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 45
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has in him a firm friend. In 1890 he was his party's nominee for judge of the superior court and made an excellent race, but with the rest of the ticket was defeated, though by only a small number of votes. Fraternally he is a Mason.
In 1889 Mr. Loewenthal married Miss Laura Meyer, daughter of Samuel Meyer, one of the oldest and most respected merchants of Los An- geles. They have two sons, Godfrey S. and Paul H. Loewenthal.
- S. ROLLINS. Numbered among the en- terprising young lawyers of Los Angeles is the gentleman of whom the following sketch - · is penned. He has forged his way to the frout by the exercise of the genuine business talents with which nature endowed him, and by his keen intuitive legal sense. It has been often remarked that this city does not afford as excellent a field for the members of his profession as for many others, yet in spite of this he has perse- vered, and has won an enviable standing among his legal brethren and the public at large.
The birth of Mr. Rollins occurred not far from the city of Elkhart, Ind., and there he continued to dwell until he was eleven years of age, when he went to Beaver Dam, Wis., where his grand- parents resided. Having completed his elemen- tary education, he entered the high school, where he was graduated in the class of 1878, at the age of seventeen years. Later he became a student in Wayland University, and then was successfully engaged in teaching school for several years. Having carefully husbanded his resources, he went to Chicago, where he took up the study of law, and subsequently was admitted to the bar.
In 1886 Mr. Rollins came to Los Angeles, and the same year entered the employ of Wells, Van Dyke & Lee, for the practice of law. Later he was connected with the firm of Chapman & Hen- dricks until 1890, when he went to San Fran- cisco, with a view to making a permanent loca- tion in that city. At the end of one year's experience there, however, he concluded to return to Los Angeles. Here he accepted a position as managing clerk in the office of Judge Gardiner, and later he established an office of his own in the Bryson block, one of the finest office buildings in the city. Since that time he has succeeded in building up a large practice, which is increasing
HON. D. K. TRASK.
Photo by Marceau.
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year by year, as liis ability becomes known to the residents and vicinity. During the past five years he has served in the responsible position of court commissioner of Los Angeles county. Poli- tically he is an ardent Republican.
ON. DUMMER KIAH TRASK. Those who are familiar with the subject are aware that the duties of a judge in a comparatively new country are vastly more exacting and re- sponsible than in a section which has been longer settled, and where generations of occupants of the bench have laid down precedent and precept, ad infinitum. Absolute genius and superior judgment are requisites of the members of the bench in a new country, where thousands of strange and perplexing questions and difficulties are constantly presenting themselves, questions often peculiar to that particular region, and aris- ing from the claims and practices of the former possessors of the land, it may be, or from the unique conditions of place and circumstance. Thus, when the subject of this sketch was hon- ored with the office of judge of the superior court of Los Angeles county, a great compliment was paid to his ability and immense responsibilities were reposed in him. He has proved himself equal to the trust and is making a record here which lias seldom, if ever, been eclipsed.
It is no surprise to learn that the ancestors of Judge Trask were of the sturdy New England stock which has molded the destinies of the great American republic. The founder of the family in this country, Capt. William Trask, an English- man, was one of the five "Old Planters," of Sa- lem, Mass., where he settled in the year 1628. His son, John, was the father of Samuel Trask, who lived to the extreme age of one hundred and eighteen years. Then followed Thomas, son of Samuel; Jonathan, son of Thomas; Dummer, son of Jonathan; and Kialı Bailey, father of the judge. The latter's mother, whose maiden name was Mary J. Dunton, was a native of Maine. Three of the judge's brothers were heroes of the Civil war, being soldiers in the Federal army.
The birth of D. K. Trask occurred in Cincin- nati, Ohio, July 17, 1860. Soon after the break- ing out of the Rebeliion his parents removed to Maine. There he grew to manhood, attending
the common schools of Jefferson, Me., and the Nichols' Latin school, and later being gradu- ated from the Waterville Classical Institute, at the head of which renowned seat of learning Dr. J. H. Hanson then stood. For several terms young Trask engaged in teaching in his home state, but finally yielded to his growing desire to see something of the far west, where he believed greater opportunities for success awaited him. In 1882 he arrived in Stockton, and, after spending the summer in the harvest field, and subsequent to his successful standing in the teachers' exami- nation, he was offered the principalship of the Linden public schools, where he taught for a period. He served as a member of the San Joa- quin county board of education. Thus, well launched in the educational field, he still aspired to greater achievements, and established the Stockton Business College and Normal Institute, where he trained and instructed large classes of students, and over two hundred teachers, the majority of whom went forth to different parts of California, and, with renewed energy and supe- rior ability continued their work of educating the young.
In the meantime, Judge Trask not only had the charge and responsibility of the college just mentioned, but also was endeavoring to prepare himself for admission to the bar. He sold his in- terests in the college, in order to give his undi- vided attention to the profession of his choice. He was admitted to practice by the supreme court of the state, at San Francisco, in July, 1890. In the following September he came to Los An- geles, where he opened an office and soon won the respect of his legal brethren, as well as that of the general public. Within a remarkably short period he built up a good practice, and was employed in many important matters. In no measure did his interest in the cause of education languish, as was shown when he served on the city school board in 1893 and 1894. In 1898 he was appointed judge of the superior court of Los Angeles county, and is acting in that capacity at the present time.
In his political affiliations the judge is a strong ally of the Democratic party. Of late he is be- coming a recognized factor in the deliberations of that body, and has served as chairman of the Los Angeles convention, and is a member of the
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Democratic state committee. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, in the work of which order he takes a deep interest.
In 1887 Judge Trask married Miss Ida C. Fol- som, a native of Jefferson, Me. In early life they lived in the same town, and later Miss Folsom was a successful teacher in California. They are the parents of three children, namely: Ida Mary, Walter Folsom and Dorothy Kate.
A. BARCLAY. For nearly three decades Mr. Barclay has occupied a distinctive place at the bar, and since 1875 has been identified with the legal fraternity of Los Angeles, where he is highly esteemed. His great ability and zeal in the management of cases have led to his large and remunerative practice.
Hon. David Barclay, the father of the above- named gentleman, was a leader in the legal pro- fession of western Pennsylvania, and amassed a substantial fortune during his active career. He stood high in the estimation of the people, and was chosen by them to serve as a member of con- gress in 1856. He was opposed to the extension of slavery, and upon the expiration of his term declined a renomination upon the Democratic ticket, and became prominently connected with the organization of the Republican party of Pennsyl- vania, in the counsels of which he continued to - be an important factor for many years. About this time he became interested with a number of capitalists who proposed to purchase a large tract of land in Washington Territory, on Puget Sound, found a city and develop the country. With this end in view, he disposed of his property and started down the Allegheny river on his way to the Pacific coast, and had nearly reached Pitts- burg when the news that Sumter had been fired on changed all his plans. He was a patriot to the core, and when his country was in danger all other considerations weighed with him as naught. He devoted his time and means to raising, arm- ing, equipping and placing in the field a regi- ment, accompanying it as lientenant-colonel, until failing health and physical incapacity compelled him to leave the active service. His eldest son, Charles, then between fourteen and fifteen years of age, enlisted in the Union army upon the first call for three months, and upon the expiration of
this time immediately re-enlisted, and continued in the service until the end of the war. The father died in 1889, having survived his soldier son some six years.
The wife and mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Cooper Gaskill, came of one of the solid old Quaker families of Pennsylvania, her ances- tors having been associated with William Penn in founding Philadelphia. Her father, Charles Gaskill, was the agent of the Holland Land Company for western Pennsylvania, and, with the Cooper branch of the family, owned a large part of the land upon which Camden, N. J., is built. Frank H. Barclay, second brother of our subject, is engaged in the real estate business in this city, and D. Eric Barclay, a younger brother, served as chief deputy in the recorder's office un- der John W. Francis, and as chief deputy under F. Edward Gray, assessor of Los Angeles county.
The birth of H. A. Barclay occurred in the old Indian town of Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, Pa., in 1849. In his youth he obtained a liberal education, and entered Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pa., taking the classical and scientific courses, and subsequently entered Cornell Uni- versity at Ithaca, N. Y., with a special view to completing his studies in civil engineering, geol- ogy and modern languages. For some time he was actively engaged in the oil business in Pennsylva- nia, with such success that when the great shut- down occurred he availed himself of the opportu- nity to complete his law studies, and was admitted to the bar of Armstrong and Clarion counties, Pa., in 1871. In 1872 he removed to Pittsburg, and entered into partnership with his father in the practice of law, remaining there until 1874, when he came to California, and, after traveling over the state, selected as his location Los Angeles, then containing about eight thousand inhabi- tants. He lias witnessed the remarkable growth and improvement of Southern California, and has the satisfaction of knowing that he has been a not unimportant factor in the wonderful transforma- tion. Moreover, he has been instrumental in the upbuilding of Pasadena, Lincoln Park, Rialto, South Riverside (now Corona), Beaumont, and other localities in this section of the state, and has contributed largely to the conservation and de- velopment of the watersheds of Southern Cali-
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fornia, in securing the San Gabriel and Sau Ber- nardino forest reservations, the development of the Tujunga, Lytle Creek, Cajon Pass and other streams, and the numerous industries and organ- izations which have been beneficial to the state. He was one of the founders of the Southern Cal- ifornia (now the Merchants') National Bank, and for years served as its attorney and as one of its board of directors. His practice has extended throughout the state, and he has tried numerous cases which have been widely noted, especially those brought before the United States, circuit and supreme court, involving title to Mexican and Spanish grants, and railroad and government lands, and water rights, mechanics' liens, mining and corporation law. Socially he is very popu- lar, and wherever he goes he readily wins friends. Politically he is a Republican, thoroughly posted upon all the great questions of the day, and has always taken an active part in politics. He was vice and acting chairman of the Republican coun- ty central committee in the Blaine campaign, and was elected chairman in the Garfield cam- paign. In his home life Mr. Barclay finds his chief pleasure, and there he is seen at his best. He was married in 1882 to Miss Lily A. Ward, of New Haven, Coun., and they have two chil- dren. They have a beautiful home at No. 1321 South Main street, where many of the old mansions of the early residents of Los Angeles are to be found.
OHN A. DONNELL. It is said of the lives of men who shape the affairs of nations that nearness of vision often destroys clearness of vision, hence the difficulty of one's own near friends and neighbors accurately measuring the influence of his character and career. However, this is not always true, for we find many instances of men who are justly honored and esteemed by their associates and whose most intimate friends do the greatest justice to his influence. Such may be said of Mr. Donnell, whose name and works will be woven into the history of his country, and, as time passes, he and others who shaped the course of progress in days gone by will be given the positions to which their merits entitle them.
Mr. Donnell's grandfather, Thomas Donnell, was born in Virginia in 1766 and accompanied
his parents to Westmoreland county, Pa., in 1775, thence went to Bourbon county, Ky., in 1784, where the family suffered extreme hard- ships and afflicting bereavements. His mother died at sunset and his father at sunrise of the following day and both were buried in the same grave on the north bank of the Licking river in Kentucky. In 1817 Thomas Donnell removed to Decatur county, Ind., where he died. His brother, Samuel, served for thirty years as jus- tice of the peace and high sheriff of Bourbon county, Ky.
James, son of Thomas Donnell, was born in Bourbon county, Ky., April 15, 1790. For years he lived on a farm in Decatur county, Ind., but in October, 1854, sold that place and moved to Keokuk county, Iowa, purchasing a farm nine miles south of Sigourney, where he died Feb- ruary 19, 1863. He was a zealous worker in the Presbyterian Church and in the anti-slavery cause. For his second wife he married Jane Huddleson, who was born in Bourbon county, Ky., April 14, 1799. They became the parents of Samuel, John, Oliver, Robert and Ann Eliza, all born in Decatur county, Ind. Mrs. Donnell was a daughter of a Revolutionary soldier, who served during the entire period of the war, even after he had suffered the loss of an arm in the battle of Brandywine. Mrs. Donnell died on the Iowa homestead September 15, 1860.
John Alexander Donnell was born April 13, 1838, and received his primary education in com- mon schools, after which he studied for two years in a scientific school conducted by Prof. B. M. Nyce, of Kingston, Ind. During the summer of 1856 he attended a college in Jasper county, Iowa, and in the fall of the same year entered upon the classical course in the Wash- ington (United Presbyterian) College at Waslı- ington, Iowa, from which he graduated on the 4th of July, 1861. In April of that year, only a few days after President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers, he enlisted, but the quota was full and the company of which he became a member was not accepted. He then returned to college and completed his course. August 8, 1861, he became a member of Com- pany I, First Iowa Cavalry, and with three brothers who belonged to the same regiment marched to the front. In 1862 he was promoted
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to the rank of quartermaster-sergeant of the regiment. February 7, 1863, he was commis- sioned first lieutenant and adjutant of the regi- ment of twelve hundred men, each of whom owned his own horse. He participated in most of the battles and scouting expeditions of the Fremont campaign in southwestern Missouri. From 1861 to the time of his discharge, in 1864, his service was entirely in the Seventh Army Corps in Missouri and Arkansas.
While at Little Rock, Ark., in 1864, he was nominated by the Republican convention of Keokuk county, Iowa, as clerk of the district court, and, being elected, he resigned his position in the army and January 1, 1865, entered upon his official duties. During his service of two years in office he studied law. In February, 1867, he was admitted to the bar, and has since engaged in practice. During the war Keokuk county was very close, politically. For several years afterward it was Republican by a very small majority, but it wasalways difficult to fore- shadow results. It was often fusion. In 1873 Mr. Donnell was the unanimous choice of the Republican party for state senator, but was de- feated. In 1882 he was elected district attorney for the sixth judicial district of Iowa, comprising several counties. This office he filled for four years. In 1886 he was the Republican nominee for congress from the sixth congressional district of Iowa, but was defeated by Gen. James B. Weaver by a small majority, after an exciting campaign that was watched with interest by both parties throughout the entire country.
February 11, 1868, Mr. Donnell married Sue C. Hogin, daughter of Hon. John C. Hogin, of Sigourney, Iowa. In 1887 she came with her husband to California, but soon returned to Iowa, and at her home in Sigourney died Octo- ber 26, 1887, after a brief illness. Two children born of their marriage are also deceased, namely: Wendell and Grace. Eight children are still living, viz .: Una Z. Partridge, wife of W. E. B. Partridge; William W., Birney H., Orrilla M., Homer, Blanche, John C. and Horace.
Since coming to California, in 1887, Mr. Don- nell has been prominent in public affairs. In 1889 he was assistant district attorney of Los Angeles county, and in 1894 was elected to the office of district attorney, which office he filled for four
years. Fraternally he is a member of Pentalpha Lodge No. 202, F. & A. M., and Signet Chap- ter No. 57, R. A. M .; also belongs to Bartlett Logan Post No. 6, G. A. R., the Loyal Legion and California Commandery of the same. I11 religious belief he is a Presbyterian. He has been a successful practitioner in his profession, an earnest Republican, an eloquent and effective speaker and a meritorious citizen.
HARLES UDELL, a successful and promi- nent lawyer of Los Angeles, whose office is in the Homer Laughlin building, was born in Waushara county, Wis., March 1, 1858, a son of Jared and Paulina (Stevens) Udell, who died during his childhood. His father belonged to an old historic family, which included Nicholas Udall (as the name was then spelled), the founder of the English drama, who was born in 1505, and died in 1556. Our subject's ancestors were among those who came to this country in the Mayflower.
To a limited extent Mr. Udell attended the public schools during his boyhood, but the greater part of his education has been acquired by self-culture. At the age of thirteen years, after the death of his parents, he started out to make his own way in the world, working in the summer at whatever he could find to do and at- tending school through the winter months as he found opportunity. Before locating permanently in California he had traveled all over the United States and made a trip around the world. In 1877 he assisted in the construction of a railroad in Mexico; later engaged in mining in the Black Hills; and in its early days visited Leadville, Colo., where he also engaged in mining. He was on the frontier of Texas for a time and sub- sequently followed the sea for a number of years.
In 1884 Mr. Udell located in San Francisco. During all his years of travel he had read ex- tensively and he determined to make the practice of law his profession. Accordingly, in 1887 he came to Los Angeles and entered the law office of Graves, O'Melveny & Shankland, with whom lie studied for three years, being admitted to the bar in 1890. Opening an office, he engaged in practice with marked success.
In 1890 Mr. Udell married Miss Elizabeth C.
8.0. Houghton
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Bewley, of California, and to them liave beenl born three children, namely: Mildred, Kennetlı and Dorothy. Mr. Udell is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politically is a stanch sup- porter of the Republican party. In the fall of 1898 he was elected a member of the board of education, receiving the largest majority of any candidate for the board, which fact indicates his popularity and the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow-citizens.
In April, 1900, Mr. Udell formed a partner- ship with L. L. Shelton, under the firm name of Udell & Shelton. Leaving the Los Angeles practice in the hands of Mr. Shelton, he went to Nome, Alaska, on behalf of clients, to remain there two and one-half years.
ON. SHERMAN OTIS HOUGHTON, who may justly be considered one of the founders of the commonwealth of California, was born in the city of New York, April 10, 1828. The Houghton family traces its descent from a Nor- man ancestor who went to England at the time of the Norman conquest. S. O. Houghton is descended from John Houghton, who emigrated from Laucaster, England, and arrived in Charles- town, Mass., in 1635. John and his cousin, Ralph Houghton, were among the founders and first settlers of Lancaster, Mass. Each of them represented the town in the general court of the commonwealth for several years, and they and their descendants were active in colonial and Indian wars.
Abijah Houghton, his grandfather, was among the minutemen of Lexington and Concord, and received a bullet and a bayonet wound at the bat- tle of Bunker Hill. At the beginning of the War of 1812 his father entered the military service of the United States as captain of artillery and at- tained the rank of colonel. Later he and an elder brother published the Orange County Gazette at Goshen, N. Y., and subsequently he was the pro- prietor of several other newspapers. During his later years he had a country estate in New Jersey, became greatly interested in agricultural pursuits, and was a prominent member of the Farmers' Club, an adjunct of the American Institute of New York City.
The maternal ancestors of S. O. Houghton were French Huguenots, who early settled in East Jersey. His maternal great-grandfather, Bethuel Farrand, served as a lieutenant in the New Jersey troops during the Revolution and was present when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. His grandfather, Daniel Farrand, was also with the patriot army; and Rhoda Farrand, the wife and mother of the two last-named, was one of the patriotic women celebrated by Washington Irving and others, for her work in alleviating the suf- ferings of the soldiers encamped for the winter at Morristown, N. J. For her efforts in their behalf she was given the public personal thanks of General Washington.
S. O. Houghton was educated at a collegiate institute in New York City. At the age of eight- een he enlisted in the First Regiment of New York Volunteers, commanded by Col. J. D. Stevenson, which was mustered into the service of the United States in July, 1846, for the war with Mexico. He came with his regiment around Cape Horn, and after a six months' voyage arrived in San Francisco, March 26, 1847. Soon afterward he accompanied the detachment of his regiment, commanded by Lieut .- Col. H.S. Burton, to Mexico and there participated in numerous conflicts with Mexican troops. In December, 1847, when in his twentieth year, he was pro- moted to a lientenancy, having gone through all the intermediate grades, and was made adjutant of his command. At the close of the Mexican war he returned to California, arriving here in October, 1848. Shortly thereafter he went to the gold mines and remained about one year, min- ing, trading and transporting provisions and supplies for the miners. He had received a com- mercial education and was thoroughly conversant with the French and Spanish languages, and this training proved of great value to him in the early years of the American occupation of California. He was one of a party of four who were the first to dig gold in the famous mining district of Sonora, in this state. In 1849 he settled at San José, where he remained until 1886, and then removed to Los Angeles, his present home.
In 1852 Mr. Houghton took the official census of Santa Clara county, in 1852-53 was deputy recorder, and in 1853-54 served in the city council of San José, over which body he presided.
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