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 143

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

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Mr. Moretti set sail from Switzerland in 1888, when little more than a lad, and landed in New York city a stranger, unfamiliar with the lan- guage and customs of his new home. His idea was to settle in the west, and he soon made his way to the Pacific coast. The first employment which he was able to secure was in the marine service in San Francisco, three years later be- coming interested in the dairy business in Santa Cruz county. Eleven years in that locality was the means of giving him a well-rounded know- ledge of the soil and climate, as well as proving to him his ability to manage successfully a business of larger magnitude. Coming to San Diego coun- ty, he selected and purchased his present ranch of two thousand acres, and the substantial bus- iness of which he is now the head is his as the result of principles rightly applied and a care- ful guard over details.

Fraternally Mr. Moretti belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Santa Cruz and to the lodge of Foresters at Julian. He has made a study of the principles laid down in the platforms of the two great political parties and his decision is in favor of the Republican party. His religious training in boyhood was in the Catholic Church, to whose teachings he has always adhered, and he worships in the church of that denomination in Santa Ysabel.

CAPT. ALBERT A. POLHAMUS. Active- ly identified with the valuable government im- provements that have been made along the South- ern California coast line is Capt. A. A. Polha- mus. A man of great intelligence and with ex- ceptional mechanical ability, as a government contractor he has built many large breakwaters on the Pacific coast. . A thorough master of his business, faithful to the trusts reposed in him, and strictly honest in all his dealings, the cap- tain has won well-deserved success in his ca- reer, and the respect in which he is held gives evidence of his upright and manly life.

Albert Polhamus was born October 1, 1837, in Albany, N. Y. He is of thrifty Holland an- cestry, being a direct descendant of the immi- grant ancestor, Johannes Polhaemus, who came from Holland in 1660 with his friend, Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the Dutch governors, and settled in what is now Brooklyn, being the first minister of that city.

Another Johannes Polhamus, a descendant many generations removed from the first an- cestor, was the grandfather of Albert Polhamus.

This Johannes Polhamus was born in New York and for many years had charge of vessels sail- ing on the Hudson river. His son, Isaac Pol- hamus, father of Albert Polhamus, succeeded to the occupation in which he was reared. For many years he was captain of sailing boats on the Hudson river and after the steamboat was invented he sailed on the Paragon, the third steamer that was ever built. Isaac Polhamus married Agnes McQueen, a native of Scotland, a woman of excellent education. To this mar- riage there were born eight children, the young- est son being Albert, with whom this sketch is concerned.

Brought up in Albany, N. Y., Albert A. Pol- hamus was educated in the public schools, and at the Albany Academy. From boyhood he was familiar with boating in all of its phases. In- terested particularly in mechanical pursuits, he studied engineering and at the age of seventeen years was made assistant engineer of an ocean steamer. He followed the sea in that capacity for a number of years and in 1860 came through the Straits of Magellan to California as engineer on the steamer Granada.

The Granada was to have run between San Francisco and Panama in opposition to the Pacific mail steamers, and Albert Polhamus was to have been chief engineer. After performing her long journey in safety the Granada was run on the rocks by the pilot in charge while entering the Golden Gate, and completely wrecked.

In November, 1860, at the urgent request of General Banning, Mr. Polhamus came from San Francisco to Wilmington to assist in starting a traction engine, which the general had purchased for the purpose of hauling trains of provision wagons across the desert to Arizona in fulfill- ing army contracts. Mr. Polhamus did not suc- ceed with the steam wagon and the project was abandoned by Banning. The friendship then formed between the two men was destined to be of long standing, as Mr. Polhamus stayed with General Banning for the next twenty-four years, first as engineer, then as master of his steamers, and afterwards for many years as one of the superintendents of Banning's Transporta- tion Company of Wilmington and San Pedro. In 1884 Captain Polhamus entered into a manufacturing business, but this not proving successful he removed, four years later, to San Diego, where he accepted the positions of su- perintendent of the Coronado Beach Ferry Com- pany and of Spreckles Brothers Ballast Com- pany.

Of later years Captain Polhamus has devot- ed most of his time to government contracting. Among the first contracts executed by him was the first breakwater built at San Pedro, connect-

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ing Terminal with Dead Man's Island. He was the first to bring rock from Catalina Island for breakwater purposes. Some of the oldest and strongest built bridges in Los Angeles county were constructed by his engineering skill and nearly all of the government breakwater at Port Harford was built by him. The deepening of the harbor bar at San Diego and at San Pedro and the dredging of the Middle Ground, besides many pieces of like work, stand as monuments to this man's engineering ability.

In Wilmington, in November, 1869, Captain Polhamus married Georgiana V. Monteith, who was born in Jefferson City, Mo., a daughter of Hiram and Lena (Smale) Monteith. The Cap- tain and Mrs. Polhamus have had four children, namely: Isaac, in business in Los Angeles ; Lena, wife of W. M. Crouse, of San Diego; Ag- nes, a graduate of the New York College of Dental Surgery, who is now practicing her pro- fession in New York City ; and Caroline, a bril- liant musician, with a strong, sweet, soprano voice, who is engaged in concert singing in New York City. Politically Captain Polhamus is a Republican, and fraternally he is a member and past master of Wilmington Lodge No. 198, F. & A. M.

FRANCISCO M. MORENO. When in the development of Mexico there began to be inter- ested Spanish families of proud old Castilian pedigrec and the scions of nobility crossed the ocean to identify themselves with the unknown possibilities of their American dependency, the Moreno family became an integral part of the Mexican colony, and succeeding generations lived and labored far from the original home of the race. After long and eventful connection with Mexican history one of the name, Fran- cisco Moreno, came to the United States in 1872, joining his father-in-law, Sylvester Go- mez, who ten years before had crossed the bor- der into the States, settling in the San Luis Rey valley in California. On his arrival in San Diego county Mr. Moreno found that his father-in-law had settled in a fertile valley., but had made no attempt to improve or secure by title the land on which he lived. Acting with- out delay, in 1872 Mr. Moreno took up the tract of three hundred and twenty acres. As the years passed by he made necessary im- provements on the land and a part was brought under cultivation to grain, while the balance was utilized as a vineyard and in walnut and orange groves. Before leaving his native land he had gained a knowledge of the manufacture of wine, and as soon as he found that the grapes raised in his valley vineyard were well adapted for wine he at once turned his atten-

tion to the business. Gradually he relinquished other activities in order to concentrate his at- tention upon his winery and this he conducted until 1902, the year of his death. The widow was left in her old age without children to continue the business, but there was not lack- ing a relative with the ability and energy neces- sary for the work, and this was Francisco M. Moreno, a nephew of the founder of the winery, being a son of his brother, Edward.

Through his mother as well as on the pa- ternal side Francisco M. Moreno is of Spanish extraction and descended from early Mexican settlers. When only eleven years of age he left Sonora, Mexico, where he was born in July, 1875, and crossed the border into the United States, joining his uncle in the San Luis Rey valley, where he was sent to a public school in Pala. After leaving school he gave his entire attention to assisting his uncle on the ranch and in the winery. In 1898 he re- turned to his old home in Mexico, but three years later he came back to the San Luis Rey valley and now has full charge of the ranch and winery, relieving his aunt of its many anxieties and responsibilities unsuited for one of her years. The ranch is said to be one of the best in this part of San Diego county and bears improvements of value, made by the for- mer owner during his long residence at the place. Following in the footsteps of the origi- nal owner, the present proprietor exercises a close and rigid supervision of the entire prop- erty, maintains first-class improvements, cares for the vineyard and the fruit trees with un- ceasing vigilance, and oversees the manufact- ure of wine of the purest quality. In religion he was reared in the Roman Catholic Church and, like all other members of his family, sup- ports its charities and contributes to its main- tenance. Since coming to San Diego county he has been identified with the congregation at Pala and attends worship at that church.

H. K. DAY. Numbered among the active agriculturists of San Diego county who have met with good success in their independent call- ing and are now enjoying a comfortable com- petency, acquired chiefly through their own ef- forts, is H. K. Day, of De Luz. He is the owner of a productive farm, which he has carried on for nearly a score of years with excellent pecuni- ary results. A son of the late E. M. Day, he was born October 4, 1852, in Erie county, Pa., coming from patriotic stock, his paternal grand- father having fought in the war of 1812.

A native of New York state, E. M. Dav came to California with his family in 1858. He first engaged in mining in Placer county, then in

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farming in Lake county for ten years, and was afterwards engaged in general farming else- where until his death, at the age of seventy-eight years. He married Caroline Beardsley, who was born in the Empire state, and who is now a ven- erable woman of fourscore years.

Coming with his parents to this state when but six years old, H. K. Day received but lim- ited educational advantages, attending first the pioneer schools of Placer county, and later of Lake county. He was subsequently located in San Jose, where he learned the machinists trade and for ten years worked in a foundry and machine shop. Coming to De Luz in 1888, he took up one hundred and sixty acres of govern- ment land, from which he has improved his present valuable ranch.

In 1875 Mr. Day married Ida May Belle Finch, who died September 22nd 1903, leaving three children, namely: Frank, who married Lulu Adams; Jessie, the wife of D. M. Tittle; and Edith, the wife of Louis Garnsey. In his po- litical affiliations Mr. Day is independent, voting with the courage of his convictions. Mrs. Day was a member of the Episcopal Church, and was a rapidly ripening christian. Full of good works she made for herself a place in the community which will be very hard to fill.

ELMORE C. SHIPLEY. Among the pio- neer settlers of Fallbrook no one is more worthy of notice in a work of this kind than Elmore C. Shipley, a well-to-do farmer, now living retired from active pursuits. Coming here nearly a quarter of a century ago, he has opened up a good ranch from the uncultivated soil, and is today enjoying a competence. His ambition to build up a creditable homestead has resulted in the improvement of a pro- ductive ranch, the erection of a substantial resi- dence, and the gathering together of the many conveniences and comforts upon which the health and happiness of a household so largely depends. He was born October 20, 1841, in Mc Minnville, Tenn., a son of Thomas Shipley.

Removing with his family from Tennessee, his native state, to Missouri in 1850, Thomas Shipley lived for eight years in Cass county, employed during the time in tilling the soil. In 1858 he went to Miami county, Kans., where he was employed in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1886, at the venerable age of four score years. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Elizabeth Thomas, was born in Kentucky, in 1806, and died in 1880 in Kan- sas, at the age of seventy-four years.

Going with his parents to Missouri when about nine years old, Elmore C. Shipley had few of the educational advantages enjoyed by

the boys of these days, his knowledge of books being obtained at a subscription school. Go- ing with his family to Kansas in 1858, he as- sisted his father in the pioneer labor of im- proving a farm, remaining at home until twenty-three years of age, during which time he had not seen a railroad. In 1862 he made a trip from Fort Leavenworth, Kans., to Fort Union, N. Mex., hauling freight for the gov- ernment with an ox-team, and being five months going and coming. In 1883, on ac- count of continued ill health, Mr. Shipley came to San Diego county, locating near Fallbrook, where he purchased land, on which he lived for a while. Subsequently selling that, he bought his present ranch of sixty acres, and in 1887 erected his present pleasant residence.

In Paola, Kans., February 9, 1865, Mr. Ship- ley married Clarissa Maria Cook, who was born August 1, 1848, in Richfield, Adams county, 111., a daughter of Oliver H. Cook, and a grand- daughter of Ralph Cook. Born and brought up in New York state, Ralph Cook migrated to Illinois in 1830, settling on the present site of the city of Quincy, which then contained but three dwelling houses, those being rude log cabins built by the original pioneers of the place. Taking up land, he improved a farm, on which he lived until his death, at the age of eighty-eight years. He married Dolly Van Buren, who was born in New York, a daughter of Martin Van Buren, a cousin of President Martin Van Buren. She survived him, dying in Quincy, Ill., at the venerable age of ninety- three years.

Oliver H. Cook was born November 15, 1818, in Oswego county, N. Y., and when a boy of twelve years accompanied his parents to Quincy, Ill., where he had but limited educa- tional advantages. He was hired out by his father until twenty-two years old, and when his time was up went to Jersey county, Ill., where he worked three years. Returning to Adams county, he remained there until 1859, when he migrated to Miami county, Kans., where he traded his five pairs of oxen, his sole capital, for one hundred and sixty acres of land. Be- ginning the improvement of a farm, he met with good success, in 1883 being the owner of three-fourths of a section of good land. Selling out his possessions in that year, he came to California, bought land near Fall- brook, and was actively engaged in general ranching until 1900. He has since lived re- tired from active business, and is now making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Shipley. In 1843, in Adams county, Ill., Mr. Cook married Cla- rissa Quincy, by whom he had two children : Mary, deceased, who married Joseph Chilson ; and Clarissa Maria, wife of Mr. Shipley. Mrs.

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Cook died December 13, 1903, aged seventy- six years. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ship- ley, two children have been born. Thomas Jefferson Shipley married Katie Gird, daugh- ter of H. H. Gird, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere, and they have four chil- dren, Ronald G., Mark G., Verne G. and Della. Andrew Bailey Shipley, living in San Diego, married Minnie Andrews Bryant. Mrs. Ship- ley has considerable property in her own name, owning a valuable ranch of two hundred and ten acres, and one of the finest residences in Fallbrook. Politically Mr. Shipley is identified with the Democratic party, and religiously both he and his wife are members of the Bap- tist Church.

HORACE EVERETT HARRIS. Ever since identifying himself with the city of San Ber- nardino as a permanent resident Mr. Harris has held a high position in commercial, financial and horticultural circles, and it is the universal testi- mony of the people that few men have accom- plished as much as he in behalf of the town's imaterial development. Included among the re- sponsibilities which he has assumed and the posi- tions he has filled may be mentioned those of vice-president of the San Bernardino National Bank, and a director and chairman of the loan committee of the San Bernardino Savings Bank, which positions he now holds. During 1905 he organized the Home Gas Company, of which he now acts as president and which owns a well- equipped gas plant with mains extending through all parts of San Bernardino. Recognizing the importance of the horticultural interests of the locality, he has been a factor in the development of its possibilities, and at this writing officiates as president of the Globe Farming Company, oper- ating several thousand acres, also as president of the Fontana Land and Water Company, own- ing more than twenty thousand acres of im- proved land.

The Harris family became established in New England during the colonial period of our coun- try's history. Stephen Harris, who was a native of Northampton, Mass., became a farmer in Ver- mont. In his neighborhood he won a reputation for indefatigable industry and great energy, and it was said of him that he could cradle fifteen acres of rye in one day, while with other work he was proportionately rapid. A son and name- sake of this pioneer farmer was born in Brattle- boro, Vt., and also followed agricultural pur- suits. On retiring from farm work he went to Connecticut, where he spent his last days. His wife, Maria F., was born in Massachusetts and died in New Hampshire. Descended from Puri- tan ancestry, she was a daughter of Josiah Ab-

bott, who was born in Andover, Mass., and be- came a farmer in Vermont. Throughout the Revolutionary war he served as a commissioned officer.

In the family of Stephen Harris, Jr., there were eight children, all of whom attained years of maturity, and two are now living. One of the sons, Warren, was a member of a New York regiment during the Civil war. Another son, Horace Everett, whose name introduces this nar- rative, was born near Lemington, Essex county, Vt., August 6, 1842, and was fourth in the family circle. Life to him passed uneventfully through the years of boyhood and youth, but the opening of the Civil war broke into the even tenor of his quiet existence. During November of 1861 he enlisted in the Fifth Maine Battery of Mounted Artillery and spent the first winter at Augusta and Portland, Me. Early in 1862 he accom- panied his regiment to Washington and from there to Virginia for service with General Pope, under whom he participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain and Rappahannock Station, also Thoroughfare Gap. He was present at the sec- ond engagement at Bull Run, and during the battle the battery lost four out of six pieces and he was wounded in the side of the neck by a bullet that he still carries. Soon he recovered from the effects of the wound and rejoined his regiment, with which he participated in the battle of Chancellorsville, the three days' engage- ment at Gettysburg, and the battles of the Wilderness. Spottsylvania Courthouse, North Anna, South Anna, Cold Harbor and Peters- burg. In the fall of 1864 his corps was sent after General Early, and followed him from Washington back through Maryland and down the Shenandoah to Winchester. Afterward he served under General Sheridan until the close of the war. September 19, 1864, he took part in the battle of Opequan; September 22, 1864, was at Fisher's Hill : and October 19, at Cedar Creek, was wounded in the left leg above the ankle by a minie ball, which confined him to his bed for one hundred and eighty days, first at Baltimore, then in Philadelphia, and eventually at home. When honorably discharged in the fall of 1865 he was still obliged to use crutches in walking.

On regaining his strength, Mr. Harris at- tended a business college at Augusta, Me., and later traveled for his health in Cuba, thence go- ing to New Orleans and on to Galveston. In the latter city he was employed for six months as a clerk in the marine quartermaster's depart- ment and continued in the government employ until the department was disbanded. Later, with Captain Palmer, he bought horses in Texas and drove them overland to Missouri, where he sold them from Springfield to St. Louis. Shortly after disposing of the stock he returned to the

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east, and settled at Coaticook, Quebec, after a brief sojourn in New Hampshire. During his residence at Coaticook he met and married Miss Priscilla Parker, who was born and educated in that town. Though of Canadian birth, Mrs. Harris is of colonial New England ancestry. Her parents, Alfred and Zerniah (Whitcomb) Parker, were of honored Revolutionary lineage, the latter being a daughter of a major in the patriot army, while the former was a son of Aaron Parker, a soldier from Massachusetts in the defense of the colonies.

During the year of his marriage, 1871, Mr. Harris brought his wife back to the States and settled at Newell, Buena Vista county, Iowa, where he engaged in buying grain and shipping to Chicago. From that occupation he drifted into the banking business, and with N. W. Con- dron, established the private bank of Condron & Harris. After two years his brother-in-law, S. A. Parker, removed from Vermont to Iowa and purchased Mr. Condron's interest in the bank, which was conducted in such a conserva- tive and judicious manner that every financial panic was safely weathered and every check pre- sented was paid immediately upon presentation. The bank gained the confidence of farmers and business men, and its deposits increased with the prosperity of the country.

The ill-health of his wife caused Mr. Harris in 1885 to sell his interest in the bank to Mr. Parker and remove to Arizona, establishing his home in Prescott, where the climate proved ben- eficial for the purpose desired. Meanwhile, not enjoying release from business activities, he took up mining, the principal occupation of the region. For some time fortune went against him, but he continued until he had sunk $53,000 in mines and quartz mills in Yavapai and Yuma counties. When the investments had reached their lowest ebb of depression fortune changed for the better through his interest in the Harquahala mines in Yuma county. On the incorporation of the com- pany owning these mines he was elected secre- tary, and in the next twenty-six months $936,000 was taken out of the mines and he paid out over $500,000 in dividends. For the prosecution of the work a twenty-stamp mill was erected. The first bar of bullion taken out, $10,200, was the smallest in twenty-six months, and the largest was $96,000 in value. After a fortune had been made from the mines the company sold out to a syndicate.

Coming to San Bernardino in 1893, Mr. Har- ris now owns and occupics one of the finest homes in the city, a residence with modern ap- pointments set in the midst of five acres of grounds, on G and Tenth streets. Here he and his wife entertain their hosts of friends and enjoy every comfort which ample means can provide.

Their only child, Pearl, is a graduate of Pomona College and is now the wife of Ralph E. Swing. In the midst of his many activities of the past and present Mr.' Harris has never found the leisure necessary for participation in political affairs, in which he takes no part aside from voting the Republican ticket at all elections. Old war days are kept in mind through his associa- tion with Cornman Post No. 57, G. A. R., of San Bernardino, and Mrs. Harris also partici- pates in the activities of the Woman's Relief Corps. While making his home in Quebec he was initiated into Masonry in the blue lodge at Coaticook, but of late years has not been active in the order, finding his time fully occupied with the many financial and business enterprises in which he has engaged with significant success.

ULYSSES GRANT PRICE. Not far from San Bernardino lies the ranch of fifty-four acres which for four years, from 1902 to 1906, was the property of Mr. Price. Assuming the responsibilities of ranch life with little or no ex- perience, the results which have followed his efforts have been remarkable and compare favorably with what men twice his years and with twice his experience need not be ashamed to lay claim to. Mr. Price made a specialty of raising blackberries, having eight acres in this fruit alone, while the rest of the land was given to the raising of corn, tomatoes and pieplant.

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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 143

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