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 85

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

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to the structure into which the finished product goes. This has brought to the company prof- its undivided by successful competition, and has also proved a wonderful power in the work of development of the Pacific coast country. Along this same line of business Mr. Perry or- ganized the Los Angeles and Humboldt Lum- ·ber Company, of San Pedro, with the object of sending lumber to all points of Arizona; and also the Pioneer Lumber and Mill Company, of Colton, near this city, to supply the coun- try adjacent to that point. The Los Angeles Storage Cement and Lumber Company, which supplies to builders of Los Angeles lime, plas- ter, fire-brick, cement, hair and other materials used on buildings, is another corporation in whose organization he was the most prominent factor and the controlling element.

Mr. Perry's identification with the business enterprises of Los Angeles was such in the past years that scarcely an improvement or mark of development missed the mas- terful touch of his hand. In 1868 the waters of the Los Angeles river had been leased to a company with the privilege of laying pipes in the streets of the city and supplying water to the citizens. The company did not meet with the success it had anticipated and after eleven years had not succeeded in establishing a sound financial basis. At that time (1879), Mr. Perry was elected president and general manager of the company, and continued to act in that capacity until the sale was made to the city. Seeing that the supply would not equal the demand he purchased three other small companies, becoming presi- dent and manager of them as well. Under his able supervision the stockholders retired from the water company very rich men.

Mr. Perry was, perhaps, associated as presi- dent and director of more companies than any other one man of Los Angeles, his many busi- ness interests constantly calling upon him for the benefit of his experience. In banking cir- cles he was eminently prominent in South- ern California, serving as a director in the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank of Los Angeles, with which institution he became connected at an early date in its history, contributing materially to its substantial growth and pros- perity. He was a stockholder in the Ameri- can National Bank of this city, and likewise identified with the Nevada Bank and the Union Trust Company, of San Francisco. Besides being president of the W. H. Perry Lumber & Mill Company, he was president of the Pio- neer Lumber & Mill Company ; president and director of the Southern California Pipe & Clay Company : while he formerly served as president of the Cosmopolis Mill & Trading

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Company, of Grays Harbor, Wash. He was a stockholder in the Charles Nelson Shipping Company, of San Francisco, which has large timber, mill and railroad interests in Hum- boldt county; in the Vallejo & Napa Elec- tric Railroad; the Gas Consumers' Associa- tion and the National Electric Company, both of San Francisco; the Bard Oil & Asphalt Company ; the Olinda Crude Oil Company ; the Western Union Oil Company, of Santa Barbara; and was formerly in the Reed Oil Company, of Kern county. He was one of the original stockholders in the Home Tele- phone Company, of Los Angeles. Although so constantly occupied every enterprise with which he was connected has profited largely by his unusual business ability and wide ex- perience. He was largely interested in real es- tate in Los Angeles, his faith in the permanent prosperity and growth of this city being un- bounded and surely justified in the light of his career.

The home life of Mr. Perry was not the least of a successful career, for it is one thing to found a fortune and another to establish a home and rear a family that shall add honor to the name. In 1858 he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth M. Dalton, the daugh- ter of a pioneer of Los Angeles, and herself one of the courageous, self-sacrificing women who faced the hardships of the frontier life. Side by side they walked together :when the road was rough, youth, courage and confi- dence promising them something that the future held for them. After a happy married life of nearly a half century the bond was brok- en by the death of Mr. Perry October 30, 1906. Six children blessed their union, of whom one son and two daughters are living: Charles Frederick is located in Washington and is en- gaged in the lumber business ; Mary Barker be- came the wife of C. M. Wood ; and Florence, the wife of F. P. Johnson, Jr., both being resi- (lents of Los Angeles, and with their mother are prominent in the select social circles of the city. The eldest daughter, Mrs. Wood, is one of the most accomplished musicians of Los Angeles, having received her educa- tion in Milan, under the tuition of Anton Sangiovanni, one of the most noted instruc- tors of that city. She made her debut in Milan and during her engagement there made a favorable impression on the musical world. Mr. and Mrs. Perry had nine grandchildren in whose lives their own youth was renewed. Mrs. Wood's children are named in order of birth as follows: Elizabeth Marie, Florence Perry, William Perry and Mona Chapman ;

those of Mrs. Johnson, Katherine, Robert, Margaret, Eleanor and Edward P.

The characteristic traits of Mr. Perry which helped bring about his financial success also made their impress upon his personality. By inheritance he was endowed with many of the qualities which make a successful fron- tiersman-personal fearlessness, a cheerful optimism in the face of reverses, a spirit of conscious ability and perseverance-and these have proven potent factors in his career. In the early days of the state he was foremost among the citizens in preserving good gov- ernment and peace, it being necessary to guard the families from the lawless Mexican element. Many times he had occasion to wish himself out of the country, but with the per- sistence characteristic of his entire career he remained a helpful element in the troublous times and with the passing years mounted to a position of prosperity in a manner well worthy of emulation by the younger genera- tion. He had taken time to ally himself with the Masonic organization, being a member of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery, and is a Thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite Ma- son. When he arrived in Los Angeles, now a little more than a half century since, he was penniless, friendless and alone. The journey had been a hardship, having worn out his shoes by constant walking and his only clothes were in rags, and he was thus left without sufficient clothing in which to make applica- tion for work: he therefore sought the only way open to him by going to a clothier and asking him for a suit of clothes on credit. He was trusted, and he let that lesson sink deep into his life, giving to others the faith that was given to him, and extending a helping hand to many who would have sunk to utter failure and insignificance but for the help which he gave at the time most needed. The position given Mr. Perry was not his alone as a man of business ability, but as a liberal and loyal citizen, an honorable man and a stanch friend. His death October 30. 1906, removed one of California's great and honored pioneers.

COL. WARNER LOWDER VESTAL. Through southern ancestry the genealogy of the Vestal family is traced to Scotland and from that country back to the ancient city of Rome. The religion of the Society of Friends was adopted about two centuries ago, and the records show that successive generations ad- hered to that faith, both in the old world and in the new. Established in the south during the colonial period, the family became promi- nent in North Carolina. In Guilford, that state,

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occurred the birth of Jaben Vestal, who at an early age accompanied his father to Indiana and settled in the wilderness of Hendricks county. Later he took up farming for himself and im- proved a tract near Plainfield, where he died in December, 1904, when more than ninety years of age. In preceding generations also longevity had been a marked characteristic. His wife, Charity, was a daughter of Matthew Lowder, a sterling Quaker gentleman. At her death, which occurred in Indiana, she was survived by four children, namely: John Newton, who was a sergeant in the Fourth Indiana Cavalry dur- ing the Civil war and is now an editor and pub- lisher in Indianapolis; Warner Lowder, of San Bernardino, Cal .; Hiram, who was a member of a regiment of Indiana artillery in the Rebel- lion and now carries on a hotel business in Shreveport, La .; and Mrs. Jane Wasson, of In- diana.

On the homestead near Plainfield, Hendricks county, Ind., Warner Lowder Vestal was born November 28, 1839, and there he spent the first seventeen years of his life. Meanwhile he not only attended district schools, but also had the advantage of a course in Plainfield Academy. Going to Iowa in 1856 he learned the printer's trade at Indianola, and after returning to In- diana in the fall of 1859 he joined his brother, J. Newton, in the purchase and publication of the Danville Ledger at Danville, Hendricks county, At the outbreak of the Civil war he was still editing that paper, but immediately af- ter the firing on Fort Sumter he enlisted, and April 21, 1861, was enrolled as a sergeant in Company A, Seventh Indiana Infantry. After a brief period of drilling the regiment went to the front and took part in the battles of Philippi, W. Va., and Carrick's Ford. The young vol- unteers had feared the war would be at an end before they could get to the front and they were gratified at the order to go to West Virginia. They longed for an actual experience with war, but after their first baptism in blood, and after wounds, forced marches, privations and suffer- ing they realized indeed that grim-visaged war is not altogether enjoyable. At Philippi they witnessed the first instance of the amputation of a limb of a Confederate soldier by a Union sur- geon, this operation being performed in a stable. At Carrick's Ford they crossed a stream of cold water, then climbed a hill and started to flank the Confederates, when the latter retreated in haste, leaving a cannon behind them. The boys in blue concluded that, now the cannon had been taken, the war was ended. It was at this same engagement that they witnessed the death of Gen. Robert S. Garnet, who was shot by one of the men of the regiment, and was the first Rebel general killed during the Civil war. Gen-

eral Garnet was a pioneer of California and originated the seal adopted by this state.

Company A was mustered out August 2, 1861, and the young soldier from Danville returned to his work in that town. However, it was im- possible for him to remain contented with busi- ness affairs while the country needed his serv- ices. Accordingly he sold the Ledger and Feb- ruary 24, 1862, enlisted as a private in Com- pany A, Fifty-third Indiana Infantry, being mustered in as eighth corporal. April 26, 1862, he was commissioned sergeant-major. Though he was by birth a Quaker, he was fond of mili- tary tactics and had few superiors in drilling the men. W. Q. Gresham, then colonel of the regi- ment, noticed that Company A was well drilled, and when a captain's commission was to be giv- en he called the sergeant-major to him and stated he wished to recommend him for captain, but realized that there were two lieutenants de- sirous of the commission. Mr. Vestal suggested that the matter be left to an election by the company. Colonel Gresham consented. The election was duly held and Mr. Vestal received every vote but one, so that the commission was given him June 14, 1862, and he commanded the company.

When a vacancy occurred in the office of major the young captain was next to the young- est in commission and Colonel Gresham again offered to promote him. The matter was left to an election by the commissioned officers, and he received all the votes excepting three. His commission as major was dated October 5, I863. His commission as lieutenant-colonel bore date of October 31, 1863, and the commis- sion as colonel of the Fifty-third Indiana In- fantry was dated January 31, 1865, this and the commission of lieutenant-colonel being ten- dered by Governor Morton of Indiana .. As an officer in the Fifty-third he served in the bat- tles in the advance on Corinth, Holly Springs, Lumpkin's Mill, second battle of Corinth, bat- tle of Matamoras (one of the most serious en- gagements of the war), the siege of Vicksburg, and after the surrender he was provost-mar- shal at Natchez, and a member of the court martial, of which he was the youngest officer.

Immediately after the battle of Resaca Col- onel Vestal joined General Sherman at Ac- worth, Ga., in the spring of 1864, and partici- pated in later engagements up to Atlanta, where, July 22, 1864, in the same hour and within a hundred yards of where General McPherson fell, he was seriously wounded and left for dead on the battlefield. This was immediately after he had taken command of the regiment on the wounding and death of Lieutenant-Colonel Jones. Perhaps five hours elapsed before he regained consciousness. As he came to his

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senses and endeavored to move, some sharp- shooter saw him and sent a bullet into the right knee. His call for help was heard and he was carried from the field to the hospital. From there he was sent back to Indiana. Meanwhile he had been reported as fallen on the battlefield, and on the day of his return home he was the first member of the family to open the Dan- ville Ledger. The first notice that met his eyes was his own obituary. After nine months at home he was able to return to the army, al- though still obliged to use crutches. He re- joined the regiment at Goldsboro, N. C., and after the surrender of Lee he went to Wash- ington, where he took part in the grand re- view. The regiment was mustered out at Louis- ville, Ky., July 21, 1865, and honorably dis- charged from the service.

Returning to Plainfield, Ind., Colonel Vestal for two years engaged in the drug business. From there he went to Iowa, where he was em- ployed as a reporter in the state legislature and . also on the staff of the Iowa State Register. In October of 1870 he established the Storm Lake Pilot at Storm Lake, Iowa, and this he pub- lished successfully for a long period. On leav- ing Iowa he came to California in 1886 and settled at San Diego, where he acted as manager of the San Diego Sun. The year 1892 found him a resident of San Bernardino, where since he has made his home and where now he is secretary of the board of trade, also city recorder. After his arrival in this city he was editor and manager of the Times Inder until the paper was sold in 1896, since which time he has engaged in the real-estate business and also has devoted con- siderable attention to the writing of articles for papers in this state and in the east. Ever since the organization of the Grand Army of the Re- public he has been interested in the order, and while living in Iowa was commander of the Storm Lake Post, also since coming west he has held a similar position in Post No. 57 at San Bernardino. Stanchly true to Republican principles, he always has voted the straight tick- et in national elections and has rendered local service to the party in the capacity of the sec- retary of the county central committee. Short- ly after the close of the war he established do- mestic ties, being united in marriage at Wash- ington, D. C., November 13, 1865, with Miss Frances Y. Young, who was born in Belfast, Me .. received an excellent education, and is a lady of culture and refinement, an ideal com- panion for a citizen as popular, prominent, pub- lic-spirited and progressive as Colonel Vestal.

WILLIAM H. WORKMAN. The family represented by William H. Workman boasts an ancestry which has given to its descendants

sturdy qualities of manhood and insured the success of their careers. The paternal grand- father, Thomas Workman, was a native of England and a prominent yeoman of West- moreland county ; the maternal grandfather, John Hook, inheriting from German ancestry a strong character, was born in Fincastle, Va., and served under General Washington in the Revolutionary war. His wife was Elizabeth Cook, a relative of the distinguished traveler of that name. As early as 1819 the Hook family located in Missouri, which was then the frontier, where the Indians preyed upon the settlers and constantly threatened their lives and property. It required courage to face these dangers and ability to establish a home in the midst of the wilderness. David Workman, the father of William H., married Nancy Hook, and born of this union were three sons, of whom the eldest, Thomas H., was killed by the explosion of the steamer Ada Hancock, in Wilmington Harbor, April 27, 1863. The second son, Elijah H., settled at Boyle Heights; while the third, William H., is the subject of this review.

He was born in New Franklin, Howard county, Mo., in 1839, and accompanied his parents to California, the family crossing the plains with ox-teams in 1854, taking six months to make the trip. This was the third trip of the father, who had just returned east to bring his wife and children to the Pacific coast. He came first in 1849 to seek his for- tune's in the mines; returned home, then in 1852 came back to the state and again in 1854. His brother William came as a trapper from Santa Fe with John Rowland, and while on a visit to this brother he conceived the idea from him to bring his sons to this state and enable them to start in life and make a home in California, and make "men of his boys." this suggestion coming from his brother. Their first location upon their arrival in the state was in Los Angeles, making the trip through the mining section of Northern Cali- fornia, whence they came by boat to this city. Previous to his location in the west William H. Workman had attended the public schools in Boonville, Mo., where he obtained an ele- mentary education, after which he pursued a course at F. T. Kemper's Collegiate Institute, and later learned the printer's trade with the Boonville Observer. Following his settlement in Los Angeles he followed this trade in the office of the Southern Californian, which was published by Butts & Wheeler, on the corner of Court and Spring streets, in a corrugated iron building brought from England by Hen- ry Dalton, the owner of the Azusa ranch. Later he worked in the office of the Los An-

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geles Star, located on Spring street opposite the Temple block. After a brief time spent in this position he clerked for a time, then accepted the offer of employment to carry messages on horseback between Los Angeles and San Bernardino for the Banning Trans- portation Company. These were the early days of the state and the very beginning of a civilization which should one day place Cali- fornia on a par with all other states of the Union; but at that time the country was sparsely settled. hardships were the lot of the many and only the far-sighted pioneer could look to a future beyond his primitive surround- ings. In the early years of his manhood Mr. Workman engaged with his brother, Elijah H., in the establishment and management of a harness and saddlery business, and from a modest beginning this grew into a lucrative and important enterprise which continued suc- cessfully for twenty-one years.

In the meantime, in 1867, Mr. Workman married Miss Maria E. Boyle, the only child of Andrew Boyle, the first settler of Boyle Heights. His old brick house, built in 1858. still standing as a historical landmark of the East side, is being preserved by Mr. Work- man. Although at this time he was identified with real estate transactions in Los Angeles his interests naturally became centered in Boyle Heights, and through his efforts was effected much of the improvement of this sec- tion of the city. To induce settlement Mr. Workman built a carline (the second line in the city) on Aliso street and Pleasant avenue ; in 1886 he built the First street line and after- wards was instrumental in building one on Fourth street, extending through Boyle Heights and then on Cummings, and though at first it was operated by mule-teams once every hour it afforded ample transportation. A later enterprise required an expenditure of $30,000 as a bonus on the part of Mr. Work- man to assist the traction company to connect Los Angeles with the south side of Boyle Heights through on Fourth street, he having to secure the right of way, which with the cutting down of the street took two years. In numerous other ways he also sought to improve the locality, in conjunction with Mrs. Hollenbeck, Mr. Workman donating two- thirds of the land for that which is now known as Hollenbeck Park, the two later giving it to the city.

With the passing years Mr. Workman had also assumed a place of importance in the public affairs of Los Angeles and was called upon to fill many offices of trust and respon- sibility. As a Democrat in his political affili- ations he occupied a prominent place in the

councils of his party, and in 1873 was nomi- nated for the legislature. Being anti-monoply he was defeated in the election that followed. As a member of the city council for several terms he was instrumental in bringing about needed reforms, and in 1887 and 1888 served acceptably as mayor of the city, giving an earnest and conscientious fulfillment of duty which won for him the commendation of all parties. This being in the year of the great boom when property ran to such incalculable heights in value, Mr. Workman's strict ad- herence to his official duties and the conse- quent neglect of his personal interests is all the more commendable. In 1900 he was elect- ed city treasurer by a majority of one hun- dred and thirty votes and again proved his efficiency in official position ; two years later he was enthusiastically re-elected by a major- ity of three thousand votes, and upon the ex- piration of his term was elected a third time by twenty-three hundred majority. This be- ing the year of the Republican landslide shows more fully the esteem in which he is held by the citizens of Los Angeles. During his term of service the grand jury took up the matter of keeping money in various banks of the city, the city not owning a vault. This being against the law Mr. Workman had to provide for the occasion and he did so by hiring guards and a vault for the protection of the money. Although this movement withdrew from circulation over $2,500,000 it proved no detriment to business interests. Mr. Work- man was one of the stanch advocates of the scheme for bonding the city for $2,000,000 in order to secure funds for the purchase of a water plant, and with the city attorney, \V. B. Mathews, went east to float the bonds, but on account of the low rate of interest-three and three-fourths per cent-encountered many difficulties in disposing of them. They final- ly succeeded, however, in New York City, and this movement proved very advantageous in the growth and development of Los An- geles. After retiring from the office of city treasurer he assisted in organizing the Ameri- can Savings Bank, of which he is now presi- dent. As a charter member and first vice- president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Mr. Workman has always main- tained a prominent place in the advancement of this organization. Fraternally he is a Mason, having been made a member in 1861 and holds membership in the Los Angeles Lodge and Chapter.

Mr. Workman has been versatile in his tal- ents and accomplishments. He has made his own way since the early years of boyhood and has won his way step by step to a position

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of honor among the representative citizens of Southern California. He has established a home and reared a family of children of whom any parent might well be proud. His chil- dren, three sons and four daughters, Boyle, Mary, Elizabeth, William H., Jr., Charlotte, Gertrude and Thomas E., appreciate fully their father's standing as a prominent citizen of their native city. The family home at No. 357 South Boyle avenue is in the center of a well-kept lawn, spacious grounds, and there their friends are always welcome and the stranger given the warm hand of fellowship. Mrs. Workman presides over the home witli a quiet dignity and has reared their children to ways of usefulness.

Mr. Workman is a pioneer and is justly proud of his connection with the Pioneer As- sociation of Los Angeles County and the His- torical Society of Southern California, the former of which he was instrumental in or- ganizing. He has served as its president three terms and has always taken a deep interest in the preservation of early historical data. He recalls the days when a vineyard occupied the ground now a part of the railroad terminals of the city ; in the early 'zos he was a member of the board of education and assisted in hav- ing the first high school building erected in the city, where the present courthouse stands, since which time he has taken a never failing interest in the advancement of educational standards. He has contributed liberally to- ward all movements calculated for the growth of the city, having given lots for the building of five different churches regardless of de- nomination, and supports all charitable enter- prises with equal liberality. To young and old he is "Uncle Billy." To celebrate his fiftieth anniversary as a citizen of Los Angeles he banqueted five hundred pioneers and served them with a Mexican menu from which to se- lect their favorite dish, in memory of the early customs of Southern California. The event marked an epoch in the history of our beau- tiful southern city. Mr. Workman has truly won a place of exceptional prominence in the citizenship of Los Angeles, where he has been actively associated in business for many years. It has been said of him by those who know him best that he is generous to a fault, pos- sesses the confidence of the people, and no man in Los Angeles stands higher in the es- timation of the representative men. He has not been entirely free from reverses, but at the same time has ably managed his affairs and those entrusted to him: conscientiously discharged the duties of the offices to which he has been elected, often to the detriment of his personal affairs. In the evening of his

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A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 85

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