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 37

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996

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Nicaragua Canal, and it was in connection with this bill that Mr. Waters did his very best work. It was well known before that bill came up in the house that there was a bad hitch somewhere. Mr. Waters was one of the men who untangled that hitch. Later he made a speech upon the canal bill when it was before the house. The Los Angeles Times in an editorial paragraph characterizes this speech as the ablest delivered on this subject, and he received many letters and telegrams of congratulation on his able and eloquent effort for the canal. The more important of these two performances, however, was the work of untangling the hitch so as to allow the bill to come up in the house. The work that counts in legislation is not the speech made upon the floor, but the quiet work that is done among the members and in committee.

The country at large can only have a faint idea of the arduous labor performed in the passage of a bill like the Nicaragua canal bill. This is not only true of the committee work, but of the work of the house or senate after the bill has been re- ported out of committee. The canal bill was not an exception to this rule, and for some days it seemed that the friends of the bill would be un- able to get it before the house. The Pacific Coast delegation was called upon to actively as- sist Mr. Hepburn in pulling the bill out of a "hole," and were credited by him as the saviors of the bill. Mr. Waters of the sixth and Mr. Barham of the first districts led in the fight which made the passage of this bill possible, and are entitled to the highest credit for its successful passage. Had it not been for their efforts in its behalf, the canal bill might not have passed the house even at this session.

The oil men of Southern California are under great obligations to Mr. Waters for obtaining an order of the commissioner of the general land of- fice, Hon. Binger Hermann, suspending filing of lieu scrip until after full investigation is made by special agents of the department. The Califor- nia legislature passed a joint resolution asking for this suspension. A bill is now pending, in- troduced by Mr. Waters, to authorize the entry and patenting of lands containing petroleum and other mineral oils under placer mining laws in the United States. The sundry civil appropria- tion and the deficiency appropriation bills have

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also been carefully looked after by Mr. Waters. Through his efforts there were established many rural free delivery routes in his district, which have been such a benefit to the people; and he also established eleven new postoffices in the sixth con- gressional district. He was also unusually suc- cessful in his efforts before the pension bureau in the interest of old veterans and their widows.

The personality of Mr. Waters is pleasing. His rugged, open-hearted manner makes him a welcome visitor in any gathering. Behind his unassuming, quiet manner hide all the dignity and courteous grace of a true man.

ON. HENRY HARRISON MARKHAM. The history of any community is best told in the lives of its citizens. Especially is this the case when these citizens are men of great power and ability, wielding an influence in the halls of legislature and effecting great reforms or securing needed legislation in the interests of the people. To a certain degree, the history of Governor Markham's life is a history of Pasa- dena, and indeed of Southern California. Perhaps no citizen has done more than he to advance the welfare of this region; and, while his service as governor of California has brought him into prom- inence throughout the entire state, yet it is with the southern section that his name is most insep- arably associated. The people point with just pride to the work he has done in their behalf and the improvements he secured for the Pacific coast during his term in congress.

The executive ability that forms one of Gover- nor Markham's most striking attributes is per- haps his by inheritance, for he is a descendant of Sir William Markham, who was deputy governor under William Penn. He was born in Wilming- ton, Essex County, N. Y., November 16, 1840. He received his education in public and private schools in his native town and in Wheeler's Academy in Vermont. When a boy he per- formed all the manual labor incident to a farm hand of the day and became proficient in every branch of farming as it was then conducted. In 1861 he removed to Wisconsin and entered the army from that state, as private in the Thirty- second Wisconsin Infantry, and served until the

close of the war. He was severely wounded at the battle of Whippy Swamp, in South Carolina, Febuary 3, 1865, from which wound he has never fully recovered.

At the close of the Civil war Governor Mark- ham returned to Wisconsin and studied law with the noted firm of Waldo, Ody & Van, of Milwau- kee. He was admitted to practice before the circuit and suprenie courts and the United States district courts, and, subsequently, the United States supreme court. He devoted special atten- tion to admiralty practice, in which line his firm, H. H. and G. C. Markham, was said to have the largest practice in the west. In the fall of 1878 failing health (caused largely by his wound) compelled him to give up practice in Milwaukee and seek a more healthful climate. With his family he removed to Pasadena, where he has since resided. He engaged in quartz mining of both gold and silver in California until his public life began.

During the summer of 1884 Governor Markham was nominated by the Republican party to repre- sent the sixth district in the congress of the United States. The district at that time was strongly Democratic, but many of the leading Democrats supported him, on the ground that he would be able to accomplish more for the benefit of his district than his opponent. He was elected by a majority of more than five hundred. He served in the forty-ninth congress, securing the passage of many important measures for the ben- efit of his district. Among these was the estab- lishment of a United States court known as the Southern District of California; also the appropri- ation of $150,000 for the erection of a public building in Los Angeles; the establishment and maintenance at Los Angeles of the headquarters of the army of Arizona, until 1892; and several much needed appropriations for various har- bors on the coast of California, as he had, notwithstanding the fact that he was a new mem- ber, been appointed on the important river and harbor committee. He justly earned the reputa- tion of pushing through congress more work than any new congressman had ever been known to accomplish. Through his influence one of the national soldiers' homes was established at Santa Monica. Afterwards he was elected by congress as a director of these homes and devoted much

D. H. flott

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time to their management, taking individual charge of the one at Santa Monica. Though this service was wholly without compensation, he gave himself to it with enthusiasm and never lessened his interest in it until his election as Governor.

The career of Governor Markham in congress was so creditable to himself and so beneficial to his district that his constituents desired his renom- ination and many flattering encomiums were received from them concerning his success as a public official. However, his health being poor, he decided it would be unwise to continue in public life and he therefore declined. In 1890 he was nominated for governor of California by the Republicans and was duly elected. This high office he filled for four years, retiring again to private life with the consciousness of having faithfully discharged every duty to his state and his fellow-citizens. He seems to be especially fitted for positions of responsibility in public life, for he is a man of unusual executive ability, keen, resourceful and logical; and is fitted by wide experience and native gifts to be a leader of men.

In 1876 Governor Markham married Mary A., daughter of Giles C. Dana, of Montpelier, Vt., a relative of the famous editor of the New York Sun. They became the parents of five children, Marie, Alice, Gertrude, Genevieve (deceased) and Hildreth. The family occupy a beautiful residence at No. 703 Pasadena avenue, whose beauty of surroundings and magnificence of out- look make it one of the most desirable homes of Pasadena. Fraternally, Governor Markham is connected with the Masonic Order and is also a member of John F. Godfrey Post, G. A. R., at Pasadena. He is a director in the First National Bank of this city.

Such a life as Governor Markham's could find no parallel in any country but the United States, for no other country presents such opportunities to ambitious young men as does our own; and there are few states that have presented such opportunities as has California during the past half century. The opportunity was given him and he proved equal to it. Others with equal advantages but less determination might have failed, but he has risen to the highest position within the gift of his state and has honored every office he has filled.

TEPHEN HATHAWAY MOTT. The Mott family is distinctively English and not French, as the name would indicate. The name comes from an ancient manor in County Essex, England, "the manor of Mott." Some authorities give it "Mato," "Motes" and "Motte." Ancient records show that the name was derived from the old Norman-French "motte," an artificial mound, supposed to be the remains of old Roman encampments. The reason for assuming descent is this French name and the syllable "le," as Gilbert le Motte. The manor alluded to in County Essex has been held by the Motts since 1408.

The ancestry of our subject can be traced to Thomas Mott, of Shalford, Essex county, Eng- land, who was born about 1490; but it is a matter of record that the family were land owners for more than a century before. In one of the rec- ords John Mott is shown to be a land owner in 1375. The first of the name recorded as coming to America was Capt. James Mott, whose son and namesake was a captain in the New York army, as shown by Lord Cornlury's army list of 1701. The elder James seems to have first set- tled in Connecticut, but migrated to the New York colony in 1667, settling in Westchester county near the village of Mamaroneck. There he married a daughter of John Rich Bell, who had Indian deeds to large tracts of land on the shores of Long Island Sound. The first Mott in this country was a vestryman in one of the first Episcopal churches in New York. He was the fourth son of John Mott, from Sherne Hall, County Essex, England. His grandson, James Mott, son of the second James Mott herein alluded to, lived at Mamaroneck, N. Y., in 1726, when the Quaker doctrine was being promulgated. He then and there became a member of the society, and meetings were held in his house.

Stephen H. Mott was born June 21, 1828, near Saratoga Springs, N. Y., in the historic village of Schuylersville, where the British general, Bur- goyne, surrendered. He is the son of John R. and Abbie ( Hathaway) Mott, who were natives of Saratoga county, N. Y., and both died in that same county, the father when seventy-one and the mother when eighty-four. When he was nine years of age our subject was taken into the home of his maternal grandmother, a good old

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Quaker, which fact is sufficient comment as to his early training. He was brought up as most of the farm boys of his day, attending select school (for there were 110 free schools then) during a short period in the winter, and working.diligently on the farm during the remainder of the year. The first money he earned was at the age of four- teen, when he hired out by the month. In that work he laid the granite foundation for his iron constitution, which has served him so admirably through life. At the age of seventy-two he is as vigorous as many men of forty.

When he was sixteen Mr. Mott apprenticed himself to the tinner's trade, which he followed for two years. He next became a wage earner in a warehouse. Later he accepted a position in a general store, where his growth of knowledge and efficiency in the business were so rapid that he became a purchaser of goods in the great com- mercial mart of New York before he was twenty- one. Early in life he made it a rule to keep clear of the whirlpools of speculation, and kept his bark within calm and safe waters, thus ever after avoiding the rough edges of misfortune, while his fine, clear business instinct gave him a knowledge of men and affairs which have thus far enabled him to sail in the channels of success and pros- perity.

Home-leaving is a memorable event in the life of every carefully reared young man. It certainly was so with Mr. Mott. In 1854 he turned his course of destiny westward. He traveled exten- sively through the southern and western states, and in 1855 landed in St. Paul, Minn., and ac- cepted a clerkship in a wholesale and retail dry goods house. After a short time in that position he went eighty miles south of St. Paul and opened a general store among the Indians at St. Peter, Minn., but, finding difficulty in getting trans- portation, he settled in Shakope, then a very active point ou the Minnesota river at the head of navigation.

There we find him in 1861, at the head of a very large grain and merchandise business. While he was thus engaged there occurred the great Indian outbreak of 1862, the most horri- ble massacre in the annals of our country. Mr. Mott continued in business there until the spring of 1864, when he closed out and started for the land of the afternoon sun, arriving in Los An-

geles May 3 of that year. Soon after his arrival he was made deputy county clerk, a position that he filled for ten years. During this period his savings were invested in real estate, and so wise and judicious were those investments that on leaving his clerkship his time was occupied in looking after his own interests. By this time it had been clearly established in the minds of those who knew him that he was a safe and conserva- tive business man, hence his counsel was fre- quently sought. In 1868 he purchased what is now known as the Mott tract, from which a snug sum of money has been realized.

In 1872 Mr. Mott bought a one-third interest with Perry & Woodruff in the lumber business, and ever since he has been actively connected with that enterprise. His name has also been associated with land, gas and water companies, banks and business enterprises of various kinds, including the erection of blocks and buildings that stand as monuments of a worthy progres- siveness. The Hesperian Land and Water Com- pany, which is one of his most important inter- ests, owns thirty thousand acres of land in San Bernardino county, through which runs the Mojave river. He has been a director of the Los Angeles City Water Company since 1869, and has served as its efficient secretary for twen- ty-six years. The books in the office attest his model penmanship, acquired in leisure hours, and are instructive evidences of his neat and methodical business ways. He is truly a gentle- man of the old school, except in his "go-ahead" business methods, which are thoroughly modern and up-to-date. "Self-made" is a title that will fit this man. From his first training in school for his battle of life on up to the stern realities thereof, he has come alone, unaided by friends or wealth. Of schooling, as now understood, he virtually had none. Education he has, a wealth of practical information, which would be more helpful to a young man thrown upon his own re- sources than all the training of all the colleges of theory alone.

In 1861 Mr. Mott joined the Masonic order aud has been elected to all the chairs of office in the various lodges. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1853 and has taken all the degrees in this order, as well as filling all the offices. Politically he does not give himself un-

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due concern so far as holding office goes, but from his first ballot cast for President Pierce he has adhered to principle rather than men. Dur- ing the Pierce campaign he took an active part, and his experiences in the early '40s with the boys on horseback are interesting. His father was an old-time politician, filling such offices as justice of the peace, sheriff, etc., and in the early settlement of the county where he lived he fol- lowed surveying, though his principal occupa- tion was farming. He died a poor man, but through the son's liberality, the old "down east" home is still in the possession of the family and is occupied by a sister, to whom he has virtually given it. He has spent over $65,000 for the care and maintenance of his younger sister and fam- ily, as well as the care of the home place, some of the investments for their interests being in Los Angeles real estate.

Some of the Motts are very wealthy, and the principles of accretion have been richly inherited by our subject. This, with the integrity so neces- sary, has enabled him to amass a goodly fortune, which he does not hoard, but uses freely and generously in making those near and dear to him comfortable and in bestowing assistance on worthy charitable objects. The historic pages of good deeds will ever bear to coming generations these words, "Emulate the life of Stephen H. Mott."

ON. ALVAN TYLER CURRIER. It may be doubted if any resident of the Pomona Valley is more widely known throughout California than the subject of this article. Cer- tainly none has wielded a more potent influence in affairs that make for the upbuilding of a com- munity and the development of its resources. For this reason, therefore, especial interest attaches to the record of his life, which is the story of a man who came to California poor in purse, but rich in expectation and in hope; a man of invinci- ble determination and tireless energy, fitted by inherited endowments and early training for large responsibilities in the business world and in pub- lic affairs.

The management of his varied interests makes Mr. Currier a very busy man. The most impor- tant object of his care is his large alfalfa, grain,

stock and fruit ranch, comprising twenty-five hundred acres, situated three miles west of Po- mona, just off the Southern Pacific stations of Spadre and Lemon. Here a considerable portion of Mr. Currier's time is spent. His energy is such that he is constantly at work, directing, superintending and managing every department of the farm work; this, too, although there is no longer the necessity of hard work there was in earlier years. His ranch is watered by arte- siau wells, thus solving for him the sometimes vexing water problem. In every respect it shows the painstaking care of the owner and his intelligent supervision.

In Franklin county, Me., Mr. Currier was born, April 30, 1840, a son of Alvan and Nancy (Clough) Currier, natives of Maine. His pater- nal ancestors are said to have been French, and his maternal ancestors were of English and Scotch extraction. His father, who was a son of Samuel Currier, of Cobb's Hill, Me., served as a state senator in Maine and held other official positions. The subject of this article was reared in Maine and received his education principally at the Far- mington Academy. For a short time he taught school. On reaching his majority he started out in the world for himself. In the winter of 1861- 62 he saw California for the first time. How- ever, he did not remain here, but went to Idaho and mined for gold and silver.

In the fall of 1867 he left Idaho and returned to California. Soon, however, he went back to Maine to visit his relatives and friends, and in the spring of 1868 he came via the Isthmus of Pan- ama from New York to San Francisco. He has crossed the isthmus three times altogether. In the spring of 1869 he came to Los Angeles county and purchased the ranch where he still makes his home.

Politically Mr. Currier has been an active factor in the Republican party, and is counted one of its local leaders. In 1881 he was elected sheriff of Los Angeles county, which office he filled for two years. In 1898 he was elected to the state senate front the Thirty-eighth Califor- nia district. As a senator he has manifested tlie deepest interest in the welfare of his constituents. He has given his influence to measures for the benefit of the people and the development of the state's magnificent resources. No one has had a

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greater faitlı in California than he. His faith in its future has been unshaken by reverses. With the keen, far-seeing eye of the pioneer, he has dis- cerned the wonderful opportunities the country holds, and has never regretted casting his lot in with the people of this valley, for his career here has been a prosperous one. In addition to his other interests, he is a director in the First National Bank of Pomona, a director in the San Antonio Fruit Exchange, and is now president of the San Antonio Cañon Water Company, also president of the Odd Fel- lows' Hall Association of Pomona. March 20, 1881, he married Mrs. Susan Rubottom, née Glenn, of Spadra, who, like himself, is an active member of the Baptist Church of Pomona and a generous contributor to worthy religious and philanthropic enterprises.

In Los Angeles Senator Currier is best known, perhaps, as the owner of the Currier Block, a large office building at No. 212 West Third street. This block was named for him, and is supplied with all the conveniences of modern public build- ings. He gives his attention, in addition to his other duties, to the management of this building and the care of the property.

ON. WALDO M. YORK. In reviewing the history of any community there are always a few names that stand out pre-eminently among others, because those who bear them pos- sess superior business or professional ability. Such names and such men increase the impor- tance of a city and add to its prosperity, their intelligence is a power for good in local affairs, and their keen intellectual faculties promote not only their own success, but that of their fellow- citizens as well. Among the residents of Los Angeles who have become eminent at the bar and on the bench, especial mention belongs to Hon. W. M. York, superior judge of the county of Los Angeles. Identified since 1889 with the legal life of this part of California, he has in the mean- time gained a large acquaintance among the people here and has risen steadily by reason of his professional attainments.

From boy hood Judge York's tastes were in the direction of the law. Often, when engaging in

the ceaseless toil of planting, plowing, sowing, harvesting and other work incident to farm life, his mind built ambitious hopes for the future, not to be spent in wresting a meagre living from the barren soil of a Maine farm, but to be devoted to intellectual pursuits. With this object in view he devoted every leisure moment to study, and in 1863, when but seventeen years of age, he began to teach school. For several years he engaged in that occupation, and in the meantime gave considerable attention to the study of law. In 1868 he was admitted to practice in the su- preme court of his native commonwealth, Maine.

Believing that the far west afforded opportuni- ties not possible in the east, in 1871 he crossed the continent and opened a law office in Seattle, Wash. The following year he was elected judge of the probate court of Kings county, of which Seattle is the county seat. In 1873 he married a daughter of Rev. George F. Whitworth, D. D., a Presbyterian clergyman of that city. On the ex- piration of his term as probate judge he was re- elected, but two years later, in 1876, he resigned the office and removed to San Francisco, where he soon built up an excellent practice. For sev- eral years he served as town attorney of Berke- ley, where he had his residence. In 1889 he came to Los Angeles to engage in practice, at the same time establishing his home in Pasadena, where he has since resided. From 1891 to 1893 he held office as chief deputy in the office of the district attorney of Los Angeles county. He re- ceived from Governor Markham in January, 1894, the appointment of judge of the superior court of Los Angeles county, to which position, in the fall of the same year, he was elected for a term of six years. His talents especially qualify him for judicial labors. He is impartial, dignified, con- servative and sagacious; thoughtful in decision, wise in action. While he is a stanch Repub- lican, on the bench he knows no politics and no party spirit. The intellect of the man shows itself in his presence, which inspires confidence and respect alike among acquaintances and strangers.

For the office of superior judge he was nomi- nated September 5, 1894, and the nomination was seconded by Rev. L. P. Crawford in a speech from which we quote as follows:

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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 37

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 996

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996