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 39

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

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 39

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In political matters Mr. Potter is independent, using his franchise for the man or measure he deems best, regardless of party lines. Fraternally he is a Mason. He is one of the most popular members of the California Club, the Jonathan Club and the University Club, three of the lead- ing and influential organizations of Los Angeles.

ROSS CLARK. One of the flourishing in- dustries of Southern California is the Los Alamitos Sugar Company, of which the subject of this article is vice-president and the general manager. Shortly after coming to Los Angeles he established the business which has since grown to its present proportions, taking rank among the successful and growing enter- prises of this section. The company takes its name from the location of the plant, which is at Los Alamitos, thirty miles from Los Angeles, while the offices of the company are in the Doug- las block in Los Angeles.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The genealogy of the Clark family is as follows: Great-grandfather Clark was of Scotch extraction and a native of County Antrim, Ireland, to which place his Scotch Presbyterian ancestors had emi- grated during the religious persecutions in Scot- land. The ancestors for many generations were chiefly farmers by occupation. Great-grand- father Clark moved to the United States when a young man and resided in Pennsylvania, where he reared a family. He died when comparatively a young man; his wife also died while young. His son, John Clark, was reared by an aunt, Mrs. Ross, in Chester county, Pa., where he married Miss Elizabeth Reed, who was also reared by an aunt. John and Elizabeth Clark settled in Fay- ette county, Pa., where they became prosperous farmers and all members of the Presbyterian Church, and both were over seventy years of age when they died on the old Clark homestead. They were the parents of ten children, viz .: James, Margaret, William (who died young), John, Mary (called Polly), Elizabeth, Nancy, Joseph, Nancy and Sarah. Of these children, John was a farmer near Connellsville, Pa., but in 1856 moved to Van Buren county, near Ben- tonsport, Iowa, where he resided many years and died in Keosauqua, Iowa, July 7, 1873, aged seventy-six years. He was a farmer by occupa- tion and possessed a progressive, enterprising mind. His family was well known and highly esteemed in Iowa. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Andrews, resides in Los Ange- les, to which place she came in 1882. She is the mother of eight children who reached maturity, and seven are now living, viz .: William A., Joseph K. and J. Ross Clark; Mrs. Sarah Boner, deceased; Mrs. Elizabeth Abascal, widow of Joa- quin Abascal; Mrs. T. F. Miller; Miss Anna B. Clark and Miss Ella E. Clark. The mother of this interesting family is now aged eighty-six years, and is a well-preserved woman, who is honored and respected for her many good quali- ties of head and heart. The best-known member of this family is undoubtedly the eldest son, Hon. William A. Clark, junior member of the United States Senate from Montana, who was well known throughout the west for years before his famous contest for the United States senate. He is undoubtedly the largest individual mine owner in the United States, and as owner of the

United Verde copper mine at Jerome, Ariz., has made the mine and his own name as owner fam- ous all over the United States. He also holds large mining interests in Butte, Utah and Idaho. He came to Montana in 1863, and has been close- ly identified with the growth and prosperity of that state ever since. He was married to Catha- rine Stouffer, a native of Pennsylvania, who was his school and playmate in the Keystone state. She was a beautiful woman and the mother of five children. She died in New York City in 1893.

J. Ross Clark was born April 10, 1850, near Connellsville, Pa. At six years of age he re- moved with the family to Van Buren county, Iowa. There he acquired a public school educa- tion; his academic studies were pursued at Ben- tonsport Academy. However, he is principally a self-educated, as well as a self-made man; his cul- ture and refinement were not acquired in the nar- row confines of a college room, but in the broad- er and more practical school of the business world. On attaining his majority he was attracted to the far west, where in company with his brother, Joseph K., he engaged in the United States mail contract business, making his headquarters at Horse Plains, Mont., the route being from Mis- soula, Mont., to Pend d' Oreille Lake in Idaho, a distance of two hundred miles. In 1876 he re- moved to Butte, Mont., and engaged as book- keeper for the Dexter Milling Company, owners of one of the first quartz mills built in Butte. Af- ter one year, in 1877, he took a position as cashier in the bank of Donnell, Clark & Larabie, a well- known banking institution in the west, where he continued in the same position until 1886. In 1884 he acquired Mr. Donnell's interest in the in- stitution and shortly afterwards Mr. Larabie re- tired, when the firm name was changed to W. A. Clark & Bro., and as such continues to the pres- ent day, the partners being William A. Clark and J. Ross Clark, our subject still giving atten- tion to the bank and its management. During his residence in Montana, April 16, 1878, he mar- ried Miss Miriam A. Evans, who was born in Ohio, but at the time was a resident of Montana. They have two children, Ella H. and Walter M. The family are connected with the First Congre- gational Church of Los Angeles.

In 1892 Mr. Clark established his home in Los

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Angeles, and he has since become well known as one of the most reliable business men of the city.

To an unusual degree Mr. Clark possesses those qualities which are so essential to success in any department of business life, namely: in- dustry, common sense, perseverance and deter- mination. In the possession of these sterling qualities the problem of success is usually solved, for they are indissolubly linked with prosperity, the one following the other as cause and effect. He has shown no desire to participate in public affairs, nor has he sought official honors, prefer- ring to devote himself exclusively to private busi- ness affairs. However, in politics he has keen and decided opinions, and has been a lifelong Democrat. In fraternal relations he is a Mason. Besides the company with which his name is most closely associated, he is connected with other en- terprises of Southern California, notably the Citi- zens' Bank, of which he is a director ; and the Columbia Savings Bank of Los Angeles, of which he is director. He has served as a director in the Chamber of Commerce, and is president of the Y. M. C. A. Personally he is a courteous and affable gentleman, with a geniality of manner that wins and retains friends, while at the same time he possesses a depth of character that gives him a high place in the regard and respect of even the most casual acquaintance.

ILLIAM POLLARD, of the law firm of Mulford & Pollard, Los Angeles, is of Canadian birth and English parentage. His father, Rev. William Pollard, was born and reared in England, and in early manhood entered the ministry of the Methodist Church, which de- nomination was enriched numerically by the fruits of his lifetime of self-sacrificing labor. In 1842 he came to America and settled in Canada, where the remaining years of his busy life were passed. He and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Maria Heathfield, were the parents of one son and four daughters.

The birth of William Pollard occurred near Toronto, Canada, in 1851. His childhood years were uneventfully passed in the ordinary routine

of study. He was an ambitious lad, not content to gain a merely surface knowledge, but desirous of acquiring a broad and thorough education. In his school work he was diligent and faithful. After completing a common school education lie entered the Victorian College in Toronto, where he took the regular course of study, graduating in 1873. His literary course completed, he en- tered upon a law course, for he had determined to become an attorney. In 1878 he was ad- mitted to the bar of Canada, where he subse- quently engaged in practice for nine years.

It was during the year 1887 that Mr. Pollard left the cold Canadian country for the sunny shores of California. Settling in Los Angeles in 1889 he identified himself with the law firm of Wells, Guthrie & Lee, with whom he continued for the succeeding four years. Afterward he practiced alone for two years. In 1895 the firm of Mulford & Pollard was formed and an office established in the Bullard block, where they have since remained. The firm is recognized as one of the strongest in the city, both members being men of superior education and ability. They have a commodious and well-appointed suite, with all the appurtenances of a modern law office, including a fine library.

As a delegate to county and state conventions, and in other capacities, Mr. Pollard has been identified with the work of the Republican party. He and his partner are both as undeviating in their devotion to this party as the needle to the pole. However, while they keep themselves well informed on the issues of the day they have never sought the honors of office, preferring to devote their time to their profession, in which they have met with such signal success. They manifest a constant interest in the public welfare and bear their part in every worthy enterprise. In religion Mr. Pollard is a Methodist, and now assists in the work of the Westlake Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Maccabees.

The first marriage of Mr. Pollard took place in 1878 in Canada, and united him with Miss Jennie L. Morrow, who lived near Toronto. She died in Los Angeles in 1892, leaving six children. His second marriage united him with Miss Addie L. Seely, of New York. The family home is at No. 130 North Griffith avenue.

Jothem Biryby

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

OTHAM BIXBY, who bears the distinction of being, perhaps, the largest landholder in Southern California, is a citizen honored for his sterling worth and integrity. Possessing far more than ordinary ability, it is said that when he was a mere boy those who knew him predicted that his future would be marked with decided suc- cess. Through the substantial qualities of his character he has been able to gain for himself financial prosperity, and that which is still more to be desired, the respect and esteem of his asso- ciates.

The Bixby family was first represented in this country in a very early day by an Englishman who settled in Massachusetts. Later generations removed to Maine, where the family has long been known and honored. Jotham Bixby was one of the eight sons and two daughters of Amasa Bixby, all of whom, except two sons that died in early life, established homes in California. They were named as follows : Amos, Marcellus, Llewellyn, Henry H., George F., Jotham, Fran- cina A., and Mrs. Nancy D. Lovett. Jotham Bixby was born in Norridgewock, Me., January 20, 1831. His early life did not differ materially from that of the average New England boy in the early half of the nineteenth century, for, like them, he was expected to contribute to his own support as soon as he became physically able to perform any kind of manual labor, and the most important part of his education was his industrial training. While facilities for obtaintng an edu- cation were limited, he attended school with reasonable regularity a short time during each year, and thus gained a foundation on which was built, in later years, a broad fund of information acquired in the great school of experience and observation.

When the discovery of gold in California fired the hearts of ambitious young men in the east, Mr. Bixby was one of those who resolved to seek a fortune in the far west. In1 1852 he sailed via Cape Horn to San Francisco, and thence pro- ceeded to mines in the central part of the state, but did not meet there the success he had hoped for. In 1857 he went to Monterey county and began to raise sheep. Later we find him a resi- dent of San Luis Obispo county, and from there, in 1866, he came to Los Angeles, having the pre-

vious year bought the rancho of Los Cerritos, a tract of twenty-seven thousand acres. This property, lying east of the San Gabriel river, and fronting on the ocean, includes the present sites of Long Beach and Clearwater. On this place he has since engaged in the stock business, and under his supervision a company was organ- ized which purchased seventeen thousand acres of the Palos Verdes rancho and a one-third inter- est in Los Alamitos of twenty-six thousand acres, besides six thousand acres in the rancho of San- tiago de Santa Ana. This entire acreage was devoted to stock-raising. At times the company had on the Cerritos as many as thirty thousand head of sheep, producing two hundred thousand pounds of wool annually. More recently, how- ever, the company has made a specialty of raising cattle and horses, and has owned as many as thirty thousand head of cattle.

Nature bestowed upon Mr. Bixby a vigorous mind. His energy is one of the conspicuous traits of his character. To this quality, combined with his business ability, is due his success in the stock business and in every other enterprise with which his name has been connected. In business dealings his code of honor has always been of the highest, and he has never deviated from the course his conscience and sense of justice have mapped out for him. The success with which he has met would, perhaps, be impossible to gain in the same way in this generation, for land can no longer be purchased "for a song," as in for- mer days. He had the foresight to discern a future advance in property as well as a steady de- mand for stock; hence he turned his attention in the lines his judgment indicated would bring prosperity.

In 1863 Mr. Bixby married Miss Margaret Winslow Hathaway, daughter of Rev. George W. Hathaway, of this county. They are the parents of three sons and two daughters. The oldest son, George H., graduated from Yale Collegein 1886, and has since assisted his father in the manage- ment of their extensive interests. The second son, Harry, is also a graduate of Yale. The family home is one of the most attractive country homes in Southern California, and reflects in its equipments the tastes and refinement of its in- mates.

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RIFFITH J. GRIFFITH. Many of the self-made men of America, after achieving distinction in successful business careers, desire to leave behind them some enduring monu- ment that will reflect credit upon their memory. It has been the custom of millionaires to make bequests in their wills setting aside a portion of their fortunes for some worthy purpose. The wiser philanthropists of the present day are pur- suring a better method; they are administering their own benefactions in their lifetime. They thus aid in the executions of their own wills, see that they are administered in accordance with their own wishes, and enjoy the result of their own beneficence. A notable example of this clear-headed philanthropy occupied the columns of the Los Angeles newspapers in 1897-98. Among the many wealthy men in this city is one who has acquired an honorable fame by donating from his private property adjoining the Angel City, the largest single tract of land ever ac- quired for park purposes by any city in the world, and the only city park in existence pos- sessing a lofty mountain peak within its borders.

The donor of this park is Col. Griffith Jenkins Griffith, whose genial presence is manifest in a well-knit frame, cordial manner, pleasant coun- tenance and hearty salutation. He was born Jan- uary 4, 1852, on a farm near Bridge-End, in Glamorganshire, Wales, about thirty miles from the seaport of Cardiff. Upon that farm the Grif- fith ancestry had resided for several generations. The Griffith name was borne by several of the valiant kings of ancient Wales and those who now bear it have reason to be proud of their lineage. His father, Griffith Morgan Griffith, who was born in 1830, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Jenkins Griffith and who was born in 1831, are now enjoying a vigorous old age in a comfortable home in Los Angeles.

Though born in Great Britain, at an early age our subject came to America with an uncle. He spent his boyhood in the state of Pennsylvania, where, in the towns of Ashland and Danville, he received the elements of an education which he promptly put to good use. Striking out for an independent career, he first went to Pittsburg and entered the employ of the Columbus West Carriage Company. From there he went to Phila- delphia and formed a connection as press repre-

sentative with Mr. Bergner, of Bergner & Engel, president of the Pennsylvania Brewers' Associa- tion. A year later, in 1873, with characteristic enterprise, he came to the Pacific coast and en- tered upon his true career in San Francisco. There he joined the editorial staff of the theu leading daily commercial newspaper of the coast region, the Alta California, and became the re- porter of its mining department, at that time a very important feature of San Francisco journal- ism.

With indefatigable energy and native shrewd- ness he gained an extensive knowledge of mines and the special features of each mining region, and presently became a recognized authority on all matters pertaining to mining properties and development. He made frequent expeditions into the interior of California and adjoining states and territories, in the double capacity of represent- ative for his newspaper and professional expert for mining syndicates. In the latter capacity many large transactions have depended on his re- ports of the character and value of mines in various sections of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and the republic of Mexico. In 1880 he became superintendent of a group of fifteen mines in Prospect Mountain, Nevada. He was also largely interested in mining properties in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Having acquired a competency through a judicious use of his opportunities in Mexico and elsewhere, and having, in one of his southern trips, become enamored of the delightful climate and prospective development of Southern Cali- fornia, Colonel Griffith in 1882 transferred some of his interests to the then modest city of Los Angeles, and made considerable investments in landed property. That he was not mistaken in his judgment of its future possibilities may be in- ferred from the fact that he has seen the half- Spanish town of twelve thousand inhabitants grow with unexampled vigor to its present popu- lation of one hundred and ten thousand within the brief period of sixteen years. Among his ac- quisitions was the purchase of the princely domain known as the Rancho de los Feliz, embracing rich alluvial bottoms bordering on the Los An- geles river for a distance of five miles, and also a valuable belt of the frostless Cahuenga foot- hills. Those culminate in a bold peak eighteen

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hundred feet in altitude, which command a inag- nificent view of the surrounding country from the Sierra Madre mountains to the Pacific coast.

Another valuable piece of property controlled by Colonel Griffith was the fine Briswalter tract, which, at the time it was acquired, included an orange grove, a walnut orchard, and a two hun- dred-acre vineyard. It was located in the south- ern section and adjacent to the growing portion of the city, but is now traversed by well-paved streets lined with rows of handsome houses and beautiful homes. One of these streets, a broad, well-built thoroughfare extending from Four- teenth to Jefferson streets, a distance of one and one-quarter miles, was named Griffith avenue, in honor of Colonel Griffith, by the city authori- ties.

January 27, 1887, Colonel Griffith married Mary Agnes, the accomplished daughter of Louis Mesmer, owner of the United States hotel. She is a native of Los Angeles, to which city her par- ents came from Alsace-Lorraine, then in France, but now a part of the German empire. Colonel and Mrs. Griffith have one son, Vandell Mowry Griffith, who was born August 29, 1888.

Since coming to Los Angeles, Colonel Griffith has allied himself with the best business and re- form movements in the city. He was an officer in the Citizens' League, which was organized to secure honest administrations of the city and county government. He has also been a director in the Merchants' & Manufacturers' Association. In 1897 he made a special trip to Washington, D. C., to urge upon congress a modification of the tariff in the interests of the fruit-growers of Southern California, and was instrumental in se- curing the desired legislation. He had previously been active in the formation of the Pioneer Fruit Growers' Association, and in promoting the im- portant citrus interests of the state.

He has taken a keen, intelligent and practical interest in the construction of a railroad to Salt Lake City, and in 1896, at the request of the Merchants' & Manufacturers' Association, he visited an important section of the proposed route in the iron and coal districts of southern Utah, and furnished an elaborate report of the rich resources of the region to be traversed. This re- port was extensively copied in the daily press.

During the rapid growth of Los Angeles in

recent years and the consequent enlargement of the city limits, the subject of providing additional parks to meet the future needs of a modern civil- ized community has been considered and earnest- ly discussed by those who have the welfare of the city at heart. This was Colonel Griffith's opportunity to serve the public and execute a purpose, due to no sudden impulse or accidental combination of circumstances, but which he had cherished for years. He examined his great hold- ings and from the extensive Los Feliz Rancho carved out a tract embracing three thousand and fifteen acres (nearly five square miles) of moun- tain and valley, sloping hillside and sheltered dale, rock and forest and stream, full of pic- turesque beauty, and susceptible of wonderful arborial and botanical development, and this magnificent domain he presented to the city of Los Angeles, to be forever devoted to the public use of the people for park purposes. The gift included a valuable water right, which greatly enhanced the value of the donation.

The presentation was made in eloquent words addressed by the donor to the city council in the presence of many prominent citizens. It closed with this characteristic statement of the philan- thropic motive which animated the donor: "I wish to make this gift while I am still in the full vigor of life, that I may enjoy with my neighbors its beauties and pleasures, and that I may bear with me, when I cross the clouded river, the pleasing knowledge of the fruition of a wish long dear to me." In response, the mayor gratefully accepted the gift in behalf of the city, and other officials and representative citizens spoke of the beneficial results that would follow to the present and succeeding generations, and admonished the city fathers that they had a grave duty to per- form in providing for a wise administration of the trust, and making the park, with its wealth of natural attractions, easily accessible to the common people.

The public tender of a park of three thousand acres, as narrated above, took place in the city hall December 17, 1896, and an official survey of the tract was ordered by the council. This was not completed until February, 1898, and on March 5, of the same year, a popular assembly crowded the council chamber to witness the for- mal transfer of the title and deeds to the park,

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embracing an area of three thousand and fifteen acres, from the donor to the city of Los Angeles. Eloquent speeches of congratulation were made by Mayor M. P. Snyder, Senator Stephen M. White, Judge J. W. Mckinley and other dis- tingnished citizens. In recognition of the great value of this gift, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce made Colonel Griffith a life hon- orary member, he being the first person upon whom such a high honor was conferred by that body.

The park is carved out of an old Mexican grant which was prophetically called El Rancho de los Feliz, "The Land of the Happy," and in gen- erations to come it may be presumed that myriads of people will spend happy hours among the hills and valleys and shady groves of this great natural park.

HOMAS M. STEWART. No city in the west has a larger number of able attorneys than has Los Angeles, and in the entire list perhaps none is more highly educated than the subject of this article. While he had few ad- vantages in youth save such as he made for him- self, yet by perseverance and determination he succeeded in acquiring a broad fund of knowledge and laid broad and deep the foundation of his subsequent career in the law. In his profession he has made a specialty of constitutional and corporation, in which he is more than ordinarily successful. His powers of generalization and analysis are good, his reasoning faculties excel- lent and his mental processes logical and clear. He is thus by nature fitted for the successful prosecution of his chosen profession.

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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 39

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