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 57

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 57

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Since his removal from Minnesota to Califor- nia, Mr. Judd has been actively engaged in horti- cultural pursuits. He is an enthusiastic Grand Army man and has his membership in Burnside Post No. 174, at Azusa, of which he was honored at one time with the office of commander and is now serving as officer of the day. His political views are in accord with Democratic principles, and we find him always standing firmly for that party in its measures and movements. Prior to his removal from New York state he was mar- ried, in Madison county, to Miss Margaret Orr, by whom he has one son now living, Herbert C. Judd, now of Arizona.

IRAM P. EPPERSON. The beautiful town of Clearwater can boast of no citizen more progressive than Mr. Epperson. Though approaching the seventieth inilestone on life's journey he is rugged and active, and puts to shame many a man not yet in his prime. Energy and untiring industry always have been among his marked characteristics, and all who know him admire the manly, straightforward way in which he has met and overcome the obstacles which have lain across his pathway, wresting success out of defeat, and never losing heart and courage, but steadily pressing forward toward the goal of his ambition.

The parents of this sterling citizen, William E. and Susie (Richardson) Epperson, were natives of Tennessee and Ohio respectively. His grand- parents, William Epperson and wife, were born in England, while Daniel and Mary Richardson

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were natives of England and the United States respectively, the latter being of German ances- try. William Epperson, great-grandfather of our subject, emigrated from England to Virginia at an early period and spent the remainder of his long life there, his death taking place at the age of one hundred years and one month. William E. Epperson, father of H. P. Epperson, was a successful agriculturist. He lived to attain the age of four score years, his death occurring in Denver, Colo. His wife, Susie, died at their old Illinois home when she was forty-five years old. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom three sons only survive.

Hiram P. Epperson was born in Fountain county, Ind., November 1, 1830. It was not until he had reached his majority that he left home. He went to Missouri, where he found em- ployment in a hardware store, and for many years thereafter he spent a portion of his time in Illinois and the rest of his time in Missouri. In 1863 he made his first journey across the plains to Colorado. The following year he went to Mon- tana, where he remained four years, and then returned to Missouri. Four other times he made the same long and perilous trip back and forth. Gifted by nature with the adaptability so fre- quently remarked in Americans, he was, by turns, engaged in the hardware business, the manufacture of saddles and harness, merchan- dising and carpentering, agriculture and mining operations. He prospected in the mines of Mon- tana and Colorado, and, by a judicious invest- ment at the right time in Denver real estate, made a comfortable fortune. He was never idle, but laboriously worked and economized until at length he felt that he was justified in seeking quietness and rest in his declining days.

Traveling far and extensively throughout the west, Mr. Epperson concluded that no fairer place could be found than in this land of sun- shine and flowers, and in 1889 he bought two hundred acres of land in the southern part of Clearwater, of which he yet owns the larger share. The place was a barren cattle range, bearing no resemblance to the beautiful, produc- tive homestead of to-day, and the wonderful change has been effected by the intelligent and untiring toil of the owner, who has just reason

to be proud of his model country seat. He sank thirteen artesian wells after coming to California. Six of these furnish an abundance of pure, spark- ling water for irrigation purposes, and four reser- voirs, over forty feet in diameter and six and a-half feet deep, insure an ample amount of the life-giving water for the thirsty crops. Large harvests of alfalfa and corn, citrus and decidnous fruits, and other crops are garnered each season, and many cattle and hogs also are raised and kept upon the products of the farm. Mr. Epperson has proved himself to be a thorough-going, in- telligent agriculturist under the peculiar climatic conditions of this section of the Union, and read- ily grasped the situations so puzzling to most eastern farmers.

For three months after coming to California Mr. Epperson resided in Long Beach, where he bought some property. Several years ago he owned land in Galveston, Tex., and real estate and mines in Mexico. He built the first cream- ery erected in Clearwater, and two years ago started the Co-operative Creamery there, which has proved very successful. He expended $34,000 in enterprises, most of them being local. Un- doubtedly the town is deeply indebted to him for the extraordinary prosperity which it now enjoys.

May 1, 1860, Mr. Epperson married the lady who for two score years has shared his joys and sorrows with the spirit and fidelity only found in woman. She bore the maiden name of Artemisia Banta, and her birthplace was in Missouri. Hav- ing no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Ep- person adopted three and gave them the love and advantages which they would have bestowed upon their own had they been thus blessed. The daughter, Mrs. Bessee Grimes, a niece of Mrs. Epperson, is a musician of local note, and the two sons are now engaged in the practice of dentistry, John W. in Compton and Harry V. in Panay Island, south of Manila, in the Philip- pines. Our subject and wife are prominent in local society, and the former was one of the di- rectors and leaders of the Clearwater Literary Society for many years.

The life of Mr. Epperson has been a stirring one, and no matter where his lot has been cast, in whatever state, territory or society, he has always been a man among men. He has taken a

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leading part in the development of the resources of the great west. To such men America owes her present prestige among the nations of the world.

ON. ALONZO E. DAVIS, chairman of the board of county supervisors of Los Angeles county and one of the prominent pioneers of this section, was born in Livingston county, N. Y., June 30, 1840. His early years were spent on a farm in his native county, and he had such advantages as local schools afforded. Through his father, Thomas Davis, he descended from a pioneer family of York state, one whose members were noted as patriots and successful business men. His father was a drummer boy in the war of 1812 and in that same struggle the grandfather, Robert Davis, served as a major, while in the war of the Revolution the great- grandfather, Thomas Davis, was also a com- missioned officer.

When the now beautiful and richly cultivated Mohawk valley was a dense wilderness our sub- ject's father was born on a frontier farm there. As he grew old enough to assist he helped to clear the land and hewed the lumber from which a home was built. His principal occupation was that of agriculture, but he also followed other pursuits. In 1818, when Rochester, N. Y., was a wilderness, he removed there with his young wife in a small colony and cleared up a farm. He was one of the promoters and builders of the Erie canal. After his wife died, in 1846, he moved to Wisconsin and built a large hotel. The venture, however, proved a most unfortunate one. Two years later the building burned to the ground and in the fire one of his children, a daughter, lost her life. He then returned to New York and spent the remaining years of his life there, dying when he was eighty-three years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Randall, was a member of a old colonial family of York state. They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are living, name- ly: Edwin A., who is superior judge at Marys- ville, Cal., where the late Judge Field held his first court; Robert, a farmer at Yuba City, Cal .; Alonzo E .; Mrs. A. D. Ferris, of Tonawanda,

N. Y .; Mrs. Emily Elzea, of Elgin, Ill .; Mrs. Harriet Rosenburg, of Livingston county, N. Y .; and Mrs. R. Manderville, of Lockport, N. Y.

On the farm where he was born our subject spent his childhood years. When he was twelve he secured employment ou another farm, where he worked in the summer and was given the privilege of attending school in the winter. He remained there until he was seventeen, and dur- ing the last two years of the time was paid $9 a month. With the money he had saved and with some financial assistance from a brother, in 1857 he started for California via the isthmus, and after a voyage of six weeks he landed in San Francisco. For a short time he taught school, but the work was too confining, and he sought a more healthful occupation. For two years he mined at Oroville. He then located one hundred and sixty acres of land in Butte county, after which, until 1862, he worked on the ranch in the summer and during the winter hauled lumber for posts and fencing from the mountains.

In the fall of 1862 Mr. Davis enlisted in the Fourth California Infantry, under an agreement that the regiment would be sent east. After drilling for six months they were ordered to Texas and went as far as Willington Barracks, when, on account of the hostile spirit manifested in California against the United States, the order was revoked. In April of the year 1863 the regiment was ordered to Arizona, where they had several skirmishes with Indians. At the close of the war Mr. Davis was left in command of a detachment of his company at Camp Cady. On being mustered out he returned to Butte county, sold his place (which had been leased) and returned to Arizona, in order to engage in mining. While in the United States service and after leaving it he had studied law at odd moments. In 1866 he was elected to the legisla- ture, which met at Prescott. He was admitted to practice before the supreme court. While practicing his profession he superintended at the same time his large mining and mercantile interests in the territory. He also served two terms as district attorney. It 1874 he was again elected to the legislature. Four years later he was the Republican nominee for congress, but the district being strongly Democratic, he was defeated, although he ran some two thousand

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votes ahead of his ticket. His work in the legis- lature was especially helpful from an educational point of view. In fact, his interest in the schools led to his nomination (without_his knowledge) as territorial superintendent of schools. How- ever, he was defeated, but only by two hundred votes.

As early as 1871 Mr. Davis purchased land in Los Angeles and from that time he has been more or less closely identified with the city. He has made more than one hundred trips by wagon across the plains between Arizona and Los An- geles and his wife has made the same trip sixteen times. For several years he resided at Downey and in 1888 was elected supervisor from that place, serving for four years. During that time the new court house was built on the superb site that commands the admiration of all visitors to the city. The original plan was for a three-story building, but this was changed to a four-story building, and he also worked indefatigably to secure the fine tunnel and elevator, which has proved remarkably convenient, saving the fatigne of climbing the steep stone steps. In 1897 he. was again elected supervisor for a term of four years and was made chairman of the board, which recently, in token of regard for him, presented him with a gold headed cane and gavel. The Republican party has always received his vote since he cast his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln. He is a progressive citizen and, as an officer, favors all enterprises whereby the city and county may be benefited. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and is also a member of the Society of Los Angeles County Pioneers.

The residence of Mr. Davis is at No. 2904 Ver- mont avenue. In February, 1868, he married Miss Emily W. Matthews, who was born in Springfield, 111., and at six years of age crossed the plains, via mule team, from Illinois to Cali- fornia, accompanying her parents, Francis and Nancy Matthews, who still live in Los Angeles. They passed through Omaha when it had but one building, and that a hut. The Indians were hostile and frequently on their journey they had narrow escapes. After coming to this state her father engaged in mining, but now for some years past he has lived in retirement. He is a veteran of the Mexican war. Mrs. Davis grew to woman-

hood in Los Angeles and received her education principally in the Spring street school. She was married at her father's home, on the corner of Olive and Seventh street, now the heart of the city, but at that time considered quite a country district. Her father at that time owned all of the land from Olive street to Grand avenue and from Seventh to Eighth streets. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Davis comprises the following named son and daughters: Frank Davis, now deputy sheriff of this county; Lottie, wife of James McKeller, who is engaged in the furniture business in Downey; Mrs. Louisa Van Clive, of Los Angeles; and Miss Jessie, at home.

H. WASHBURN, president of the Almond and Olive Mutual Land Investment Com- . pany, of Los Angeles, is a gentleman of wide experience in financial matters, added to which he is a lawyer of long and high standing. Having made his home in this city for the past seventeen years, he is thoroughly acquainted with the resources and conditions of the locality, and is a stanch friend to improvement and progress here along all lines. As an attorney he possesses unusual ability and knowledge, and to each and every case placed in his hands he gives earnest attention and care, neglecting no point which may be turned in favor of his client. In his profession he commands the respect and high regard of all who know him, his record being that of an up- right, fair man who will not stoop to the petty practices and chicanery of some of the members of the bar.

The Washburn family came to the United States from England in the days of the Pilgrimi fathers, and were prominently associated with the early history of the New England colonies and the war of the Revolution. Our subject's father, Zephaniah Washburn, removed from St. Law- rence, N. Y., to Iowa in 1840, and thenceforth was closely connected with the development of Muscatine, of which town he was the first mayor. He engaged in the carpentering and building business there for a number of years, and met with fair success. He chose for his wife Miss Phoebe Parsons, who was a native of Oneida county, N. Y. One of their children, P. L., came to California in the exciting days of 1849,

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but returned to Iowa at the end of two years. The charms of the Golden state, however, soon drew him back again, and since 1852 he has been a permanent resident. For a period of thirty-four years he made his home in Northern California. He came to Los Angeles in 1883 and for years was a reporter for the Herald. He died here in 1896.

L. H. Washburn was born in St. Lawrence, N. Y., July 1, 1832, and when he was eight years old he accompanied his parents to Iowa, where he grew to manhood. His education was obtained in the public schools, and his initial experience in the study and practice of law was gained in Muscatine, Iowa. In 1852 he came to the Pacific coast, and engaged in mining in the nothern part of the state until 1855, when he had the great misfortune to lose one of his arms in an accident. He then returned to Iowa, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar at Mus- catine in 1862. Since that time he has been actively engaged in practice, and has met with gratifying success. During the Civil war his sympathies were strongly with the Union, but, of course, his disability prevented his service in the field. His loyalty to the cause, however, led to his appointment to act as an enrolling officer, and for the last two years of the war he devoted much time and energy to the discharge of his duties. In 1883, after twenty-one years of legal practice in Muscatine, he came to Los An- geles, as previously stated, and in 1889 he opened an office in the business section of the city. The Almond and Olive Mutual Land Investment Company, of which he is the president, was in- corporated under the laws of the state of Califor- nia, with a capital stock of $500,000.

In 1856 Mr. Washburn voted for John C. Fre- mont, and ever since the organization of the Republican party he has been a stanch defender and exponent of its principles. When living in Muscatine, Iowa, he was a member of the town council for some five years, and for a long period occupied the important position of city judge, his decisions meeting with the favor of the public.

In 1858 Mr. Washburn married Louisa A. Lloyd, a native of Ohio. Two sons and a daughter were born to the union. Jessie M. Washburn, who has won celebrity as an artist of unusual talent, has a studio in the Bryson build-

ing, this city. Frank L., who was associated with the Evening Express for fourteen years, is now in the employ of the Los Angeles Lighting Company, and Charles L. is a successful druggist in Los Angeles.

ORACE HILLER. The late Horace Hiller was a California pioneer of the practical, enterprising and successful type. He was a native of New York, born in March, 1846, in the beautiful city of Hudson, on the banks of the river of the same name. His father, Henry Hiller, likewise a native of New York, was the son of a Dutchess county pioneer and a descend- ant of the Hillers of Holland, who were among the thrifty founders of New York. Henry Hiller married Henrietta Winans at Hudson, N. Y. She was a descendant of a pioneer family of New Jersey, and her grandparents, as shown in New Jersey history, were active in the cause of the American Revolution.

Until fourteen years of age the subject of this memoir attended school in his native town. He quite naturally inclined toward the calling fol- lowed by his father and became familiar with boating on the Hudson river, an occupation that furnished enough adventure and romance to stimulate the mind of an expectant and ambitious youth. These were the palmy days of the Tribune's greatness and the popularity of its editor, Horace Greeley, who devoted much of his paper's space to the advertising of the won- derful undeveloped resources of the great west, and it was Greeley's advice, "Go west, young man," that caused Mr. Hiller to turn his steps toward the setting sun. Thus it was that he left the home and associations of his boyhood, joined an uncle and in 1860 settled in Mendota, Ill. He found employment as salesman in a general store and carefully saved his earnings, with which later he took a complete course of study in a commercial school in Chicago. After- ward, returning to Mendota, he became chief ac- countant in the store of a brother-in-law, who was the leading merchant of that city.

As soon as Mr. Hiller had reached the age necessary to military enlistment he offered his services to the country in the Civil war. He was mustered into the One Hundred and Thirty- second Illinois Infantry under Colonel Pickett.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

With the exception of a few weeks spent in a held the office of treasurer, and his death was a hospital, he reported every day for duty until the serious loss to that body, as well as to the city of which he had so long been an honored citizen. Through his personal application, his judicious enterprise and rational economy, he became the possessor of abundant means. fall of Richmond and the close of the war, when he was mustered out in Chicago. Returning to Mendota, he resumed the pursuits of civic life, and afterward, until 1869, he was manager of a grain elevator and warehouse at Franklin Grove, Mr. Hiller married Miss Abbie A. Pierce, daughter of Willett and Anna M. (Smith) Pierce, whoremoved from New York City to Illinois when she was a child and settled in Mendota, where she was educated and married. She is a lady of Christian spirit and many domestic accomplish- ments. Of her children Henrietta is the wife of A. E. Little, of Los Angeles; Henry W. is a rancher in Ventura county; and Willett H. is with the Los Angeles Lumber Company. Lee county, Ill. On resigning that position he came to California, the reason for this change being two-fold, in part for the benefit of his health and in part in search of business openings. For a short time he had charge of a small ranchi at what is now Pico Heights. His next employ- ment was as accountant with the W. H. Perry Lumber Company of Los Angeles, which he con- tinued to fill until ill health resulting from con- finement to indoor work necessitated a change. He then went to San Pedro and for a year was in charge of the business of the Humboldt Lum- ber Company, after which he returned to Los Angeles and established the Los Angeles Storage and Commission Lumber Company. For fifteen years he was connected with this concern as president and manager. In 1891 the business was merged into that of the Los Angeles Lumber Company, of which he was elected president. Under his able direction the business prospered and continued to be a factor in the lumber deal- ing circles of Southern California. He was a close observer of the general trend of business affairs and quick to discern the demands of a growing community. He was a promoter of the California Sewer Pipe Company, an institution that owes its phenomenal and substantial pros- perity to his keen foresight and energy and of it he was president for several years. He was a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Com- merce and the Merchants and Manufacturers As- sociation.

Though not a politician, as that word is com- monly used, Mr. Hiller was interested in public affairs. In 1887 he was chosen to serve in the city council. His services in that body are a matter of official record, an open book, and his official acts were always in the interests of the people, without any tinge of self-interest. His first vote was cast for U. S Grant for president and he ever afterward affiliated with the Repub- lican party. He was an honored member of the Society of Los Angeles Pioneers, in which he

Concerning the death of Mr. Hiller, we quote as follows from the Los Angeles Times of May 21, 1898: "For the past two or three days work- men have been making alterations in the Henne block near the entrance on Third street. Yester- day morning about ten o'clock they were putting in place a heavy oak window casing and, while lifting it into place, it slipped from the carpenter's hands and fell to the sidewalk, striking Mr. Horace Hiller, president of the Los Angeles Lumber Company, who chanced at the time to be passing. Mr. Hiller heard the cry of warning and in his haste to escape danger slipped and fell heavily to the sidewalk, striking his left temple on the curbing. Bystanders rushed to assist him and found him unconscious. The patrol wagon was summoned, Dr. A. M. F. Mccullough soon arrived and Mr. Hiller was taken to his home, No. 147 West Twenty-third street. On his way home the injured man regained consciousness, but was never able to relate how the accident oc- curred. After reaching home Mr. Hiller ap- peared to rally for a short time, but afterward relapsed into unconsciousness, sinking rapidly and passing away between three and four in the afternoon.

"Mr. Hiller had lived in Los Angeles for thirty years. For fourteen years he was engaged as confidential clerk for the lumber firms of Perry Woodworth & Co., and Perry Mott & Co., of whichi houses the Perry Lumber Company is successor. Mr. Hiller subsequently went to San Pedro as manager for the Los Angeles & Humboldt Lumber Company. He afterwards,

Cham jenkins

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in conjunction with W. H. Perry, organized the Los Angeles Lumber Company, of which Mr. Hiller was president and general mana- ger at the time of his death. Mr. Hiller leaves a widow and three children. He was fifty-four years of age. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and the funeral, which is to be held at the family residence at two o'clock Sunday afternoon, will be under Masonic auspices. During his entire residence in Los Angeles, Mr. Hiller had the respect of all who knew him. His unswerving integrity, his manly character and his genial disposition, won for him the confidence and warm regard of all who came in contact with him. His business associates and a host of per- sonal friends mourn his untimely death."

HARLES M. JENKINS, of Los Angeles, is one of the honored veterans of the Civil war, whose devotion to his country was tested not only by service on the field of battle, but in the still more deadly dangers of southern prisons. This gallant soldier was born in Circle- ville, Ohio, June 2, 1839, while his ancestors originally came from Wales and Germany, settled in Maryland, and afterward moved to Ohio. In 1851, at the age of eleven years, he came to California, via the Isthmus of Panama, in com- pany with his step-father, George Dalton, Sr. He grew to manhood amid pioneer scenes. In early life he learned the printer's trade, and worked on the first newspaper published in Los Angeles, the Star, while later he was connected with the South- ern California, the Southern Vineyard, El Clamor Publico and the New's.

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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 57

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