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 99
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Since coming to Los Angeles Mr. Spalding has created for himself so numerous a body of per- sonal friends that it is not likely that his name or influence will soon pass out of the community in which he has for so long been recognized as a directing spirit. He has followed journalism most of the time since taking up his residence here, recently filling the position of president and gen- eral manager of the Herald Publishing Company.
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L.M. Baldwin
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
He has held several public positions, having and stock-raising for a number of years in his served for four years as state commissioner of own township. While living in Hardin county, Iowa, he became prominently identified with the various interests of the community, and served as justice of the peace for several years. In 1887 he came out of the east and settled in the ex- treme west, where he has since impressed his strong personality and earnest efforts upon the appreciative community of Whittier. building and loan associations, and at this writ- ing is president of the Los Angeles board of free- holders. In politics he is a true representative of the Democratic party, and while maintaining his principles with all the vigor and eloquence neces- sary to present them to the public notice, he is sufficiently just to fairly investigate opposing views and opinions. Socially he is a member of the Jonathan and Sunset Clubs, ex-president of the University Club and ex-president of the Academy of Sciences.
INDLEY M. BALDWIN. Upon his arrival in California in 1887, Mr. Baldwin found a waving field of barley upon the ground where is now situated the town of Whittier. With the contagious enthusiasm of one who seeks a land of greater possibility than he has yet known, and filled with the desire to be among the stauchest and most progressive of her sons, the closest of her adherents, lie applied himself to her development with a faithfulness that has never wavered during all the subsequent years. With the assistance of the few other pioneers, also in search of brighter conditions, they surveyed and laid out the town, and in- stituted such measures of improvement as were consistent with their somewhat limited means. With the increase of population there were al- most immediate gratifying results, until to-day Whittier and vicinity raises a proud head as one of the garden spots in a land of gardens.
Lindley M. Baldwin was born in Morgan county, Ind., March 17, 1853. His parents, Caleb and Matilda (Lindley) Baldwin, were na- tives of North Carolina, and very early settlers in Morgan county, where they lived until their son Lindley was in his sixteenth year. They then took up their residence in Hardin county, Iowa, where the boy grew to man's estate. He was early trained to an appreciation of the dignity of an agricultural life, and was given op- portunities for acquiring an education above the average farmer's son. After studying at the public schools he received an academic education at the New Providence Academy, at New Provi- dence, Iowa, and later engaged in agriculture
Mr. Baldwin's varied interests in the place of lis adoption include his position as president and organizer of the Home Oil Company, on whose board of directors he previously served for two years. In politics he is a Republican, but en- tertains liberal views in local affairs, and usually votes for the man he thinks best qualified to fill the position. In 1888 he was elected justice of the peace, and still holds the office, as well as that of postmaster, to which he was appointed in 1899. He is an active member of the Friends Church, and liberally assists in the conducting of its charities.
Mr. Baldwin married Saralı Reece, of Hardin county, Iowa, and of this union there is one son, Clyde F. Baldwin.
DWARD S. FIELD. About three score years ago this prominent and highly-hon- ored citizen of Los Angeles was born in the village of Leverett, Mass. His venerable father, De Estaing S. Field, was born in the same place August 24, 1813, and died at the residence of his son at Los Angeles March 7, 1900. He was an agriculturist in his early life, but later devoted his energy to merchandising. The mother of our subject, Mrs. Editha (Crocker) Field, died about twelve years ago at Monson, Mass. They were the parents of several daughters, hut one by one they passed to the silent land, and E. S. Field is now the only survivor of the family. Mrs. Field was a native of the stanch old Bay state, and her father was a man of distinction and influence. Alpheus Field, father of De Estaing S. Field, was for years president of a bank, and at the time of his death, when fifty-five years of age, was am- bitiously carrying forward numerous financial plans of importance in the community in which he dwelt, as well as to himself.
E. S. Field received a fair education for his day
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in the schools and academy at Amherst, Mass., but at the age of eighteen started out to make branch and member of the state executive commit- his own way in the world. Desiring to master the book and stationery business, he entered upon a five years' apprenticeship, the first year receiv- ing $50 and the second year $75 for his services, but had to board himself. A portion of this five years he was at Amherst and Springfield, Mass., and the rest of the time was in Troy, N. Y.
Perseverance and industry rarely fail of success, and so it was in the case of Mr. Field, who brave- ly bore the hardships and privations which fell to his share. The year prior to that which witnessed the close of the Civil war he went to Indianapolis, where he established himself in the book and paper business, and by diligent and judicious methods won the confidence of the public and a remunerative patronage. In the spring of 1883 he came to Los Angeles, where he at once em- barked in the real estate business, and gave his earnest attention solely to that line for eleven and a half years, meeting with financial success.
That Mr. Field is popular and considered capa- ble of properly attending to the interests of the people has been unmistakably shown during the past few years. In the fall of 1894 he was elected on the Republican ticket as one of the county supervisors, and at the expiration of his term of office, four years later, he was re-elected. He was the only Republican supervisor at that time who was ever renominated and re-elected after filling one term, and his success is the more remarkable owing to the fact that another candi- date for nomination on his ticket refused to retire into "innocuous desuetude" and ran on a so- called "independent" ticket, being defeated, nev- ertheless, by a large majority. Mr. Field cast his first presidential ballot for Lincoln, and has since stalwartly stood by the Republican party.
All kinds of worthy enterprises find a true friend and sympathizer in this progressive citi- zen. One of the founders of Occidental College of Los Angeles, he served as one of its trus- tees and president for several years, the insti- tution now being well known among the educa- tional factors of the Pacific coast. His labors in behalf of the Young Men's Christian Association redound greatly to his credit.
Formerly, in Indianapolis, he held the office of president of the same for a period, and since com -
ing west he has been one of the directors of the local
tee. During some four years he was chairman of the board having the affairs of Los Angeles coun- ty hospital in charge, and numerous other useful modern organizations here and elswhere have re- ceived his substantial support. Fraternally he belongs to the Royal Arcanum. Since his early manhood he has been identified with the Presby- terian Church. For years he was an elder in the Second Church of Indianapolis, with which he held membership, and here for a number of years officiated in the same capacity in the First Pres- byterian Church.
The beautiful home of Mr. Field near the corner of Coronado and Seventh streets, is situ- ated in one of the finest residence sections of Los Angeles.
The marriage of Mr. Field and Miss Sarah M. Hubbard took place in Indianapolis June 6, 1866. Her father, William S. Hubbard, who for many years was numbered among the energetic and successful business men in that city, has made his abode there for more than sixty years, and is still living, highly honored by all who know him. To Mr. and Mrs. Field were born three sons and four daughters, two of the sons dying in infancy. Those living have received excellent educational advantages. E. S. Field, Jr., is now serving as deputy surveyor of Los Angeles county. The oldest daughter, Helen, is the wife of Murray M. Harris, a prominent pipe-organ manufacturer of this city. She and her next younger sister, Edith H., are graduates of the normal school here. The other daughters are Carrie L., who is a student in Occidental College, and Florence, who gradu- ated in the class of '99 from the city high school.
ILLIAM FRANKLIN SNODGRASS, a prominent horticulturist of the San Gabriel valley, is a native of Des Moines, Iowa, where he was born January 13, 1862. He is a son of Nelson and Elizabeth (McDivitt) Snod- grass, also residents of the San Gabriel valley.
Nelson B. Snodgrass, one of the pioneer set- tlers of Southern California, was born in Hamil- ton county, Ind., March 12, 1834. His parents were Charles and Elizabeth Snodgrass, of Virginia and Tennessee respectively. Charles Snodgrass
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
was a soldier in the war of 1812, and represented his country with courage and valor. While the boy Nelson was very young he moved with his parents from Indiana to McDonough county, Il1., where they resided for about seven years, thence going in 1847 to Polk county, Iowa, where they cast their lot with the early dwellers of that un- cultivated region, becoming in time successful agriculturists. As may beimagined, their oppor- tunities were confined to a limited radius, partic- ularly in the matter of education, and the chil- dren of pioneers were, indeed, fortunate in secur- ing a few months of winter schooling each year. Nelson Snodgrass, nevertheless, became a force in the community, and held most of the political offices within the gift of the people. In 1877 he and his family moved to Walla Walla, Wash., where they continued their horticultural and ag- ricultural pursuits until, in 1885, they migrated to the San Gabriel valley in California. Mr. Snodgrass owns twenty-four acres of land, mostly under oranges, which was originally in an ex- tremely wild and uncultivated state.
Mr. Snodgrass married Elizabeth A. McDivitt, of La Grange county, Ind., and they have three children living: William F .; Ettie M., now Mrs. Madden; and Horace W. Mr. Snodgrass' politi- cal sympathies are with the Republican party. In the estimation of those who are privileged to know him, he is an estimable gentleman, and a broad-minded, public-spirited citizen.
William Franklin Snodgrass spent his boyhood in his native city of Des Moines, Iowa, and en- joyed opportunities for education quite remote from those to which his father had access. After finishing his course in the public schools he had two years of training in what is now the Whit- comb College, of Walla Walla, Wash., whither the family had in the meantime removed. He subsequently engaged in the cigar, tobacco and confectionery business for two and a half years, after which, in 1886, he took up his residence in the San Gabriel valley. His ranch of twelve and one half acres is situated one- and a half miles west of Covina, and is principally under orange cultivation. He is unusually successful in his chosen line of work.
Mr. Snodgrass married Cora M. Newcomb, of Walla Walla, Wash., and of this union there are five children: Mabel V., Ida B., Myrtle A., Har-
ry H. and Retta M. While variously interested in the affairs of the community in which he lives, Mr. Snodgrass has no particular political aspira- tions. His sympathies are, however, with the Republican party. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs and the Encampment of Covina.
JOHN SCOTT. Notwithstanding the varied enterprises and industries that from time to time have diverted the attention of the peo- ple, the growing of citrus fruits still remains the principal industry of this section of California. Among the men who took up tracts of wild, un- cultivated land and transformed them into fine orange groves, may be mentioned Mr. Scott of Duarte. His success has been more than ordi- nary, a fact due to his thorough knowledge of horticulture in all its branches and also to his industrious application and wise judgment in the managements of his interests.
A son of Archibald and Mary (Nelson) Scott, natives of Scotland, the subject of this article was born in Lancashire, England, in 1845. As he grew to manhood on a farm, he easily gained familiarity with every department of agriculture, and this proved very helpful to him in subsequent years. In 1877 he crossed the ocean to Canada and settled in Ontario. From there he came to California in 1882 and after visiting various lo- calities with a view to settling, he established his home at Duarte. He purchased, just east of the town, ninety acres comprising twenty-five acres of hill land that extended to the San Gabriel river. Almost all of the land was in a wild state. Little attempt had been made to bring it under improvement. At once he began to clear the ground, after which he built the necessary build- ings. His residence occupies a fine location among the foot-hills, affording a magnificent view of the San Gabriel valley, stretching away for miles to the hills of Puente.
Of his land, Mr. Scott has more than thirty acres devoted to various fruits, ten acres being in Washington Navel, ten acres in Valentia late and three acres in Blood oranges. The Wash- ington Navel he has found to be the finest orange grown in California. In addition to his oranges he has engaged in raising olives, and has an or-
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
chard of apricots, figs, peaches, prunes, also twenty acres in apples. He has always been in- terested in any enterprise for the development of the resources of the land in this locality. For years he served as water commissioner of his dis- trict and also as president of the Duarte Mutual Irrigation and Canal Company, in both of which positions he rendered able service to the people of his community, assisting in the solving of the water problem, always one of the most difficult to the people in localities that depend upon irri- gation. He was horticultural commissioner for Los Angeles county for almost six years; he is interested in politics and is a stanch Republican.
In 1876 Mr. Scott married Miss Sarah Fisher, a native of England and a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Sumner) Fisher. Four children were born of the marriage, namely: Elizabeth Mary, Margaret Crawford, Archibald and Alice Marion. The family are Episcopalians in relig- ious belief.
AMES D. DURFEE. About three miles south of El Monte, on the Temple road, may be seen a fine farm, the pride of its owner, James D. Durfee. When he purchased the prop- erty, in 1860, its one hundred and twenty-five acres were wild and uncultivated land, and it gave little indication of its present beauty and prosperous condition. However, by a close ap- plication of the knowledge of California ranching which five previous years had given him, he has made his property one of the finest homesteads in the San Gabriel valley. The land being for the most part moist, irrigation is unnecessary, and the fertile soil shows its wonderful produc. tiveness in the fine fruits and farm products now grown. On the farm is one of the finest herds of Jersey cattle in the state, and the dairy prod- ucts are given high rank by commission mer- chants. For thirty years Mr. Durfee has en- gaged in the dairy business, and at one time he had a herd of one hundred and twenty- five cows. Since his introduction of the famous Richmond strain in his fast horses his ranch has become noted for the excellence of its equine stock, and as a trainer he has few equals. As a ranchiman he early learned the sure results of mixed farm- ing; his fruits, nuts, grains, hay and dairy have yielded him a sure income. Thirty acres are
under walnuts, and some of the trees, planted in 1864, are marvels of growthi and productiveness, not a few measuring over nine feet in the girth. Besides the sale of walnuts, he also sells alfalfa and other farm products in large quantities. He has proved beyond a question the value of variety in products. "Always something to sell" ex- plains the success of his method of farming.
Mr. Durfee was born in Adams county, Ill., October 8, 1840, and, on the paternal side, is of Scotch-Irish extraction. His parents, James and Cynthia (Soules) Durfee, were natives respec- tively of New York and Rhode Island. His father, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, afterward settled on the Western Reserve in Ohio, thence moved to Missouri and finally settled in Adams county, Ill., where he died in 1844. His wife died about two years later. Of their large family James D., Jr., was one of the youngest. He was cared for by the older members of the family. At the age of fifteen, with his brother George, he started from Carroll county, Ill., via Omaha, Neb., for the west, being one of a party of emigrants that traveled with sixty-five wagons. He drove four yoke of oxen through, via Salt Lake City and the southern route, to California, arriving at Sau Bernardino (then a Mormon set- tlement) one year after leaving Illinois. For a year he made his home with his brother, then went to Sacramento, and after a time settled in El Monte, where he rented land for a year and then invested his savings in his present property. His long residence in this county entitles him to membership in the Society of Pioneers, with which he is actively connected. He assisted in organizing the Los Nietos aud Ranchito Walnut Growers' Association, and for three years before its incorporation served as president of its board of trustees.
During the years of his residence at El Monte Mr. Durfee's manly qualities have won for him a host of friends. He is a firm believer in correct education, in moral and mental development, in industry and energy, and in all the essential characteristics which combine to form the true and upright man. Politically a Republican, he has frequently represented his party in conventions. For years he has served as trustee of his school district, which he helped to organize. In 1887- 88 he was assistant assessor of his township.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
In 1858 Mr. Durfee married Miss Diantha Cleminson, by whom he has two children: Eva I., who married Albert Slack January 12, 1890, and has two sons, Howard Albert Slack, born April 9, 1891, and Perry Durfee Slack, born Au- gust 6, 1895. James Roswell Durfee married Stella Cain in September, 1894, and they have two children: Diantha Ruth, born July 12, 1895, and Miles Roswell, born January 25, 1898, all of El Monte.
Mrs. James D. Durfee's father, John Clemin- son, came from England in the year 1812, a young man, and in Missouri married Miss Lydia Lightner, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., July 11, 1800, and died in El Monte August 11, 1873. John Cleminson died at the same place November 28, 1879.
A URELIUS WINFIELD HUTTON. In Abbeville district, South Carolina, April 8, 1805, was born Aquila D. Hutton, and in Edgefield district of the same state, in 1812, was born Elizabeth H. Tutt, the parents of A. W. Hutton, who was born near Hopewell, Greene county, Ala., July 23, 1847. His parents both died near this place, the father's age forty seven and the mother's age forty two. Aquila D. Hut- ton followed farming and the practice of medi- cine. Six boys and two girls came to this union. Three died before their father, leaving one daughter and four sons as survivors. Our sub- ject's paternal grandparents were Gen. Joseph and Nancy (Calhoun) Hutton, the latter a cousin of John C. Calhoun. General Hutton was born in South Carolina in 1769. Elizabeth Tutt, the maternal grandmother of our subject, settled in Arkansas about the year 1859, and there died at the home of one of her children. Referring to his sister, who had much to do with rearing them, Judge Hutton says: "In 1853 my sister married David H. Williams, M. D. On the death of my mother, or just prior (I am uncertain as to exact time), Dr. Williams became guardian of myself and brothers, and after the death of my mother we lived with his family, my sister prov- ing from that time to the present, not only a sister, but a mother. To her and her husband, both of whom still live at Gainesville, Ala., a large part of the credit for the good is due."
Judge Hutton was married February 24, 1874, to Kate Irene Travis, who was born in Gaines- ville, Ala., May 3, 1851, a daughter of Amos and Eliza (Coleman) Travis. Her father was a na- tive of North Carolina, and was born about 1805, and her mother was born about 1820. They came to Los Angeles in 1869, where they resided until 1885, when they returned to Alabama. There they died, he on the 2d of August, 1886, and she April 26, 1896. There have been born to Judge Hutton and wife three sons and seven daughters. Three daughters and one son are dead. -
By inheritance from his parents our subject acquired property sufficient to have given him a liberal education, but all of it then on hand was swept away as one of the results of the war of 1861-65. Up to the age of ten he was reared on the old home place in Alabama, when the lands were sold, and the family moved to Gainesville, the same state, eight miles from his father's old homestead. At the age of seven he entered school, which like all of his schools, previous to entering college, was the old common or field schools, the parent or guardian paying the tui- tion. He spent his vacations and holidays hunt- ing and fishing. At the age of sixteen lie enrolled as a student in a military school, the Uni- versity of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa. As a cadet he rendered service at various points in be- half of the Confederacy. He remained a member of the corps of Alabama cadets, being a private in Company B, until April, 1865, when the uni- versity was burned by Federal cavalry under General Croxton. The cadets then marched to Marion, Ala., where they were apprised of Gen- eral Lee's surrender. There they were disbanded and sent home, he reaching there with gun, ac- coutrements, knapsack and overcoat. He found Confederate bonds depreciated in value, the negroes freed and himself without property.
About January, 1866, he entered the law office of Bliss & Snedecor, at Gainesville, his brother- in-law advancing and paying $100 per annum to Mr. Bliss for special instruction, which he was faithfully given twice each week. Mr. Bliss was an elderly man, a native of New Hampshire, a lawyer of eminence and ability. He settled in Alabama in the "flush times," back in the '30S. He had been the senior partner of Joseph G.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Baldwin, the author of the book "The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi," so well known to many lawyers. Mr. Baldwin subse- quently became a citizen of California, and at- tained to the chief justiceship of the state. Re- maining with Bliss & Snedecor about one year and a-half, Judge Hutton desired to enter the law department of the University of Virginia. His preceptors then offered to procure his admis- sion to the bar if he wonld remain with them, guaranteeing him $500 the first year, but the young student desired to avail himself of the benefits that come through training in a good institution, and matriculated in the university in the autumn of 1867. The regular course was two years, but he undertook both the junior and senior courses, and by hard application was, in June, 1868, a few weeks before his legal maturity, graduated a B. L. along with about thirty others of a senior class of seventy five or eighty. Some of the third year students failed in this gradua- tion, for the well-known high standing of this institution could send forth none who were de- ficient in thoroughness.
On his return home he determined to locate in the then little known state of California. As Mr. Travis' family were turning in the same direction, he accompanied them, sailing from New York, January 23, 1869, and arriving via the Isthmus, in San Francisco, February 15, 1869. There he remained until April of that year, and then came to Los Angeles, where he has resided ever since. Immediately upon his arrival he entered the office of Glassell & Chap- man, working for his board and lodging. At the end of the first month they voluntarily paid him $50.00, commencing at the beginning of his service, saying his services were worth more than mere board and lodging. This Mr. Hutton has ever appreciated. He remained with the firm but a short time, and then began practicing law, and while the way up was by no means shorn of difficulties, he yet managed to exist. In 1871 he became a member of Golden Rule Lodge No. 160, I. O. O. F., and is still a member. He was one of the original stockholders in the San Gabriel Orange Grove Association, the corpora- tion which purchased and laid out the lands upon which Pasadena was originally founded. He acted as attorney for the company. In De-
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