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 134

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

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CHARLES C. MASON. Scarcely any one now living within a few miles of Santa Fe Springs has made his home in this locality for so long a period as has Mr. Mason, who dates his residence on his present homestead from De- cember of 1875. Impelled to seek California by reason of failing health, he closed out his inter- ests in the central states and came to Los Angeles county, where under the beneficent in- fluence of sunshine and ideal climate his health was soon restored. Shortly after his arrival he bought thirty acres of raw land, the improve- ment of which represents the arduous labors of succeeding years. In 1876 he planted orange trees, but, later, not feeling satisfied with the results, he replaced them with English walnuts. At this writing he has thirty-three acres of wal- mit grove near Whittier which has recently commenced to bear and promises well for the future; in addition he still owns his original ranch, a part of which is under nuts and the balance in pasture.

In an early day Robert and Elizabeth Mason emigrated from England. The day after they landed in New Jersey a son was born to them, who was given his father's name. Moving sub- sequently to Indiana, the son assisted in clearing land and doing other pioncer work. On starting out for himself he bought a farm near the home

place, and the patent for this, bearing the signa- ture of President Monroe, is now in the posses- sion of Charles C. Mason. The task of clearing this tract necessitated many hardships and sacri- fices, but the attainment of the end fully justified the labor necessary thereto. At the time of his deatlı, when seventy-two years of age, Robert Mason, Jr., left a considerable estate to his chil- dren, the result of his industrious and persever- ing life. For many years he was a leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically he was a Republican. He married Lodisa Clark. who was born and reared in New York state, and died in California at seventy-three years. Like him, she was devoted to the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their eight children all but one are still living, Charles C. being the second of these.

At Lawrenceburg, Dearborn county, Ind., Charles C. Mason was born January 1, 1842. After completing public school studies he en- tered college, but his tastes did not run in the line of book-learning and, as soon as possible, he entered upon a business career. At the age of twenty-one he began buying and selling grain and hay, and trading down the Ohio and Missis- sippi rivers on flatboats, but the outbreak of the war ruined that trade. Seeking a new location and occupation, he went to St. Paul, Minn., where he became interested in a wholesale boot and shoe house. Much of his time he spent as a commercial traveler, being one of the first traveling men out from that city. With E. P. Johnson as partner, he took the first shoe- manufacturing machinery into Minnesota and owned and operated a factory there. The severity of the winters in those northern regions. added to the strain of heavy business responsi- bilities, overtaxed his strength, and obliged him to seek another location and business. In this way he happened to come to California, where for a quarter of a century he has been an lionored citizen of Santa Fe Springs. In Indiana he mar- ried Miss Sarah L. Blasdel, who had been his schoolmate at Lawrenceburg. They have two daughters, namely: Lucinda J., wife of Frederick D. Smith, of Visalia, Cal .; and Emma J., who is with her parents.

Ever since casting a presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Mason has been a pro- nounced Republican, a constant attendant upon county conventions, a believer in a high pro- tective tariff which will aid our home industries, and a worker in behalf of his party. Elected county assessor in 1886, he filled that responsi- ble position in a satisfactory manner, notwith- standing the fact that its duties were unusually trying by reason of the raising of almost $350,- 000 to be used for the building of the court- house and making other improvements. His service lasted from 1887 to 1890 inclusive. As an officer, it was his policy to select honest and

W. W. Robles

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

intelligent deputies, familiar with property valu- ations, and to these was given the task of mak- ing assessments on real-estate. There were many, not only of his own party but others as well, who bestowed the greatest praise upon his efficient discharge of official duties. In fraternal relations he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the blue lodge of Masons and the Eastern Star.

WILLIAM WALLACE ROBLEE, M. D. On both family lines Dr. Roblee has a strain of French blood, his patronymic originally being Roblyrd. He was born near Willoughby, Iowa, February 2, 1872, and received a liberal educa- tion, completing his literary studies in Emporia (Kans.) College. In 1889 he was made physi- cal director of the gymnasium department of the Young Men's Christian Association, of Topeka, and about that time commenced the study of medicine under the direction of Drs. Hebben and Jones. Then, going to Oakland, Cal., he held a similar position with the local association of young men and continued his preparation for a medical career. Completing a four years' course in the Cooper Medical College of San Francisco in 1895, he at once settled in Riverside and soon was made a health officer of this place.

In 1896 Dr. Roblee joined the California Na- tional Guard, and was commissioned by Gov- ernor Budd as assistant surgeon of the Seventh Regiment, with the rank of captain. When the Spanish-American war came on, he accompanied his regiment to San Francisco, and remained in the service until the conflict was over, holding the same rank and office, and since that time has been raised to the post of regimental surgeon, with the rank of major. Until he went to the war service he had been the medical examiner for several old-line life insurance companies and also officiated as a member of the United States pension examining board. At the present time he holds the position of the medical examiner for the local lodges of the Odd Fellows, Knights of the Maccabees, Woodmen of the World. Frater- nal Aid and Ancient Order of United Work- men, and is also associated with the American and Riverside County Medical Associations and a member of the National Association of Military Surgeons.

JOHN PADDISON. On a ranch three- quarters of a mile northwest of Norwalk, Los .Angeles county, Mr. Paddison is busily engaged in prosecuting the work of a horticulturist and dairyman. With justice he may be denominated a pioneer, since he came to his present home- stead in July of 1879 and has ever since been associated with the growth and development of the community. Having only limited means, his first purchase was limited to forty-four acres, which, being unimproved, was secured at a low

figure. From time to time he had made addi- tions to the property, until the ranch now con- tains two hundred and seventy-six acres, princi- pally in pasture and alfalfa. When cheese fac- tories were started, he concluded that the dairy business would prove more profitable than previously ; accordingly, he stocked his place with a high grade of cattle and has since sold large quantities of milk. At this writing he milks about thirty standard-bred Holsteins, the majority of which were raised on his place.

A native of Wales, John Paddison was born June 14, 1845, and is a son of George and Ann (House) Paddison, natives of England. On the liome farm he passed the uneventful years of youth. At the age of twenty-four years, in 1869, he crossed the ocean to America, proceeding at once to Dekalb county, Ill., where he secured employment on a farm. From there he went still further west, settling in Douglas county, Colo., where he carried on a stock-raising busi- ness for three years. Disposing of his interests there, in 1876 he came to California and for two or more years rented a ranch near Downey, after which lie came to the property that is now his home. In 1877 he married Miss Anna P. Stokes, of Artesia, Los Angeles county, who was born in England and came to the United States in 1875. Of their union are three children, Edith, Edward and Mabel. The family are members of the Episcopal Church and hold an honored place in the best social circles of their locality. No consideration of politics (for he is independent in his political opinions) and no attractions of fraternal organizations (for he is identified with none) have ever turned Mr. Paddison aside from the thoughtful and constant supervision of his ranch, and, being of a quiet and home-loving disposition, when his day's labors are ended, he finds his greatest happiness in his home and the society of his family; notwithstanding this, he neglects no duty as a citizen, but supports move- ments for the benefit of his town and county to the extent of his ability to assist them.

GEORGE HUNTINGTON PECK. Sr. This California pioneer of 1849, now residing in Pasadena, was born in Burlington, Vt., March 4, 1819, a son of John and Almira (Keyes) Peck. In 1833 he entered the University of Vermont. where constant study, unrelieved by the athletic sports of the present day, undermined his con- stitution, so that at his graduation in 1837 he was a chronic invalid. Hoping to be benefited by a change, he made a cod-fishing voyage through the straits of Belle Isle, and as far as the Esquimaux Moravian missionary settle- ments of Okak and Naim off the Labrador coast. The winter of 1839-40 was spent at the island of Santa Cruz, Danish West Indies, and in touring among the islands of St. Thomas.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Porto Rico, Hayti, and Jamaica. In 1841 he was admitted to the bar and began to practice in Burlington, but ill-health again forced him to sea life. From December, 1842, to 1846 he was a sailor before the mast, and visited the south- ern ports of the United States, West Indies, Rio Janeiro and England, after which he returned to V'ermont and became interested in the mercan- tile business.

December 1, 1849, Mr. Peck landed in San Francisco, and at once, with partners, began farming at Alviso, fifty miles south of that city. In May, 1850, he became the pioneer produce merchant of San Francisco. In those days hay sold for $200 a ton, peas twenty-five cents a pound in the pod, potatoes $25 a cental, and cabbage $1.50 for a bunch of leaves called a head. Everything in California was wild, rough, unsettled and constantly changing. During 1851 and 1852 Mr. Peck was a successful miner on the Middle Fork of the American river. Then, for two years, he farmed in Yolo county, where he owned several thousand acres. February 14, 1854, he opened in Sacramento the first public school in the entire state, outside of San Fran- cisco. In 1857-58 he practiced law in Dutch Flat, a mining settlement in Nevada county. Returning to California in 1858 from a visit in Vermont, he opened a commercial class and was a pioneer teacher of double-entry bookkeeping in San Francisco. In May, 1860, he opened the San Francisco industrial school, and from 1861 to 1863 was grammar master (the highest educational position in California in those days) also acted as principal of a San Francisco school. From 1863 to 1869 he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and in the latter year settled on a farm of about five hundred acres at El Monte, Los Angeles county. At that time the city and county of Los Angeles had about seven thou- sand inhabitants each. Markets were limited and everything primitive. Mr. Peck had the privilege of admiring his land, paying taxes and waiting for the future. Fortunately for him, teaching was always an available crutch. From 1874 to 1876 he was superintendent of the schools of Los Angeles county. It is a note- worthy fact that, although he entered college the youngest and weakest in a class of forty- eight and through the early part of his life was hampered by ill health, he is now the sole sur- vivor of his class and at eighty-three years of age is the oldest living graduate of the Uni- versity of Vermont.

The marriage of Mr. Peck, April 30, 1864. united him with Miss Mary W. Chater, an Eng- lish lady. They are the parents of four chil- dren, namcly: John H. F., a merchant of Soda Springs, Idaho; George H., Jr., a banker of San Pedro, Cal .; Kate, wife of Albert Gibbs, of South Pasadena; and Mary C., wife of John E. Jardine, of Pasadena. For many years Mr. Peck has

been senior warden of the Church of Our Savior (Episcopal) at San Gabriel.

JOHN N. MALLGREN. This pioneer of San Pedro was born in Sweden May 13, 1849, and passed the years of boyhood in alternating attendance at school with work on a farm. In common with many of the lads of his peninsular home, a love for the sea seemed inbred in his nature. While still a mere youth he became a sailor and for some years sailed the salt seas. During 1872 he arrived in New York and from there sailed to the West Indies, later proceeding to San Francisco, where he landed in the fall of 1874. At first he continued his seafaring life on these coasts, but soon gave up the work and came to Southern California, his first objective point being Anaheim. Before the town of San Pedro had sprung into existence, he secured employment on the wharf at Wilmington in the lumber business. After a month he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railway Com- pany, as stevedore on all the lighters, and for two years it was his business to receive lumber from ships entering the harbor. On leaving the company's employ he became foreman for Mr. Hayes, assisting the latter for a year in filling the breakwater contract for the government. Meantime, as when with the railroad, he camped on Dead Man's Island, but finally the camp was moved to what is now San Pedro and he built a house on what is now Front street, leasing the land from the owners of the ranch. When, in the fall of 1882, the town was laid out, the Southern Pacific Railway Company gave him notice to vacate, and he bought two lots on Front street, to which he moved his store build- ing. These two lots, together with two that adjoin them, he still owns, and their increase in value has made the investment a profitable one for him.

During the spring of 1883 Mr. Mallgren visited in San Francisco and there met Miss Hannah Wilson, a native of Sweden. They were married October 6, same year, and established their home in a house which Mr. Mallgren had built on Knob Hill, it being the first residence built on this hill. Two days after his marriage his business place burned to the ground, but he was partially secured by an insurance of $1,000, and at once started a small grocery, the first store of the kind on Knob Hill. Continuing in the same building until 1888, he then erected his present two-story brick store building, 45×35 feet in dimensions, and still one of the most sub- stantial structures in the town. Here he has since conducted an increasing grocery business, which has drawn as patrons many of the best people of the city and vicinity. To all his relia- ble methods of conducting business and his ac- commodating disposition have commended themselves. His family consists of his wife and

I. H. Honey

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

daughter, Eva, two other children having died in infancy.

While stanchly true to Republican principles in national politics, Mr. Mallgren believes in local elections the character of the candidate is of greater importance than his views as to ex- pansion, protection and other national problems. Hence he is liberal in town and county matters, supporting the best man irrespective of party ties. As already intimated, he owns considerable property in San Pedro. The society hall in his building was for seven years leased by the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, who instituted their first lodge in it, but more recently have moved to the central part of the town. The hall has since been leased by the Federation of Labor No. 8921. In fraternal matters he has been a member of Bohen Lodge No. 138, I. O. O. F., at Wilmington, for twenty-four years. During the years 1895, 1896 and 1897 he held the office of school trustee, while from 1896 to 1900 he served efficiently as a member of the board of city trustees.

JAMES HENRY STEVENS. As one of those courageous pioneers who unflinchingly took up the burden of life in the early days of California, and profited by the crude conditions before the advent of the railroad shortened dis- tances and carried freight between the settle- ments started through man's faith in the future of the state, James Henry Stevens is deserving of the regard and grateful remembrance which brightened his later years, and in no wise dimin- ished through the calamity of his death, Novem- ber 3, 1893. In the dawn of the last century he was born in Alex, Wayne county, Ky., a son of James B. Stevens, a native of Virginia and an early settler in Kentucky. The first ten years of his life were spent in his native state. From there he was taken by the family to Greensburg, Ind., and lived on a farm until 1839, after which he removed to Miami township, Hamilton county, Ohio, and engaged in farming until 1852. Then, accompanied by his wife and five children, he journeyed from Cincinnati to St. Joseph, Mo., where he fitted out ox-teams and wagons, and took cattle up the North Platte river to Fort Kearney, crossed Wyoming to Humboldt, and thence crossed the mountains to Volcano, Cal., the trip taking six months for completion.

The first year was spent in farming in Santa Cruz county, and after that he engaged in freighting lumber from the mountains to Oak- land. For the following fifteen years he lived in 'Amador county, Cal., and during that time occupied himself with teaming to different parts of the county. In 1869 he removed to Santa Barbara county, and in the town purchased two blocks of land on Garden street, where he built a brick manufactory, and engaged in brick-mak- ing, contracting and building. Among the most

ambitious of his successes in this line may be mentioned the Santa Barbara court-house, the third schoolhouse, and many large buildings and business houses. Up to the time of his death he was prominent in the business world, and repre- sentative of the reliability of Santa Barbara commercial life. He was a Democrat in politics, and was a member of the board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The marriage of Mr. Stevens and Ann Glass, a native of Cleves, Hamilton county, Ohio, oc- curred in 1839. Mrs. Stevens is a daughter of Robert Glass, who was born in Pennsylvania, and was an early settler at Cleves, where he con- ducted an hotel. Later he removed to a farm, where his death occurred at the age of eighty- four years. On the paternal side the family is of stanch Pennsylvania-German stock, descended from German ancestry. The paternal grand- father, named James, died in Pennsylvania. The mother of Mrs. Stevens, formerly Catherine Huf- ford, was also born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Rudolph Hufford, of Pennsylvania. She was the mother of eight children, all girls, of whom Mrs. Stevens is the second youngest, and the only one living. She was reared and educated in Ohio, and her early training was such as to develop strong and fine traits of character, so conspicuous in her mature years, and so redolent of that kindness, consideration, and thoughtful- ness which have raised up friends everywhere and made her one of the most interesting of the pioneer women of California. Since her hus- band's death, Mrs. Stevens has continued to live in Santa Barbara, ably superintending her many interests, and enjoying the social and other ad- vantages of her beautiful town. The eight chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are: James B., who is a clerk in the office of the public ap- praiser, at San Francisco; Edgar R., who is a commercial traveler, with headquarters in San Francisco; Mrs. Annie M. Pease, of the state of Washington ; Mrs. Belle Leach, of Lompoc; Mrs. May Willard, of Santa Paula; Mrs. Helen Mc- Phale, of Reno, Nev .; Mrs. Elizabeth Dalton, of Santa Barbara; and Thomas C., who is a res- ident of Santa Barbara. Mrs. Stevens is a mem- ber of and worker in the Methodist Church.

CHARLES F. MILLER, M. D. As the sole representative of the medical profession in Gardena, Dr. Miller has an extended patronage, which is by no means confined to the limits of the town. He was born in Milwaukee, Wis., January 17, 1848, a son of Frederick and Wil- helmina Eleanor (Wehe) Miller, natives of Germany, and the former born in Hesse-Darm- stadt.

The father of Dr. Miller emigrated to Amer- ica in 1830, and became a pioneer of Milwaukee. arriving on the site of that now prosperous and beautiful city while it was still in the hands of

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

farmers, who regarded Chicago, Ill., as the near- est center of actual activity. Mr. Miller bought forty acres of land in what is now the city limits, and ten more near the present heart of the city, and became well-to-do and prominent. With the fruits of his toil he came to California in 1863, and settled in retirement in San Francisco, but his death occurred in Oakland in 1889. On the maternal side of his family Dr. Miller comes from a prominent German family named Wehe, his maternal grandfather having served with the great Napoleon from 1812 to 1815 as a non-com- missioned officer, and later as road overseer. His mother came to America as a child with her parents, and after her marriage reared eleven children, of whom Dr. Miller is the oldest.

Up to his sixteenth year Dr. Miller lived in Wisconsin on his father's farm, and attended the district schools. He attended the University of California after removing to the west with the rest of the family, and in 1874 had qualified as a physician and surgeon. His initial practice was conducted at Hills Ferry, Stanislaus county, Cal., and in 1887 removed to Ventura, where he practiced until his removal to Gardena in 1900. In 1875 he married Mary Cantlivere, who was born in New York City and came to California in 1861. Dr. Miller is variously identified with the social, professional and political affairs of his county, and takes an interest in everything of a developing and upbuilding nature. He is a member of the County Medical Society, of Ven- tura, Cal., and has served as pension examiner under the administrations of Harrison, Cleve- land and Mckinley. As postmaster of the town he began to serve in 1882, under Garfield, and continued to maintain the position until his re- signation, fifteen months after Cleveland had assumed the reins of government. At the same time he was notary public, and school trustee. He was member of the county central commit- tee, and has been a delegate at various Repub- lican conventions. The professional skill of Dr. Miller, his humanitarian application of the same in connection with those in need from a finan- cial standpoint, augmented by his genial and kindly personality, have made him an important factor in the affairs of Gardena.

B. E. JONES. After a strenuous and very successful career in the timber regions of Wis- consin, augmented by a large and lucrative lum- ber business experience near Chicago, Ill., Mr. Jones is enjoying comparative immunity from business cares on his beautiful ranch near Gardena, upon which he settled in 1898.

A native of the vicinity of Lenox, Mass., B. E. Jones was born July 21, 1838, and is a son of Granville and Caroline (Herd) Jones, natives also of Massachusetts. Granville Jones was a farmer in Massachusetts, and removed to Tioga county, Pa., when his son, B. E., was a mere

boy. Previous to his retirement he was identi- fied with a mercantile concern, and his death occurred in the Quaker state at the age of seventy-two years. His father-in-law, Elisha Herd, was born in Connecticut, and in later life settled in Massachusetts, from which state he enlisted for a three years' service in the Civil war. He was a farmer during his active life, and died at the age of seventy-two years. To him- self and wife were born nine children, of whom B. E. is the oldest.

The rise of B. E. Jones to his present sub- stantial position is not due to any particular early advantages, for he gained his first impressions of life and work as a common farm hand on a Pennsylvania farm. His foundation, however. proved an eminently secure one, for he saved enough money during the ensuing years to re- move to the pineries of Wisconsin in 1862 and purchase nine hundred acres of land. Here he erected a saw and planing mill, and the hum of industry was heard thereabouts which piled up a fortune for the industrious owner and wise manager. At the expiration of thirty years, or in 1892, Mr. Jones unsettled himself from the pineries and located in Chicago, and bought two hundred and sixty-five acres of land within thirty-five miles of the city. Here he conducted a lumber yard for four years, and in 1898 sold out and came to Gardena. His ranch on the slope consists of thirty-eight acres, all under alfalfa, and he has built some additions to the house, and put in a private pumping plant of sixty inches capacity.

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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 134

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