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 133

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

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manufacturing smoking pipes out of German silver, and some of the name still follow that oc- cupation in the vicinity of the ancestral home- stead, among them being Carl Sailer, who is yet an active business man.

The eldest in a family of eight children and the only one to settle in California, Joseph Sail- er was born January 10, 1867, and passed the years of boyhood uneventfully in the quiet com- munity where Destiny had cast his lot. When only fourteen years of age he bade farewell to relatives and friends and started out on the long journey which would place the great ocean be- tween himself and the home of his early days. Upon arriving in the United States he proceed- ed to Chicago and at once became an appren- tice to the machinist's trade with Russbach & Co., under whom he served for three years, and later worked as a journeyman in the same city. From there in 1886 he came to California and sought employment vainly in Los Angeles. Discouraged by lack of success he went to San Francisco, where he at once procured work with the Fulton Iron works as a machinist. After- ward he became a machinist in the plant of the American Sugar Refining Company in San Francisco, where he belonged to the night corps of workers in the plant. During 1891 he went to Chino and assisted in installing the machin- ery, afterward holding a position as machinist in the factory for two years. In recognition of his efficiency he was promoted to be chief en- gineer in 1894 and continued as such until he was transferred to Oxnard three years later. After having superintended the installation of the machinery in the Oxnard plant he was ap- pointed chief engineer and since then has filled the responsible position with marked ability and faithfulness.

After many years of constant labor at his trade Mr. Sailer finally allowed himself a vaca- tion in 1903, during which year he enjoyed a visit to the old Tyrolese home and also toured the continent. With that exception he has lab- ored unremittingly and constantly at his trade, yet the continuous labor has not been a hard- ship, for to him work is a pleasure and he is happiest when most deeply engrossed with the details of his chosen occupation. As a citizen he has been progressive, interested in beneficial movements, a contributor to the improvement of Oxnard by the erection of a flat building and two houses, and in every respect a man whose presence is a distinct acquisition to a commun- ity. Formerly he served as a member of the county central Republican committee and always he has been stanch in his allegiance to the Re- publican party. While living in San Francisco he married Miss Katherine E. Schoffel, who was born in Bavaria. and by this marriage he

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has three children, Katie E., Joseph, Jr., and Carl R. Besides being a member of the Citi- zens Club of Oxnard he affiliates with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of Santa Barbara, and the Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank, in which latter fraternity he holds office as past chancellor of the local lodge.

CAPT. JOHN W. ASPE. Especially worthy of honorable mention in this volume is Capt. John W. Aspe, a highly respected resident of San Pedro, who is in truth a self-made man, having started in life with no other endow- ments than good health, a vigorous muscle and a clear, cool brain. Thus equipped, a man need have no fears; filled with a determination to succeed, success is assured him from the start, although it may be that years of patient wait- ing and hard toil are necessary before the goal of his ambitions is reached. A native of Ger- many, Captain Aspe was born December 3, 1851, in Rendsburg, Holstein, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, John Aspe. In 1848 John Aspe took an active part in the Holstein- Schleswig war, after which he followed the trade of a blacksmith in Kiel, Germany, until his death. He married Dora Muller, a native of Schleswig, and they became the parents of twelve children, of whom John W., the subject of this sketch, was the first-born. One son, Christ Aspe, employed as an architect by the German government, died at Breslau, Germany, in 1903.

At the age of ten years John W. Aspe began the battle of life for himself as a sailor, going as deck boy on a coaster. He subsequently crossed the Atlantic, sailing to Boston, Mass., from there going on the sailing vessel Brewster, via the Cape of Good Hope, to the East Indies and back. In 1863, on the same vessel, he came around the Horn to California, and for awhile was employed in the coasting trade along the Pacific coast. Turning his attention then to land pursuits he was for eight years engaged in both quartz and placer mining, operating in northern California, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. He was quite successful at times, at Silver City, Idaho, with three companions, taking out $40,- 000 from a quartz mine. Returning from the mining regions to San Francisco, he again en- gaged in coasting, sailing as second mate for awhile, and then as first mate of his vessel. In 1883, as master of the Sarah, he embarked in the lumber trade, sailing from San Francisco to different ports along the coast. He was sub- sequently master of several other vessels, in- cluding the John Russ, the Bangor, the Charles A. Moody and the Wempe Brothers. The lat- ter was wrecked off the coast of Vancouver.

British Columbia, but no lives were lost. On giving up seafaring pursuits, Captain Aspe re- sided in Oakland for a time, but in 1895 took up his residence in San Pedro, which he first visited as early as 1876, sailing into the harbor when mate of the Elenora. Since 1903 he has been prosperously employed in sail making, his home being on Twelfth street, where he has erected a good residence.

March 14, 1892, in Redondo, Cal., Captain Aspe married Gencina Petersen, a native of Den- mark, and into their household five children have been born, namely: Carl, Frederick, Dora, El- sie and John. Politically the captain is a Re- publican, and fraternally he is a member of Golden Gate Lodge No. 30, F. & A. M., of San Francisco.

CLARENCE C. ADAMS. A resident of California since 1889, Clarence C. Adams has profited by the rapid growth and development of this Pacific state and a part of the prosperity he has made his own. He is a native of Minne- sota, his birth having occurred near Albert Lea, Freeborn county, April 12, 1875. his parents, Charles B. and Mary S. (Shauney) Adams, having settled as farmers in that section. On account of his father's health the family located in Long Beach, Cal., where his death occurred in 1899, his wife surviving him and making her home in this city at the age of sixty-eight years.

Clarence C. Adams received a substantial edu- cation in the public schools of Minnesota and the high school of Austin, to which city his parents removed when he was but three years old. Upon their removal to California they settled in Ana- heim, where Mr. Adams followed teaming after completing a business course in a commercial college of Los Angeles. Following the removal of his parents to Long Beach he came to this city and here took up the work of a plumber, be- coming an apprentice under W. B. Joy. Janu- ary I, 1903, he purchased the interest of Edward Kay, of the firm of Kay & Smith, after which for three and a half years business was con- ducted under the name of Smith & Adams. Since Mr. Adams' withdrawal the business has been continued as the Edwin W. Smith Com- pany. In the meantime Mr. Adams has taken a keen interest in the growth and development of the city and has invested his means in real estate from time to time, building three resi- dences since his location here. When he first came here (in 1899) there was a population of six hundred in the winters and from three to four thousand during the summers. Since that time Long Beach has been found to be as de- sirable a winter residence as one could wish and the population has grown to numbers that are

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remarkable in that they do not mark the itinerant inhabitants, Mr. Adams has unbounded faith in the continued prosperity of his adopted city and has manifested it in the most substantial man- ner.

The home of Mr. Adams is located at 721 Chestnut avenue, and is presided over by his wife, formerly Theora Pearl Ailman, whom he married November 1, 1902. ,She is a native of New Mexico, and a daughter of H. D. Ailman. They have one son, Henry David. Mr. Adams was reared in the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he gives his financial support. In poli- tics he is a stanch Republican and although ac- tive in his efforts to advance the principles he endorses has never cared for official recognition. Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen of the World, Fraternal. Brotherhood, and F. O. E.

OLIVER CLARENCE SWAN. An ex- pert in the erection and operation of sugar man- ufacturing machinery Oliver Clarence Swan is the efficient general foreman of the factory of the American Beet Sugar Company at Oxnard, and is esteemed as a leading citizen of this place. The birth of Mr. Swan occurred June 29, 1872, at Troy, Mo., where his father, William H., a native of Kentucky, carried on a blacksmith shop. The father served in the Union army with a Missouri regiment during the Civil war, be- longed to the Grand Army of the Republic and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was also a member of the Christian Church, and his death in 1903 removed a highly respected citizen of Troy. The mother, who was Eliza C. Shew before her marriage, was born in Illinois on the farm of her parents, who after- wards removed to Lincoln county, Mo., where she was married and still resides. There were seven children in the family. all of whom are still living, Oliver Clarence being the third in point of age. The greater part of his boyhood was spent in Troy, Mo., where he received his education in the public schools, and when a young man he commenced his business career by clerking in a St. Louis grocery store. He moved successively to Louisiana, Mo., and Bowl- ing Green, that state, and then went with a sur- veving party to Arizona, where for one year he assisted in making surveys for the South Gila Canal Company.

In 1892 he came to Chino, Cal., and secured a position with the American Beet Sugar Com- pany, beginning at the very bottom of the ladder and continuing with the firm for five years, at the end of that time having become a competent machinist. He then severed his connection with the firm and went to Crockett, Cal., where he

was employed by the California and Hawaiian Refining Company, and after one season in their factory he was engaged by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco to go to Butte, Mont., and assist in the erection of machinery at that place. That took him but a few months and from there he went to Kealakekua, Hawaii, and for nearly two years was engaged in the construction of machinery for the Kilby Manufacturing com- pany of Cleveland, Ohio. Following this he re- turned to California in 1897, locating at Oxnard, assisting in the construction of the sugar factory at this place. He has been with the American Beet Sugar Company ever since, and is now the general foreman or assistant superintendent of the factory.

Fraternally Mr. Swan affiliates with the Knights of Pythias lodge at Oxford, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at the same place. He is an earnest advocate of the principles represented by the platform of the Republican party and is an influential participator in all matters of public interest to the community. He was married to Miss Ollie H. Hedges, a native of Missouri, who died at Oxnard December 24, 1903.

ARTHUR J. DRAPER. An unexpected and unfortunate incident connected with Mr. Draper's arrival in California might have discouraged some from making a permanent settlement in the state, but he possesses an impartial, calm temper- ament that remains unbiased by circumstances beyond his control. Twenty years have come and gone since he landed in the west and during all of that period he has made his home in Ven- tura county, where since 1895 he has owned a ranch of seventeen acres near Simi and has improved the property by putting in a pumping plant for the irrigation of his alfalfa fields and gardens. The position of justice of the peace came to him by appointment in 1895 and three years later he was elected to the office, which he still fills, having been re-elected at the expiration of his first elective term of four years. Since 1899 he has also served as a notary public.

The Draper family is of old English stock, and the subject of this narrative was born in that country in September, 1861, being a son of Joseplı. S. and Christina Draper. When his father was only thirty-two years of age he died in 1865 and fifteen years later the mother passed away at the age of forty-two. The three sons of the family, Arthur J., John A. and Walter S., left their friends in England during the early spring of 1886 and came to America upon a tour of in- spection with a view to possible location. The first named had been a teacher in English schools for five years and was a young man of excellent

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education, intelligence and fine qualities of citi- z.enship. Landing in Los Angeles they purchased a team and wagon, as well as the supplies necessary for a trip up the coast, and soon started for Ventura county. Unfortunately while they were yet in Los Angeles they had attracted the attention of two desperadoes, one of whom was a ruffian named Louis Clark. These two men concluded that the young Englishmen probably carried with them considerable money and would therefore be excellent subjects for robbery, with which purpose in view they followed them along the coast through Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.

About ten o'clock on the night of the 18th of May, 1886, when the brothers were encamped near Soledad, Monterey county, while sleeping, they were attacked by the desperadoes. Walter was shot in the left foot and thigh; John es- caped without injury; and Arthur received four bullets, one in the back of the neck (which he still carries), one in the right arm, and two in the left shoulder (one of which latter he also carries). With considerable difficulty they man- aged to get to Soledad, where the wounds were dressed and they were given medical care, but it was not until July that they were able to travel. Afterward Clark was caught and sent to prison for twenty-one years. Two of the brothers re- turned to England, where Walter now occupies a responsible position as manager of Lloyd's Bank of London: the eldest brother, Arthur, re- mained in California and settled near Simi, where he has since lived, unmarried, on his neat little ranch, honored by the many acquaintances he has made during the long period of his residence in the same locality and respected as a man of high principles, impartial spirit and progressive citizenship.

HUGH HENRY. Occupying a place of prominence among the prosperous agriculturists and the leading citizens of Ventura county is Hugh Henry, of Oxnard. Commencing life at the foot of the ladder, he has steadily climbed upward, rung by rung, the history of his achieve- ments being a splendid example of the grand suc- cess to be attained by sturdy toil, perseverance and close application to business. Since assum- ing possession of his home ranch, in 1896, he has made all of the important improvements on the place, in 1904 erecting his handsome. mod- ernly equipped ten-room house, this, with the other improvements, rendering his property one of the best in the Santa Clara valley. In business, social, political and fraternal circles, Mr. Henry stands high, and as one of the best known and most influential Odd Fellows of Southern Cali- fornia has done much to promote the good of the

order. A son of Hugh Henry, Sr., he was born July 12, 1858, in Glasgow, Scotland, and from a long line of honored ancestry on the maternal side has inherited those sterling characteristics that have won for him the respect and esteem of his fellow men and a noteworthy position in life.

Born and reared in Ireland, Hugh Henry, Sr., later went to Scotland, where he was married, and in 1860, with his family, came to the United States, the reputed country of plenty, and located in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. Turning his at- tention to farming, he was subsequently engaged in tilling the soil until his death, at the age of sixty-eight years, in 1902. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Watson, was born in Scotland and died in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., in 1871.

Completing his early education in the district schools, Hugh Henry earned his first money as a farm laborer. Deciding to settle permanently as an agriculturist, he bought land in St. Lawrence county and was there a resident until 1883. Com- ing in that year to the Pacific coast, he worked by the month until familiar with the ways of farm- ing as carried on in California, where soil, climate and conditions are so entirely different from those in any other part of the Union. In 1896 he purchased his present ranch, which is advan- tageously located about two miles northwest of Oxnard, and contains seventy-four acres of valu- ble land. He has placed this in a good state of cul- tivation, and in addition to carrying it on success- fully also rents one hundred and sixty acres of near-by land, which he also manages with satis- factory results. He devotes about two hundred acres of land to the raising of lima beans, and has twenty acres planted to beets and each season he has large and profitable crops of these vegetables, the income derived from them being large. He has recently installed a fine electric pumping plant, which will make irrigation of the farm easy.

On January 18, 1878, Mr. Henry married Mary Jane Beatty, who was born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and they are the parents of three children, namely: George, living just across the road from his parents, and who married Maria Sutter, a native of California; and Anna Jane and Elizabeth Maria, pupils in the grammar school. Mr. Henry was initiated into Ventura Lodge No. 201 some years after its establishment, and was serving as noble grand in that lodge when Oxnard Lodge No. 89 was established, he initiating its first members. He is also a member of Ventura Encampment No. 79, which he has served as master three terms; of Ventura Canton No. 29 : and of Ventura Lodge, Daughters of Re- bekah, No. 314. He has passed all of the chairs of the subordinate lodges of Odd Fellows, and is past district deputy, and is also a member of Ox-

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mard Lodge No. 44, M. W. A. He takes great interest in public affairs, and for the past three years has been school trustee.

HENRY C. FEDER. One of the leading industries of Redondo is the Redondo Carnation Company, whose manager, Henry C. Feder, las given years of time and painstaking effort to the propagation of choice and new varieties of carnations, among his original specialties being the Los Angeles (white), Jim Corbett (salmon pink) and the Dr. Choate (scarlet). Since em- barking in business for himself in 1898 he has made a specialty of raising carnations, propa- gating sixty thousand each year, and setting out from forty to fifty thousand plants, besides which he has raised acres of violets. The flow- ers find a ready sale in local markets and ship- ments are also made to Arizona.

A native of Westphalia, Germany, Henry C. Feder was born in Rothenufeln, August 23, 1862, and is a son of Frederick and Louisa (Veith) Feder, natives of the same kingdom, and farmers by occupation. The mother died some years ago, but the father is still living at the old home. Both were reared in the Lu- theran faith and always adhered to that religion. Among their five children, all of whom still sur- vive, Henry was next to the eldest. As is the custom in his native land, he was given good advantages for obtaining an education. At the age of twelve years he left school and began to learn the miller's trade, at which he served a full apprenticeship. During 1879 he crossed the ocean to the United States and proceeded west from New York as far as Indiana, where he secured employment on a farm. Always keenly interested in gardening, he devoted considerable attention to plants and flowers while yet in the east.

For the first few months after coming to Cali- fornia in 1887 Mr. Feder engaged in teaming, but as soon as another opening presented itself he turned to different work. The Redondo Beach Company, owners of the town site of In- glewood, gave him employment in their gardens and orchards, and he continued in their employ until he came to Redondo in 1891. Two years later he was appointed manager of the flower gardens and greenhouse in this place and con- tinned until 1898, when he resigned in order to embark in business for himself. A year later he organized the Redondo Carnation Company with J. B. Mullen, and in 1905 took into part- nership George Hessen and A. M. Jones. This partnership continued until July 1, 1906, when the original owners took charge of the business. The original gardens embraced ten acres, but this tract was sold in 1905, and the company

has now leased other lands with which to con- tinue the business. Always assiduous in his de- votion to business matters, Mr. Feder lias al- lowed himself only one vacation from his post of duty, this being in 1901, when he returned to the old homestead in Westphalia and also visited many points of interest on the continent and in England. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rickie Strohm, is like himself a native of Germany, her childhood home having been in Baden, but as a girl she came to the United States and later was married at Inglewood, this state. Two daughters bless the union, Ida and Lulu. The family are earnest members of the Lutheran Church and give of their means to the work of that denomination. Since coming to Redondo Mr. Feder has been a member of the Board of Trade and an active worker in all en- terprises for the upbuilding of the town. Po- litically he gives stanch support to the Repub- lican party and in fraternal relations holds mem- bership in Redondo Lodge No. 328, F. & A. M .: Tent No. 7, K. O. T. M., of Redondo, and the Independent Order of Foresters.

FRANK A. MATSON. Although a resi- dent of his present location for but a brief period, Mr. Matson has made his home in Southern Cali- fornia for a considerable number of years and with the persevering industry characteristic of his Swedish forefathers he has worked his way from the position of laborer for others to that of land-owner. The property which he ac- quired by recent purchase consists of fifteen acres situated three miles northeast of Redondo at the postoffice of Perry, Los Angeles county, his residence standing on the corner of Redondo and Dominguez avenues, while near by are the buildings utilized for the prosecution of the poultry business, which he makes his specialty.

About the year 1849 George and Ellen ( Pet- erson) Matson crossed the ocean from their na- tive land of Sweden and settled in Minnesota, where their son, Frank A., was born near Clear- water lake, not far from Minneapolis, Decem- ber 3, 1862. When the latter was still a very small child the family removed to Illinois and settled in Knox county, near the village of Al- tona. The next removal occurred when he was about ten years of age and took the family to Nebraska, where they built up a home in the then undeveloped regions of Polk county. The parents continued upon a farm during the bal- ance of their active years; the father lived to be seventy-five and the mother was eighty when she passed away.

After having assisted his father in the improv- . ing of a farm from a tract of raw land, Frank A. Matson was well qualified to take up agricultural

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pursuits for himself, and he continued near the old Nebraska home for some years. While liv- ing in that state he met and December 21, 1886, married Hildora Freeberg, a native of Sweden, who crossed the ocean to the United States at twelve years of age and settled with other members of her family twenty miles east of St. Paul. While still a young girl she re- moved to Stromsburg, Polk county, Neb., and there married Mr. Matson, their union being blessed with two children, Florence E. and Ray- mond F. The family came to California in 1888 and settled at Clearwater on a ranch, but after three years removed to Riverside, where Mr. Matson was variously employed for three years, and later he worked for others in the city of Los Angeles, remaining in the latter city until July of 1905, when he purchased and removed to his small farm near the coast. In the pur- chase of this property he invested the savings of previous years, so that the home he now owns possesses for him an especial interest as repre- senting his own unwearied labors and tireless energy.

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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 133

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