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 67
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November 1, 1881, Mr. Elliott married Miss Carrie Griswold, daughter of Thomas F. Gris- wold, postmaster at Covina, and of their union four children have been born, namely: Claude, Ray, Merton and Gertrude. Fraternally Mr. Elliott is a member of the Covina lodge, I. O. O. F., and as such is doing much to pro- mote the good of the order. A public-spirited, progressive citizen, he takes great interest in the welfare of the town and county, and is ever ready to assist all beneficial enterprises.
- RANKLIN MILHOUS. While engaged in the nursery business, a branch of industry closely allied with and of valuable assistance to the surrounding agriculturists of his adopted county of Los Angeles, Mr. Milhous has met with a gratifying degree of success since he took up his residence here in 1897. While this is to a certain extent attributable to the excellent cli- matic conditions with which he is surrounded, the fact that he was equally fortunate in Jennings county, Ind., where one is at the mercy of unex- pected and severe changes of weather not at all conducive to the well-being of sprouts and sap-
Born in Belmont county, Ohio, November 4, 1848, he is a son of Joshua and Elizabeth (Grif- fith) Milhons, natives respectively of Belmont county, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The ancestors of the family have been conspicuous in various lines of endeavor, and have identified themselves with the growth of the localities in which their lot has been cast. The paternal grandfather was an early dweller in Belmont county, Ohio, having reached there in practically the dawn of the century. He was of a strong and impressive per- sonality, with emphatic religious convictions, and he was one of the organizers of the first meeting of the Society of Friends west of the Allegheny Mountains. Two of his sons, Capt. William and Thomas Milhous, were soldiers in the Civil war. The former is deceased, and the latter is now living in Richmond, Ind. Joshua Milhous spent the first of his industrious years as an agriculturist, finally drifting into the oc- cupation of nurseryman, which he found to be more congenial as well as more remunerative. When his son Franklin was six years old he moved to Jennings county, Ind., where he con- tinued in the nursery business, starting the first enterprise of the kind in the county, and con- ducting it until his death in 1893, aged seventy- three years. Young Franklin in the meantime was availing himself of his father's example, and early displayed an intelligent aptitute, and ap- plied himself to a mastery of all the details. He also attended the public schools and for a time went to Moore's Hill College, in Dearborn county, Ind., where he acquired a fair education. Sub- sequently he applied himself to general farming and the nursery business, relying largely upon the profits of the latter. After his father's deatlı, his son Griffith became associated with him, and the latter eventually, in 1897, succeeded to the general management.
D. M. bate.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Milhous has in his home ranch near Whittier six acres, mostly under walnuts and nursery stock. In addition he has a thirty-acre ranch in Orange county, whereon are grown walnuts, peaches and apricots, there being about two thousand trees in all.
In Jennings county, Ind., Mr. Milhous married Emily Armstrong, and to them were born two children, Griffith, who is in Indiana, and Mary A., who is now the wife of Willard Cummings, of Whittier. Mr. Milhous was married a second time to Miss Almira Burdg, also of Jennings county, Ind., and the seven children of this union are: Edith, Martha, Hannah, Ezra C., Jane, Elizabeth and Rose O. In politics Mr. Milhous is a Republican, but he has no political aspira- tions. Like his grandfather before him, and in fact all of his ancestors, he is a devoted wor- shiper with the Society of Friends, and an officer in the church. He is public-spirited and enter- prising, and brings to his chosen work an intel- ligent study and research which places him in the first ranks of those similarly employed.
12 ALLAS M. CATE. The family repre- sented by the subject of this article is one of the best known and most highly honored in the Ranchito district. Coming here during the pioneer days, when settlers were few and the work of cultivation scarcely begun, they after- ward were conspicuous factors in promoting the progress of the community and developing its material resources. Being capable and efficient agriculturists, they were fitted to the work which they undertook, and father and sons labored unitedly and successfully in the task of clearing and improving a ranch and establishing a home where comfort abounded.
The worthy existence of the late James W. Cate is being reproduced in the lives of his chil- dren, one of whom, Dallas M., forms the subject of this sketch. He was born in Adams county, Ill., February 22, 1861, and was three years of age when his parents brought the children to Southern California and settled in the Ranchito district. Hence, this is the only home he has ever known. He has little recollection of the tedious journey across the plains, with mule- teams and wagons, in company with a train of
emigrants. That tiring and perilous journey of six months left little impression upon his young mind, and even the older children in the family could not enter into the anxieties of their parents, for they did not realize the dangers of the trip.
Primarily educated in the public schools of Ranchito, Mr. Cate afterward entered the Cali- fornia State Normal School in Los Angeles, where he finished his education. He has made ranching his occupation and walnut-growing his specialty, having his place of eighty acres mostly under walnuts. Politically he is identified with the Democratic party, although he maintains an independence of attitude in local matters. He was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and is an active member of the same. Fraternally he is connected with the Inde- pendent Order of Good Templars at Rivera, which is the largest lodge of that order in Los An- geles county. In 1891 he married Miss Georgia Freeman, who was born in Missouri. They have one son, Ira D.
YACINTHE SARRASIN, horticulturist, walnut-grower, stock-raiser, and all-around enterprising citizen, has resided on his present ranch near Rivera since 1886. In ad- dition to the home ranch, which contains twenty and a half acres, and which is used for the culti- vation of oranges and walnuts, he is the possessor of fifty acres in the Ranchito district, where a model stock farm is kept up and alfalfa raised. He thus has interests of a diverse character, ard the success with which any and all are conducted would seem to attest to the excellence of his methods and the skill of his management.
The Sarrasin family is of French extraction, the paternal great-grandfather, who emigrated from Cadiz, France, being the head of the family on this side of the ocean. He settled in Quebec province, Canada, and here his son Ambrose was born and grew to manhood, and took as wife Victoire Lanchance, also born in Quebec prov- ince. July 12, 1851, Hyacinthe Sarrasin was born in the province, about thirty miles below Montreal, on the St. Lawrence river. Here, on the little provincial farm, he received his first lessons of life and work, and developed an inde- pendent spirit which asserted itself when he attained to his fifteenth year. His first field of
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
endeavor was in Manistee, Mich., where he became interested in the immense lumbering business as conducted in the woods of that state. Later, in Chippewa Falls, Wis., he continued in the same line of work for a number of years, sub- sequently managing a hostelry near the Falls for about eight years. The hotel business, while a gratifying success during the period of his con- ducting, held out slight inducement for a pro- tracted or growing business, and Mr. Sarrasin turned his face towards the larger possibilities and brighter prospects of the far west. Arriving in Los Angeles county in 1886, he at once be- came identified with the interests and growth of his adopted state, and though not one of the earliest to recognize the splendid outlets for an- bition in sun-lit, fragrant California, he has, during his residence here, impressed all with his personality and influence, wherever they have been exercised for the benefit of the common good.
Mr. Sarrasin married Alphonsene Collette, a French-Canadian of the province of Quebec, and a daughter of Ambrose and Elese Collette. While broad minded and liberal in his political views, Mr. Sarrasin usually votes the Democratic ticket. In religious belief he is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Foresters at Rivera. With the institutions which are adapted to the needs of the peculiar climatic and other conditions of California he is largely identified, and he is a member of the Los Nietos and Ran- chito Walnut Growers' Association, incorporated.
HOMAS H. PHELAN. The practical development of California is of such com- paratively recent date that the early pio- neers, who came from all directions and lands and cast their lot within her resourceful boundar- ies, enduring the deprivations and hardship inci- dent to unsettled conditions, are still a vital force, even though they live but in the memory of their contemporaries. And more especially are they remembered when their life and character and deeds have contributed so largely towards the bettering of the great universal welfare, and towards the institutions which encompass the growth of their immediate community.
A citizen from other shores, Mr. Phelan was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, in 1843. A son of Daniel Phelan, also a native of Ireland, and an agriculturist of some prominence in his part of the country, he was reared on his father's farm, and early taught habits of industry - and thrift, supplemented by fair opportunities at the native schools. When fourteen years of age he acquired an independent way of looking at things and decided to start out in the world for himself. With America as his Mecca, he boarded a sail- ing vessel and weathered the tempests and calms of a long and perilous ocean voyage. At the termination of the journey he settled for a time near Waverly, III., where he was employed as a farm hand, working during the summer, and in winter attending the district schools, for which privilege he paid by doing odd bits of work around the farm. In this way he acquired a very good education, the advantages of which he realized many times during his life. In 1872 he changed his location to California, via the over- laud route, where he worked for some time for the late O. P. Parsons, of the vicinity of Rivera, subsequently purchasing the land upon which his family are at present residing. Here Mr. Phelan spent the last peaceful years of his useful life, in close touch with nature, and in the enjoy- ment of all his faculties.
January 20, 1873, Mr. Phelan was united by marriage with Mary Ryan, a playmate of his youth, who was born in his native county Tip- perary, Ireland. She crossed the seas to join her aunt, Mrs. Margaret Wade, of Los Angeles, and was married in that city. There were born to this couple six children: Daniel H .; Nellie R., the wife of John Croke; John J .; Thomas F .; Annie W. and Edward H. In politics Mr. Phelan was a Democrat, and had served as a trustee of the school board of his township. He was a member of the Los Nietos and Ranchito Walnut Growers' Association. In his religious belief he was a devout Roman Catholic, as are lis entire family. He died June 1, 1889.
The homestead left the family of Mr. Phelan consists of fifty-five acres under walnuts and oranges. It is now managed by Mrs. Phelan, who has shown remarkable ability in that direction; she is also a member of the Los Nietos and Ranchito Walnut Growers' Association.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Phelan was esteemed by all who came within the range of his strong and dominating personality. He was in all respects, save those of inherent honesty and devotion to principle, a self-made man, who never lost track of his labo- rious rise in life when asked to lend a helping hand to others who also aspired to prominence and a position in the minds and hearts of their fellowmen.
HARLES L. DUCOMMUN. Many of the men who were active in the early history of Los Angeles were of foreign birth. Some came from Germany, bringing with them the thrift and perseverance characteristic of that na- tionality; some from England, bringing the na- tional traits of determination and will power; and some from Scotland, with the industry and hon- esty of their race. Comparatively few came from Switzerland, and one of these few was Mr. Ducommun, who came from Locle, Switzerland, to America in 1841, settling first in New York City, thence going to Mobile and other places.
In 1849 Mr. Ducommun traveled overland to California, spending nine months on the journey, and arriving in Los Angeles in October of that year. At once he secured employment at his trade of a watchmaker. In 1851 he established himself in business, at which he spent his win- ters, while for two summers he worked in the mines. With increasing prosperity he gave his whole time to his business, which he enlarged to meet the demands of the increasing population. Early in the '7os he erected the first large busi- ness block of the city, on the corner of Com- mercial and Main streets. In 1870 he built a substantial residence on Ducommun street, which was named in his honor. There lie resided until 1890.
During almost the entire period of his residence in Los Angeles, covering more than forty years, Mr. Ducommun was identified with the mer- cantile business. Possessing a high sense of honor and integrity, he won the confidence of the people, and held a high position in com- mercial circles. Though lie began without capital or friends, he worked his way forward to an as- sured position as a business man. He had the economical spirit characteristic of his race. He was also industrious and persevering. Though
of a conservative spirit he did his share in help- ing to develop the wonderful resources of the land of sunshine, and when he died, April 4, 1896, it was felt that one of the city's most worthy pioneers had passed away.
Mr. Ducommun was twice married and is sur- vived by his second wife, who was Leonide Petitpierre, a native of Neuchatel, Switzerland. She makes her home at No. 1347 South Grand avenue. Their four sons, Charles A., Alfred H. L., Emil C. and Edmond F., were for years and are still connected with the business house of C. Ducommun at No. 300 North Main street, where they conduct a large business in hardware, metals, tubing and assaying goods.
OSEPH EADY, known to his associates and friends as Judge Eady, is immensely popular in the vicinity of Whittier, and has been very successful since he took up his residence here in 1897. With genuine English pluck and enterprise he entered this country under novel circumstances. Having disregarded the usual preliminaries incident to ocean travel and neg- lected the formality of securing a ticket of trans- portation on the good merchant ship China, he nevertheless sailed the high seas as a stowaway , and landed on American shores with the deter- mination to make the most of lonely circum- stances and his ten meager years in this world. He was born in Bristol, England, May 17, 1840, and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Eady, natives of England.
Upon landing in Norfolk, Va., this youth of ten years remained there for a few weeks and later found himself in New York, where he am- bitiously designed to continue his maritime ex- perience, and with this object in view enlisted in the United States navy and served for two years. With the venturesomeness of youth he longed for more travel and experience, and sought it in a trip to California and occupation in the gold mines of that country and in the hydraulic mines of Butte and the adjoining coun -. ties in Montana. Early in the '7os he came to Los Angeles county, Cal., and engaged in farm- ing near Rivera for a number of years. Subse- quently he spent twelve years in Cucamonga, San Bernardino county, and raised oranges.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
While here he attained considerable prominence, and served as justice of the peace for four years for Cucamonga township. In 1897 he again came to Los Angeles county and settled on the ranch which has since been his home.
Mrs. Eady was formerly Louise A. Passons, a daughter of T. R. Passons, of Rivera, Cal. To this couple have been born three children: Thomas M .; Georgie, wife of S. S. Haskell; and Frederick L. While holding very liberal views regarding the politics of the administration, Mr. Eady nevertheless has a leaning toward the Dem- ocratic party. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is at present a member and clerk of the board of trustees of the Mile school district, and has ever shown a substantial interest in the cause of edu- cation. He is now president of the board of directors of the Rincon Irrigating Company. Judge Eady is esteemed for his. many excellent traits of mind, character and attainment, and for his broad general knowledge of men and things, as viewed through a keenly intelligent mind and stored in a retentive memory. He is a reliable citizen who would be sadly missed from his ac- customed haunts, and though comparatively speaking a new comer to this land of flowers and sunshine, he has won a firm place in the hearts and minds of his fellow-townsmen.
18 ANIEL W. CATE. The honor of having been one of the earliest settlers of the Ranchito district belongs to Mr. Cate. When he was a boy of eight years he crossed the plains from Illinois to California and settled in the neighborhood which is still his home. Mean- time, he has been a witness of the many changes wrought by the industry and perseverance of the early settlers, and in this work of transformation he himself has borne an honorable part. He is the owner of a ranch of seventy-five acres, a pårt of which is under walnuts, the remainder being used for general farm purposes. He is also a member of the Los Nietos and Ranchito Walnut Growers' Association, incorporated, which has proved so great an aid in the development and progress of this community.
Mr. Cate was born in Quincy, Il1 , Septem- ber 1, 1856, a son of James W. and Eliza A. (Henderson) Cate, natives of New Hampshire and Indiana. The father, when eleven years of age, migrated with his parents to Adams county, Ill., and settled near Quincy, then a small village. He continued to make his home there until 1864, when he brought his family to Cali- fornia and settled in Ranchito district. At that time Los Angeles county was undeveloped, and few were cognizant of its great possibilities; but, with a foreseeing eye, he determined to cast in his fortune with other pioneers and assist in the development of material resources. He became one of the leading men of this district. Wherever known he was respected and honored. His name was a synonym for integrity and uprightness. The shadow of reproach never fell upon his life, and the confidence of his associates in his honor was never impaired by any act of his. In politics he affiliated with the Democrats. For years he held the office of constable. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and a liberal giver to its various charities, but he was not narrow in his views or philanthropies, and various denominations were indebted to him for substantial contributions to their current expen- ses or their building projects. The last nine years of his life were passed in Fresno, this state, but finally he returned to Ranchito and here he died very soon afterward, the date of his death being May 7, 1900, and his age seventy-three. His widow survives him.
The education of Daniel W. Cate was secured principally in the Ranchito district. While his life has been comparatively uneventful, it has been a busy and useful existence and has brought to him a goodly share of this world's gifts. In April, 1879, he married Miss Emma Pierce, who was born in Texas and at the age of one year was brought to California by her parents. Her father, James Pierce, continued to reside in this state until his death. The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Cate are J. Alec, Harlan A., Earl W., Glen H. and an infant son. The family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and are esteemed in the best social circles of their neighborhood. For many years Mr. Cate has been a member of the board of trustees in the Ranchito school district, and as such he
WILLIAM MOSS.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
has promoted the standard of education in the school and proved himself a true friend of local educational interests.
ILLIAM MOSS. Of the few absolutely distinct types of men created by the exi- gencies that have arisen during the history of America, none is more productive of interest, charm and romance than the bluff and hearty miner of '49. In the actuality of those who know him, no less than in the imagination of those who can only dream of him, he is a hero of the most adventurous and soul-stirring kind, with rescues galore to his credit, and a robust honesty and large-heartedness about him excelled by no other class of people in the world. The wild crags and mountain fastnesses among which his lot was temporarily cast may have entered into his calculations and deductions, but, be that as it may, we know that his red flannel shirt covered a heart intolerant of injustice, emphasized though it was by well-loaded pistols, and that the grace- ful droop of his sombrero was not to be mistaken for any evidence of weakness as to character or intentions. Literature and the stage have done much to perpetuate his daring and exploit his achievements, and we look at him through the haze of years and grieve for a passing influ- ence of strength and picturesqueness. Thus it is that all incidents in the life of a typical "forty- niner" are of interest, and William Moss is no exception to the rule. His career, aside from that part which is associated with gold digging, was on the more or less adventurous order, and included migrations over a large part of the west and south.
Mr. Moss is a native of Hempstead county, Ark., where he was born September 16, 1824. His parents, Matthew and Mary (Coldwell) Moss, were natives respectively of Virginia and Ten- nessee. Matthew Moss was one the first settlers of the vicinity of Washington, Ark., and when desiring a change of residence he was one of the first to move his family in a keel boat on the Red river from Tennessee to Arkansas. This was in practically the dawn of the century, for he took up his residence in Arkansas in 1813, and lived there until the winter of 1847, after which he moved to the vicinity of Austin, Tex., and died
in Milan county in 1856. His father, Matthew Moss, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was killed by Indian allies of the English. At one time he carried a mortally wounded gen- eral from the field of an Indian battle. William Moss shared his family's fortunes until 1849, and started for California via Santa Fe, N. M., with numerous others also in search of gold. They traveled with mule teams, and there was a large train (consisting of seventy-five persons and twenty wagons) that wound its way over the plains in the face of all manner of danger. With nine companions he left the wagon train at Santa Fe and started through Old Mexico via Durango to Massac Land, Mexico, on the Gulf of Califor- nia. After hardships and bad luck that would have discouraged less determined mortals they reached the coast of Mexico, where they boarded a ship and sailed the remaining fifteen hundred miles to San Francisco, reaching their destination December 26, 1849.
Mr. Moss first engaged in mining in the Senora mines, and realized to some extent his ambitions in that direction. He subsequently undertook farming in the Santa Clara valley, continuing the same until 1859, in which year he returned to Texas. In Burnett county, Tex., he availed himself of the excellent opportunity for raising sheep, which experiment was very successful, and continued for a number of years. Later he became interested in freighting between differ- ent towns in the state and in 1869 returned to California with a mule team, locating in the vi- cinity of Rivera, where he conducted agricultural pursuits on leased land for several years. Over a quarter of a century ago Mr. Moss located on the ranch which he now occupies. His land comprises in all one hundred and eight acres, fifty-six of which are on his homestead, and eighty acres of the whole are devoted to walnuts. The trees were all set out by the owner, who has changed his originally wild land into its present condition of utility.
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