An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day, Part 100

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1038

USA > California > Los Angeles County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 100
USA > California > San Diego County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 100
USA > California > Orange County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 100
USA > California > San Bernardino County > An illustrated history of Southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of Lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time; together with glimpses of their prospects; also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

EORGE D. CUNNINGHAM is one of the enterprising and representative business men of Riverside who have made that city second in enterprise to none in San Bernard- ino County. He has been associated with her leading business enterprises and building in- dustries since 1876, during which time the small hamlet of a few hundreds has grown to a city of thousands. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1853. His parents were Herbert R. and Eleanor (McGregor) Cunningham. He was reared and schooled in his native place until sixteen years of age, and then came to the United States and located at West Amesbury, now Merrimac, Massachusetts; there he entered into an apprenticeship at the carriage and wagon makers' trade. A close attention to business for four or five years resulted in making him a skilled workman, and a master of the practical details of the business. He then returned to his home in Nova Scotia, where he resided un-

til 1876. In that year he decided to establish himself on the Pacific coast, and came to Riv- erside. Upon his arrival he engaged in mercan- tile life as a clerk with R. F. Cunningham in the general merchandise business. After a few months in that employ he established himself in business as a carriage manufacturer and dealer in agricultural implements on Eighth street. He was a master of his business and soon gained the confidence and support of the community. As his business increased he entered heartily in improving and building up the city. In 1883 he built the well-known Cunningham block on the corner of Main and Eighth streets. This was the second two-story brick business block erected in Riverside. During that same year a disastrous fire destroyed his carriage works, ete., but he never lost his faith either in himself or in the future of his chosen city, and after a few months of commission work in the sale of carriages for Eastern manufacturers, he established a furniture business in his block on Main street two doors south of Eighth street, under the firm name of Cunningham & Kelley. This partnership continued until 1886, when he bought out the interests of his partner, and conducted the business alone. In 1887 he moved his warehouse to the Hoyt block, and conducted his greatly enlarged business until May, 1888, when he sold out to W. S. Sweatt & Co. In September of that year he formed a partnership with Mr. A. A. Wood, under the firm name of Wood & Cunningham, and entered into the hardware and crockery business, which he has since conducted. This well-known firm has one of the largest and most substantial business enterprises in Riverside. Their ex- tensive stock of hardware, crockery, tinware, gas fixtures, lamps, etc., is one of the most varied and complete in the county, occupying a double store in the Cunningham block, and also a large wareroom ou Eighth street. Nearly fourteen years ago Mr. Cunningham cast his fortunes with Riverside. He has been a suc- cessful man, and gained a well deserved com- petency. This has been done by soand business

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

principles, combined with a straightforward honest dealing that not only gained him the support and patronage of the community, but their respect and esteem as well. He has always been a liberal supporter of enterprises that would build up the city and advance the welfare of the public. He is a director and one of the original incorporators of the Riverside Build- ing and Loan Association. In politics he is a Republican, and his interest in the success of that party has made him a delegate and worker in many of the conventions. He is a charter member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 259, F. & A. M .; also a member of Riverside Chapter, No. 67, R. A. M., and Riverside Commandery, No. 28, Knights Templar. He is a member of Sunnyside Lodge, No. 112. Knights of Pythias, and of the Uniform Rank of that order.

Mr. Cunningham was married in 1879, in Riverside, wedding Miss Susan E. Handy, the danghter of Captain B. B. Handy, a well-known resident of that city. The following are the names of the fonr children from this marriage: Bessie C., Jack, Eleanor and Marian.

OSEPH DAVID GILBERT, SR., a promi- nent farmer near San Bernardino, is a na- tive of Cattaraugus County, New York, born in 1827. His grandfather ran away from London, England, and was a soldier in the French and Indian war, also in the Revolution. His father, Truman Gilbert, married Rebecca Fay, a native of England, and immediately after his marriage he moved to the Western Reserve in Ohio, where he remained until 1842, when he moved to the Mississippi river, and from there to Montana, where he died in 1882. The subject of this sketch kept a ferry at Montrose, across the Mississippi river, for some two years. In 1850. he started across the plains to Califor- nia. HIe tarried in Salt Lake City one year. There were twenty-two men and five women in the company, and they had five ox teams and fourteen horse teams. They took turns guard-

ing their stock at night and their rule was to travel from 6 o'clock A. M. to 6 o'clock P. M. each day. They left Springville March 14, 1850, and arrived here May 31, of the saine year. He arrived here when there was but one house in San Bernardino, and worked on some twenty- three adobe buildings. He has dealt consider- ably in land. Where his neat residence stands to-day on his well improved and fruitful farm, there stood at the time he bought it but a single cottonwood tree to break the monotony of the barren plain.

He was married at Provo, Utah, January 1, 1854, to Margaret M. Barney, a native of Illi- nois. Her father, Charles Barney, was from Vermont, and died in the Utah valley. They have five children, viz .: Joseph D., Jr., Ellen, now Mrs. Frank Mecham; Eminerme, now Mrs. Oscar Weece; Anna B. and Hattie. Mr. Gilbert is a straight-out Republican and an intelligent worker for his party's interests.

LFRED A. WOOD, the senior partner of the well-known firmn of Wood & Cunning- ham, proprietors of the leading hardware establishment of Riverside, is a native of Cali- fornia, dating his birth in Sonoma County in September, 1859. His father, William B. Wood, came to the State in 1850, and spent many years of his life in Sonoma and Monterey counties, and later, in Riverside, he was a business man and engaged in mercantile life. The subject of this sketch was reared and schooled in Castro- ville, Monterey County, and after his attendance in the public schools entered the State Normal School at San Jose, and after a four-years course graduated at that institution in 1880. He thien joined his father at Duncan's Mills, Sonoma County, and was there engaged in business pur- suits and teaching until his health became im- paired, and he sought the milder climate of Southern California. He first located at San Diego Connty, in 1881, and was employed as a teacher in the public schools in Ballena, and

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

then as a clerk in the postoffice at San Diego, after which he entered the employ of the South- ern Pacific Railroad Company as a clerk, and finally engaged in mercantile pursuits with Rockfellow & Co., of San Diego. In 1883 he eame to Riverside, and entered into his present business with his father, under the firm name of W. B. Wood & Son. The business was es- tablished by his father and W. W. Carr in 1882, under the firm name of Wood & Carr. In 1887 Mr. Wood's father retired from the tirin, and he conducted the business alone until May, 1888; the firm of Wood & Tibbott Bros. was then formed and conducted the enterprise until Sep- tember of that year, when Mr. George D. Cun- ningham purchased the interests of Tibbott Bros., and the firm of Wood & Cunningham was estab- lished. Mr. Wood is one of Riverside's leading business men, and is at the head of one of the largest hardware and crockery houses in the county. The reputation of this firm for relia- bility and integrity is well established, and its success is in no small degree attributable to his able management. He is a believer in the prosperous future that awaits Southern Cali- fornia, and has real-estate interests in various sections of San Bernardino and San Diego conn- ties. He has also been a supporter of the vari- ons publie enterprises that have built up his chosen eity. He is a member of Sunnyside Lodge, No. 112, and Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias, and is the Captain of the latter organi- zation. Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. Wood was married in San Diego in 1881, wedding Miss Etta Choate, a native of Placer County, California. Her father, Daniel Choate, is a well-known pioneer of the State, and is now a resident of San Diego.

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ETER K. KLINEFELTER .- Among the noticeable fine residenee property and orange groves of Brockton Square of River- side is the " Bijon," owned by Mr. Klinefelter, and is located on the west side of Brockton ave-

nue, two miles south of the city, in the best improved seetion of the Riverside colony. He is the owner of twenty acres at that point, the ten acres bordering on the avenne he pur- chased from Mr. J. A. Simms in 1881. Upon this tract Mr. Klinefelter has his home, con- sisting of a neat cottage residence, surrounded by a fine growth of ornamental trees, palms and floral productions, forming one of the most comfortable and beautiful California homes to be imagined. His orange grove is seven acres in extent, principally of seedling trees that are eleven years old from the planting. In addition he has a large variety of diciduons fruits for table use, also two and one-half acres of alfalfa; the other ten acres he pnrehased from William R. Russell; this tract is cultivated to the grow- ing of raisin grapes. Mr. Klinefelter is also the owner, in partnership with his brother, Samnel K. Klinefelter, of twenty acres of land on Ru- bidoux avenue, Broekton Square. Upon this tract there are thirteen aeres of orange trees, two-thirds seedlings and balance in budded fruit, two acres of Lisbon lemons, and about five acres of olive trees. The product of his olive orchard is converted into oil and placed on the market, under the firm name of Klinefelter Brothers; it finds a ready sale at remunerative priees. Mr. Klinefelter is a thorough horticult- urist and a practical business man, who has made a success in his enterprises in Riverside. He is a strong supporter of such enterprises as in his judgment tend to build up the city and develop the resources of the valley. He is a stockholder of the Riverside and Arlington Railway, Riverside Gas and Electric Light companies, Citrus Fair Association, and other companies incorporated for the improvement of Riverside. He is a prominent Mason, being a member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 259, F. & A. M., and Riverside Chapter, No. 67, R. A. M., and Riverside Commandery, No. 28, Knights Templar; also a member of Riverside Post, No. 118, G. A. R. In political matters he is a Re- publican.

Mr. Klinefelter was born in Richland County,

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

Ohio, in 1842. His parents were Joseph and Elizabeth Klinefelter, who were natives of Penn- sylvania. In 1857 his father moved to Kansas, and settled in Boone County, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1858. Mr. Klinefelter was reared as a farmner, and fol- lowed that occupation until Marclı, 1862. At that time he entered the military service of his country as a private of Company C, Seventh Regiment of Kansas Cavalry. He served with his regiment until honorably discharged in Oc- tober, 1865, and during that time participated in many of the hard-fought battles and severe campaigns of the Western armny, commencing at Corinth and ending with the suppression of the guerrilla forces in Missouri. After his dis- charge from the service he returned to Kansas, and the next winter located in the South Park country, in Colorado, and in 1876, to Leadville. Mr. Klinefelter spent many years in that country in mining pursuits, as a prospecter, superin- tendent and manager in devoloping mines. In 1881, desirous of a more genial climate, lie es- tablished his home in Riverside. In the same year he married Miss Mabel Chance, a native of Ohio. There are no children living from this marriage.

EORGE M. SKINNER, was born in Easton, Massachusetts, in 1833, son of Harrison G. O. Skinner, a native of Massachusetts, and now a resident of Riverside. His mother, Betsey Holmes, was also a native of Massachu- setts. Mr. Skinner was reared and schooled in his native place, and given the advantage of a common-school education until seventeen years of age. He then located in Brockton, Mas- sachusetts, working in the boot and shoe manu- factories until 1863. In that year he responded to the call of his country for troops, and en- listed in Company F, Fitty- Eighth Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry. His attention to duty and soldierly bearing was soon recognized, and he was promoted to be Sergeant. Mr. Skinner

served gallantly throughout the war, and was not discharged from the service until August, 1865. During his service he participated in some of the most arduons campaigns and the hardest-fought battles that are chronicled in our history. His regiment was attached to the Ninth Army Corps, under the command of General Burnside, in the Army of the Potomac. He was engaged in the battles of the Wilder- ness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, South Anna, Cold Harbor, aud the siege of Petersburg, mine explosion in front of Petersburg. He was wounded and compelled to leave the field, and did not return to duty until the fall of 1864: from that time he was actively engaged in the siege until the spring of 1865. His regiment was a portion of those troops detailed to capture Fort Mahone: in that charge Mr. Skinner was again wounded and taken prisoner by the Con- federate troops, and was held a prisoner until the surrender of Lee's army at Appoinattox. After his discharge from the service he returned to Brockton and resumed his work in the manu- facture of boots and shoes, and later established himself in business. In 1879 the subject of this sketch came to California and located in Riverside. In February of that year he pur- chased a ten-acre tract on Brockton avenue in Brockton Square, about two miles south of Riverside, and has since devoted himself to horticultural pursuits. This place was at the time of his purchase partially improved, but he has made many improvements in tree plant- ing, taking up deciduous trees and replacing them with orange trees.

ELLSFORD E. WEST .- Among the horticultural industries well worthy of Inention is that of Mr. West, conducted upon a twenty-acre tract, located on the west side of Magnolia avenue, between Jackson and Van Buren, about six miles south of Riverside. .Mr. West came to this place in 1884, and in July of the next year purchased his present

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

home, and entered upon horticultural pursuits. The place was planted with trees and vines and partially improved in buildings. He com- menced a thorough cultivation and fertilization, and added to that a vigorons pruning system- atically applied, that has produced wonderful results, and to-day his groves and vineyards rank second to none in that section. He is a . thorough business man, having been trained to business pursuits in his boyhood, and spent years of his manhood in mercantile life. In his new calling, which he took up in Riverside, he applied the same intelligent care, study and research that he had applied to previous pur- suits, and the results were the same. As an illustration of what he has done, with a grove that is young and by no means in full bearing, and also to show the rapid increase in yield that he has secured, it is noted that his ten acres of orange trees, ten years old froin the seed and six years from the bud in 1889, and composed of two-thirds budded fruit and one-third seed- lings, gave the following returns: in 1886, the yield was 200 boxes: in 1887, 800 boxes; in 1888, 1,500 boxes, which netted him $2,000. The crops of 1889 is estimated to be 2,500 boxes, netting from $3,000 to $3,500; six acres of raisin grapes in 1888 yielded $900, the same in 1889 gave $1,200. Four acres of apricots in 1888 gave a yield producing $450. These trees are being uprooted and replaced with orange.

Mr. West is a native of Nova Scotia, dating his birth in Halifax, 1851. His father, An- gustus W. West, is a prominent business man, merchant and banker of that city, and is largely engaged in the West India trade. Mr. West was reared in Halifax, receiving the advantages of a thorough classical and business education, and then engaged with his father in mercantile pursuits. In 1877 he was received as a partner in the old established firm of J. T. & A. W. West, and continued in active business life until 1884. His failing health then demanded a change of business labors, and the seeking of a more genial climate, and in that year he came

to Riverside and soon after entered upon his present occupation. He has other interests in Southern California, among which is a 120-acre ranch in San Diego County, about ten miles from Escondido. Mr. West is an enterprising and progressive citizen, and one who promptly identifies himself with the interests of Riverside and its people, and already has a large circle of friends in the community. He is a consistent member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. West has a pleasant and happy home; he married in 1878, wedding Miss Sadie Coleman, a native of Cleveland, Ohio. They have three children: Ina Mabel, Ernest W. and Marguerita R.

DWARD M. COOLEY was born in San Bernardino County, California, November 23, 1859. His father, George Cooley, president of the board of supervisors, taught night school for some two or three years. Our subject's educational advantages were limited. He received his principal schooling at a log school-house about six miles from his home. He now owns a fine ranch of sixty acres, and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock-raiser. He was married March 4, 1882, to Miss Mary McCrary, daughter of Abner Mc- Crary, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work. They have two bright children, Mand and Lester. Politically Mr. Cooley is a Democrat, and has received the nomination of his party for some of the district offices. He is an energetic, industrious and enterprising young man and bids fair to make an enviable record in the calling he has chosen for a life work.

APTAIN JAMES W. SAYWARD, one of Riverside's well-known and respect- ed citizens, has for nearly forty years been identifed with the interests of California and the Pacific coast. The main incidents of his event- ful life, herewith briefly given, are of interest.

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HISTORY OF BERNARDINO COUNTY.

Captain Sayward is a descendant from an old colonial family of New England. His fore- father. Henry Sayward, emigrated to the Massa- chusetts colonies in 1637. His father, William Sayward, was a native of Maine, and a resident of Thomaston. Captain Sayward was born in that town, October 1, 1815. His mother, Mary Elizabeth (Robinson) Sayward, was the daugh- ter of Captain Moses Robinson, a veteran of the Revolutionary war. The subject of this sketch was reared and schooled in his native place, and early in life commenced battling for himself. At seventeen years of age his school days were over, and he worked as a ship carpenter in the sminmer seasons, and followed a seafaring life in the winter months. Reared in such a school of labor, he in early life became the self-reliant and energetic man that he has been throughout his subsequent career. The Captain became a master in his profession in his young manhood, and engaged in seafaring life on the Atlantic until 1850. In that year he camne to California and engaged in mining until 1852, when he returned East and built the bark W. T. Say- ward, and in 1854 brought the vessel around Cape Horn to San Francisco, as her owner and master. Soon after his arrival in San Francisco he sold his vessel and embarked in the lumber business at Port Ludlow, on Puget's Sound. He was engaged in that enterprise for about two years and then returned to San Francisco. Captain Sayward was a resident of that city in 1856, and was a member of the vigilance police, No. 505, that established law and order, and made life and property safe. He was then appointed on the police force of that city witlı the rank of Captain of the force. In 1857 lie accepted employment under the light-liouse board of the United States, and superintended the construction of the light-house at Cape Flattery. Upon the completion of that work he returned to San Francisco and was immedi- ately re-enlisted as a captain on the police force, a position he held until he resigned in 1860, that he might resume his seafaring life. In that year he took command of the brig Sheet-

Anchor, and was engaged in the coasting trade until 1866, when he commanded the ship Aquila, on a voyage to Liverpool. This proved a disastrous voyage for the Captain. After discharging his cargo in Liverpool, he loaded his vessel with pig-iron for New York. He was compelled to put back to the port of Glasgow Scotland, for repairs, and restow the cargo, and many delays occurred; and it was not un- til December that he was fairly on his way across the stormy Atlantic. His vessel was destined never to reach her port. In January, 1867, she encountered a three days' fearful gale on the Atlantic. The Captain and his crew battled with the elements for days; their ves- sel was dismasted, boats swept away, and she was in a sinking condition. Amidst this the Captain was so unfortunate as to receive a fracture of liis leg. As hope was nearly aban- doned, the bark Victoria, Captain S. Hews, finally hove in sight and eventually succeeded in rescuing the crew from the ill-fated vessel, and landing them at Baltimore. The Captain then decided to abandon his seafaring life and returned to California. Upon his return he located at St. Helena, Napa County, and was for many years engaged in horticultural and viticultural pursuits. In 1881 he camne to San Bernardino County, and located at Temescal, where he engaged in ranching until 1887; in that year he purchased from O. T. Dyer a ten-acre orange orchard, on the north side of Bandini avenne, one and one-half miles southı of Riverside, and has since been engaged in orange-growing. His grove was planted in 1878, by T. R. Gundiff, and is now is good bearing. About three-fourths of his trees are budded to Washington Navels and Mediter- ranean sweets, the remainder in seedlings. The Captain is a thorough horticulturist and his grove shows marked care and cultivation. A neat cottage residence surrounded by floral productions afford him a pleasant home. Cap- tain Sayward takes an interest in all matters that affect the welfare of his chosen section. He is a Republican in politics, voted the Har-

fast fibrow

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

rison ticket three different times, and has always been a worker in the ranks of that party as a member of county conventions and the county central committee. He has for years been a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and has for nearly forty years been a life member of Aurora Lodge, No. 50, of Rockland, Maine, and is also a member of Riverside Chapter, No. 67, R. A. M., and Riverside Commandery, No. 28, Knight Tem- plars He has been a member of the Calvinistic , Baptist Church for over fifty years.

In 1841 Captain Sayward married Miss Mary E. Butler, a native of Rockland, Maine. She died in 1887. No children were born by that marriage; but he has reared and educated two adopted children that bear his naine, viz .: Liz- zie, formerly Margaret Livingston, of Scotland, who is now Mrs. Joseph A. Sayward, of Victo- ria, British Columbia, and Louisa Dickinson, now a member of his family.

ON. JAMES ALEXANDER GIBSON, a member of the Supreme Court Commis- sion of the State of California, was born August 21, 1852, in the city of Boston, and is a worthy representative of the best mental product of the Athens of America, and an honor to the bar of Southern California. His father, Thomas Gibson, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and a machinist by trade. He left his native land when a youth to accept a clerkship with his uncle at St. John, New Brunswick, then a prominent merchant there, where he remained for some time before coming to the United States. His wife, Judge Gibson's mother, was born of English-Irish parents, in Ireland. When the war of the Rebellion broke out his father responded to the call of his adopted country, and was assigned to General N. P. Banks' command, and during the disastrous Red River expedition was mortally wounded. The subject of this memoir was thrown npon his own resources at all early age, and his school advantages were 41

limited to the common schools of Massaclin- setts. But, born with a dominant thirst for knowledge, the lack of educational opportunities only served to stimulate the boy's insatiable appetite for learning, and he eagerly devoured the contents of every accessible book on literary and scientific subjects, especially works upon astronomy and navigation. He started to learn the printer's trade in the office from which William Lloyd Garrison and Senator Sargent of California graduated; but having reaclied the romantic period of youth, and possessing a long- ing desire to become a navigator and explorer, the monotony of the composing-room became unendurable to the adventure loving youth, and he left the office before completing the trade. A natural fondness for study and for intellectual pursuits gave the active, ambitions young mind also a bent toward the legal profession; and while struggling with the problem whether to choose a seafaring life, with an innate longing to wrest from nature her secrets in unknown seas and lands, or strive for forensic and judi . cial honors, older heads, friends of his father, interposed and advised him to learn a trade and study mechanical engineering and thus master a tangible and permanent business. Yielding to their counsel young Gibson sought and obtained a position with the Walworth Manufacturing Company, one of the largest firms in New England, and remained with them until lie be- came an expert mechanical draughtsman, and also a practical mechanic at the lathe. How- ever, on reaching maturer years and thought, he decided to enter the profession of law and shaped his studies to that end. First crossing the continent to California he located in Colton, San Bernardino County, and studied in the office of Mr. William Gregory, formerly from the city of Philadelphia, now a prominent member of the bar at Portland, Oregon. In June, 1879, Mr. Gibson was admitted to the bar and com- meuced practice in San Bernardino as a partner with Major H. S. Gregory. He subsequently formed a law partnership with Hon. Byron Waters, and still later with Hon. John L. Camp-

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Author: Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1038

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1038