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 55

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 55

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About 1887 Dr. Brainerd came to Los Angeles, where he has since actively engaged in practice. In 1888 he waselected to the chair of mental and nervous diseases in the College of Medicine, University of Southern California, a position which he still occupies. In 1897 he was further honored by election as dean of this justly cele- brated institution. From 1889 to 1893 he was superintendent of the Los Angeles County Hos- pital, and during the same period served as sur- geon of the Los Angeles Cable Railway Com- pany. He is an honored member of the Ameri- can Medical Association, the State, Southern California and Los Angeles County Medical So- cieties, and is a medical director in the Con- servative Life Insurance Company. In 1896 he officiated as president of the county medical so- ciety. For some time he has been a member of the Doctors' Social Club and the University Club of this city.

In May, 1879, Dr. Brainerd married Miss Alma L. Loomis, daughter of Allen R. Loomis, of Manchester, Iowa. She died in May, 1882, leaving a child, Martha L., whose death occurred in the following February, when she was nine months old. In September, 1887, Dr. Brainerd married Fannie L. Howard, whose parents, Thomas F. and Frances (Clark) Howard, then of Chicago, now reside in Los Angeles. The doctor and his wife have two sons, Henry How- ard, born in October, 1889, and Fred Lindley, in February, 1891. The family are connected with the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Mrs. Brainerd belongs to the Ruskin

Art Club, of which she is a charter member. Both are active in the social life of the city and take a patriotic interest in its improvement and upbuilding.

C AMES C. PRESTON first came to the San Gabriel valley in September, 1868. Three years later he settled on a quarter section of pre-empted land, of which he now owns twenty- three and three-fourth acres, the greater portion of the same being under cultivation to oranges. As the land was in a primitive condition at the time of pre-emption he had an arduous task before him, and it required the constant effort of many years to bring the property to its present improved state. He has seen all of this part of California transformed from a barren waste to one of the fairest garden spots of the earth, and has himself assisted in making the desert blossom as the rose.

Mr. Preston was born in Washington county, Va., November 22, 1831, a son of Thomas and Jane Preston, also natives of the Old Dominion, the former of Irish extraction, the latter of Scotch descent. When he was a boy educational ad- vantages were meager, and the system of train- ing, as carried out in the sparsely furnished and unattractive log-cabin schoolhouses, was far short of that of to-day. However, he succeeded in acquiring a fair knowledge of the rudimentary branches, to which he has since added by practi- cal experience. In 1860 he left Virginia for east- ern Texas. In the spring of 1862 he joined the Confederate army, being assigned to Capt. B. D. Martin's Company, Burnett's Battalion of Sharp- shooters. He served in the commissary and quartermaster's departments, and was sent from Texas to Port Hudson, La., where his command was a part of Maxey's Brigade. Prior to the surrender of Port Hudson his command was or- dered to join Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army, near Jackson, Miss. They proceeded to that place, and then marched with Johnston to the various points ordered, remaining with him until the fall of Vicksburg. On account of illness Mr. Preston was sent to a hospital at Jackson. When he was well enough to render removal possible, he was transferred to a hospital at Enterprise, Miss., where he spent the period of convalescence. On rejoining his command he accompanied them

Chat, Fall

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to Mobile, and later, with them, was transferred to the Trans- Mississippi department, where he joined Maxey's command, and with them he continued until the close of the war, when he returned to his home in Texas.

From eastern Texas, in 1868, Mr. Preston came to California, settling at El Monte, thence going to San Bernardino, and in 1871 locating on his present homestead in the upper San Gabriel val- ley. For a number of years he has been a mem- ber of the board of trustees of the Azusa public schools, being clerk of the board much of the time. By his marriage to Mary Dougherty, of Grayson county, Va., he has seven children: Charles T .; William T .; John L .; Myrtle R .; James L .; Carrie V. (wife of Edward Manning), and Ralph V.

HARLES H. TOLL, cashier of the Southern California Savings Bank, is a representative citizen of Los Angeles. Since January, 1897, he has represented the fifth ward in the city council, and meantime has been influential in securing numerous improvements and materially promoting the prosperity of this thriving metropolis, Heartily devoted to his chosen city, he neglects no opportunity of advancing its wel- fare, and is a thorough believer in the yet greater future in store for this locality. Even during his residence here of some fifteen years he has witnessed changes for the better that seem nothing short of marvelous, and, judging by what has been accomplished within so short a period, he is confident that the next fifteen years will prove still more productive of results in which the people will richly participate.

Mr. Toll is a son of Hon. Charles H. Toll, who was born in New York, and removed to Clinton, Iowa, in an early day. Thenceforth he was closely associated with the upbuilding of that city and did much for its commercial prosperity. He was actively engaged in manufacturing there and had many local interests which conduced to the benefit of the place. Rising to a position of high esteem, he was chosen to represent his dis- trict in the state legislature, and served several terms with distinction. He also acted in the capacity of postmaster for a number of years, and gave perfect satisfaction to the public in every office which he was called upon to fill. He

was a very public-spirited man and took an in- fluential part in politics, both in his locality and in general. In public matters, as in other lines of endeavor, he was looked up to as an authority and was valued accordingly. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Tenth Iowa Infantry, and continued to serve until the dreadful struggle be- tween the north and the south was ended. He was valiant and brave, and for gallant action was promoted to the rank of major after the battle of Chickamauga. For some time he was in charge of the commissary department. Wherever sta- tioned he discharged his manifold duties with absolute fidelity and discretion. About two years prior to his death he became a resident of Los An- geles, where he died in 1887; his remains were interred in Rosedale cemetery. He had married Miss Elizabeth H. Lusk, who was born in New York state. They became the parents of five children, one of whom, Spencer L., is chief clerk in the railway postal service.

The youngest member of the family, Charles H. Toll, Jr., was born in Clinton, Iowa, in 1858, and there passed his early years. He received good educational advantages. After completing the curriculum of the common schools he attended Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and pursued a course of study in the higher branches of knowledge. In 1879 he commenced to earn his own livelihood, and in 1885 he came to Los Angeles, where he engaged in the retail grocery business. Later, for seven years he was credit clerk in the wholesale grocery house of Haas, Baruch & Co. In April, 1900, he was chosen cashier of the Southern California Savings Bank, of which he is also a stockholder. He is a director of the Chamber of Commerce and chair- man of the committee on ways and means.

Ever since he received the right of franchise Mr. Toll has been an ardent supporter of the Re- publican party platform and nominees. Having become well known and highly esteemed as a citizen, he was honored by being chosen to repre- sent the fifth ward in the city council in the fall of 1896, taking his seat in that body in January, 1897. The following year he was re-elected. His election and re-election were both without oppo- sition, hence a signal honor. He is still serving as a councilman, and is promoting the rights and interests of the people. At present he is chair-

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man of the committee on finance, water supply and legislation, thus having abundant scope for his keen business and executive ability. While he was a resident of Clinton he was elected deputy county clerk, and in that position made an excellent record for sagacity and devotion to the interests of the people. Since settling in Los Angeles he has invested extensively in city real estate and owns a pleasant home at No. 1941 Union avenue. Fraternally he is identified with the Foresters and several other organizations. He is deservedly popular with all who know him, and in all his relations with his fellow-men main- tains a high standard of integrity.

ENRY D. BRIGGS. Since he settled in the Azusa valley, in February, 1885, Mr. Briggs has aided in the development of its horticultural interests and has been identified with various measures of local importance. Pos- sibly he is best known as manager of the Irwin- dale Citrus Associatiou, in the organization of which he was interested, and whose first manager he was chosen, in August, 1899. He has also acted as president of the association since its in- corporation. For five years he held the office of secretary of the Azusa Irrigating Company.

His identification with fruit and water compa- nies by nomeans represents the limit of his activi- ties. For four years he was a deputy county as- sessor under Capt. F. E. Gray. The Azusa Val. ley Bank numbers him as a member of its direc- torate. A marked feature of his life is his activ- ity in educational matters. The public school system has in him a firm friend and champion. He was a member of the board of trustees of Azusa school district for seven years, and for some time he served as clerk of the board. At this writing he is an efficient trustee of the Citrus high school and clerk of the board.

In Springfield, Mass., Mr. Briggs was born November 1, 1855, a son of Joshua L. and Elvira (Stebbins) Briggs, natives respectively of Ver- mont and Massachusetts, the former deceased, and the latter a resident of our subject's native town. The first representative of the Briggs family in America came from the north of Eng- land in 1636 and settled in the southeastern part of Massachusetts, since which time his descend-

ants have been honorably connected with the his- tory of the old Bay state. At seventeen years of age our subject became an employe of a wholesale notion firm, which later added a retail department to its business. After nine years with that house he accepted a position as agent for Clague, Schlicht & Field, manufacturers of patent-office devices, with whom he remained in New York City for more than two years. Resigning that position, in 1885 he came to California and turned his attention to horticulture. He now owns two ranches of twenty acres each, largely under oranges and apricots. For three years he was manager of the Azusa Citrus Association. He possesses a thorough practical knowledge of the fruit business, and is familiar with every problem the horticulturists of California are called upon to settle. Fraternally he is connected with the Ma- sonic lodge and the camp of the Woodmen of the World at Azusa. His political views are stanchly Republican. In religion he is of the Presbyterian faith. While living in the east he married Miss Ida M. Whittemore, of Springfield, Mass. They have four children: Ella M., C. Dwight, Ray- mond H. and Claude W.

ILES PEASE. If there is one lesson more than another that the young people of the present generation should lay deeply to heart and that a perusal of the biography of Mr. Pease cannot fail to impress upon the minds of all, it is that success and high standing are the result of earnest, indefatigable labor, continued, it may be, through a long period of years. The president of the Niles Pease Furniture Company, one of the largest and most prosperous business concerns of Los Angeles, and, indeed of the Pa- cific slope, has achieved his position by a life time of sturdy application and well-directed zeal.

A son of Wells and Betsey Pease, and a grand- son of Simeon Pease (a Revolutionary soldier), Niles Pease was born near Thompsonville, Conn., October 13, 1837. For eighteen years he lived in that locality, meantime attending local schools. He spent three years in learning the tinsmith's trade and then followed the occupation, manufac- turing tinware and dealing in stoves and tinware in his native town. From a small beginning his trade grew to really remarkable proportions, and

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for years he kept on the road a number of wag- having been elected by his party friends to repre- ons, carrying housekeepers' supplies. Thus his wares found their way into the homes of people in all parts of the state, and a large proportion of his income was gained in this manner. In 1876 he suspended this branch of his business, and de- voted himself especially to the sale of furniture. After twenty-four years of successful enterprise in his home town he concluded to try a new field, and sold out in the east.

In 1884 Mr. Pease came to Los Angeles and connected himself, as a partner, with the Los An- geles Furniture Company, starting a store where the Royal bakery now stands. At the expiration of a year he purchased the interests of the other members of the company. Little by little, as his means increased, he added to his stock. In 1887 he removed his stock to the Harris block, between Third and Fourth streets, on South Spring, and there he had a well-equipped carpet and furniture salesroom. After some years, finding that he lacked space for the display of his goods, he de- cided to have a building erected especially for his business. Accordingly, L. Harris built a five- story building on South Spring street, No. 439, arranged to suit Mr. Pease, who has since carried on business here. By a wise act, at the same time he formed a co-partnership with his chil- dren, and September 25, 1897, the Niles Pease Furniture Company was incorporated. The firm occupies a building of four stories and basement, filled with the finest and rarest designs in modern furniture, and with substantial, attractive, yet less expensive lines. In brief, here may be found as large and well-selected a stock of household furnishings as may be seen in the west. The building, 80x150 feet, affords ample accommoda- tions for the proper display of goods, and the sys- tematic arrangement of the furniture into depart- ments is an admirable feature.

The marriage of Mr. Pease and Miss Cornelia Gleason, a native of Thompsonville, Conn., took place in that village March 25, 1860. Seven children bless their union, namely: Grace G., Jessie F., Sherman, Jewell, Anna, Herbert and Florence. Several of the number are employed as clerks or are financially concerned in the busi- ness. The pleasant home of the family is at No. 719 South Hill street.

Politically Mr. Pease is a Republican, and,

sent his town in the Connecticut state legislature in 1876, he served with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. In the Masonic order he ranks high, having attained the thirty-second degree. For a number of years he has been a trustee of the Unitarian church. Many worthy philanthropies receive his liberal support. He takes great interest in the prosperity of this city, and, besides being a director in the Columbia Savings Bank, is associated with other local enterprises.

R ICHARD M. SIPPEL, the successful dealer in farm implements at Azusa and the manu- facturer and inventor of the Orange Belt cultivator, is a native of Sullivan county, N. Y., where he was born May 27, 1865. A son of Henry and Maggie (Bishop) Sippel, his parents came to America from Germany and settled in New York in the early '70s. He was reared on a farm and attended the district schools, and at the age of seventeen began to learn the black- smith and wagonmaker's trade. When nineteen years old he moved to Cameron county, Pa., where he engaged in the blacksmith's business. In 1886 he came to Sacramento, Cal., and for a short time was employed in the J. F. Hill Wheel and Carriage Works, later going to Pasadena and identifying himself with J. L. Johnson, car- riage manufacturer and repairer, with whom he stayed for some time.

In 1888 Mr. Sippel came to Azusa and for a short time engaged in business with L. S. Knight under the firm name of Knight & Sippel, since which time he has been conducting his affairs independently. He deals in agricultural imple- ments, wagons, buggies, surreys, plows, harrows, cultivators and innumerable other devices of a labor-saving nature. His invention of the Orange Belt cultivator has brought him into consider- able prominence in the orange growing districts of California, and he has realized considerable financial benefit from the same. In 1898 he con- structed the brick building in which he carries on his enterprises, the carriage and implement repository being located in the upper story. A large gas engine furnishes power for the ma- chinery used in the construction department, which necessitates the employment of three men.

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Mr. Sippel married Lillian Shaw, of Azusa, Cal., and of this union there are four children: Sydney, Albert D., Richard M. and Harry. Mr. Sippel is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Azusa. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a public-spirited man who has utilized his opportunities to good advantage, and gained the confidence and good will of the community in which his lot is cast.

HARLES C. CASEY has led an interest- ing, varied and exceptionally useful life. Figuring conspicuously in the progress and development of Azusa, he was foremost in secur- ing its incorporation, in 1898, as a city of the sixth class.

A native of Keokuk county, Iowa, he was born December 9, 1858, and is a son of Benjamin and Margaret (Clark) Casey, the former of Jef- ferson county, Ohio, the latter of Harrisburg, Pa. He acquired his education in the public schools, and when eigliteen years of age gained considerable practical business experience from his association with a large mercantile concern in Oakland, Cal. He later embarked with varying success upon a mining venture, which occupied his attention for nearly nine years. When he finally cast his lot with the residents of Azusa they were few in number, the village containing- but a few scattered dwellings, surrounded by stretches of land. He at once began to display a keen practical interest in the affairs of his adopted country, his first ideas of innovation be- ing directed towards an improvement of the water supply. His first active business venture in Azusa was with a hardware concern. In 1890 he contracted a partnership with William Gans- ner, under the firm name of Casey & Gansner, which contract lasted one year, after which Mr. Casey bought out William Gansner and con- ducted an independent business for a year under the name of C. C. Casey. Subsequently he formed a partnership with George T. Ott, the firm name being changed to Casey & Ott. In 1897 F. H. Fabrick purchased Mr. Ott's share in the business, which was then conducted under the firm name of Casey & Fabrick until, in 1899, the concern was incorporated with the name of

the C. C. Casey Company, whose affairs are at the present time being successfully conducted in Azusa with C. C. Casey as president. The com- pany has a branch store at Covina, Cal. In con- nection with their hardware trade they carry on an extensive plumbing and tinning business.

Mr. Casey married Catherine Bates, of Keokuk county, Iowa, and they have one son, William J. Mr. Casey is connected with the Odd Fellows and the Masons in Azusa. He has for a number of years been president of the Electric Light and Power Company and of the Azusa Valley Sharp- shooters' Gun Club.

No man has been more prominently connected with the fortunes of Azusa or has shown a more keenly disinterested ambition to aid in its better- ment. His devotion and faithfulness are, fortu- nately, appreciated by those who have reaped the benefit of their application.

DWARD CHAMBERS. The railroad inter- ests centering in Los Angeles are represent- ed by active, efficient men, almost without ex- ception, and the Santa Fe is especially fortunate in this respect. Of its numerous local officials, one of the oldest in years of continuous service is Edward Chambers, who needs no introduction to the people of this county, as his duties have brought him into close association with the pub- lic hereabouts for the past thirteen years.

Now in the prime of manhood, Mr. Chambers was born in Waukegan, Ill , in 1859. He en- tered the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad at Pueblo in 1877, and engaged in handling freight; and it may here be said that he has served in every capacity in this department, gradually working his way upward. His fidelity to duty and earnest desire to meet the wishes of his su- periors led to his promotion, and after acting in the capacity of chief clerk he later became cash- ier of the Santa Fe at Pueblo. After spending eight years at that point he was transferred to San Diego, Cal., where he was installed as the first agent there, the line having just been com- pleted to that city. At the end of two years, in 1887, when Los Angeles became a terminus of the road, Mr. Chambers was stationed here, being the first agent, and later becoming assistant general freight agent. For several years he acted

Photo by Marceau, Los Angeles.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in this position, and by his good business man- agement advanced the interests of his company. For some time he has occupied his present prom- inent position as general freight agent of the Santa Fe, and, with other officials of the compa- ny, has his office on the fifth floor of the Bradbury building. There can hardly be a more difficult position to fill than the one which he occupies, for so varied and numerous are the interests at stake that the utmost wisdom, foresight and good judgment are necessary to keep affairs running smoothly. His efforts to accomplish this have been successful. Though almost inevitable that some should feel that discrimination had been made against them, the vast majority of the pa- trons of the road acknowledge that Mr. Chambers does everything within his power to insure their satisfaction.

In 1884, when living in Pueblo, he married Miss Marian Johnston, a native of Belleville, Canada. They are the parents of four children.

R UFUS ROWE HAINES. The record of the life of Mr. Haines is a history of telegraphy in the west. It would be impossible to pre- sent an accurate account of the one without fre- quent mention of the other. For the noble work that he accomplished, in opening regions before unknown and in bringing remote sections of country into direct communication with the cen- ters of civilization, he is entitled to the lasting gratitude of all who have realized, by actual ex- perience, the vitalizing influence of the telegraph service. Coming to the Pacific coast at a very early period, he has since been identified with its growth and been a contributor to its progress, and in the citizenship of Los Angeles his position is justly a high one.

The Haines family was founded in America by Deacon Samuel Haines, of Wales, who landed in New Hampshire in 1635. Fourth in descent from him was John Haines, who removed from New Hampshire to Maine in 1784. In 1776, one month after the issuance of the declaration of independence, he signed the "Test act," pledging himself to support the colonies in their efforts to throw off the government of Great Britain, The

subject of this sketch, who was a grandson of John Haines, was born in Hallowell, Me., in 1826. In the winter of 1848-49 he studied telegraphy in Bath, Me., on the first telegraph line in that state. In 1857 he came to California, and the following year became manager of the Placerville office of the Alta Telegraph Company. This company had been organized in 1853 and owned a line from Sacramento to Nevada City, but afterward extended its wires to San Francisco and the mining towns in the central and southern part of the state.

The first effort made toward direct connection with eastern telegraph lines was in 1858, when a line was begun across the Sierra Nevadas by the Placerville and Humboldt Telegraph Company. In 1859 the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Com- pany started east from San José via the southern overland mail route, but only reached Los An- geles.

In 1860 the various companies that had been operating in the west consolidated under the natue of the California State Telegraph Company, and at the same time the Overland Telegraph Company was organized by stockholders of the former company, for the purpose of securing telegraphic connection with the east. The terri- tory to be covered was divided into two sections, the one between Omaha and Salt Lake being taken by an eastern company in the interest of the Western Union Company, while the Over- land Company took that between Salt Lake and the terminus of the Placerville and Humboldt Company's wires at Genoa, Nev. To encourage the enterprise, the government pledged business to the extent of $40,000 a year, this sum to be divided proportionately between the two com- panies, sixty per cent for the eastern and forty for the western. The legislature of California donated $100,000 to the western company. Con- gress limited the time for the construction of the line to July, 1862, but the war coming on, there was such a demand for news in the west that a great effort was made and the line was completed in October, 1861, the eastern on the 24th and the western on the 26th. This achievement aston- ished the world. It was, of all factors con- tributing to the development of California, undoubtedly the greatest, with the exception of the overland railroad, Over the wires was

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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 55

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