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 108

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 original owner of the plantation was suc- ceeded by his son and namesake. who was a native of West Virginia and spent his entire life in that state. Next in line of descent was Mark Carr Thatcher, who was born near Martinsburg, WV. Va., and at an early age removed to Ohio and took up a tract of raw land. During 1839 he set- tled in the then frontier regions of the territory of Iowa, where he improved a prairie farm in Van Buren county, and continued to reside there until his death. As early as 1850 one of his sons, Ezekiel, crossed the plains with an ox team, arriving in California after a fatiguing journey of five months. Eventually settling in Shasta county, he is still one of the leading men and honored pioneers of that section. On the com- pletion of the railroad across the continent the father determined to visit Ezekiel and view the great and hitherto unknown west. Accompanied by his wife, in 1868 he went to Omaha and there paid $600 for two tickets to Sacramento, where they arrived at the expiration of five days. Dur- ing the visit in California he lost his wife, who was Hannah Thomas, a native of the Shenandoalı valley in West Virginia and a descendant of an English family identified with the Society of Friends.

There were nine children in the family of Mark Carr Thatcher and seven sons are still liv- ing, Amos Davis being sixth in order of birth. Four of the sons were Union soldiers in the Civil war, namely: Jonathan, who served in Com- pany E, Fifteenth Iowa Infantry; Isaac, also of that regiment, and who was wounded in the bat- tles of Corinth and Shiloh ; Aaron, a member of the First Iowa Cavalry; and Amos D., who served with the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry. On the occasion of the Grand Army Encampment at Washington, D. C., in October, 1902, nine mem- bers of the Thatcher family marched abreast in the column down Pennsylvania avenue and were given a flag bearing the words, "One Family of Thatchers."

While the family were living near Wilming- ton. Clinton county, Ohio, Amos Davis Thatcher was born April 9, 1838. His earliest recollec- tions are associated with frontier surroundings in Iowa. Neighbors were few, land was in the orig- inal condition of nature, and the farmer's task one of arduous labor and self-sacrifice. Free schools had not yet been generally introduced, and he was a pupil in a subscription school con- ducted in a log building wholly destitute of com- forts. When the war opened he was eager to offer his services to the Union, and October 14. 1861, he was accepted as a volunteer in Com- pany E Fifteenth Iowa Infantry, where he was first a sergeant and later a sergeant-major. Among the engagements in which he participated were those at Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka, siege and surrender of Vicksburg, Champion Hill, Jackson and Black River Bridge. Ill-health occasioned by exposure to inclement weather and the hard- ships of long marches forced him to leave the army, and he received an honorable discharge in September, 1863. at the close of little less than two years of service.

Returning to Van Buren county, Iowa, Mr. Thatcher engaged in the drug business and also followed farm pursuits. In 1878 he removed to Kansas and settled on a farm near Topeka, but after three years on the farm he moved into town and built a store building on the corner of Sixth and Clay streets, a locality still known as Thatcher's Corner. On account of the ill-health of a son he eventually disposed of his interests in Topeka and moved to California, settling in San Diego in 1889. Two years later he went to Pomona, where first he engaged in the fruit busi- ness and later was superintendent of a plant owned by the Deciduous Fruit Growers Asso- ciation, his special work being the preparation of olives for the market, and of these he cured each year ten thousand gallons during the winter months.

Immediately subsequent to his arrival at Ox- nard. February 27, 1900, Mr. Thatcher took

W. W. or.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

charge of the business of the California Imple- ment Company. However, within a short time he organized the Oxnard Implement Company, which purchased the interests of the former or- ganization and has continued the business to the present time, with himself as president and man- ager. The implement house is the largest busi- ness of its kind in Ventura county. The company acts as exclusive agents for the machinery man- ufactured by the Moline, McCormick, Stude- baker and Fish Brothers Companies, also handles gasoline engines manufactured by the Fairbanks- Morse Company, and transacts a large business in the line of its specialties.

The first marriage of Mr. Thatcher was solemnized in Iowa and united him with Miss Melissa Hartsell, who was born in Indiana. Her death occurred in 1902, while attending the Grand Army Encampment at Washington, from which city the body was brought to Pomona, Cal., for interment. Five children were born of their union, namely: George, who died while his father was at Corinth with the army during the Civil war ; Mark, who died at Topeka, Kans., October 15, 1888; Frank, who died at San Diego in February, 1891; Frederick, cashier of the Bank of Oxnard; and Hugh, who is engaged in the drug business at Los Angeles. Four years after coming to Oxnard Mr. Thatcher was united in marriage with Mrs. T. E. Parker, who was born in Massachusetts, and now owns mercan- tile interests at Littleton, N. H. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher are members of the Order of the Eastern Star and both are identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he offi- ciates as a trustee. Politically he supports Re- publican principles. While living in Kansas he was initiated into the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Topeka Lodge No. 40, and 'also af- filiated with the Encampment, Canton and Rebekahs. He was made a Mason in Pomona Lodge, F. & A. M., and now belongs to Oxnard Lodge No. 341, and Oxnard Chapter. At the time of removing from Kansas he was com- mander of Abe Lincoln Post No. I, at Topeka, and now has his membership with Vicksburg Post No. 61,.G. A. R., in Pomona, this state.

WILLIAM WARREN ORR. A Cali- fornian in every sense of the word save that of birth, William W. Orr is one of the stanch supporters of the commonwealth and an im- portant factor in its upbuilding. He is locat- ed in Los Angeles county and in the vicinity of Norwalk is engaged as a rancher, owning a tract of one hundred and sixty acres highly cultivated and improved and also forty acres just north of his home, all of which is devoted to grain and alfalfa and the pasturage for a

large herd of cows which supplies a fine dairy kept by Mr. Orr. Born in Union county, Ky., February 15, 1832, Mr. Orr was a son of Will- iam and Susan (Stone) Orr, both natives of the same state, the paternal grandfather, John, having emigrated from Ireland in an early day and located in Kentucky where he en- gaged as a surveyor for many years. Will- iam W. Orr is the sole survivor of the Orr family of Kentucky, his brothers and sisters being deceased.

A limited education was all that Mr. Orr was able to obtain as he was orphaned by the death of his father when only five years old, and with seven children in the family it was necessary for them all to seek some means of earning their own livelihood. As soon as he was old enough he assumed charge of his mother's farm, remaining at home until 1852 when he started across the plains to California. He arrived in Placerville, Eldorado county, the same year and engaged in mining for the ensuing four years. He then went to Alameda county and purchased a ranch of one hun- dred and sixty acres and carried on general farming for about five years, when he dis- posed of these interests and removed to Con- tra Costa county and purchased a stock ranch of one hundred and sixty acres. He followed this enterprise for a time and then bought the La Fayette hotel at La Fayette and spent ten years in that section. In 1864 in com- pany with Judge Venable he went to Nevada and was engaged in the lumber business in that state for three years, when he returned to Kenetucky via the Isthmus of Panama and the following year was married to Miss Sarah E. Ryle, a native of Oldham county, Ky., and a daughter of William and Annie (Baldock) Ryle. Mr. and Mrs. Ryle came to California and spent their last days with their daughter on the old homestead, his death occurring in 1889 at the age of eighty-four years and hers at the age of eighty-five years.

In 1869 Mr. Orr and his wife set out for California with an ox-team, coming via the southern route, and while camping at Waco, Tex., their first child was born. Pushing on toward their journey's end they arrived in San Diego, where Mr. Orr found himself without means, but here he received a letter from his friend and former associate, Judge Venable, advising him to come on to Los An- geles. They reached Los Angeles county and in the vicinity of Norwalk Mr. Orr rented land and began farming, two years later pur- chasing the first forty acres he owned, and where the old home now stands. The coun- try was then wild, with but few settlers. He has since continued to purchase property until

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he now owns one hundred and sixty acres in the home property and a forty-acre tract one mile north, all well improved and finely culti- vated. With his general farming he also man- ages an extensive dairy business, milking over thirty cows, while at times he has had as many as eighty in his herd. He has put up a model dairy, which is sanitary in all its ap- pointments. He is also interested in the rais- ing of thoroughbred draft horses. Mr. Orr owns a fine residence property on Maple ave- nue, near Sixteenth, Los Angeles.

Mr. Orr lost his wife August 21, 1905, at the age of sixty-three years. He has a family of five children, namely : Emma, wife of Wal- lace Randall and the mother of four children, their home being in the vicinity of the new Riv- era school house ; William, who died at the age of twenty-one years. John who married Mi- randa Sackett, has two children, and resides on a forty-acre ranch; Robert, who married Mabel Miller and now lives in Tulare county, Cal .; and Charles A., who married Grace Gib- son, and is located on the old place. Mr. Orr is a charter member of Downey Lodge No. 220, F. & A. M., and is proud of the fact that all of his sons are identified with the Masonic organization. Mr. Orr is one of the esteemed residents of this section, his home having been upon this property he now owns for the past thirty-five years, during which he has taken a keen interest in the development and upbuild- ing of his adopted home; has established for himself a position of respect among his fellow citizens for his integrity and personal worth; and has also accumulated a competence. Al- though advanced in years he is still actively engaged in the management of his ranch and is proud of his superior products. He is just- ly named among the representative citizens of Los Angeles county for to such characters as his is owed the progress of the western com- monwealth.

JOSEPH FRANKLIN NADEAU. The name of Nadeau is inseparably linked with the history and highest development of Southern California, and especially is it synonymous with progress in Los Angeles county and city, where Remi Nadeau. the father of Joseph Franklin, became a pioneer settler in 1860, and it was he who erected the first real modern building within the precincts of the city. The senior Nadeau. who was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, was descended from French ancestry and early settled in Concord, N. H., where he was occupied as a millwright and built a number of mills. In 1857 he removed to Chicago, remaining there a short time only before going to Faribault,

Minn., where he erected mills and engaged in milling operations. Two years later he decided to push his way further west and crossed the plains, going by way of Pike's Peak to Salt Lake City, and after a year's sojourn there finished his westward trip to the Pacific coast and became one of the first settlers in Los An- geles. Upon his arrival here he began to do heavy teaming, later engaged in merchandising and again in freighting, using sixteen and twenty mule teams to hanl merchandise to the mines, returning with loads of bullion. His extensive business in this line embraced the Owens river country, and he also brought borax from the deserts of California and Nevada, for his were the largest teaming outfits owned by anyone in those days.

It was about the year 1884 that he erected the Nadeau building, which was the largest in the city and the first large building on Spring street. He had succeeded in accumulating ex- tensive property interests in various locations, be- came interested in agriculture and horticulture. arid owned four thousand acres of land embraced in what is now known as the Cudahy ranch, adjoining the city on the south, upon which he planted a twenty-five-hundred-acre vineyard, making his the largest one in this section of the state for many years. The remainder of his land was devoted to the raising of alfalfa hay and other grain crops. Politically he was a stanch advocate of the principles embraced in the platform of the Republican party and was actively interested in the public welfare of the municipality in which he lived. His death, in January. 1887, at the age of sixty-eight years. removed one of the most prominent and pro- gressive .citizens this section has known, and a man whose honesty and integrity of character were acknowledged by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. His wife, who was before her marriage Martha Fry, was a native of Con- cord, N. H., and a daughter of Amos Fry, who patriotically served his country in the war of 1812. The death of Mrs. Nadean occurred in Los Angeles.

The oldest in a family of seven children, four of whom grew to maturity, Joseph Franklin Nadeau was born in 1845 in Concord, N. H .. and reared in that state until fourteen years of age, his education being received there in the public schools and at an academy. In 1859 he removed with the family to Faribault, Minn., and in 1862 became a volunteer in Company H, First Regiment of Minnesota Cavalry. having mustered into service at St. Peter. He was engaged in the Sioux Indian campaign until 1863. when the redskins were forced to cross the Mis- souri river, and returning to Minnesota he was mustered out at Fort Snelling in the fall of 1863.

1855

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Following this he learned the carpenter's trade and was occupied as a builder in Faribault for a time. In 1868 he came to California via Pan- ama and located in Los Angeles for one year, then removed to the northern states and spent the subsequent four years in Washington and Oregon on the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers.

Returning to California in 1873 Mr. Nadeau engaged in the teaming business with his father in the Nevada and California deserts, becoming interested in the borax mines at Columbus, Nev. He built four plants for refining the product with a capacity of twenty tons daily. The cost of hauling the borax from Columbus to Wads- worth was four cents per hundred weight, and the railroad haul to San Francisco was from one to two cents, so that when great quantities were shipped the market was soon flooded and the operation of the plants became unprofitable. Again returning to California the father teamed in Inyo county, forming a partnership with Judson & Belshaw, known as the Cerro Gordo Freighting Company, he acting in the capacity cf manager. The son went to Modoc county and engaged in the cattle business at Goose Lake for a year, then returned to Los Angeles and was in busmess with his father for several years, after which he engaged in farming and stock-raising on a large scale, operating the Cen- tinello and White & Denman ranches, and hav- ing from one thousand to three thousand acres of land in crops each year. He operated four steam threshing outfits at one time at an ex- pense of $250 per day. Later he bought three hundred and twenty acres of land adjacent to the city and planted it to grapes. This land now adjoins Ascot Park on the south and lies be- tween Central and Main streets. The price of grapes went down so low as to make their raising an unprofitable business and he was obliged to dispose of his vineyard in a few years. He then engaged in the furniture business in San Diego, and for the following six years was interested in the development of that sec- tion of the state. Returning to Los Angeles he there continued in the furniture business.

In 1897 Mr. Nadeau went to Skagway, Alaska, and inspected the Alton mines, but finding then commercially unprofitable he settled in Seattle for five years, occupied as a manufacturer of show cases and office fixtures. January of 1904 found him again a resident of Los Angeles, and a year later he located in Long Beach, building a residence on Riverside Drive and Third street, and here he has since devoted his time to looking after his large business interests. He subdivided the Nadeau homestead tract on the Long Beach car line on Nadeau street, the plat embracing thirty-six acres; laid out thirty-two acres on Nadeau street across from the first-named tract

and called it the Edgewood Park tract : then laid out ten additional acres adjoining Woodland Park tract, and has established one large water plant for the three additions. The Powers pump over the well has a capacity of two hundred inches of water. He is interested in the Inner Harbor tract developed by the Inner Harbor Realty Company, of which he is a director, and. owns other valuable real estate in Long Beach.

Politically Mr. Nadeau is a firm believer in Republican principles and is interested in the good government of the community. He has a family of five children: George J., residing at Nadeau station, and having charge of his father's interests there; Remi, in the real-estate business at Florence station ; Amos, a farmer at Florence station; Laura, the wife of Will- iam Anderson, of Los Angeles; and Don Cle- mont, living at home. Personally Mr. Nadeau is a man of quiet habits and modest disposition, but possesses an innate strength which causes lin to be immediately recognized as a leader by all those with whom he comes in contact, either socially or in a business way.

WALTER E. BARKER. Not a few of the men yet prominent in business affairs and public life are veterans of the Civil war, whose youthful participation in the turmoil of a bitterly contested struggle has been followed by long years of hon- orable association with civic movements and peaceful perseverance in commercial pursuits. Among such men there may be mentioned Walter E. Barker, for the past few years a resident of Southern California and a business man of Long Beach. The year after the beginning of the war, when he was only seventeen years of age, he was accepted as a private in Company C, Thirtieth Maine Infantry, and went to various parts of the south in company with his regiment, taking part in the battle of Pleasant Hill under General Banks and fighting at Cedar Creek with General Sheridan. The hardships of camp life and the exposure incident to long marches resulted in a sickness, which detained him in New Orleans for a time, but with that exception he remained with his regiment in camp and on the battlefield until the expiration of his period of service in 1864, when he returned to his northern home.

Descended from an ancient family of New England, Mr. Barker was one of eight children. all of whom live in the east with the exception of himself, and whose parents, D. K. and Julia A. (Green) Barker, were natives and lifelong residents of Maine. It was in Maine that he was born June 4. 1845. and there he received such advantages as the common schools afforded. leav- ing school to march with a gallant troop of Maine boys to the seat of war in the service of the

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Union. From boyhood he had been familiar with the lumber industry and at the close of the war he took up that occupation, of which he soon acquired a thorough knowledge. For eight years he was engaged in the lumber business in Penn- sylvania, and from there went to Wisconsin, where he remained about one-quarter of a cen- tury, meanwhile conducting a lumber business with Chippewa Falls as his headquarters and place of residence. On coming to California, in 1902, he established his home in Long Beach, where he has since been a stockholder in a paint and paper business.

The marriage of Mr. Barker occurred in Wisconsin and united him with Miss Statie, daughter of Abel Brownell, and a native of Wis- consin, where hier entire life was passed until ten years after her marriage. In her old home in that state she has a host of personal friends and was one of the leading members of the Episcopal Church, her membership in which denomination later was transferred to the Long Beach Church. During the long period of his residence in Wis- consin Mr. Barker maintained an active part in local politics and was known as one of the lead- ing Republicans of his locality, yet he had no as- pirations toward official honors and never sought office at any time or in any capacity. Yet, had his inclinations turned in that direction, his fel- low-citizens would have tendered him such of- fices as were within their gift, for he was a man of great popularity in his section of Wisconsin, and since coming to the west has also gained a circle of warm friends in his new home.

JOHN C. WEES. An identification of more than thirty years with the city of San Ber- nardino entitles Mr. Wees to be numbered among its early settlers, as also he has been one of its leading builders. While for some years he has been retired from business cares, the work which he did in the past still stands a monument to his thrift, efficiency and reliability. Various of the houses of worship in the city were erected by him, as were also numerous business properties and many residences. Dur- ing all the years of his energetic devotion to his trade he has owned and superintended a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres in Riverside county, which is in hay and grain, and which at this writing is operated by a son. Since re- tiring from his trade he has devoted his atten- tion to the supervision of his property and to the discharge of his duties as member of the city council from the fourth ward.

The genealogy of the Wees family shows that they removed from Wales to the north of Eng- land many generations gone by, and some of the ancestors also came to America from Holland.

John C. Wees was born near Toronto in Belle- ville, Canada, August 9, 1835, being a son of Peter and Joyce (Brown) Wees, natives respec- tively of Canada and England. The parents were lifelong residents of Canada and followed agricultural pursuits. Reared on the home farm and given the advantages of a common school education, John C. Wees grew to manhood with- out special incident to mark the passing years of boyhood and youth. At an early age he began to learn the carpenter's trade, but he remained at home until he was twenty-one and assisted his father in the management of the large farm. After having completed his trade, in 1860, he crossed into the States and settled at Appleton, WVis., where he worked at the carpenter's trade, remaining for a number of busy and uneventful years.

Coming to California in 1875 Mr. Wees re- mained in San Francisco from May until August and then came to San Bernardino, where he im- mediately secured employment at carpentering. Such was the success of his work that he was kept constantly busy, and little by little, with the proceeds of his earnings from the trade, he was able to become a property owner and he in- vested with such wise judgment that he is now well to do, holding a position among the pros- perous citizens of the city. His various proper- ties afford him a sufficient income to render un- necessary a continuance at carpentering, and ac- cordingly he has retired from such responsibili- ties. His home at No. 1334 C street is a modern structure with attractive environments and sub- stantial furnishings. Frequently he has been offered a high price for his ten acres of walnut land surrounding the residence, but as yet he has refused all offers, preferring to retain the homestead intact. For more than one-half cen- tury he has had the companionship of an excel- lent wife, whose cheerful co-operation has en- hanced his successes and lessened his disappoint- ments. Mrs. Wees was Louise Wright, a na- tive of Canada, where she was educated and where in 1850 she became the wife of the man by whose side she has since labored for their mutual welfare and happiness. Three children were born of their union, namely: Oscar, who learned the carpenter's trade with his father and now operates the latter's ranch; Armantha, de- ceased ; and James H., at home.

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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 108

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