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 95

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

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in the organization of the Simi Land & Water Company, and also the Los Posas Water Com- pany, at this writing being a director in the former and president of the latter. Sixteen years ago he became interested in the Huen- eme Wharf Company and at that time as- sumed its management, retaining an active in- terest in the concern until July, 1906, when he sold out. A most important enterprise in the development of business interests is the Peo- ple's Lumber Company, of which Mr. Per- kins is serving as president. This corporation has extensive receiving yards in Hueneme and Ventura, Nordhoff, Oxnard and Santa Paula, in the last-named place operating a large plan- ing mill. The product is shipped to various points throughout Southern California, its ex- tensive interests bringing this enterprise to rank as an important factor in the industrial element of the state. In the midst of his im- portant duties Mr. Perkins has still found time to interest himself in banking circles, as- sisting in the organization of the Bank of Hueneme, in which he is still identified . as director and secretary.

Not alone, however, in the city of his resi- dence has Mr. Perkins given his aid in mat- ters of enterprise and finance. The Oxnard Electric Light and Water Company claims him as its vice-president, while he is also a stockholder in tlie Santa Paula Electric Light Company. In Santa Barbara his name is fa- miliar through his association with various public enterprises, among them the Santa Barbara Theater & Amusement Company, which is erecting an adequate building for amusement purposes, he serving as presi- dent of this organization. He is a director in the Potter Hotel Company, a stockholder in the Central Bank of Santa Barbara, and presi- dent of the Santa Barbara Realty Company. He has manifested his faith in the future of that city by investing in holdings of consid- erable value. He is also a large holder of real estate in Ventura county, leasing to the Ventura Agricultural Company (of which he is a director) about eighteen thousand acres, upon which is raised grain, stock, beets and beans in vast quantities.

Mr. Perkins has made his home in Hueneme for many years, having erected a residence on the Springville road. He married Mrs. Em- ma R. (Cranz) Perkins, of Akron, Ohio, and they have two children, Anna, wife of Tod Ford, Jr., of Pasadena ; and Charles C., a di- rector in the Thomas Hughes Manufacturing Company of Los Angeles. Mrs. Perkins is a member of the Presbyterian Church, although both Mr. Perkins and she give their support

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liberally to all charitable enterprises regardless of denomination.

Ventura county rose to an appreciation of the evident ability of Mr. Perkins many years ago, and after conferring upon him minor of- fices, among them that of county supervisor, which he held acceptably for nine years, he was elected in 1894 to the state legislature, as- semblyman from the Sixty-fifth district. This was pre-eminently a Democratic legislature and although there was little opportunity for a member of the opposition to gain a foothold, yet Mr. Perkins was remembered when sent back to the state house in 1904. He gave ac- tive service to his constituency along various lines, taking a prominent part in affairs of the House as a member of the Agricultural committee, Ways and Means committee ; Rev- enue and Taxation committee ; Banking com- mittee, of which he was chairman; Oil and Mining committees, and others. He made a strong fight for the re-election of Senator Bard, both his personal friend and the man whom he knew to be efficient, honorable and upright, a loyal citizen of his state and a stanch upholder of civic rights.

It is not necessary to eulogize upon the life of Mr. Perkins. Those who know him-and his circle of acquaintanceship is wide,-have never failed to recognize his sterling traits of character, a recognition given him unhesitat- ingly for a display of unusual business abil- ity, but better still for social qualities which have won him friends within the boundaries of a half dozen different counties where he is known familiarly. Always courteous, he has time for friends; always a man of business he holds this as a requisite to success. Both, perhaps, have been indispensable to his own success ; but the one has given a kindliness to his own character, and while he has won finan- cial prominence he has made his efforts par- allel with the welfare of the general public. No one doubts his loyalty and no one ques- tions his sincerity in matters of public impor- tance.

EDMUND CARSON THORPE. Not only is Edmund Carson Thorpe known as a promi- nent and influential citizen of San Diego, but his acquaintance extends throughout the United States, he having attained some fame as the author of many original poems and stories, writ- ten in the German dialect, in which he excels. Among the more popular of these writings may be mentioned "The Huckleberry Picnic," "Sur- prise Party," and "The California Flea," His wife also is a woman of great literary note, and as the author of "Curfew Shall Not Ring To-

night," which has been translated into almost every language extant, and many other books and poems, the high rank of Rose Hartwick Thorpe in the world of letters has been thor- oughly established. The Thorpe family was originally of English stock and early in the history of America its members were represent- ed in New York, the great-grandfather having served in the Revolutionary war. Edmund Carson, who was born July 6, 1849, in Berea, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, was the son of Lucian, and the grandson of Jeremiah Thorpe, both of whom were natives of Canandaigua, N. Y. The grandfather became a pioneer farmer in Summit county, Ohio, and the father located in Berea, where he was occupied as builder. He made a trip across the plains to California in 1849, in company with Kit Carson, returning in due time to Ohio, and when the Civil war broke out went to Cleveland and enlisted in Company G, Sixty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he was drum major. He died in 1862 and was buried on St. Helena Island, S. C. Mr. Thorpe's mother was Corria Pixley, a native of Canandaigua, N. Y., and her death occurred when Edmund Carson was three years of age. Of the three children, two sons are now living, Stephen R., who was a sergeant in the Tenth Regiment of Michigan Volunteer Infantry dur- ing the Civil war, being now a resident of Grand Blanc, Mich.

The education of Edmund C. Thorpe has been entirely self-acquired for from the time he was eight years of age it was necessary for him to sup- port himself, his first work being in Cleveland, Ohio, where he sold papers and blackened shoes. In 1865 he went to Litchfield, Mich .. and at eighteen years of age apprenticed himself to a carriagemaker there and after the trade had been learned engaged in carriagemaking. build- ing up a large establishment. The business em- braced complete carriage and blacksmith works and he was very successful in the manufacturing of cheap carriages. In 1880 he removed to Chi- cago and entered the employ of the Abbot Car- riage Company, but the condition of his health would not permit him to remain there, and he accordingly went to Grand Rapids, and built a home in that city. His health became worse here, however, and his next move was to San Antonio, Texas, where he was engaged as bag- gagemaster on the Southern Pacific Railroad. for four and one-half years.

In September, 1887, Mr. Thorpe located in San Diego, Cal., invested in property and engaged in the printing business, in which he met with good success. Mrs. Thorpe's health requiring a change in the spring of 1888 they removed to Pacific Beach, becoming the first residents on that beach. There he set out the first lemon trees

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and laid the first water pipe on the beach, the acre which he then set to an orchard being now owned by Coffeen. He next bought five acres of raw land and set it to lemons, converting it from an almost valueless sagebrush tract to a fine revenue-producing ranch. He then began the clearing of a tract of about a thousand acres. The railroad at that time terminated at Pacific Beach, and the same year a hotel was built at LaJolla. In 1892 the California National Bank, in which Mr. Thorpe had deposited his savings failed and he then engaged in contracting and building and has ever since been engaged in that business, tak- ing contracts in Pacific Beach, San Diego and La Jolla, building the greater part of the latter place. He is now engaged on the erection of the bath house there, and has twenty-four hands in his employ. Since 1900 he has had a fine residence on Lincoln avenue, La Jolla, and also owns other property there. Several years ago he served two terms as member of the city council in San Diego and in April, 1905, was elected to a place in the present council and is chairman of the gas and electric light committee, being also a member of the telephone ; fire, water and police; health and morals ; and sewers committees, on each of which he gives efficient service.

September 11, 1871, in Litchfield, Mich., Mr. Thorpe was united in marriage with Rose Hart- wick, who was born in July, 1850, in Mishawaka, Ind., the daughter of William Hartwick, a na- tive of Brockville, Canada, and the grandmother of Morris Hartwick, of English, French and Norman descent. The father, who was a mer- chant tailor in Ontario, later removed to Indiana. He married Elenore Cole, born in Ontario, her family tracing back to the English nobility, her great-grandfather being a son of the younger son of an English nobleman. He settled on the American side of the St. Lawrence river and was cast into prison for his Tory principles, the sons having been banished to Canada. There were five children in the family of which Mrs. Thorpe was a member, and of the three now living, one brother, Louis Maurice, is an at- torney in Orange, and a sister, Nellie, now Mrs. Andrus, resides in Hart, Mich. Mrs. Thorpe's mother lives with her at the present time.

The first nine years of Mrs. Thorpe's life were spent in Indiana and Michigan, after spending a year in Kansas the family returned to Litch- field, Mich., and there the daughter attended the public and high schools. Her marked literary tal- ent was early evident, the famous poem, "Cur- few Shall

not Ring Tonight," having been written when she was but sixteen years of age. From her eighteenth year she engaged in educa- tional work at different times and at the same time continued to write stories and poems for publication, her reputation growing steadily until

now it has spread into every land. While in Chicago she did editorial work for Fleming H. Revell Company, the book publishing firm, in addition to her writing. In 1883 Hillsdale Col- lege conferred on her the degree of A. M., in recognition of her work, and upon that occasion President Dugan took the opportunity to say that "Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight" was a poem that would live so long as the English language is spoken. Among others of her works that have attained great popularity might be named, "The Fenton Family," "Fred's Dark Days," "Chester Girls," "Nina Bruce," "Ring- ing Ballads," "Sweet Song Stories," "Temper- ance Songs," "The Yule Log," "The Year's Best Days," "The White Lady of La Jolla," etc. She has also written for Golden Days, having twelve numbers in that series. From London Mrs. Thorpe received great honors and in 1903 she was presented with a handsome ban- ner costing $300, which the city of Litchfield had sent to the World's Fair in Chicago, and which has upon it a portrait of herself in gold, and an extract from "Curfew."

Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe have made numerous trips throughout the United States, and on these occasions have always met with flattering re- ceptions. "Sweet Song Stories" were set to music by L. Brooks and L. O. Vincent, and il- lustrated by Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe's daughter, Lulo Thorpe Barnes. She is a woman of con- siderable talent and was one of the first kinder- garten teachers in San Diego, in which city she now lives, being the wife of Edward Y. Barnes, a commission merchant. The daughter, while at home, was also of great assistance to her father in the preparation of his building plans. They are members of the Union Church in La Jolla and exert a beneficial and elevating influence upon the community in which they make their home. Mr. Thorpe is a member of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, and politically an advo- cate of the principles embraced in the platform of the Republican party.

RICHARD R. TANNER adds to the distinc- tion of being a native son of California by rising to a prominence which gives him a place among the representative professional men of Southern California. As an attorney of Los Angeles coun- ty, located for business in the city of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, he is esteemed as a leading light in the profession and has won through many years of active work the position he now holds. Born in San Benito (then Monterey) county, he was one of a family of nine children, of whom six are now living. His father, Albert M. Tanner, came to the state as a soldier in the Mormon Battalion under Captain Hunt, and a

justin Petit

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

year later (in 1848), received his honorable dis- charge in Los Angeles, where he was stationed. The following year found him occupied as were so many others of the inhabitants in mining. He was associated with Samuel Brannan, who was later located in San Francisco and engaged in business. He was successful in his efforts until the great flood of 1850, when he located in the vicinity of San Bernardino and engaged as a rancher. After his marriage with Lovina Bick- more he removed to Monterey county, thence to Santa Cruz county, and in 1871 to Ventura county. He remained in that location until his death, which occurred in 1881. He was success- ful in his efforts and acquired considerable prop- erty in the vicinity of Santa Paula, his wife sur- viving him and making her residence on the old homestead in the vicinity of that place. Mrs. Tanner is a native of Brown county, Ill., whence her parents, William and Christine Bickmore, crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1853 and settled in San Bernardino. They finally removed to Santa Cruz county and located on a farm, where they spent the remainder of their lives.

The oldest son in the family of his parents, Richard R. Tanner spent his boyhood on the paternal farm in Ventura county until he was sixteen years old, when, in San Buenaventura, he served as assistant postmaster for the period of six years. During this time he studied law under Nehemiah W. Blackstock, formerly rail- road commissioner and the present bank com- missioner of the state of California, and also under William E. Shephard, a prominent attorney of Ventura. In 1885 Mr. Tanner was admitted to the bar and licensed to practice law in the courts of the state. In February of that year he located in Santa Monica and in Los Angeles county began the practice of his profession which has continued uninterruptedly up to the present time. It is no little credit to Mr. Tanner that he at once assumed a prominent place in the af- fairs of Santa Monica and has ever since re- mained an important factor in its citizenship. He became deputy district attorney under Frank P. Kelley, now a prominent railroad attorney for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, located in San Francisco, and in 1887 was elected city. attorney of Santa Monica, in which position he remained until 1900. He also carried on a gen- eral practice, for a part of the time being alone in his work. In 1894 he formed a partnership with Fred H. Taft and this association continues to the present writing : in January, 1905. the in- terests of the firm were extended by taking in- to partnershp S. W. Odell, a prominent mem- ber of the Illinois bar, the style of the firm name now being Tanner, Taft & Odell. This firm is emploved regularly by many of the most import- ant business concerns of Los Angeles county,

their clientele embracing with others the Mer- chants National Bank of Santa Monica; the Ocean Park Bank; First National Bank of Ocean Park; Title Guarantee & Trust Company and . Mission San Fernando Land Company. They were also the leading attorneys for the city of Los Angeles against the farmers in San Fernando valley, representing the defendants. It involved upwards of ten million dollars and was of vast interest to many thousands of people. The offices of the firm are located at No. 217 South Broadway, in the Coulter building, Los Angeles. They have a wide general practice in the courts of the state and of the United States and occupy a high place among professional men throughout California.

Mr. Tanner has been married twice, his first wife being Elizabeth Robinson, a daughter of Judge Henry Robinson, and born of this union is onc daughter, Nora, now the wife of S. F. Ormis- by. San Diego Cal. His present wife was in maid- enhood Sabaldina MI. Bontty, a native of Portland, Ore. Mr. Tanner is prominent in fraternal cir- cles, being identified with the Masons, the Bene- volent Protective Order of Elks, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Independent Order of Foresters, Foresters of America and Knights of Pythias. He is active in all matters pertaining to the advancement of the best interests of Santa Monica and is associated with various enterprises, among which are the Merchants National Bank and the Santa Monica Savings Bank, in both of which he acts as director. Not only as a profes- sional man is he esteemed, but also as a citizen of worth and ability, his upright methods in business, strong integrity and principles winning him many friends in social circles.

JUSTIN PETIT merits the position which he holds in Ventura county as that of an en- terprising, substantial citizen, eager to uphold the best in public administration and always ready to give his efforts to advance the wel- fare of the community at large. He is not a native of California nor yet of the country in which he holds citizenship, his birth having occurred in France, on the 18th of November. 1851. his parents being residents of Fresnes. During the childhood of Justin Petit the fam- ily fortunes were placed upon American soil, John B. Petit bringing his wife and children to Pennsylvania, where, in Clearfield county, he located npon a farmi. Later, in Douglas county, Kans., he engaged in general farming, where the mother died at the age of sixty-one years. The father came to California eventu- ally and in the home of his son passed away in 1894. at the age of eighty-five years. The four children surviving of the eight born to

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the family are as follows: Henrietta Roussey, of Santa Paula ; Mrs. Annette Laurent, of Ox- nard; Frank and Justin, both of whom are farmers near Oxnard, Ventura county.

Reared to agricultural pursuits, it was but natural that Justin Petit should so engage upon completing his school course in Kansas, he being quite young when the family located in the state. With his brother, Frank, he re- turned to Clearfield county, Pa., for a time, and there engaged with him in operating a sawmill. However, the west held out greater attractions to him than did the east, and on the 21st of November, 1878, he set out for California, which was then as now the Mecca of youthful dreams. Ventura county was his choice of a home and in this section he began as a farmer, purchasing one hundred acres of Senator Bard, after having accumulated suf- ficient means. He has continued to add to his property until to-day he owns a homestead of two hundred acres near Oxnard; one hundred and sixty acres six miles southeast of his home ; a half interest in nine hundred and fifty-three acres in the Simi grant; and an undivided half interest in four hundred acres near Santa Paula, besides which he owns busi- ness and residence property in the city of Ox- nard. He has continued not only to purchase property, but to invest his means in improve- ments, which have increased the value of his property as well as that of the adjoining sec- tions. His home was erected in 1896 and is accounted one of the handsomest in Ventura county, being equipped with every modern convenience-electricity, etc. Mr. Petit is ex- tensively interested in the raising of fruit, hav- ing a large lemon orchard, while he also de- votes considerable time to the cultivation of sugar beets, lima beans and grain. He has been very successful in his work, and in the face of circumstances which are ordinarily dis- couraging has risen to a commanding position among the farmers of Ventura county.

The home of Mr. Petit is presided over by his wife, whom he married in Ventura county in 1884. formerly Miss Frances Kaufman, who was born in Minnesota and came across the plains with her parents in childhood. She is the owner of seventy-five acres in the city of Oxnard, which is leased to a tenant and de- voted to the raising of lima beans. Mr. and Mrs. Petit have a family of seven children, namely: Mary E., Alfred J .. Anna C. (the two latter twins), Edward William, Joseph B., Ida and Jessie. In his political affiliations Mr. Petit inclines toward the principles of the Democratic party. although he is broad- minded and so thoroughly patriotic that he never allows party connections to interfere

with his efforts to promote a good administra- tion of public affairs. Mr. Petit and his brother Frank and J. E. Borchard are equal partners in an outfit for threshing grain and lima beans.

DAVID H. COLLINS. The name of Col- lins needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, for it has become well known through the advent of the father and his sons into the state over a half century ago. The present representative of the family, David H. Collins, is one of the influential citizens of Spadra, in which vicinity he owns and man- ages a large grain ranch. He is a son of La- fayette and Elizabeth (Hayden) Collins, born respectively in Vermont in 1796 and Water- bury. Conn. Of the five children born of their marriage all are now deceased with the excep- tion of David H., who was born in East Bloomfield, Ontario county, N. Y., April 19, 1838. During the territorial history of Mis- souri the father removed thither and began the practice of law, at the same time becoming well known in the public life of that common- wealth. Before the state was admitted into the Union he became a candidate for United States Senator, but withdrew his name in hon- or of Thomas H. Benton, and instead, can- vassed the state to secure the election of the latter. Mr. Benton's service in the senate cov- ered a period of over thirty years, during which time he earned the sobriquet "Old Bul- lion" as a result of his opposition to the paper currency. Lafayette Collins remained in Mis- souri about ten years, after which he returned to New York state and was elected judge of the district court of Rochester. From there he went to Ontario county and once more set- tled down to his profession, his erudition and high standing in the profession enabling him to practice before the highest courts in the United States. It was with these bright pos- sibilities before him that he temporarily laid aside his profession and in 1854 came to Cali- fornia with his two sons. Their experiences in crossing the plains were not without hard- ships, but they finally reached Sonoma coun- ty, and in Petaluma the father established a dairy business. His knowledge of the law, however, was not to be suppressed but on the other hand was constantly called into service by citizens who were drawn into litigations. Among other noted cases which he defended was that of Horace Gates et al. Subsequently he was elected district attorney of Sonoma county. Politically he was well known in Re- publican circles, and during his early years was an active worker in the Masonic order.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

When he was about sixteen years old he had charge of a school in Vermont, and with about twenty of his pupils he offered his services to his country, then in the throes of warfare with the Mother country in the war of 1812. His eventful and interesting career was brought to a close in Petaluma in 1867, at which time he was seventy-one years of age.

As his father was a man who appreciated the worth of a good education David H. Col- lins had more than average advantages along this line, and in addition to attending the com- mon schools of East Bloomfield, also took a course in the academy at that place. When only fourteen years old he went to Buffalo and there took steamer for Toledo, Ohio, from there going by train to St. Louis, Mo. It was there that the father and two sons outfitted for the trip across the plains, and with the cat- tle which they purchased at Independence they took up the weary march. Disaster met them in the loss of all of their cattle before they reached the Humboldt, and as this left them without any motive power for their wagons they sold them for $12, their original price being $300. From the sink of the Hum- boldt they started on foot to complete the journey, and finally arrived at Hangtown, now Placerville, where David H. Collins was inter- ested in mining for about six months, during which time he took out considerable gold. From there he went to Sacramento, and for about a year carried on a ranch in that local- ity, but the unhealthful condition of the coun- try at that time caused him to remove to So- noma county. In the vicinity of Petaluma he secured a position on a large diary ranch, whose record averaged one thousand pounds of cheese per day. He remained here for about seven years, but upon the death of his father in 1867 he gave up his position and with his brother continued the similar business which the father had left. Later they bought a ranch of about one thousand acres, but they finally disposed of their holdings and came to the southern part of the state. In San Diego county, about forty miles from San Bernar- dino, they bought about three thousand acres of the San Jacinto ranch, and during the five years in which they were associated together they bred about three hundred and seventy- five head of cattle, besides establishing a good dairy business. finding a market for their pro- duce in San Diego.

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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 95

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