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 II, Part 105

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1234

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The greater part of the education of Ralph E. Watson was received in the public schools of Nebraska and South Dakota, where his par- ents removed when he was a small child. He completed the high school course in Custer, S. Dak., and then on account of the failing health of his father the family removed to Southern California, this being in 1900, and located in Gardena. They purchased a tract of ten acres and engaged in the culture of small fruit; two years later disposing of this interest they came to Norwalk and purchased thirty-two acres of fine farming land and established dairy business. The death of the father in 1903 threw the entire responsibility upon the son, but he proving equal to the occasion successfully managed the affairs until to-day he has one of the modern and up-to- date dairies in this section. He has twenty fine milch cows unsurpassed in quantity and quality

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of product, the Good Samaritan Hospital of Los Angeles being one of his regular patrons. He is also a fine judge of cattle and an expert in his line of work. He has built a fine barn for the care of his stock, with all modern conveniences from an economic and sanitary standpoint. He has a part of his ranch in alfalfa and grain and also leases other land for corn and grain. Fra- ternally he is popular, being a member of the Woodmen of the World, and politically is a stanch advocate of Democratic principles.

Miss Edna E. Watson, sister of our subject, was born in Ravenswood, W. Va., July 30, 1883, and is now completing her M. S. degree in the University of California, class '06. She has re- ceived prominent mention from the faculty in zoological research.

HON. BENTON PETTIS TAYLOR. As pioneer, frontiersman, miner and capitalist Mr. Taylor has been a conspicuous figure for the past half century in the middle and western states, and when he was only sixteen years old was in Mexico with Col. Izale Prigmore. This experience seemed to create an insatiable thirst for travel and adventure, with the result that he has become thoroughly acquainted with the topog- raphy of the western coast of the Americas, extending from British Columbia on the north to Chile on the south, and has also visited the Hawaiian Islands. An important deduction may be taken from the fact that for the past eight years he has been a continuous resident of Po- mona, showing that while there may be attrac- tions for trade and commerce elsewhere, it is in the quiet and restful sun-lit valley where his home is nestled that he prefers to spend his later years.

A native of Missouri, Benton P. Taylor was born seven miles from the present site of Sedalia December 6, 1833, and is a son of Elijah and Elizabeth (Fisher) Taylor, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. In 1803 the father left the Quaker state, going first to Tennessee, then to Kentucky, from there to Illinois, and in 1822 removed to St. Louis, Mo. A few years later he went to Cooper county, but two years afterward became a pioneer settler in Pettis county, that state. In addition to carrying on the farm which he purchased and improved in that locality, he also followed the miller's trade, and among many others erected a mill north of Sedalia, whither the farmers of the country roundabout brought their grain. Both of the parents passed away in Missouri. Of the seven children born to them three are now living, and one of the number, Leonard S., is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colo.

His father being a miller it was natural that

Benton P. Taylor, who was next to the youngest in the family, should become interested in the same trade, and under his father's training he learned it thoroughly. Subsequently he estab- lished a business of his own not far from his home, but in 1856, he disposed of it and removed to Mills county, Iowa, there erecting a mill on Silver creek. In connection with carrying on this enterprise, for three years, during 1856, '57 and '58. he went on freighting expeditions for the government to Aurora (now Denver), Colo., but was forced to give up the work in the latter year owing to his election to the Iowa state legislature. The opening of hostilities between the north and the south brought a change in his plans and ex- pectations, and his muster in at Council Bluffs made him a member of the Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company B. He partici- pated in the battles of Vicksburg, Island No. 10, and while at Helena, Ark., in March, 1863, he was injured by the breaking of the barracks. However, he participated in the battle of Helena on July 4 following. Besides the shock which his system received in the accident his hip was dislocated, and after lying in a hospital in Keokuk for nearly three months he was honorably dis- charged September 4, 1863. Returning home he remained there practically an invalid throughout the winter, but in the mean time had been mak- ing plans for an expedition to the west. With the opening of spring his health was so far re- covered that he was enabled to carry out his plans for going to Montana, leaving Omaha March 12, 1864. After reaching his destination, Virginia City, Mont., he took up a claim in Alder gulch, upon which he worked diligently until the follow- ing fall. With twenty-two companions he started for the Yellowstone country, and finally reached it, but interference from the Indians was the means of taking some of the romance out of their plans and they decided to return home. Building a boat, they came down the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers and finally reached their desti- nation in Iowa, December 24, 1864, but not with- out experiencing numerous attacks from the In- dians, three of the party receiving wounds, Mr. Taylor being one of the number. On the whole he had no cause to complain, however, for in ad- dition to renewed health, from the lack of which he had suffered for so many months, his summer's work had netted him $58,000 in greenbacks. Re- turning to his farm near Glenwood Mills, Iowa, he operated it for about two years, in the mean time adding to its acreage by the purchase of adjoining land, but in 1866 he disposed of his holdings in that state and returned to Missouri. In Knobnoster, Johnson county, he established a merchandise business which proved a very suc- cessful undertaking. and he also carried on a large grain business. He was one of the largest

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landowners in that vicinity, owning a farm of ten hundred and sixty acres upon which he carried on an extensive stock business, in fact for eighteen years he was one of the best-known business men and most enterprising citizens of his community. The organization of the Knob- noster Bank was partly due to his efforts, he be- ing one of the first to promote the project, and for eight years he was assessor and collector of Johnson county.

Upon closing out his holdings in Missouri Mr. Taylor came another step towards the Golden West by his location in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1884, and there as in the middle west he was destined to become an important factor in the town's welfare. He was one of the organizers of the Exchange National Bank and was one of its directors, and was also interested in the or- ganization of the Colorado Springs electric light plant. In fact, many beneficial measures for the town's permanent good may be traced either directly or indirectly to Mr. Taylor's far-sighted- ness in recognizing them first, and then making them a reality by interesting other citizens in the project. Many such bear the impress of Mr. Taylor's handiwork, but probably there is no proj- ect which will be of more lasting benefit than the water system of Colorado Springs, which is conceded to be one of the finest systems in the United States. The initial procedure was to secure the perpetual use of Lake Marine as a reservoir, to which was later added seven other lakes for the same purpose, the result being that Colorado Springs and vicinity have an abundant and constant supply of the purest mountain water possible to obtain anywhere in the United States.

In 1890 Mr. Taylor removed to Oregon and purchased a large ranch near Stayton, and there he became interested in the stock and grain busi- ness. Mr. Taylor was too active and broad- minded to give his whole time and thought to private interests, and thus it happened that wher- ever circumstances placed him he immediately became interested in the welfare of those about him. Believing that better results and more satis- factory service to the citizens would follow through municipal ownership of the water works he worked diligently for this end, which finally prevailed, and resulted further in establishing the present excellent system of Portland, water being secured from Bull Run, at the foot of Mount Hood. While in Stayton Mr. Taylor was a member of the city council for five years, dur- ing a part of that time serving as president of that body.

Although Mr. Taylor had come to Pomona as early as 1893, it was not until four years later that he came here and took up his permanent home, the family residence being at No. 580 East Fifth avenue. He was first married in Missouri

to Miss Martha M. Van Bibber, who was born in Callaway county, that state, and was a great- granddaughter of Daniel Boone. At her death, which occurred in Colorado, she left five children, of whom we mention the following: George, who for eight years was an electrician with the Col- orado Springs Electric Company, was killed by a live wire in 1889; Anna became the wife of E. J. Dolbear, a conductor on the Oregon Short Line of Pocatello, Idaho, where in 1905 she was grand matron of the Eastern Star lodge; Maggie is a resident of Pomona; Mamie died in St. Helen, Ore., and James S., a resident of Pocatello, Idaho, is also with the Oregon Short Line. Mr. Taylor's second marriage occurred in Missouri and united him with Miss Edith Moore, who was born in Illinois, and died in Idaho, leaving two children, Helen and Lela. The present Mrs. Taylor was formerly Kate Young, of Missouri, and it was in that state that their marriage was celebrated. The family are members of the Chris- tian Church, and fraternally Mr. Taylor is a Democrat. While in Knobnoster. Mo., he was made a Mason in Knobnoster Lodge No. 245, and for several years was past master of his lodge. Upon his removal to Colorado he transferred his membership, belonging to the lodge at Colorado Springs and later to Stayton Lodge No. 25. In Warrensburg, Mo., he was raised to the Royal Arch degree, and was made a high priest of his lodge. In the same city he was later made a Knight Templer, belonging to Mary Command- ery No. 19. In Warrensburg he was also made a member of the council of the Order the Eastern Star. After coming to California he associated himself with the foregoing orders except the Eastern Star, and now holds a demit from those mentioned. As a veteran of the Civil war hie keeps in touch with comrades of other days by associating with members of the Grand Army post of which he is a member. During the many years that Mr. Tavlor has been identified with the country west of the Mississippi river he has been more or less interested in mining, and still has valuable claims throughout the west as well as in Old Mexico and Alaska.

GEORGE HENRY BANKS, engineer of Mill Creek Station No. I, of the Edison Elec- tric Power Company. is one of the oldest em- ployes of the company and one of its most trusted men, his mechanical ability and engin- eering skill having given him a lucrative po- sition. He is a native of Maine, his birth hav- ing occurred in Kenduskeag, Penobscot, June 26, 1863; his father, J. J .. was born there in 1826. the grandfather, John, being a farmer of old and honored Puritan stock. T. J. Banks was a minister in the Free Will Baptist

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Church until his retirement from active life; he now makes his home in South La Grange, Me., with his eldest son, Edmond L. Banks. His wife, formerly Catherine Chandler, was born in East Corinth, Me., a daughter of John Chandler, a farmer and also the representative of an old New England family. She is also living, the mother of two sons, of whom George H. is the younger and the only one in California.

Reared in his native state, George Henry Banks received his education in the public schools and also attended East Corinth Acad- emy for two terms. His first independent venture in life was in the lumbering camps of Maine, where he spent two winters; in 1886 he came to California and spent his first year in Pasadena as a carpenter, the following year was a carpenter and farmer in Pomona, and in 1889 went to Fresno and engaged in team- ing and transfer work. He continued in this last named location for six months, when in 1890 he returned to Los Angeles and for one year was in the employ of Morris & Jones, coal merchants. Coming to Redlands in 1891 he engaged in carpentering and building for a time and later entered the employ of Alvin Pratt, proprietor of the Sloan house; in 1892- 93 he was employed in Terrace Villa, and the Windsor in 1893-94. During the summers Mr. Banks conducted the Seven Oaks resort for his employer, remaining in this connection un- til October 14, 1894, and acting in various ca- pacities. On the last named date he entered the employ of The Redlands Electric Light & Power Company as headworks man, and was in charge of the pipe lines for more than a year. In January, 1896, he began work on the construction of the large plant on the Santa Ana river, working from the first survey until its completion in 1808. He was then employed similarly in the plant on Mill creek No. 2, from its beginning to its completion, July 2, 1899, coming to his present position at Mill Creek Station No. I, as oiler. He here began the study of engineering, and assisted by his natural mechanical ability he soon mastered the details and in 1902 was made foreman of the station. He has made a success of the work and is held in high esteem by the officials of the company. In addition to these inter- ests he is interested in horticulture, having a five acre orange orchard in Ontario.

In Redlands in 1892 Mr. Banks was united in marriage with Mrs. Lillia B. (Casey) Fitz- patrick, a native of New York, and a daughter of Henry Casey, a farmer, and Mary (Wait) Casey, the father of the latter, John Wait, al- so being a farmer in that section. Her father is deceased but the mother still survives and

makes her home with her daughter in Crafton- ville. Mrs. Banks had a sister and a brother, but she is the only child of the family now liv- ing. She was educated in the Young Ladies Seminary in Windsor, Conn., where she mar- ried William Fitzpatrick, whose death oc- curred in California. Mr. Banks is a stanch Republican in politics, and although never de- sirons of personal recognition at the hands of his party, still gives his most earnest support to these principles.

MRS. LUCY ANN SANFORD. Three miles southeast of Palms lies the large and valuable ranch which is owned and managed by Mrs. San- ford, and which she acquired by dint of the greatest frugality and most rigid economy. She is of southern birth and ancestry and was born near Nashville, Tenn., January 17, 1840, being a daughter of Madison and Susan ( Laughlin) Tucker, natives respectively of Tennessee and Charleston, S. C. On her mother's side she is the granddaughter of an Irish immigrant to the United States, while her paternal grandfather, John Tucker, was an Englishman, who came to America at an early age, settled in Tennessee and died there during middle age. Madison Tucker was born in 1812 and for years engaged in farming in Tennessee, but about 1845 he took his family to Illinois, purchased land and de- veloped a farm. When advanced in years he and his wife went to Texas to make their home with their children; both died in that state, he at the age of eighty-six, and she in March, 1885, at the age of sixty-six.

When the family moved to Illinois Mrs. San- ford was quite a small child, and in 1852 she ac- companied them to Texas. In January, 1857, she, with the other members of the family, started overland, with ox teams, for the Pacific coast, and, arriving at Visalia, remained there for two years, when the parents returned to Texas with mule teams and wagons. Mrs. Sanford, with a brother and sister, remained at the present site of Pasadena. June 14, 1858, she was married to Cyrus Sanford, a native of Missouri, and the son of an Englishman who came to the United States in early life. In 1849 Cyrus Sanford came to California and engaged in mining. During 1860 he came to Southern California and purchased about nine hundred and ninety acres of La Bal- lona grant, where he settled down to ranch pur- suits. When sixty-six years of age he died at Stockton, this state, but meanwhile, about 1877, he and his wife separated, and she assumed the management of the ranch and the care of the nine children. The property was mortgaged, and it was on- ly by the most arduous exertions that she was

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enabled to free it from encumbrance and to pro- vide for her children until they were old enough to become self-supporting. Now she is classed among the wealthy women of Los Angeles county, being the owner of two hundred and thirty-five acres, valued at $400 per acre. She became the mother of the following children : George A., who has charge of the ranch and superintends its cultivation ; Jolin, who died at thirty-two years of age; Amanda, who was born July 18, 1863, and died in 1901 ; Luella, who was born April 15, 1865, and died April 17, 1899; William, who was born April 23, 1867, and re- sides with his mother; Rebecca, who was born April 27, 1869, and died September 16, 1890; Cyrus, who was born January 4, 1871, and re- mains on the home ranch; Joe, born August 27, 1873, also living on the home place, and Leland, born January 20, 1877, now living on the home ranch.

CHARLES H. THOMAS. The family of this honored pioneer has been represented in every war of the United States, where mem- bers of it have risen to prominence and suc- cess, and besides being patriots in the time of their country's need have also proven them- selves a part of that quiet yet distinctly potent influence in the every day development and upbuilding of the nation. The characteristics of the family have been passed from father to son, from generation to generation, their hos- pitality opening their doors to many who have ever afterward counted themselves among their friends; they have gone forward in the vanguard of civilization, established their homes on the frontier, and by their courage, and steadfastness of purpose, their fortitude and unselfish devotion to the public welfare, have upheld the hands of those seeking to de- velop and reclaim wilderness lands for the needs of countless emigrants in their home quest. Such men have been the heads of the Thomas family, and such an one is Charles H. Thomas, known, honored and esteemed throughout Southern California.

Born in Saratoga county, N. Y., October I, 1836, Charles H. Thomas was next to the youngest child in the family of his parents, Murray and Sylvia (Beebe) Thomas, natives respectively of Saratoga and Madison coun- ties, N. Y. The paternal grandfather was one of the first settlers of Saratoga county and a distinguished patriot in the Revolutionary war. The maternal grandfather, Silas Beebe, was of Puritan ancestry, the name transmitted by a member of the Mayflower company, and who was also related to the famous Beecher family ; he was born in Connecticut and be-

came an early settler of Madison county, where he served as the first sheriff of the coun- ty. He was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812, and also in the Black Hawk war. Mur- ray Thomas inherited qualities of character from a Welsh ancestry, the family however having long been established on American soil. He engaged as a calico printer throughout his active career, his death occurring at the com- paratively early age of forty-five years. His wife had died some years previous, leaving a family of four sons and two daughters: Will- iam S., of Little Rock, Ark., in the employ of the Goulds of the Iron Mountain Railroad as chemist and mineralogist until his retirement, served in the Stevenson regiment during the Mexican war, in which struggle he was wound- ed ; John served in the Confederate army during the Civil war and was killed at New Orleans ; Martin, who died at Little Rock, Ark., was a chaplain in an Illinois regiment of the Federal army during the Civil war; two daughters, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Scott, live in Minne- sota ; and Charles H. is the subject of this re- view.

Charles H. Thomas was reared in New York and being left an orphan at an early age he was taken into the home of his maternal grand- parents and there trained to the first duties of life. His education was received in the dis- trict school in the vicinity of the home farm. The gold fever of famous '49 took possession of him and he decided to come to California, expecting that his brother William, then a soldier in the Mexican war, would be in that section shortly. He accordingly took passage on the ship Tecumsch for a trip around the horn to San Francisco, arriving in November, 1849, when with a young companion he pur- chased a mining outfit and went at once to Mariposa creek, in Mariposa county, where for six months the two diligently and successfully :Ing for gold. Mr. Thomas then returned to San Francisco. In the fall of 1853 Gen. Will- iam Walker, the noted filibuster, came to San Francisco from Marysville and organized the band of adventurous spirits numbering forty- five all told, chartered the bark Carolina and in November left San Francisco for La Paz in Lower California. Here Walker disem- barked his forces, attacked and captured the town, taking the governor prisoner. Another man was sent by the Mexicans to take com- mand but he also was captured by Walker's forces. Finding himself too weak to hold the place Walker and his forces left the town after holding possession a weck or more. Walker sailed first to Cape St. Lucas, then to Ensena- da, whence he landed his men and a portion of his supplies, leaving the vessel in charge of

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the second mate. He, it is supposed, had been bribed by the Mexicans; at any rate, at the first opportunity he deserted his comrades and took the vessel to Guyamas, leaving Walker and his men in a hostile town, short of food and ammunition. Mr. Thomas started immedi- ately for San Diego for a supply of percus- sion caps, of which there was a great need ; he was successful in obtaining all he needed from a Mr. Rose who then resided in San Diego, and he at once returned to Ensenada to find that his companions were about to be at- tacked by a large body of Mexicans, and they were so nearly out of percussion caps that there were not more than five to each man. His return doubtless saved his companions from capture for within fifteen minutes they were surrounded by several hundred Mexi- cans who made a vigorous attack, in which five of Walker's men were killed. The Mexi- cans were repulsed with several killed and wounded. During the following night Walker assumed the offensive and in a sharp fight succeeded in driving the Mexicans from the field. Walker then buried his guns and tak- ing such supplies as he could started for Sonora by way of Santa Catherine Passo, but after marching several leagues found the route impracticable and most of the party returned and surrendered to Captain Burton, then in command of the United States troops at San Diego. A few of the men went on and finally succeeded in reaching Sonora, but what be- came of them has never been known. Walker was tried in the United States court for a violation of international law and on his ac- quittal in February, 1854, the others were re- leased.

Finding himself a free man once more, Mr. Thomas went to Halfmoon Bay and there took charge of the Pescadero ranch, and there he remained for about a year, when he went to Trinity river and for the ensuing three years was engaged in mining. In 1858 he re- turned to San Francisco and in the same year came to Los Angeles, and here with others discovered the celebrated tin mines of Temes- cal. He continued his identification with this project until 1861 when he disposed of his in- terests to Don A. Stearns, and went to the Hemet valley in San Diego county (now Riv- erside) and there took up a tract of four hun- dred and eighty acres of land, while he at the same time purchased forty-three hundred acres of railroad land. This he developed to general farming and stock-raising, bringing the first herd of Shorthorns into San Diego county, and now owns some of the finest thor- oughbred horses in the west. His herd of Durham cattle will compare favorably with

any to be found on the Pacific coast. The Hemet valley is about twenty-three miles east of the town of Hemet at an elevation of about four thousand feet, and with its mild climate and abundance of pasturage and water is ad- inirably adapted for the raising of stock. In- cluded in the ranch are two thousand acres of moist grass land, while the grain crop is one of the best in this section. Near the ranch house is an unfailing spring, containing iron, soda and sulphur. Mr. Thomas was the first white settler in the Hemet and San Jacinto valleys; when he first came there bears as well as deer, were plentiful, which supplied the table with meat. The Thomas ranch became known as the Thomas valley, where they built a large and comfortable residence, with wide verandas, flower decked and all on stone foun- tains, and where they extended the famous hos- pitality of the family to whomsoever might come within its portals, friend and stranger alike welcome in the midst of the early habita- tion.

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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 II, Part 105

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1234

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1234