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 123

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 123

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That ycar he removed to Crawford County, Arkansas, and settled in thecounty seat, Van Bn- ren. He there established the Crawford County Bank. It did a very prosperous business from its opening, but the prevalence of malarious dis- ease in that locality, with which Mr. Vickrey's family were attacked, caused him to sell ont the bank about a year later, and decide to come to California. He and his family arrived in Los Angeles in March, 1881, and have resided in that city ever since. For several years he did not engage in any settled business, but was prominently connected with several enterprises of both private and public character, among them the organizing of the company and estab- lishing the Rosedale Cemetery, of which he was president a number of years, and took personal charge of the improvements. In the spring of 1887 he organized and opened the East Side Bank, of which he is president, and which, under his judicious management, is enjoying a very prosperous business career. Mr. and Mrs. Vick- rey have a family of six children, five sons and one daughter, whose names in the order of their ages, are as follows: Ofield A., steadily engaged in business; Brenton Lee, the oldest teller in the Los Angeles National Bank; Chaun- cey Waitman, actively employed in business; L'Dora Cecil, a graduate of the State Normal School; Berton Ellsworth and Neal B., attending the city schools. During the year 1888 Mr. Vickrey erected the handsome five-story brick block on North Main street, which bears his name. It is 60 x 100 feet in size, and one of the finest business buildings in the city. Ile also owns several other pieces of valnable city property.

EORGE OSBORNE, one of the young and enterprising tillers of the soil and substan- tial stock-raisers near Long Beach, is a pioneer of 1880, having located on his present farm in July of that year. When first coming to the Golden State he was employed by a farmer near Florence, working there as a day laborer.

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

He soon after purchased a piece of land of his own in New River district. This he subse- quently sold, and went into the real-estate busi- ness in Los Angeles. Here he continued for two years and then bought the sixty-three acres upon which he now resides. Mr. Osborne was born in New York City in 1854, and is the son of John and Ellen Osborne, both natives of the Emerald Isle. His father was a chandler by trade. In 1859 he went to Portage County, Wisconsin, where he was killed by thie caving in of a well. The subject of this sketch was married in June, 1888, to Miss Maggie Ferris, of Portland, Maine, and a daughter of John Ferris, who was drowned in 1882. Both Mr. and Mrs. Osborne are consistent members of the Presbyterian Church.

M. PERRY, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County, was born at Franklin, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1836. During his childhood his parents re- moved to Ohio, and in that State the subject of this sketch was reared and received his education. After reaching manhood he came to the Pacific Coast, in 1859. Some years later he returned to the Eastern States and engaged in business, remaining there until 1874, when he again came to the Pacific Coast. This time he located per- manently in Los Angeles, and two years later he established his present business on Arcadia street. Mr. Perry removed to his present loca- tion on Main street in 1884, and has a large and commodious store. He has a large shop on East Fourth street, which is the mannfacturing de- partment of his extensive business, and where all the mechanical work is done. He has had a large experience in scientific sanitary plumb- ing in all the latest and most approved methods, and has a large established trade. Mr. Perry has been twice elected a member of the city council, and was chosen chairman of the board of public works, holding that position during one terni. In the fall of 1888 he was elected a

member of the board of supervisors. The nomination and election was entirely unsought on his part and he was elected by the large ma- jority of 600 over the Democratic and Prohi- bition candidates, and upon the organization of the board he was elected president. He enjoys an enviable reputation for his ability and integ. rity as a public officer. In December, 1868, Mr. Perry was united in marriage to Miss Hattie S. Sargent, a native of Ohio. They have six children, three sons and three daughters.

B ENJAMIN FRANKLIN ORR was born at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1836, his parents being William and Mary (Adams) Orr. His father was an undertaker, and to that business young Orr was reared and assisted his father nntil 1858, when, coming to California, he engaged in mining in the gold region of So- noma and Tuolumne counties until 1861. After making a prospecting tour through Southern California, he located at San Francisco, and was there employed as an upholsterer until 1865. He then came to Los Angeles, where, in 1867, he became associated with V. Ponet in under- taking, as Ponet & Orr. In 1885 the firm was changed to Orr & Sutch, Mr. Ponet being suc- ceeded by W. H. Sutch. Mr. Orr was married in 1868, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Miss Rebecca Piatt, daughter of James B. Piatt, of that place. She is a native of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania. To them have been born two children, Virginia, a student of Los Angeles College, in the class of 1889, and Elsie. Mr. Orr is a mem- ber of Pentalpha Lodge, No. 202, F. & A. M., and of Tricolor Lodge, No. 96, K. of P., both of Los Angeles.

B. PHILP, of the firm of Haben & Philp, manufacturers of galvanized iron cornices 0 and metal roofing, sky-lights, etc., No. 116 South Los Angeles street, was born in Can-

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

ada, January 29, 1849. IIe attended school and learned his trade there, and upon reaching man- hood went to Rochester, New York, in 1869, and worked at his trade there, in New York City and in Utica. Then he went to Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado, and returned to Ontario, Canada, and lived in Hamilton three years, and after spending two years in Texas returned to Canada and remained five years. He then went to British Columbia and to Manitoba and spent a year or two in each place, after which he came here and worked at his trade until 1887, when he associated with his present partner and established the business they now conduct. By close attention to the details of their business and the honorable methods they employ, they are building up a fine trade. Mr. Philp was married November 1, 1888, to Miss Emma Wil- son, a native of Canada.

OIIN H. PURKINS .- The subject of this sketch was born in Licking County, Ohio, May 27, 1820. His father, John Purkins, was a native of Virginia, and a descendant of one of the old Colonial families, and was a soldier of the Revolution. He was one of the pioneers of Ohio, and served in the war of 1812, under General Jackson. He died in 1829. Mr. Pur- kins's mother was nee Sarah Hatfield, a native of Kentucky. Mr. Purkins was reared on his father's farm until the death of his father, and when but ten years old was placed on board the school-ship Gold Hunter, in New York Har- bor, to receive an education fitting him for the merchant sea service. At the age of sixteen years he passed his examination, and took em- ployment as a trader on a voyage to the South Sea Islands. This voyage lasted until 1843. In that year he returned to Ohio, where he re- mained until 1844, and then shipped upon a whaling voyage for three years. After complet- ing that voyage he was engaged at his calling upon the Lakes until 1852. He then engaged in farming and other pursuits, locating in Ohio,

Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska until the break- ing out of the Rebellion. Early in 1861 he enlisted in the Fourteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving with that regiment until after the battle of Athens, Missouri. He was then transferred to the Ninth Iowa Volunteer Cav- alry, and was commissioned as First Lientenant of Company G. He served throughout the campaign in the field until he was severely wounded at the battle of Pea Ridge, in 1862. In the fall of that year he received his discharge from the service by reason of disability, went to Idaho and was there engaged in prospecting, and later in paeking and freighting, and also established a trading station at Buena Vista Bar. He was successful in his enterprises and became interested in mining enterprises and in erecting mills, etc. Many of these investments resulted in failures, and Mr. Purkins sought other fields of adventure and fortune. In 1865 he went to Alaska and tried his fortunes in the Stikcen mines. After a trial of five months, his health failing him, he abandoned his pros- pects and returned to Oregon. There he pur- chased a band of horses and drove them to Sonoma County, California. After selling off his stock he engaged in the lumber business in Russian River Valley until 1869, and then transferred his business to Mendocino County. He conducted business in that county until 1872. In that year he located in Butte County and, in addition to his lumber business there, was the proprietor and landlord of the well-known "Ten- Mile House," located on the Bidwell and Hum- boldt road, ten miles from Chico. In 1876 he sold out his interests in that county and, after a short stay in Sonoma County, came to Los Angeles County, locating at San Dimas, and in the spring of 1877 engaged in the wood bnsi- ness in the Dalton Cañon. In 1878 Mr. Pur- kins purchased a claim of forty-seven- acres of land located about three miles south of Glen- dora. Like many of the carly settlers of that place, he spent years in contesting the claims of the Azusa grant-holders, and the Southern Pa- cific Railroad Company, and finally secured his

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

patent for twenty-three acres. In 1888 he sold ten and a half acres of his land to William S. Ruddock, and then commenced a more complete improvement of the remaining portion, upon which he erected a well-ordered residence, etc. He has four acres of citrus and deciduous fruits, embracing a large variety of such as are success- fully cultivated in his section. He also has seven acres in strawberries. Mr. Purkins has had an experience in life that few men pass through, covering a period of nearly fifty years, with many thrilling adventures on land and sea, and he is now content to pass his remaining years under his own vine and fig tree, in the beautiful section he has chosen for his residence. He is a liberal and progressive citizen, taking an interest in all that pertains to the welfare and building up of the San Gabriel Valley. In politics he is Democratic and is conservative in his views. In 1868 Mr. Purkins married Miss Hannah E. Shuler, a native of Iowa. She is the daughter of John and Margery (Weed) Shuler, well-known residents of Sonoma County. The names of the six children from this mar- riage are: Marjory E., John Henry, Clara Emily, Georgia A., Guy Leroy and Homer L.

ILLIAM E. PARKER was born in Brazos, Texas, in 1847. His father, William H. Parker, was born in 1807, in North Carolina, and when about ten years of age accompanied his parents to South Carolina, where he was reared and educated. He there married Miss Elizabeth J. Siske, and abont 1832 moved to Missouri, where he remained until 1845, and then located in Brazos, Texas. The mother of the subject of this sketch died in Texas in 1847. In 1850 his father came to California and was in the United States Govern- ment employ for two years. He then returned to Texas, and in 1854 brought his family over- land to California and located in San Diego County. The following are the names of the children comprising that family: Andrew Jack-

son, now (1889) a resident of Tulare County; Martha, now Mrs. William Ross, of Kern County; Jeanetta, now Mrs. Moses Hale, also of Kern County; Narcissa, wife of John Key, of Los Angeles, and William E., the subject of this sketch. In 1855 Mr. Parker, Sr., moved his family to Los Angeles County, and located about one mile south of El Monte, and there engaged in farming until 1875, when he took up his residence in the Green Meadow District, about six miles from Los Angeles, and remained there until his death, which occurred in March, 1889. The subject of this sketch was reared to farm life, receiving his education in the public schools at El Monte. He remained upon his father's farm nntil 1870, and then located in Tulare County, where he engaged in stock-growing and general farming. In 1876 he returned to Los Angeles County, and took up his residence at Green Meadows, remaining there until 1880, when he located at Downey, where he resided until 1888. In that year he came to the Azusa and purchased a twenty-acre tract, on Citrus avenue, and entered into horticultural pursnits. After spending four years in improving that place he sold the same in 1887, and purchased fifteen acres about two miles south of Azusa, upon which he is now residing. With the ex- ception of a family orchard of citrus and decidu- ous fruits, Mr. Parker is devoting his land to berry cultivation and general farming. It is his intention in the near future to plant the whole tract with citrus fruits. In addition to his home place, Mr. Parker is devoting considerable at- tention to farming and grain-raising npou rented lands. Mr. Parker is a farmer by profession, and is thoroughly schooled in his calling. Of energetic and industrious habits, he has achieved a fair success in his enterprises. In 1887 and 1888 he acted as the water overseer of his dis- trict. In politics he is Democratic. In 1870 Mr. Parker married Miss Frances S. Bohannan, the daughter of John P. and Ella (Ramsay) Bohannan. Her parents were natives of Illi- nois, who located in Texas, and in 1869 came to Los Angeles County. From the marriage of

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

Mr. and Mrs. Parker there are seven children, whose names are as follows: Laura F., William P., James, Harry, Walter, Edmond and George V., all of whom are members of their father's household.

OTHAM BIXBY is a native of Norridge- wock, Maine, where he was born January 20, 1831. His ancestors emigrated from Massachusetts to Maine, but originally came from England. His father, Amasa Bixby, had ten children, eight sons and two daughters, all of whom, except two sons (deceased), now reside in California. The subject of this sketch came to California via Cape Horn in 1852. He worked awhile in the mines in the central part of the State. Afterward, in 1857, he went into the wool and sheep business, first in Monte- rey County, and then in San Luis Obispo County, where he remained till 1866, when he came to Los Angeles, having in 1865 bought of John Temple the rancho of Los Cerritos of 27,- 000 acres. This rancho, which lies east of the San Gabriel River and fronts on the ocean, in- cludes the present towns of Long Beach and Clearwater. Mr. Bixby has been engaged in the stock business on this ranch ever since its purchase. The company with which he is con- nected has also bought 17,000 acres of the Palos Verdes Rancho, and a one-third interest in Los Alamitos of 26,000 acres, and 6,000 acres in the rancho of Santiago de Santa Ana. Some years his company used to have on the Cerritos as many as 30,000 head of sheep, producing 200,- 000 pounds of wool annnally. At present the company raise more cattle and horses than sheep. They have now about 30,000 head of cattle. The names of Mr. Bixby's brothers are: Amos (editor Long Beach Journal), Marcellus, Lewellyn, Henry H. and George F. His sisters are Miss Francina A. Bixby and Mrs Nancy D. Lovett, widow of Hon. William E. Lovett, deceased. In 1863 Jotham Bixby married Mar- garet Winslow Hathaway, dangliter of Rev.

George W. Hathaway, a resident of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Bixby have five children, three boys and two girls. The eldest son, George H., graduated from Yale College in 1886; he is married and lives at Long Beach, and is already an active assistant in the management of his father's extensive business. The next son, Harry, is in New Haven, preparing to enter Yale Col- lege. The Bixbys are good representatives of the better class of New England families. They have much force of character; they are firm in their moral convictions; they believe in honesty and integrity in their dealings with their neighbors; they believe there is such a thing as a moral government in the universe, and they seek to become good citizens under that government. Believing in such a creed, it goes without saying, that they are respected in the community in which they live.

OSEPH S. PHILLIPS .- The subject of this sketch is the founder of Covina, Azusa Township, and is one of the representative and well-known citizens of that section. Mr. Phillips was born near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1840. His parents, Samuel S. and Anna (Foubs) Phil- lips, were natives of Pennsylvania. In 1850 his father commenced his movement westward, first locating in Illinois, then in Wisconsin, and going to Iowa in 1854 and engaging in farming in Howard and Clayton connties. Mr. Phillips was reared to agricultural pursuits upon the great prairies of the West, until 1860. In that year he came via the Isthmus route to Cali- fornia, and shortly after his arrival located in San Joaquin County, where he was engaged in farming and stock-growing until 1864. He then established his residence in Stockton and for the next three years was engaged in general broker- age and real-estate business. In 1867 he located in Stanislaus County and for many years was largely engaged in grain-raising. He owned 1,000 acres in that county, but he also rented adjoining lands and often sowed and harvested

JOTHAM BIXBY.

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

5,000 acres of grain in a season. As an illus- tration of his practical method of farming it may be stated that in 1876 he plowed, sowed and harvested 4,400 acres, which yielded a large crop of grain, this work all being done with a force of only four men besides himself. Mr. Phillips continned his farming operations in . Stanislaus County until 1880, when he came to Los Angeles County and established his resi- dence in Los Angeles. There he entered into manufacturing, and, in connection with A. L. Bath, established the well-known plow manu- factory of Bath & Phillips, the.first gang plows made in Los Angeles County being manufactured by this firm. In 1882 Mr. Phillips severed his connection with the firm, and purchased 2,000 acres of land, the northern portion of the old Puente grant, and again turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, taking up his residence upon his purchase and engaging in hay and grain raising, farming his own and about 1,500 acres of rented lands. In 1885 he laid out the town of Covina, and was one of the most active men of his section in inducing the settlement of that fine section of the county. He was one of the prime movers in incorporating the Azusa Water Development and Irrigation Company, and was a large stockholder in the company. From 1883 to 1889 he was the superintendent of the company, and had the direction of putting in the magnificent system of ditches that have inade the lands of the old Azusa and Covina section available for fruit and vine cultivation. Over twenty miles of cement ditches were con- structed under his direction. Eight miles of the main diteli are capable of conveying a supply of 5,000 inches, while fourteen miles of the ditch have a capacity of from 300 to 800 inches. Mr. Phillips is now the owner of 500 acres of some of the choicest land in his section. Forty acres are devoted to a fine variety of Muscat and White Malaga raisin grapes, thirty acres to cit- rus fruits, mostly Washington Navel oranges, five acres to apricots, and he also has a fine family orchard, producing a large variety of fruits of the most approved order. He has also

on his lands a large nursery stock consisting of about 500,000 citrus fruits, 250,000 olive trees, and a large stock of peaches, nectarines, apricots, etc. The rest of his land is devoted to general farming. Mr. Phillips is an energetic and pro- gressive citizen, aiding and taking the lead in any enterprise that has so wonderfully developed his section. It is to suchi men that the remark- able development in the last few years of the San Gabriel Valley is due. Although not a politician, he has always taken an intelligent in- terest in the political questions of the day, and has cast his influence with the Republican party. In 1865 Mr. Phillips was united in marriage with Miss Mary Madden, a native of Virginia. She died in 1878, leaving the following named children: Annie, George and Gracie. In 1880 he married Miss Cornelia Hunt, the daughter of David Hunt, a veteran of the Mexican war, and well-known pioneer of California. From 1851 to 1853 Mr. Hunt was sheriff of Sacra- mento County, and later was the well-known proprietor of the International Hotel in San Francisco. Her mother was nee Cornelia Beazely, and both her parents were natives of Tennessee. From this marriage there are five children: Laura H., Gladys I., Joseph Dexter, Francis N. and Elizabeth H. H. In 1870 Mr. Phillips's father came to California and estab- lished his residence in Stanislaus County, re- maining there until his death, which occurred in 1885.

ENERAL WILLIAM A. PILE, deceased, was one of the prominent citizens of Mon- rovia, with which city he was identified from its foundation until his death, and he ever took a deep interest in its growth and prosperity. General Pile was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1829, son of Jacob and Comfort (Williams) Pile. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother of Tennessee. In 1831 his father moved to Illinois and located at Quincy, Adams County, and was one of the pioneers of

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

that place. His occupation was that of a farmer, to which calling the subject of this sketch was reared. In his youth General Pile received but a limited education, but his energetic tempera- ment and ambitions nature led him to overcome these defects, educate himself and become a teacher. Early in life he became a member of the Methodist Church, and, by a course of theo- · logical study, prepared himself for the ministry in that church. In 1854 he moved to Iowa, and soon thereafter was ordained as a minister of his chosen church. In 1860 he established his residence in St. Louis, where he was installed as pastor of a congregation, and settled down to what he supposed would be his life's work. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, on the day when the first rebel shot hurled from Charleston fired every loyal heart, he closed his church and immediately entered the army of the United States as a Chaplain. He did not officiate in that capacity, but obtained a position upon the staff of General Lyon and participated in the battles of Booneville and Wilson's Creek. In these battles, by his gallantry and soldierly bearing, he acquired the title of the " fighting parson," and gave indispntable proof that his position in the army was not to be that of Chap- lain. He was appointed and commissioned as Captain in the First Missouri Artillery, and en- tered into active service as a Battery Commander. His fighting qualities and conspicnous gallantry soon gained him recognition, and promotion rapidly followed. He served with distinction throughout the war, and his military record is worthy of mention. The following are the suc- cessive commissions he won during that strug- gle: Was commissioned Captain of First Mis- souri Artillery, in September, 1861; Lieutenant- Colonel of the Thirty-third Missouri Infantry, September 6, 1862; Colonel of the Thirty-third Missouri Infantry, December 23, 1862; Briga- dier-General of the United States Volunteers, December 26, 1863; and finally, brevetted Major-General of the United States Volunteers for "conspicuous gallantry " at the battle of Fort Blakely, April 9, 1865. The General

earned every step of his promotion npon the field of battle. Among the most important engage- ments in which he took an active part during the war, are the following battles: Booneville, Wilson's Creek, Island No. 10, siege of Corinth; he commanded a division in the advance on Mobile in the spring of 1865, during which he was engaged in the battles of Pollard, Mitchell's Fork, and the siege and capture of Fort Blakely. August 24, 1865, General Pile was innstered out of the service. He returned to St. Louis and was nominated for Congress by the Repub- licans of the First Congressional District of Missouri, and was elected after one of the most bitter and exciting campaigns that ever occurred in the State, carrying a district in which no Republican has been elected before or since. In Congress he did good service as a legislator and distinguished himself by intelligence, industry and faithful devotion to duty. In December, 1869, he was appointed by President Grant Governor of New Mexico. He served two years in that capacity and was then sent to South America as Minister Resident of the United States, to the Republic of Venezuela. In Octo- ber, 1873, he resigned that position, and in con- nection with Governor Cornell, of New York, and other prominent gentlemen of that State, established an enterprise for the navigation of the Orinoco River and other Venezuelan waters. Subsequently he accepted from the Government of Venezuela the position of Counsel of the Government and General Agent of the State and War Departments, the office of Minister Plenipotentiary having been offered him and declined because, as a citizen of the United States he could not hold that office fromn a for- eign power, and he would not become a citizen of Venezuela. For several years he managed, in that capacity, with perfect success the diplo- inatic relations of that country with the United States and with the Netherlands. In 1878 he successfully argued the matter of the awards of the mixed commission between the United States and Venezuela, before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States Honse of

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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