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 86

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 86
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 86
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 86
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 86

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).

" Early in the spring of 1846, when a boy nine years of age, I left Mississippi with my parents and family, there being six small chil- dren. I traveled into Missouri with a small party of emigrants with ox teams, through In- dependence, Missouri; crossed the Mississippi river at what was called at that time the Iron Banks; traveled on to the lead mines in Mis- souri. Here we enlarged our party with more emigrants. From there on the log cabins began

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

to get very scattering, and in a few days' travel we bid farewell to civilization.

" The next place of any note we came to was the Osage river: no whites but a few Indians. I do not remember the name of the tribe. Here we took our wagons to pieces and ferried thein over with great difficulty, in a small boat, the river being abont one mile wide. We hired the Indians to swim onr cattle over. This they did by crowding them off in the river, jumping in after them, catching the hind ones by the tails, whooping and yelling after them. We traveled on for several days and then got in with another party of emigrants, the noted Donner party, who afterward perished in the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We continued on by the old emigrant road, turning sonthward and wintering with such old mountaineers as John Brown, Sr., Reuben Herrin, James Waters, Sr., John Pizle, Briggs and Burris, Matthew Kan- kade, and his two sons John and Andrew, etc.

" The next place of any note we came to was a river. Here we found the Cheyenne Indian village, and a large village it was. They did not want us to go on farther. They claimed that we were destroying the buffalo. About this time there caine a little Frenchman into our camp by the name of Reshaw. He was an In- dian trader and could talk with them. He said that we had to make the Indians a feast or they would not let us leave, and might massacre the whole party. Then all hands turned in to make the feast, consisting of mush and coffee, which almost stripped the train of bread-stuff. When the kettles of mush and coffee were set in a row, the Indians came up singing and dancing their war dance. They ate, danced and sang, all at the same time. The next day we yoked up our oxen and started on our journey, and the first thing we knew the Indians had taken down their lodges and were on the move with us. I could look back for miles and see them coming. They traveled with us for three days, and when we would camp they would camp a little ways off, and then they would come into our camp and try to trade moccasins and various kinds of skins

for bread and cloth; but when we yoked up the fourth morning they did not follow. We were very glad they stopped, for we were constantly nneasy, as they might do us harın, being very bold and saucy. We traveled on some distance, don't remember how far, and came to a creek by the name of Fountain Cabouy. We traveled on for a few days and came to Fort Pueblo on the Arkansas river; here we fixed camp for the winter, making log cabins to live in. We had been there but a few weeks when a lot of Mexi- can war soldiers came and wintered with us. Here we could trade oxen for corn with the mountaineers. We had a very hard winter. The hunters and trappers are what we call mountaineers. The spring of 1847 I moved with my parents on to some rich bottom land, abont ten miles below, with the intention of raising a crop. The country was alive with deer, antelope, and other game. I could see big droves of antelope crossing the bottom every day, going to the river to water. We were now ten miles from anybody, in a wild country, so we moved back up to Fort Pueblo, where we felt safe, and could work for breadstuff, as we had been living on nothing but meat for several weeks. In the fall of 1847 we moved up to another fort, called Hardscrabble. Here the mountaineers had raised plenty of corn and pump- kins, which they were very liberal with. Next came abont 300 Cheyenne warriors through the fort, going to fight the mountain Utes. The men watched them fight from the top of the fort with a spy-glass. Several were killed on both sides. Later in the fall we moved about three miles to another fort, which belonged to Matthy Kancade, he going off with his stock, and my father taking care of the fort during the winter. Here we had plenty, Kankade fre- quently coming in with black-tailed bucks and mountain sheep. From the top of the fort we could see Pike's Peak.

" In the spring of 1848 several of the mount- aineers began to prepare to go to California, hearing that gold had been discovered there, and we, seeing that there would be but few

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

left started with them. We started in company with abont twelve wagons, the mountaineers having abont 200 head of stock. We traveled on for several days and came to a creek, where we stopped and dried buffalo meat for about one week, the plains being black with buffalo. We traveled on a few days and came to a river. We took off a wagon box, covered it with buffalo hides to keep the water out, unloaded the wag- ons and taking them to pieces ferried every- thing over in the wagon-box. We kept on the old emigrant road, stopping a few days at Inde- pendence Rock. We then came to a stream called the Big Sandy : here we stayed a few weeks to trade with emigrants. My father traded a yoke of oxen that had brought us all the way from the Mississippi, to get clothing for his chil- dren, as my mother had patched as long as she could find anything to patch with. I will say here, that if there ever was a pioneer woman, my mother is one, for she almost raised her family up on the road traveling.

" The next place of any note we came to was Fort Bridger, where was the Snake Indian vil- lage. From here we crossed the mountains into Salt Lake, made log cabins and fixed the best we could for the winter. In the spring of 1849 we were not able to fif out a team to go farther. So we went to work to raise a crop, which we did. We now had something to trade on, got nore oxen, and early in the spring of 1850 we started with the first train that left Salt Lake, going the northern route to California; we had two teams, my father driving one and myself the other. Next we came to the Humboldt river, and traveled down that river to the sinks, and found the Indians very troublesome.

" We rested up for a few days, getting ready to cross the big desert, from the sinks to the Truckee river. After being on the desert awhile, I saw great destruction among stock and wagons, there being carcasses of horses and mules for miles, but our train got across all right. We traveled on without much interest, and came to a valley called Carson valley. Here my father, with two other families, stopped for three or

four weeks, while the rest of the train kept the road for California. The emigrants from the States now began to catch up with ns. They had nothing much to eat and we let them have grub until we could not spare any more. We yoked our oxen and began to travel the Sierra Nevada mountain. While on our way to the top of the mountain lots of men came to us for grub. They always got something, if it was only a pan of milk. They were mostly on foot, their teams having given out and died on the road. From the top of the mountain we soon reached places where we could buy. We ar- rived in California in the last of July, 1850, at Diamond Springs, close to Hangtown. My father, uncle and I, dug the spring and gave it the name of Diamond Spring, the cause of the name being the very white and pearly quartz rock glittering like diamonds. Here we con- cluded to stay, as there seemed to be plenty of gold diggings everywhere, and as winter came on quite a big towu was built up, which is Dia- mond Spring to-day. In the spring of 1851 we moved to Coon Hollow, close to Hangtown. Early in January, 1852, I move to Suisun val- ley and went through Sacramento just after it burned down. We started early in the spring of 1857 for Southern California, having a good time hunting on the road, as there was plenty of game; and arrived in San Bernardino June 25, 1857, I being then twenty years of age. January 23, 1859, I married Miss Harriet Be- mis, of San Bernardino, with whom I have lived happy ever since, having raised a large family, consisting of eight boys and four girls. I lost one girl when thirteen years old: the rest are all living in this valley, two married and the re- maining nine at home."

The names of Mr. Roberds' children are: William, Rosel, Nellie, who married J. W. Smith; Harriet, who died at the age of thirteen years; John T., Frances G., now the wife of Parley King; Albert F., George R., Alvin N., Walter, Birdie M. and Eli. Mr. Roberds has a fine ranch of about 100 acres on Ninth street, one and one-half miles northwest of San Ber-

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

nardino, and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock-dealer. He has seen a good deal of the world and is one of the pio- neers of the valley.

W. LADD, of Redlands, first came to California in 1851. He shipped his @ horses and wagons from near Detroit, Michigan, to Chicago, and then to Missouri. April 9, 1851, they started from St. Joseph, Missouri, across the plains, and on August 11, of the same year, they arrived in Virginia City. Mr. Ladd mined until 1852, when he went back to Michigan by way of Panama. He worked at blacksmithing and the wagon-maker's trade at Dearborn, Michigan, from 1852 until 1859, and on April 9, of the latter year, he again started from St. Joseph, Missouri, across the plains for the " Golden State," this time with oxen, and arrived at Virginia City, August 14, having made the trip in just three days less time than he had made the first trip with horses in 1851. He mined from August to February and then worked as a millwright for five years in the Eureka Mills. He then engaged as contractor, sinking shafts and making tunnels for about four years. At this time he lost all he liad and went back to the Eureka mills, where he worked for fifteen years for a mining company. In 1882 he came to Redlands and purchased twenty acres of land, for which he paid $1,500, on which he built the third house in the place. He at once put this land out to oranges and to-day has one of the finest and most beautifully located orchards and home in all the val- ley. His residence is located on the corner of Grant and Brookside avenne. The slope of his land is such that irrigation is complete. Start- ing at the southeast corner he runs water along the east side to the northeast corner, and thence along the north side to the northwest corner, and from that point to the southwest corner, where he is met by a stream flowing from the south- east corner, thus making the circuit complete,

and he can sleep while the life-giving stream is flowing to the roots of his oranges, lemons and vines, knowing that everything is being done with the regularity of clock-work. Mr. Ladd is a Canadian by birth. He was born four miles east of Wallaceville, Ontario, February 19, 1826. His parents, Orrin and Lucinda (Youngs) Ladd, were natives, respectively, of Vermont and Canada. They moved to Mich- igan in 1839, where Mr. Ladd worked as a mechanic until his death in March, 1886, at the age of eighty-three. His wife died in 1872. They had a family of five children, of which the subject of this sketch was the eldest. He has been twice married. His present wife was Miss Mary Quillin, to whom he was married February 10, 1857. She is the daughter of David and Hannah (Molton) Quillin, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and England, who were married in Canada, and subsequently moved to Michigan. Her father died at the age of eighty-nine years, and she was but ten years old when her mother died. Mr. and Mrs. Ladd have had born to them a family of three girls, the oldest of whom, Cordelia, is now Mrs. J. S. Gould; Annie J. died in infancy, and Annie V. is now attending college.

AVID MOREY, one of the pioneers of Redlands, was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania, in 1824. His father, Jacob Morey, moved to Delaware County, Ohio, at an early day, and took a farm out of the woods. He died there at the age of ninety years. His mother, Barbara (Jacobs) Morey, is still living, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. The subject of this sketch left home at the age of fourteen to learn the cabinet trade. He worked at this trade in Marysville, and in 1842 went to Indianapolis, where he remained until 1845. He then went to Lexington, Kentucky, and in 1850 started from St. Louis across the plains to California. They left Independence, Mis- souri, May 10, 1850, and were on the way four

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

months to Nevada City, California. Mr. Morey, like many others, engaged in mining from 1850 to 1858. He then went to Scottsburg, Oregon, where he worked at the cabinet trade and ship- joining on river steamers. Then he went to Co- lumbia river and helped built steamers. After this he came back to the Cascades and built the steamer "Iris; " then to Puget Sound, to Vic- toria, and finished the steamer " Alexandria," for William Moore. He then went to Umpqua river and built the steam saw-mill and the schooners, " William F. Brown," "Pacific " and " Mary Cleveland." In 1870 he went to San Francisco, and from there to Watsonville, where he engaged in the gunsmith business for ten years. About this time he invented the " straw-burner," and sold the right of the Pacific coast for $5,000. The right was infringed, and he had to defend it, which cost him a great deal of money. His next invention was the hay and grain elevator. This invention broke him up financially. He also invented the Ball Laster, for shoemaking, and in 1880 he left and went to Plumas County, where he located on a hydraulic mining claim. He next went to the Plumas and Eureka quartz mines and worked at millwrighting for about two years. In 1882 he came to Redlands and purchased ten acres of land. He soon bought ten acres more with borrowed money and set it out to oranges. His excellent wife has done as much as he or more in making and beautifying their grounds and orchards. She spaded the ground to grow the young orange trees, with her own hands. She planted the first trees in Redlands: 1,900 the first year; the next year she had a bed 24 x 6 feet, and had 21,500 seed lings. This stock she sold, and with the pro- ceeds bought ten acres of land with ten shares of water on it. The next year she planted 40,000 trees. She now has 38,000 of nursery stock, three years old. She also sold trees and paid for grading a ten-acre lot, and $1,000 for the improvement of the same. She now has on hand 16,500 nursery stock, which she donates to the Congregational church. Mrs. Morey is of French origin. Her maiden name was Sarah

Jane DeForest, and she was a native of New York. Her parents, John and Elizabetlı (Van Wormetli) DeForest, were French and German respectively. Her father died when she was quite young, and she went with friends to Ore- gon, where she was married to Mr. Morey in 1870. Mrs. Morey's enterprise and labor in helping to make their beautiful bnt as yet hum- ble home, is known far and wide, and the fact is recognized that she has done as much as anyone in Redlands toward the cultivation of oranges and the beautifying of orchards and grounds.

AMUEL J. HAYES, residing in Redlands, on Cypress avenue, was born in Litchfield County, Connecticut, June 20, 1826. His father, Gaylord Hayes, was a second consin to ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes. When Samuel was a lad of seven his father removed to La Salle County, Illinois, where he engaged in stock-raising until his death, which occurred in 1838, when Samuel was but twelve. His mother died in 1842, and he had to provide and care for his three younger brothers and sister. In 1850 he crossed the plains to California, where he mined for six months and then re- turned to Illinois, rented land, borrowed $25 at two per cent. a month, with which he bought a stove and cooking outfit, and went to keeping " bach," and rented land for twenty-seven years, and then commenced buying land for a farm. It was the general opinion of those acquainted with Mr. Hayes, and those who had worked with him, that he could do more work in a day than any other man in the county. He averaged sixteen hours work out of twenty-four for fifteen years, at which time he owned a farm of 410 acres, and for twelve years had averaged $8 per per day. He has served his town as super- visor, assessor, collector, school and township treasurer, and as commissioner of highways and avenues. IIc was very successful as a stock-

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

raiser, and still owns a fine farm of 280 acres in La Salle County, Illinois.

He was married in 1854 to Miss Sophia Cummings, of Deer Park, Illinois, formerly from Massachusetts, and they have reared a family of three children. Mr. Hayes has crossed from Illinois to California seven times, the third, a pleasure trip, was in the fall of 1882, when on coming to Redlands he was so well pleased with the location that he bought five acres of unimproved land, where he has erected a very comfortable and neat residence, bringing his doors, windows, blinds, stair-rail- ing, etc., and a carpenter, with him from Illinois. Here in his beautiful home, in this beautiful city, after an active life of business care, Mr. Hayes will spend the residue of his days look- ing after the interests of his fruits and taking care of his grounds.

IRAM C. KELLER, one of the successful and enterprising farmers near the Base Line, was born at Pisgah, Iowa, in 1849. His father, Nathan Keller, was born in North Carolina and resided in Pennsylvania, and had a family of ten children. He died in Pisgah, Iowa, while crossing the plains to Salt Lake. The subject of this sketch was married in 1873 to Miss Sadie Sparkes, the daughter of George W. Sparkes, one of the pioneers of this valley, and a well and favorably known citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Keller have an interesting little fam- ily, consisting of Nettie, Drusilla, Cassie Leu Anna and Lela Malinda. Socially Mr. Keller is an I. O. O. F., Token Lodge, No. 290, San Bernardino, and politically an enthusiastic sup- porter of the Democratic party.

ILLIAM STONES was born in Oldham, England, February 13, 1815. He sailed from Liverpool November 8, 1840, for America, and was blown back by a storm. The

16th of the same month they again sailed for America and landed safe in New Orleans January 3, 1841. He remained there ten days and then went to St. Louis, where he dug stone coal for eight or nine years. In April, 1850, he set ont with others for California by ox teams, and were eight months on the road. Twenty-six of their number died on the way of cholera. They had sixty-four wagons, divided iuto ten sections, and 150 souls to start out with. Mr. Stones inined in the northern part of the State for five or six years and was very success- ful. In 1856 he came to San Bernardino County and bought lands in Central district, where he has ranched it ever since. He was inarried December 15, 1833, in England, to Sarah Fitten, who bore hin five sons and one daughter: William H., James E., Roni M., Hi- ram N., John T., and Mary, who married James Cass and died in Ione valley. Mrs. Stones died in 1855, and Mr. Stones married Mrs. Charlotte Parker. Mr. Stones has lived many years in the world and is a man highly respected and beloved by all who know him.

EV. B. L. BALDRIDGE was born in Adamns County, Ohio, February 9, 1821. His father, Rev. William Baldridge, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1760. He served in the Revolutionary war at the age of sixteen years, and for many years after its close was an active minister in the United Presbyterian Church. He graduated from college in 1790, was licensed to preach in 1792, was ordained in 1793, and died October 31, 1830. The subject of this biographical sketch was educated at Miami University and subsequently studied theology at Oxford. He was ordained January 10, 1851, at Centerville, Michigan, by the United Presbyterian Church. He served as pastor of the Associate Reformed church in Centerville, Michigan, for seven years. In 1857 he was sent as a missionary to Leavenworth, Kansas. Here he organized a United Presby-

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

terian church and was settled as pastor until 1874; then served as chaplain in the Kansas State prison for abont two years. June 3, 1876, he was commissioned Chaplain in the United States army, and continued in this position until 1884, when he was retired. At the time of his retirement he was stationed at Angel Island, California. Mr. Baldridge was married July 27, 1859, at Goshen, Indiana, to Miss Sarah M. Gilmore, a danghter of John and Har. riet (Crane) Gilmore. They have two children, viz .: Mary H., now Mrs. Lieutenant R. H. R. Loughborough, who is in the regular army and stationed at Port Missoula, Montana; John G., who is still at home. In 1884 Mr. Baldridge bought a nice little fruit ranch in Highland dis- trict, which he has improved and where he at present resides, retired from active work, except such as is necessary to keep things in order on the ranch. Politically he is a strong advocate of the principles of the Prohibition party and by his voice and vote is doing all he can in favor of the temperance cause.

OHN BOTTOMS was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1812, and came to America in 1840; he landed at New Orleans, and from there went to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he was a member of the Mormon Church. He remained there until 1845, when he went to Cincinnati and worked in a bucket factory for about three years. In 1848 he went to Council Bluffs and remained there until 1852. He then went to Salt Lake City and remained there until 1858, when he came to California. During this time he had had prolonged trouble with the Mormons and concluded to stand their arbitrary treatment no longer: hence he crossed the plains to Cali- fornia. He worked in Los Angeles County for awhile and then came to San Bernardino Coun- ty, where he purchased a ranch, on which he has resided ever since.

He was married in Cincinnati, in 1847, to Miss Althea Ugle, a native of that city, of Ger-

man descent. Mr. Bottoms is one of the first settlers in this valley, has been an honest and npright citizen, and is respected by all who know him.

ANFORD ATWOOD was born in Con- necticnt in 1823. His parents were Mor- mons and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, at an early day, and from thence to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where in 1850 Mr. Atwood married Mis; Jane Garner, of Hancock County, Illinois. She was the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Hed- rick) Garner, natives respectively of North Caro- lina and Indiana. They had six children. Mrs. Garner died in Illinois at the age of thirty-two, and Mr. Garner married Lydia Hill. In 1836 he went to Council Bluffs, where he remained nearly two years, and then came to California, in 1852, by ox team. He bought land on Lytle creek, where the woolen mill now stands, and was there for twenty years. He then sold out and went to Salt Lake, where he was killed by a runaway team August 31, 1877. After our subject's marriage he lived at Council Bluffs ten years, where he was engaged in farming and stock-raising. May 1, 1860, he left Council Bluffs, crossing the plains to California, and ar- rived in San Bernardino December 1 of the same year. Here he bought land, which he held two years and then sold. He then bought 100 acres of land in Warm creek district, where he now lives, built a comfortable residence and has done a good dairying business, also stock-rais - ing and general farming for several years. They have reared a family of eight children, viz .: Ev- eline, now Mrs. John Lett; Ernestine, now the widow of Mack Van Lennen; Arnold, who mar- ried Miss Alice Fredericks; Ann, now the wife of William Banford; Emma, now Mrs. John Shay; Ida, wife of Wm. Benson; Sarah, wife of George Holiday, and Lizzie, an accomplished young lady, still at home. Mr. and Mrs. At- wood have labored hand in hand for many years. They have endured the hardships of

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

pioneer life and have reared a large and respect- able family and made a pleasant and comfort- able home. They are worthy of mention in a work of this kind as true pioneers.

- NDREW LYTLE, deceased, was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, in 1812. His parents moved to Akron, Ohio, when he was a small boy. At the age of twenty-one years he went back to Pennsylvania and mar- ried Hannah Hull. This lady was the daughter of Abner and Martha (Skinner) Hull, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Connecticut. In 1834, two years after his marriage, he moved to Portage County, Ohio. Next he moved to Bidwell County, Missouri, and two years later to Nanvoo, Illinois. From the latter place he removed to Salt Lake, where he remained sev- eral years. In 1850 he came to California and was one of the first settlers at San Bernardino. Ile was a blacksmith by trade and followed that business for several years. He owned some fine land and was very successful. At one time he was mayor of San Bernardino, and has held various offices of publie trust.

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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