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 88

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 88
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 88
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 88
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 88

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).

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

$500. The improvements upon his place, con- sisting of a fine two-story residence of modern design, and well ordered outbuildings, are first- class in every respect, and attest the success that has crowned his efforts in Riverside.

He is well and favorably known in the com- munity, and his earnest efforts have ever been extended in aiding in the growth and prosper- ity of his section. In political matters, Mr. Summons is a stanch Republican. He was clerk of the first election ever held in Riverside, in 1872, and cast the first Republican vote polled at that election. It is worthy of mention also, that the first United States flag ever hoisted in the Riverside colony was the banner he flung to the breeze from the staff erected over his little cabin on December 1, 1870. This was in honor of the naming of Riverside, and was the old soldier's baptismal ceremony, well fitted to the man and to the occasion. He is a member of Cornman Post, No. 57, G. A. R., San Ber- nardino, and is an aid-de-camp on the staff of the Department Commander. He is also a con- sistent member of the Congregational Church. In 1865 Mr. Summons married Miss Harriet E. Tibbits, daughter of Luther C. Tibbits, a well-known pioneer of Riverside. She died in 1875, leaving one child, Daisy, who mnet a sad death by drowning in the Santa Ana river in 1876. In 1878 Mr. Summons wedded Miss Lydia M. D. Wilbur, daughter of John Wil- bur, of Riverside. He has five children by this marriage, Clara T., Frank J., Oliver W. L., Albert B. and Lilly A. The fourth child, John W., died in 1885, at the age of six months.

APTAIN JOSEPH S. GARCIA .- There is no man in Ontario who is better known or more respected than Captain Joseph S. Garcia. He is a California pioneer of the days of 1849, and has for the past twenty years been identified with the agricultural and horticultural interests of Cucamonga, Etiwanda and Ontario. No history of San Bernardino

County would be complete without a more than passing mention of Captain Garcia. He was born on the island of Fayal in 1823. His parents were subjects of Portugal and natives of that island. His youth was spent in ac- quiring au education until fourteen years of age, and he was then apprenticed. to Captain James Woolley, of the ship Louisa of Lynn, Massachusetts, to learn the calling of a mariner or seaman. His first experience was on a whal- ing voyage, and later in various freighting voyages to different ports of the world. The subject of this sketch was a straightforward, manly youth and an apt scholar, speaking flu- ently four different languages, viz .: Portuguese, Spanish, English and French. He made rapid progress, and in 1847 was a second officer, and two years later rose to be chief officer of some of the famous packet ships of that day. In 1849 he was chief officer of the large clipper ship " Mary Ellen," bound from Boston to San Francisco, and upon his arrival at the latter port he decided to try life in the new El Do- rado of the West. He made his home in San Francisco and in 1850 bought an interest in the schooner " S. D. Bailey " and was placed in command of the vessel in the coasting trade. During the next eighteen years Captain Garcia was actively employed as owner, master, etc., of vessels employed in deep water and coast- ing voyages from the port of San Francisco. He was well and favorably known in that city. In 1869 he was induced by the Cucamonga vineyard owners to take charge of that planta- tion, and he took up his residence at that place. In 1871 he purchased a 400-acre tract and engaged in wine-making until 1874, when he sold out to I. W. Hellinau, I. M. Hellman, J. G. Downey and B. Dreyfus, for the sum of $45,000, and now it is worth abont half a million dollars. He then purchased several claims of Governinent land and water rights from settlers and built upon and improved the place, and devoted it chiefly to the raising of cattle and sheep. In 1881 he sold this interest to the Chaffey brothers (George and Win. B.) and they

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

named it Etiwanda. Captain Garcia lived in Cucamonga a year and then bonded 6,500 acres of Cucamonga lands, then owned by a San Francisco company comprising John Archibald, Dr. Henry Gibbons, Sr., Captain Matthew Turner and others, with half the water flowing from San Antonio creek or cañon, for $65,000, to Chaffey brothers. It is now called Ontario. In 1883 the Captain moved to Ontario, his present home, which is a forty-acre tract on the east side of Euclid avenue, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets. Since that time he has devoted himself to improving his lands. At this writing he has twenty acres in fruits, classed as follows: five acres in Washington Navel oranges, four to five years old; six acres in French prunes and nine acres in peaches, apricots, apples, pears and other deciduous fruits; twenty acres of his land is devoted to hay and grain.

Captain Garcia has always taken a deep in- terest in the success of the Ontario colony, and has been a liberal supporter of all enterprises that tended to advance the welfare of the com- munity in which he resides. His straightfor- ward, manly course of life has endeared him in the hearts of a large circle of friends. He is a strong supporter of schools and churches and is a trustee in the First Presbyterian Church of Ontario and was for many years a school trustee in the Cucamonga district. In political matters he is a Republican and has served many times as a delegate in the county conventions, and as a member of the Society of California Pioneers, and also of Phoenix Lodge, F. &. A. M., of San Bernardino.

In 1861 Captain Garcia was united in mar- riage with Miss Elizabeth L. Ford, a native of Vermont, and the daughter of Caleb Ford, a prominent family of that State.

SAAC W. WHITAKER is the pioneer of Ontario. In January, 1883, Mr. Whitaker was a resident of San Francisco, broken in health, and it became a matter of absolute ne-

cessity that he seek a mild climate. He decided to try Southern California, and on the 11th day of that month himself and his brave wife pitched their tent upon the land which he has since occupied. The colony lands had been surveyed and work was in progress in grading avennes and piping water, but Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker were the first settlers to occupy the lands. All about them was a barren waste. Not a tree and scarcely a plant was in sight. It was almost disheartening, but with a courage undaunted and a firm belief in the future they went to work to build up a home. Their eyes were soon gladdened by a sight of other settlers, and it seemed bnt a short time before they ac- tnally had neighbors. A little sbanty succeeded the tent for a residence, and then a barn was built and occupied as a home, and it was not until 1885 that Mr. Whitaker's neat and comfort- able cottage residence was built and occupied. During these years he was engaged in clearing his land and planting trees and vines, and soon he found his desert bidding fair to become a veritable garden of Eden. Mr. Whitaker has planted a large variety of deciduous trees and vines, but this year he is raising a nursery stock of Washington Navel trees which will take the place of his vineyards. His place is under a high state of cultivation, and its varied products find ready market. It is a source of attraction to visitors, not only for its beauty but also be- canse it is the pioneer fruit orchard of the beau- tiful and productive Ontario.

Mr. Whitaker is a native of Kennebec County, Maine, dating his birth in 1841. He is the son of James and Dorcas (Mitchell) Whitaker. His father was a well-known farmer of that county, and for over forty years was a Justice of the Peace in his township. The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of his native place and reared to farm life. In 1862 he en- tered the service of his country as a private in Company G, Twenty-fourth Maine Volunteers, and served in the Department of the Gulf. He was engaged in the siege of Port Hudson, and after that was on garrison duty at Vicksburg

E.G. Brown

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

until the expiration of his term of service in 1863, when he was honorably discharged and returned to his home. In 1864 he came by steamer to California and located in Santa Clara County, and there engaged in farming and hor- ticultural pursuits until 1872. In that year he moved to San Francisco, where he engaged in various occupations, among which was that of a hotel keeper, until failing health compelled liis leaving for his present residence.

Mr. Whitaker has never lost his faith in the future prosperity of Ontario, and has always been ready to aid in all movements tending to place its varied resources before the world. He is an energetic and progressive citizen, and is entitled to the respect and esteem of the community which his consistent course of life has given him. He is a member of Ontario Post, No. 124, G. A. R., and also of Central Lodge, No. 45, F. & A. M., of China, Maine.

In 1862 Mr. Whitaker married Miss Deboralı Grafton, a native of Maine. She died in 1870, leaving one child, Fannie E., now Mrs. Charles Goodrich, of Skowhegan, Maine. In 1882 he was united in marriage with Mrs. Hettie Swart, (nee Hill), a native of Elmira, New York.

---

BENEZER GRIFFIN BROWN (“Judge Brown," as he is familiarly known) is one of Riverside's well-known pioneers. He was one of the original members of the Sonthern California Colony Association, and with the late Dr. Greves visited the lands now occupied by the city June, 1870, the first members of the association on the grounds. From the very first he was the strongest advocate in demanding the purchase by the association of these lands. His persistency was of little avail at first, but lie was in earnest, and when Judge North, the presi- dent of the company, refused to act in accordance with his wishes, the judge returned to his home in Iowa and set about forming another colony association, with the express view of purchas- ing the Riverside lands. This move hastened 86

the actions of the old association, and in Sep- tember, 1870, the purchase was made and the colony established. That being the result de- sired by the Judge, he abandoned all further proceedings, never intending or desiring a rival to Riverside. He then settled his affairs in Iowa, and in May, 1871, established himself and family in the new colony. He located upon Government land in sections 13 and 24, secur- ing 104 acres lying one-half mile north and east of the Riverside town site on Colton avenue. His means were limited, but he commenced his new life and pursuits with that indomitable energy and perseverance so characteristic of the man, and which not even the fifty years that had con- stituted a life's struggle could abate. His little cabin 12 x 16 feet was erected; his ground cleared, and horticultural pursuits entered upon, and early in 1872 he planted vines and trees. He also planted seeds and started his nursery stock for an extended citrus-tree planting. He was successful in his enterprise and gradually increased his stock of this world's goods. His orange-groves gradually extended their area. His little cabin gave way to extended improvements, and from its site sprang his present home, the well-known " Anchorage." The Judge has a magnificent orange-grove of twenty acres, about one-half of which is devoted to seedling oranges, and the balance to budded fruit of the Washing- ton Navel and Mediterranean Sweet varieties. He has also a large variety of deciduous fruits. The balance of 100 acres of land is utilized in general farming operations, and will soon be planted to oranges. The " Anchorage " that forms his home is a retreat for invalids and

tourists seeking Riverside as a health or pleas- ure resort. It is a fine, two and three story building, affording accommodations for thirty guests, well ordered and complete in its appoint- ments, surrounded by ornamental trees and floral productions. The grounds are unusually attractive, being fitted with appliances for out- door sports, such as tennis, croquet and ten-pins; with a charming flower garden, lawns, rustic bridge, summer-house and awnings, great pep-

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

per trees with hammocks and easy chairs, form- ing altogether an ideal Southern California home, a beautiful monument to the Judge's labor, perseverance, taste and skill, and well de- serves the name he has bestowed upon it. He is a man of most genial manners and cultivated taste, and has always been a devoted and self- sacrificing husband and father. The genial host and hostess seem to have but one object in lite, and that is the comfort, the health and the pleasure of their guests. Mr. Brown is a na- tive of Franklin County, Maine, born in 1821. He was reared as a farmer. His educational facilities were good and he closed his school-days by graduating at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary at Readfield, in 1842. Upon reaching his ma- jority he went to New York and spent the next six years as a clerk in the mercantile establish- ments of Elmira and Rochester, and then estab- lished a general merchandise business in Elmira, which he conducted for some years. He then moved to Iowa and established himself as a grain-dealer at Cedar Rapids, and in the ware- honse business, under the firm name of S. C. Bearer & Co. In the fall of 1863 he closed out his business at Cedar Rapids and located at Belle Plain, Benton County, and was there engaged in mercantile life until he came to California in 1871. Judge Brown has always been one of the strongest supporters of River- side enterprises and industries, and is vell known, respected and esteemed. For many years he has been a consistent member of the Episcopal Church and a senior warden of the same. In politics he is a straight Republican, and has been an adherent of the party since 1856. In 1874 he was appointed Justice of the Peace, and was twice re-elected to the same position, holding the office until 1880. In 1850 Judge Brown was married to Miss Sarah Van Wickle, a native of New York, but a descendant of an old family of New Jersey. Though highly connected socially and drawing abont her always the choicest people, she yet shared bravely in the trials of pioneer life, and was in every truest sense a " help-meet." There were three chil-

dren born to this marriage, two of whom are still living, viz .: Settie C. and Lyman V. W. His oldest danghter, Catherine L., married S. S. Sweet, of Belle Plain, Iowa. She died in 1872. Judge Brown's parents were Isaac and Sophia (Clifford) Brown, both natives of New Hamp- shire.

HOMAS HOLMES is a well-known resi- dent of Ontario, San Bernardino County. He has for the past thirty years been identified with the mining, mercantile, agricult- oral and horticultural industries of the Pacific coast. A review of his life is of interest. Mr. Holmes was born in Lancashire England, in 1834. His parents, James and Hannah (Mort) Holines, were natives of that place. In 1844 his father emigrated to the United States and settled in Putnam Connty, Illinois, where he engaged in farming and stock-growing. The subject of this sketch received the benefits of a common school education and became practi- cally versed in the duties of a farmer. When twenty years of age he started in life for him- self, and spent the next five years in farm labor and other occupations.

In the spring of 1859 he started on an over- land trip for California. After undergoing the usual hardships and labor attending a trip of that character, he arrived in Angust of that year and located in El Dorado County. His first occupation was in the placer mines of that sec- tion. He followed the calling of a miner in the various counties of California until 1868. In that year he entered Nevada and located in Elko County. There he combined cattle- raising with his mining enterprises, and also established a general merchandise store at Truckee, under the firm name of Jones & Hohes. The various enterprises were con- ducted for several years. He was also engaged with the Central Pacific Railroad in the con- struction of bridges, buildings, etc. During the latter portion of his residence in Nevada,

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

Mr. Holmes devoted the most of his attention to the stock business.

In the spring of 1884, he decided to seek a more genial climate, and he came to Ontario and located npon a twenty-acre tract on the east side of Euclid avenue, between Fourth and Fifth streets. This tract he had purchased in 1883. Immediately upon his arrival he commenced his improvements and heartily entered into horti- cultural pursuits. He also purchased the ten acres adjoining his land on the east. He has been eminently successful in his fruit-growing. His lands now present a fine appearance and are justly classed as among the representative groves of Ontario. He has ten acres in Washington Navel trees, planted in 1884, and ten acres in raisin grapes of the Muscat variety. His east ten acres is devoted to deciduons fruits, com- prising about seven and one-half acres in French prunes and two and one-half in pears. Every- thing about this model ranch denotes the prac- tical care and attention of the thorough horti- culturist. He has applied to this, his latest venture, the same energy and sound business principles that secured liis success in other enterprises, and justly deserves the magnificent results achieved.

He is a public-spirited citizen and has done much to advance the interests of Ontario. In political matters he lias always been a stanch Republican, and though not an office-seeker has taken a part in the councils of the party, and for years filled positions of trust and honor. He was the Postmaster at Carlin, Nevada, from 1870 to 1884; from 1876 to 1880 he was the County Commissioner of Elko County, and also road supervisor and school trustee of his dis- trict for years, and many times was a delegate to botlı State and county conventions. He has served as a delegate in the conventions of San Bernardino County, is at present a member of the Board of Supervisors, and is a member of the County Central Committee. Mr. Holmes is a member of the following orders: Elko Lodge, No. 15, F. & A. M., of Elko, Nevada, and Brooklyn Lodge, No. 46, I. O. O. F., of

Red Dog, Nevada County, California. In 1877 Mr. Holmes was united in imarriage with Mrs. Marcia W. Barney, a native of Maine, and a daughter of Hon. George Whitney, of Pittsfield, of the same State. Bernice, her daughter, is the only child.

EORGE LORD, President of the Society of California Pioneers of San Bernardino County, and a representative of the best type of " Forty-niners," is a native of New York city, and was born Jnne 27, 1800, and conse- quently was eighty-nine years old his last birth- day. His father, George Lord, was a sea cap- tain, who died of yellow fever at quarantine in New York harbor, having contracted the disease in the West Indies, whence his vessel had just returned. The subject of this memoir being left self-dependent when quite young, early developed that remarkable decision of character and equipoise which have characterized him in later life. At the age of twenty-eight he left the Empire State and went sontlı, largely for the improvement of his health, which had been somewhat undermined by close application to mercantile pursuits. Stopping for a time in Louisville, Kentucky, he was there made an Odd Fellow, being inducted into the order by Past Master Wildy, who was sent over from England to establish Odd Fellowship in the United States. Mr. Lord joined Boone Lodge, No. 1, in 1833, and is one of the oldest living members of the order. On leaving Louisville he spent about three years in St. Louis, when, not finding the climate agreeable, he returned North and lived a number of years in Richland and Knox counties, in Ohio, engaged in mer- chandising. In 1846 he went to Iowa, contin- uing there in the mercantile business nntil 1848, when he lost everything by fire. The excite- ment over the discovery of gold in California, reaching fever heat the following spring, Mr. Lord purchased four yoke of oxen, and fitting ont with a wagon-load of supplies-including

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

eight pairs of moccasins, seven pairs of which lie wore out footing it across the plains-he started in April, 1849, for the golden El Dorado, via Green River and Fort Hall route. On the way he saw numerons bands of Indians from different tribes, among them a company of Sioux warriors, whom he thonght the finest body of men, physically, that he ever saw. Reaching Bear valley, California, September 8, 1849, he did his first mining in Steep Hollow. He spent fourteen months in search for the yel- low dust, and was successful above the majority, taking out "an ounce" a day and upwards, though the enormous cost of living reduced the net savings to a much smaller sum, He and his companions paid as high as $3 a pound for butter, brought around Cape Horn; potatoes were $3 per pound; onions $3 per pound; and vinegar $16 a gallon. On one occasion he had a friend to dine with him, and having onions, fried potatoes, beefsteak and hread as the bill of fare, the dinner for the two, exclusive of bread, cost $8. They occasionally indulged in a newspaper from " the States," which would be a month old on reaching the camp, for which they paid a dollar a copy.

Varying fortune rewarded their labor in the mines: while prospecting on the Yuba river, near where Downieville now is, they struck it rich, and in one day he and liis chuni took out of a pocket seven pounds and five ounces of gold dust, and in a week they had taken out $5,000. In 1851 Mr. Lord left for San Francisco with $5,000 in gold dust, on his return trip home. The Pacific coast metropolis was then a rude country town, containing only one brick honse. On arriving there the steamer had sailed; so he took passage on a sailing vessel, and crossed the Isthmus by the then new Niearagua route, experiencing much delay and difficulty in crossing. He returned to Iowa, expecting to remain, but the Hawkeye State had lost its charms for him, and as soon as he could dispose of his interests there he prepared to move to California. While in Iowa, in 1851, Mr. Lord married Miss Arabella Singleton, a native of

England, who came to America when entering her teens. Again crossing the plains, Mr. and Mrs. Lord reached San Bernardino valley in the suinmer of 1852. The Mormon colony had come the previous year and purchased and set- tled upon the Lugo ranch, in which was com- prised the site of the city of San Bernardino. Mr. Lord had intended to go on up to Santa Clara valley and settle in or near San Jose; but, finding abundant pastnrage in this valley, he sought and obtained permission from the presi- dent of the colony to turn out his jaded teams for a few weeks to recruit. With his candid, outspoken nature, the Mormons soon learned that he was not in sympathy with their religion, and he was warned, at first gently, and after- ward sternly, that his gentile presence was not congenial to them, and that he " had better move on." Mr. Lord is not made of the sort of human clay that is driven or intimidated, and this presumption on his riglits as an American citizen aroused a spirit of resentment, and he determined to remain in the San Bernardino valley. After trying in vain to purchase land from the Mormon leaders, he went outside of their possessions-Lugo ranch-and settled on a 140-acre tract, four miles north of the present city limits, on Lytle creek, which he improved, and which was the home of himself and family from January 3, 1853, till 1886, when he sold it and moved into the city, getting for his ranch ar.d water right $30,000. After locating on what he supposed to be Government land, en- tirely free from any encumbrances, he was still persecuted and annoyed by pretended prior claimants. Acting upon the advice of his wife, to effect a peaceable settlement rather than resort to force to vindicate his rights, he paid the claims of two of the pretenders in gold coin. The third one came after he had paid for and obtained his title from the Government, and, forbearance ceasing to be a virtue, Mr. Lord informed him that his demands would be settled with powder and lead if he persisted. Mr. White did not press his claim.

Mr. Lord was the first to demonstrate the

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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

successful enlture of the raisin grape-Mns- eat-in this valley, early in the '60's, and took the first prize ever offered in Los Angeles County for the finest box of raisins: a $5 gold piece. It ereated quite a sensation, and he sup- plied thousands of Muscat cuttings to people of San Bernardino and adjacent connties. Up to the time of the civil war, Mr. Lord had al- ways affiliated with the Democratic party, but when the old flag was fired npon and the life of the nation threatened he at once joined the Re- publican ranks and stood firmly for the Union. He still marches in the ranks of the party of Lincoln and Grant, Sherman, Garfield and Har- rison. At the solicitations of his friends he has twice been a candidate for the Legislature, but was beaten both times by his Democratie opponent. Mr. Lord was one of the organizers of the Society of California Pioneers of San Bernardino County, and is now serving his second term as its president. He has been an active and prominent member of the Masonic order for sixty years, having joined the order in 1828. He has filled all the chairs of the local lodges in the Master's and Royal Areh degrees, except secretary. On his eighty third birthday, his Masonic brethren presented him with an elegant gold watch and chain, as one of the numerons tokens of their fraternal regard for him. In Odd Fellowship he has been hon- ored with every office in the local lodge. He is a veritable patriarch in these two orders of which he has been a zealous and honored mem- ber for more than a generation.

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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