A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day, Part 63

Author: Storke, Yda Addis
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 738

USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 63
USA > California > Santa Barbara County > A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 63
USA > California > Ventura County > A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future; with full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 63

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They finally reached the town, and twenty days elapsed after the disaster to their boat before they obtained another, on which they proceeded to New York. After remaining in New York three months visiting his fam- ily, he took passage on the steamer Ariel for California, which carried 800 men, women and children. Some apprehensions were en- tertained that the rebel vessel Alabaina might fall in with them and capture them; and much sport was indulged in concerning the matter. Several times it was stated that the Alabama was sighted, which however proved each time to be a hoax; but when off the east end of the island of Cuba Mr. Bonestel and others were below, eating their dinner. The butler put down his head and cried out, " The Alabama is after ns!" Mr. Bonestel replied, "Oh, that's chesnuts;" but in a very short time they heard the report of a gun, and he and his friends made an effort to get npon deck. They were met by a crowd of people trying to get below. The shot which they heard was indeed the Ala- bama firing a blank cartridge at them to make the n slack their speed and surrender. The Captain of the Ariel did not stop, and soon they saw two puffs of smoke from two of the guns of the Alabaina, and they saw, or sup- posed they saw, two large balls coming di- rectly toward them. They seemed as plain as a base ball. One of them struck the main mast and tore a large piece ont of it and

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caused the splinters of the mast to fly all over her deck. The Ariel was stopped and a boat was sent by the Alabama to take their captain. All the passengers were filled with surprise and terror ; some of the ladies fainted, and others went into hysterics. When the officer, Lieutenant Lowe, came on deck, many implored him to spare them and asked him to save them. He replied, " Ladies and gen- tlemen, not one of you will be harmed or in- jured;" and then they began to ask him all kinds of questlons what he was going to do with them. Their questions were all an- swered in a polite manner; and such was the gallant bearing of the officer that they actu- ally began to admire him. It was finally de- cided that the passengers would be landed at Kingston; but when they arrived at that point a vessel came ont, which was spoken by Cap- tain Semmes of the Alabama. He then sent word for the Captain of the Ariel to come on board the Alabama, informing him that the yellow fever was raging in Kingston and he did not wish to disembark. He said that if the captain of the Ariel would give bonds for the value of the boat-$300,000-he would let them go. The arrangement was made and they were permitted to resume their voyage, and they arrived at San Fran- cisco January 2, 1863.

Mr. Boneste! resumed his place in the Sen- ate that winter as clerk, and after its ad- journment went to Austin, Nevada, and speculated in mining property and also opened an office or bank, with a partner, and conducted it for two years. He then bought out his partner and the First National Bank was started there. He closed his business and was elected vice-president of the First National Bank of Nevada. At the end of a year he found his health failing, and he came to San Francisco, bought an interest in a book and stationery store, and remained there

until 1871. Then selling out, he made an- other trip to the East, and returned in the winter of 1872. He then was a resident of San Francisco until January, 1875, specu- lating in stocks; and finally he came to Ven- tura County and four years held the position of under sheriff. The next two years he speculated in grain and cattle. In 1882, forming a partnership with Messrs. Chaffee and Gilbert, under the firin name of Chaffee, Gilbert & Bonestel, they afterward added the lumber trade to their business of general merchandising, and since then they have been carrying on these trades until Febru- ary, 1890. They then sold out their lumber business. In October the farmers organized and incorporated a lumber company under the name of the People's Lumber Company, and elected Mr. Bonestel their president and general manager of the company.

Mr. Bonestel was brought up a Democrat, but during the war became a Republican, and so lias since remained.

He was married in 1868, to Miss Nannie Smith, a native of Louisiana, but brought when an infant by her parents to California. Their three children, all born in San Fran- cisco, are: Cora, Alonzo and Edith. Cora is now the wife of F. J. Sifford, of Ventura.

ON. B. T. WILLIAMS, Judge of the Superior Court of the county of Ven- tura, was born at Mt. Vernon, Missouri, December 25, 1850. His father, Dr. J. S. Williams, a native of Kentucky, was an emi- nent physician. His grandfather, Thomas Williams, was president of what is now the University of Kentucky. The ancestors of the famiily settled in North Carolina at a period so early that all accounts of it are lost. One

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of them, a relative of Daniel Boone, came to Kentucky with him. The judge's mother, whose maiden name was Amanda Downing, was of the well-known Downing family of Fauquier County, Virginia, whose ancestors settled in that State at the time of the first settlement at Jamestown in 1607. Her father, Henry H. Downing, emigrated to Missouri in the early history of that State, and was a planter there upon land of his own. The Judge's parents had nine children, of whom six are still living. His father came with the family to California in 1853, when the subject of this sketch was three years old, settling in Santa Rosa, Sononia County, and there the subject of this sketch grew up to years of maturity, and commenced the study of law in the office of the late Judge William Ross. In 1869 his father moved to San Diego, where he died in 1879. In 1869 Judge Williams resumed the study of law with his brother, William T., now a inem- ber of the Los Angeles bar. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1871, and located at San Buenaventura, where he lias since resided, engaged in the practice of his profession. Upon the organization of the county he was elected District Attorney, and served in that capacity acceptably for four years. Entering then into partnership with his brother, W. T. Williams, he continued in that relation with him until 1884, when he was elected to his present position, already stated. He is now serving his first term of six years, and has been unanimously renominated by the Republican party, the Democrats having de- clined to make any nomination against him, which assures liis re-election. In his social relations he is present Master of the Masonic lodge in San Buenaventura, and is a member of the K. of P., A. O. U. W. and the A. L. of H. He was married Febauary 28, 1878, to Miss Irene Parsons. Their four children,

all born in San Buenaventura, are: John T., Irene, Paul and Kate.

Judge Benjamin Tully Williams is a repre- sentative American gentleman, good-tem- pered, affable, easily approached, and destitute of pride or ostentation. He has a fine legal mind, is a ready,' easy speaker, gives his rulings promptly, and usually gives entire satisfaction. By showing his honest desire strictly to administer exact justice, both when district attorney and later as judge, his condnet has been such as to command the respect of the bar as well as the best citizens of both parties. And it is worthy of remark, also, that such is his physical development that were a sculptor looking for a model he could scarcely expect to find a better speci- men of the human race. He measures six feet four and a half inches high and weighs 275 pounds; and his proportions are so well balanced that his movements are easy and not in the least retarded by his size. Being but forty years of age, a long and honorable life seems to lie before him.

RION C. WALBRIDGE is the second brother of the Walbridge Brothers. He was born in Texas, March 5, 1856. His father, Henry Walbridge, was a native of the State of New York, born in 1822. He was a farmer by occupation, and a consistent member of the Christian Church. His death occurred in 1883. Grandfather William Wal- bridge was born in Vermont, and was in the war of 1812. His wife was a niece of Com- modore Perry, and great-grandfather Wal- bridge came from Scotland, and was a par- ticipant in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Walbridge's mother, nee Mary Crocker, was born in Indiana in 1829, a daughter of Orion L. Crocker, who was wounded in the war

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of 1812, was a cousin of the late Charles Crocker, and was a farmer and a devoted Christian man. Mr. and Mrs. Walbridge had six children, four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, William, has a family and lives in Washington. Harney M., a partner in the firm, has a wife and one child. What- ever he undertakes he aims to be the best, and will not be content with any second place. Mattie, the second sister, is a stenographer and typewriter operator, having a good po- sition in Santa Barbara. With O. C. Wal- bridge reside his mother, his sister Myra and his brother George. They are an interest- ing and intelligent family. The whole family are Good Templars. The sister is a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and a prominent temperance worker. They are members of the Christian Church at Ventura.

Mr. Walbridge came to this county in 1873, and has been engaged in farming and in the business of pressing hay. There is not a neighborhood in Ventura County in which the Walbridge brothers have not for years run their hay press, and they are the pioneer hay-balers of the county. Their business in that direction has so increased that they now own and operate two presses. This year, 1890, they have planted 110 acres of Lima beans, of which the average crop is 1,500 to 2,000 pounds per acre. Great honor is due to the honest toiler, whose steady blows and persistent work develop the country.

AMES McKEE is the Nordhoff Justice of the Peace, and he also holds the office of Notary Public for the town and Ven- tura County by appointment of his excel- leancy, Governor Waterman. Mr. McKee dates his birth near Napoleon, Ripley County,

Indiana, September 15, 1837. His father, Samuel McKee, was a native of Indiana, and his grandfather, David Mckee, was born in Vermont. They are of Scotch ancestry. His mother, Emily (Langston) McKee, was born in Indiana, the daughter of Mr. Bennet Langston, a native of North Carolina. His parents had four children, of whom he is the oldest. Three are now living. He was reared and educated in Indiana, and began life as a teacher, but the great civil war broke in on his plans, after he had taught two years in the Ripley County schools. In the year 1862, it will be remembered, the great war had become a serious matter. The brave armies of the Union had inet in mortal combat the ardent and heroic armies of the South, and the former had met with inany severe reverses, and many of the brave men on both sides had been slain and many had been returned to their homes mutilated for life. The outlook was dark, indeed. And at such a time as this, Mr. McKee felt it to be his duty to give up teaching and enlist in the service of his country. He enlisted in Company F, Sixty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was First Duty Sergeant of his company. He participated in the battles of Munfordville, and on September 12, 1862, was taken prisoner, and was pa- roled and sent back to his State: soon after he was exchanged. He was sent to the front on detached duty at Nashville, where he was prostrated with disease and sent to the hospital, remaining there two inonthis. The medical directors ordered him home to see if he could regain his health. He parti- ally recovered, reported for duty and was de- tached as indorsement clerk at Indianapolis. He remained there until after the close of the war, and on June 30, 1865, was mustered out of the service.

Mr. McKee then returned to his home and

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again took up his old profession and taught as Principal of Napoleon Schools until 1875, when his health gave out. As a last resort to save his life, he was sent to this coast. When recovery was alınost effected he re- turned and removed to Iowa, where he re- mained five years, in agricultural pursuits. He then disposed of his property in Iowa and permanently settled in Nordhoff, Cali- fornia, in 1887. He purchased a small ranch and has a nice place planted to fruits, vines and flowers.

In 1857 Mr. McKee was married to Miss Nancy C. Eaton, a native of Indiana, dangh- ter of Mr. Edmund Eaton, who was born in Vermont. They have had four children, two of whom are living, both born in Napoleon, Indiana: Sarah Ellen is the wife of Mr. John Linder and resides at Nordhoff, and Clarence lives with his parents. Mr. McKee became a Republican when the party was organized and has seen no good reason to leave its ranks. He is a member of the Baptist Church and his wife is a member of the Christian Church.

- DWARD F. ARNOLD was born in Martinez, Contra Costa County, Cali- fornia, November 4, 1853. His father, Cutler Arnold, came to California in 1849. (See sketch of the family in the history of Mr. Mathew Arnold, a brother of Edward F.) Mr. Arnold was reared and educated in the county of Lassen and in Sacramento, and came to Ventura County before he was twenty-one years old. When he reached his majority he owned 120 acres of land near Hneneme. In 1886, being in poor health, he sold this property to his brother and came to Nordhoff. He purchased 100 acres of land, improved it in part, and sold it in 1887.

He then engaged in the mercantile business, the firm being Arnold & Van Curen. A year later he sold out and built his present drug store. The firm of Arnold & Sager have the only drug house in Nordhoff. It is well fitted and stocked with everything in the drug line. These gentlemen, being courteous and obliging, have established a fine trade and enjoy the good-will of the entire community.

Mr. Arnold has built for himself and fam- ily a comfortable residence, has regained his health, and is now in a fair situation to enjoy life. He was married in 1878 to Miss Lou Trotter, a native of Illinois, and a resident of California since 1877. They have three children, two born at Hueneme and one at Nordhoff, viz .: Albert Walter, Lora L. and Frank. Mr. Arnold is a Republican; was elected Justice of the Peace, but, not desir- ing office, resigned.

EORGE ROBERTS, a pioneer, and a prominent developer of the interests of Lompoc, was born at New York Mills, New York, May 22, 1832. His father was a machinist, and had charge of the machinery of the New York Mills large manufactory. Our subject's education was very limited, ex- cept as he acquired knowledge by observa- tion. At the early age of ten years he began life upon the "tow path " of the Erie Canal, as driver in towing boats, which occupation he followed for three summers. He then went to Lewis County and was employed as a farm hand until 1849, when he went to New York city, and for four years was em- ployed as driver on the East Broadway Stage Line. He then returned to Lewis County and engaged in farming until 1860, when he

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came to California, first settling at Omega, Nevada County. He there established a general merchandise house, and did an ex- tensive business with the surrounding min- ing camps, within a radius of twenty miles, packing bis supplies on pack animals and by mule teams. This he continued very success- fully until 1870, when he sold out and came to San José. There he invested extensively in real estate, and also conducted a wholesale and retail merchandise store, and for a short period conducted a hotel. The store and hotel he sold in 1874, and took stock in the Lompoc Valley Land Company; he was elected secretary of the company, and No- vember 9, 1874, attended the first sale of land in the valley, and purchased quite ex- tensively. Mr. Roberts then returned to San José for the winter, and in the spring of 1875 established himself at Lompoc, where he was the agent of the Lompoc Valley Land Company. He started the first drug store, on the corner of H and Ocean avenues, and soon added general merchandise to his stock, which he continued until 1879, when he sold ont, and since that time has given his atten- tion more particularly to the sale of lands. He formerly owned a stock ranch of 800 acres, where he was extensively engaged in breed- ing horses. Ile now owns 775 acres of val- ley land, which he rents, twenty-seven town blocks, partially improved with residences, and much improved business and residence property at San José. Mr. Roberts is pres- ident of the Bank of Lompoc, which was or- ganized May 20, 1890; he is now erecting a brick building, 50 x 80 feet, corner of H and Ocean avennes, for bank purposes. He has demonstrated by his career that the enjoy- ment of college privileges or the inheritance of wealth are not essential ingredients to the successful business life.

Mr. Roberts was married at Osceola, Lewis

County, New York, in 1851, to Miss Nancy Green. They have no children.

- C. BREWSTER, a well known and highly esteemed citizen of San Buena- o ventura, who has been connected with the growth of the place and interested in its moral and business welfare, and now the pro- prietor of the art gallery, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, December 31, 1841. His father, Calvin Brewster, was born in Canter- bury, Windham County, Connecticut, in 1787, a descendant of Sir William Brewster who came to the New World on the May- flower in 1620. He (Sir William) was the father of Love Brewster, and the generations in succession were Wrestling, Jonathan, who came to Windham, Connecticut, in 1729, Peleg, born in 1717, who must have removed to Canterbury when quite young, for his old- est son, John-who made the sixth genera -. tion-was born in that town in 1739. Peleg was Mr. Brewster's great-grandfather. Jed- ediah, a younger son of his, was Mr. Brew- ster's grandfather. The record of Jedediah's birth was lost; but the town records show that he was married to Prudence Robinson May 19, 1773. According to the good- fashion in those good old times, they had a good large family, and abont every two years there was a record of a birth in the family. The names on the record are as tol- lows: Elizabeth, Silas, Anson, Florina, Sarah, Calvin and Jedediah, Jr. Elizabeth, Sarah and Jedediah died in childhood, and January, 1789, the good wife Prudence died, and the next autumn Jedediah married tor his second wife Miss Asenatlı Hapgood, to aid in the care of the family. He removed a few years later to Berne, Albany County, New York. In 1808 he sold some of his land to Silas

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Brewster and the deed descends to him as living at Berne. The same year he sold his homestead to Deacon Barnabas Allen, whose son still owns it. It is about four miles from the village of Canterbury. A descendant of the Brewsters was recently there and was shown around by the proprietor. She drank from the old well that had been in uninter- rupted use for more than a century. The farm is considered one of the best in that section, although a Western farmer would consider it very poor land. The old burying- ground was about a mile from the house. It was given to that part of the town by one of the Brewsters, and has been used by four or five generations and about a dozen families. Here are the names of Prudence Brewster and the children alluded to. In the lot are some stones so old that the inscriptions have become completely defaced, and some have sunk so deeply in the ground that only their tops are visible. The graveyard, however, is

· kept in excellent condition by a Miss Win- chester, whose ancestors have been buried there for several generations. She is a spin- ster of eighty-five years-the last of her fam- ily. She has made provisions in her will to have the graveyard kept in condition after she las gone. She remembered old 'Diah Brew- ster, as she called him, and said her mother used to go over there on certain occasions.

Mr. Brewster's mother, whose maiden name was Harriet Cramer, was a native of Stransburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and was born in 1813, of Dutch ancestry. The parents were married in 1837 and had a family of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second. He was eight years old when the family moved to Iowa. Before he was of age he taught two terms of school, holding a first grade certifi- cate both in Iowa and Missonri. He began to learn the art of photography in 1860, in

Warsaw, Illinois, and since then has devoted his entire attention to it. In 1862 he camne to California and for a short time taught a select school in Sacramento city. Soon after- ward he engaged in partnership with Frank M. Stamper, and subsequently he sold to his partner and took charge of a photographi gallery on J street, that city, and continued in its charge until the proprietor sold it. Then he went to Virginia City, Nevada, and took charge of the gallery of R. H. Vance, of New York, who was a pioneer photogra- pher of the coast. Next he had charge of a gallery at Carson City, for the same party.

In the spring of 1865 he went to Idaho with a Concord wagon and four bronchos, for Sutterly Brothers, and opened business at Ruby City. They had good success there, and his salary was $50 a week, and board without room $16 a week. In the fall they went to Placerville and also to Centerville; thenee to Salt Lake City. There Mr. Sut- terly built a gallery and Mr. Brewster con- tinned to run the tent at Douglas, three miles east. In the spring of 1866 they moved into the new gallery and did a large business, the receipts sometimes reaching $200 a day. Soon after this Mr. Brewster went to Helena, Montana, and opened a gallery for himself. In the fall of 1868 he sold it and returned to Salt Lake City, and continued in business there and at several other towns in the vicin- ity, with fine success, nntil the next spring. He then went to Nevada, and was there nntil 1871, with his brother-in-law as partner. They had a large gallery and fine building. Thence he went to Visalia and to San Fran- cisco, where his mother then resided. His health had failed, but soon after returning home he recovered, and began work for Will- iam Shew, on Kearny street; bnt at length he was discharged because he would not work on Sunday. He then worked for Brad_

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ley & Rulofson until he decided to begin on his own account. He had a nice trade at San Luis Obispo until 1874, when he came to San Buenaventura and opened a gallery near the mission chnreh. A year afterward he moved between Oak and California streets and built a gallery, with the privilege of moving it. In the spring of 1877 he bought his present location on Oak street and moved the gallery there, building additions to it, and has since then conducted his business with brilliant success. His gallery is splen- didly equipped, and is filled with samples of his work which reflect great eredit upon his skill. He was among the very first to adopt the dry- plate method, so superior to the old method.

He has recently built a nice two-story res- idence on Santa Clara street, surrounding it with choice flowers and young trees and shrubs. In 1875 he married Mrs. Mary O). Sinclair, widow of J. S. Sinclair; her mnaiden name was Mary Oberia Hadley. They have had two children, but lost the little son. Their danghter, Pansy Augusta, was born in Ventura, August 15, 1880. Mr. Brewster has been elected one of the School Trustees of the city; he is a Prohibition Republican, a business man of talent and a citizen with- out reproach. He is an Elder in the Pres- byterian Church, of which denomination his family are also members. He is Treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Asssociation, and has been made an honorary member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. He is also Treasurer and Depositary of the American Bible Society at Ventura.

A. SMITH is one of the great family of Smiths and is a worthy citizen of · the Ojai Valley, Ventura County. He was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, 29

September 18, 1845, the son of Morgan and Elizabeth (Martin) Smith, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Scotch descent, and the latter of Scoteh-German descent, her father's ancestors having been Scotch and her mother's German. They were the par- ents of six children, five of whom are living. The subject of this sketch was their second child. He was reared in Ohio, and was at- tending school when the war of the Rebel- lion burst upon the country. The call to arms resonnded through every city and village throughout the entire North and East, and the sound of the fife and drum could be heard in every town. Young Smith, filled with patriotic ardor, enlisted in Company E, Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a high private, and served through the whole bloody struggle, re-enlisting when his first term of service expired. He participated in all the battles of the Army of the Cumber- land. Sometimes his clothes were torn by shot and shell, but, strange to say, his flesh never received as much as a scratch. The most sanguinary battles in which he was en- gaged were Stone River, Chiekamanga, Mis- sion Ridge and Nashville. In these battles vast numbers of brave men were slain on both sides, besides the thousands who were mutilated for life. Mr. Smith's re-enlist- ment occurred at Chattanooga. He was mus- tered ont at Nashville, Tennessee, in October, 1865.

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Author: Storke, Yda Addis Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 738

Author: Storke, Yda Addis
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 738