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 80

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

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The wife of Mr. Souza formerly was Mary Concicao, a native also of the Azores, and their marriage, which occurred November 29, 1888, has resulted in the birth of eight children : Mary, Joe, Manuel, Annie, Isabella, Ida, Tony and Angelo. Mr. Souza has done much to foster purity in local politics, and while professing no partisanship, ranges his forces on the side of the Republicans. As a member and clerk of the school board he has helped to secure the best possible instruction for the rising generation, and to place every practical advantage at the disposal of both teachers and pupils. His pronounced social inclinations find an outlet in various fra- ternal and other organizations, among them the Portuguese Lodge, I. D. E. S., of which he has served as master and secretary. He also is iden- tified with the Santa Maria Lodge, I. O. O. F .. the Guadaloupe Lodge No. 237, F. & A. M., and Santa Maria Chapter, R. A. M., and the Eastern Star. His wife is a member of the Catholic Church. Mr. Souza is an exponent of the most progressive and substantial element of this com- munity and enjoys the respect and good will of all who know him.

JOHN C. LYON. The prime of his young manhood was given by John C. Lyon to the service of his country when her need arose in the war between the North and South, but in spite of the fact that these years were those in which he would naturally have made a good start in his business life, and when the war was over lie came back to a devastated country, Mr.

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Lyon has made a success that many other men who have started earlier have not equalled. He now owns a ranch of twenty-one acres, planted to beans, vegetables, strawberries and other small fruit, and makes a very satisfactory income from the sale of these crops. His parents, John and Sarah (Canfield) Lyon, were born in New York state, but removed to Iowa, where the father died at the advanced age of eiglity-seven years, and the mother at sixty.

A member of a family of five children, John C. Lyon was born May 4, 1849, in Van Buren county, Iowa, where he received his education through the medium of the common schools. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in Company A, First Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, and served two years, he having seen active service at Little Rock, Ark., Perry Grove and at other points. The greater part of the time he was under the command of Gen. A. J. Smith, but at the close of the war was under Gen. George A. Custer as his private orderly. When his military duties were over Mr. Lyon went back to Iowa and engaged in farming. In 1870 he moved to Cowley county, Kans., and took up a claim on the Osage Indian reserve, where he remained two years. He then sold out and went back to Iowa, bought a farm, sold it and again removed to Kansas, buying three hundred and twenty-eight acres of land there. After five years he sold this ranch, went to Hebron, Neb., and there engaged in the livery business. While there lie was appointed deputy sheriff, a posi- tion which he held for four years, and he also served for two terms as constable. His identi- fication with California dates from the year 1887, when he located in Nipomo. Subsequently he made his home for two years in Santa Maria, and since 1901 he has been the owner of his present ranch of twenty-one acres lying one mile and a half north of Arroyo Grande.

In 1869 Mr. Lyon was married to Lavinia Bucher, a native of Pennsylvania, and to them have been born nine children: James F., mar- ried Marie Gambert, and is employed in the sur- veyor-general's office at Sacramento; Rosa, who lives at Manhattan, Kans., became the wife of A. B. Heddington, and has a family of four chil- dren ; Molly V. became the wife of Frank May, by whom she had five children, and at the age of twenty-nine years was accidentally burned to death; John C., a carpenter by trade, married Mamie Hill, and thev with their two children live in Los Angeles; Edward H., a motorman in Stockton, chose as his wife Vera McClain; Lloyd O. is a barber in Eureka: Roy is a con- ductor on a street railroad in Sacramento ; Arthur and Glayds complete the family. Mr. Lyon is a prominent member of Colonel Harper Post No. 126, G. A. R., at Arroyo Grande, in

which he occupies the office of quartermaster, and of which he has served as commander for four years. Mrs. Lyon was president of the Woman's Relief Corps of the same name for two terms and also served as department aid. Mr. Lyon is also a member of the Central California Vet- erans' Association, holding the office of com- mander in that organization. In politics he is an ardent Republican and at one time served his party as delegate to the Republican State Con- vention, doing valuable work in that capacity. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JOHN MAC GILLIVRAY. Representatives of almost every country in the world by their citizenship in California give to the state a cos- mopolitan variety blended in an harmonious ele- ment of loyalty and devotion to their adopted land. Not the least conspicuous among the rug- ged characters that have brought strength to the citizenship may be mentioned the Scotch resi- dents with their energy, thrift and irreproachable integrity, and John MacGillivray is one of the men possessing the attributes eminently charac- teristic of the Scotch the world around. When he came to the Pacific coast in early manhood he settled in Santa Barbara county and now super- intends seven thousand acres in Los Alamos val- ley. Of his large ranch five hundred acres are sown in grain, while the balance furnishes abun- dant pasturage for the eight hundred head of stock cattle kept on the farm as well as for the horses raised for the market.

Born in the north of Scotland September 23. 1859, John MacGillivray is a son of a Scotch farmer bearing the same name as himself. Both the father and mother were natives of Scotland and never left that country, where the former died at seventy-three years and the latter at six- ty-five years. They were the parents of six children, of whom John was the fifth in order of birth. When a boy he attended the schools of Scotland and early was trained to make himself useful in the world by developing habits of per- severance and industry. At the age of twenty. years he left the home farm and crossed the ocean to Canada. A year later he removed from that country to Pennsylvania, where he was en- ployed in the oil business about twelve months. During 1880 he came to California and settled in Santa Barbara county, where he secured em- ployment on the Laguna ranch under Dr. Shaw, remaining in the same place for six years. From that position he came to his present farm as manager . for John Wigmore & Sons, and about 1894 he started out independently, since which time he has carried forward large agricultural undertakings with a fair degree of success.

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Reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church and trained in its creed, Mr. MacGillivray al- ways has been devoted to its interests. Since becoming a voting citizen of the United States he has supported the Republican party, but at no time has he been a candidate for official hon- ors. In fraternal connections he holds member- ship with the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Los Alamos. With his wife, who was Serena Voogt, a native of Ohio, and whom he married January 3, 1901, he holds a high place in the esteem of the peo- ple of his locality and is favorably known among those who give character and integrity the high- est value in the citizenship of the county. Prior to his present marriage he had been married to Miss Annie F. Henderson, who was born in Scotland November, 1868, and died in California, March, 1897, leaving three children, Maryetta Ann, Barbara M. and John F., all now living in Los Alamos, Santa Barbara county. During the year 1906, Mr. MacGillivray purchased seven hundred acres at Los Olivos, called the Glen Olivos ranch, where he intends to build a resi- dence and make his home.

FRANK JAMES MARTIN. Early records concerning the Martin family disclose the fact that ancestors for several generations flourished in the Quaker state, the name being especially well known in Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, where the grandfather, James Martin, closed a long and active career. There too occurred the birth of his son, Richard Martin, a saddler by trade, who in young manhood removed to what was then considered the frontier, settling in Ris- ing Sun, Ohio county, Ind. There as in Pennsyl- vania the name was destined to come into prominence through the large and varied busi- ness undertakings of Richard Martin, who be- came the proprietor of two harness shops and a tannery, also owning a livery business in con- nection with which he ran a line of omnibuses He lived to see the frontier push its way to the Pacific coast, but was content to remain in the country that he had practically grown up with, his death occurring in Rising Sun. His wife, formerly Ann C. Turner, was also a native of Pennsylvania, her ancestors also having been early settlers in the vicinity of Jersey Shore, Lycoming county. She too died in Indiana.

Five of the seven children born to his parents are living, and of these Frank James Martin is the oldest. He was born in Rising Sun, Ind., July 29, 1852, and as his parents appreciated the value of an education no pains were spared to give him the best opportunities that their means would afford. An apt pupil, he made stcady progress in the common schools of his home town

and later pursued a business course in Indiana- polis Commercial College. Subsequently he returned to Rising Sun and began an apprentice- ship at the saddler's trade under his father, and after he had mastered it removed to Vevay, Ind., and established a harness shop of which he was the proprietor for three and one half years. Thereafter, having closed out his business in Vevay, he returned once more to Rising Sun, this time taking up farming, which he followed continuously for nine years. In the mean time plans had been formulating in his mind to come to the Pacific coast country and in fact he had begun to make preparations for the trip, but the death of his father in 1875 brought them to a sudden close, and instead he remained in Rising Sun and looked after his father's varied interests as well as continued the care of his own farm. Twelve years later, however, he closed out his affairs in Indiana and the year 1887 found him in Pomona.

Purchasing the stock and accessories of Charles Sollars Mr. Martin engaged in the ice and soda manufacturing business on Main street, where he carried on a wholesale and retail business for about three years, when he sold the plant to John Weber, and re-invested the proceeds in the harness business then owned by J. C. Robert- son, on the corner of Second and Main streets. Subsequently he added a line of carriages. For a time he continued at the original stand, but finally, in February, 1903, removed to his present commodious quarters, No. 160 South Main street, which he owns. The building has a floor space 40x65 feet. is two stories in height, and is in every way suited to the business in which he is engaged. All of the finest and most dependable makes of the lighter road vehicles are carried in his spacious repository, including the Brock- way and Flint buggies.

In Vevay, Ind., Mr. Martin was married to Miss Laura J. Rutherford, who was born in that city, and one child, Helen A., has been born to them. Fraternally Mr. Martin belongs to the Woodmen of the World and formerly to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His politi- cal sympathies place him in the ranks of the Republican party. As one of the oldest settlers and business men of Pomona Mr. Martin is secure in the esteem of the community in which he lives, not alone for what he has accomplished from a material standpoint, but rather for the high principles of honor and integrity which have actuated all of his undertakings.

CHARLES SUMNER MERRIFIELD. For more than twenty years Charles Sumner Merrifield has been identified with the business interests of Elsinore and has taken an active

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part in the development of that section of River- side county. He comes from old New England stock, his parents, Augustin Washington and Cordelia (Burnham) Merrifield, both having been natives of Bangor, Me. The father, who was a carpenter by trade, became an early set- tler of Wisconsin and purchased and improved a farm on the edge of the prairie near Janesville. Later he removed to Fulton, Rock county, Wis .. reared his family there, and there passed the re- mainder of his lifetime. Both he and his wife died there many years ago.

The sixth in order of birth in a family of twelve children, eleven of whom are still living, Mr. Merrifield was born June 21, 1858, near Janesville, Rock county, Wis. His boyhood was spent on the farm and his preliminary education was received in the public schools of that county, after which he attended Milton College. Upon the completion of his studies he apprenticed him- self to a Mr. Price, who lived in the vicinity of his home, and learned the carpenter's trade. He followed the occupation of builder and contract- or for a time in his native state and in 1885 came to Elsinore, Cal., and continued in pursuit of the same industry. He built up a large business, superintended the erection of the first Lake View hotel, as well as many other building improve- ments at that place, and has been continuously active in this work ever since, with the exception of two years which he spent in Los Angeles. Business slackening up somewhat in 1898 he be- gan carriage and wagon making, and gradually worked himself into the blacksmithing trade and now has a blacksmithing and carriage shop which he conducts in addition to his business as contractor and builder. He is also sole agent for the remedy known as Hanford's balsam myrrh and has quite an extensive trade in that specific.

The first marriage of Mr. Merrifield occurred in San Bernardino and united him with Miss Berdella M. Dewey, who was born in Delaware. At her death in Elsinore she left one child, Al- thea Berdella. His second wife was Miss Ida WVall, a native of Ohio, and to this union two children have been born, Zorah and Leslie. That Mr. Merrifield has always been especially inter- ested in educational matters is evidenced by the fact that he has served as a member of the board of school trustees for ten years, being at one time clerk of that body: is a member and ex- clerk of the high school board of trustees in El- sinore, and is also a member of the city board of trustees. Fraternally he affiliates with a num- ber of orders, among them being the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows; is a charter member of the Knights of Prthias, serving as chief clerk of that order four different terms, also being past district deputy : was made a Mason in Milton Junction Lodge No. 161. A. F. & A. M., and is

now a member of Elsinore Lodge No. 289, F. & A. M .; with his wife he belongs to the Order of Eastern Star, of which he is now ( 1906) secre- tary. He is a man of broad and independent views on social and civic questions and in na- tional politics votes the Socialist ticket. He has been instrumental in securing many beneficial enterprises in his town and was one of the chief influences in securing the electric light plant here. His position as president of the Elsinore Promo- tion Club gives him prominence in all develop- ment interests and as a public spirited citizen, as well as an energetic and successful private busi- ness man, he is held in the highest esteem by all who know him.

THOMAS REECE McMICHAEL. In 1892 Mr. McMichael came to California and since that time has acquired a position of financial independence among the walnut growers of Los Angeles county and at the same time has built up for himself a place among the representative citizens, respected alike for his personal and pub- lic efforts in the upbuilding of the country. He is a native of Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pa., born November 14, 1868. He is the fifth in a family of six children, all of whom are liv- ing, he being the only one in California. His parents, J. K. and Elizabeth (White) Mc- Michael, are both natives of Pennsylvania, the former born of Scotch ancestry, the latter of German. Tlie paternal grandfather, James Mc- Michael, was the Scotch emigrant, who first lo- cated in Pennsylvania and later in Rock Island, Ill., as did also his son, J. K. The latter laid down his farming implements to answer the call to arms in 1861, enlisting in a Pennsylvania regi- ment. He and his wife are now living in Rock Island, Ill.

Thomas Reece McMichael received his edu- cation in the public schools of Rock Island, after which he took up the work of a stationary en- gineer, following this until 1892, when he came to California, and in Whittier entered the em- ploy of the East Whittier Light & Water Com- pany in a similar capacity. He later established the plant for them at Bassett and pumped the first water. In the meantime he had become in- terested in the horticultural possibilities of the section and had purchased a walnut grove, and seven years later he resigned from his work as engineer to look after these interests. He con- tinued to add to his land until at the present writing he owns thirty-five acres located a mile and a half from El Monte, just off the San Ber- nardino road. all devoted to walnuts. He has built a comfortable residence. barns and out-

Jacob P Thompson

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

buildings, and has surrounded his home with every possible comfort and convenience.

In El Monte Mr. McMichael married Miss Anna Maxson, a native of Santa Ana, Orange county, where her father, B. F. Maxson, a pio- neer, located in an early day. Subsequently he made his home in the vicinity of El Monte, where he set out the first walnut grove, and here his death occurred. He participated in the Civil war as a member of Company K, Thirteenth Wisconsin Infantry. Mr. and Mrs. McMichael are the parents of one child, George Dudley. Mrs. McMichael is a member of the Presbyter- ian Church, which Mr. McMichael liberally sup -. ports in all its charities. He is associated fra- ternally with the Modern Woodmen of America, politically is a stanch Republican. He belongs to the Mountain View Walnut Growers' Asso- ciation.

JACOB P. THOMPSON. The success achieved by Jacob P. Thompson is entirely the result of his own efforts, for with nothing but his native qualities of courage, energy and ability he faced the world and has won a com- petence. His inherited traits of character are from southern birth and lineage, his parents, Robert S. and Margarctte (Surbaugh) Thomp- son, both being natives of West Virginia. They eventually removed to Illinois, where the father gave up his trade of tanner, which he had hitherto followed to the exclusion of other pursuits, and became interested in farming, owning a fine farm where he spent his last days. He died at the comparatively early age of forty-five years, while the mother passed · away when ahout forty-three.

The fourth in a family of seven children, Ja- cob P. Thompson was born in Greenbrier county, W. Va., April 2, 1845, and while a child was taken by his parents to Kane county, Il1., where he received a common school edu- cation. After the close of his schooldays he learned the trade of gunsmith. All his plans were interrupted in 1863 when he enlisted in Company K, Fifteenth Regiment Illinois Caval- ry, and served until the close of the Civil war, participating in many important engagements and with Sherman marching to the sea over the necessarily devastated state of Georgia. He was with the force that captured General Johnston, after which they marched to Wash- ingon to participate in the Grand Review. Mustered out at Louisville and honorably dis- charged from service at Chicago, Il1., Mr. Thompson returned to his old home in Kane county, and there remained for a few subse- quent years. Going then to Plainfield, Bremer county, Iowa. he engaged in a general mer-

chandise enterprise, after two years sold out, and in 1870 came to California for the first time. He located in Gilroy, Santa Clara coun- ty, and followed a mercantile business for the period of six years, and in 1876 came to Santa Ana, Orange county, and took up his old trade of gunsmith, which he followed for seven years. He came to the vicinity of Norwalk in 1883 and here purchased the property which he now owns, consisting of one hundred and thirty-two acres of entirely uncultivated, un- improved land. He has since changed it into one of the best ranches in this section, erecting a fine residence, substantial barns and out- buildings and every possible equipment for successful ranching being added. He devotes the land to alfalfa, hay and corn, and also has a fine dairy herd of twenty cows, and also raises cattle to some extent. He is a very suc- cessful rancher and in the matter of progress and enterprise has no superior throughout the country.

In Santa Ana, in 1881, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Miss Minnie J. Brown, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Set- tle) Brown, natives of South Carolina. They came to California in 1872 and eventually lo- cated on a ranch adjoining Mr. Thompson. Mrs. Thompson was the second eldest of seven children. Their father died on the old home- stead in 1888, at the age of sixty-four years, the mother still surviving and making her home with Mrs. Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have one son, Robert S., who is lo- cated at Newport. Mr. Thompson liberally supports the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which his wife is a member. Frater- nally he is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Gilroy, a member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Artesia, and is associated with the Grand Army of the Republic, holding membership with the Dan Bidwell Post No. 140, at Norwalk. Politically he reserves the right to cast his ballot for the candidate he considers best qualified to discharge official position. He has served as school trustee and takes an active interest in the advancement of educational affairs.

CHARLES EDWARD GREASER. Since coming to Pomona in 1895 the record of the life of Mr. Greaser has been intimately associated with the history and development of the city. For about ten years, or until he retired from business in 1905, many sales and transfers of city property were made through him, and he also laid out a number of subdivisions. One of these was the ten-acre high-school tract which he subdivided and laid out into lots with S. N.

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Curry. Aside from caring for his own property he is no longer actively interested in the real-es- tate business, although he still retains his inter- est in the Pomona Abstract and Trust Company, in which he is a director and also in the Dei- bert-Greaser Company (Inc.) of which he is president. The latter is a furniture and under- taking business in Ontario, San Bernardino county, and as it is the leading business of the kind in the town it is a financial success.

Mr. Greaser is a native of Ohio, born in Enon, Clark county, the descendant of Ger- man ancestors on the father's side. From Wur- temberg, Germany, where he was born, Michael Greaser came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania during young manhood, and still later crossed over into the adjoining state of Ohio and settled in Clark county on a farm. In response to the country's call for able-bodied men he became a member of Company C, Six- teenth Ohio Heavy Artillery, serving from 1861 until his discharge in 1864, during which time he saw much hard service but was mercifully spared from any serious injury. Returning once more to his farm in Clark county, he continued to farm there for a time and later removed to Springfield, same county, and from there in 1869 he removed to Topeka, Kans. In the lat- ter state as in Ohio he continued to carry on a farm for a number of years, but finally retired from active work altogether. Some time later he removed to Denver, Colo., and there his earth life came to a close when he was in his sixty-seventh year. His war service made him eligible to the Grand Army of the Republic, and no comrade in Lincoln Post, of which he was a member, was held in higher esteem than Mich- ael Greaser. His widow, formerly Barbara Baney, was born in Pennsylvania and now makes her home in Florence, Colo.

Of the seven children originally comprising the parental family six are now living and Charles E. is next to the oldest. He was born November 29, 1859, in Enon, Ohio, and was therefore about ten years old when the family re- moved to Kansas. After completing his educa- tion in the schools of Topeka he apprenticed himself to the carpenter's trade under Millard Updyke and after mastering the trade secured a position with the Santa Fe road, in the bridge and building department.

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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 80

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