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 92
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The brothers went directly to the mines on the Upper Yuba at Downieville. There they re- mained most of the time until the fall of 1858, when Alfred went to Nevada, then in Utah, and known as Washoe, leaving his brother, who was then county surveyor in Downieville. In com- pany with W. L. Jernigan Mr. James established and commenced the publication of the pioneer newspaper of Nevada, the Territorial Enterprise. The office was located at the town of Genon, a small village which was the principal settlement in western Utah. At that time the Deseret News of Salt Lake and the Enterprise were the only papers published between the Missouri river and California. This paper was a success from its inception, and is to-day one of the prominent jour- nals of the Pacific coast.
Upon the discovery of the Comstock Mr. James advised his brother to resign his position and come at once to Washoe, which he did, becoming the pioneer surveyor and engineer on this famous lode, where he served the bonanza firm at a high salary for over twenty years, building in the meantime the Truckey and Virginia Railroad. He died in Los Angeles in February, 1887. About the time of the discovery of the Comstock mine, in the fall of 1859, Mr. James sold his interest in the Enterprise, and was thereupon appointed clerk of the United States district court, by Hon. John Cradelbaugh, whose judicial district em- braced that portion of the territory, and who held the first term of court ever convened in that country. Mr. James held this position up to the organization of the territory of Nevada, when he
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was appointed clerk of the United States district court of the third district, presided over by Hon. Horatio M. Jones, which position he held until the retirement of Judge Jones from the bench. During the eventful periods herein before men- tioned many stirring scenes and exciting events incident to the discovery of the great Comstock mine transpired. This discovery called from every quarter of the country with a rapidity and rush without a parallel a people of every class and nationality, and of every grade, the rich and poor, the good and bad. The laws of the terri- tory of Utah were found to be entirely inadequate to deal with the conditions and requirements which the unexpected turn of events had so sud- denly thrust upon the country, and in this emer- gency Mr. James' eldest brother, John C. James, who emigrated to the country from Downieville with the vanguard of adventurers, and who had previously had some legislative experience, was unanimously elected as a representative of the people in the Utah legislature, where, although he was the only Gentile in the legislature, he se- cured the enactment of such laws as were imper- atively demanded to meet the existing require- ments. Subsequently he served a term in the Nevada legislature, where, as speaker pro tem, he gained the reputation of being the ablest par- liamentarian in that body. He shortly after died in Carson City, where the citizens erected a monument at his grave.
During the period of the clerkship of Mr. James and his intimate acquaintance with the early judicial proceedings in Utah and Nevada, some of the most noted cases known in the history of mining litigation passed through the courts, re- garding which might be related some startling incidents of subornation and criminal use of large sums of money in efforts to obtain, and in actually obtaining, fraudulent verdicts and judg- ments. Money was abundant and the tempta- tions very seductive.
Immediately after the retirement of Judge Jones from the bench, the governor appointed Mr. James probate judge of Churchhill county, and he was subsequently elected to that position, which lie very soon resigned, having been elected as state senator. After serving two terms in the state senate he removed to Eldorado county, Cal., where he engaged in quartz mining near the town
of Kelsey. From there, in April, 1868, he re- moved to Los Angeles, where he has since cou- tinuously resided. He succeeded Henry C. Aus- tin as register of the United States land office for the Los Angeles land district, which position he held for nearly nine years. Upon retiring front it he went to New Mexico to examine and report on a mining property for a Los Angeles company. On his return from the mines to Silver City he was requested by a telegram from ex-Governor Brown, vice-president of the Texas Pacific Rail- road Company, to come to Santa Fe, where a suit was then pending as to the right of way be- tween said company and the Southern Pacific Company. Upon his arrival at Santa Fe he was appointed by Governor Brown land agent of the Texas Pacific, which position he held until the company closed its affairs on the Pacific coast. Mr. James then engaged in merchandising at Calico, in San Bernardino county, in which his brother Walter, of Kern county, subsequently joined him. They met with a heavy loss by a fire which destroyed the town, and afterward his brother drew out of the business. They previ- ously owned by purchase from a Mr. Jamison the celebrated deposit of borate of lime, known as Colemanite, situated at East Calico, which they sold to Mr. Coleman for a small con- sideration. The output of this deposit, it is said, has reached the enormous sum of $15,000,000. They also became interested by purchase in the Silver Odessa mine at Calico, which they sold to Governor Daggett for $15,000, and which pro- duced in three years approximately $250,000.
After closing business at Calico Mr. James made a conditional purchase of the Stonewall mine in the Julian mining district in San Diego county, the history of which had incidentally come to his knowledge, through official corres- pondence, while register of the land office. Hav- ing associated with him Dr. J. E. Fulton they worked the mine for two years, with very profit- able and successful results, when they sold to Governor Waterman, who took tlierefrom nearly one million dollars and was at one time offered for the property $2,000,000. Since parting witlı the Stonewall Mr. James has been continuously connected with mining operations, having acted as superintendent in several instances. He has been a member of the city board of education and
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city examiners, and was one of the active and primary movers in the organization and estab- lishment of the city library.
Mr. James has now living two sons and two daughters, his wife having died August 26, 1892. He has two brothers living, Walter James, of Bakersfield, Kern county, Cal., and ex-Governor W. H. James, of Colfax, Wash .; also one sister, Mrs. Mary Rice, residing in Fremont, Olio.
LIJAH MOULTON. The subject of this narrative is one of the most unique char- acters of the later Mexican and earliest American periods of California history and is one of the very few who survive to-day. It has been his good fortune to retain all of his faculties un- impaired by time. His clear and vivid memory can recall and relate the thrilling occurrences of those stirring times that had much (we might say everything) to do with the shaping of the glorious trend of human events in the growth and final achievements of California. In the space allotted to a biographical sketch it is not possible to give a detailed history of Mr. Moulton's ex- periences in the west, but the salient facts can be given and the incidents that shaped his course. In this way may be preserved for the future stu- dent of history a record of a very pronounced and interesting personality.
Elijah Moulton was born in Montreal, Canada, November 26, 1820, a son of Elijah and Jane (O'Farrell) Moulton, natives respectively of Massachusetts and Connecticut. His father, who was the son of a colonel in the Revolutionary war, ran away from home when only nine years of age and went to Canada, where he grew to manhood and married. Both he and his wife died in Canada. She was a daughter of Thomas O'Farrell, an Irish sergeant who served in one of the battalions under General Wolfe in the storm- ing and taking of Quebec.
In the early years of our subject's life he had many hardships to endure. At the age of seven- teen he was bound as an apprentice to John J. Mckenzie, a cooper in Montreal, who being of a different nationality and having a violent preju- dice against people of other races, made the life of his young apprentice almost unendurable. The persecution became so pronounced that the
young mian was advised to leave by his fellow- workmen and companions, and they also per- sonally urged his mother to induce him to seek a place where he might receive fair treatment. So, after two years of hardships in that shop, he came to the States, leaving home August 19, 1839. For six weeks he worked as a cooper in Troy, N. Y., after which he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and spent the winter of 1839-40 thirteen miles from that city. Later he traveled through the middle states, working at his trade, and in the spring of 1843 secured employment in St. Louis. In the fall of the same year he was em- ployed by a hunting and trapping party bound for the waters of the upper Missouri river and the Rocky Mountains. While on that expedition he met Capt. James Bridges, who was hunting and trapping at the head of a well-equipped party. By permission of his employers he joined the Bridges expedition and proceeded on an ex- tensive tour through the mountain regions, into the Yellowstone and Little Missouri valleys, and thence to Bridges' Fort, Fort Laramie and Fort Pierre with furs. While in the Rockies they hunted elk, the meat of which was their only food. They followed the Verde down to Salt river and to its conjunction with the Gila. At the village of Pima they turned up the Gila to the Big Canon and thence down the Gila to the Colorado. From Cocape village they struck across the country west to California. After spending three weeks at Rancho San Rafael, in order to recruit their animals, they made their way to the celebrated Chino ranch, where Mr. Moulton left the employ of Captain Bridges and proceeded alone to Los Angeles, arriving here May 12, 1845.
At once after his arrival in this then Spanish village he presented himself to Governor Pico and requested from him permission to remain in the country. The governor treated him courteously, but withheld his consent until he had an oppor- tunity to see Captain Bridges. A day or so later the captain appeared in town and accompanied Mr. Moulton to see the governor, who at once gave the desired permission.
Soon after Mr. Moulton's arrival in Los An- geles he met John C. Fremont and his party, among whom were several of his mountaineer acquaintances. These had made known to their
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leader Mr. Moulton's fame as a trapper and frontiersman. Fremont informed him that war had been declared between the United States and Mexico and offered him $25 per month to accom- pany him on an expedition np the coast. This offer he promptly accepted. The history of Fre- mont's services in California as a pathfinder, ex- plorer and surveyor, together with the eminent services rendered him and the country by Mr. Moulton in the capacity of a scout, may be found in another portion of this volume. During the entire period of the war with Mexico Mr. MonIton remained with Colonel Fremont and was with him at the capitulation of Cuhuenga Jannary 13, 1847. His graphic account of many of the hitherto unpublished incidents of those days will repay the reader for his careful perusal and will also preserve for future generations much that would otherwise be lost.
For a time Mr. Moulton was employed as over- seer of Indians in the extensive vineyards of Don Louis Vignes, but on the discovery of gold in the upper country he joined a company commanded by John Reed and tried his luck in the mines. However, the venture proved unsuccessful, and he returned to his former employer, with whom he remained nntil 1851. During that year he rented, on shares, a ranch in what is now Los Angeles. A year later he bought thirty-three acres on Alameda street, and subsequently pur- chased other property, until his possessions aggregated one hundred and sixty acres. Of this he still owns fifty acres, known during all these years as the Moulton tract. During the years 1855, 1856 and 1857 he worked as over- seer for William Wolfskill on his large estate in Los Angeles, his wages being meantime in- creased from $60 to $100. Afterward he gave his attention to his dairy, stock and general ranching interests, to the cultivation of his vine- yard and the supervision of his mining interests. He is now vice-president of the Carbonate Mining Company.
'A stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Monlton cast his first vote for a Republican president in Los Angeles. In 1859-60 he was a member of the city council, where he was a member of va- rious important committees. However, office- holding had always been a duty, rather than a pleasure to him. Personally he is a man of quiet
demeanor and plain tastes, positive in nature, firm in will, and possessing strong traits of char- acter. He holds in contempt all efforts at de- ception and hypocrisy. Boastfulness is abhor- rent to him. Display of all kinds is distasteful to him. In disposition he is retiring, yet plain- spoken and frank. With one exception he is the sole survivor of Fremont's famous California battalion, and hence unusual interest attaches to the record of his life. His name will be remem- bered in history as that of a famous frontiersman, trapper, soldier and pioneer.
ILLIAM C. MOORE, a well-known citi- zen and walnut grower of the Los Nietos district, and a director in the Los Nietos Irrigating Company, has demonstrated his fit- ness to be numbered among the most enterprising and worthy of the residents of this fertile county. His ranch, upon which he settled a number of years ago, contains sixteen and one-half acres, partially under walnuts.
Mr. Moore is a native of Denmark, where he was born October 4, 1860. His parents were William E. and Margaret Moore, who were born in Germany, the former being a native of Kiel. William E. Moore died in Denmark when his son William C. was in his third year. After a time his widow married again, becoming the wife of Henry Ernst, of Denmark, and they are now residing at Santa Ana, Cal. When William Moore was about five years old he was taken to America by his mother and step-father, the little party crossing in a sailing vessel, and having a long and stormy voyage. Arriving in America, they settled in Howard county, Iowa, where they industriously engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years, and here their son passed his youthful days and grew to man's estate. He as- sisted in the work around the farm, and studied diligently at the district schools.
Mr. Moore was married in 1886, iu Iowa, to Mary L. Isbell, a native of Iowa, and they have one child, Glen A. After his marriage Mr. Moore continued to farm in Iowa for a short time, but in 1887 came to California, and for several years re- sided at Tnstin, Orange county. Not being con- tent with the locality as a permanent place of resi- dence, he came to Los Angeles county early in
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the 'gos, and for a time farmed successfully on leased land. After settling on his present ranch near Los Nietos he became interested in the various institutions for the upbuilding of the lo- cality with which he had cast his fortunes, and these, added to the care of his farm and horticul- tural interests, have been prolific of good finan- cial and social returns. He is a self-made mat in the truest sense of the word, having risen by his own exertions to his present place in the esti- mation of his fellow-townsmen. Politically he is affiliated with the Republican party, but has never liad political aspirations, being content to leave to others the manipulation of the political machinery.
HARLES J. VERNON. The name of C. J. Vernon is indissolubly associated with some of the enterprises that are contributing to the prosperity and progress of Whittier. Coming to this place as early as 1887, he was a pioneer in the establishment of new industries in the then new village and erected the second store building that was put up here. Forming a partnership with his brother, W. A., under the firm name of Vernon Brothers, he embarked in a general mercantile business, and the partnership con- tinued actively until 1891. Meantime, in 1888, he established the Whittier cannery, and organized the company having charge of the plant, he him- self being chosen secretary of this company. After three years in the office of secretary, in 1891 he was made manager of the plant. In 1893 the name was changed from its corporate title of Whittier Canning Company to the Whittier Caunery, under which title business was transacted until 1900, when it became a part of the California Fruit Canners' Association. At the time the name was changed he was made manager of the new concern, and from 1893 to 1900 he served as manager of the Whittier Cannery. During the latter year he was given a similar position with the California Fruit Canners' Association. Under his able supervision the canning business grew from an output of eleven hundred cans the first year to about one million and five hundred thousand cans in 1899, constituting three hundred and seventy five car loads of canned goods. Dur- ing the busy season employment is furnished to about six hundred hauds. The remarkable suc-
cess of the business is due in large measure to the sagacity and shrewd judgment of the manager, who superintends every detail of the plant, over- sees all of the work and understands thoroughly what is being done in every department of the business. With the ability to grasp every detail, as well as the weightier matters connected with the work, he has been enabled to greatly pro- mote the financial welfare of the company and at the same time increase the quantity and make better the quality of the output.
Mr. Vernon was born iu Lynn county, Mo., December 3, 1864. At the age of four years he was taken by his parents to Lecompton, Kans., where the family settled and where he received his primary education in the public schools. When he was eight he accompanied his parents to Colorado and settled in what is now Leadville, where he spent a portion of his boyhood years, with frequent returns to his old home in Lecomp- ton. His father, Joseph S. Vernon, who is a descendant of Mayflower stock and of Quaker an- cestry, was born in Ohio and is now making his home in the state of Washington; the mother, whose maiden name was Mary Edgerton, was born in Ohio and is now deceased. Her ancestors were pioneers of South Carolina. .
In 1884 Mr. Vernon married Miss Cora Brown, of Oregon. They are the parents of one son, Walter C. Fraternally Mr. Vernon is connected with the Masonic order in Whittier and the local lodge of Foresters. His political views are on the side of the Republican party. In addition to his other interests he is president of the Cali- fornia Consolidated Oil Stock Company and a promoter and director of this concern, which is making a name for itself in the oil-development regions. He has also been interested in the Citizens' Bank of Whittier and has been one of its most earnest and intelligent promoters.
In 1899 Mr. Vernon helped to organize the First Baptist Church of Whittier, of which he has been, in reality, one of the principal promoters. It was started with eleven members and now has fifty. The beautiful church edifice was dedicated December 31, 1899. His name is connected with other movements whose value is unquestioned. In fact, there is no enterprise of a worthy nature to which his sympathy is not given and whose suc- cess is a matter of indifference to him. Progres-
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sive in spirit, he is interested in anything that promises to advance the growth of his adopted city. He has never sought official honors nor has he cared for political prominence, but in less con- spicuous, though not less worthy positions, his ability, energy and sound judgment are always to be relied upon. His influence is that which a public-spirited citizen exerts upon his associates in business and in society and has been of a nature that increases with the passing years, bringing to him more and more the confidence of associ- ates and acquaintances.
OHN WESLEY HUNT, M. D. When Dr. Hunt came to Southern California, the med- ical profession of Los Angeles received a dis- tinguished addition to its ranks, for he has a record as a physician and surgeon extending through the Civil war and altogether comprising more than four decades. In the hospital and on the field of battle, as well as in the homes of thousands, he has labored to allay humanity's ills and has brought cheer and comfort, renewed hope and strength, and drawn the hearts of man- kind toward himself by his helpful sympathy.
In tracing the ancestry of the Hunt family, it is learned that Captain Hunt was master of an Irish vessel plying between Ireland and Eng- land. The captain's son was the founder of this branch of the family in America, and in Rhode Island married a lady of Welsh birth. Their son, William, the doctor's great-grandfather, was born in Rhode Island and died in New Jer- sey. His wife, Hannah Malatt, who was born in France, died in Dansville, N. Y., at the ad- vanced age of ninety-five years. It was always one of her chief pleasures, in her last years, to recount how General Washington visited her home in New Jersey, while he was on one of his marches. Her son, John, the doctor's grand- father, was born in New Jersey, removed to Penn- sylvania and later to Groveland, N. Y., engaged in farming and died at Groveland when in his ninety-second year. He married Mary Ogden, who died at the age of sixty-seven years. Their son, Elijah, was born in Pennsylvania, but withı his parents became a resident of New York in 1798; following the example of his ancestors for several generations he became a farmer. Also
like them in longevity, he attained the age of ninety years. He married Miss Eunice Huff- man, who died at the age of fifty-eight years. Four of their six children are deceased. The parents of Mrs. Hunt, Peter and Mary (Young) Huffman, were natives of Pennsylvania. The former died in Indiana, when seventy-seven years of age, and the latter died in New York state.
John W. Hunt was born in Groveland, N. Y., October 10, 1834. In the usual manner of farmer lads he passed his boyhood years, laying the foundation of his future success in the district school, where he thoroughly mastered the three R's. For three years he attended Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, N. Y., after which he returned to the outdoor life of the farm, on account of his health, which had become slightly impaired. At the end of a year he became a clerk in a store, where he remained one year. He had formed an earnest desire to study medi- cine and in 1856 he took up the work under the guidance of Dr. A. C. Campbell, of Lima, N.Y., and a few months later went to New York City, where he took a course of lectures. In March, 1859, he graduated from the medical department of the University of New York, and after having passed the usual competitive examination, in which he proved to be one of the successful candi- dates, he was appointed interne on the surgical house staff of Bellevue Hospital, New York City, the service being six months junior assistant; six months senior assistant, and six montlis house surgeon. Just previous to assuming his hospital service he made a short trip to England, more particularly to visit the hospitals in London and observe how such institutions were there conducted, and the technique of certain surgical operations.
On leaving the hospital, after eighteen months of invaluable experience there, he located in Jer- sey City, N. J., in October, 1860, and had made a fair start toward success, when, in April, 1861, he was requested to accept a position as surgeon of a New York regiment, then being organized for service in the war of the Rebellion. He pro- ceeded at once to Albany, N. Y., for the required examination, and three days later was notified of liis appointment as surgeon of the Tenth Regiment, New York Infantry, already in quar-
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ters and being drilled, at Sandy Hook, N. Y. He immediately joined the regiment, which was ordered to Fortress Monroe, Va., about June 1, 1861. From the ramparts at Fortress Monroe, on the afternoon of March 8, 1862, Dr. Hunt witnessed the first appearance of the Confederate ironclad, Merrimac, and also the famous battle between her and the Monitor on the following day. He states that the "howling" of some of the balls fired from the Monitor's guns could be almost as distinctly heard a distance of five or six miles from where he stood, as if they had been directly overhead. On the morning of May 8, 1862, the medical director at Fortress Mon- roe (Surgeon John M. Cuyler, who had been a surgeon in the regular army for many years) called upon Dr. Hunt and informed him that he expected at any moment a large number of wounded men to arrive from the battlefield at Williamsburg, and that he had no place to put them. Pointing toward the frame of a large barn- like structure, standing near the camp, 175x250 feet, boarded on three sides with rough boards, without windows, roof or floor, which had been designed and thus far erected for the storage of commissary supplies, he said, "I want you to make a hospital of that building to-day. I will have all the men you want detailed for your or- ders, and everything you require shall be on the ground as soon as it can be brought from the fort, will you do it?" Dr. Hunt replied that he would see what could be done, that lumber for roof and floor, tarred paper to cover roof boards, tools, nails and one hundred men should be sent at once and that he would have an estimate made of other material needed.
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