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 147

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 147

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A résumé of the career of Mr. Platt strength- ens the impression conveyed by his success, that he is a man whom early good fortune passed by and left to work out his own unaided destiny. He was born in Waterbury, Conn., December 17, 1861, and comes of English ancestry, the emigrating members of which settled in Rhode Island. The paternal grandfather, Enoch, who was born in Rhode Island, was a brass moulder for the Ansonia Copper Company, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. Sylvester H. Platt, the father of George E., was born in Cheshire, Conn., and like his father was a brass moulder, plying his occupation first in Waterbury, and spending many years in the employ of the An- sonia Copper Company. A soldier also like his father, he fought for the cause of the Union during the Civil war, and is now living in An- sonia. He married Julia L. Hazzard, a native of Rhode Island, and a daughter of William H. Hazzard, the latter of whom was born in Rhode Island and was of English descent. Mrs. Platt, who died in Connecticut, was the mother of two sons and two daughters, three of whom are living, George E. being the youngest. A (laughter, Mrs. Webber, is a resident of Los Angeles, and a son, Dr. B. C. Platt, lives in Philadelphia.

In the quaint old town of Suffield, on the Connecticut and Massachusetts line, Mr. Platt received his education in the public schools, and his first insight into the dairy business was acquired at Aguam, on an old New England farm. In 1881 he came to California and lo- cated on a farm in Sonoma county, where he engaged as butter maker, and, beginning in August of 1882, engaged for a year in horti- culture at Sierra Madre. A later occupation was as an employe of the commission house of I. C. Goff & Co., whose stock business he man- aged, but which he relinquished in 1884 to start in an independent stock business. At the same time he formulated embryonic plans for future extensive dairy operations, and during the next three years bought and sold over one thousand cows in partnership with Platt & Co. After the dissolution of this arrangement he located on East First street and inaugurated a whole- sale dairy, and began building on a large scale, his business being conducted under the name of

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the Enterprise dairy. In 1897 he purchased his present property on Stephenson avenue, and almost immediately expended over $16,000 in buildings alone. To supply his very large trade four teams and wagons are required, over thirty horses are in constant demand, and twelve hun- dred families receive the best milk obtainable.

To facilitate his enterprise Mr. Platt utilizes a farm of eight hundred and ninety acres of land, a portion of which is leased, and the re- mainder is devoted to pasture, alfalfa and corn. Five hundred acres are under the irrigating ditch, and for irrigating and stock there are two steam boilers and engines, one with a capacity of sixty gallons a minute, and the other with a capacity of two hundred and twenty-five gallons per minute. In the near future wells will be put down and more water developed. The main barn on the farm is 392x64 feet ground surface, with a wing attachment 40x104 feet. Two hun- dred cows may here be conveniently housed and fed, although the owner has about three hun- dred cattle, two-thirds of which are milkers. In the three silos six hundred tons of food may be stored and two hundred tons of grain, and in feeding Mr. Platt uses balanced rations sup- posed to give the most satisfactory results. There are special buildings to cool the milk, in which is a two-ton refrigerating machine. Among his cattle Mr. Platt has many fine Jer- seys brought from the east, one hundred and twenty-five of which are registered, and he has five registered Jersey bulls, three of which are imported, King Marigold being at the head. In this ideal dairy retreat the utmost cleanliness prevails, and a fine system lightens labor and produces even and therefore expected results.

The substantial residence erected in Los Angeles by Mr. Platt is under the capable and hospitable management of Mrs. Platt, who was formerly Miss Emma Belle Sturdy, a native of McLean county, Ill. Of this union there are two children, Nellie Belle and Ethel Marion. Mr. Platt is a Republican in national affiliation, but his time has been devoted rather to promot-

ing of dairy interests than to the seeking of official recognition from a political standpoint. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and is the treasurer and one of the organizers of the Southern California Jersey Breeders' As- sociation. He is also the treasurer of the South- ern California Dairyman's Association, of which he was one of the organizers, and the first vice- president. He is fraternally associated with the Maccabees, and is interested in several of the social and other organizations in which Los Angeles and vicinity abound. Mr. Platt is a man who maintains his inherited and cultivated sterling New England worth, and in thus up- holding in its best form one of the imperative and cleanly enterprises of a great common- wealth, he has won the appreciation of all who

feel a just pride in their honorable and cont- mercially strong citizens.

ABRAHAM H. VEJAR. The founder of the Spanish family of Vejar in California was Salvador Vejar, who was born in Mexico and came across the border to assist in the construc- tion of some of the pioneer missions and public buildings. Being a plasterer and builder he was able to secure steady employment in the erection of the primitive adobe structures then in vogue. He was employed in the building of San Gabriel Church, founded by the Mission Fathers September 8, 1771, and he also worked on the church in the plaza of Los Angeles. At the time of his death he was quite aged, while his wife, Josefo Lopez, died of smallpox when one hundred and three years old. Both were strong and active up to the last. Their chil- dren were Magdalena, Pablo, Ricardo, Emilio, Crisostomo, Lazaro, Francisco, Nazaria, Ra- mona and Jose Manuel. Of these Ricardo was born in San Diego, Cal., and at an early age entered upon ranching pursuits, beginning with only a few cattle and a small tract of land. By wise judgment and great energy he gradually accumulated thirteen thousand acres and hun- dreds of cattle and horses. His residence stood near the present site of the Phillips homestead, and there, in addition to the adobe house, he had two stores. The house stood for many years and was a reminder of pioneer day's and a mode of construction peculiar to those times. Verandas were built around the house, both on the first and second stories, and the stairs to the second story were on the outside of the building. One advantage the pioneers had over the people of the twentieth century was the abundance of water secured from the springs at the foot of the hills. For this reason stock- raising could be conducted easily and profitably. The Indians in the neighborhood were friendly, but they had trouble with the Indians that came from over the mountains, and they often came and stole their cattle. Wild animals abounded but seldom troubled the settlers; on the con- trary, they furnished provision for the larder in days when other supplies were scarce.

The children of Ricardo and Maria (Soto) Vejar were Maria, Pilar Francisco, Ramon, Josefa, Antonio, Concepcion, Magdalena and Ignacio. The second of the sons, Ramon, was born in San Gabriel December 24, 1830. As his share of the estate he received two hundred and seventy acres, which he still owns. Ten acres of the property are in vineyard, while a small tract is in prunes, another in olives and oranges, the balance being in barley. He is among the largest land owners in Pomona valley. It has been his aim to improve his property and make of it a remunerative and substantial homestead. That he has tastes for the beautiful is shown in

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his care in laying out drives, walks and lawns, and in planting fruits and flowers so as to secure the most harmonious results. In this work of developing an attractive homestead he has been assisted by his wife, Teresa Palomares, member of one of the pioneer Spanish families of this region. They are the parents of the following children: Jose, who married Vicenta Yorba; Zoilo, deceased; Ricardo; Maximiliano; Fran- cisco, husband of Francisca Yorba; Constancia, who was married in 1889 to Prudencio S. Yorba, of Yorba, Orange county, member of one of California's pioneer Spanish families; Ignacio; Estella; Ramon; Abraham, who was born in Pomona and has always made his home here, being recognized as one of the enterpris- ing and capable young men of the valley; Caro- lina, wife of Manuel S. Carrizosa; and Rigin- aldo. The family are stanch adherents of the Roman Catholic Church and generous contribu- tors to its maintenance.

WILLIAM A. PENNEY. Where Nova Scotia meets the Atlantic ocean lies the county of Guysboro, with a rough and rugged coast whose shores are washed by the ever-restless waves. The port of Guysboro possesses a fine harbor and is made the headquarters of fisher- men and captains, fishing being the principal industry of the region. Among the men en- gaged in the coasting trade was Capt. Thomas Penney, whose active life was devoted to this work, but who now, at the age of seventy-four years, enjoys the leisure merited by industry and perseverance. His father was a sea cap- tain, while his wife, Frances (McKough) Pen- ney, was the daughter of a captain of Scotch descent. Among their six children there are two sons who lead seafaring lives. The youngest of their children is W. A. Penney, of Ocean Park, Cal. In the Nova Scotia town of Guys- boro he was born March 17, 1865. From child- hood he was accustomed to go to sea with his father and at the age of fifteen began to make fishing expeditions for himself. The life was one of great peril, for storms are of frequent occurrence on that bleak coast. Several times he was cast away and once his boat was burned to the water's edge, the life boats just reaching him in time to prevent an untimely fate.

Abandoning the sea at twenty-one years of age, in 1887 Mr. Penney came to California, where for three years he farmed in Colusa county. Next he served an apprenticeship to the plumbing business under a brother. In 1895 he began to work at his trade for the Los Angeles & Pacific Railroad Company between Los Angeles and Santa Monica, and still later served as inspector of the lateral sewers be- tween Sixth and Seventh streets. On the com- pletion of that work he turned his attention to general plumbing. At the time of the opening

of Ocean Park he began contract plumbing here, and since 1900 has been a member of the firm of Penney & Rogers, who have practically all the plumbing in Ocean Park, besides doing an important business in Santa Monica. They have their headquarters at the corner of Lake and Hill street and are doing a successful busi- ness. Among other important contracts they had charge of the plumbing for the Kinney and Dudley water system. Mr. Penney and his wife, formerly Ora Jeanes, who was born in Alabama, have an attractive home at No. 1228 Third street, Ocean Park.

L. S. ROBERTS, proprietor of La Casa Grande at Pasadena, one of the finest places of the kind in Southern California, was born in New York City in April, 1846. The remote ancestry of the family was centered among thie sheltering hills of Wales, from whence emi- grated the first American representative, who presumably settled in Vermont. The family was enrolled among the martial hosts of Wash- ington, and the paternal great-grandfather, Christopher Roberts, was the third man to enter Fort Ticonderoga after the surrender. The paternal grandfather, Martin, was born in Ver- mont; was a farmer on a large scale and a inan of affairs, and was major-general ot the Ver- mont state militia.

Charles Roberts, the father of L. S., was born in Vermont in 1809, and as a young man removed to New York City, where, for over forty years, he was engaged in the building material business in the old seventh ward on the east side of the city. His last years were spent in retirement in Brooklyn, N. Y., and his death occurred while on a visit at Bellefonte. Pa. He married Emma Sinclair, member of a Quaker family of Ellicott City, Md., whose father, John Sinclair, was an architect in Balti- more. Mrs. Roberts, who died in Bellefonte, Pa., was the mother of five children, three of whom are living, L. S. being the youngest. One of the sons, Charles, served during the Civil war as a member of the signal corps, with the rank of first lieutenant.

The education of L. S. Roberts was acquired in the public schools of New York City, his graduation at the grammar school being fol- lowed by a three years' course at the Princeton Preparatory School and a partial course at the University of New York. Owing to ill health he then engaged in educational work, first at Logansport, Ind., where he taught at the Acad- emy for a year, and then at the Academy at Bellefonte, Pa., where he taught until 1869. He then started a private school at Glencove, L. I., and maintained the same for a period of four years, thereafter spending several years in teaching and recreation. In 1882 Mr. Roberts started his East Orange private school at

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Orange, N. J., and at the end of nine years dis- posed of the same, locating in Pasadena in 1891. Since then he has been identified with the Casa Grande, of which he made a distinct success.

In Bellefonte, Pa., Mr. Roberts was united with Maria J. Humes, a native of Bellefonte, and of this union there have been born three children: William Humes, prominent Mason of Pasadena, a graduate of the Cooper Medical College, of San Francisco, and one of the most prominent and successful eye, ear, nose and throat specialists in Southern California; Rich- ard S., vice president and director of the Pasa- dena Hardware Company; and Elizabeth V. Mr. Roberts is a member of the Pasadena Board of Trade, and is in politics a Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

CAPT. WILLIAM C. ROBERTS. The long service of William Chalmers Roberts as captain of the police force of Los Angeles was received with approval by the community, and his retirement, August 1, 1900, was accom- panied by the sincere regret of all who had for so many years rested in the security of his ability to cope with the contending elements of a large and cosmopolitan city. Upon the foun- dation of a position requiring the greatest tact, knowledge of human nature and common sense he increasingly maintained a judgment in ac- cord with his responsibility, and gained not only the confidence but good will of all who were associated with him in his effort to bring about law and order. At times, as in the past, he is still to be seen in the front ranks of the city's disciplinarians, and he may be relied upon in times of special stress, when the crowds tax the control of the regular working force.

The oldest in a family of seven children, Cap- tain Roberts was born near Dayton, Ohio, Sep- tember 23, 1839. His father, James, was born in Delaware. The paternal grandfather, also named James, settled at an early day in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and died at the age of eighty- seven years. James Roberts, Jr., was for many years a school teacher in Ohio, and died in Miamisburg, Montgomery county, in 1854, while principal of the schools of that place. He was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church. His wife, formerly Mary J. McClain, was born near Carrollton, Ohio, a daughter of James McClain, a native of Kentucky, and a farmer and early settler in Ohio. James Mc- Clain served his country in the war of 1812, and in later life removed to Schuyler county, Ill., about 1852, where his death occurred at the age of seventy-seven years. He married a Miss Dodds daughter of Gen. William Dodds, of Revolutionary fame, and whose son, Joseph Dodds, was killed by the Indians. Mrs. Roberts died in Illinois when about eighty years of age.

Her father was known as "Honest Old" Jimmy McClain, and her grandfather, McClain, was killed by the Indians when James McClain was a babe in the early days of Kentucky. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts three of the sons were old enough for army ser- vice during the Civil war. Charles served in the One Hundred and Fifty-first Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and died in 1899 in Macomb, Il1. He was a farmer in Schuyler county, Ill. Thomas enlisted in the Sixty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was raised to the rank of lieutenant, and is now a Presbyterian min- ister in Oregon, Mo .; Edward resides in Ma- comb, Ill., where he is engaged in building and contracting.

In 1856 Captain Roberts left his home in Ohio, where he had been educated by his father, and removed to Schuyler county, Illinois, where he found plenty of work to do on his Grand- father McClain's farm. At the time of his en- listment in the Civil war, in August of 1861, he had seventy-five cents to his name, yet this fact did not dampen his enthusiasm for the cause or interfere with his service in Company H, Sec- ond Illinois Cavalry. He was mustered in at Camp Butler and was sent to Paducah Garrison, Ky., later going to West Tennessee, where he engaged in cavalry dashes and skirmishes. At the battle of Holly Springs, December 20, 1862, he was shot through the body from side to side. and was laid up in hospitals until well enough to return to his home. After a three-months furlough he rejoined his regiment and partici- pated in the campaign of Vicksburg until June of 1863, and was then discharged on account of disability resulting from a gunshot wound, which prevented his riding a horse. After re- turning home and recuperating he engaged in farming for a time, later turning his attention to painting, and still later to the music busi- ness. This latter occupation he followed in Illi- nois until 1880, when he located in Los Angeles in the employ of the Day Music House, a posi- tion which lie maintained until 1885. He was then appointed policeman, and was continu- ously a member of the force until the time of his retirement. For four years he was a patrol- man, and in 1889 was appointed captain of police, his service since having been marked by attention to duty, strict integrity, and unself- ish devotion to the public welfare.

In Los Angeles Captain Roberts has a com- fortable residence at No. 1614 Essex street, and his home is presided over by Mrs. Roberts, who was, before her marriage, Alice Brunner, who was born in England. Of this union there is one child, Charles. By a previous marriage with Elizabeth Ballou, who was born in Ten- nessee, and died in Pasadena, there were two children born to Captain and Mrs. Roberts, Frank, who died at the age of eighteen years,

James A6, Storey

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and Mamie, who is living in Los Angeles. Cap- tain Roberts is a stanch Republican, and is fraternally a Mason being a member of the Southern California Lodge of Los Angeles. He is associated with the Stanton Post 55, G. A. R. Mrs. Roberts is a Presbyterian.

JAMES H. DOVEY. A comparatively re- cent addition to the ranks of contractors in Long Beach, Mr. Dovey arrived here January 28, 1901, accompanied by such a firmly estab- lished reputation as a master workman that he has since spent no time whatever in looking for work. He makes a specialty of cement con- tracting, and coming to California in 1890 has accomplished much since in grading streets and putting in curbs and sidewalks, as well as the mason work and stone work of the foundations of large buildings.

In his youth Mr. Dovey had the example of an industrious and capable father, and of an exemplary home life. He was born in Syracuse, N. Y., June 5, 1861, and is the oldest in a family of fourteen children, all of whom are living. His father, William Dovey, was born in Ax- bridge, Somersetshire, England, as was also his grandfather, James, who was an hotel man dur- ing his years of activity. As a boy the father came to America in search of larger oppor- tunity, and gradually became interested in the manufacturing business in Syracuse, N. Y., working his way up from the bottom round of the ladder. He finally removed with his family to a farm near Coldwater, Mich., where he died January 3, 1902, at the age of sixty-seven years. The mother, formerly Elizabeth Telford, was born in Ireland, and in spite of the care and responsibility of rearing her large family is still living and in good health.

After the family removal to Coldwater, Mich., in 1869, James H. Dovey lived on the home farm and attended the public schools, and in time learned the miller's trade at the Blackhawk Mill in Coldwater. After serving an apprentice- ship for five years he removed in 1886 to Den- ver, Colo., and engaged in the creamery busi- ness, and in 1888 associated himself with rail- road affairs as a fireman on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad between Denver and Salida. After two years he located in Pasadena in the employ of the Pasadena Water Company, and helped to build their two large reservoirs, being principally engaged upon the cement work. This task finished he branched out into a gen- eral contract cement business, and many of the streets, curbs and sidewalks in Pasadena are the work of this master in his line. Among the foundations of buildings for which he received the contract may be mentioned the Dodsworth block, the Throop annex, and the Catholic Church, all of which were executed in a most substantial and skillful manner. In fact so

extended were the undertakings of Mr. Dovey in Pasadena that it may truthfully be said that he accomplished more than any one other man in the same line of business. As heretofore stated he came to Long Beach in January of 1901, and has since had no cause to regret the change in his field of activity.

The marriage of Mr. Dovey and Helen Horan was solemnized in Denver, Colo., Mrs. Dovey being a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Of this union there are four children, James Albert, William Henry, Florence, and Agnes. Mr. Dovey is a Democrat in politics, and while liv- ing in Pasadena was prominent in political affairs, serving on the Democratic City Com- mittee. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Foresters.

CONRAD SCHEERER. One of the popu- lar and successful German-American contractors of Los Angeles is Conrad Scheerer, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, November 25. 1861, his father, Bruno, being also a native of the same locality, near Ballingen. Bruno Scheerer was a carpenter in his youth and later became a builder and contractor, his entire life being spent in his native land, where he died when his son, Conrad, was fifteen years of age. The same year witnessed the death of his wife, Genevieve (Schmidt) Scheerer, who also was born in Germany, and was the mother of five sons and five daughters, of whom three sons and three daughters are in America. One of the sons, Joseph, is a contractor in San Fran- cisco, while Clement is the manager of his brother Conrad's quarries in Oro Grande.

Mr. Scheerer was reared in Wurtemberg until his fourteenth year, when he immigrated to America by way of Hamburg, visiting the Cen- tennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and later going to San Francisco, where his brother, Joseph, was a contractor. Under his instruc- tion he learned the trade of carpentering, and was afterwards apprenticed to the trade of plumbing, in time becoming a master plumber. He then acted as foreman of the California Pav- ing Company until the spring of 1887, when he resigned to locate in Santa Barbara. He or- ganized the Santa Barbara Paving Company, and opened the asphalt mines at Carpinteria, and successfully continued in the business until his removal to Los Angeles in November of 1887. Since then he has been uninterruptedly successful as a contractor of paving cement, concrete and general stone work, and also for grading, sewer work and general city improve- ments. In December of 1899 he incorporated the firm of C. Scheerer & Co., general contrac- tors, of which he is the proprietor, the office of the concern being at No. 237 West First street. The firm do a large business all over California. and are among the substantial and reliable busi-

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ness houses of the state. Mr. Scheerer has done much for his fellow workers, has antici- pated their needs and formulated methods in accordance with their best interests. He is one of the organizers and the treasurer of the Cement and Concrete Contractors' Association. A particularly shrewd and far-sighted. busi- ness man Mr. Scheerer adapts himself readily to the opportunities by which he is surrounded, and turns them to the most advantageous ac- count. His enterprise and strict commercial integrity have yielded him large returns for money and labor invested, and he is one of the large landed proprietors of Los Angeles. In the city proper he owns besides his residence at No. 832 West Seventeenth street, and his plant and yards at No. 718 East Third street, other business and residence property. In the country he owns a lemon and orange ranch at Vineland, a ranch at Riverside, as well as nine hundred and sixty acres near Piru, Ventura county, His ambition has extended also to the oil business, in which he holds large interests, and to extensive mine holdings in Southern California and Arizona. A Mason of the thirty- second degree, he is affiliated with Los Angeles Lodge No. 42, Los Angeles Chapter, Com- mandery No. 9, the Consistory and Al Malakiah Temple, N. M. S. He is also connected with the Benevolent Order of Elks No. 99, the Red Men, Foresters of America, Maccabees, Turn Verein, the Sons of Herman, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Builders' Exchange. In politics he is an uncompromising Republican.

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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 147

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