USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Historical and biographical record of Los Angeles and vicinity : containing a history of the city from its earliest settlement as a Spanish pueblo to the closing year of the nineteenth century ; also containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present > Part 105
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While Mr. Mesmer was off on the trading venture his wife conducted the bakery. In 1864 Mr. and Mrs. Strassforth, who were then conduct- ing the United States hotel, southeast corner of Main and Requena streets, desired to sell, and he finally concluded to sell his bakery and try his hand at the hotel business. His wife said, as a rolling stone gathers no moss, neither would he be real successful until he settled down to one busi- ness and remained therein. During the four and a-half years' residence in Los Angeles they had moved five times, and she did not intend to move again until they had accumulated a sufficiency. During the five years from 1864 to 1869 the hotel business proved a big winner, from the profits of which he purchased at different times small adobe holdings adjoining, which he improved as his means would permit, until he had a frontage of one hundred and forty-two feet on Main street. In 1868 he was instrumental in opening Commer- cial street east to Alameda street. In 1869 he rented the hotel to Messrs. Gray and Adams and decided to visit his native land, so with his fam- ily (which then consisted of his wife, sons Joseph and Tony, and daughter Christina) he left for one year's visit to the old country. In 1871 he purchased from Mr. Hayes the property on the west side of Broadway, between First and Second
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streets, which he occupied for upwards of fifteen years as his family residence. In 1872 he pur- chased from Don Manuel Requena the Yarrow corner, adjoining his Main street property on the east, on which he built the present two-story brick building, southwest corner of Los Angeles and Requena streets. He also opened Requena (then called Liberty) street east through to Ala- meda.
In 1874, at the request of Bishop Amat and his coadjutor, Bishop Mora, he was asked to take full charge in the erection and building of St. Vibiana Cathedral, on Main near Second street. He not only superintended the work on this structure, but also solicited thousands of dollars of donations towards its completion. In 1876 he visited with his wife the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. In 1880 he had put down the first regular cement-squares sidewalk, and for this he was arrested for an infringement of the Schilinger patent. As there were no federal courts south of San Francisco he was arrested, taken by the United States marshal to San Fran- cisco, and there the case was compromised for doing just what cement contractors are doing to- day. He broke the value of the patent, which inured to the public's benefit, but at a cost of over $800 to himself. In 1884 he purchased from F. Reverin seventy-nine feet on Los An- geles street adjoining his property on the south, on which he erected the present two-story brick building. In 1886 he let the contract for the building of the present new United States Hotel building. This was the first piece of building work that was not done under his direct super- vision and by day's work. Iu 1887 he became associated in the building of an artificial harbor at La Ballona lake. A great deal of money was spent in this enterprise, which through lack of study and proper management was not carried to a successful conclusion.
October 2, 1891, the boon companion of his struggles was called to her earthly reward. July 15, 1893, he married Mrs. Jennie E. Swan. His family consists of his sons Joseph, Tony and Al- phonse, and his daughters Christina and Lucile, now Mrs. G. J. Griffith and Mrs. Charles L. Whipple, also a step-daughter, Mrs. Ziba Pat- terson.
It is safe to say that the first ten years after
his arrival in this city he threw his whole life and energies into his work, putting in from eighteen to nineteen hours daily. Only a man of extraordinary physique could have en- dured such herculean work. That he had the greatest faith in the great future of the city of his adoption is proved by the improvements that he has erected from time to time on money which he borrowed at times when there was considerable doubt of Los Angeles' future.
This is the career of one who started away from a little Alsatian village to the western ex- treme of America with nothing but indomitable courage, pluck and enterprise to aid him. While Mr. Mesmer was by no means faultless, there are hundreds who have been the recipients of his kind favors who will always remember the benevolent hand of their benefactor.
C AMES BROADBENT, a well-known walnut- grower of the Ranchito district, was born in Kent county, Ontario, Canada, October 3, 1835, a son of John and Lydia (Pardo) Broad- bent, natives respectively of England and New York state. When his father was twenty-one years of age he left his native country and crossed the ocean to Canada, settling in Kent county, Ontario, and taking up the occupation of a farmer. During the subsequent years of his life he followed agricultural pursuits, and, while he never gained wealth, he gained that which is more to be desired, the esteem of associates and the de- voted love of family and friends. At the time of his death he was almost eighty years of age.
Naturally, as a farmer's son, Mr. Broadbent became familiar with agricultural pursuits at an early age, and as soon as he was old enough to assist he was given work in the field. In the winter time, when work on the farm was slack, he attended country schools near home, but did not have more than limited educational advan- tages. The knowledge acquired by him was rather in the school of experience and life than from a study of text books. Soon after attaining his majority he established domestic ties, being united in marriage with Mary A. White, a sister of Walter W. White, of the Ranchito district, in whose sketch the family history appears. Their marriage resulted in the birth of eight children,
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namely: John W., of this district; Mrs. Charles Harvey, whose home is in Kent county, Ontario; Mrs. Thomas J. Matthews, of this district; Mrs. Emerson Mannig, of Kent county, Ontario; An- drew E., who is ranching near his father's home; and Roy J., Linda and Lloyd, all of whom remain with their parents. The family are connected with the Presbyterian Church, to the support of which they are regular contributors.
In 1893 Mr. Broadbent came to the Ranchito district, where he now makes his home. He is the owner of a ranch of twenty-five acres, mostly under walnuts, and his attention is closely given to the improvement and cultivation of this prop- erty. The shipment and marketing of his prod- ucts are made through the Los Nietos and Ranch- ito Walnut Growers' Association, of which he is a member.
P. CREASINGER. In reviewing the career of S. P. Creasinger a few facts stand out with special distinctness, and, believing that there is much of inspiration and many use- ful lessons to be drawn from his life, more particularly by the ambitious young men of this day, the following outline has been penned:
First and foremost, it should be stated that Mr. Creasinger is a fine example of that essen- tially America product-a self-made man, one who has risen to wealth and financial prominence solely by and through his own merits, aud sec- ondly, that he is kindly and sympathetic toward his brother-men, and constantly striving to aid others to happiness and prosperity. Briefly his early life passed without notable events, and by living out under the open sky and by years of labor in the fields and on the farm, he laid the foundation of the abundant health and vitality with which he is blessed. He earned his first money by riding a plow-horse from morning until night, day after day, when he was eight years of age, and was paid at the rate of ten cents a day. When twelve years old he was employed in a brick yard at $1.50 a week, and walked four miles to and fro every day, carrying his lunch. Even five years later he could have been found hard at work in the harvest field, and proud to receive his pay at the end of the week, three whole dollars. Then the dreadful struggle between the north and south came on, and at
eighteen years of age, the youth cast aside the scythe and hoe and donned the blue uniform of those who nobly fought for the preservation of the Union. As may be inferred, his educational opportunities were extremely limited, and he has been forced to rely upon individual effort in this direction, as in all others. He possessed the pluck, energy and perseverance, however, that constitute the keynote of success, and, over- coming one obstacle after another, he steadily rose until now he is in the zenith of his powers.
One of the leading features of Mr. Creasinger's success is his sterling integrity of word and deed; and right here it may be said that though hun- dreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions, altogether, of his clients' money have passed through his hands, not one dollar has been lost to them, and, as the records of this county show, not one mortgage, given for the vast sums of money loaned, has ever been foreclosed by him. This is a truly remarkable fact, and we doubt whether any other real-estate and loaning firm in the country has a record comparable to this. For the past seventeen years he has been engaged in the real-estate and loan business in Los An- geles, but recently has engaged more extensively in the mining business, buying, selling and also operating mines in the United States and Mexico. His present offices are situated at No. 218 South Broadway. He employs a small army of com- petent persons, his office force being especially capable and efficient, and upon his numerous ranches in Southern California he necessarily keeps many people to manage them properly. In addition to these valuable lands he owns prop- erty in other parts of this state, in Oregon, Washington, Nevada and other western states. His financial investments are not confined to the west, however, as his interests in various sec- tions of the Union are very extensive. He leases many of his ranches to responsible tenants, and reaps a golden harvest every year from the sale of fruit from his fruit farms and the sale of the products of his dairy farms. He owns valu- able city property in Los Angeles and other Southern California towns and cities, and trans- acts an immense amount of business in this di- rection. Like the majority of the successful men of to-day in the world of business, he is an extensive, though judicious advertiser, and the
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pictured representation of his cheery counte- nance, with its high, broad forehead, and shrewd yet kindly eyes, is familiar to everyone in this locality.
Mr. Creasinger was married in Gratiot county, Mich., November 25, 1875, to Miss Clara A. Jones, daughter of Roswell Jones. One daugh- ter now living blessed this union, Grace L. Creasinger.
ILLIAM FERGUSON. By her rich and varied resources California has drawn to her unshackled energies the sons of many states and countries. They came hoping to attain personal success, and, to such extent as they have been fortified by determination, per- severance, intelligence and sound judgment, they have gained prosperity. While promoting their personal interests, at the same time they have ad- vanced the welfare of their adopted state and have been found on the side of progress and jus- tice in every cause. As one of this class mention belongs to William Ferguson, of Los Angeles. He was born in Washington county, Ark., Jan- uary 20, 1832, a son of John C. and Elizabeth (English) Ferguson. His father was a native of Virginia and in 1831 became a resident of Arkansas, where he died at the age of sixty-eight years; he was a son of a Scotchman, who settled in Virginia on his arrival in this country, and there followed the occupation of an iron-worker, with the exception of the time of his service in the Revolutionary war. The lady whom he mar- ried was a Pennsylvanian and a member of a family identified with the eastern states from an early colonial period. Slie died at the residence of her grandson, our subject, when very advanced in years. The mother of our subject was born in Tennessee and died in Arkansas when forty years of age. Of her seven children all but two are still living.
The boyhood years of our subject's life were passed in a very quiet and uneventful manner. Nothing of importance occurred in his life until he was eighteen years of age, in 1850. He then left the home farm and with an uncle and several neighbors started by the overland route for Cali- fornia. Their first stop was at Mud Springs, near San Dimas, but they remained there a few days only, and then turned their attention to
mining, which was then in the height of its popularity. They had spent the entire time from April 18 to August 10 on their trip across the plains and came to the coast with the determina- tion to gain a pecuniary reward to recompense them for all the hardships of the trip. From Mud Springs they went to Sacramento and then to Nevada City, Cal. He almost died during the winter of 1850-51. In the spring of 1851 Mr. Ferguson went to the salmon regions, where he believed he might work successfully. However, after a short stay there he proceeded to Trinity county and began mining and freighting. Upon realizing a fair remuneration for his adventures and hardships he disposed of the business he had established and in 1857 returned by steamer via the Isthmus of Panama to New York, thence go- ing to his old Arkansas home.
The taste he had experienced of life in the trans-Rocky region, however, rendered Mr. Fer- guson dissatisfied with the idea of spending the remainder of his life in Arkansas. Accordingly, he arranged his affairs so as to render possible his permanent settlement in the coast country. In the spring of 1858 he again sought the regions of Trinity county, Cal., and followed agriculture and the manufacture of lumber for three years, when he went to the mines in Nevada and began mining. From Nevada he proceeded to Idaho and thence to Trinity county to settle some busi- ness. After spending a short time in San Fran- cisco he went to Petaluma and embarked in stock- raising. He engaged in that occupation for a few years, then, in 1868, came to Los Angeles to settle the estate of his brother. Afterward he took two large herds of cattle north, then visited San Diego, and finally settled permanently in Los Angeles. Being a man of keen business perceptions, he saw an excellent opening in the growing metropolis of Southern California. He opened a livery stable, which he carried on for two years, and then sold out the stock but re- tained the property. He also turned his attention to the buying and selling of real estate. During these years he laid the foundation for a pros- perous business and a position of influence in Los Angeles. Besides buying and selling city property, he also dealt in outside realty. In 1870 he purchased stock in the water company, of which he was a director for many years. With
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such an expansive mind he could not be narrow in his views, and hence he interested himself in every enterprise for the benefit of the city.
About 1890 he engaged in the manufacture of brick, water and sewer pipes, terra cotta and fire brick, and still maintains his interest in this plant, known as the California Sewer Pipe Com- pany.
About 1886 he built his present home on the corner of Third and Hill streets. It is one of the brightest spots in its neighborhood, and at the time of building it was among the best and most pretentious residences in the city.
Educationally, as well as financially, Mr. Fer- gnson is a self-made man. When he came to California he could not write a line; but he was not satisfied to remain ignorant, hence applied himself diligently to securing knowledge, and is to-day, as the result of his determined efforts when past his first youth, a well-informed man. By pluck and perseverance he has placed himself in the rank of successful men. The account of his life, with its early hardships and discourage- ment, might serve as an inspiration to young men who are hampered in their struggles toward success, He cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Winfield Scott, and is identified with the Republican party in his political views. He was married at Petaluma, in 1871, to Miss Flora Austin, who was born in Maine and by whom he has two children, Clarence and Mabel, both graduates of the city schools. Mr. Ferguson is identified with the Unitarian Church, of which he is a member and to which he gives his support.
AMES WESLEY POTTS was born in Ruth- erford county, Tenn., December 20, 1830, of Scotch, Irish and English ancestors. In 1852 he braved the dangers of the overland trail to California, walking the entire distance beside a yoke of oxen which pulled one of the old "prairie schooners" containing all of his posses- sions. Arriving in Los Angeles, then a village of mud houses and about four thousand popula- tion, he worked on the roads for a mere subsist- ence for several months, then started in as a fruit vender. Soon his sales enabled him to rent a store, and in a few months his receipts were as high as $40 per day. Witlı a firm belief, never
unshaken, in the coming greatness of his adopted home, he invested in real estate and the rapid in- crease in land values soon made him a rich man, and in 1878 he was one of the wealthy men of the county. Sndden reverses made him "land poor," and he lost the larger part of his estate, but met every obligation dollar for dollar.
He was always the first to promote new enter- prises, assisted far beyond his means in church work, and was instrumental in building the Fort street brick church. A keen observer of nature's phenomena, he became expert in predicting the changes in the weather, and was known by thou- sands as the "weather prophet." In his later years his was a most familiar and striking figure on the streets, walking along with his old curved apple-wood cane hung on his arm, nodding a cheerful good-day to everyone and "passing the weather," his favorite theme, with his more in- timate friends.
- LFRED M. SEELEY. Reared among sur- roundings calculated to foster a natural apti- tude for horticulture, Mr. Seeley has become one of the most enterprising and successful dwell- ers in the Covina valley. He is a native of Pike county, Ill., born December 18, 1862. His fa- ther, James M. Seeley, was during the years of his activity prominent and influential in Pike county. Of sterling Puritan stock, he claimed descent from the voyagers of the Mayflower. Foremost in all things pertaining to the welfare of the community, he exerted a lasting influence upon its history and development. For fourteen years he ably filled the office of sheriff of Pike county, and for eight years he was presiding judge of his district. His father, Col. James M. Seeley, was a courageous soldier in the war of the Revolution, and one of the first to settle in Pike county, Ill.` Judge Seeley married Elizabeth Unsell, whose parents left Virginia and settled in Missouri while it was yet a territory.
Alfred M. Seeley spent his childhood upon his father's farm, and conscientiously availed himself of the opportunities of the public schools. At the age of twenty-two he entered upon a business career with a wholesale confectionery concern at Quincy, Il1., with whom he remained for two years. From 1890 to 1895 he was associated with
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the Winkley Artificial Limb Company, with head- quarters at No. 323 Nicolet avenue, Minneapolis, Minu., a firm that engaged in the manufacture of artificial limbs and surgical supplies of all kinds.
In the fall of 1895 Mr. Seeley came to Califor- nia and took up his residence in the Covina val- ley, where he has thirty-nine acres, mainly given over to the cultivation of oranges. His political affiliations are with the Republican party. Fra- ternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen (both of Covina), and the Knights of Pythias in Kansas City, Mo. He is a member, and at the present time treasurer, of the Columbia Land and Water Company.
Mr. Seeley married Alice Atchison, by whom he has a daughter, Mary M., born in Kansas City, Mo., October 26, 1892. Mrs. Seeley was educated in Columbia (Mo.) College, a large and success- ful institution for young ladies, and conducted under the auspices of members of the Christian Church. From childhood she has been an adher- ent of that denomination, and now, with Mr. Seeley, holds membership in the Covina Chris- tian Church. Her father, Samnel P. Atchison, was a fine type of the Puritan democracy of the old school, and was for years a prominent resi- dent of Kentucky, his active life being passed in that state, although his death occurred in Kan- sas City, Mo. Her mother bore the maiden name of Mary E. Ragland, and was a member of an old Kentucky family.
town last named he died November 11, 1712. His son, Capt. Nathaniel Rust, was born in Northampton, November 17, 1671, and was the first settler of Coventry, Conn., of which he was a prominent resident until his death. The records show that he was the first selectman chosen there and was also appointed as tavern keeper.
Daniel Rust, son of Nathaniel, was born in Coventry, Conn., February 18, 1711. He served as constable, collector and highway surveyor, and in 1745 was employed by the town to keep up the stock of ammunition. His son, Lieut. Lemttel Rust, was born in Coventry, Conn., Feb- ruary 11, 1740, and died in Otisco, N. Y., July 31, 1813. He was an early settler of Southamp- ton, Mass. In 1775 he was at Cambridge, Mass., and during the Revolutionary war he engaged in the eight months' service. His son, John Rust, was born in Southampton, Mass., March 5, 1777, and during his entire active life followed the stonemason's trade in his native town, where he died March 7, 1814.
The next in line of descent was Nelson Rust, who was born in Southampton, Mass., July 27, 1802, and died in 1847. He was a blacksmith and steel worker and made cooking stoves as early as 1836. He did the iron work on the first railroad bridge across the Connecticut river at Springfield, Mass. At Amherst he was chosen to serve as selectman and was also a deacon in the church. He had the first "house raising" without liquors in that county, thus inaugurat- ing a temperance reform. An active Abolition- ist, his home was an underground railroad station in ante-bellum days. He was a man of positive character, who was always ready to do his duty and trust God for the consequences.
ORATIO NELSON RUST, of South Pasa- dena, was born in Amherst, Mass., May May 8, 1826, Nelson Rust married Elizabeth Clapp, who was born in Amherst, Mass., March 17, 1804, and died in 1867. Her parents were Oliver Clapp (6th) and Lucinda (Adams) Clapp, of Leverett, Mass., and her grandparents were Oliver (5th) and Elizabeth (Mattoon) Clapp, II, 1828. A detailed record of the lives of his ancestors would comprise the history of some of the most important and stirring crises of our national progress. The progenitor of the family in this country was Henry Rust, who came from Hingham, Norfolk county, England, about . early settlers of Amherst. She was a descend- 1633, and settled in Hingham, Mass. From his ant of Roger Clapp, who came from Plymouth, England, to America in 1630 on the ship Mary and John, and was one of the first settlers of Dorchester. On this same ship came Johanna Ford, whom Roger Clapp married in 1633. He was a man of influence and prominence. Four- three sons, Samuel, Nathaniel and Israel, the Rust family in the United States descends. Israel Rust was baptized in Hingham, Mass., Novem- ber 12, 1670, and took the freeman oath in Northampton, Mass., March 30, 1690. In the
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teen times he was chosen to fill the office of selectman of Dorchester. In 1665 he was elected to command the fort in Boston Harbor, which position he held for twenty-one years. He died in 1691 and his wife four years later.
The record of the Rust family is one of which its present representatives may well be proud. The subject of this article, by his honorable serv- ice in the Civil war, by his active business career and by his well-known principles of integrity, has added lustre to the honored name he bears. He was given good educational advantages and was a student in Amherst Academy in 1847, when the death of his father, Nelson Rust, sud- denly terminated his academic studies. He was left, the eldest of four children and the head of a family that had only limited means. Securing humble employment he soon rose to a better po- sition and was able to buy the village drug store. Later he traveled for eighteen years for one firm as salesman, finding the work both healthful and pleasant. During this time he formed the B F. ORR, an honored pioneer of California and the senior member of the well-known firm of Orr & Hines, leading funeral di- . rectors of Los Angeles, was born in Johnstown, Pa., June 30, 1836, and is a son of William Orr, a furniture dealer and undertaker of that state. Our subject had one brother, who was a captain in the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil war and was killed in the battle of Petersburg. love for antiquarian research which has since distinguished him. This taste found expression in the valuable and extensive collection which for years so delighted visitors to his Pasadena home. It comprised Indian relics from nearly every town in New England; from the wild tribes of Dakota, New Mexico, Arizona and California, with a history of the manners and customs of these tribes. He took more than two thousand vessels and implements of clay and stone from Until he attained his majority Mr. Orr re- mained in his native city and was educated in its public schools. Early in the '5os he came to Sonoma, Cal., where he engaged in mining for four years, and later was interested in the under- taking business in San Francisco until 1861, when he returned east, remaining there three years. For a third of a century, however, he has made his home in Los Angeles, which, when he located here, was a small, insignificant place. Two years later he embarked in the undertaking business as a partner of Victor Ponet, with whom he was con- the mounds and pre-historic graves of Missouri in 1879 and 1880, and from old Mexico a collec- tion of Aztec implements by especial favor of President Diaz. The importance of his collec- tion caused him to place it on exhibition at the Columbian Exposition in 1893, where he was made judge of award in the archeological de- partment. He sold the collection to a Chicago capitalist, and he in turn donated it to Beloit Col- lege, where it is usefully rounding out the life work of its collector. His knowledge of Indian life and customs was added to during the period . nected for a number of years, but Mr. Ponet of his service, under President Harrison, as agent for the Mission Indians, during which time he built the manual training school at Perris.
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