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 121

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

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but through his tact and unceasing energy the little city offered liberal inducements to the watch company, and at last, after suppressing an entire edition of the Elgin Gazette, which contained a premature hint which, it was feared, would alarm the rivals and cause them to re- double their endeavors, success crowned his ef- forts. The first watch made in the Elgin fac- tory was given to the president of the company, but the second was presented to Mr. Adams, in recognition of his services, and was carried by him to the day of his death.

In 1876 Mr. Adams moved with his family to California and became one of the earliest set- tlers of what was then known as the Alhambra Tract, near the famous San Gabriel Mission. Here again he showed the same public spirit which animated him in Elgin, and by continual and thoughtful effort the town of Alhambra was established and developed, and it was his pleas- ure to live to be known as the "father" of Al- hambra. Here he was largely interested in fruit culture and was identified with the beginnings of that great industry of California.

But above all the achievements which mark the course of his life stand pre-eminent the self- forgetfulness and self-sacrifice he continually ex- ercised to benefit those about him, not only those bound to him by ties of relationship, but friends, neighbors and the communities in which he lived. Always ready to help the needy, to comfort the depressed, to counsel and uplift the discouraged, to lay aside his own tasks and give his best efforts to accomplish and sustain every wise movement for the benefit of his neighbors and townspeople, such a life needs no epitaph or monument, for it is graven in ever-living symbols upon the loving hearts of those who knew him.

D. W. MARCH. Although a resident of Pas- adena only since 1900, Mr. March has for many years been connected with building interests here and in different parts of Los Angeles county. Upon removing to the state in 1886 he spent the first winter in Monrovia, and in September of 1887 settled in Los Angeles, where he engaged in building and contracting for two years. In 1889 he removed to Alham- bra, where he became well known as a skillful builder, and erected the bank building and sev- eral fine residences. He also built himself a home in the town, and had a little ranch of two acres set out in oranges. With Alhambra as a headquarters, Mr. March extended his activities to many towns in the county, and has structures of various kinds to his credit in Redlands, Long Beach, Whittier, Monrovia, and other points. He erected the H. N. Sherman residence at Orange, and at Pasadena has built the resi- dences of J. F. Kerr and H. D. West, the United Presbyterian Church, the Goodrich block, the

Garibaldi building, the Whittier house, the Odd Fellows' Hall, besides many other public and private buildings.

A native of Columbiana county, Ohio, Mr. March was born April 9, 1850, and was reared on the paternal farm, upon which his father, Philip, settled in 1810, and upon which he died at the age of sixty-four years. Philip March was born in the Shenandoah valley, in Virginia, and was of Scotch-English descent. His father was an early settler in Virginia, and died in the war of 1812. The mother of D. W. March was formerly Sarah Gilmore, a native of Pittsburg, Pa., and whose grandfather, William, came from Scotland and bought a farm which is now the site of the central part of Pittsburg. Mrs. March, who died in Columbiana county, was the mother of nine children, of whom two daughters and six sons attained maturity, and three sons are now living, D. W. being the only one in California. Two of the sons, Henry Clay and William Gilmore, served during the Civil war in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Infan- try, and both died in Ohio.

· When fifteen years of age D. W. March left the home farm and district school, and appren- ticed as a carpenter in Pittsburg for three and a half years. He subsequently followed his trade in Pittsburg, and while there married Josephine G. Henry, a native of the town, and to whom lias been born one son, James Nelson, a plumber of Pasadena. Some time after his marriage Mr. March returned to Ohio and settled at Marys- ville, Union county, where he built many resi- dences and blocks, and where he was a mem- ber of the school board. From Ohio he came to California, as heretofore stated, and has since made his influence felt in building and general affairs. He is a Republican in national politics, and is a charter member of the Alhambra Lodge, F. & A. M., a member of the Knights of Pythias, and the Eastern Star. Mr. March is connected with the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been superintendent of the Sunday-school; and he is a member of the Ohio Society.

J. E. MORGAN. Arriving in Los Angeles for the first time in 1875, Mr. Morgan found an unimportant town, contrasting strangely with the present western metropolis. Few business opportunities awaited men in those days, and, the outlook being discouraging, he went in the spring to San Diego county, where he started an apiary at Fall Brook and for nine years car- ried on a successful business in that line. Finally, however, disaster came, a flood almost totally destroying his entire industry, and so in 1884 he returned to Los Angeles, and secured employment with his brother, who had started the Highland water works. In 1889 he became interested in the raising of nursery stock and at the same time began to raise oranges and

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lemons, establishing his home in Los Angeles. The Sycamore Grove nurseries, of which he is proprietor, are located at No. 4584 Pasadena avenue. At this writing he makes a specialty of ornamental trees, shrubs, olives and green- house plants, and from his tract of three and one-half acres in Arroyo Seco he makes ship- ments of nursery stock to all parts of the state and to the east.

Tradition has it that three brothers bearing the name of Morgan crossed the ocean together front South Wales, one of whom settled in New England, another in New York and the third in Virginia. . The father of J. E. Morgan was George, who was born in New Hampshire in 1798, and in youth learned the saddler's trade. For a time he lived in Oswego county, N. Y., and then in Jefferson county, the same state, where his son, J. E., was born April 20, 1833. In 1845 he took the family to Fox Lake, Dodge county, Wis., where he remained until death. His wife, Eleanor (Evans) Morgan, was born in Vermont in 1808, of Welsh descent, and died in California. They were the parents of twelve children, all of whom attained mature years. Three sons served in the Civil war. One of these, Charles E., who enlisted from Oberlin College, served as captain of his company; he died at Greenville, Miss., a few years ago. An- other son, A. T., who enlisted from Wisconsin, received from Lincoln a commission as brevet- major and lieutenant-colonel, and served as pro- vost-marshal under General Cutler. Three times lie received very serious wounds and each time he was reported among the killed. His regi- ment was in the thickest of many battles and suffered heavy losses, entering with one thou- sand and one men, and numbering, when mus- tered out, less than one hundred. He is now a resident of Montana, where he is engaged in mining. The third soldier son, W. A., enlisted in the Fiftieth Wisconsin Infantry and served as lieutenant; he died in Los Angeles.

When the family settled in Wisconsin J. E. Morgan was twelve years of age. When twenty-one years of age, in 1854, he started out for himself, working for eight months, from four in the morning until eight in the evening, and receiving $12 per month, the largest wages paid farm hands at that time. After a year he began to break prairie, for which purpose he used four yoke of oxen. At the end of the season he sold out, having $300 in gold as remuneration for his season's labors. This was considered a splendid sum, yet, when all his privations and hardships are considered, it is doubtful if the young men of the present day could be induced to work the same length of time and the same number of hours for the same amount. A later venture was as clerk in Fox Lake for a year, after which he spent a year in Oberlin College, and then became clerk in a hardware store owned by a

brother of Governor Smith of Wisconsin, where he remained seven years. For eight years he carried on a lumber business at Randolph, Wis., after which he spent two years in lumber mill- ing in Mississippi, going back to Wisconsin, and soon afterward moving to California. While in Wisconsin, in December, 1858, he married Irene Hawley, who was born in New York state and reared in Wisconsin. They became the parents of one child who reached maturity, May, who married C. J. Burleson. Since the death of Mrs. Burleson, leaving two sons and a daughter, the latter has been taken into the home of Mr. Morgan and his wife. When a boy Mr. Morgan was reared under Whig and abolition teachings, and on the organization of the Republican party became one of its mem- bers, since which time he has always supported its men and measures.

JAMES BEGG. One of the busiest places in Ventura is the horse-shoeing establishment owned and managed by James Begg, who has the well-earned reputation of being not only the pioneer in his line in the city, but also the best and most skillful. He has a comprehensive knowledge of his trade and is no respecter of quality, each and every four-footed applicant receiving his most careful attention. The hard- worked and patient farm horse coming into town from all parts of the county retraces his steps at set of sun the better for having received painstaking treatment for his pedal extremi- ties, while the thoroughbreds and aristocrats who occupy box stalls and wear upon their well- groomed, glossy coats the latest novelties in harness, are equally well served and provided with the most comfortable footgear. Through this reliable work Mr. Begg has come to enjoy the confidence of the people and receives their patronage.

Of sturdy Scotch ancestry, Mr. Begg was born in Scotland in 1857, a son of John and Mary (McAdam) Begg, also natives of Scotland. He was educated in that country and while still quite young prepared for future independence by learning the trade of horse-shoeing. There were seven children in the family and all bene- fited by the common-sense training of their parents and became useful members of society. His parents still make their home in Scotland, but have visited their son in America. In 1879 James Begg crossed the ocean and settled in Santa Barbara, Cal., where for three years he followed his trade. Removing to Ventura, he then opened the shop which he has since con- ducted. After coming to Ventura, in 1887, he married Annie Laurie Barnett, of this city, who lied, leaving two children, Annie Laurie and Jamie Gordon. The second marriage of Mr. Begg was solemnized in 1892 and united him with Emma Dubbers, who was born in Ventura,

William C. Fry

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and is an officer in the Native Daughters of the Golden West. One son, William Frederick, has blessed this union. The family have a comforta- ble residence on Ash street, and Mr. Begg owns other city property, including his shop. Since casting his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine he has always supported Republican measures and candidates. In religion he is a Presbyterian, while fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows and has passed all the chairs in the Ventura lodge.

The father of Mrs. Begg, Henry Dubbers, a native of Germany, was one of the three first white settlers of Ventura, and afterward re- mained here until his death. Few of the pio- neers were better known than he. Possessing a fine education, he could read and write five lan- guages, and was a fluent conversationalist in cach. Through his extensive travels in South America, as well as by text-book study, he gained a thorough knowledge of Spanish and an acquaintance among aristocratic old Spanish families. Frequently he transacted business and wrote letters for the Spanish residents of Ven- tura and also in the San Joachim valley, where he lived for some time before settling in Ven- tura. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters, who still live in Ventura.

WILLIAM C. FRY. Although by birth and education an Englishman, so much of Mr. Fry's life has been passed in Los Angeles county that he is a thorough-going American and a typical Californian. He was born in Devonshire in 1860 and grew to manhood upon a farm, alter- nating work at home with attendance at school. In September, 1879, he crossed the ocean to Quebec and from there proceeded direct to California. Establishing himself in Los Ange- les, with his brothers, T. Ashton and T. G. Fry, he bought twenty-three acres near what is now Eleventh and Pico streets. This land they placed under cultivation to oranges and oper- ated for several years. During 1885 they bought twenty-three acres in what is now the Holly- wood district. As the land was merely a stub- ble field, it was bought at a low price. In 1888 William C. began to make improvements, and in the spring of 1889 he set out an orchard of walnut trees, and a grove of orange and lemon trees. At this writing he has acquired the own- ership of the entire tract of twenty-three acres, which is now one of the most beautiful and valuable homesteads in Hollywood district, its value being placed at $1,500 an acre by con- servative judges. At the time he came here Hollywood had not yet sprung into existence. The surrounding country was sparsely popu- lated. Improvements were conspicuous by their absence. In all of this work of improvement and cultivation he has borne an active part. As

road overseer, which office he filled for four years, he assisted in opening and building roads in the district. During the winter months, when his ranch does not demand the constant atten- tion of other seasons, he carries on a real-estate business in the city of Los Angeles, and he also owns mining interests in Riverside county, but as yet these have not been developed.

In 1889 Mr. Fry married Miss Anna Arm- strong, who was born in England and died in Hollywood district April 9, 1895, leaving two children, Sarah Rhea and Lawrence A. Mrs. Fry was a member of the Gospel Tabernacle Church and he also is prominent in the same, having for six years officiated as a deacon, since which time he has held the office of elder. He is a firm opponent of the sale of intoxicating liquors, and believes that the saloon is the great- est enemy of our nation. By precept and by example his influence has always been thrown on the side of prohibition, which cause has al- ways received the benefit of his support and assistance.

ION WATSON PARKS. The family rep- resented by Mr. Parks of Pasadena is not only one of the oldest of Vermont, but has also been very honorably associated with the history of that state. Not the least successful of its mem- bers was his father, Hon. Frederick Kinsley Parks, a general merchant and influential citizen of Grand Isle, Vt., an active Mason, attaining the thirty-second degree, and the recipient of numerous honors from the hands of his fellow- citizens, including election as selectman, men- ber of the lower house of the Vermont legisla- ture and judge of the probate court. By his marriage to Elizabeth Russell he had four sons and two daughters, of whom one son and one daughter are deceased. Into this family was born Ion Watson Parks, at Grand Isle, Vt., July 18, 1872. When he was eight years old he accompanied the family to Wyoming, and for some years his life was spent on the frontiers of the west. On Little Goose Creek, in Johnson county, Wyo., the family took up six hundred acres of land, and there he assisted in the raising of cattle and horses and in general farm pur- suits. For three years he was in the employ of the L. X. Burr Cattle Company. His mother died in the west in 1889, and his brother, Wal- lace, who has for some time been a resident of Helena, Mont., is at the head of an improvement company in that city.

At infrequent intervals I. W. Parks attended school, his advantages in this direction includ- ing one year in Scranton, Pa., and one and one- half years in the night school at Grand Isle, Vt., supplemented by attendance at the high school of Burlington, Vt. As he passed from boyhood into youth, having meantime acquired consid- erable knowledge of stock, there came to him a

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desire to fit himself for a veterinary surgeon, and in pursuit of this object he took a full course in the Ontario Veterinary College at Toronto, from which he was graduated in 1897. Returning to Vermont, he began to practice at Montpelier, and soon secured a growing busi- ness in his line. On the organization of the Vermont State Veterinary Association he be- came a charter member and was elected the first secretary, which position he continued to hold until his removal to the Pacific coast. Meantime he was interested in various measures bearing upon his chosen calling. While living in Mont- pelier he married Maude Carroll Fiske, who was educated in the grammar and high schools of that city. Since coming to Pasadena in Novem- ber, 1900, they have purchased and now occupy the residence at No. 180 Oakland avenue.

In Pasadena, as in his former eastern home, Mr. Parks practices all branches of surgery and has become known through his thorough knowl- edge of successful modes of treating the dis- eases to which horses and other stock are sub- ject. In addition, he devotes considerable time to taxidermy, in which art he has acquired com- mendable proficiency. Both the Ontario Veter- inary Society and the State Veterinary Associa- tion of California number him among their members, and he is likewise identified with the Pasadena Board of Trade. Though seeking no prominence in politics, preferring to devote him- self to his chosen work, he always votes at elec- tions, casting his ballot for Republican candi- dates. Fraternally he is connected with Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M., and is vice-chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, Uniform Rank.

MARCUS SAMUEL PLANT. Upon re- moving to Pasadena in 1886, Mr. Plant devoted nine years to his trade as a carpenter, and in 1895 began to build and contract, in partnership with Mr. Dawson, under the firm name of Plant & Dawson. During the intervening years many of the finest residences and public buildings in the city have been erected under the capable management of this enterprising firm. Among other commendable undertakings may be men- tioned the Macomber block, the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Mrs. Meeker's residence, and the residences of Mr. Warner, Mr. McCulloch and Mr. Evans.

A native of Wyoming county, N. Y., Mr. Plant was born September 16, 1842, and is the third of the seven children born to Ira L. and Polly M. (Lewis) Plant, natives of Connecticut, and the former born in 1817. The paternal grandfather, Isaac, was born in Connecticut, and was one of the very early settlers of Wyoming county, N. Y., whither he removed in 1823. As yet there had been no land tilled in that section of the country, and this courageous pioneer set- tled in the midst of dense forest, where he built

himself a log hut, and proceeded to clear away the surrounding timber. In time he improved a paying farm, and reared a family of children, and continued to live upon his original place of settlement until his death, at the age of eighty-two years. Ira L. Plant was a contractor and builder in Wyoming county, N. Y., and ex- perienced all of the difficulties incident to that occupation in those days, for he had to go into the woods and hew and prepare his timber, and had none of the appliances which make modern construction comparatively easy. In 1856 he removed to Sterling, Ill., and engaged in build- ing up to the time of his death at the age of seventy-five years. He was a Mason and a Republican. His wife was a daughter of David Lewis, who removed from Vermont to Wyo- ming county, N. Y., about 1825, and spent his last years in Battle Creek, Mich. Mrs. Plant, who died in Illinois, was the mother of four sons and three daughters, the daughters being all deceased. One son, Henry C., served in Company C, Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, and is now living in Sterling, Il1.

From earliest boyhood Marcus S. Plant be- came familiar with the use of carpenter's tools, and before completing his education in the pub- lic schools was thus of great assistance to his father. His life was uneventful up to the time of the Civil war. In 1862 he volunteered in Company D, Seventy-fifth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered in at Dixon. During a three- years' service he participated in many important battles, including those of Stone River, Look- out Mountain, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Dal- ton, Dallas, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Buz- zard's Roost, and Peach Tree, at which latter conflict he was wounded in the right foot and left ankle, and sent to the field hospital for re- cuperation. Finally he was sent back to Chat- tanooga, and then to Jefferson, Ind., until a fur- lough home enabled him to vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He later rejoined his regiment and continued with it until the close of the war, when he was mustered out in Parker, Tenn., and honorably discharged in Chicago, Il1.

After the war Mr. Plant returned to Sterling and began to work at the carpenter's trade with his father, and at the end of three years learned the trade of millwright in the vicinity. In Chi- cago, Ill., he was employed by B. F. Gump, as traveling foreman for erecting machines in dif- ferent parts of the country, and later filled a similar capacity for John T. Noye of Buffalo, N. Y. He remained with the latter concern for two years and a half, and was then employed by Stout, Mill & Temple, of Dayton, Ohio. In 1883 he located in Fall City, Neb., and engaged in building and contracting until 1886, in which year he came to Pasadena as heretofore stated.

The pleasant home of Mr. Plant is presided over by his tactful wife, formerly Charlotte H.

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Barrett, who was born in Ohio, and moved to Illinois with her parents. Of this union there are three children: J. H., who is a painter in Pasadena; M. M., who resides in Stockton; and Mary S., who is living at home. Mr. Plant be- came a Mason in Sterling, Ill., and is now con- nected with the Pasadena Lodge No. 272. He is also a member of the Eastern Star. In politi- cal affiliation he is a Socialist. Mrs. Plant is a member of the Universalist Church, of the Re- lief Corps and the Eastern Star.

A. B. ROYAL, M.D. Ever since he came from Illinois in 1894, Dr. Royal has been recog- nized as one of the professional influences of Pasadena, and as one who maintains the highest tenets of his calling. Preceded by years of practical experience, he assumed the new re- sponsibilities represented in this town with every assurance of success, and year by year has added to his store of knowledge, and to the esteem and confidence of a large following. He was born in Mazon, Grundy county, Ill., Decem- ber 26, 1853, and comes of a family first repre- sented in America by his paternal great-grand- father, who emigrated from England and set- tled in Pennsylvania, removing at a later day to Ohio, where his death occurred. The pater- nal grandfather, Charles, was born in Pennsyl- vania, but also removed to Ohio, locating, in 1846, near Newark, Ill. In 1852 he crossed the plains with ox-teams and wagons to Oregon, where he died.

Rev. Thomas Wesley Royal, the father of A. B., was born in Ohio, and in manhood became a farmer in Grundy county, Ill. He studied for the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church and preached in Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon, to which he removed in 1888, and where he died at the age of sixty-five years. He married Amanda Goodrich, who was born in New York, a daughter of Gardner Goodrich, who removed from New York to Illinois, where he lived in Du Page, Grundy and Livingston counties, and was one of the early pioneers of the state. Mrs. Royal lives in Greeley, Kans., and is the mother of three children, of whom A. B. is second. Charles lives in Los Angeles, and Ella is now Mrs. Wood of Greeley, Kans.

At the age of seventeen years A. B. Royal engaged in teaching school, and was thus em- ployed for five years, at the same time working his way through the Academy at Morris, Ill. Having decided to adopt the medical profession for his life work he began to study under Dr. Palmer, of Morris, Ill., and in 1873 entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, Ill., from which he was graduated in the class of 1877. For the following eighteen months he practiced medi- cine in Mazon, Ill., and then located in Ameri- cus, Lyon county, Kans., where he remained for sixteen years. He became prominent in the

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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 121

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