An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California. Containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day, Part 102

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1092

USA > California > Los Angeles County > An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California. Containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 102

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JONATHAN SAYRE SLAUSON is a na- tive of Orange County, New York, where he was born December 11, 1829. His ancestry was of English extraction. He worked on a farm in his youth in Orange County, where, and at Poughkeepsie, he obtained his education. He graduated at the State Law School at Pongh- keepsie in 1854, and the next year he went to New York City and practiced law until 1864, when he came to California. He went to Ans- tin, Nevada, and engaged in mining four years. He served as mayor of Austin two terms, from 1864 to 1868. He practiced his profession with Hon. C. E. de Long until the latter was ap- pointed Minister to Japan by President Grant. In the fall of 1868 Mr. Slanson came to San

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

Francisco, and in 1874 he came to Los Angeles and took charge as president and manager of the Los Angeles County Bank. He continued in that position about nine years, or until 1883. Mr. Slauson has always been an ardent Repub- lican, and he is an elder and trustee of the First Presbyterian Church, and has been active in church and charitable work. He is married and has three children, two daughters, both married, and one son.

BRAM G. TABER, Justice of the Peace at Norwalk, was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1826, one of a family of seven children of Jonathan and Abbie (Man- chester) Taber, of Scotch ancestry. His grand- father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. At an early age the subject of this sketch went to sea, and was absent three years, as a cooper on a whaling vessel, making a voyage to the Indian Ocean. In June, 1848, he sailed in the ship Plowboy, which stranded on a reef in Guyaquil. He reached San Francisco on the brig Valarta, in December, 1849, but continued a seafaring life a year longer. Subsequently he entered the coffee trade in San Francisco, and afterward the manufacture of vinegar, syrup, etc., in Sacramento. In the latter he was very successful. While in that city he married Miss Mary J. Mora, a native of Missouri and a daughter of William Mora, who had crossed the plains with an ox team. By this marriage there was one daughter, Helen Henrietta, now married and living in Arizona. Mrs. Taber died, and Mr. Taber, in 1863, went to Carson, Nevada, where he was a manufacturer until 1868, and where he married Miss Tamson D. Ricker, a native of Lebanon, Maine, and daughter of Jesse Ricker. In 1868 Mr. Taber came to Los Angeles, and for several years worked at the carpenter's trade, and also did some business in real estate; but, owing to depression in business matters, he lost heavily, and then bought eighty acres where he now lives, near Norwalk, and where he has since

given considerable attention to dairying and the raising of horses. March 4, 1889, he took the oath of office as justice of the peace in Norwalk. Judge Taber has been a man of large experience in the world, and of good judgment. Politi- cally, he is a Republican.

HARLES II. TREAT .- The gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch is a young and enterprising man, and a recent acquisition of Los Angeles County. He is a native of Wisconsin, born in Manitowoc County, August 23, 1869, and is the son of E. B. and Charlotte H. (Farnsworth) Treat, the former being a native of New York and the latter of Wisconsin. E. B. Treat was a well- known and successful lawyer in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for nineteen years, dying there No- vember 20, 1880. IIe had two sons, Charles H. and William P. The subject of this sketch received a liberal High School education, and in 1887 graduated at the Spencerian College, in Milwaukee. His home in the future will be near Long Beach, on the beautiful property recently purchased by him.

AMUEL G. THOMPSON, proprietor of the Railroad House, Wilmington, Los Angeles County, is a pioneer of 1866. He is a native of Canada, but was reared in Detroit, Michigan; is of Scotch descent. He learne ] the brass-molding trade at Kendrick & De Graff's establishment in Detroit. With them he worked until they closed down, abont 1859, when he came to California on the steamer Sonora, land- ing in San Francisco. Here he was variously em- ployed, in the pickle works, teaming, and in the glass works. Ile subsequently worked for Spratt & Debrce, San Francisco, and later went to Fort Dalles, Oregon, where he carried on a restaurant till he was flooded out in 1862 and 1863. Then, in company with his brother-in-law, Joel G.

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Dorman, he engaged in the lumber business in the same place, and some time later he was cap- tain of a flat-boat, which ran from Fort Dalles to the Cascades. After this he ran for the Oregon Steam Navigation, and had a contract for wood and lumber freighting, being captain of the craft. In 1867 Mr. Thompson came to Wilmington, where he has been successful in working up a lucrative business. He has been a constable for two years, having been elected on the Republican ticket Previous to this he was the deputy sheriff of Los Angeles County, under George E. Gard. Socially, Mr. Thomp- son is a member of the I. O. O. F. at Compton, and of the K. of P. at San Pedro.

REDERICK THOMPSON was born in Williston, Chittenden County, Vermont, in 1835. His parents were Josiah and Cynthia (Cuttler) Thompson, both natives of the Green Mountain State, and of Scotch origin. The former died in 1886 on the old home place, and the latter, when the subject of this sketch was a small boy. Mr. Thompson left home in 1857, and crossed the plains to California, land- ing at Shasta. He worked two years on a sheep ranch in Tehama County, after which he went to San Francisco and was in the dairy business for six years. He was next engaged in the dairy business in San Mateo County two years, and later went to Santa Bárbara County, where he continned the same business several years longer. He next moved to Ventura County, and for a number of years was engaged in agricultural pursuits, subsequently locating in Los Angeles County, where he purchased fifty acres of as fine land as there is on the coast. This farm is situated two and a half miles northeast of the city of Compton. November 4, 1882, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Miss Fannie C. Thompson, who was born in Essex, Vermont, and is the daughter of Ebenezer and Mercy (Cole) Thompson, who moved from New Hampshire, Mr. Thompson coming with his

parents when he was a small boy. The subject of this sketch is what might be termed a self- made man, and he is one who is respected and esteemed by his neighbors and friends. Politi- cally he is a Republican, and socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity.

AMES T. TAYLOR .-- Among the well- known business men and civil engineers of Pomona is the above-named gentleman, of the firin of James T. Taylor & Co., civil engi- neers and surveyors, also insurance agents and real-estate dealers. Mr. C. H. Kluegel, of On- tario, is associated with Mr. Taylor in business, the firm having their offices in Pomona and Ontario. Mr. Taylor has been in charge of the home office since the establishment of the part- nership in 1886, and has conducted most of the extensive land surveys and systems of irriga- tion, etc., that have been made in the San José Valley, also surveying and mapping most of the additions of the city of Pomona. In 1888 Mr. Taylor was appointed city engineer of Pomona, by the board of trustees, and he surveyed and laid out a sewerage system for the city, which was accepted and considered the most complete that could be desired. The subject of this sketch was born in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, March 19, 1858. His father, the Rev. Townsend E. Taylor, was a native of La Grange, New York, a graduate of Middlebury College in Ver- inont, and of the Theological Seminary in New York City, after which he was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church, and in 1847 went to the Hawaiian Islands, and was there prominently engaged in missionary work. His mother, nee Persis Goodale Thurston, was the daughter of the Rev. Asa Thurston, of New York. In 1860 Mr. Taylor's father was com- pelled, on account of ill health, to leave the islands, and he came to California, engaging in his ministerial labors in various parts of the State, until his deathı at Nordhoff, Ventura County, in February, 1883. Mr. Taylor was

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

reared in this. State and given the advantages of a good education. He entered into classical studies at the State University, but ill health compelled his abandoning a thorough course. He then studied civil engineering and survey- ing, and in 1877 was employed by the city en- gineer of Oakland, after which he entered the employ of the South Pacific Coast Railroad, where he was engaged until 1880. He was then employed under the State engineer as resident engineer ou levee work on the Yuba River, and then on construction work by the Northern Pa- cific Railroad, and later on the Southern Pacific Coast Railroad. In 1883 Mr. Taylor came to Los Angeles County and took up his residence in the Pomona Valley. There he was employed as engineer of the l'omona Land and Water Company, and until the establishment of his present business was actively engaged in per- fecting the admirable water system of that com- pany, supervising and directing their flume lines throughout the valley. Mr. Taylor has been actively engaged in developing the resources of the San José and Pomona valleys and building up the city of Pomona, and is prominently con- nected with some of the largest corporations of the city. He is vice-president of the Pomona Gas and Electric Light Company, and is a stock- holder and one of the original incorporators of the l'omona Street Railroad Company, and a director and large stockholder in the Palomares Hotel Company; also a director and stockholder of the Peoples' Bank of Pomona, and a member and director of the Pomona Board of Trade. IIe has also large landed interests in San José Val- ley, and has conducted extensive horticultural improvements upon his own lands, for which he has the agency. Mr. Taylor is an active busi- ness inan and one of the leading citizens of Pomona, and it is to such men that Pomona is indebted for the lead she has taken in the rapid growth of Southern California. In political mat- ters he is a stanch Republican. lIc is a mem- ber of Pomona Lodge, No. 246, I. O. O. F., and Etna Lodge, No. 107, K. of P., of Pomona. Mr. Taylor is unmarried. Ilis mother is residing

with him, and also his brother, Henry T. Tay- lor, who is an engineer and surveyor by pro. fession.

MOS D. TRUSSELL is a pioneer of Sierra Madre, being the first to purchase land and take up his residence upon the Sierra Madre tract. This was in July, 1881. At that time he bought twenty-two acres of wild and uncultivated land and immediately commenced its improvement, planting grapes and citrus and decidnous fruits. Mr. Trussell early saw the advantages of the beautiful Sierra Madre tract, in location, climate, soil, etc., and from the first has been one of the most active in promoting the success of the colony and inducing a desir- able class of people to build homes in that sec- tion. He has been an earnest and active sup- porter in every enterprise that has tended to build up and benefit his chosen locality. Mr. Trussell sold off a portion of his land in 1887, but still retains his beautiful home, " Piedmont," which is located north of the business center of the town. Mr. Trussell is a native of New England, dating his birth at Merrimac, New Hampshire, in 1830. His parents, Amnos and Lanra (Jewett) Trussell, were both natives of that State. When abont eight years of age his parents moved to Ohio, and settled in Meigs County, where his father engaged in agricult- ural pursuits. The subject of this sketch was reared and schooled in that and the adjoining county of Jackson, becoming inured to the prac- tical life of a farmer, and later learning the trade of a carpenter and millwright. He re- mained in that county until 1869, and from 1853 was engaged in his calling and in con- ducting milling operations. In 1869 Mr. Trus- sell located in Brown County, Kansas, where he entered into farming operations and was also engaged in mercantile pursuits in Cloud and Osborne counties, and was the owner of a mill in Brown County. In 1876 he moved to Rich- ardson County, Nebraska, where he conducted

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farming and other operations until he came to California, in the spring of 1881. In addition to his horticultural pursuits in Sierra Madre, he has been engaged as a contractor and builder. Mr. Trussell is a straightforward business man and a public-spirited citizen. Ile was one of the promoters and original incorporators of the Sierra Madre Water Company. In political matters he is a Republican, and has represented his district as a delegate in several of the county conventions. In 1853 Mr. Trussell was united in marriage with Miss Sarah H. Reasoner, a native of Ohio. From this marriage there are living the following named children: Calvin R., who married Miss Nellie Town, and is now re- siding in San Diego County; Dayton, also a resident of that county; Raymond, who married Miss May Rhodes, now living in San Diego County; Winona, now Mrs. Edward B. Jones, of El Monte; Jacob R., of Antelope Valley; and Constance and Harry D., who are members of their father's household. The marriage of Winona Trussell and Edward B. Jones took place March 7, 1883, it being the first wedding in the Sierra Madre colony. The Rev. A. G. L. Tren, Dean of Southern California, performed the ceremony.

OHIN TEMPLE and his brother, F. P. F. Temple, were natives of Reading, Massa- chusetts. The former was one of the very earliest American settlers of Los Angeles. He was engaged in trade here for many years, and afterward he became a large ranch owner and stock-raiser. He erected various buildings in the city, including the Downey Block (called in his time Temple Block ), the old court- house, etc. Mr. Temple at the time of his death was the lessee of the Government Mint of Mex- ies. Twice he and Mrs. Temple visited Enrope. He died in 1866. Francisco Temple, his brother, came to Los Angeles some years later than John. Ile married a danghter of William Workman,

and eventually he became independently rich in lands and cattle. But in an evil honr he per- mitted himself to think that he was fitted to become a bank manager, with the result, ulti- mately, of financially wrecking both his father- in-law, Mr. Workman, and himself, because he could not say No; though a kind, good-hearted man, and very successful as a ranchero, he was wholly unfitted to manage a bank. The bank- ing house of Temple & Workman collapsed in 1875. Mr. Workman committed suicide when his portion of the magnificent Puente Rancho disappeared in the maelstrom, and Mr. Temple himself afterward died of a broken heart. There are still many mementoes in this city and county of these two Temple brothers, who, in old times, were widely known and universally respected.

RANCIS PHINY FISK TEMPLE, de- ceased. No history of Los Angeles County could be well written withont more than a passing mention of him whose name heads this sketch. He was a pioneer of the pioneers, one of the men who led the advance gnard of the mighty hosts who brought American civil- ization to this bright, sunny land. A brief review of the life of Mr. Temple gives the fol- lowing facts: He was born in Reading, Middle- sex County, Massachusetts, February 13, 1822, of one of the old New England families, of English origin. Reared and educated in his native county, he was possessed of that sturdy independence, of that thorough self-reliant spirit, that led his ancestors to leave the well- trodden patlıs of the old world and devote their lives to building np a new civilization in bleak, sterile New England. F. P. F. Temple was the youngest of a family of ten children. After receiving his early education, he started for California (then Mexican territory), by the way of Cape Horn, arriving at Los Angeles in the summer of 1841, a boy of nineteen years of age. There his brother, Jonathan Temple, who,

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with the energy characteristic of the family, had established himself as a pioneer merchant in 1827, was then the leading merchant of the town. With him the subject of this sketch engaged in business. After some years of mer- cantile life he separated from his brother and bought largely of real estate, both in Los An- geles City and connty and elsewhere, being largely interested in the Rancho Potrero Grande, Potrero de Filipe Lugo Ranch, Merced Ranch, San Joaquin Rancho and San Emedio Ranch, also being one half owner of the Rancho Tajon, which contained twenty-two leagues. Septem- ber 30, 1845, Mr. Temple wedded Senorita An- tonia Margarita Workman, the only daughter of William Workman, Esq. (deceased), whose history will be found elsewhere in this volume. Her mother, Nicolasa U. De Workman, was born of an old Spanish family, at Santa Fé, New Mexico, in 1802. Mrs. Temple was born at Taos, New Mexico, in 1831. From the time of his marriage Mr. Temple made his home at the La Merced Ranch, in the San Gabriel Val- ley, twelve miles east of Los Angeles. There he built for himself a large, roomy and sub- stantial adobe building, after the old Spanish style, 110 x 70 feet, forming a half square. Ile there engaged largely in the breeding of stock, also buying largely and sending immense droves of cattle north, whereby he realized immense profits. About the year 1851 he commenced the work of farther improving and beautifying his home-property on the Merced Ranch, plant- ing a vineyard of 50,000 vines, and planting some twenty aeres to miscellaneons fruits, also laying out a beautiful garden, one of the finest in the county in that day. . Mr. Temple was a great lover of fine horses and much interested in their breeding. In 1860 he purchased the " Black Warrior," paying $7,000, an immense price in those days for a single animal. A short time afterward he bought " Billy Blos- som." Both horses were of high lineage and from families noted for trotting. He also in- vested heavily in blooded brood-mares. About this time he commenced to fence in his large

domains, spending about $40,000 for that pur- pose, besides building commodious barns for his stock. All the lumber had to be brought by wagons from San Pedro Harbor, a distance of thirty iniles. In 1868, Mr. Temple engaged in the banking business at Los Angeles, with I. W. Hellman, and his father-in-law, William Workman, Esq. This partnership dissolved in 1871, and was succeded by the banking honse of Temple & Workman. The new firm did their business in the fine, massive structure known then and now as the Temple Block, which had just been built by Mr. Temple, in one of the best business localities in the city. This institution was well known in business circles all over the Pacific Coast, throughout the Territories and in many of the principal financial centers of the East. The firm failed in 1875-'76. The magnificent fortunes, so ener- getically acquired by the proprietors, melted away. Mr. Workman died in 1876. Mr. Tem- ple never recovered from the financial disaster, by which he lost all but his honor. His after life was saddened and perhaps shortened by it. He died of apoplexy at La Merced Ranch, his home residence, April 27, 1880, and was buried in the family burying ground at La Puente. Mrs. Temple survives, and occupies the old home, which, shorn of its broad acres, is still a very fine rural property, though the estate com- prises only fifty 'acres of land. Her mother, now ninety years old, but in good health, lives with her. Mrs. Temple is the mother of eleven children, eight of whom lived to become men and women. Of these, seven are at this writing (1889) living. Thomas W. Temple is the sole proprietor of the Lt Cronica, the only Spanish paper published in Los Angeles. Will- iam Temple, an attorney at law, is a resident of the city of Mexico. John H. Temple lives at the old home of William Workman, Esq., at La Puente. The other children living are: Lu- einda, Maggie, Walter and Charles P., who reside with their mother at the old home at Merced. Francis Workman Temple, the second son who reached manhood, becmae the owner

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

of the home of his Grandfather Workman, at La Puente. There he made valuable improve- ments and lived a useful life, which was cut short in its prime, his death occurring August 3, 1888, at the age of forty years. He had ac- cumulated something like $100,000 wortlı of property, and died unmarried.

OHN HARRISON TEMPLE .- The sub- ject of this sketch is a worthy son of one of Los Angeles County's eminent pioneers, the late F. P. F. Temple. John H. Temple was born at the home of his parents, at Merced Raneh, February 27, 1856. He was given in his youth such educational and other advantages as the wealth of an indulgent father, anxious for the welfare of his children, could bestow. After a course of study at Santa Clara College, and at Reading, Massachusetts, the birthplace of his father, he graduated at Bryant and Stratton's Commercial College at Boston. When about entering upon manhood, the failure of his father's banking house praetieally threw Mr. Temple upon his own resources. Then it was that the inherent energy of the Temple family beeame largely his working capital. His present inter- ests are quite large. He is the owner of a very fine property of seventy-five acres, on the Rancho Potrero de Felipe Lugo, near his parental home. This place is under a high state of eultivation, being principally planted to English walnuts, which are now (1889) just in their prime, being fifteen years old. At present they are yielding an income of $2,500 per year. As the annual product of trees increases rapidly each year from the age of fifteen years, an income of probably $5,000 per year ean soon be safely relied upon. Mr. Temple is the occupant and joint owner with his brother William of the well-known Puente homestead, the former home of his maternal grandfather, William Workman, one of the pio- neers of Los Angeles County. Few rural homes in the county excel this in beauty of location or excellenee of improvements. During the life

and occupancy of Mr. Workman, he expended thousands of dollars in building improvements. The estate now comprises seventy-five aeres of choice valley-land, under a high state of culti- vation, devoted to culture of vines, miscellaneous fruits, etc., as well as general purposes. Tlie beautiful cottage residenee, commodious and noticeable for its convenience and orderly arrange- ments, attracts attention from all passing through the beautiful Puente Valley. In connection with the little chapel near by, built by Mr. Work- man, the winery and cellars, the large barns and tanks and the various out-buildings, the stranger at a little distance is easily led to think himself viewing a hamlet of no mean importance. The property in former years was largely devoted to wine-grape culture, and is fitted with press and storage facilities for the manufacture of 50,000 to 60,000 gallons of wine per annum, also with a still for the manufacture of brandy. At pres- ent the annual out-put does not exceed 10,000 gallons of wine. The residence stands upon an eminence raised slightly above the plain, giving an excellent view in all directions of the valley. After the death of Mr. Workman, the property was owned and occupied by Francis Workman Temple, an older brother of him whose name heads this sketch. He made valuable improve- ments, expending in enlarging and rebuilding $10,000 or more. He was a man of great energy and became quite wealthy. He died a bachelor, at the age of forty years, August 3, 1888. He is buried at the little chapel near by, the family burying-ground of the Workmans and Temples. With his brother William, John H. Temple became an equal owner of the estate, after their brother's death. There he has his home and dis- penses to stranger, as well as to friend, that liberal hospitality which has always been a marked characteristic of the Temple family. Mr. Tem- ple has recently purchased his brother William's interest in the Workman homestead. Mr. Temn- ple married, September 30, 1886, Senorita Anita Davoust, an estimable lady of French and Spanish parentage. She is the mother of two children, both of whom were born in Los Angeles, the

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elder, August 24, 1887, and the younger, No- vember 17, 1888.

ILLIAM WORKMAN, EsQ., deceased. Few men had more to do with the early development of the resources of Los Angeles County than the subject of this sketch. At this writing (1889) nearly half a century has elapsed since he, in company with John Row- land, came to this country, in 1841, and obtained from the Mexican Government a title to the La Puente Ranch, a principality of itself, contain- ing as it did 48,000 acres. After some years they divided their lands and Mr. Workman built the Puente homestead, in the beautiful Puente Valley. In those days few rural homes in California excelled his, either in elegance of structure, sightliness of location or beauty of surroundings. There, surrounded by the com- forts that wealth command, Mr. Workman en- gaged in stock-growing, the cultivation of his extensive vineyards, wine manufacture and other congenial occupations. In 1868, with his son- in-law, F. P. F. Temple, and I. W. Hellman, he engaged in banking at Los Angeles. In 1871 the business passed into the hands of Temple and Workman, who rapidly, by the magnitude of their operations, became known among the leading banking firms on the Pacific Coast, In 1875-'76 the bank failed, and both partners lost their magnificent fortunes. Mr. Workman was so overwhelmed that his death soon followed, occurring May 17, 1876. Sadly and tenderly his remains were buried at the Workman and Tem- ple family burying ground, at the little chapel on the Puente Ranch, erected by him. Of the carly life of Mr. Workman we are able to give a few facts. He was born in England in 1800. He early commenced life's battles in his own behalf. Coming to the United States before reaching manhood, he became a business man at St. Louis, Missouri, then a frontier village. From St. Louis Mr. Workman crossed the mountains to Santa Fé, New Mexico. Several

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Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1092

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1092