Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 109

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366

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WALTER ELLIOT. Among the citizens of Santa Maria who have shown special apti- tude for successfully maintaining positions of trust within the gift of his townsmen may be mentioned Walter Elliot, deputy assessor of Santa Barbara county. He is possessed of the strong, reliant traits of his countrymen, and was born in Scotland in 1846. His youth was not unlike that of the average farm-reared Scottish boy, nor was he destitute of the laudable ambi- tions which ofttimes find vent remote from their original surroundings. At the comparatively young age of fifteen he immigrated to America and settled in New York, and while living there enlisted in the Civil war in Company C, Twen- tieth New York Infantry, serving for one year. His discharge occurred in the city of Richmond, June 17, 1865.

After the war Mr. Elliot lived for a time in New York and Illinois, and in March of 1868

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

came to California intent upon investigating the conditions here existing. After traveling all over the state he decided upon a ranch fifteen miles east of San José, and here he lived and carried on farming until November, 1875. He then removed to Santa Maria district and ranched until 1891, at which time he took up his residence in the town. The same year he was elected county supervisor of the fifth dis- trict, his services being so satisfactory that he was re-elected, and served in all eight years. For the past ten years he has held the position of deputy county assessor, his service in this capacity also meeting with approval. Repeat- edly has it been demonstrated that he in all ways consults the general good of the commu- nity, and that he regards public office as a means to further the general development, rather than an opportunity for personal ag- grandizement. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order and of the Knights of Pyth- ias, and he is a past commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Of the union of Mr. Elliot and Nina O. Roper, at Santa Cruz, in 1874, there are seven chil- dren: Lillian, Frank H., Anna, Elmira, Stella, Edith and Walter, Jr. The children are un- usually intelligent and well educated, three of them, Lillian, Elmira and Stella, being engaged in educational work. Frank H. is a miner. Mrs. Elliot died in 1896, and is buried at Santa Maria.

J. VINCENT ELLIOTT. This prominent contractor and builder of Santa Barbara was born at Lone Rock, Richland county, Wis., October 15, 1860, a son of Ezekiel and Phœbi- ette (Vincent) Elliott, the former a native of New York, and now a resident of Santa Bar- bara. The family is of Scotch extraction. The youngest in a family of four children, J. Vin- cent Elliott was educated in the public schools of Lone Rock, Wis., and when fifteen years of age came to California, settling in Santa Cruz, where he supplemented his former study by attendance at the schools of the Bay View dis- trict. In 1881 he came to Santa Barbara and began to learn the carpenter's trade under his father, and also became interested in the sheep business with the elder Elliott, he having leased the islands of Anacapa and San Nicholas for that purpose. During the four or five years in the sheep business they also contracted and built, and started a planing mill on Chapala street. Eventually the son disposed of his sheep interests for his father's interests in the planing mill, and continued to run the mill for five years. He became one of the pioneer pro- moters of the Union Mill Company, Incorpor- ated, and was one of the directors and the man- ager. The mill was after a time removed to

the wharf, and after being run there for a year, it was sold to other parties, and Mr. Elliott turned his attention exclusively to contracting and building.

In 1892 Mr. Elliott thought to improve his prospects by removing to Los Angeles and en- gaging in the restaurant business, which was conducted with moderate success until 1894, when he returned to Santa Barbara and con- tracted a partnership with George Humphreys in the milling and building business, Mr. Elliott having charge of the contracting. In 1897 this arrangement was dissolved, since which time Mr. Elliott has carried on contracting independently. To him are credited many of the finest residences and buildings in Santa Barbara and elsewhere in the county, among them being the residences of Dr. Stoddard, and Mrs. Varner, the De La Vina house, and, out of the city, the Lompoc high-school building, one of the finest in the county. Mr. Elliott is an architect of no mean ability, and he is a successful business man, standing high in the community in financial circles. His interests extend to Mexico, where he owns stock in the Rea Machol Rubber Company, which concern owns twenty-four thousand acres of Mexican land; also in another rubber company, owning thirty-five hundred acres of land. He is a Re- publican in politics, and is a member and trus- tee of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The first marriage of Mr. Elliott occurred in Cherry Vale, Kans., and united him with Min- nie Newton, daughter of Revilo Newton, a banker of Cherry Vale. Mrs. Elliott died in Kansas City. The marriage of Mr. Elliott and Lottie Bouton occurred in Lompoc. Mrs. El- liott is a native of Oakland, Cal., and the mother of one child, Adah M.

HON. JOHN S. COX. Through his inti- mate connection with the real-estate interests of Pasadena and through his identification with the progress of this city since 1886, Mr. Cox las become one of its influential citizens. In 1892 he was elected to the city council from the second ward and served in the position for four years, during the latter half of which he was honored with the presidency of the board. It was during this period that all of the asphalt paving was contracted for and executed, the electric railroad built and the Southern Pacific Railroad brought into the city. The completion of the sewerage system was another advance made at this time. Miles of street regrading and curbing were also put in, and old and unsightly walks were replaced by cement pavements. All in all, the administration was marked by advance in every line of municipal progress and activity.

In Covington, Ky., Mr. Cox was born Feb- ruary 16, 1857. His father, John S. Cox, Sr.,

bm Skillen

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a native of county Antrim, Ireland, and a pat- tern-maker by trade, settled in Philadelphia in young manhood, and there engaged in cot- ton manufacturing. A later place of business was Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed as a pattern-maker; and at the same time he made his home across the river in Covington, Ky. During the Civil war he enlisted in an Ohio regiment and went to the front. His last years were spent in Philadelphia, where he died. In early life he was a Whig and upon the dis- integration of that party identified himself with the Republicans. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian. His wife, Elizabeth, was a daugh- ter of William Newton, and accompanied her father from the north of Ireland to Philadel- phia; after her husband's death she came to Pasadena, Cal., where she died in 1900. Of the six children of this marriage who attained ma- turity four are living. The eldest son, William N., who now resides in Philadelphia, was a sol- dier in the Civil war for a year.

When nine years of age John S. Cox accom- panied his parents to Philadelphia, where he was a student in the grammar and high schools. At fourteen he went to Quakertown and two years later entered the employ of the Northern Pennsylvania Railroad at that place. When he was eighteen he returned to Ohio and settled at Mansfield, where he took up photography. In 1876 he became a traveling salesman, sell- ing photographers' supplies through the middle states. During September of that same year he was married in Mansfield to Miss Esther E. Herr, who was born in Pennsylvania. They are the parents of four children, namely: Newton H., who is with the Southern Pacific road in Los Angeles; Mary E., Harold E., and John S., Jr. From 1878 until 1879 Mr. Cox carried ou a produce business at Zanesville, after which he resumed photographic work at Glendale, and then, returning to Mansfield, carried on a grocery for three years. From there he came to California in 1886 and settled in Pasadena, which has since been his home. As a charter member of the Pasadena Board of Trade he has been identified with one of the enterprises for the benefit of the city. In many other ways he has endeavored to promote the welfare of this garden spot of the western world, and is interested in everything which makes for the prosperity of his state and nation. In 1896, at the time of William Mc- Kinley's first nomination for president, he was serving as a member of the county central Republican committee, also was a worker on its executive committee, and did much to fur- ther the cause in this vicinity. During the long period of his residence in Pasadena, he has wit- nessed its gradual development and progress, and is justly proud of his citizenship in this ideal city.

CHARLES M. SKILLEN. While Pasadena was still an undeveloped tract, its possibilities unrealized and its climate unappreciated, Mr. Skillen visited the town in 1874, having come west in the hope that a change of surroundings might assist him in recovering from the effects of his army servicc. A year's experience of the climate convinced him of the desirability of the town as a place of residence, and he accordingly returned east to dispose of his business inter- ests, preparatory to a permanent location in the west. During 1880 he purchased fifteen acres bounded by Los Robles and East Colorado streets, which he platted into Skillen's subdivi- sion, opening, parallel with Los Robles, a street which he named Euclid avenue. No attempt had been made previously to improve the land, which had been used as a sheep pasture. One of his first improvements was the securing of water, which enabled him to raise a thrifty orange orchard. However, the opening of the boom convinced him that it would be more profitable to sell the land in lots than to con- tinue to use it as an orange grove, and he there- fore platted the subdivision named, and sold the lot with certain building stipulations, so that the residences since built upon it are first-class in every respect. In connection with Samuel Strat- ton, he also bought the northeast corner of Colorado street and Marengo avenue, which they laid out in Skillen & Stratton's subdivision and afterward sold. When the Pasadena Elec- tric Light Company was organized he was inter- ested in its establishment and served as one of the directors until the plant was sold.

The Skillen family came from the Highlands of Scotland. George Skillen, the American im- migrant, became a successful painter and grainer, and was given fine contracts for work in wood and marble in New York City. George Skil- len's mother was a Miss Douglass, of the low- lands of Scotland. In religion he was an Epis- copalian, and in politics an abolitionist and Republican. He married Hannah Davies, who was born in Wales and died in Knox county, Ohio. His death occurred at the home of his son, Charles M., when he was almost ninety-four years of age. Of his four children, Charles M. was the second and is the sole survivor. Born in New York City in December, 1838, he was reared principally near Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, and in youth learned the painter's trade under his father. However, his tastes ran less toward a trade than toward professional life, and he soon turned his attention to the reading of law, which he began under private tutelage of Sapp and Simons, of Mount Vernon, Ohio. In 1861 he matriculated in the law department, University of Michigan, where he was for one year numbered among the ambitious, progres- sive and promising students. However, his de- cision to enter the army changed all of his plans,

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and the year 1862 found him a private in Com- pany F, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Infantry. He was appointed sergeant and as such accompanied his regiment to the front. While on a forced march from Louisville to Perryville, he succumbed to a progressive paral- ysis that had been coming on for some time. Unable to proceed further, he was sent to camp near Louisville, where he received skillful and constant treatment, but all remedial agencies seemed ineffective, and in 1863 he was dis- charged for physicial disability. Some two years later an officer of his regiment told him that a commission as captain was to have been ten- dered him in the event of his recovery, but the loss of his health cut off all hopes of continued service.

Unable to resume his law studies, Mr. Skillen turned his attention to a manufacturing business in Mount Vernon, in which he met with fair success. In that city he married Miss Jennie Stephens, who was born in Pennsylvania. They have an only son, Ralph G. Skillen, D. D. S., a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, class of 1897, and now a practicing dentist in Pasadena. Mrs. Skillen is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the work of which Mr. Skillen has been a contribu- tor. Politically a Republican, the condition of his health has prevented participation in politics and caused him to refuse the various offices that have been tendered him. Connected with Masonry ever since having been made a Mason in Montezuma, Iowa, he became a charter mem- ber of Pasadena Lodge No. 272, and is now as- sociated with Corona Lodge, F. & A. M., has since joined the chapter, commandery and thirty-second degree in this city, and is a mem- ber of Al Malakiah Temple, N. M. S., of Los Angeles.

HERMAN BLATZ. An industry that has done much toward raising the standard of American wines is owned by the Sierra Madre Vintage Company, of Lamanda, Los Angeles county. In the far-famed San Gabriel valley, between Pasadena and Sierra Madre, are the company's vineyards, established in 1871, and now producing Trousseau, Malvoisie, Muscatel, Tokay, Zinfandel, Petit Bonchet, and other va- rieties of grapes, from which the wines are made. Sheltered by the Sierra Madre range, rich with the calcareous washings from the mountains, nourished by sun and dew, there is every natural advantage to aid in the develop- ment of the vineyards, hence the quality of the grapes is unexcelled, and for the same reason the wines reach the highest point of perfection. The plant covers acres of ground, and includes large wine cellars, containing some of the rarest, oldest and most valuable wines in California;

' also fermenting houses, cooper shops, sherry house, distillery and store rooms. To facilitate shipments a switch has been built connecting with the Santa Fe Railroad, thus furnishing direct transportation to the jobbing houses of the east.

The manager of the company, Mr. Blatz, was born in Milwaukee, Wis., and is a son of the late Albert Blatz, a Bavarian by birth and for years a brewer in Milwaukee. On completing his education, he entered the grain commission business in his native city. His first visit to California was made in 1884 and two years later he came to the state to locate permanently, set- tling in Lamanda Park, where he bought and sold real estate. On becoming associated with the Sierra Madre Vintage Company he was assistant to H. Brigden, who, with Hon. J. F. Crank, had established the winery. On the death of Mr. Brigden in 1894, Mr. Blatz suc- ceeded to the position of manager. Under his capable and energetic supervision the capacity of the plant has been doubled, being now one of the largest plants in Southern California. A large acreage of vineyards produces immense quantities of grapes, but, in order to supply the demand, large quantities are also brought in from outside points. It is a source of gratifica- tion to Mr. Blatz, and to all the other officers of the company, that the wines from their plant received gold medals at the Paris Exposition in 1900 and the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, while their brandies received similar rec- ognition for excellence and purity. This recog- nition is especially appreciated because, ever since the company began in business, its mem- bers have been obliged to contend with the prejudice of Americans toward native wines, a prejudice so unjust that many, while decrying the home product, drink California wines under foreign labels. Recently, however, a change of sentiment has been brought about, and the pure product of the California grape. is in demand throughout the country, not only in hospitals, and for drug trade, but also in lead- ing hotels (such as Hotel Green and La Pin- toresca), and it is also used for sacramental pur- poses. In addition to unfermented grape juice. the company manufacture orange wine, made from oranges grown upon their grounds, and excellent as a tonic for nervous and stomaclı troubles.

Besides his duties as secretary and manager of the company, Mr. Blatz is engaged in other enterprises, and is interested in horticulture at Lamanda and Sierra Madre, where he owns vineyards. Since coming to California he has been made a Mason, in Corona Lodge No. 324. and has also been raised to the chapter in Pasa- dena. He is a believer in Republican principles and has served his party as a delegate to county conventions.

sawwherepoon

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ISAAC A. WITHERSPOON. In the social circles of Riverside Mr. Witherspoon is well known as the president of the Rubidoux Club. In business circles he is known as the owner and proprietor of one of the best-equipped gro- ceries in Southern California. He first came to Riverside in the spring of 1886. In the spring of 1896 he bought out the firm of J. R. New- berry & Co., on the corner of Seventh and Main streets. May, 1900, found him at his present location, No. 754 Main street, where he occu- pies a building of two stories, 60x157 feet, fur- nishing adequate accommodations for his grow- ing and prosperous wholesale and retail trade. The best modern facilities are to be found in the store, including electric power for the operating of his plant and machinery for the roasting of coffee, etc. In every respect the store is metro- politan in its appointments, and loses nothing by comparison with similar establishments in larger cities.

Of Scotch descent, Mr. Witherspoon was born near Delphi, Ind., December 11, 1854 The spring of 1886 found him in Riverside, Cal., where he was a clerk for D. A. Correll three years, Cromby & Co., two years, and J. R. New- berry & Co., two years, continuing with the lat- ter until he purchased the business.

R. EASON. The high standing of the Union Savings Bank of Pasadena in the financial cir- cles of Southern California is due to the con- servative management and recognized ability of its officers and directors, and particularly to the rare judgment and constant oversight of its president, R. Eason. When Mr. Eason came to Pasadena in 1894, having disposed of his banking interests in the east, he immediately began the organization of a bank in his new home city, and this institution, with a paid-up capital of $100,000, began business March 6, 1895. The office of president he has filled since the organization. Associated with him are A. R. Metcalfe, vice-president, and W. M. Eason, cashier. For the purpose of erecting a suit- able bank building, in 1901, he organized the Union Savings Bank Building Company, of which he is president. Plans are now being made for the building of a four-story structure, 562x118 feet, on the corner of Colorado and Raymond avenue, the cost of the whole to be $76,000. The corner room will be fitted up with banking appliances, while the balance of the building will be rented in office suites.

Several generations ago a Scotchman brought his family to America and settled in Pennsyl- vania. His son, Samuel Eason, who was born in Scotland, became a pioneer farmer in Lycom- ing county, Pa. During the war of 1812 he was a lieutenant in the navy and, as such, com- manded a vessel on Lake Erie at the time of Perry's celebrated encounter with the British.

With him at the time was his son, Alexander G., a boy of twelve, who in later years often narrated the thrilling tale of how "We met the enemy and they are ours." This son was born in Lycoming county, Pa., in 1802, and became a farmer near Wooster, but about 1854 settled near Iowa City, Iowa, and bought eighteen hundred acres of government land. The cul- tivation of this tract occupied his remaining years, and he died there when seventy-six years of age. During war days he was strong in his abolition views and always supported Repub- lican principles. Fraternally he held member- ship with the Masons and in religion was a Universalist.

The marriage of Alexander G. Eason united him with Mary Ellwood, who was born in Co- lumbiana county, Ohio, and died at Iowa City, Iowa. Her father, Thomas, was a son of Noah Ellwood, who died in the east. Six daughters and four sons formed the family of A. G. Eason, and all of these arrived at mature years, but only five are now living. The fifth of the num- ber, Robert, was born in Wooster, Ohio, No- vember 25, 1838, and received public-school advantages. At the age of seventeen he began to teach in Johnson and Cedar counties, Iowa, and for a time was principal of the Rochester school. At Iowa City, he was mustered into the Union service as a member of Company B, Fourteenth Iowa Infantry, in which he had en- listed in September, 1861. The next year, at the battle of Shiloh, so many soldiers of the regiment were killed or wounded that the re- mainder were transferred to the Forty-first Iowa Infantry, and he became a member of Company L. In the spring of 1863 the Forty-first was transferred to the Seventhi Iowa Cavalry, he still belonging to Com- pany L. In July of the same year Presi- dent Lincoln commissioned him quartermaster of the One Hundred and Twenty-second United States Infantry, with the rank of lieutenant. His first order was to Lexington, Ky., but be- fore assignment had been made, he was sent to Fortress Monroe to take charge of the quar- termaster's stores. On his arrival he found the stores scattered over so large an area that he refused to receipt for them, because he realized it would not be wise to assume responsibility for them under the circumstances, nor did he feel that he could receipt for goods he had never seen and never been in possession of. Therefore he resigned. However, his resig- nation was not accepted until March, 1864. at which time he returned to Iowa.

The improvement of a farm of six hundred and forty acres, the putting up of substantial buildings and making other improvements that added to the value of the property, received Mr. Eason's close attention for some years after the war. The land is still in his possession and

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lies near Scranton, Green county, Iowa. In 1875 he became interested in the Bank of Scranton. Ten years later he bought out the other stockholders and continued alone as pro- prietor of the bank, being assisted by his son, W. M., as cashier. From Scranton he came to California, establishing his home in Pasadena with the intention of spending his remaining years in this city.

In Davenport, Iowa, Mr. Eason married Miss Ellen Burke, who was born in New York state and died at Scranton, Iowa. Three children were born of this union, namely: Alexander F., who is a graduate of the Scranton high school and now superintends his father's farm near that town; Willis M., also a high-school graduate, and a graduate of a business college in Des Moines, Iowa, who is now cashier and a director of the Union Savings Bank of Pasa- dena; and Martha E., who graduated from the Scranton high school and the Cedar Falls Col- lege and died at Scranton in 1892. . The second marriage of Mr. Eason united him with Miss Hannah M. Baxter, who was born in New York state, and is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church.

Always a Republican in politics, during his residence in Iowa Mr. Eason served as county supervisor of Johnson county for four years, as mayor of Scranton for three terms, and also held the office of justice of the peace. While in Scranton he was an active worker in the Grand Army of the Republic and also in the blue lodge, F. & A. M., of which he was master for five years. Since coming west he has been identified with the Pasadena Board of Trade.

WILLIAM BAXTER. The weight of eighty-four years rests but lightly upon Mr. Baxter's shoulders, notwithstanding the fact ihat he has led a very active life. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, a son of George and Margaret (Slesser) Baxter, also natives of that country. Following the example of his father, who was coachman to the Duchess of Gordon, he early attached himself to the household of nobility, and traveled as valet throughout Great Britain and the continent. For four years he was with Lord Aberdeen of Scotland, for a sim- ilar period was with Lord James Russell and Sir John Russell, besides which for a time he studied veterinary surgery in London, England. In 1857 he went to Canada, where he was em- ployed as inspector and collector. As early as 1859 he visited the then small village of Chicago, going from there to Dupage county, Ill., and later to Tazewell county, where he engaged in farming. A subsequent location was in Liv- ingston county. where he improved a quarter section of land. Removing from Illinois to Iowa, he bought four hundred and eighty acres in Union county, which, under his capable su-

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Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 109

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co. Number of Pages: 1366

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366