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 87

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 87

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Professor Morgan is a native of La Grange county, Ind., his birth having occurred in that section in 1865, and while still a child in years was taken by his parents (representatives of Scotch and English ancestry) to the state of Michigan. The studious nature which he early developed was an inheritance from the paternal side of the family, all being teachers or profes- sional men, his father a minister in the Method- ist Episcopal Church. He became a student in the public schools of Plymouth, Mich., where he was graduated, after which he studied law. On account of impaired health he was forced to give up the study of law, and in Albion College and the University of Michigan fitted himself for teaching. He met with success in his chosen work and finally accepted the position of super- intendent of city schools in Bad Axe, Huron county, Mich. After two years he decided to come to Southern California, in which state he had previously traveled, and accordingly located in the vicinity of Pomona, Los Angeles county, where he began teaching school. Securing the principalship of the public and high schools of Covina, he held this position for seven years, and in the meantime was instrumental in the organization of the high school. In 1898 he assumed the principalship of that institution, hav- ing under him twelve teachers. In 1902 he came to Long Beach in the capacity above named, that of supervising principal of the whole and prin- cipal of the high school, having eleven teachers in the grammar schools and six in the high school. This number has been greatly increased in the past three years, in November, 1905, there being seventy-five grammar and fifteen high school teachers, while the attendance of the

schools is larger than that of Los Angeles in 1880 and three times larger than it was in 1902. Professor Morgan has supervision of ten school buildings and looks after all the improvements, etc., throughout the city. An evidence of the merits of the schools lies in the fact that they have twenty-seven and a half credits among the accredited schools of the state, it being possible for one school to score only thirty-nine and ninety-nine one-hundredths credits. Pupils of the Long Beach schools are admitted to Leland Stanford University; University of Southern California ; Occidental and Claremont Colleges, and stand especially high among the schools in debating and athletics.

In Michigan Professor Morgan was united in marriage with Anna B. Smith, a graduate of Plymouth high school and a teacher in the schools of the state. They make their home at No. 511 West Ninth street, where the professor has built a handsome residence. He has also invested in other property in Long Beach and has built several houses. Fraternally he is iden- tified with Long Beach Lodge No. 327, F. & A. M .; Long Beach Chapter No. 88, R. A. M., having been raised to this degree in Azusa, Cal .; Long Beach Commandery No. 40, K. T., raised to this degree in Pomona; and Al Malaikalı Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Covina, and the Elks of Long Beach. He is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations and in religion is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For some time he served as a member of the county board of education and is prominent in all movements tending toward educational advancement. He belongs to the Board of Trade and the Union League Club of Los Angeles, and is a stockholder in the Ma- sonic Association and the new hospital, and is a member of the board of directors of the Long Beach Building and Loan Association. He ex- presses a firm belief in the future of Southern California and especially of his adopted city. to the advancement of whose welfare he gives his best efforts, making the success of the city parallel with his personal interests.

JOHN KING. During his residence of about two decades in California John King greatly en- deared himself to a multitude of sincere friends, and though he was called to the silent land over thirty-five years ago he is still remembered with the kindliest feelings by his associates of the early pioneers days. He was born in County Down, Ireland, August 28, 1827, but at the age of eighteen years became a resident of the United States, his first stopping place being St. Louis, Mo. Going still further south we next find

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him in New Orleans, where for a number of years he was employed in a hotel. In the mean- time considerable interest had been created in California by the discovery of gold, and he wisely foresaw that the establishment of a hotel there meant success from the start. In partner- ship with his brother-in-law Marcus Flashner, he opened a hotel in San Francisco in 1851, an undertaking which was carried on with very successful results for about five years. By mutual agreement they then decided to give up their interests in this metropolis and in 1856 they came to Los Angeles and established what was then known as the Bella Union hotel, but which has since given place to the larger and more dignified structure now occupied by the St. Charles hotel. After the death of Mr. Flashner Mr. King continued the business in partnership with his sister until his own death, which oc- curred in 1871, at which time he was only in his forty-fifth year. During the formative period of this now prosperous city he took an active part in its governmental affairs, being a member of the city council for many years, and at the time of his death was serving as president of that body. Politically he was a Democrat.

The marriage of John King and Miss Susan Griffin occurred in Los Angeles in 1866. Mrs. King was born in New York City, but since 1849 she has been a continuous resident of the Golden state. Her father, Dr. P. J. Griffin, who was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College became a practitioner of considerable note. In the early part of his professional career he made a special study of the causes of and cure for yellow fever, a disease which was then raging as an epidemic in New Orleans, he at that time having an office in Havana. Cuba. Some time later he practiced his profession in Texas, and in 1848 he came to California, settling in San Francisco, where he was joined the following vear by his wife and children. Misfortune over- took him in the partial loss of his eyesight ere he had been in the state any length of time, and he was therefore unable to resume his practice here. Instead, however, he engaged in the general merchandise business, having a store in San Francisco and one in Sacramento. On two dif- ferent occasions he was visited by fire, his stock at both times being a total loss. Subsequently he opened a merchandise store in San Juan, but gave this up some time later and removed to Philadelphia, Pa., where it was his intention to spend the remainder of his life. His anticipations in regard to the latter place fell short of realiza- tion considerably, however, and in 1859 he again came to the west, this time settling in Los An- geles, here living retired on the means which he had accumulated in former years. His death occurred in Watsonville, in 1872, when over

seventy years of age. Mrs. Griffin was before her marriage Mary Crane, a native of New Jersey, and her death occurred in San Juan. Of the children born to them Mrs. King was the only one that attained mature years. She was educated principally in Los Angeles, although for a time she attended school in Philadelphia. After the return of the family to the west, in 1862 she entered the Sisters school in Los An- geles, remaining a pupil there up to the time of her marriage to Mr. King in 1866. In 1881, ten years after the death of Mr. King, she re- moved with her children to the residence she now occupies, on the corner of Vermont and Santa Barbara aventies. The grounds surround- ing the residence originally comprised eighty acres, of this seventy acres have been sold and the balance subdivided and sold in lots. The eldest of her three children, Mary F., a graduate of the Los Angeles normal school, is now a teacher in this city ; Alice G. is at home with her mother ; and John J. the only son, is in business in Los Angeles. Mrs. King and her daughters are com- municants of St. Vincent's Catholic Church of Los Angeles, and in the social life of this city they take an active and interested part.

JOHN BORCHARD. Prominent among the sturdy and substantial residents of Ventura county, whose place of birth was in the far- away German Empire, and who, with the in- dustry and thrift so natural to the people of that country, have accumulated vast interests in the home of their adoption, is John Bor- chard, of Oxnard. A pioneer settler of this place, he has witnessed wonderful transforma- tions in the face of the land, with warmest in- terest watching the growth of town and coun- tv, and ever responding cheerfully and liber- ally to the numerous calls for assistance in establishing beneficial enterprises. He is a man of far more than average business capac- ity, and is not only one of the leading agri- culturists of the county, but is an extensive landholder and a man of much wealth and in- fluence. During the accumulation of his large property he has conducted his business on strictly honest and honorable lines, and while laying up riches for himself has lent generous aid to many a needy person, giving to some of the wealthiest men of this valley their first start in life. A native of Germany, he was horn, October 8. 1838. in Hanover, a son of Caspar and Elizabeth (Huch) Borchard, both of whom spent their entire lives in the Father- land, the mother dying in March, 1892, at the age of eighty-three years, and the father in 1898, aged eighty-five years.

Having completed the course of study in

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the public schools of his native town, John Borchard served for one and one-half years in the German army, after which he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years. Immigrating to the United States in 1871, he debarked in New York City, from there coming to California, landing at San Francisco. Coming immediately to Ven- tura county, he located in the Santa Clara val- ley, and the same year purchased four hundred acres of land, which are now included in his present home ranch. As a general farmer and stock-raiser he has been eminently success- ful, and in this, and in other localities as well, has vast possessions of land. He lias four thousand acres of land in the Conejo val- lev, where he has raised much grain and many sheep and cattle : about eight thousand acres in Texas: two thousand acres in the Santa Clara valley, a valuable tract which he rents ; and nine hundred acres at Huntington Beach, having recently sold about five hundred acres, which was partly platted to town lots. He has other property of value, being a stock- holder in the First National Bank of Hunt- ington Beach and likewise in the Bank of Ox- nard.

In Germany, in 1865, Mr. Borchard married Elizabeth Chothelm, who was born in Ger- many, in 1834. and died on the home ranch, March 22, 1892, aged fifty-eight years. Three children were born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Borchard, namely: Mary, wife of Al- fred Fasshauer, of Hanover, Germany : Anna, living at home and keeping house for her father : and Theresa, wife of Louis Maulhardt, a resident of the Santa Clara valley. In 1895 Mr. Borchard and his three daughters went abroad and spent three months in Germany, having a delightful time with friends and rela- tives. During the six months they were away they visited in Texas, Cincinnati, New York City, and other points of interest in our own and European countries. The family are ev- erywhere estecmed, and are valued and con- sistent members of the Catholic Church.

JOHN GUESS. The oldest settler in the vi- cinity of El Monte is John Guess, who is located one mile west of the city and successfully engag- ed in general farming and the raising of stock. Mr. Guess came to California in October, 1852. as a pioneer, since which time he has witnessed and participated in the development and upbuilding of the country. He is a native of the south, born in Batesville, Independence county. Ark., March 20, 1830; his father, Joseph, who was born in the east, became an early resident of Arkansas, where he engaged in farming throughout his ac-

tive life. His death occurred from cholera in New Orleans while there on a trip for merchan- dise. He was survived by his wife, formerly Lottie Menyard, also a native of the east, her last days being spent with her son in California, dying at the age of eighty-four years. She had three children, of whom the eldest and only one living is the subject of this review.

Reared in his native state, John Guess removed with his parents to Conway county when a child, and having lost his father when young, he was deprived of even the limited advantages afforded by the primitive schools of the country. He spent liis boyhood days on the home farm, assisting in the work, and at twenty years of age began life for himself, working farms on shares until he had succeeded in accumulating some means. He was married in Arkansas to Mrs. Harriet ( Holi- field) Rogers, a native of Conway county and a daughter of James Holifield, a pioneer farmer of Arkansas, whose death occurred in Santa Barbara on a steamer on a return trip to Califor- nia. The first trip of Mr. Guess was made to California April 7, 1852, following his marriage in March, making the trip across the plains with two yoke of oxen, one wagon and all necessary equipment and provisions for nine months. He came through Texas via Fort Belknap, El Paso and Yuma, reaching El Monte after a seven months' trip. He had several skirmishes with the Indians en route, but was with a train of eighty wagons with seventy men well armed and this necessarily precluded any serious trouble with them. For three weeks following his ar- rival he camped within three-quarters of a mile of his present home, then he located in the vi- cinity of Compton and began farming. In the spring of 1855 he returned to El Monte, rented some of his present land one year, then pur- chased a ranch one mile north of El Monte, where he farmed and engaged in the raising of cattle. He subsequently returned to Arkansas with the intention of purchasing a farm with the $3,000 clear profit he carried back with him and remain a resident of his native state; but finally concluded to again locate in California and ac- cordingly made the trip once more to the Pa- cific coast in 1859. After selling his first ranch he purchased forty-eight acres on the present site of Savannah and remained in that location until 1867. when he lost in the courts his title to the land. as it was proven property of the early grants. In the same year he located on the place which he now owns, which was disputed land known as the old Mission grant, taking posses- sion of one hundred acres where he at once be- gan improvement and cultivation. He set out sycamore trees which today stand as massive sentinels about the place, many of them large and spreading. one measuring two and a half

I Sawvis Barlow-

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feet in diameter. He engaged in the raising of cattle, hogs, mules and horses, and a little later purchased one hundred and fifty head of cattle, which he drove to Tehachapi and sold. He fol- lowed a like course on the Chino ranch, while his family still lived on the ranch near El Monte. In 1888 he bought an interest in the San Jacinto ranch, then in the Santa Rosa ranch near Tem- ecula, where he had a herd of eight hundred cat- tle. He eventually added to his original ranch in El Monte by a purchase of sixty-four acres all being in one tract adjoining Savannalı. He has made many improvements on the place and brought it to a high state of cultivation, being able to raise alfalfa without irrigation on seventy acres of the place. He devotes considerable time to the raising of stock, in which enterprise he has been more than usually successful.

Mr. Guess' first wife died March 18, 1897, eight children having been born to them, namely : Henry, of Pomona, the first American boy born in Los Angeles county ; Louis, who died in in- fancy; Sallie, wife of William Slack, of San Ga- briel : Alice, who died in childhood ; Emma, wife of William Parker, in the vicinity of Compton : Richard, engaged with his father; Fannie, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Hattie, wife of Joseph Steel, of El Monte. The second union of Mr. Guess occurred in Rivera, Cal., and united him with Mrs. Sarah ( Anderson ) Hooper. Mr. Guess has taken a prominent part in public affairs in the community, being one of the organ- izers of the First National Bank of El Monte, and has served as school trustee for two terms. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, having been made a member of the organization in 1862. in Lexington Lodge No. 104. He belongs to the Baptist Church of El Monte, in which he has officiated as trustee. Politically he is a stanch Jeffersonian Democrat. In memory of the early days in which he came to California he belongs to the Los Angeles County Pioneers.

WALTER JARVIS BARLOW. M. D. Among the names of distinguished physicians holding prominent place in the medical pro- fession is that of Dr. W. J. Barlow. Though born of a long line of eastern ancestry, the west has claimed him and welcomed him, as the west always welcomes the brain and the strength of the sons of the east and is proud to enroll them as her own. The homelv but oft- heard expression that "hlood tells" has be- come axiomatic, and if the saving is as true as believed to be the Barlow family may just- ly lay claim to whatever distinction lies in be- ing well descended. The American branch of the Barlow family, from which Dr. Barlow is descended, dates from colonial days when

Samuel Barlow, the founder of the family in America, was among the early colonists who emigrated from England in 1620 and settled in Massachusetts. Those were days of trial and tribulation and the men who unflinch- ingly faced them were worthy progenitors of a race to be that should point with pride to the line from whence they sprang. Among the numerous descendants of Samuel Barlow was Joel Barlow, the distinguished author and philanthropist, and also of the immediate family of which Dr. Barlow is a member.

Dr. Barlow's great-great-grandfather, John Barlow was a native of Fairfield, Conn., and a merchant by trade. He married Sarah Whit- ney, of the well known New England family. Their son John married Larana Scott, and the son of the latter, also John, married Julia Ann Jarvis, whose family name is prominent in the history of Connecticut. Though of English descent they were true American patriots, her grandfather being a soldier in the Revolution. She was also a niece of Bishop Jarvis, the first bishop consecrated in America, and the sec- ond bishop of Connecticut.

Dr. Barlow's father was William H. Bar- low. He was born in Connecticut, afterwards removing to Ossining, N. Y., where he en- gaged in business as a hardware merchant. He was a man of sterling qualities, a devout member of the Episcopal Church, and a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity. He married Miss Catherine Stratton Leut, also a native of Connecticut, a daughter of Robert and Catherine (Stratton) Leut. Her mother was a Van Weber, descendant of Aneka Jans of New York City, whose vast estate was the subject of litigation for many years, and be- came a cause celebre in the annals of the New York State bar. The Leut family were orig- inally from Holland. The proper name. Van Leut, became in time shortened to Leut. Catherine Stratton Barlow, who died in 1891. became the mother of nine children.

Dr. Walter Jarvis Barlow was born at Os- sining. Westchester county. N. Y., January 22, 1868, and his early boyhood years were passed at his home on the banks of the pictur- esque Hudson. Graduating from Mt. Pleas- ant Military Academy in 1885. he entered Co- lumbia University and received his degree of B. A. in 1880. In 1892 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons and re- ceived his degree of M. D., which was fol- lowed by three years as interne in a New York City hospital. Too close attention to study had somewhat undermined his health and he sought to regain it through traveling and a Year's sojourn in the mountains of Southern California. As soon as his health was restored

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he located in Los Angeles and engaged in the practice of his profession. His specialty is in- ternal medicine.

In 1898 Dr. Barlow married Miss Marion Brooks Patterson, of Los Angeles, and a na- tive of Dunkirk, N. Y. They have three children, Walter Jarvis, Jr., Catherine Leut and Ella Brooks.

Dr. Barlow has achieved an enviable posi- tion in his chosen profession, and is held in high esteem among the fraternity of which he is an honored member. His culture, refine- ment and worth are well established and uni- versally recognized in the community. He holds the chair of clinical medicine in the Medi- cal College of Southern California; is a member of the American Medical Association ; member of the Clinicalogical Association ; member of the Chamber of Commerce; and vice president and director of Merchants' Trust and Savings Bank. In 1902 he founded and incorporated the Barlow Sanitarium for the poor consumptives of Los Angeles county, which has proven more than a success.

DOLORES MACHADO. Prominent among the Castilian residents of Los Angeles county is the Machado family, whose representative above named is the owner of a beautiful home in the town of Venice. The family was founded in Cal- ifornia by Manuel Machado, a native of Spain and in early life a resident of Mexico, but later a pioneer of California, settling in Santa Barbara. As a soldier of the king of Spain he received a grant to a tract of land now embraced within the limits of Los Angeles, where he died at the age of four-score years. Next in line of descent was Augustine, father of Dolores, and a native of Santa Barbara, Cal., but from an early age identi- fied with the development of Los Angeles county. In conjunction with his brother Ygnacio, Augus- tine Machado purchased the La Bayona rancho of fifteen thousand acres in Los Angeles county. and eventually the latter acquired five thousand acres of the grant, where he engaged in raising cattle and horses, and met with such success that he was wealthy at the time of his death, when eighty-five years of age. To each of his children he bequeathed a ranch, but much of the land has passed out of their possession, although Dolores and his brothers and sisters own about two hun- dred and thirty acres of the old La Bayona grant, the same being now very valuable property.

The marriage of Augustine Machado united him with Ramona Sepulveda, a native of Los Angeles and a daughter of Francisco Sepulveda, a Spanish gentleman and a soldier of the king of Spain. In return for his services to his country Francisco Sepulveda received a grant to San Vi- centes, comprising thirty thousand acres, on a

part of which the town of Santa Monica now stands. By reason of his large holdings he be- came a man of prominence among the Spanish residents of Los Angeles county, and his ability also gave him a foremost place among the men of his day and locality. At the time of his death he was about ninety years of age, and his daughter, Mrs. Machado, was seventy-five at the time of her demise. Both the Sepulveda and Machado families were devout members of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the family of Augustine and Ramona Mach- ado there were the following named children : Martine, who died at the age of fifty-five; Vin- cente, who was forty-five years at the time of death; Domingo, who lived to be forty-eight ; Dolores, whose name introduces this sketch; As- cuncion, the widow of Louis Lopez and the own- er of a portion of La Bayona grant; Suzana, widow of Juan Bernard and a wealthy resident of Los Angeles; Francisco, who died at forty-eight years ; Bernardino, who owns a part of the old grant ; Jose Juan, Andres and Jose De Luce, all of whom own parts of the old grant. Dolores Machado was born in Los Angeles March 2, 1833, and remained with his parents until the death of his father, when one-half of the estate fell to the widow, and the other one-half was di- vided among the children. At that time, in 1864, he received three hundred acres and later inher- ited one hundred acres from his mother. The greater part of the land he has sold, but he still retains fifty acres in the town of Venice, valued at $2500 per acre, and here he engaged in farm- ing until about 1902, when he retired from active business and agricultural cares. Politically he votes the Democratic ticket. Though all of his life has been passed in this county and he is fa- miliar with its development, he still retains the habits and customs of the Spanish race and uses that language exclusively. However, all of his children have received excellent English educa- tions and have adopted the customs and the lan- guage of their American neighbors. In religion all are actively connected with the Roman Cath- olic Church.

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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 87

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