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 94

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 94

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prominent physician of New York. Both par- ents died in Battle Creek at advanced ages.

"Major" Carr is the only one living of five children; his education was received in the public and union schools of Battle Creek. In 1863 he responded to his country's call for volunteers, enlisting in Company C, Sixth Michigan Heavy Artillery, and mustered in at Jackson, and assigned to the Department of the Gulf, participating in the engagements of White River, Baton Rouge, Port Hudson and Siege of Vicksburg. After this he served on the Mississippi and the Gulf, principally at Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan, and was with Farragut at the capture of the latter, this then giving command of the entrance to Mobile. He was discharged at Jackson, Mich., in 1865. After recuperating on the old homestead for a time he engaged in farming and in the manu- facture of brick, making the brick from which was built the original Battle Creek Sanita- rium.

In 1877 he removed to Chillicothe, Mo., where he engaged in farming and at the same time as a traveling salesman for the Eureka Mower Company, of Utica, N. Y., his terri- tory being Missouri and Illinois. In 1887 he located in Ventura county, Cal., purchased his present ranch of twenty-one acres, one and one-half miles north of the present site of Ox- nard, which was set to walnut trees, this to- day being one of the finest groves in the state. With Major Driftils he has six hundred and sixty-five acres in beets in the vicinity of Ox- nard; also has fifty-five acres in beans. "Major" Carr labored assiduously in securing the location of the sugar factory in Oxnard, knowing the richness of the soil, the possibili- ties of the Santa Clara valley of Southern Cali- fornia and having great faith in its production of the sugar beet. From its inception, in 1887. he has been one of the agriculturists for the American Beet Sugar Company and superin- tends the putting in of the crops and the har- vesting of the same among the farmers in his district with whom they have contracts. He was one of the promoters of the Oxnard Elec- tric Light plant.

In Augusta, Mich., November 14, 1866, he was united in marriage with Mary Earle, a native of England, and a daughter of Edward Earle, a pioneer miller of Augusta. Bv this union three children have been born. Luella, wife of Lincoln Hall: Martin V., and Earle, all of Oxnard and vicinity. "Major" Carr was made a Mason in Hueneme Lodge No. 311. F. & A. M., of which he served as master three terms, was one of the organizers and is past master of Oxnard Lodge No. 341. F. & A. M .; exalted to the Sublime Royal Arch in Ventura

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Chapter No. 50, R. A. M .; was one of the or- ganizers and first high priest of Oxnard Chap- ter No. 86, R. A. M. He is also a member of Ventura Council, R. & S. M .; Ventura Com- mandery No. 18, K. T., of the Los Angeles Consistory, 32d degree, and Al Malaikah Tem- ple, A. A. O. N. M. S. With Mrs. Carr he is a member of Eastern Star Chapter No. 185. He is a charter member of Lodge No. 613, B. P. O. E., of Santa Barbara, and a member of Cushing Post No. 44, G. A. R., of Ventura. Mrs. Carr is a member of the Presbyterian Church and the Women's Relief Corps of Ox- nard. He is a strong Republican and has been a member of the county central committee, taking an active part in its councils and shap- ing the destiny of the party in this county.

All matters that have had for their object the development of the county, the betterment of the condition of its citizens and the ad- vancement of its commercial interest in the state have always found "Major" Carr ever ready to give of his time, money and influence, and perhaps no one is better known as a man, nor more highly esteemed as a friend. It is the sentiment of those who know him inti- mately that he is well worthy a place in the annals of Southern California.

LEVI R. MATTHEWS. In the interval be- tween his arrival in California and his death about twelve years later Mr. Matthews acquired considerable property by energy and foresight, and at the same time, by the exercise of the highest principles of honor and uprightness, he made for himself a lasting place in the regard of acquaintances and associates. His death oc- curred in Long Beach July 2, 1902, of apoplexy, but his remains were buried in his home city, Pomona, with whose upbuilding he had had so much to do.

Born in Rochester, Vt., February 9, 1830, Levi R. Matthews, was a child of about two years when his father. Josiah Matthews, removed to the frontier of Illinois and settled on a farm in Sangamon county, later, however, going to Taze- well county, same state, and purchasing a farm ten miles east of Pekin. On the homestead farm that he there improved from the wilder- ness he passed away, as did also his wife, who before her marriage was Monette Waters, a native of Vermont. Levi R., the eldest of their children, was educated in the public schools of Tazewell county, Ill., and also in Knox College. Following in the footsteps of his father in the choice of a life calling he too settled down to farming and stock-raising, improving a farm from the raw prairie near Tremont. To his origi- nal purchase he added from time to time until

he laid claim to five hundred acres of fine land all in one body. Not only was he known as an extensive cattle dealer, but he was an im- portant figure in the public life of his community, and for many years served his community as highway commissioner. In 1886 he gave up his personal management of his farm and removed to Colorado Springs, Colo., and four years later made a trip to California. So well pleased was he with the outlook in this state that he decided to make it his future home, coming hither in the fall of 1890 and purchasing a ten-acre orange grove on the corner of Olive and San Antonio avenues. Subsequently, he disposed of his Illi- nois property and bought a thirty-acre alfalfa ranch south of Pomona, improving it into one of the finest ranches of the kind in this vicinity. A distinguishing feature of his ranch was a four-hundred foot well which he sunk, and which is considered one of the finest wells in the Po- mona valley, furnishing water for irrigation for the entire vicinity. The family retain consid- erable of the property he owned in Colorado Springs.

In Morton, Ill., April 20, 1852, Levi R. Mat- thews was united in marriage with Miss Marie Antoinette Sill, who was born in Solon, Ohio, the daughter of Prof. Horace L. Sill, a native of Adams, N. Y. Grandfather John Sill, who was also born in the Empire state, was a survey- or and civil engineer first in his native state and later in Solon, Ohio, where he died. From New York state, where he was reared, Horace L. Sill removed to Ohio, where he taught school for a time, later removing to Morton, Ill., where he owned a farm, but followed teaching for a livelihood. From Illinois he later removed to Fremont, Nebr., where as teacher and farmer he rounded out his life, passing away on his farm in that vicinity. Mrs. Sill was before her mar- riage Mary Pettibone, born near Sacket Harbor, N. Y., the daughter of Elijah Pettibone, who was born near Hartford, Conn., following farming there until his removal to Ohio, where he died. He was of English descent, and many of the Pettibone ancestors fought in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Sill passed away in Nebraska. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mat- thews five grew to years of maturity and are still living. The eldest, Mary Louise, was edu- cated at Eureka College and is the widow of Raphael Leonard, of Tremont, Ill .; Ellen Mabel was also educated at Eureka College, and is the wife of Charles Major, of Eureka, Ill .; Kate Luella, also educated in that college, became the wife of Charles Stubblefield, of McLean, Ill .; Annie May, Mrs. Charles Buckley, of Tremont. Ill., was also educated in Eureka College; Lee R. is a farmer in Pomona; Grace L. is the wife J. H. Payne, of Los Angeles; and Winnifred

Frank S.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

G., who became the wife of Samuel R. Eccles- ton, died in Los Angeles in 1900. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Matthews has con- tinued to reside in the homestaead which he erected at No. 659 Northi Gordon street, and in the management of the large property which he left she is meeting with splendid success.

FRANK PETIT. The Santa Clara valley of Southern California can lay claim to no more enterprising citizen than Frank Petit, as all will agree who are familiar with the transformation which his ranch near Oxnard, Ventura county, has undergone during the past twenty-four years. His first purchase, in 1883, was devoid of any improvements whatsoever, but the location was an excep- tional one and he began to improve, and at the same time add to his possessions until he is to-day the proprietor of ten hundred and forty acres of well improved and valuable land. His parents, John B. and Elizabeth Petit, who were natives of France, came to this country when Frank was a small child and settled on a farm in Clearfield county, Pa., where they remained until the close of the war. Remov- ing to Douglas county, Kans., they there 'en- gaged in agricultural pursuits until the death of Mrs. Petit, when she was sixty-one years of age. Subsequently. Mr. Petit came to Cali- fornia, arriving in this state in 1874. making his home with his daughter, Mrs. M. J. Lau- rent, for a time, and later engaged in ranching with his son Justin. His death occurred in 1894, at the advanced age of eighty-five years.

Frank Petit was born in France, in April, 1848, and was brought to this country by his parents when only a small boy. He spent his childhood and young manhood in a lumber camp in Clearfield county. Pa., gaining what education he could in such surroundings. Early evincing a proficiency in the manage- ment of steam sawmills, he soon became fore- man of sawmills in Pennsylvania, and proving an expert in that line, was made head sawyer at the early age of nineteen vears. Coming to California November 18. 1882, he located on the Colona grant and has since that time been an important factor in the development and npbuilding of that section. The story of his rise is akin to that of all the successful men of this or any self-improved region, entailing endless work from morn until night and dur- ing every season of the year. Constituting himself his own architect and builder, Mr. Petit erected a roomv and comfortable resi- dence, large barns and outbuildings. Modern agricultural implements are found in their best order, buildings and fences in repair, and.

in fact, few farms in the country present an aspect of greater prosperity, thrift and enter- prise, and few are more representative of the character and individuality of their owner. Of his landed possessions comprising over a thou- sand acres, six hundred and forty are in the Colona grant, four hundred in the hills, while he owns, with his brother Justin, four hundred acres lying four miles east of Santa Paula, one hundred and eighty acres being devoted to the culture of lima beans and eighty acres to sugar beets. The home farm consists of two hundred and fifteen acres and this is under Mr. Petit's personal supervision.

The marriage of Mr. Petit was solemnized in Clearfield county, Pa., December 25, 1872, and united him with Miss Caroline Dough- erty, a native of Pennsylvania, and five chil- dren have blessed this union: John F., a his- tory of whose career will be found elsewhere in this volume; William; Mamie, who is the wife of Earl Hart, of Ocean Park: Charles, attending Cornell University; and Albert, at home. Mr. Petit is director of the Bank of Oxnard, and has served as school trustee of this district. Fraternally he is identified with Oxnard Lodge, F. & A. M., Oxnard Chapter. R. A. M., and also of the Commandery of Ventura, and Al Malaikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Los Angeles. The high character of Mr. Petit is borne out by his gracious and friend-winning manner. His success has been won solely through his own efforts, and that he is worthy of the good fortune which has come to him is believed by those who have profited by his generosity and his good fellow- ship.

ANDREW JOUGHIN. The possibilities offered by the Pacific coast regions nowhere find a more striking illustration than in the life of the late Andrew Joughin, a pioneer of 1866 in Los Angeles and for years one of the large land-owners of Southern California. Al- though he came to the west practically with- out means, he was a keen. capable judge of land values, and saw in this soil and climate a fair opening for investment. Acting upon this theory he purchased land as it came with- in his financial ability to do so, and the re- sults proved the wisdom of his judgment in the matter. While he achieved financial suc- cess and left an estate valued at $150,000, the accumulation of wealth did not represent the limit of his success, for he was also successful in gaining and retaining the respect of asso- ciates. the affection of his family and the good-will of the community, and the latter

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type of success surpasses the former in per- manent significance. Possessed of a stalwart physique, he was six feet in height and weighed considerably more than two hundred pounds, so that even in a large crowd he at- tracted attention by reason of his rugged frame and splendid physical proportions. Nor were his physical characteristics greater than his mental qualifications, for with a large frame he had a large heart and behind his genial countenance there was a frank and ardent tem- perament.

The earliest recollections of Andrew Joughin were associated with the Isle of Man, around whose rugged shores washed the waves of the Irish sea. There he was born February 23, 1824, a son of industrious and intelligent parents, who, desirous of preparing him for the earning of a livelihood, appren- ticed him in youth to the blacksmith's trade. After having followed that trade on the island for some years he crossed the ocean to Amer- ica in April, 1852, and upon landing in New York proceeded toward the unsettled regions of the Mississippi valley, his course of travel taking him, subsequent to a month's stay in Rochester, to Illinois, where he followed his trade in Rockford. During 1859 he came via the Panama route to California and settled in Sacramento, where he experienced the hard- ships attendant upon the great floods of 1861 and 1862. For some years he operated a shop, but in 1865 he began to work in connection with the building of the railroad.

During the year 1866 Mr. Joughin estab- lished his home in Los Angeles and purchased one-quarter of a block of ground on Second and Hill streets. This investment proved a wise one, for he bought at $500 and sold for $1.500. Shortly afterward he went to Ari- zona, but in a year returned to Los Angeles and followed his trade. Removing to San Juan Capistrano in 1869, he carried on a blacksmith's shop and a hotel, but in 1870 returned to Los Angeles, where he operated a shop of his own. With the earnings of his trade he invested in land. During 1874 he invested in three hundred and sixty acres near Hyde Park comprising a part of Rancho la Cienega, for which property he paid $6,000. Two years after buying the land he removed to it and operated a shop on the ranch for a few years. In 1883 he acquired three hundred and five acres known in early days as the Tom Gray ranch, but more recently designated as the Arlington Heights tract. Subsequently he disposed of the greater portion of this property, although about fifteen acres still re- main in the possession of the family, and some of this has reached the valuation of $100 per

front foot. During 1885 he purchased the Palos Verdes ranch of six hundred acres, sit- uated near Wilmington, and this was operated largely by his sons, he having no special liking for farm pursuits. After many years of un- wearied industry, in 1888 he allowed himself to enjoy a long vacation in the form of a trip to Europe, where he renewed the friendships of youth and visited many points of historic interest. On his return to the United States he did not take up business activities, but in the midst of the comforts accumulated by his wise judgment and industrious application he passed his last days, and February 7, 1889, his earth-life ended at about sixty-five years of age.

Surviving Mr. Joughin and occupying a comfortable residence on West Adams street, Los Angeles, is his widow, formerly Ann Can- nell, whom he married November 22, 1851, and was born on the Isle of Man October 8, 1832. Ten children were born of their union, namely : Eleanor J., wife of Andrew Mattei, of Fresno county, Cal .; Catherine N., who died at three years ; Andrew, Jr., a resident of Los Angeles, and represented elsewhere in this volume; Alice, who was removed from the family circle by death at the age of five years; John T., a rancher whose sketch ap- pears on another page; Matilda, wife of George R. Murdock, who is connected with the Artesian Water Company of Los Angeles ; Edward E., who died in infancy ; Emma, who married Earl R. Osborne, of Los Angeles; Minnie, who resides with her mother and min- isters to the needs of her advancing years; and Isabella Grace, who is the wife of Emil H. Granz, residing in Tulare county, Cal., near the town of Dinnba.

On the organization of the first congrega- tion of Episcopalians in Los Angeles Mr. and Mrs. Joughin became members of the church and ever afterward maintained an interest in its activities and Mrs. Joughin still contrib- utes regularly to its maintenance, as well as to various missionary, educational and philan- thropic movements of undoubted value to the welfare of the race, carrying out in this respect the plans inaugurated by Mr. Joughin, who was a man of generous impulses and large philanthropy. After becoming a citizen of the United States he affiliated with the Democratic party, but he took no part in pub- lic affairs, nor did he ever consent to hold office, his tastes being in the line of business activities rather than politics. Yet as a citi- zen he was keen to give his support to every measure for the general good, active in for- warding progressive plans and enthusiastic in co-operating with public-spirited movements,

John Scarlett

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

hence he merits and occupies a distinct place in the annals of local history and is remem- bered as one of the progressive pioneers.

JOHN SCARLETT. Perhaps no greater tribute can be bestowed upon a man than to state that he passed through life wronging no one, but giving to all a kindly consideration and a warm-hearted fellowship as well as prac- tical assistance in times of need. Such may be said of Mr. Scarlett, whose life was an open book to be read by all, whose character was unwarped by deceit and untainted by selfish- ness, yet whose intelligence was so keen and energy so great that he accumulated a valu- able property and at his death left an estate worthy of a lifetime of achievement. Success did not come to him with fleet footsteps, but the way proved long and difficult, and only an energetic temperament would have overcome the obstacles which he confronted in youth. When but an infant his father was taken from the family by death. Their means were lim- ited. The home in his native place at Innes- killen, Ireland, was destitute of comforts, and a livelihood was earned only by the severest toil. When he had saved an amount sufficient to defray his expenses to America, he crossed the ocean, settled in Philadelphia, and from a very humble position rose to be a dyer in a woolen manufacturing plant. With the sav- ings from his work he sent to Ireland for his mother, who joined him in Philadelphia and there remained, surrounded by every comfort he could provide, until she passed away in January, 1865. Meanwhile he had become a pioneer of 1857 in California, settling in San Francisco, where he was employed as engineer in a sugar refinery for three years, this being the first cane sugar refinery in California.

Removing to Alameda county and settling in Dougherty, Mr. Scarlett erected a hotel building in 1861 and for six years conducted a hotel under his name. At the expiration of that time he moved to Fresno county and en- gaged in the sheep business on a large scale on the West side, in which occupation he met with gratifying success. During 1874 he came to Ventura county upon a tour of inspection. The prospects pleased him and he purchased a ranch on the Colonia from W. I. Rice. The following year he brought his family to the tract of six hundred and ninety acres and here engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Later he made a specialty of Lima beans and sugar beets, for which products no land in the entire county is better adapted or produces larger crops. The estate lies four miles from Oxnard and ranks as one of the most valuable

in the valley. Since the death of Mr. Scarlett, which occurred February 14, 1902, the land has been operated by his only son, John, who makes his home on the estate. Though not active in politics nor a partisan, Mr. Scarlett held firm convictions on the subject of tariff, currency, etc., and voted with the Republican party. As a citizen he was honored by all, and his name was a synonym for generosity, kindness, energy, tact and integrity.

The marriage of Mr. Scarlett was solemn- ized September 22, 1864, at Dougherty, Ala- meda county, and united him with Miss Anna Lyster, a native of Sydney, Australia. Dur- ing his early life her father, Lawrence Lyster, emigrated from Roscommon, Ireland, to Syd- ney, Australia, where he followed the building business. In 1852 he brought his family to California and settled in San Francisco, where he was employed in the building of the old custom house. Not long afterward he bought and removed to a farm near Dough- erty, where he died in 1861. His wife, Sarah (Moran) Lyster, was born in Roscommon, Ireland, and died at Pleasanton, Cal., in March of 1896. Of their family of ten children all but three are still living. Mrs. Scarlett was educated in the Sisters' school, which was held on the present site of the Palace hotel in San Francisco. After the death of her husband she left the ranch and came to Oxnard, where in 1903 she purchased a residence on C street near Second. In addition to her other prop- erty she is a stockholder in the Bank of Ox- nard. Of her family the elder daughter is Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, of Oxnard, while the younger daughter, Anna, resides with her in their beautiful home in this city. Both are members of the Santa Clara Catholic Church and are prominent in the most cultured so- ciety of the community, charitable in disposi- tion, generously contributing to movements for the public good, and possessing the liberal views and the icfinement that wins and re- tains friends.

HON. DAVID TOD PERKINS, assem- blyman from the Sixty-fifth district of Cali- fornia, was born in Akron, Ohio, April 23, 1852. His father. Simon Perkins, was a na- tive of Warren, Ohio, to which location the paternal grandfather, Simon Perkins, Sr., emi- grated from Connecticut. the state of his birth, in the pioneer days of the middle west. He was in charge of the settling of the Western Reserve and prominent in the upbuilding of that section. Simon Perkins, Jr., became a large landowner and capitalist of Akron. Ohio, among his chief interests being the presi-

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dency of the railroad company that construct- ed a line from Hudson to Millersburg. His prominence, however, in his native section was not limited to financial enterprises alone, but he was also known through his connection with many of the most important movements for the moral and enducational growth of the general public. Through marriage he allied his interests with those of another prominent family of Ohio, Grace Ingersol Tod, a native of the state, becoming his wife. She was a daughter of Judge Tod, and a sister of ex-gov- ernor David Tod, of Ohio, representatives of a Scotch family of worth and ability. The death of Simon Perkins, Jr., occurred in Ohio and that of his wife in Sharon, Pa. They left a family of eleven children, six of whom are now living. The oldest brother, George T. Perkins, was colonel of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry and is president of the B. F. Good- rich Rubber Company, and lives with his family in Akron, Ohio. The second brother, Simon Perkins, was captain of Ohio Volun- teer Infantry during the Civil war. He is now an iron and steel manufacturer in Sharon, Pa., where he lives. The third brother, Charles Ezra Perkins, is the state engineer of Ohio, and has held the office uninterruptedly for sixteen years ; his home is in Columbus, Ohio.

David Tod Perkins, the subject of this history, is next to the youngest child. He was named for his uncle, David Tod, who was one of the war governors of Ohio. He was reared in his native state, and educated in the Akron public and high schools. Until 1880 he remained a resident of Ohio, and engaged in farming and merchandising. Attracted to California by its multifold opportunities Mr. Perkins located in Ventura county in 1880, and on the Los Posas ranch became associated with Senator Thomas R. Bard in general farm- ing and the raising of sheep. This latter in- dustry required no small effort, for the flock at times numbered as high as thirty thou- sand head. Mr. Perkins gave his entire time and attention to the management of the ranch interests for some time, but it is now many years since he became actively identified with movements of public importance in both Ven- tura and Santa Barbara counties as well as other sections of the state. He was promi- nently connected with the Union Oil Com- pany, into which was merged the Sespe, Tory and Hardison Stewart companies, and for a time served as its president. He is also as- sociated with the Graham & Loftus Oil Com- pany, of Fullerton, Orange county, Cal., as a director and vice-president, and is likewise a stockholder in the Bard Oil & Asphalt Com- pany. With Senator Bard he was instrumental

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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 94

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