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 146

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

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CAPT. JOHN EVERETT MATHEW- SON. The business men of Avalon are of a progressive and energetic class and a leader among them is found in Capt. John Everett Mathewson, proprietor of the Mathewson boat yards. He is a member of an old and promi- nent New England family, his birth having oc- curred July 3, 1867, in Brookfield, Mass., the son of Henry and the grandson of Daniel, both natives of Rhode Island and of Scotch descent. The father, who is still living, early removed to Brookfield, Mass., and engaged in farming, that state being now his home. His wife was in maidenhood Susanna Allen, a native of Brookfield, and a daughter of Zebediah Allen, who was born in Sturbridge, Mass. Her fam- ily was one of great prominence in Revolu- tionary days, Ethan Allen being a great uncle. Mrs. Mathewson died in Massachusetts.

Of the five children born in the family of which John Everett Mathewson was a mem- ber, four are still living, and he was next to

the youngest. He was reared in his native town, where he received his preliminary education in the public schools, then entered the Worces- ter Academy, after which he studied civil en- gineering at the Polytechnic Institute. After graduation he engaged in boat building in Brookfield for a time, and in 1889 went to- Seattle, where he continued to ply his trade for two years, when he was burned out and lost all of his possessions, having but $10 in money after the catastrophe. Thereafter he worked until he had earned sufficient money to buy a ticket to his Massachusetts home, but the spirit of the west had become too firmly implanted within him to be long resisted, and 1891 found Mr. Mathewson in Los Angeles, it being his intention to spend the winter here and return to Seattle in the spring. He grew to like the place so well, however, that he decided to re- main, and while on a short trip to Catalina he accepted a contract to build a small row boat, and thus started the business which has grown to such large proportions. The plant is thor- oughly modern and up-to-date, fitted with steam boiler and gasoline engines, and there have been turned out from the yards many row boats and sixty power launches. Mr. Mathewson built the yawl, Avalon, which has a large capacity and is used to carry excur- sionists, cruising among the surrounding islands and along the coast. He also owns a string of row and glass boats and owns considerable property on the island and in Los Angeles. He is a member and ex-treasurer of the Sophia Yacht Club at Avalon.

Mr. Mathewson was united in marriage with Ada Hayes Pratt, a native of Pennsylvania, the ceremony taking place in Los Angeles, and they have an attractive residence on Whitley street, which he built. Politically he is an ad- vocate of the principles embraced in the plat- form of the Republican party and takes an en- thusiastic part in the furthering of every enter- prise tending to upbuild the community on which he resides.

THOMAS LE FEVRE. Among the well- to-do and thriving ranchers of San Diego county, who have accumulated a competency through their own exertions and economy, and who are carrying on general farming in a praiseworthy manner, is Thomas Le Fevre, of Fallbrook. A pioneer settler of this locality, he has seen the wild and uncultivated land of this region transformed into rich and produc- tive farms, the straggling villages developed into towns of respectable proportions, and has watched these wonderful changes with the in- terest which every man of intelligence feels in

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the growth and advancement of a new section of our great land. He was born, January 29, 1838, in England, where he lived for nine years, being reared by his grandparents after the death of his parents.

Born, reared and educated in England, John Le Fevre, the grandfather, spent the earlier years of his life in his native shire. In 1847, thinking in the United States, which is the poor man's paradise, to better his condition, he started with his family on a voyage across the ocean. Making his way to Liverpool, he was taken ill, and died in that city, while wait- ing for the ship on which he was to take pas- sage. His widow, who was a woman of much force of character, came to this country bring- ing her son and grandson, Thomas. After liv- ing for five years in St. Louis, Mo., she moved to Parowan, Utah, in 1852, and there spent the remainder of her life.

But nine years old when he came with his grandmother to the United States, Thomas Le Fevre completed his studies in the public schools of St. Louis, after which he migrated with his grandmother to Utah. Leaving Salt Lake City in 1859, he came overland to Cali- fornia, arriving in San Bernardino in the fall of that year. Engaging in teaming, he made frequent trips across the desert, going to both Salt Lake and the Missouri river, and during the White Pine excitement going to the mines in search of gold. Locating at Fallbrook, San Diego county, in 1879, he entered a govern- ment claim, but this he subsequently sold, and took up the land which he now owns and occupies, later buying an adjoining tract of twenty acres. At once beginning its improve- ment, he has brought it to a good state of cul- tivation, and has erected a neat and substantial set of farm buildings, which greatly add to the value and attractiveness of the ranch.

Mr. Le Fevre has been twice married. He married first, in Parowan, Utah, about 1860, Susanna Davenport, who died in January, 1871, leaving five children, of whom we mention the following: Thomas A., born August 22, 1863, is assisting in the management of the home ranch, he married Mrs. Elmer Richardson, and they have two children, Clarence and Helen M .; Ann Elizabeth, born February 17, 1865, lives at home; Robert D., born January 19, 1867, is also at home; Susanna R., born Feb- ruary II, 1869, is a teacher in the public schools of Mendocino county ; and Sarah Jane, born January 10, 1871, is the wife of Hiram Hilton, of Utah.

June 8, 1873, Mr. Le Fevre married Amelia R. Gavin, who was born in London, England, a daughter of Michael and Amelia (Robinson) Gavin. Her parents immigrated with their

family to this country in 1853, and for eleven years resided in St. Louis, Mo. Going back to visit their old home and friends in 1864, they remained in England a year, and in 1865 re- turned to St. Louis. In August, 1869, they removed to Utah, where both Mr. and Mrs. Gavin spent their remaining days, both pass- ing away at the advanced age of eighty-three years, his death occurring June 2, 1902, and hers October 20, 1902. Five children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Le Fevre, namely : Herbert Andrew, who was born June 13, 1874, and died in September of the same year ; Maud Amelia, who was born in Novem- ber, 1875, and died the next month; Francis Edgar, who was born in October, 1877, and died in July, 1878; Jessie, born in June, 1879, and died in July, 1890; and Oscar, living on the home place. Politically Mr. Le Fevre is a steadfast Democrat, and has served as a member of the local school board.

EUGENE MATHEWSON, M. D. A man of culture, talent and scholarly attainments, Eu- gene Mathewson, M. D., stands deservedly high in professional circles and is one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the El Cajon valley, his home and his office being at Bostonia. Fa- miliar with the most modern views upon medical surgical science, and careful in his study and diagnosis of the various diseases that have come under his observation, he has met with marked success in his chosen career, gaining a fine repu- tation for skill and ability. A son of Smith Mathewson, he was born at Pascoag, R. I., Oc- tober 18, 1860, coming from a long line. of New England ancestors, one of whom was a May- flower passenger, while another was Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. His father, who died in 1896, at the venerable age of ninety years, married Zerviah Potter Miller, who is still living, making her home in the state founded by her ancestor, Roger Williams, and in which she was born seventy-two years ago.

Laving a substantial foundation for his edu- cation in the public schools of his native city, Eugene Mathewson afterwards took a course of study at the University of Colorado. En- tering then the Gross Medical College, now known as the Gross & Denver Medical College, he was there graduated with the degree of M. D., April 12, 1894. After practicing his pro- fession in Denver for a few months, his health began to fail, and he was forced to leave the city. Going, therefore, to Ordway, Otero coun- ty, Colo., he remained there a year and a half, in the meantime practicing medicine, and serv- ing as health officer for the county. His health be- coming more and more impaired, when almost

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a physical wreck, he came in 1896 to California to recuperate if possible. Being very favorably impressed with the location of Bostonia and with its bright, exhilarating climate, he deter- mined to make this place his home. Buying lots in one of the most attractive portions of the vil- lage he erected a conveniently arranged, mod- ern house, in which he has, in addition to his home and his office, an operating room and a drug room, all of which are finely equipped and well furnished with all of the conveniences and appliances demanded by those most familiar with medical and surgical science. Regaining his health in this invigorating climate, he has here been successfully engaged in his chosen profession for a number of years, his patronage throughout the valley being extensive and remunerative.

In Denver, Colo., Dr. Mathewson married Alice Colburn, daughter of Rev. Alfred Colburn, a native of New England. Her father died in Worcester, Mass., in 1891, and her mother, whose maiden name was Isabella Waterman, still makes that city her home. Mrs. Colburn is an accomplished woman, and as an artist has acquired more than local fame. Mrs. Mathew- son is a musician of rare ability and skill, and after her graduation from the Boston Conserva- tory of Music was for a number of years affili- ated with the Worcester Musical Festival, a noted New England organization. For several years she was successfully employed as a music teacher, giving lessons on both the piano and the pipe organ, and while living in the east played the accompaniments for many of the leading musical celebrities of our own country and of Europe. The doctor and his wife are both mem- bers of the Baptist Church. He is a medical ex- aminer of the Ancient Order of United Work- men; a member and medical examiner of the Order of Pendo; of the Modern Woodmen of America; of the Woodinen of the World; and is likewise medical examiner for several of the old-line insurance companies.

MRS. P. E. KITCHING. Since 1886 Mrs. P. E. Kitching has been a resident of San Diego county and has during the past twenty years reared a family of fine children and demon- strated as well her superior business ability in the management of her ranch. This consists of one hundred and seventeen acres and is devoted entirely to stock and grain raising. Mrs. Kitching was born in southern Arkansas, the daughter of James M. and Sarah (Black) Griffin, who removed to Texas when she was a small child and remained there for seventeen years, during which time she was educated and married to A. C. Kitching, a native of Texas. In 1886 she came to California with her pa-

rents, who first settled at Campo, San Diego county, a year later the father removing to San Luis Rey, where he conducted a farm until his death, in October, 1901, at the age of seventy-seven years. In the early years he had much trouble in securing title to his land, which was claimed by the Pico family as a part of the large land grant given them, and it took five years of litigation in the courts to secure his rights. During this time they were much annoyed, their houses being pulled down and removed from the land, and the Indians frequently raiding the premises and carrying off provisions. Mrs. Griffin is now living at the age of seventy-six years.

Mrs. Kitching's family consists of four chil- dren, two sons, Jeremiah and Charles, resid- ing at home; one son, Roy, who is married to Ethel James, and living in Los Angeles; and a daughter, Sadie, who is now the wife of B. B. Higgins and lives at Mt. Serat. Mrs. Kitching is a devoted member of the Christian Church at San Luis Rey, and is deeply inter- ested in the promotion of all influences which tend to develop and elevate the community in which she makes her home.

RALPH EMERSON SWING. Only a few of the men now prominent in the commercial and professional life of San Bernardino can claim this city as their birthplace. The majority have come from the east and have selected this region because of its manifest attractions. An exception is found in the case of Mr. Swing, who was born in San Bernardino November 4, 1875, and has known no other home than this. Upon entering the practice of law he decided that his home town offered advantages sur- passed by none, and therefore resolved to re- main here, a decision which he has no reason to regret. Since admitted to the bar in 1897 he has built up a large practice in the courts and has risen to a high position in the profession. Besides taking charge of his private practice he acts as attorney for the Home Gas and Lighting Company, the Del Rosa Water Company, and other corporations.

The family represented by this popular attor- ney has been identified with San Bernardino since 1866, when his father. Rev. James W. Swing, a native of Ohio and a life-long min- ister in the Methodist Episcopal denomination, came to this place, where he had charge of the building of the first Holiness Church. From that time he officiated as pastor of the church until he died in 1896. His was a life of self- sacrifice and patient devotion to the cause of Christianity, and he counted no day lost whose labors bore fruit in the uplifting of a human

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

soul. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary F. Garner, was born in Illinois and now makes her home in Riverside county. Their son, Ralph E., received his education in the grammar and high schools of San Bernardino, and after leaving school took up the study of law under the preceptorship of George B. Cole, then a lead- ing resident of San Bernardino, but now of Seat- tle, Wash. After having gained a thorough knowledge of the principles of the law he was admitted to the bar in 1897, being then twenty- two years of age. and immediately embarked in professional work, having John P. Hight, Sr., as his partner for a time, under the firm title of Hight & Swing. A few years later, however, the partnership was dissolved, and since then he has practiced alone. To aid in his labors he has a large and carefully-selected library of law books, including the highest authorities in their various specialties.

State and county political affairs have received careful consideration on the part of Mr. Swing, who possesses pronounced Democratic opinions and has given the party the benefit of his serv- ices in its local upbuilding. For four years he was attorney for the public administrator of San Bernardino county, and since 1903 he has been attorney for the city of San Bernardino, to which office he was elected for a term of four years, and is conceded to be one of the most ef- ficient attorneys who have ever served the city. His success is due to his hard work and to his absolute honesty and integrity. In fraternal re- lations he holds membership with Arrowhead Parlor No. 110, N. S. G. W., of which he is past president, and in addition he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 836, at San Bernardino.

LEONIDAS W. COLEMAN. In San Ber- nardino county are found some of the best lemon groves in California, and one of the finest of these is owned by Leonidas W. Cole- man of Rialto, who himself, in May, 1894, planted the ten hundred and ninety trees now growing on his eleven-acre ranch. When he first purchased the place it contained twenty- one acres of land, one-third of which was planted to grapes, but he soon sold one-half of the acreage and on the remaining half re- placed the vineyard with lemon trees. From this grove he takes very large crops, seven thousand' boxes having been gathered in 1904 and 1905 and six thousand in 1905 and 1906. Mr. Coleman was born July 26, 1842, in Ala- bama, the son of James A. and Sarah A. (Ken- nedy) Coleman, his mother being a native of South Carolina. The Coleman family is one of the oldest and most prominent of Virginia,

where the father and grandfather, Thomas, were born, the grandmother having been Miss Randolph, of the noted pioneer Randolph fam- ily of that state. After his removal to Ala- bama, James A. Coleman became the owner of a large cotton plantation, and in that state he married Sarah A. Kennedy. He served as a private in the Seminole Indian war in Flor- ida, was a member of the Baptist church, and died in Kansas at the age of seventy-two years. His widow came to California with her son, with whom she lived until her death in 1899. There were seven children in the parental fam- ily, four of whom lived to maturity. One son is a prominent attorney in Chicago, and has become noted as the author of the treatise, "Mechanics' Liens on Real Estate."

The early education of Leonidas W. Cole- man was received in Alabama and he finished his studies with a general college course at Centenary College in Dallas county, that state. At the outbreak of the Civil war he was in business in Marion, Miss., and from there he enlisted in Company A, Fourteenth Mississippi Volunteers, becoming captain of his company, but unfortunately he met with an accident which incapacitated him for active service. He came north to Kentucky with Sherman's army and after his discharge engaged in merchan- dising, respectively, at Paxton, Ind., and Hen- derson, Ky., becoming at the latter place editor and publisher of the Henderson Reporter, and during that time was also president of the . Western Kentucky Press Association. From Henderson he removed to Kansas and engaged in ranching in Chase county, near Emporia, re- maining in that state for twenty years; during which time he owned three different farms. After disposing of his first farm, which com- prised one hundred and sixty acres, he pur- chased another twice as large ; upon selling the latter acreage he purchased another contain- ing six hundred and forty acres.

Mr. Coleman's first marriage, which took place in 1868, united him with Miss Isophoena Martin, a native of Kentucky, and whose death occurred in Henderson, that state. She be- came the mother of five children, one of whom died in infancy. William J., who graduated as a civil engineer at Lawrence, Kans., is gen- eral secretary of the Lawrence (Kans.) Young Men's Christian Association ; he married May Rush, of that city, and they have one child ; Fannie, who took a medical course at St. Louis and Denver, became the wife of Dr. F. M. Cooper, who conducts the Ruxton house at Manitou, Colo. : John A. is engaged in railroad work for the Santa Fe at Needles, Ariz .; and Leonidas M., who for two years taught school in San Bernardino, died at Berkeley at the age

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of twenty-three years. In 1888, at Cotton- wood Falls, Kans., Mr. Coleman was married to Alice Rockwood, who was born in Wiscon- sin and was brought by her father, William W. Rockwood, to Kansas when she was but three years old. She is the mother of one son, Herbert R., who resides with his parents at Rialto. The Rockwood family is prominent in Masonic circles and by virtue of their member- ship, Mrs. Coleman belongs to the Order of Eastern Star.

Politically, Mr. Coleman is an independent voter, casting his ballot for those whom he con- siders the best men. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church at San Bernardino for nine years, but after his removal to Rialto both he and his wife joined the Congregational Church. For five years Mr. Coleman was a member of the Rialto Fruit Association, hav- ing been one of its charter members, but he finally withdrew from that organization and joined the Rialto Citrus Fruit Union at Rialto, and is now an independent shipper. He is a stockholder in the Lytle Creek Water and Im- provement Company, has the best interests of the business and social life of his community at heart, and is held in high esteem by all who know him.

HENRY H. EVANS. One of the most enterprising and progressive ranchmen in the Menifee valley is Henry H. Evans, a native son of California, who was born November 27, 1863, in San Jose, the son of Thomas Jefferson and Cynthia (Fowler) Evans, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Maine. In 1849 the father crossed the plains with the government train and located in Santa Fe, N. Mex., where he bought land and was en- gaged as a government police for two years. Returning to Indiana in 1851 he remained but a short time before starting on his second over- land trip west, this time reaching California. He located first in San Francisco and mined on the Feather river for a number of years, later removing to San Jose, where his marriage occurred. He conducted a wood, coal and grain business at this point until 1868, when he changed his residence to Castroville, living in that city for six years. Coming to San Ber- nardino in 1874 he engaged in the raising of hay and grain and finally retired from active business. He died October 21, 1903, when seventy-five years old, his wife having preceded him on June 12, 1894, at the age of fiftv-four years. They were the parents of eight chil- dren: G. W., of San Bernardino, who is ex- street supervisor and lives on a ranch near town; Cora E., the wife of R. J. Varley, of

San Bernardino; Henry H., of this sketch; Thomas A., residing in Menifee valley ; New- ton, an engineer in the Fulton Iron Works of Los Angeles; Florence G., residing in Los Angeles ; Edna E., wife of J. E. Ferrell, of the Menifee valley ; and Minnie A., wife of W. R. Ferrell, of the same place.

The first schooling of Henry H. Evans was received in the Castroville public schools and after the removal of the family to San Ber- nardino he finished his education there, attend- ing business college for one year. His studies completed, he engaged in the livery business in San Bernardino until 1890, when he began farming in the Menifee valley, in 1891 purchas- ing one hundred acres of land. After clearing away the brush he began to improve the land, and gradually added to his holdings until he now owns four hundred and twenty acres. He rents a large tract, also, having fifteen hundred acres of grain and four thousand acres of pas- ture land. He has his own combined harvester and sells all of the wheat he raises to the Globe Milling Company of Colton. He also raises quite a number of cattle, horses and mules.

The marriage of Mr. Evans occurred Feb- ruary 5, 1884, in San Bernardino, uniting him with Miss Ella May Ferrell, daughter of J. B. Ferrell, of Iowa, who came to San Bernardino in 1874. Seven children have been born to . them: Emma May (who died when sixteen months old), Fredrick H., Grover C., Richard V., Frances E., George Dewey, Pattie M. Fra- ternally Mr. Evans is a member of Perris Lodge No. 190, K. of P. He has been for the past six years a member of the Menifee board of school trustees, and in all matters of import to the social and civic welfare of the com -. munity takes an active interest.

ARTHUR G. KELLY. As the owner and manager of a ninety-five acre ranch devoted to the raising of alfalfa and grain Arthur G. Kelly is known as one of the successful young men in San Bernardino county. He is the son of one of the earliest pioneers of this section of the state, his father, Joseph H. Kelly, who is a native of Illinois, having come to San Ber- nardino in 1861. He is still living in the county on a ranch of four hundred acres, devoted to the raising of grain and to stock-raising. By his marriage in 1866 Joseph H. Kelly was united with Sarah Keller, whose death oc- curred in 1876, when only thirty-three years of age. Of the five children born to these parents Arthur G. was the eldest.

July 20, 1867, Arthur G. Kelly was born in San Bernardino county, where he received his education through the medium of the public

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schools, and after his studies were completed he worked on the home ranch until 1900, in which year occurred his marriage to Miss Re- becca Lawrence, a native of Nebraska. He then went to Redlands and engaged in the livery business for a time, subsequently locat- ing on the ranch which has since been his home. He is a member of Arrowhead Parlor No. IIO, N. S. G. W., and politically advocates the principles embraced in the platform of the Democratic party. He has many friends in this section of the country, where he has spent his entire life, and is a public-spirited citizen, in- terested in the upbuilding of his section of the state.

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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 146

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