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 154

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

USA > California > 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 154

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In Toledo, Ohio, Mr. Farquhar was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Glann, a na- tive of Toledo county, Ohio, and born of this union are three children, namely: David Glann, Mildred Ethel and Eleanor Lewis. Fraternally Mr. Farquhar is a member of Redlands Lodge No. 341, I. O. O. F., and is also identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, of Redlands, and politically is a stanch advocate of Republican principles. He takes a keen interest in the progress and development of his adopted city and as a member of the Board of Trade is foremost in all measures looking toward the gen- eral welfare of the community.

WILBUR W. AYERS. The leading mer- chant of Highgrove, Wilbur W. Ayers belongs to the younger generation of business men, and be- ing energetic and progressive in his methods is meeting with splendid success. His store carries a full stock of groceries, kitchen goods, hardware, ladies' and gents' furnishings, gloves, feed and grain, and in addition to the management of this business Mr. Avers also fills the office of post- master of Highgrove. Previous to assuming con- trol of his present business he was a resident of Riverside, where he was engaged as manager of the Great American Tea Company for a period of five years. The birth of Mr. Ayers occurred September 25, 1874, in Linn county, Kan. His parents, William Henry and Minnie (Newell) Ayers, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Iowa, are both now living at High- grove, Cal. The father was engaged in farming and later in general merchandising in Kansas and sold out his business in Moran, Kan., in 1905, when he came to Highgrove. He served two years in Company M, Fifteenth Regiment of Kansas Volunteer Cavalry during the Civil war and has always taken a great interest in political matters, being a stanch advocate of .the prin- ciples embraced in the platform of the Repub- lican party. The family are active members of

2072

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Methodist Episcopal Church, one son being a minister of that denomination at the present time in Colorado Springs, Colo. There were five children in the family. The early studies of Wilbur W. Ayers were prosecuted in the public schools of Linn county, Kan., and his profes- sional education received in the Normal School. He followed teaching for two years in Kansas, then went to Albany, Ore., where he secured em- ployment in the woolen mill located at that point. From there he removed to San Francisco, where he was engaged with the Great American Tea Company, and after spending nine months at that point, he came to Riverside, in 1897. In 1899 he was united in marriage with Miss Stella Stephen- son, of Riverside, Cal., who was born in Kansas, her father, Homer Stephenson, and mother now residing in Riverside. Mr. and Mrs. Ayers are the parents of three children, namely: Roland Warren, Arthur Merrill, and Wilbur Walter, Jr. Politically Mr. Ayers is a Republican and fra- ternally he affiliates with Camp No. 8713, Modern Woodmen of America, in Riverside, Cal. He is a supporter of all enterprises of a social or civic nature that tend to elevate and upbuild the com- munity in which he lives and is held in the high- est esteem by his fellow citizens.

SYDNEY Y. WYNNE, M. D., a prominent physician of Redlands, was born in Rockland county, N. Y .; his father, Henry Wynne, was a descendant of Welsh ancestry, born in Massa- chusetts, where also he was educated and became an attorney-at-law. He practiced in Boston be- fore the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted for service and became major of a Massa- chusetts regiment. On his return to civic duties he was elected to the state legislature. He now resides in Malden, Mass., where he has served the city as mayor. His father was also a lawyer in Massachusetts and one of the prominent men in public affairs. Father and grandfather were the first to depart from the original manner of spelling the family name, the present generation returning to the quaint Welsh style. Dr. Wynne's mother was before marriage Madeline Yale, a native of Massachusetts, a writer of note and now a leader of Arts and Crafts, of Boston and Chicago, many of her articles appearing in The Outlook. Her father, Linus Yale, a descendant of a brother of Elihu. Yale, the founder of the Yale University, was the inventor of the Yale lock. Dr. Wynne's brother, Philip, is now as- sistant professor of Physics in the University of Texas.

Sydney Y. Wynne was reared in Deerfield, Mass., receiving his preliminary education in the Deerfield Academy and at St. Mark's School, Southboro, and after graduation from this latter

institution he entered Harvard and was graduated from the Medical Department in the class of 1894. He had served for three years in various hospitals in Boston, and after his graduation he began the practice of medicine and surgery in Redlands, where he has ever since resided. He is connected with the Redlands Hospital in ad- dition to his large general practice, which has constantly increased, many of his patients being numbered among the winter visitors in this beau- tiful city of the south. He is identified with the American Medical, the State Medical and County Medical Societies, and takes a keep interest in advancement along the lines of his profession.

In Philadelphia Dr. Wynne was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary Burchard, a native of that city, and they are the parents of four children : Sydney, Madelene, Dudley and Philip. Dr. Wynne is a Republican politically ; he occupies a high place among the citizens of Redlands, is a member of the Board of Trade, and is active in movements tending toward the development and upbuilding of the city.

EUGENE WILKERSON. Located near Colton in the center of one of the finest orange growing districts in Southern California is the ten-acre ranch of Eugene Wilkerson, who is one of the most successful men engaged in that in- dustry. He does not confine himself to the rais- ing of one variety of the fruit, but on his ranch will be found navels, valencias and sweets, each kind having its admirers, Mr. Wilkerson is a native of Scott county, Ia., his birth having oc- curred December 31, 1848, near Buffalo. His father, James, was born in Kentucky, and his mother, who was before her marriage. Margaret Baker, was a native of Indiana, where her mar- riage occurred. The parents later removed to Iowa and when the son Eugene was six months old they settled in Illinois, where Mr. Wilkerson engaged in agricultural pursuits and where both remained until they died. Of their family of fourteen children Eugene Wilkerson is the only one living in California, two sons reside in Idaho, one in Missouri, and a daughter lives in Iowa.

The early days of Mr. Wilkerson were spent in Jo Daviess county, Ill., the same county in which General Grant spent his boyhood, and there he received his education in the public schools. For his higher education he was sent to the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Ill., and studied law. After his admission to the bar in Iowa, where he went after the completion of his studies, he located in Missouri and began the practice of his profession continuing for two years. He then became clerk in the office of Secretary McGrath in Jefferson City, Mo., re- taining that position for fourteen years, The

2073

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

following eight years he lived at Cheyenne, Wyo., where he went in 1894, being interested during that time in the raising of cattle and horses on a fine ranch of which he was part owner. His wife's brother, Hon. A. B. Con- way, who lived in Cheyenne was chief justice of the state at the time of his death in 1907. In 1902 Mr. Wilkerson came to Colton and pur- chased the ranch property which he now owns, and a fine home on an acre tract in the city, and has since identified himself with the interests of this section. He has always been an active par- ticipant in political affairs and is a stanch adher- ent of the principles advocated in the platform of the Republican party. He served as justice of the peace in Iowa and Wyoming and is at present a member of the board of trustees of the city of Colton. His marriage to Elizabeth Con- way occurred in Iowa in 1874. She was born near Bloomington, Ill., in which state occurred the marriage of her parents, William and Emily D. Porter Conway, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. They became the parents of five children, one daughter living in Los Angeles at the present writing. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkerson have one son, Eugene B., who was born De- cember 31, 1879, and graduated from Wyom- ing State University in 1901. He is now secre- tary of the Colton Fruit Exchange. Mr. Wilker- son is held in the highest esteem by all who know him, being universally recognized as a broad- minded and cultured gentleman, who has the best interests of his city at heart.

H. S. WALKER. It is quite safe to state that no one in Pomona is better informed in re- gard to the Cascade and Sierra regions than H. S. Walker, who prior to coming to California to make his home had been interested in that country both as freighter and miner. For the past fifteen years he has been a continuous resi- dent of Pomona, and as a dealer in oils of all kinds he has built up a large business, besides which he handles real-estate to some extent.

Ten generations of the Walker family claim Liverpool, England, as their birthplace. There were nine children in the parental family, and of the number H. S. Walker was next to the oldest, his birth having occurred in Liverpool July 20, 1852. Inheriting from his father a fascination for nautical life, at the age of ten years he started out on his first sea voyage, shipping on the Garonne as cabin boy and going to ports in the Mediterranean sea. Subsequently he was made steward, and on the White Star line, Atlantic ocean steamers, he sailed between Liver- pool and New York, making his first trip across the Atlantic in 1864. Upon landing in the latter metropolis four years later he determined to

give up the sea and enter upon the life of a landsman, having also determined to begin his new career in the west. In order to reach that part of the country in which he wished to settle he left New York in 1868 on the Pacific mail boat Henry Chancey, as a messenger, and in due time was landed at Aspinwall. Crossing the isthmus, he embarked as messenger on the Mont- ana, which finally dropped anchor in the port of San Francisco. Thereafter he was prevailed upon to make a number of voyages between San Francisco and Panama, but in 1869 he discon- tinued seafaring entirely. During that year he went to the mines of Virginia City, Nev., and still later was similarly interested at Pioche, Wallapai Mountain, Mineral Park, McCrackin and Tombstone, all in Arizona, and during the years there spent he also engaged in freighting. He was one of the earliest settlers in Tomb- stone, which has become known as one of the greatest mining centers of the country. The attractions of the mines were bringing thousands of newcomers into the country and he wisely foresaw the need of accommodations, especially in Charleston, where he erected a hotel, the first in the settlement, and later built the second hotel in Mule Mountain, now known as Bisbee, Ariz. During all of the time he was in Arizona he was interested more or less in mining, but probably the most valuable claim which he owned was in the Bonanza King mine, near Fenner, San Bernardino county, Cal.

Locating in Los Angeles in 1884, Mr. Walker had charge of the Gird butchering plant there for a time and was later transferred to Pomona. Since 1891, however, he has been interested in business on his own account, and as has been previously stated is dealing in oils of all kinds, making a specialty of mineral products. By his marriage with Jessie Hetherington Mr. Walker has one daughter, Jessie. Politically he is a Republican, and fraternally he belongs to the Foresters and the Masons, having joined the latter order in his native city of Liverpool, England.

WILLIAM ELLIOTT. About a mile and a half southeast of El Monte may be seen one of the finest walnut groves of Southern Cali- fornia, the pride of its owner, William Elliott. When he purchased this property, consisting of seventy acres of wild, barren land, it gave little indication of its present beauty and productive- ness. However, by a close application of the knowledge of California ranching which several previous years had given him, he has made his farm one of the finest in this section. He now owns two hundred and twenty-two acres all set to walnuts, which he has won foot by foot from

101

2074

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the desolation that claimed it a score of years ago. Much credit is due him for the persever- ance and energy with which he has accumulated his fortune, the development and beautifying of his place, and the high grade work for which his ranch is noted.

Mr. Elliott inherits his dominant characteris- tics from Scotch ancestry, his birth having oc- curred in Scotland, May 8, 1855, and in which country he spent the first sixteen years of his life. His father, Alexander Elliott, who was born in the North of Ireland, was foreman in a brick manufacturing plant in Paisley until his removal to America, where in Ontario he fol- lowed farming until his retirement from the ac- tive cares of life. He still makes his home in that place, hale and hearty at the age of eighty years. His wife, formerly Jane Thompson, a na- tive of Scotland and a representative of the Thompson and Stirling clans, died in Ontario. The Elliotts had for their chief the Earl of Minto. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, of whom William Elliott was next to the eldest. He was educated in the common schools of his native land, and after accompanying his parents to On- tario he engaged in farming with his father. He remained at home until April, 1883, in which year he decided to come to the Pacific coast and accordingly located in Westminster, British Co- lumbia, where he remained until September of the same year. Coming to Southern California he spent one year in Los Angeles, and in 1884 came to the vicinity of El Monte, which was then an open plain with nothing to obstruct the view for many miles. He entered the employ of E. J. (Lucky) Baldwin and superintended his four ranches in El Monte and Puente, which were utilized in the raising of stock and grain. He continued in this employment for the period of nine years, when he resigned to look after the interests of his own property which he had pur- chased in 1887. He had in the mean time set it to walnuts, seventy acres in all, and to the cul- tivation of this place he gave his entire time and attention following his resignation from the superintendency of the Baldwin ranches. His trees thrived although every prediction had been made for his failure by those who had lived in the section for years and supposed the land he was attempting to cultivate was thoroughly un- tillable. In addition to this orchard which is one of the finest in Southern California he has one of seventy acres at Bassett, in walnuts, and eighty-two acres just across the San Gabriel river from his first ranch, also in walnuts, sev- enty acres in full bearing, making a total grove of two hundred and twenty-two acres, many of the trees measuring five feet and ten inches in cir- cumference.

Mr. Elliott makes his home on the place at El- Monte, where he has erected a comfortable resi- dence, substantial barns and outbuildings, in- stalled a pumping plant with a thirty-five horse power gasoline engine, and all other equipment for carrying on a modern ranch.

In Ontario Mr. Elliott was first married to Miss Margaret E. Mitchell, a native of that place, who died in California leaving two chil- dren, namely : William and Robert. After the death of his wife he married Miss Mary, a sis- ter of his first wife, and they had one daughter, Elizabeth. Mrs. Elliott died in 1902. He was later united in marriage with Miss Carrie Thienes, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of William and Anna (Helfridge) Thienes. They were both natives of Westphalia, Germany, who emigrated to America and located in Evansville, Ind., thence removing to Mt. Vernon, Ill., in 1876, spending twenty years in that locality as farmers, when they came to California and now reside in the El Monte district. They had six children, of whom Mrs. Elliott is the fourth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott are the parents of two children. Royal Edward and Thompson Alexander. Mr. Elliott in conjunc- tion with the late Mr. Maxson organized the Mt. View Walnut Growers' Association, and for several years served as its vice-president. He is still a member of the organization and active in its affairs. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Foresters and polit- ically casts his ballot in the interests of the Re- publican party.

FREDERICK VELLON, of Los Angeles, was born in La Motte, Hautes-Alpes, France, July 24, 1848, and is the third youngest of a fam- ily of seven children born to Pierre and Josephine Astier, who were honorable and well-to-do farm- ers in the south of France.

Mr. Vellon's early life was passed on the farm in his native land and he received his education in the common schools. In 1869 he came to Cali- fornia via Panama, landing in San Francisco from the steamer Nebraska, spending the first year on the bay and in 1870 coming to Southern California, where he followed farm work until 1875, when he began the stock business and from that time until 1881 ranged his sheep in different parts of California as the seasons permitted. He then engaged in farming and horticulture in Los Angeles, purchasing twenty acres on West Pico between Albany and Valencia streets. This he farmed until 1885 when he sold all but 200x250 feet where he makes his home, the rest being laid out and sold out as the "City Center Tract." Since then he has been engaged in dealing in real cstate, of which he is an extensive holder. In

2075

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Los Angeles on May 15, 1879, Mr. Vellon was married to Mrs. Martha (Beckstead) Grant, a native of Illinois and a daughter of William and Mary (Winn) Beckstead. The father was born in Canada and the mother in Illinois and they were married in the latter state in 1849, when they re- moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in 1852 crossed the plains to Salt Lake City, making the long journey overland with ox-teams. In 1861 he brought the family by teams to San Bernardino and was engaged in farming in what is now Riverside county, until he retired. He now re- sides in Colton at the advanced age of eighty years. The mother died several years ago in Riverside county. To Mr. and Mrs. Vellon have been born three sons, namely : Alfred, aged twen- ty-seven ; Arthur, aged twenty-four, and Lafay- ette, aged twenty-one, all under the parental roof. After an absence of thirty-two years, Mr. Vellon in 1901 made a trip to France, accompanied by his wife and son Lafayette, visiting his child- hood's haunts, relatives and friends for a period of six months and while there traveled on the con- tinent and visited the Paris Exposition.

Mr. Vellon has been remarkably successful. He worked his own way beginning at the bottom without a dollar, having only his two hands, but nothing daunted, he went to work and step by step rose until in a few years he became a man of affluence. His ambition having been attained he now resides at his home, No. 1403 West Pico street, where he spends his time looking after his interests. He is well and favorably known and is ever ready to help and gives liberally of his means to the upbuilding of the city in which he resides and has so much faith.

JAMES E. WARD came to Redlands in 1887 and he has since made this city his home, giv- ing to the horticultural development of this sec- tion of Southern California his best efforts and also assisting in the public welfare by officiat- ing at the present writing as a member of the Board of City Trustees. He was born in Leslie, Ingham county, Mich., July 14, 1854, the young- est in a family of ten children, of whom three are now living. His father, Peter Ward, was born in Scranton, Pa., of German parentage; in young manhood he became an early settler of Michigan, where he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1868. His wife, formerly Catherine Ash, was born in Bethlehem, Pa., of old Moravian ancestry, her death occurring in Michigan the year after her husband died. Two of their sons, C. E. and S. L., served in the First Michigan Light Artil- lery in the Civil war.

James E. Ward is the only one of the family in California. He was reared on the home farm

in Michigan and educated in the district school in the vicinity of his home. Orphaned at the age of fifteen years he was thus thrown upon his own responsibilities, and from that time on received no assistance from anyone. He worked out on farms until he was seventeen years old, when he went into the lumber woods in the vi- cinity of Greenville. In 1875 he went to Texas and in Dewitt county engaged in the cattle and sheep buiness on what was known as the Weldon ranch, meeting with a success which justified his long continuance in the work. He was prom- inent in his business during the twelve years of his residence there, as a member of the South- western Texas Cattle Growers' Association ad- vancing the interests of the business. Dispos- ing of his interests in 1887 he came to Califor- nia and locating at once in Redlands has ever since made this city his home. He followed the trade of carpenter and builder for four years, and in the meantime, in 1889, purchased his present property, consisting of thirty-one acres of land, which in 1890 he set in navel oranges. He has met with success in his efforts and has risen to a position of prominence among the orange growers of Southern California. now serving as president of the Orange Producers Association, which company has built a fine packing house on the Southern Pacific Railroad and carries on a large and constantly increasing business.

In Texas October 8, 1882, Mr. Ward was united in marriage with Miss Marietta Williams, a native of Delaware. Mr. Ward is identified fraternally with the Knights of Pythias; politi- cally he casts his ballot for the interests of the Republican party. In 1902 he received the nomination on both the citizens and good govern- ment ticket and was elected without opposition to the office of city trustee for a four-year term, and was re-elected in 1906 on the citizens ticket. He is now serving as chairman of several im- portant committees, among them the auditing, finance and park committees, and is also a men- ber of the ordinance and judiciary. He is a member of the Board of Trade of Redlands and no citizen is more prompt to respond to the needs of the city in its efforts along the line of de- velopment and progress than Mr. Ward. He enjoys the esteem of a wide circle of friends, appreciated for the high qualities of character as displayed during his residence here.

CHARLES CLARK. One of the busiest and most thriving industries in Pomona is Clark's American bakery, which was established while the town was still in its infancy and which has grown and prospered in the same ratio as the town has grown in stability and importance.

2076

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A native of England, Charles Clark was born in Chelmsford, Essex county, February 6, 1848, and is a son of Benjamin and Emma (Auger) Clark. When he was a lad of only ten years he displayed a predilection for the trade which he has followed as his life work, and at the same time he began to master the tasks which fall to the apprentice of the baker's and confectioner's trade. Beginning the serious affairs of business at this early age would seem to preclude all pos- sible chance of getting an education, but never- theless he found opportunity for improving his mind and is today a well-informed, intelligent man whom it is a delight to meet. At the age of eighteen years he came to the United States and located at once in Chicago, Ill., where until the great fire of 1871 he followed his trade in the employ of others. After this disaster he started in business on his own account on Blue Island avenue, running a restaurant and bakery in that locality for the following five years. For the next ten years, from 1876 until 1886, he carried on a similar business in Des Moines, Iowa, dis- posing of his interests in the latter year to re- move to the Pacific coast. Locating in Los Angeles, without loss of time he opened a restau- rant and bakery in a central location and for three years carried on a very successful business. His identification with Pomona dates from the year 1889, at which time he started the nucleus of his present business at 264-266 West Second street, where for seventeen years he has furnished substantial refreshment and toothsome delicacies to the community. From a small, unpretentious beginning the business has grown to large pro- portions, until today the goods supplied by Clark's American bakery are as well known and highly appreciated in the surrounding towns as they are in Pomona. Two wagons are constantly employed in supplying the trade in Lordsburg, Ontario, Uplands, Claremont and Chino. At the time Mr. Clark came to Pomona in 1889 he pur- chased a ranch of five acres and set it out to oranges, but later he sold it in order to concentrate his efforts in the interests of his bakery.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 154

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