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 7

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

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After having followed his trade at Fresno for two years Mr. Brenneis removed to New- hall, and in February, 1898, came to Oxnard as an employe on the construction of the Ameri- can Beet Sugar factory. A year later he em- barked in the business which he now conducts and which through his energy and industry has taken rank among the leading enterprises of its kind in the county. After coming to Ox- nard he was united in marriage with Miss So- phia Reiman, who was born in Germany and at the age of five years came to California with her father, Moritz, and other members of the family. Born of their union are six children, Annie, Mary, Joseph, Charles, Sophia and Moritz. The religious connections of the fam- ily are with the Santa Clara Catholic Church, while fraternallv Mr. Brenneis affiliates with the Knights of Columbus. Ever since becom-

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ing a citizen of the United States he has been stanch in his allegiance to the Democratic par- ty, has kept posted concerning political affairs and at one time served as a member of the county central committee of his party. Through the building up of a successful busi- ness he has promoted his own prosperity and at the same time has been a factor in the ma- terial development and commercial growth of Oxnard, where he holds a place among the en- terprising and progressive citizens.

LOUIS MAX SCHALLERT. The ances- tral lineage of the Schallert family is lost amid the traditions of Austria, where many gener- ations lived and labored and died. The found- er of the race in America was Lawrence M. Schallert, a man of broad education and many talents, who left his native Tyrol for the greater opportunities of the new world, and resided first in New York City and later in St. Louis, being engaged in editorial work with prominent newspapers. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Creocentia Neyer, was like himself a descendant of an old Tyro- lese family, and was born in the little village of Feldkirch nestling in a valley beneath the shadow of rugged mountains, near the bor- ders of Germany and Switzerland. Since the death of her husband, which occurred in East St. Louis, she has made her home in the Mis- souri city across the Mississippi.

The eldest in a family of whom two now survive, Louis Max Schallert was born Feb- ruary 25, 1861, during the residence of his par- ents in New York City. As a boy he attend- ed private schools in St. Louis. When only twelve years of age he began to learn the lumber business and gradually acquired a thor- ough practical knowledge of the occupation. In early life he was successively employed as foreman in the yellow pine departments of the John J. Ganahl Co., and Knapp, Stout & Co., also as superintendent of the St. Charles (Mo.) Car Company. Coming to California in 1888 he secured a position as clerk with the Pacific Pine Lumber Company at San Fran- cisco, and in 1890 removed to Los Angeles, where he entered the employ of the Citizens' Ice Company and was soon promoted to be their assistant superintendent. When the ownership of the business passed into different hands, he entered into other activities. For eighteen months he conducted a grocery on the corner of Glowner and Twenty-third streets, and afterward for eight years carried on a coffee and tea store at No. 207 East Pico street.

About this time Mr. Schallert bought prop-

erty in Hollywood where he now resides. His first purchase in this beautiful suburb consist- ed of real estate on Prospect and Cohing aven- ues, where he built three stores in a block and two stores comprising the Schallert block, 55x100 feet in dimensions. Since then he has erected his family residence in Hollywood and improved other vacant property in the same place. Shortly after thc organization of the Lumber Surveyors' Association of Southern California in 1902 he became connected with the new enterprise, in which now he is an ac- tive member, and for the same period he has been engaged as a lumber surveyor in Re- donde. In addition to property investments he has bought stock in the Hollywood Nation- al Bank and also in the Citizens' Savings Bank of Hollywood. The Hollywood Board of Trade also numbers him among its mem- bers and promoters.

The marriage of Mr. Schallert took place in St. Louis and united him with Miss Louisa Phiel, a native of Missouri. They are the par- ents of two children, Eugene Joseph and Isa- bella Marie. The family are identified with the Church of the Blessed Sacrament at Hol- lywood and contribute to its maintenance, as . well as to other worthy movements. In poli- tics Mr. Schallert votes for the men best quali- fied for public office and exercises considera- ble freedom in his ballot, supporting men rath- er than party, and measures rather than plat- forms. Various fraternities include him among their members, among these being the Knights of Columbus at Los Angeles, the German St. Joseph Society of Los Angeles, the Fraternal Brotherhood and the Knights of the Macca- bees.

HARRY W. GRISWOLD. Many of the older residents and business men of Fernando remember with pleasure the late Harry W. Gris- wold, who for a number of years was intimately identified with the highest and best interests of this section of Los Angeles county, and a brief sketch of his life will be gladly welcomed by the readers of this volume. A man of sterling char- acter and worth, energetic and progressive, he was active in promoting the industrial and mate- rial prosperity of the community in which he resided, and in business, political and social cir- cles was prominent and popular.

The earlier years of Mr. Griswold were spent in Niagara county, N. Y., where as a young nian he was engaged in the railroad business. Com- ing to the Pacific coast in 1877, he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Com- pany, first in Los Angeles, and then in Fernando, being station agent here for a short time. Decid-

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ing to change his occupation, he entered upon a mercantile career, at the death of his brother-in- law, the late Hon. A. B. Moffitt, buying his in- terest in the store with which he was connected. As a general merchant Mr. Griswold was very successful, his fair and upright dealings with all, and his systematic and honorable business meth- ods, winning him a large and lucrative trade. He became widely and favorably known, and carried on a substantial business until his death, which occurred December 18, 1887, when he was but thirty-three years of age. He was very active, and in addition to attending to his store was at the time of his death serving as postmaster, agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company, and as justice of the peace, keeping at all times busily employed, and besides these public positions was financial trustee of the Maclay Theological Col- lege.

In 1879 Mr. Griswold married Mary Maclay, daughter of the late Hon. Charles Maclay, and their only child died in infancy. Mrs. Griswold still resides in Fernando, where she has a beau- tiful home, over which she presides with a gracious hospitality. Public-spirited and gener- ous, Mrs. Griswold is a woman of strong per- sonality, highly esteemed throughout the com- munity, and is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, in which she is an active worker.

ELKANAH W. RICHARDSON. Prominent among the solid business men of Los Angeles county is Elkanah W. Richardson, a wide-awake representative of the agricultural and horticul- tural interests of Tropico. He is widely and favorably known as a cultured and genial man, an able, skillful and progressive farmer, and is highly esteemed throughout the community in which he resides. A son of William C. B. Richardson, of whom a sketch may be found on another page of this volume, he was born, No- vember 6, 1849, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he acquired his early education, attending the schools and a business college.

After leaving school, Elkanalı W. Richardson went to Chicago, where for several years he was. book-keeper for his brother, O. S. Richardson, an extensive coal dealer, who is still in business in that city. Coming by way of Cape Horn as a sailor to California in 1871, he arrived in San Francisco on September II, and immediately came to Los Angeles to look after property that his father had previously purchased. A month later he returned to Illinois, and at Salt Lake City met refugees fleeing from the big fire that nearly devastated Chicago, rendering so many homeless, and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. Two months later, he went back to Cleveland, and for a year assisted his father

in surveying in that city and its suburbs. In June, 1873, he again visited Los Angeles, and n December I of that year he assumed charge of his father's ranch, becoming superin- tendent, a position that he filled most creditably for many years. In 1881 he embarked in the- dairy business, and built up an extensive and lucrative trade, in which he was successfully employed for a score of years. Since 1901 Mr. Richardson has devoted his time and energies to carrying on his father's varied interests prin- cipally, although he occasionally does some sur- veying in the town and county.

In Los Angeles, Cal., in 1887, Mr. Richardson married Ella Weekley, and into their household five children have been born, namely: Eulalia, a graduate of the Glendale high school and now a student in Stanford; William Mckinley; Omar Burt; Paul Eddy; and John Everett. Fraternally Mr. Richardson is a prominent mem- ber of Glendale Lodge No. 388, I. O. O. F., in which he has passed all the chairs and is a mem- ber of the Encampment and the Rebekahs. He is a man of unquestioned business ability and judgment, as is shown by his management of his father's estate, the Santa Eulalia rancho, which at that time of its purchase, in 1868, contained six hundred and seventy-one acres of land. William C. B. Richardson paid $2500 for the tract, which lies between the Dreyfus and Glassell tracts and the Los Angeles river. For the first few years after taking charge of the ranch or until 1880, Mr. Richardson raised sheep on it and then converted it into a diary farm, subsequently devoting it to deciduous fruits and strawberries, each change being for his pecuniary advantage. When the Pacific Electric Railroad was put through he subdivided forty acres into lots 50x100 feet, and worth from $400 to $700 each. A part of these lots have already been sold. With the one hundred acres more re- cently purchased it makes a valuable estate of seven hundred acres. Ever since its organization Mr. Richardson has been a trustee of the Glen- dale union high school. He is a member of the Glendale Valley Club and the Pioneers Society of Los Angeles county.

GEORGE JACOB BUEHN. Ranching has occupied the attention of Mr. Buehn since he came to the vicinity of Norwalk, Los Angeles county, about 1878, and with this enterprise he has more recently combined that of wine man- ufacture, having a vineyard of forty acres and turning out twenty-five thousand gallons of wine each year from his own grapes. He was born in Baden, Germany, July 21, 1848, a son of Christian and Eva (Sebastian) Buehn, both natives of the Fatherland, where they are now.

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living at an advanced age. Of their family two sons and two daughters are in California.

G. J. Buehn was educated in the public schools of his native land and later learned wine making and became thoroughly familiar with market gardening. He came to America at the age of nineteen years and located in Cal- ifornia, from San Francisco going to Oregon, where he engaged in the dairy business for eleven years. For three years of this time he lived in East Portland and eight years in Mor- row county, owning in the latter section a fine ranch of eighty acres and engaging in the stock business. He came to Los Angeles county to visit two sisters and they prevailed upon him to locate here permanently. Accordingly, in 1879, he purchased his present property, which consists of sixty acres, of which forty acres are in wine grapes; the entire property was wild and uncultivated land at that time and to Mr. Buehn is due the credit for having developed one of the fine ranches of this section. He set out trees, built house, barn, winery and all necessary outbuildings, fences, etc., and has added not only to the value of his own proper- ty, but enhanced that of the ranches about him.

May 8, 1880, Mr. Buehn married Miss Mary Feldman, a native of Germany, and they are the parents of five children, namely : Minnie, Louisa, George, Louis and Elsie. Both himself and wife are members of the German Lutheran Church. Politically he is a Republican, and in fraternal matters belongs to the Fraternal Aid, was an Odd Fellow in Oregon, and also carries old-line insurance. He is progressive and en- terprising and esteemed in the citizenship of Los Angeles county.

PETER L. LOPEZ. Among the best known and most active residents of Fernando is Peter L. Lopez, an energetic, capable business man. possessing keen judgment and marked executive ability. He was born June 28, 1867, in Los Angeles valley, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, Valentine Lopez, whose birth oc- curred sixty years ago, and of his grandfather, whose name was Peter Lopez. The Lopez fam- ily was one of the first to settle in this section of Los Angeles county, taking up grants of land from the Spanish government, and many of the descendants of the original emigrants are still living here, honored and respected citizens.

After leaving the public schools of Fernando, Peter L. Lopez was for a year a student in the college then located here. The ensuing five years he assisted his father on the home ranch, and then for two years had the contract for carrying the mails from Fernando to Simi, Ventura county. When but twenty-three years of age he

was elected constable of Fernando township, an office in which he served most acceptably for three terms of four years each. Resigning then, he spent a year of leisure, enjoying a well-earned vacation free from business cares. In 1905 he resumed his public duties, accepting the appoint- ment of road superintendent or overseer, an of- fice which keeps him busily employed, it being the hardest road district in the entire county. Under his personal supervision he has one hun- dred and fifty-seven miles of road and two moun- tain ranges to cross, and the question of keeping these public thoroughfares in a satisfactory con- dition for travel is often a difficult one to solve. He is a man of good business capacity, and by dint of industry and wise judgment has acquired considerable property, owning several village lots in Fernando and one of the best residences in the community, having erected it in 1900.

April 8, 1894, Mr. Lopez married Lottie Will- iams, and they have one child, a daughter named Bertha. Fraternally Mr. Lopez is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, belonging to the Los Angeles Lodge.

LEGENE SAGE BARNES. One of the suc- cessful real-estate dealers of Long Beach is L. S. Barnes, who, although a resident of this city only since 1904, has built up for himself a secure posi- tion among her business men. Locating in the city in the year mentioned above, he engaged in handling real estate, being at that time associated with W. W. Bryan, later purchasing the latter's interest and continuing alone until January, 1906, when, with two others, he established the busi- ness now known as L. S. Barnes & Co., located at No. 121 West Ocean avenue, where they con- duct a real-estate enterprise of considerable mag- nitude.

Legene Sage Barnes was born in Wilber, Sa- line county, Neb., August 7, 1875, the second in a family of seven children, four of whom are liv- ing, he being the only one in California. His father, Thomas H. Barnes, was a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in the vicinity of Co- lumbus, where the family fortunes had been lo- cated by Samuel, the paternal grandfather. The latter ran a steamer on the Ohio river for many years, eventually removing to Nebraska and be- coming a pioneer of Wilber, where his death oc- cured at an advanced age. He was a man of strong character and patriotism, and at the call of the Union in '61 he enlisted in an Ohio regiment and gave faithful service to the cause. Thomas H. Barnes was also a pioneer of Nebraska, through his connection with the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company ( for which he secured right of way through the state from Omaha to Denver) being a potent factor in the

lehas. H. Hage

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upbuilding of this section of the country. He located the greater number of towns in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado, and at the pres- ent writing owns valuable properties in the first- named state. At one time he located in Oregon and in Salem built the electric railroad, which covers a distance of twenty-five miles in the city and its vicinity, and also platted Englewood, an addition to Salem, and was otherwise instru- mental in the advancement of that city. Later he returned to Nebraska, and has since made his home in Alliance, where he engages in the han- dling of landed properties. Inheriting the sterling characteristics of his forefathers, he takes a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the general welfare and gives his efforts freely to the pro- motion of public enterprises. A Democrat in pol- itics, he is prominent in the councils of his party, and fraternally he is a Mason. His wife, for- merly Rose Harris, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, is also living.

The early education of L. S. Barnes was re- ceived through an attendance of the public and high schools of Salem, Ore., his graduation tak- ing place in 1892. Returning to Nebraska with his parents he attended a commercial college at Hastings. Previous to this he had studied teleg- raphy, and about this time accepted the position of operator for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company at Hastings ; later he acted in the same capacity at David City, Neb. In 1895 he went to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the Rio Grande & Western Railroad and as conductor ran between Salt Lake City and Park City that state. Later he was conductor on a passenger train out of Milford, Utah, which position he resigned to engage in mining in Utah and later in Montana. He was successful in this enter- prise, discovering and opening several mines that brought large financial returns, among which was the Coobartal which was the last disposed of.

Mr. Barnes' first trip to California was made in December, 1895, his decision to locate here per- manently being made in 1904, when he came to Long Beach, as previously stated. He has met with unusual success in his business enterprises, acquiring financial returns, and has gained a high position among the business men of the city. In addition to the business enterprise already men- tioned he is interested in the Long Beach Realty Investment Company, and the Moore Foster In- vestment Company, serving as treasurer in the last-named organization.

In Raton, N. Mex., Mr. Barnes was united in marriage with Miss Grace Dinsmore, a native of Kansas, who had resided for some years in Salem, Ore. They are the parents of two children, Willa and Legene S., Jr. Mr. Barnes takes a lively interest in social and fraternal affairs of Long Beach, being a member of the Cosmopoli-

tan Club and Chamber of Commerce, and is iden- tified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and Knights of Pythias. He is a man of broad information, in touch with current events, and a citizen upon whom the public honor may safely rest.

CHARLES H. HOGE. Through his asso- ciation with the real-estate interests of Long Beach, Charles H. Hoge is making himself a factor in the material upbuilding and growth of the city. He is a native of Hunt county, Tex., and was born October 31, 1866, a son of John C. Hoge. The latter was a native of Missouri, whence he removed to Texas at the close of the Civil war, and became a farmer in Hunt county and later in the vicinity of Blanco, where he is now residing. His wife, whom he married in Texas, was formerly Mattie King, a native of Illinois, and born of this union were six sons and four daughters, of whom Charles H. Hoge is the eldest. He was reared to young manhood in Texas, where he attended the common schools in pursuit of an education and engaged with his father in farming. In March, 1891, he left his native state and located in the northern part of Ari- zona, remaining in that location until fall, when he came to California. In Redlands, his first location, he engaged in the real estate business with a partner, the firm being known as Dike & Hoge. Together they subdivided the Oliver Grove addition of twenty-nine acres, and also subdivided other tracts during the eight years in which they continued business.

Disposing of his interests in that section Mr. Hoge located in the city of Los Angeles and as a member of the real-estate firm of Hoge & Gaylord laid out the Echo Park tract. In the spring of 1904 he came to Long Beach and here became a partner in the firm of Todd, Windham & Hoge, who laid out the Pacific Home tract of twenty-eight acres, and also handled the one hundred acres com- prised in the Long Beach Park tract, along the Ocean front, which tract was opened to the public in 1905. In the fall of 1905 the firm of Todd, Windham & Hoge raised the money for the first payment on the eight hundred acres now being improved as Long Beach Harbor, and assisted in the organization of the Dock & Terminal Company, and the firms of Todd & Windham and C. H. Hoge & Co. have the exclusive holding of all of that property. This has been the means of more than doubling the values of real-estate in Long Beach. With others Mr. Hoge organized the Dominguez Investment Company to sub- divide the Dominguez Harbor Tract of two

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hundred acres on the north side of Anaheim Road, running from Long Beach to Wilming- ton. Mr. Hoge is now doing a general real- estate business independently, under the firm name of C. H. Hoge & Co.

Mr. Hoge is identified fraternally with the Order of Pendo, and in his political convic- tions is a Democrat on national issues, while locally he reserves the right to cast his ballot for the man whom he considers best qualified for public office.

CAPT. ELMER O. LUTZ. The excellent harbor at San Diego and the large number of tourists visiting the city every year render yacht- ing one of the most satisfactory sources of recrea- tion and pleasure. Recognizing this fact, Cap- tain Lutz has devoted his attention to the devel- opment of a business catering to the wants of strangers as well as town people. As the pro- prietor of the Star boathouse, at the foot of H street, he has built up a business unique in character and interesting in details. His pleasure wharf is commodious and at the end lie has his row boats, sail boats and launches, including the Dolphin, forty-seven and one-half feet; the Urania, forty-five feet, and the Dolly, twenty- six feet. A special feature of the business is his Tuesday and Thursday excursions of the Dol- phin, which carries the guests past Roseville, La Playa, the quarantine station, the fortifica- tions at Fort Rosecrans and the government jetty.

The Lutz family comes from Pennsylvania, whence the captain's grandfather removed to Cir- cleville, Ohio, and settled among the pioneer farmers on the Scioto river. After the family removed to the farm near Circleville, Louis Lutz was born there and after he had attained man's estate he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits in the same locality. In 1871 he removed to Kansas and settled in Emporia, where he open- ed a hardware and agricultural implement store, conducting the business for a period of twelve years. At the expiration of that time he closed out his interests in Emporia and removed to New Mexico, where he acquired large tracts of land in San Miguel county near Las Vegas, and there he remained until his death at sixty-eight years of age. His wife, who was born at Circleville, Ohio, and died in New Mexico, bore the maiden name of Susan Hittler, her father, Jacob, having been a farmer in the vicinity of Circleville.

Six children formed the family of Louis Lutz and three are still living. Elmer O., who was second in order of birth, was born on the home farm near Circleville, Ohio, February 19, 1866, and was a boy of five years when the family set- tled in Emporia, Kans., where he secured a

public school education. During 1882 he accom- panied the family to New Mexico, where his father had purchased the Osage Sutton grant of sixty-nine thousand six hundred and forty acres of land situated one hundred and ten miles south- east of Las Vegas. The ranch had forty-two miles of fence, all of which was of four wires. Assisted by other members of the family, the father conducted a cattle business which was in- corporated under the title of the L. L. Cattle Com- pany, with the father as president and Elmer O., manager and treasurer. A specialty was made of full-blooded Hereford cattle, of which they had a large number of fine specimens. At times they had as many as four thousand head of cat- tle on the ranch, all of which bore their brand of LLL.

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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 7

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