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 97
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From his combination of interests, principally from his savings while teaching, Mr. Clay was enabled to enter Pleasant Ridge College in Platte county, Mo., from which institution he started out on his life work as a minister of the Baptist church. In the pioneer days of northwest Mis- souri, this eloquent tongued preacher of the gos- pel of light deeply impressed his mission and character upon the hearts and minds and lives of thousands of people, touching their ofttimes sombre existence into one of beauty and useful- ness and charity. In one meeting of three weeks he is said to have baptized eighty-six.
In connection with his ministerial work Mr. Clay conducted the affairs of a large farm which he owned, and also filled the office of superinten- dent of schools in Platte county. In addition, he was moderator of North Liberty Association for a period extending over many years. While living in Platte county, Mo., Mr. Clay was mar- ried to Mary F. Burruss, a native of Platte coun- ty, and a daughter of the Rev. Philip J. and Linnie (Guthrie) Burruss, the former of whom was for many years identified with the Baptist church of Platte county. Rev. Mr. Burruss and
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his wife were born in Kentucky, and their daughter Mary was educated at Camden Point Academy, in Platte county, and also at the Platte City Academy. She is a member of the Baptist Church, and is identified to a large extent with the intellectual and social life of Rivera.
Owing to continued failing health Mr. Clay was obliged to seek a change of climate and loca- tion, and so left the many who had been the ob- jects of his solicitude in Missouri, and turned his face towards the brighter skies and the sun- kissed meadows of California. The change was necessarily a grateful one, for his long continued and arduous duties in the pioneer work had un- dermined his health, unusually rugged though he had been. Upon his arrival in 1886 in Cali- fornia he held pastorates in Downey, Compton and Rivera, and became the possessor of a ranch hear the latter place, of fifty-one acres.
This was his especial pride and care and was a solace during the hours of respite from his minis- terial duties. But the flowers and sunshine and fragrant air were only temporarily healing, and perhaps it was ordained that the last four years of his life should be passed under the gentle care of wife and daughters, of whom there were two, Laura Verda and Dullie May. Mr. Clay died April 13, 1897, and the services were con- ducted by his friend and pastor, Rev. W. H. Pen- dleton, D. D., after which his body was handed to the Masonic Brotherhood, who honored it with their beautiful service and laid it to rest in the cemetery at Whittier.
The character and attainments of Mr. Clay are best understood when described by one who knew and loved him well and who sat at his feet an humble pupil in Missouri, and followed his future life with anxious solicitude: "As a student he was painstaking and scrupulously accurate, look- ing into the why and wherefore of any proposi- tion that came before him. He studied with but one aim and that was to be useful in the Master's service." * * * * "As a preacher he was logi- cal, at times eloquent, always Biblical, and ten- derly pathetic in appeal to the unconverted." * * * * "But it was in his home that his great character reached the highest. There was never a man more devoted to wife or fonder of his chil- dren than was Jeremiah Clay. He was never too
tired or too busy to attend to all their wants. He never forgot or neglected his family. His was a home of sorrow and suffering, losing, as he did, six children through death, and when at all pos- sible he was there to minister comfort and help. I have known him to ride ten miles on horseback through snow, after preaching at night, in order to be with his sick wife or baby. Truly he was a good husband and a kind father. To know the man was to love him. In the school room he had the respect and confidence of the children. In public affairs he was trusted and honored. In his pastorates he enjoyed the esteem of his parish- ioners to a larger degree than any pastor I ever knew."
LBERT FENNER KERCHEVAL. Dur- ing his residence of almost a quarter of a
- century in Los Angeles, Albert Fenner Kercheval greatly endeared himself to a multi- tude of sincere friends, who have deeply de- plored his loss since he was called to the silent land. He came of a family noted in history, the patronymic of which was originally Coeur de Cheval. They were French Huguenots, who, in the times of bitter persecution by the Catholics on the Continent, were strong enough and cour- ageous enough to remain steadfast to their faith, and thus won the admiration of the world, even of their cruel and relentless enemies. At the time of the revocation of the edict of Nantes the family was obliged to flee from France, and seeking refuge in England, where one of the number soon died, broken-hearted, the others sought to repair the almost hopeless fortunes of the family, for its large estates had been con- fiscated.
Louis Coeur de Cheval, the head of the family just mentioned, soon embarked for America, and took up his abode in Virginia, where his name was anglicized into its present form. From tlie Old Dominion his descendants went forth to the wilds of Illinois and Indiana, and finally scat- tered far and wide throughout the Union. Louis Kercheval, father of our subject, was a native Virginian, and his wife, Mary (Runyon) Ker- cheval, came from an honored Kentucky family.
Albert F. Kercheval, one of the youngest of several children, was born at Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, March 10, 1829, and was taken to
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Hickory Farm, near Joliet, Ill., when a small boy. He was orphaned at an early age, his mother dying when he was six or seven years old, and his father a few years later. He then became a member of the household of his eldest sister, Mrs. Thomas Stevens, of Joliet. He re- ceived a common-school education, supplemented by a course in a private academy in Joliet, and thus qualified himself for his future life.
When he was about nineteen years of age, the great excitement occasioned by the finding of gold on the Pacific coast took possession of the youth, and, in company with an elder brother and an uncle started on the long and perilous journey to California. He thus was one of the veritable "forty-niners," as he reached this state ere that memorable year in western history was completed. During the five or six years of his stay here he was engaged in mining and other enterprises, and, having accumulated what then was considered a good fortune, he returned to his eastern home. After some time spent in re- newing the old friendships, he went to San An- tonio, Tex., where he invested extensively in property, both city and ont-lying land. He re- tained a large portion of this property until with- in a few years prior to his death, when he dis- posed of it.
In 1857 Mr. Kercheval married Miss Sarah Adelaide Wilson, of Perrysburg, Ohio, and for some time subsequently they made their home in Perrysburg, Ohio, the native place of the wife. Then, going to San Antonio, Tex., they re- mained there for several years, finally coming to California, and for a period residing in Court- land, near Sacramento. When the mining fever was at its height in Nevada, Mr. Kercheval con- cluded to try his fortune there, and for several years he dwelt in Austin, where he was con- nected with various mining enterprises, mer- chandising and agriculture. The failure of mines in which he had heavily invested and the fail- ing health which came upon him at about the same time, led him to think seriously of return- ing to California. In 1870 he came to Los An- geles, where he passed the rest of his life, in the enjoyment of the beauties of nature in this Para- dise of the Union. He became an enthusiastic horticulturist, devoting much time to the im- provement of his place and orange orchard. He
was honored by being elected to the presidency of the Los Angeles County Horticultural Com- mission, and he also served as a member of the city council of Los Angeles.
Mr. Kercheval was a scholarly man and es- pecially in the last decades of his life did he de- vote much time to study and literature. He had the qualities of mind and heart which the true poet is gifted with, and musical rhythm was in- nate in him from childhood. In 1884 he pub- lished a volume of poems, which was received by the public with marked appreciation. The press favored the work with highly laudatory notices, and a host of his old friends and ac- quaintances, here and in the east, treasure this little volume wherein is contained some of the most beautiful thoughts of one "who is not lost, but gone before."
Mr. Kercheval died at his home in this city, January 24, 1893, after a brief illness. His death occurred only a few months subsequent to that of his wife, and thus the lives which had peacefully and happily flowed along together for more than three and a-half decades were soon re-united. They lost their eldest daughter, Eugenia, in San Antonio, and a son, Eugene, died while in Courtland. The three children who survive are: Leland N., Venia A. and Rosalie W. The last-mentioned has inherited much of her father's poetical ability, and has composed numerous poems of true merit and beauty.
ANIEL NEUHART, one of the able busi- ness men of Los Angeles, deserves special mention in the annals of this city and coun- ty, as he has been prominently associated with many of the enterprises which have fostered the growth and prosperity of this region. He is in- tensely patriotic and hopeful for Southern Cali- fornia and never has regretted his choice of this city as a permanent home.
Like his father before him, Daniel Neuhart was born in Rupertsweiler, Palatinate of Bavaria, Germany, the date of his nativity being June 22, 1851. When he was less than a year old he was brought by his father, Daniel Neuhart, Sr., to the United States, the family arriving upon these shores on the Ist of May, 1852. With the excep- tion of our subject's paternal grandfather, Law-
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rence Neuhart, who came to this country in 1856, and died here, all of his grandparents lived until death in Germany. His mother, Catherine, was a daugliter of Louis and Catherine Kestner. Daniel Neuhart, Sr., located upon a farm near Woodsfield, Ohio, soon after his arrival in Amer- ica, and there he continued to carry on his home- stead until his death, at the age of fifty-seven years. His wife, Catherine, who was a native of Lemberg, Germany, survived him many years, her death taking place in February, 1897, when she was in her sixty-ninth year. Of their four sons and four daughters, all but two are living.
In his boyhood, Daniel Neuhart of this sketch received an ordinary district school education, and when he was sixteen years of age he left home and began serving an apprenticeship to the drug business. At nineteen he went to Caldwell, Ohio, where he was engaged in the same line of business for a period of thirteen years, meeting with financial success. In July, 1883, he came to Los Angeles, and for three years managed a ranch near the race-track adjacent to this city, after which he was employed by the firm of Gil- let & Gibson for a short time. In 1887 he be- came the secretary of the Los Angeles Gas Com- pany, and continued to act in that capacity for three years. During the two years following he was engaged in the brokerage business, and for the past decade he has been the secretary of the Simi Land and Water Company.
The business and financial ability so noticeable in Daniel Neuhart appears to have been an in- heritance, as his father also was specially skilled in the same direction, and for four years served as county treasurer of Monroe county, Ohio, win- ning well-deserved commendation for his zeal and good judgment in the management of the county's finances. Our subject also won honor in the grand old Buckeye state, where for three years he served as county auditor of Noble coun- ty. He has taken an active part in Democratic politics ever since becoming a voter, in 1872, when he cast his first presidential ballot for Hor- ace Greeley. In 1892, before he had become much acquainted in Los Angeles, lie was, never- theless, the Democratic candidate for the office of city treasurer. For eight years lie has been a valued member of the Democratic county com- mittee. Fraternally he is a Mason, being identi-
fied with Pentalpha Lodge, Signet Chapter and Los Angeles Commandery. With his family he attends the Presbyterian Church.
The marriage of Daniel Neuhart and Miss Anna E. Frazier was solemnized June 22, 1876, in Caldwell, Ohio. Her father, Judge William H. Frazier, a distinguished member of the Ohio bar, occupied a position as judge of the court of common pleas and for sixteen years presided on the bench of the circuit court. He also organized the Noble County (Ohio) National Bank, of which he has been president ever since. Four children blessed the union of Daniel Neuhart and wife, namely: Justine, Hugh Frazier, Georgia and Florence.
UBERT KNOX, postmaster of San Dimas, came to this place in 1894 and has since, with the exception of one year, been a resi- dent here, engaging principally in horticultural pursuits. It was during 1893 that he crossed the continent from Maine to California, his first loca- tion being at Ontario, and his second at the mouth of San Dimas Cañon, where he is now in- terested in fruit-growing. Besides his other en- terprises he acts as local agent for the Home Mutual Insurance Company, whose main office is in San Francisco, this state.
The father of Mr. Knox was Rev. George Knox, a man of high standing in the Baptist denomination and the possessor of many noble attributes of character. During the Civil war he served as chaplain of the First, Tenth and Twenty-ninth Regiments of Maine Volunteers, and remained at the front until he was acci- dentally killed just after the battle of Cedar Creek. His patriotic spirit and zeal were in- herited, as his father had served with valor in the war of 1812. The Knox family is of Scotch ex- traction, and the first of the name in America settled near what is now Lowell, Mass., prior to the Revolutionary war.
Hubert Knox was born in Topsham, Me., January 3, 1863, and his parents, Rev. George and Sarah M. (Barron) Knox, were also natives of Maine. The death of his father deprived him of that parent when he was too young to realize lıis loss. Under his mother's devoted care he grew to manhood, fitted for the responsibilities of life. After completing the public-school studies
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he spent two years at what is now Colby College in Waterville, Me. His first work as a means of livelihood was farming, but he soon left the farm and went to Portland, Me., where for eighteen months he was a clerk in the general office of the Maine Central Railroad. From there he came to California, of which state he had received favor- able reports as to its fertility of soil, beauty of climate and prospects for the future. He is now the owner of fourteen and one-half acres of land, his home being on a five-acre tract that is under citrus fruit culture.
No one who knows Mr. Knox intimately is in doubt concerning his political views. He is a very stanch Lincoln Republican. He was ap- pointed postmaster at San Dimas May 29, 1899, and fills the position with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He is interested in educational matters and is an efficient school trustee in the Mud Springs school district. By his marriage to Miss Fannie S. Lambert, of Brunswick, Me., he has six children, Helen G., Harold H., James L., George N., Jessie A. and Donald G.
ILLIAM B. STEWART, who is one of the deputy county assessors for Los An- geles county and a member of the board of education of Pomona, has made his home in Po- mona since 1895 and owns and cultivates an apricot orchard covering ten acres. He has made acquaintances throughout Los Angeles county, for he has been identified with its interests since April, 1883, the date of his arrival here. In horticulture he is making a specialty of apricots, never having devoted his attention to the raising of citrus fruits.
Mr. Stewart was born in Scioto county, Ohio, November 1, 1856, a son of William and Jean- nette (Bryden) Stewart, both natives of Scotland. His father came to America after reaching his majority, and for a time sojourned in New York City, whence he moved to Scioto county, Ohio. At Raven Rock, that county, he built a stone EWIS FARMER. The farming community of El Monte township has a successful rep- resentative in the person of Lewis Farmer, who is well and favorably known for his energy as an agriculturist and his integrity as a man. In 1883 he came to Los Angeles county and three mill, which he operated for three years. At the same place he owned a stone quarry, from which he quarried stone that was cut into blocks of cer- tain sizes for building purposes. This stone was used in the construction of many of the most substantial business buildings of that part of years later settled on his present farm, which
Ohio. Late in life he retired from milling and quarrying and turned his attention to agricul- ture, operating a farm in Scioto county until his death in 1875. Although lie had received no educational advantages he was one of the best- informed men in his locality, having acquired through his own efforts a fund of knowledge at once broad and deep. Politically he voted with the Republicans.
The education of our subject was obtained large- ly in the high school of Portsmouth, Ohio. At sixteen years of age he entered the Portsmouth National Bank, in which he filled the position of paying teller for ten years. The confinement of his position, which was one of great responsibil- ity as well, told upon his strength. He became ill and was forced to resign his position in order that he might travel for his health. He came to California, and in its delightful climate soon re- gained his former sturdy physical condition. As soon as he was able to engage in business he ac- cepted a position as secretary of the Hayden & Lewis Hardware Company, of Los Angeles. One year later he resigned and embarked in the real- estate business in Los Angeles, in which he con- tinued for several years. Subsequently he was a dealer in wall paper, paints, oils, etc. On clos- ing out that business he came to Pomona and bought the fruit orchard which he now culti- vates. In April, 1897, he was elected a member of the board of education of Pomona for four years, and he is now serving his third year as secretary of the board. For two years he has been a deputy county assessor. Politically his views are in sympathy with the principles of the Republican party.
In 1884 Mr. Stewart married Miss Mary Utley, of Rome, N. Y. They have five children: Jay Gilbert, Amy Bryden, Wallace, Donald and Walter Penman. The family are connected with the Episcopal Church.
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comprises twenty-four acres. By perseverance and the exercise of wise judgment he has made the ranch a profitable investment. He has planted eighteen acres to walnuts and apples, both of which have proved sources of fair rev- enues.
Descended from an old Kentucky family, Mr. Farmer was born in Harlan county, that state, May 15, 1848, a son of William C. and Catherine (Branson) Farmer. He spent the years of boy- hood on his father's farm and attended, during the winter months, a public school that was near his home. On reaching manhood he selected agriculture for his life work, believing his chances of success greater in it than in another occupa- tion with which he would be less familiar. In 1870 he married Ellen Rice, a native of Ken- tucky. They are the parents of five children: Henry C., who is living at Monrovia, Cal .; Lulie E., wife of J. N. Stewart, who is at pres- ent a teacher in the Bassett (Cal. ) public school; William F., Ava K. and Robert, who are with their parents.
Leaving the home farm soon after his marriage Mr. Farmer became proprietor of a hotel at Har- lan, the county-seat of Harlan county, when he was twenty-three years of age. This hotel he conducted for some years. He also served as clerk of Harlan county for one terni of four years, being elected to the office by the people of Har- lan county. From Kentucky, in 1879, he moved to Gove county, Kans., and embarked in farm- ing and stock-raising. The country was new, improvements few and farmers scattered; and after a few years he decided he could do better elsewhere, so in 1883 he came to California. In addition to farming and walnut-growing he has for years devoted his leisure to carpentering, being a natural mechanic, as was also his father. He is a member of the Mountain View Walnut Growers' Association, incorporated.
Probably no citizen of his district is a firmer friend of education than Mr. Farmer. Realizing the value of a broad knowledge, he advocates the public-school system, which he considers one of the chief factors in the prosperity of the United States. For twelve years he has served as a school trustee of the La Puente school district, in which position lie has been enabled to advance the welfare of the local school. Other move-
ments of a beneficial nature receive his sympathy and aid. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and Independent Order of Foresters at El Monte, and in religion is identified with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
AMES FULTON. From the time that he crossed the plains in 1849 to the present day Mr. Fulton has been deeply interested in the development of California. His mind is a store- house of useful information concerning the days before California was admitted into the Union, as well as those later times of its history as a state. Led to undertake the toilsome journey across the continent by the hope of discovering gold, he first tried his fortune in the mines and then drifted into other occupations, being at this writing en- gaged in horticultural pursuits at Pomona, where he has made his home since 1886.
The Fulton family is of Scotch extraction. Richard, son of Thomas Fulton, was born in North Carolina, and in early manhood became a pioneer of Indiana, where he married Rebecca Barnhill, who was born in Kentucky. The sub- ject of this sketch was their son. He was born in Lawrence county, Ind., January 28, 1827, and spent his early boyhood years amid the then frontier surroundings of his native locality. When he was sixteen his parents moved to Buchanan county, Mo., and there he lived for six years. With his father, a brother, and many others, he started for California in 1849, spend- ing four months in the long journey, which was made with ox-teams. His first work as a miner was in the fall of 1849, when he worked in the mines on the South Juba river. He spent the winter at San José, where the first California legislature was at the time convened. The then governor of California, Peter H. Burnett, was a former Missouri friend of Richard Fulton, the latter being sheriff of Buchanan county when Peter H. Burnett was district attorney. The following spring after he came to California James Fulton went into the mines of Nevada county, where he spent several months. In the fall of 1850 lie bouglit a large herd of cattle from emigrants. These he sold in different parts of California. Subsequently he worked at teaming and freighting to the mines. Next lie engaged
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in farming near San José. In 1853 he returned to Missouri via the isthmus. After his arrival he bought a drove of about one hundred and fifty head of cattle. With these he started across the plains to the coast. He was unfortunate in losing a large number of head, but sold the remainder at a good profit, with the exception of those with which he stocked a farm in Sonoma county. He carried on a general business in raising stock until 1860, when he disposed of his interests, and for the four following years he engaged in agri- cultural pursuits in the same county. While he was there the San Francisco & North Pacific Railroad was built through his farm and that of his brother Thomas. They laid out a town which was named Fulton in honor of the Fulton family, which is well and favorably known in Sonoma county, Cal. For some time he served as postmaster of the new town, where he con- ducted a warehouse for seven years. In 1880 he re- moved to Azusa, where he resided four years, and then built a home on Bellevue avenue, overlook- ing the city of Los Angeles, and resided there nearly two years. During the latter part of 1886 he removed to Pomona, his present home. For the last six years he has been retired from active business, and in the evening of his life enjoys a well-earned competency and rest from toil and labor.
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