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 107

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 107

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

Boyle avenne (Boyle Heights), they erected their present fine residence, and have since highly im- proved the grounds about it, making it one of the most picturesque and beautiful homes in this part of the State. Mr. Workman's ranch property is situated on the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, two miles from Puente station; is fine farming land, and under a high state of cultivation, as is evidenced from the fact that lis tenant made $6,000 off the crop of 1888. Mr. Workman has not engaged in any active business since residing in the city, but is en- joying a happy, retired life with his wife and family of four daughters and two sons, ranging in age fromn six to eighteen years.

OHN CHARLES WEST .- Among the earlier settlers and well-known residents of Glendora is the above-named gentleman. Mr. West is a native of the State of Iowa, dat- ing his birth in Henry County, in 1856. His parents were John P. West (whose history ap- pears in this volume) and nee Elizabeth Har- sham. Ilis father was a prominent farmer of Henry County, and the subject of this sketch was reared to that calling, receiving the benefits of a good education in the public schools and academies of Henry County. In 1875 he ac- companied his father to California and located at Compton, Los Angeles County, where he was engaged in farming operations until 1878. In that year he came to Aznsa Township and lo- cated at what is now the thriving village of Glendora. There he bought a squatter's claim to 160 acres of land, located just east of Glen- dora, and commenced clearing the wild land and building up a home. After the long years of litigation between the settlers and the Azusa grant holders had been brought to an end and the rights of the homestead settlers seenred by Government titles, these desirable lands were sought by the Eastern emigrants, who came seeking homes. Mr. West then sold portions of his land, retaining a fifty-acre tract lying just

east of the town site of Glendora: Upon this he has crected a neat cottage home, suitable out- buildings, etc., and is placing his lands under a high state of cultivation and improvement that is destined to place his farm among the repre- sentative properties of his section. He is also a one-third owner of 240 acres, located in the Dalton Cañon, upon which land has been de- veloped a fine water supply, which is piped to his tract for irrigation purposes. Mr. West is a substantial and progressive citizen, and has been one of the leaders in opening up and en- conraging the settlement of the beautiful valley in which he lives, and has been a supporter of all enterprises that build up a community. His straightforward and consistent course of life justly gains him the esteem and respect of his friends and associates. In political matters he is a stanch Republican. In 1879 Mr. West was united in marriage with Miss Emma Hinman, the daughter of Augustus and Mary (Mallory) Hinman. Her parents were natives of Con- nectient, in which State she was born. Her father died in her childhood. Her mother then married Mr. Martin Comstock, now of River- side, San Bernardino County, California. From the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. West there are two children living: Alta E. and Frank H.

M. WOODY .- The phenomenal suc. cess of the varied enterprises estab- lished in the San José Valley and the remarkable growth and prosperity that has been attained in building up the thriving city of Pomona, is largely due to the energetic and in- telligent business men that since 1880 have made that beautiful valley their home. Among those specially worthy of mention is the gentle- man whose name heads this sketch. Mr. Woody is a native of Roane County, Tennessee, dating his birth in 1850. His parents were Samnel and Mary E. (Braziel) Woody, both natives of that State. When the subject was less than a year old his father cmigrated to Texas and set-

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

tled near Fort Worth, where he was largely en - gaged as a stock-grower. Mr. Woody was reared to the active life of a frontier town, and when but sixteen years of age commenced his career as a trader, and afterward established himself in merchandise business at Fort Worth and other places. He conducted his mercantile pur- suits in Texas until 1881, when he located at Ogden, Utah Territory, where he opened a gen- eral merchandise store. The next year he went to the Northern part of Idaho, and for several years thereafter was actively engaged in mining enterprises and farming operations. He was the discoverer of a valuable mica mine while there, which was afterward sold to Chicago capitalists for $150,000. In February, 1886, Mr. Woody came to Los Angeles County and located at Pomona, and has been actively engaged in busi- ness since that date. He first established a grocery store, and afterward went into partner- ship with R. N. Loucks, on the corner of Sec- ond and Gordon streets. In January, 1889, he opened his present store in the White Block on Second street, where he has one of the best ap- pointed and most complete grocery stores to be found in the city. In connection with his mer- cantile pursuits, Mr. Woody has been an exten- sive dealer in real estate, entering into that business in 1887. He was also president of the Real Estate Exchange. He is the owner of a part of block No. 181, of Burdick's Addition to Pomona, a fine tract devoted to orange culture, located between White avenue and Ellen street. He is one of the active business men of the city, and promptly engages in such public enterprises as tend to attract immigration and build up Pomona. He was the promoter and principal builder of the Orange Grove Street Railroad, and is now its principal stockholder, being sec- retary and treasurer of the corporation and gen- eral manager and superintendent of the road; he is also a member and vice-president of the Pomona Board of Trade. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being the Senior Warden of Pomona Lodge, No. 246. IIe takes an interest in the churches and schools of the city, and is a

member of the Presbyterian Church, and also of the Young Men's Christian Association. In political matters he is Democratic. In 1871 Mr. Woody married Miss Julia E. Tinsley, a native of Kentucky and the daughter of Alan- son and Catherine (Fox) Tinsley, descendants of old families of that State. The children born from this marriage are: Tedie F., Walter E. and Nettie May.

HARLES M. WRIGHT, of the firm of Lynch & Wright, proprietors of the No- gales Ranch, was born in Chittenden County, Vermont, April 26, 1836, son of Nelson and Mary (Mayo) Wright, both of whom were of old New England families. Mr. Wright was reared to a farin life, and educated in the county of his birth; but he was not one to be satisfied with the slow plodding life of a New England farmer. In the spring of 1859 he left the old home and came via Panama to San Francisco, reaching there in May. In July following, he came to Los Angeles, and as a driver entered the employ of Tomlinson & Co., stage proprie- tors. Not long afterward he engaged in mining in San Bernardino County, which occupation he followed until 1862, when he again entered the employ of the same stage company, with whom he remained seven years, then engaging on his own account in the same business. In 1876 Mr. Wright bought a one-third interest in the No- gales Ranch, one of the finest properties in the beautiful San José Valley. The property is sitnated south of Spadra, the residence, one of the oldest in the valley, being about one mile from that place. The highway, leading from Pomona to Los Angeles, passes in its course one and a half miles through the property. The ranch contains 9,000 acres, partly fine valley lands and partly hill and valley interspersed, but all of fine quality. The property is devoted mainly to sheep and wool growing, about 5,000 sheep being kept. A few hundred each of cattle and hogs and about seventy-five head of horses

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help to make up the stoek usually to be found on the ranch. About 600 acres of land are kept for seeding to barley. Alfalfa is grown, and a variety of fruit and grapes. Since Mr. Wright beeame interested in the ownership of the ranch, he has been the resident manager, his partner being a resident of Santa Cruz, California. Nogales Ranch is known to be not only one of the largest, but one of the finest grazing prop- erties of Southern California.

AMES C. WALLACE .- The subject of this sketeh was born in Perry County, Ohio, September 29, 1833. His parents, James and Sarah (Plummer) Wallace, were natives of Pennsylvania. The death of his father occurred in 1837, and when he was but thirteen years old he was apprenticed to the wateh-maker's trade, at which he was employed until the age of nine- teen years. In 1853 Mr. Wallace left Ohio and located at Jacksonville, Florida, and for the next "six years he was employed at his trade, working in various Southern States. In 1859 he finally located in Oxford, Mississippi, and there engaged in business as a jeweler and also in the drug business. The outbreak of the civil war in 1861 caused a disruption of his business as well as other enterprises in his State, and Mr. Wallaee beeame a mail contractor under the Government of the Confederate States, and with his charac- teristic energy embarked in such other business pursuits as the disordered state of affairs per- mitted. Ile eseaped the military service, which was distasteful to him, by reason of his employ- ment as a contractor under the Government. At the close of the war he was appointed proetor of the State University at Oxford, a position which he held until 1868. In 1871 Mr. Wallace came to California and located at San Gabriel. At that time he was almost entirely without ineans and with a family looking to him for support. Nothing daunted, he sought and ob- tained work in horticultural pursuits upon the ranch of B. D. Wilson, and afterward was en-

gaged in the jewelry business for some months in Los Angeles. In 1873 Mr. Wallace and wife purchased from General Stoneman eleven acres of land in the Alhambra sehool distriet, abont a mile and a quarter northwest of the San Gabriel Mission, where they took up their residence. He started his nursery, planting seeds and grow- ing his own trees. His industry, combined with intelligent care and well-directed efforts, seeured him a success in his horticultural pursuits and he soon established one of the representative orchards and nurseries of the San Gabriel Val- ley. His orange grove contains nine acres, five acres of which are producing Sandwich Island seedlings and four acres of budded trees, Wash- ing Navels and Mediterranean Sweets. He has also a choice variety of deeiduons fruits. Since first planting nursery stock for his orchard he has devoted a large share of his attention to that business, and has produced some of the finest trees in the valley. Upon their home place, at this writing, there is only a small stock, some 6,000 budded trees; but he has, in eon- neetion with his sons, established a nursery of 55,000 trees in Ramona, and one at San Fer- nando of 70,000 trees. Their stock is composed principally of eitrus and deciduous fruit trees of the most approved varieties. The improve- ments on their home place are first-class in every respeet. A neat and substantial cottage, eom- modions barn and suitable out-buildings, all sur- rounded by shade and ornamental trees, denote the comfortable and well-ordered home, while rich floral productions add mueh to its beauty. In addition to their home orehard they have property interests in Ramona, owning their nursery of ten and a half aeres, with a fine resi- dence and six town lots. They also own ten aeres in San Fernando, which is well improved, and, in connection with leased land, is used for nursery purposes. In 1861 Mr. Wallace was married to Miss Martha E. Wilson, the daugh- ter of Wiley R. Wilson, a brother of the late B. D. Wilson, one of the early pioneers of Los Angeles County. Her father died at Downey in 1878. Her mother, nee Miss Elizabeth Curry,

M. L Nieks

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

a native of Tennessee, is now a resident of Downey. From the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace there are seven children living, viz .: Glen C., J. Wiley, George A., Benjamin W., Mattie E., Estella R. and John Walter. In the spring of 1884 Glen C. married Pallie L., the daughter of Dr. Hampton, of Los Angeles, and is residing at San Fernando, conducting the nursery of Wallace & Sons. Mr. Wallace is well known in the San Gabriel Valley as one of its progressive and enterprising citizens, ready to aid in sneh enterprises as tend to develop the resources and build up the county. In political matters he is affiliated with the Democratic party. His family are members of the Chris- tian Church, of which he is a strong supporter.

OSES LANGLEY WICKS .- In sketch- ing the lives of some men it is difficult to do so even briefly without appearing to use flattery, however conscientiously the writer may seek to adhere to facts and to give a faithful likeness. M. L. Wicks belongs to this class of men. However, let the facts speak for them- selves, the reader can then draw his own deduc- tions and interpret for himself the character, the principles, the motives of action, the quality, the timber, of the man whose story is thus in few words recounted. Mr. Wicks was born in Aberdeen, Monroe County, Mississippi, April 22, 1852. Major M. J. Wicks, his father, was a native of Savannah, and was of Welsh-English extraction, and his mother descended from the English Jennings family, intermixed in Amer- ica with Huguenots. While the subject of this sketch was yet a child, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Here he received his early education at a private academy. He also attended the Leddin Commercial College, where he graduated as an accountant, after which he entered the University of Virginia, where he spent two years in the study of ancient lan- guages, natural and moral philosophy, political economy, the mathematics, mineralogy, history

and literature. Later, he voluntarily took up international and constitutional law, for which he took his degree, thus enabling him to finish in one year the two years' law course of the Univer- sity. In a class of 124, twenty-one, including Mr. Wicks, received the degree of B. LL. At this time he had intentions of entering the arena of politics, but he was dissnaded therefrom by Professor John B. Minor, who is still a member of the law faculty of the University; and his resolution was further strengthened by attending a political ward-meeting in Memphis. But, al- though he was diverted from engaging in politics as a profession, he holds that no citizen should neglect his political dnties. In national politics Mr. Wicks is a Democrat; but in local affairs he believes in voting for the man whom he con- siders the best qualified for the office, without regard to political party lines. After graduat- ing, Mr. Wicks associated himself with his father in business at Memphis. In 1875 he mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Littlejon, and came to Los Angeles, where his father had settled the pre- ceding year, having lost his fortune by Jay Cooke & Co.'s failure in 1873. IIe opened a law office at Anaheim and soon acquired a lucrative practice. True to the tradition of the Huguenot blood that was in him, he believed that conscience should enter into the profession of the lawyer as in every other calling. He made it a rule to thoroughly familiarize himself with the merits of every case intrusted to him; if not approved by his judgment, he sought to have the case settled on its merits, or if a civil snit, he declined to defend it; and thus knowing and believing in a meritorious case, he conld advocate it with a force that sincere conviction always carried. In examining witnesses it was his invariable rule to treat them as gentlemen, and to never forget that he himself was a gen- tleman. In the conducting of his cases he saw at a glance and recognized what was essential, and rejected all that was irrelevant, so that it was said of him that no man tronbled himself less with the citation of authorities and prece- dents. In other words, he seemed to have a

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clear insight of fundamental principles and a love for natural justice, which are, indeed, prime characteristics of both the humblest attorney and of the most exalted judge. During his residence in Anaheim liis first son was born to him, M. L. Wicks, Jr .; and some months after Mrs. Wicks passed away. In 1877 Mr. Wicks moved to the city of Los Angeles, which has ever since been his home. Here he continued to practice his profession until his extensive transactions in real estate and the numerous enterprises with which he became connected demanded his entire attention. He was a bold operator, and he met with remarkable success. He believed, as did inany others, only he had the courage of his conviction, that the great valley of Los Angeles, with its boundless resources and its all-the-year- round nearly perfect climate, mnst become some day densely populated; and that land must always be in demand here for homes, as well as for what it will produce. A brief resumé of Mr. Wieks's various land and other transactions will not be without interest here, in connection with and as a part of the story of his life. In 1882, in conjunction with Rev. C. T. Mills, founder of Mills's College for young ladies, one of the first institutions of its kind in Califor- nia or in the United States, MI. Wicks pur- chased several large tracts of land, amounting in all to about 14,000 acres, including the site of the town of Pomona. To secure for this property an ample supply of water, he sank more than a score of artesian wells; and, after purchasing a number of conflicting titles, he piped and conveyed to the property the waters of the San Antonio Canon. By means of these and other improvements, such as the construction of roads and the laying off of the lands, thereby making them attractive for homes, a wild and unculti- vated stock range has been converted into pros- perons settlements, occupied at the present time by more than 5,000 inhabitants. The Dreyfus tract, formerly a sheep pasture, constituting a part of the San Rafael Rancho, was also bought by Mr. Wicks and his associate for the sum of 850,000; and the wisdom of this investment,

about which some people had misgivings at the time, was soon mnade manifest; for, in less than ninety days, portions of the land were sold tor. over $100,000; and yet many of the purchasers themselves have made on their ontlay a profit of from 200 to 300 per cent. Mr. Wicks bought a body of land in San Bernardino County, near the eastern boundary of Los Angeles County, to which adjoining lands were added by other parties; and the Cucamonga Fruit-Land Com- pany was organized. Onto these tracts water was also brought in pipes or procured by means of artesian wells or tunnels, and thus waste places were made attractive to actual settlers who came and converted them into prosperous settlements. The Dalton portion of the San José Rancho was purchased by M. L. Wicks from J. S. Slanson and others for $255,000. Within four months, with the expenditure of $80,000 in furnishing a supply of water, a sufficient amount of land was sold to equal more than twice the amount of the original investment. The far- seeing sagacity of Mr. Wicks, and the magni- tude of his transactions, are further illustrated by the following: Believing that the present site of the Santa Fé Railroad depot would be, for manifold reasons, the most desirable loca- tion that could be selected in this city for the terminns of that continental thoroughfare, Mr. Wicks obtained a bond for the land, and made a trip to Topeka, while on a visit to the East, to impress on Vice-President C. W. Smith and others the desirability of this location. Subse- quently, when President Strong and Vice-Presi- dent Smith visited the city, though the bond had expired, Mr Wicks was selected to secure the property for the company, which he did success- fully and satisfactorily to the company, charging

and receiving no commission therefor. Mr. Wicks opened Second street, from Main street to within a few hundred feet of the river, without ex- pense to the city or Los Angeles. This portion of Second street is now one of the most important cross thoroughrares of the city and is certainly a very important improvement (in a thickly set- tled section) to be made by a single individual.

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He has dedicated more than ten miles of streets to the city of Los Angeles. Of course the en- terprise was a profitable one to Mr. Wicks, but it has also proved enormously profitable to a large number of other property owners along its line, as well as a great convenience to the gen- eral public. Mr. Wicks has been instrumental in the construction of more than a score of large reservoirs, and lie has just completed one of a capacity of 45,000,000 gallons; and he strongly believes that the future material prosperity of Southern California depends largely upon the storage of water in reservoirs; and that these must be built either high up in the mountains or else outside the mountains in the plains or at points into which large water-sheds do not drain, claiming that a perfectly level surface is the best possible location for a reservoir. Mr. Wicks purchased the Lick tract of 2,300 acres, north of the city, for $85,000, and subdivided it, sank some wells on it, and sold it all off generally to actual settlers; and probably, the tract could not now be bought for less than an advance of 500 per cent. over the original cost. Mr. Wicks put the first $50,000 into the Los Angeles County Railroad, thus secur- ing its construction. He put $120,000 into the Ballona Harbor; and he holds that, though this latter enterprise is at present at a stand-still, seed has been sown that will bear fruit here- after; and that a competitive port may be created at that point at a comparatively small cost, by the Government, that will be of im- mense valne to this valley and to the vast inte- rior, which, from the topography of the country, finds here its natural ontlet aud connection with the ocean. Mr. Wicks has been engaged in large enterprises in other counties. He is president of the Citizens' Water Company, and he has been an organizer and director of numberless other incorporated companies in Los Angeles County. He is a liberal contributor in aid of charitable and religious and educational objects. In 1881 Mr. Wicks was married to his second wife, by whom he lias one son, Percey Langley. Mr. Wicks is still a young man, though he has 41

already made himself a reputation as an edu- cated Christian gentleman.

ALEB E. WHITE .- Among the Califor- nia pioneers of 1849 and old residents of Los Angeles County is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, a brief review of whose life is as follows : He was born in Holbrook, near Boston, Massachusetts, February 5, 1830. His father, Jonathan White, a native of Massachusetts, was a prominent manufacturer and well-known business man. He died in 1875, aged eighty-seven years. His mother, Abigail (Holbrook) White, is still living, aged (in 1889) ninety-three years. Mr. White was reared in his native place until nineteen years of age. It was then, 1849, when the gold fever was at its height. Being of an ambitious tein- perament and desirous of travel, he determined to seek his fortune in the new El Dorado, and in February, 1849, embarked in the brig Arcadian, bound upon a voyage around Cape Horn for California. A long and tedious voyage ensned, and the vessel with its impatient passengers did not reach San Francisco until October 29 of that year. Soon after his arrival in San Francisco Mr. White and other members of the company -originally started in Boston-opened a store in Sacramento. This partnership continned un- til the next year, and then he conducted a store upon his own account until 1852. Then he entered into fruit-growing on the American River. He was a pioneer in this enterprise. Being compelled to ship his trees from the East the greater portion of them died while in transit, but, foreseeing the profits to be secured in the fruit industry in California, he decided to start a nursery, and in 1854 went East and secured a large variety of plants, with which he established a nursery about twelve miles east of Sacramento. Mr. White was largely engaged in fruit cultiva- tion and the nursery business upon the Ameri- can and Sacramento rivers until 1868. In that year he went to San Luis Obispo County and

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was extensively engaged in sheep-raising and wool-growing. In 1869 he took up his resi- dence in Los Angeles County, and established a sheep ranch at Florence, six miles south of Los Angeles. In 1878 he sold out that business and changed his residence to Los Angeles City. Hle then became interested in real-estate mat- ters in the county, and in 1875-'76 entered into the Los Angeles Emigration and Land Co-opera- tive Association, and was a director in that com- pany. In 1880 Mr. White moved to Pomona, and since the sale of the lands of his company to the Pomona Land and Water Company he has devoted himself principally to horticultural pursuits. In this he has been very successful. His years of experience in the nursery business and fruitculture have enabled him to secure the best results possible, and one of the finest orange groves in the San José Valley is his eighteen- acre tract, located on Holt avenue, at the corner ot San Antonio avenne. Although citrus fruit is his specialty upon this tract, he also produces a large variety of deciduous fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots, olives, prines, etc. Everything about his model place attests the snecessful orchardist. He is now (1889) employed in planting and cultivating what is destined to become the largest orange grove in the State. This 300-acre tract, located north of North Pomona, is owned by a wealthy capitalist of Oakland. Mr. White is an enthusiast in the possibilities of the citrus-fruit industry of the San José Valley, and also a firm believer in the future prosperity of the city of Pomona. Be- sides his orchard property he is the owner of some of the finest business property in Pomona, among which is the White Block, at the corner of Thomas and Second streets. He is a public- spirited and progressive citizen, taking an inter- est and lead in any enterprise that tends to develop the resources and add to the prosperity of his chosen valley. Ile is a member of Po mona city council; a strong Republican in poli- tics, but liberal and conservative in local mnat- ters. Ile is a member of Pentalpha Lodge, No. 202, F. & A. M., of Los Angeles. In 1855 Mr.

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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