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 140

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

USA > California > 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 140

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

MRS. SARAH BARZILLA EMERY. One of the prominent and popular factors in the busi- ness and social life of Long Beach is Mrs. Sarah Barzilla Emery, who came to California in 1873, and has lived in this vicinity since 1887. A na- tive of Pilot Knob, Mo., Mrs. Emery is a daughter of James Sampson Dotson, who was born in Virginia, and a granddaughter of an- other James Sampson Dotson, the latter of whom was born in Scotland, and emigrated to Virginia many years ago. The grandfather was a planter in the south and eventually removed to Missouri, where his declining years were spent, and where terminated his useful and meritorious life. The father of Mrs. Emery was a blacksmith in Mis- souri, and afterwards directed his energies to the cattle business in Texas. He married Elizabeth Goade, a native of Virginia, and daughter of Booker Goade, who was of English descent, and who died while conducting large farming inter- ests in Missouri. Mrs. Dotson died in Missouri, and during her life treasured a just pride of an- cestry, for some of her relatives fought with valor in the Revolutionary war, and all were honorable and industrious acquisitions of their time and place. There were but two children in her family, one son and one daughter, of whom Mrs. Emery is the oldest.

While living on the home farm in Missouri Mrs. Emery attended the district schools, and received that practical insight into life which has been of so great benefit to her in later years. Her first marriage occurred January 1, 1861, and was with Newton Williams, a native of Ohio, and a contract plasterer by trade. He was a man of unquestioned patriotism, for at the first tap of the drum he enlisted in the Thirteenth Missouri, which regiment was consolidated with the

942

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Thirty-second Ohio regiment after the battle of Shiloh. During his three years of service he saw much of the grim and terrible side of war, and was twice wounded in the hip. He returned to his home an invalid, and for thirteen months was tenderly nursed by his wife, who carried him in her arms and won him back to a semblance of his former strength. Nevertheless he continued to suffer from the ravages of his awful experi- ence, and died four and a half years after the restoration of peace, in Pierce City, Mo.

In Leavenworth, Kans., in May of 1873, Mrs. Williams married Frederick B. Emery, who was born in New York state and reared in Maine, and who in his earlier days was a farmer. When the gold excitement of '49 swept over the land he and some friends bought a boat in Boston and sailed around the Horn to San Francisco, and realized considerable success while mining for four years in California and Oregon. The east, however, still held its interests, but upon return- ing to his former surroundings he did not long stay in Maine, but removed to Illinois, from which state he went to Pike's Peak to again try his luck at mining. He soon after returned to Illinois, and in 1870 settled near Pierce City, Mo., where he engaged in farming until his re- moval to San Francisco in May, 1873. This was directly after his marriage, and after remaining a year in the coast city he settled in Los Angeles and improved a ranch of forty acres, upon which was a combined orchard, vineyard, and farming enterprise. He later bought one hundred and sixty acres of land on the Rosecrans tract, and after improving it and making it desirable prop- erty advantageously sold it during the boom for $100 per acre, the original price having been $25 per acre. In 1887 he bought eighty acres of land three miles from Long Beach, upon which he built two residences, and introduced all manner of modern and up-to-date agricultural devices. Orchards were set out and general farming car- ricd on in a highly successful manner, and at the expiration of seven and a half years Mr. Emery moved into Long Beach, and built the home in which his widow now resides, and where his death occurred August 9, 1896, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a Republican in na- tional politics, and was a member of the Baptist Church. He was a remarkably successful busi- ness man and agriculturist, and was especially interested in the raising of fine standard bred horses. His stables contained some notably fine examples of horse flesh, including Silver Heels and Whalebone, and Echo Prince, the latter hav- ing a record of 2:15. From time to time valu- able real estate holdings came into his posses- sion, and he owned lands at Glendale and other towns, and he also bought and sold lands in Los Angeles. He enjoyed an enviable reputation for honesty and fair dealing, and made many friends wherever his interests happened to be placed.

Since the death of her husband Mrs. Emery has attended to his interests with conscientious care, and has developed business tact and in- vesting sagacity. She still owns the ranch near Long Beach, and has bought and sold property in a most successful manner. In spite of the many responsibilities which have crowded her years she has been a devoted mother, and reared her children to be useful men and women. Through his first marriage there were three chil- dren: Arlena, who died in 1901; Evaline, who is now the wife of Thomas Weller, of Los An- geles; and Frank, who lives in San Diego. To Mr. and Mrs. Emery were born four children, William, Mabel E., Nahum E., and Sadie E.

WILLIAM B. JULIAN. As the city clerk of Long Beach, Mr. Julian is a representative of that class of young men who are identified with municipal affairs in Southern California and who are aiding in placing our cities upon a substantial business basis. His election, in April, 1900, gave him the position with a fair majority over two opponents, and he imme- diately entered upon the duties of his term of two years. The incumbency of this position confers upon him other duties and privileges, among them the positions of ex-officio city assessor and ex-officio clerk of the board of trustees, and in addition he acts as deputy tax collector.

The Julian family is of southern descent. Bailey F. Julian, a native of Rutherford county, N. C., became a planter in Forsythe county, Ga. His son, M. S., was born in the last-named county July 14, 1839, and in 1859 went to Pike's Peak, traveling with a mule train from Leaven- worth, Kans., and spending eighteen months in the famous mining fields of Russell's Gulch, Lost Cannon and Twin Lakes. In the fall of 1860 he returned to Georgia, expecting to enter school, but the war fever was at its height, and with the loyalty of a true southerner he es- poused the cause of the Confederacy. As a first orderly he enlisted and served in the Sec- ond North Carolina Battalion, and later re- ceived promotion to the rank of captain. At Gettysburg he was slightly wounded and fell into the hands of the enemy, by whom he was confined for two years in prisons at Forts Dela- ware and Lookout. After the fall of the Con- federacy he turned his attention to farming in Georgia. In 1868 he came via Panama to San Francisco and for a time mined in Nevada. Going to San Diego in 1869, he became a pros- pector and located the first gold mine in the district, which was named Julian in his honor. A postoffice was also so named for him. After three years in mining he served one term as assessor of San Diego county. In 1873 he set- tled on a ranch near Downey, but soon opened a mercantile store in that town, which he con-

943

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ducted for years. In 1897 he opened the Julian Hotel at Long Beach and this he conducted until 1900, when he sold out. Later he built the Colonial on Cedar street, of which he is now proprietor.

The marriage of M. S. Julian united him with Maggie S. Skidmore, who was born near Waco, Tex. Her father, William Skidmore, a native of Alabama, and a soldier of the Indian wars, be- came a pioneer of Texas, where he engaged in farming and wagon-making. Accompanied by his family, in 1869 he crossed the plains to Cali- fornia, arriving in San Diego three months after leaving his Texas home. Besides managing a farm which he bought, he engaged in mining and was the discoverer of the celebrated Stone- wall (better known as Waterman) mine in Cu- yamaca valley. From San Diego county he removed to Downey and bought a farm there, which he operated, in addition to carrying on a large freighting business between Wilming- ton and Kern and Inyo counties. He was acci- dentally killed by a runaway team. The three children of M. S. and Maggie S. Julian are Wil- liam B., of Long Beach; Raymond S., who is telegraph operator for the Southern Pacific road at San Bernardino; and Edward, a student in Los Angeles Normal School. The eldest of these sons was born near Downey December 15, 1873, and received his early education in the local public schools. After graduating from the Woodbury Business College in 1894 he became bookkeeper for Stern Brothers at Anaheim, remaining with them until 1897. Afterward he assisted his father in the Julian Hotel at Long Beach until his election as city clerk. Frater- nally he is connected with the Woodmen of the World at Long Beach; Long Beach Lodge No. 210, K. of P .; Company No. 44, U. R. K. of P., in which he has the rank of recorder; Rath- bone Sisters, Invincible Parlor No. 74, Native Sons of the Golden West at Anaheim, in which he was formerly recording secretary, and which in 1898 he represented in the grand lodge at Nevada City, Cal.

L. A. PERCE, M. D. Remotely of French lineage, the Perce family has been connected with American history ever since the colonial period. John Perce, who was born in Vermont July 15, 1784, took part in the war of 1812, and afterward was identified with the early history of Circleville, Ohio. In that city was born November 9, 1817, a son, William, by his mar- riage to Elizabeth Ballard, whose birth occurred in Albemarle county, Va., April 16, 1785, and who was of Scotch extraction. This son re- moved from Ohio to Illinois during the early '4os and settled in the then village of Spring- field. From that time forward he was one of the conspicuous figures in the political life of

the town and county. For two terms he served as sheriff of Sangamon county, and at the same time Abraham Lincoln was prosecuting attor- ney, the two occupying the same office. Thus was formed an acquaintance which ripened into warm friendship and continued uninterruptedly until the tragic death of President Lincoln. Other offices fell to the lot of William Perce. among them being that of chief of police of Springfield. At the opening of the Civil war, with the ardor of a true patriot and the con- stancy of a true friend, he answered Lincoln's call for volunteers. The Illinois quota being full, he enlisted in the Eleventh Missouri Infan- try and was commissioned first lieutenant of Company C., where he served for three months. His re-enlistment made him a member of Com- pany B, Seventieth Illinois Infantry, his term to expire in three years. However, a severe wound in battle caused his honorable discharge one year after his enlistment. Returning to Springfield, he was for some years engaged in the mercantile business, and later operated a farm in the southern part of Sangamon county. In 1874 he removed to Russell, Kans., where he conducted mercantile pursuits. His death occurred there in 1892. In fraternal relations he was a Mason and in religion a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. From the time of the organization of the Republican party (in which he bore a part) until his death he was a champion of its principles, and one of the most thrilling recollections of his later years was of the Republican convention in the Chicago wigwam where Lincoln was nominated for president. Under President Grant he received an appointment as deputy United States mar- shal for the southern district of Illinois, which office he filled for some years. As already stated, one of his stanch friends was Abraham Lincoln, and there is now in the possession of Dr. Perce a mounted cane which Lincoln presented to William Perce when the latter was chief of police. Among his other warm friends were "Dick" Yates, Oglesby and Madison. In phy- sique he was stalwart and robust, with a large frame and great powers of endurance; his mind and heart were fashioned on the same gener- ous proportions as his body, and he was in every respect "a man among men." The legacy of an honorable life which he has left to his fam- ily is one of which they may well be proud.

The wife of William Perce was Roxanna Vit- tum, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, August 12, 1821, and died at Russell, Kans., February 6, 1899. Of their marriage were born two sons and six daughters, namely: Mrs. Mary Hall, of Sangamon county, Ill .; Josie M., who died in childhood; Elizabeth (Mrs. Shaw), who died at Russell, Kans., in 1878; William, a merchant of Carbondale, Ill .; Roxanna M., who died at the age of two and one-half years; L. A.,

911

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a physician of Long Beach, Cal .; Mrs. Clara Dollison, of Russell, Kans .; and Angeline, who died in childhood. The younger of the two sons was born in Springfield, Ill., March 8, 1854, when his father was serving as sheriff. He attended the grammar and high schools and Springfield College, after which he took up the study of medicine under Dr. S. L. Reefy, of Edinburg, Ill. In 1873 he entered the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he took the full course of four years, and then en- gaged in practice at Russell, Kans., for six years. Returning to Ohio, he was graduated from the Eclectic College of Cincinnati in 1882 with the remarakble standing of ninety-seven and thirteen-sixteenths per cent. Afterward he practiced in Forest, Ohio, and from 1887 to 1898 was one of the leading physicians of Bucy- rus, that state.

Hoping that a change of climate might prove beneficial to his wife, Dr. Perce came to Cali- fornia in 1898 and spent a few months in Pasa- dena. March 15, 1899, he came to Long Beach, where he now has his office in the Long Beach Bank building, and makes a specialty of surgery and the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and. throat. It has always been his ambi- tion to keep abreast with every development in the science of medicine, and with this end in view he took lectures each winter for years in the Eclectic Medical Institute and the Cincin- nati hospitals. At this writing he is serving his second term as president of the Southern Cali- fornia Eclectic Medical Society, is also con- nected with the state association, and an hon- orary member of the Ohio State Eclectic Medi- cal Society, and a member of the Roentgen So- ciety of the United States. For some years he was a member of the pension board in Kansas, and he is now a member of the California state board of medical examiners.

In Russell, Kans., Dr. Perce married Saralı A. B. Miles, a third cousin of General Miles, U. S. A. She was born in Platte county Mo., and educated there. Her father, Manoah Miles, a Kentuckian, removed to Missouri on account of his anti-slavery sentiments, and during the Civil war he and four sons served in the Fed- eral army. Afterward he settled in Russell, Kans., where he died. Dr. and Mrs. Perce have an adopted son, Germaine B. Perce.

During his residence in Ohio Dr. Perce was for years secretary of the county Republican executive committee, and he is now president of the Republican club of Long Beach. He was made a Mason in Long Beach Lodge No. 327, F. & A. M. In the Knights of Pythias he has been chancellor and is connected with the Uni- form Rank. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Fraternal Aid, Woodmen of the World, Rathbone Sisters, Modern Woodmen of America and Daughters of America number

him among their members, and he is examiner for the majority of these. In the Sons of Veter- ans he acts as division surgeon. For some years he was district commander of the twelfth dis- trict of Ohio for the Maccabees and connected with the Tribe of Ben Hur. He is past state counselor of Ohio for the Junior Order United American Mechanics, and is still connected with the same. Religiously he is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church and a member of its official board.

GEORGE F. HIRSCH. As long ago as March of 1885 George F. Hirsch, the present postmaster of Long Beach, cast his fortunes with the then small village, and since that time, with the exception of a few years spent in dif- ferent parts of the state, has been an interested spectator of its growth, and a practical aid in its best development. In all respects a self-made man, he chose for his means of livelihood an occupation famed in song and story, and which is none other than that of the busy and ever popular blacksmith. His thorough mastery of every department of his business has opened various avenues of interest in different parts of the country, for as a master workman he has few equals, and no superiors.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Hirsch was born July 31, 1861, his father, George, being a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. The elder Hirsch came to America when a compara- tively young man and located in St. Louis, where he worked at his trade of blacksmith. During the Civil war he went to the front as a soldier in Company E, Fortieth Missouri Vol- unteer Infantry, and served as long as there was need of men of valor and courage. After the war he removed to Jefferson City and indus- triously plied his trade, and about 1870 settled in Boonville, where he is still engaged in busi- ness. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and is a Republican in national politics. His wife, formerly Mary N. Beyers, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, but then France, al- though she is of German descent. She is the mother of four sons and three daughters, George F. being the oldest son and the second oldest child, and the only member of the family in California. He was reared in Jefferson City and at Boonville, in both of which towns he attended the public schools, at the same time acquiring an early knowledge of his father's trade. When fourteen years of age he followed the precedent in European countries and ap- prenticed to a smith in St. Louis, and after com- pleting the trade rejoined his father, with whom he remained for a few years. In 1878 he yielded to the temptation to try his hand at mining and joined a company bent across the plains with eleven wagons, and bound for the

Nettie E Hammond

947

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Black Hills. At the expiration of four years he had decided that the life of the miner was not entirely suited to his inclinations, and there- fore returned to his father and stayed for four years. Nevertheless, a lingering fondness for the west still visited his waking hours, and in 1882 he removed to Colorado and later to Al- buquerque, N. M., where he applied his trade for the Santa Fe Railroad Company. He then came on west to Arizona and then to California and Los Angeles, after which he went to Chino and worked for Dick Gird for a couple of montlis. Upon returning to Los Angeles he was employed by F. K. Dowler and helped to build the old number 7 glass front street cars. He then removed to Compton and started up a blacksmith business in November of 1884, and after running for a few months was em- ployed by Henry Carson at Compton. In March of 1885 he came to Long Beach, which was then but a straggling village, intending to take a rest and see the country. However, he soon found himself at work again, and was associated with the Long Beach Land and Water Com- pany until October of 1885. He then helped to build the old pier at this place, and in 1886 re- moved to Wilmington and worked at his trade for Banning Brothers, or the Wilmington Transportation Company for eighteen months. He then returned to Long Beach and afterwards went to Los Angeles and assumed charge of the shoeing shop of the Main Street Car Com- pany. After his marriage in July of 1888 he returned to Long Beach and for a year was in the mercantile business with his father-in-law, W. S. Snell, and then went to Clearwater and engaged in ranching for a couple of years. Although successful, he decided to return to Long Beach, and opened a blacksmith business of his own on First street. This business was most enthusiastically prosecuted from 1890 until January of 1899, when the blacksmith in- terests were disposed of.

The commodious and typical Southern Cali- fornia residence built by Mr. Hirsch is presided over by his wife, who was formerly Addie M. Snell, a native of Franklin Grove, Ill. Of this union there are two children, Ruby and Robert. February 14. 1899, Mr. Hirsch was appointed postmaster of Long Beach by President Mc- Kinley, and assumed charge of the responsibil- ity March 31, 1899. In March of 1901 he trans- ferred the business of Uncle Sam into the new building, where he is continuing to give the perfect satisfaction which has characterized his entire service. Mr. Hirsch is one of the most progressive and wide-awake citizens oi the place, and is identified with many efforts to improve the condition of his adopted town. Fraternally he is a member of the Long Beach Lodge of Masons No. 327, of the Maccabees, of which he is past commander, and with the

H. W. Lawton Camp No. 10, Sons of Veter- ans, of which he is sergeant. He is a Repub- lican in national politics, and is a member of the central committee. His wife is a member of the Eastern Star, of the Ladies of the Mac- cabees, and of the Woman's Relief Corps. Mr. Hirsch enjoys a deserved popularity in this community, and he is one of the substantial and progressive citizens of the placc.

MRS. NETTIE E. HAMMOND, M. D. The interminable vistas beyond the portals of medical science are today trodden so fearlessly, so intelli- gently, and so absorbingly by women who desire to aid their sex and tune their lives to infinite possibility that the combination of vast erudition and the eternally feminine has become an integral part of our civilization, and an appreciated influ- ence at our firesides and in our institutions. Nevertheless, in spite of the natural advantages of finer intuitions and more ready sympathies, the successful practice of women implies special gifts and aptitudes as well as ambitious inclina- tions, a truth forcibly illustrated in the career of Dr. Nettie E. Hammond, one of the foremost ameliorators of the physical woes of Los Angeles.

In her craving for the broader and better and unselfish things of life, Dr. Hammond is a dis- tinct example of the influence of heredity. Of sterling English and German ancestry, she was born in Muncie, Ind., a daughter of John and Mary (Koch) Minton, natives respectively of Akron, Ohio, and Lancaster county, Pa. The paternal great-grandfather, Rev. John Minton, was born in England, and upon immigrating to the United States settled in Ohio, where he preached the gospel from the pulpits of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His son, the pa- ternal grandfather, another John Minton, fol- lowed closely in the footsteps of his sire, and was no less earnest and faithful as a preacher and humanitarian. In the disinterested goodness of their lives, father and son were allied with the old-time circuit preachers, who, in all man- ner of weather, and over roads at times almost impassable, rode many miles to distant charges, and in return for their ministrations received no more substantial remuneration than the con- sciousness of well-doing. The third John in the family, the father of Dr. Hammond, was a pio- neer of the vicinity of Muncie, Ind., where he had a good farm, upon which gas was unex- pectedly developed. Although not an ordained minister, he also diligently worked for the im- provement and comfort of mankind, and as a missionary in the Methodist Church accom- plished his desire to spread the gospel of kindli- ness and good-will. For twenty-five years he was a class leader in the church. He was a stanch Republican, but never entered the arena of political preferment. Through his marriage

948

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

he became allied with the Koch family of Pennsylvania, well known in the state because of the successful career of the paternal grand- father, who was born in Germany, and turned his national characteristics of thrift and enter- prise to good account after immigrating to Pennsylvania. He became a man of large means by reason of his industry and well applied abilities, and was a large landowner and influen- tial citizen. Mrs. Minton, who died in Indiana at an early day, was survived by her husband until 1900. She was the mother of eight chil- dren, seven of whom are living, Mrs. Hammond being the fifth.

Dr. Hammond was partially reared in Indiana, and graduated from the high school of Yellow Springs, Ohio, when sixteen years of age. In 1881 she removed to Lindsborg, McPherson county, Kans., and taught school for a year, later being elected principal of schools of the town, a position maintained with credit for four years. While living in the Kansas town she married Dr. Curtis, with whom she removed to New York, and there took a course of two years at the Woman's Medical College. The doctor there- after located in Colorado, where, in the short space of a year, he died in his new surroundings. Mrs. Curtis then renewed her association with Kansas, and upon settling in Pratt Center was elected clerk of Pratt county, and served in this official capacity for two years. After removing from Kansas to Denver, Colo., she married A. J. Hammond, a native of Lapeer county, Mich., and who has spent his active life in the busy walks of commerce.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 140

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