as being part of a large grant given to them, and under the rights of ownership given them by the grant they leased the lands to Col. K. J. Couts and Don Juan Foster, who had thousands of head of cattle on the range.

In the spring of 1870 seven families settled in the valley, namely: B. F. Libby, D. R. Foss, John Adams, P. A. Graham, Herbert Crouch, Major Lee Utt and J. M. Griffin. Their claims to the land were contested by the grant own- ers and it was only after an expensive battle in the courts lasting five years that the farm- ers won their titles beyond fear of dispute. During the five years they were annoyed in many ways and the Indians were incited against them. On one occasion word came to the settlers that the Indians would raid their farms that night. To prepare for the emer- gency John Griffin (who was then a lad in his teens) and six others, all well armed, stationed themselves in a narrow gap between the moun- tains through which the Indians would be obliged to pass in the approach. However, though they laid in wait during all the night, ready to fire at an instant's notice, the Indians did not come, and the threatened raid did not take place. In order to protect their grain fields, the farmers built a fence around the en- tire valley, and beyond the fence dug a ditch three feet deep, in order to keep the native cattle from trespassing upon their crops; yet, in spite of their extreme care, at times their fences were broken down and their crops ruined. Before the final settlements had been made in the courts all of the parties on both sides had become friends and in recognition of the end of the contest the cattlemen invited the settlers to a barbecue on the Joma, where all enjoyed a delightful day and not only buried their past animosity, but formed friend- ships that have lasted to the present day.

JOHN W. ALLEN. In the development of the fruit-growing industry of Southern California no man has taken a more intelligent interest than John W. Allen of Fernando. During the twelve or more years that he has resided in Los Angeles county he has been actively employed in horti- cultural pursuits and has established a wide repu- tation as a successful orchardist, the fruits of his raising surpassing in excellence, it is said, those of any other fruit-grower along the coast. A native of Indiana, he was born, July 23, 1843, in Montgomery county, where he was brought up and educated. Trained to agricultural pursuits, he chose farming for an occupation, and carried it on successfully for many years in his native state.

Coming to Los Angeles county in 1800, Mr. Allen worked as a wage-earner in Pacoima for a year, after which he was for two years a resi- dent of Santa Clara county, where, as a laborer, he made a study of the best methods of fruit growing. Returning then to Pacoima, he bought

Robert Annatrong Vy

1019

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ten acres of wild land and at once began its im- provement, placing it in a tillable condition and setting out fruit trees. Succeeding well in his venture, he subsequently purchased another near- by tract of ten acres, five acres of which he im- mediately set out in fruit and olives, while the remaining five acres he devoted to grapes, set- ting out vines in 1904. In 1897, having made money as an orchardist, he invested in additional land, buying twenty acres adjoining his previous purchases, and to this he added by purchase ten acres more in 1905, increasing the size of his ranch to fifty acres. Twenty acres of his land is set out to fruit and is very productive, bring- ing him in a good annual income. Purchasing a house and three lots in Fernando on McNeil street, he improved the place, and in 1902 removed here with his family, and has since been num- bered among the more highly esteemed and valued residents of the place.

In Indiana, December 30, 1869, Mr. Allen married Theresa Adelaide Sims, and into their home four children were born, namely: Robert, of Los Angeles; Florence, wife of M. E. Shelly, of Los Angeles; Laura Estella, wife of V. T. Edwards, of Fernando; and Ethel L., living at home. Mrs. Allen died June 22, 1895. Polit- ically Mr. Allen votes the straight Republican ticket, and in 1901 was appointed overseer for the Fernando road, a position which he filled acceptably for two and one-half years. He was a charter member of Fernando Lodge No. 324, F. & A. M., and religiously he is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as is also his daughter, Ethel L.

ROBERT ARMSTRONG, M. D. The Arm- strongs, in common with many other old fam- ilies of South Scotland and North England, are of Norman blood, and even after more than a thousand years of contact with other races, branches of the family, the wide world over, still show something of the well-known physical and mental characteristics of their Norse ancestors.

Robert Armstrong, the eldest son of William and Margaret (Henderson) Armstrong, was born November 15, 1841, at Jedburgh, Scotland. In 1844 the family migrated to America and settled on a new farm in Queens county, New Brunswick. There Robert, being in years the only boy big enough for farm work, had rather more than his share of the advantages of the industrial education of pioneer farming, with just enough desultory schooling to make him hungry for more. At eighteen "Roby," as his mother called him, was pronounced too little, too discontented and too much of a bookworm for farming. Then there followed half a dozen hap- py years of study at the best schools within reach,

and of teaching. In 1865 he began the study of medicine, taking the medical course at Harvard and Jefferson, graduating at the latter college in 1868. Returning to Canada he practiced medicine sixteen years in Queens county and in St. John, New Brunswick.

In 1886 he moved west, registering in each of the states of California, Washington and Col- orado. In 1902 he returned to California and is now located at Ramona, San Diego county. Here as elsewhere he has had little reason to complain of a profession which has secured him freedom and opportunity for research in many fields, and a fair share of the public and professional con- fidence. In this connection it may be noted that Dr. Armstrong assisted in organizing the San Diego County Medical Society and served as its first secretary and its first delegate to the State Medical Society. He is also a member of the United States Medical Association and an active member of the National Educational Associa- tion.

Of the ex-professional studies that have occu- pied most of the available leisure of Dr. Arm- strong's professional life, the most important have been in connection with a new departure in phonetics. In 1885 he suggested the idea of making each spoken element the model for its own written alphabetic representative. This principle, glosso-graphic analogy has, so far as known, had the unanimous endorsement of pro- gressive educators as supplying a thoroughly natural and scientific basis of graphics. Dr. Arm- strong's "Glossography," published in 1901, is based on this principle and secures in writing the closest possible approach to spoken utterance in character, and hence in fulness, continuity and economy of expression. This glossal stenography writes the elements of words as fully as they are spoken about four times as fast as long-hand and can be used in ordinary amanuensis work without any contractions or word-signs, so that any one who has learned the method can tran- scribe its notes as accurately as the writer him- self.

His glossal typography (Glossotypy) 110W being published, proposes a series of alphabetical (phonetic) characters modeled on a somewhat freer application of the principle of glosso-graphic analogy, intended to take the place of the many diverse phonetic alphabets that are now being used in teaching common reading. Its printed page occupies one-third less page space than common type of the same size. It is clearer and less straining to the eyes in reading and can be learned by anyone in a single week, so as to read any new word at sight with absolute accuracy of pronunciation and accent. The general adoption of the glossal alphabet for this purpose would be equivalent to paralleling the old river of English

1020

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

orthography with a railway which, while facili- tating the teaching of its difficult navigation, would give the busy millions a means of reaching a perfect graphic expression in English in fewer weeks than are now required of years in attain- ing a very imperfect common spelling.

At his home, Rock Park, Dr. Armstrong is cultivating a patch of landscape to suggest the scenery of his native Scottish border of "Jed Water and Geviot-dale." Here among the rocks and live oaks of an old Indian camping ground he spends the early mornings and leisure hours in "Planting the olive where the wild-briar grew." Here, "sixty-five years young," he proposes do- ing what he may in finishing up studies which have occupied the available leisure of his many busy years of "chances and changes, mistakes, losses, successes and failures." Here, in "the afternoon," he is directing a few simple scientific principles towards the practical goal of "the best attainable," as cheerfully confident of final re- sults as was the first of the name in pointing his "cloth yard" Norman arrows at the retiring Celt or Saxons at Otterburn or Falkirk.

HENRY CATEY. Noteworthy among the industrious and thriving agriculturists of Comp- ton is Henry Catey, who has been following his independent occupation in this locality for up- wards of twenty years, owning and occupying a finely cultivated ranch, to the improvement of which he is constantly adding, year by year in- creasing its value. He was born July 21, 1834, in Indiana, where he resided until after attain- ing his majority. His father, Stacey B. Catey, born in New Jersey in 1806, removed to Indiana in 1816, then a boy of ten years, and died there in 1887. He married Sarah Ferguson, who was born in New Jersey, and died in Indiana in 1850, aged thirty-eight years. Their ten children all grew to years of maturity, and eight are still living. Four of the sons served in the Civil war, and one of these died from disease con- tracted while in the army. The father was iden- tified with the Whigs until the formation of the Republican party and cast his first presidential vote for John Quincy Adams. The mother was a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and reared her children in that faith.

Leaving his Indiana home in 1857, Henry Catey came across the plains to California, in com- pany with three of his schoolmates, of whom one, Henry Larkins, was killed while en route at Carson valley. From there Mr. Catey went on to Sacramento, going from there to Marysville, and from there to Shasta county, where he re- mained for four years, being engaged in mining. He was fairly successful, and continued as a miner and prospector for a number of years, pros-

pecting in Northern California until 1862, and from that time until 1869 in Oregon and Mon- tana mining fields. Returning then to Indiana, Mr. Catey married, settled on a farm, and re- mained in that state for ten years thereafter. In the fall of 1882 he came with his family to Los Angeles county, and in the spring of 1883 pur- chased the ranch on which he has since lived. He has twenty-five acres of land, on which he raises some fruit, although he devotes a large part of it to alfalfa, one of the most profitable crops that can be raised in this section. In the pursuit of his chosen occupation, he has labored diligently and effectively, and has met with deserved prosperity, his farm comparing favora- bly in its appointments and equipments with any in the vicinity.

In Indiana, in 1870, Mr. Catey married Mary A. Keefer, a native of New York, and they are the parents of four children, namely : S. F. Catey, in business in Los Angeles; G. W. Catey, re- siding in Los Angeles; Minnie L., a teacher in the public schools of Compton; and Emma E. In his political affiliations Mr. Catey is a sound Republican, sustaining the principles of his party by voice and vote. He is identified with the establishment of beneficial enterprises, and holds stock in the Compton Co-operative store. Both Mr. and Mrs. Catey are valued members of the Baptist Church at Compton, in which he is serv- ing as deacon and also as a trustee.

RUFUS K. MCCREERY. Los Angeles is the home of many who have laid aside the active duties of business life and are enjoying in their declining years the competency ac- cumulated during several decades in the ear- lier history of the state. Among this number is Rufus K. McCreery, who came to Califor- nia in 1852, and is now living retired in the handsome residence which he erected at No. 911 Hope street, Los Angeles. On both sides of the family Mr. McCreery is of Irish ances- try, his parents claiming County Down as their birthplace. Robert and Ann (Blocke) McCreery were reared and married in their native country, and about 1814 or 1815 came to the United States and settled in Hagers- town, Md. There the father opened a mer- cantile establishment which he carried on suc- cessfully until his death, December 27, 1833, while he was still a young man. His widow was left with six small children, the youngest being less than two days old. As soon as cir- cumstances would permit she located near Sharpsburg, that state, but two years later she removed with her family to Mount Morris, Ogle county, Ill., her death occurring in the latter place August 22. 1868, at the age of

1021

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

seventy-two years, six months and twenty days. She was a firm adherent of the Ger- man Reformed Church, and reared her chil- dren in an atmosphere of right living and sound principles.

The ninth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, Rufus K. McCreery, was born in Hagerstown, Md., October 1, 1825, six other children having previously died in in- fancy. The eldest child. Jane, was born in Ire- land, September 4, 1813, and was therefore only about one year old when the parents im- migrated to the United States; she became the wife of John Meyers, and died February 10, 1874, when sixty years of age. Samuel is now living retired at the age of eighty-seven years in Hagerstown, Md., where he formerly con- ducted a prosperous banking business. Ann, who became the wife of James Hayes, died when in her seventy-third year, and Margaret, the wife of William Bull, also died at the same age. At the time his mother located in Illi- nois Rufus was a child of fifteen years, and he distinctly recalls the crude conditions by which they were surrounded. Circumstances made it necessary for him to aid in the sup- port of his mother and younger children, and for some time he worked as a farm hand for neighboring farmers, later, however, carrying on a farm independently on rented land. The prospects of the middle west paled percepti- bly before the alluring accounts of opportuni- ties in the far west, and the year 1852 found him on his way to California. He, his brother Samuel and a friend, each provided with an outfit and voke of cattle, set out from Illinois in March. They crossed the Missouri river at Council Bluffs May 8, and by way of Sublett's cutoff finally reached Hangtown August 8. The train with which they crossed the plains was a large one and was led by Capt. F. P. Fuller, who brought them through a perilous journey in safety.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 148

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