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 160

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 160

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The second in his father's family of three sons and one daughter, Robert C. Sudden received his education in the public schools of San Fran- cisco and Heald's Business College. After grad- uation he entered the ship builders' store at San Francisco, and in 1878 came to Ventura for the first time, thereafter coming and going be- tween his birthplace and the Southern California town until 1881, when he permanently settled in Ventura with the San Buenaventura Wharf Company. In 1892 he became manager of the

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wharf, which is fourteen hundred feet long, and where boats halt from all stations along the coast. His directorship in the company by no means represents the extent of his activities, as he is an enterprising citizen, whose ability has called him into many channels of usefulness. He is among other things a stockholder in the Ventura County Bank, owns and operates a small farm, and is one of the organizers, and the vice-president, of the Saticoy Water Com- pany. He is a member of the Board of Trade, and socially stands high in the community, and is vice-president of the Caledonia Club. His ambition to aid in the improvement of the city was strongly evinced while serving for eight years on the city council, a position which in 1899 he refused longer to accept.

In San Francisco Mr. Sudden married Eleanor Drucker, a native of the Pacific coast city. They are the parents of five children: Robert E., Ruth, Anita, Donald and Dorothea. The family occupy one of the pleasant homes of Ventura, built by Mr. Sudden, on the corner of Meta and Fir streets.

CALVIN HARTWELL. No more public spirited Ohioan has transferred his allegiance to the Pacific coast, or more enthusiastically en- tered into the diversified interests here repre- sented than Calvin Hartwell, a carpenter by trade when he came to California in 1874, and since identified with Pasadena. A native of San- dusky, Ohio, Mr. Hartwell was born December 17, 1848, and was educated in the public schools in the vicinity of Marshalltown, and at Grinnell College, under the presidency of Dr. Magoun. His father, Henry D. Hartwell, was born in On- tario, Canada, whither had removed the pater- nal grandfather, Ebenezer, from England, al- though he later settled in Ohio. Henry D. Hartwell became a pioneer farmer near Mar- shalltown in 1855. His first wife was Miss Rogers, of York state, where they were mar- ried. After their removal to Ohio she died, and later he was united with Elizabeth Rogers, a native of New York state, and daughter of Reuben Rogers, who removed from Saratoga county, N. Y., to Ohio, and died in Iowa. Of the seven children born to Henry D. Hartwell and his wife, but four are living, Calvin being next to the youngest. One of the sons, Henry, died during the Civil war as a soldier in the Twenty-third Iowa Regiment.

Having learned the carpenter's trade Calvin Hartwell set out for the west in 1874, and upon arriving in Pasadena plied his trade. He bought a small piece of land and engaged in horticul- ture, and during the boom branched out into extensive real estate dealings. He was one of the organizers of the Pasadena Cemetery As- sociation, of which he was secretary and treas- urer from the beginning until disposing of his

interest therein in 1900; and lie laid out Mount View Cemetery, covering twenty-two acres. He also laid out the Hartwell subdivision in East Los Angeles, and from time to time some of the most desirable property in Pasadena passed through his hands. He organized and is presi- dent of the Galena Gold Mining Company, who have a ten-stamp mill in Chaparal, Yavapai county, Ariz., and are capitalized for $125,000. He also has other mining interests in the same district, including the Dividend Gold Mining Company.

In Marshalltown, Iowa, Mr. Hartwell married Mary L. Giddings, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio. Mr. Hartwell is a stanch Repub- lican, and has held many offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen, including that of mayor of the town. While presiding as chief execu- tive of the city he instituted many important changes and accomplished valuable improve- ments. He has been county commissioner, and is now a candidate for county recorder. Dur- ing his two years' service in the council he was president the entire time, and while on the school board for three years he was largely in- strumental in securing the erection of the Lin- coln avenue and Columbia school buildings. As a Mason Mr. Hartwell has taken the thirty-sec- ond degree. He is a member of the Pasadena Lodge No. 272, of which he has been past mas- ter for one term, and in the chapter he has been high priest for one term. He is also connected with the Pasadena Commandery No. 31, and with Al Malakiah Temple, N. M. S. He is a member of the Board of Trade. It is doubtful if any enjoy to a greater degree than he the confidence and good will of the entire commu- nity, or have more forcibly impressed their own stability upon the development of Pasadena.

J. W. KLASGYE. The present site of Gar- dena was a field of waving barley when J. W. Klasgye came here in 1890, and established his present blacksmithing and implement business. Few residents had as yet settled in the neigh- borhood, and there was not even a general mer- chandise store to accommodate the scattered farmers. Mr. Klasgye was born in Normandy, Bedford county, Tenn., August 9, 1871, and is a son of John William Klasgye, who was born in Ohio, lived for some years in Bedford county, Tenn., and eventually died in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a machinist and railroad engineer. He married Julia Montgomery, a native of Tennes- see, with whose mother, Elzira Montgomery, J. W. Klasgye lived until the time of her death.

After finishing his education in the public schools J. W. Klasgye learned the trade of blacksmithing under his uncle, Jesse Powell, and in 1889 turned his attention to clerking in the grocery of another uncle, T. J. Montgomery, in Tennessee. He removed to Gardena in 1890,

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and has built up a fine business, having greatly enlarged the original capacity of his store and shop. He carries a line of buggies and wagons, and is recognized as an upright and enterprising business man and skilled workman. He lias considerable property in the town besides the two lots upon which he lives and conducts his business.

After coming to Gardena Mr. Klasgye mar- ried Lexie A. Nichols, who was born in Los Angeles. Of this union there is one daughter, Maud, who is five years old. Mr. Klasgye is fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Foresters and the Fraternal Brother- hood. In politics he is a Democrat, but has never taken an active interest in political un- dertakings. He is public spirited and broad minded, and readily comes to the front in all matters pertaining to the upbuilding of the town.

W. H. SUDDEN. The soundest and most ad- vanced commercial interests of Lompoc are rep- resented by W. H. Sudden, president of the bank of this place, and a resident of Santa Bar- bara county since 1886. The career of Mr. Sud- den has been largely interwoven with that of his father, Capt. Robert Sudden, a skipper upon the seas for many years, a man of brawn and strength inherited from his Scottish ancestry and developed in his youth in his native land. He shared the gold fever which swept over the land in 1849, and during that year sailed from New York, to which he had in the mean time immigrated, and arrived at the end of his jour- ney around the Horn to San Francisco in 1850. He subsequently proved his right to inherit the land as well as to sail the seas, for he has be- come a power in the business world of Califor- nia, and has acquired large holdings in Ventura and Santa Barbara, and is owner of the wharf of Ventura. His home is in San Francisco. His life is a meritorious and enviable one and is worthy of emulation by those who believe in success earned by the exercise of natural abil- ity and determination to succeed.

W. H. Sudden was born in San Francisco January 2, 1864, and received a college edu- cation in his native city. He came to Santa Barbara county in 1886, and for ten years en- gaged in ranching and a general merchandise business. He then became the second president of the bank which was organized in 1890, with a capital stock of $100,000, and with a paid-up capital of $25,000. The bank building is 50x100 feet in dimensions, built of brick, and with offices upstairs. In connection with his impor- tant banking responsibility Mr. Sudden contin- ties to be interested in ranching and stock-rais- ing, and is heavily interested with his father and other parties in the shipping business, their vessels plying principally between San Fran-

cisco and Australia. In politics he is a Repub- lican, and has been on the town board for one term and on the board of school trustees for three terms. Fraternally he is a Mason and senior warden of the lodge, and is also asso- ciated with the Workmen and the Woodmen.

In Santa Barbara in 1886 occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Sudden and Antoinette Hernster, a native of San Francisco and a daughter of George Hernster, a very early settler in Santa Barbara, where he died. Of this union there is one child, Leta H., who is fourteen years old. Mr. Sudden is one of the successful, affable and popular citizens of Lompoc, and his untarnished integrity and devotion to the public welfare is a matter of pride with his friends and associates, and of enormous benefit to the town.

ORREN HENRY HAYES. While the early association of Mr. Hayes with Pasadena was due to his father's selection of the city as a home, and not to his own decision, the home of his boyhood continues to be his place of resi- dence, and he believes it to be one of Califor- nia's ideal spots. His father, William F., who was born near Hopkinsville, Ky., and followed the cabinet-maker's trade in Taylorville, Ill., brought the family to California in 1875, set- tling in Santa Barbara, where he took up the business of a brick manufacturer. From there in 1881 he came to Pasadena and opened the first exclusively grocery establishment in the city, his store being on Fair Oaks avenue, south of Colorado street. After a few years he re- linquished his business interests, but he has since continued to make Pasadena his home. While living in Taylorville he married Elizabeth Richardson, who was born in Illinois and died in Pasadena. Three sons and one daughter were born of their union, all still living. The eldest of these, Orren Henry, was born in Tay- lorville, Ill., November 15, 1863, and was about twelve years of age when the family came to the Pacific coast. Hence his life has been princi- pally associated with the growth and progress of the west, his education was mainly acquired in California schools, and the associations of youth and manhood are with this state.

For a few years after coming to Pasadena Mr. Hayes assisted his father in the grocery. Later he engaged in teaming and freighting be- tween Los Angeles and Pasadena, and at the same time gradually drifted into the hay and feed business. In 1893 he abandoned freight- ing, in order to devote his time entirely to the feed business. For a time his headquarters were on Union and Raymond, later on Union near Raymond, but in October, 1900, he bought a lot on the corner of Union and Broadway, erected a suitable building, and removed liis business to this point. His store is of brick, 32×76 feet in dimensions, and is utilized for the

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retail trade. On Fair Oaks avenue he has a warehouse for storage purposes, 75×75, with a capacity of one thousand tons of hay. In addi- tion he owns a lot, 76x214 feet, on Union and Broadway, where he has his coal and wood sheds. The Hayes Feed and Fuel store is well known throughout Pasadena, where a trade has been built up that is permanent, important and increasing.

The marriage of Mr. Hayes was solemnized in Pasadena and united him with Miss Linda Wallis, who was born in Wisconsin and in 1875 came to California with her father, Henry A. Wallis, a pioneer of Pasadena. The three chil- dren born of this union are Benjamin, Nina and Frank. Ever since attaining his majority Mr. Hayes has voted the Republican ticket and given his influence towards the men and meas- ures of that party. At the time of the organ- ization of the Merchants' Protective Associa- tion he became a charter member and later served as a director. He is also connected with the Pasadena Board of Trade. Conspicuous among his fraternal connections is his men- bership in the order of Masonry. He was made a Mason in Pasadena Lodge No. 272, F. & A. M., in which he is senior deacon; became a member of the chapter and commandery in this city, and is furthermore connected with Al Malakiah Temple, N. M. S., of Los Angeles. In Lodge No. 324, of Pasadena, I. O. O. F., he is a past officer, and at this writing is district deputy of the encampment. The Maccabees, Independent Order of Foresters and Woodmen of the World have enrolled his name among their members, while, along lines more strictly social, he is identified with the Americus Club.

MRS. A. W. JONES. A resident of Califor- nia since 1887 and of Gardena since 1893, Mrs. Jones was born in LaGrange, Lewis county, Mo., and is a daughter of Thomas and Louise (Clack) Merrill, natives respectively of Boston, Mass., and Nelson county, Ky. Her grand- father, Thomas Merrill, Sr., was a native of Connecticut and in early life a sea captain, but on retiring from that occupation engaged in farming in Ohio, where he died. The maternal grandfather, Spencer Clack, was born in Knox- ville, Tenn., and educated for the law in Phila- delphia, Pa. However, while still in school he was converted and decided to enter the min- istry, a decision that so displeased his father that further financial assistance was denied him. In order to gain needed funds he began to teachı school, in which manner he acquired the money with which to complete his education and start in life. He became president of Oxford Col- lege, as well as professor of Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Removing to Louisville, Ky., he be- came pastor of a Baptist church in that city and also edited the first Baptist periodical ever

published in Kentucky. Among his intimate friends was Alexander Campbell, founder of the Christian Church. His utmost endeavors were used in attempting to dissuade this reformer from leaving the Baptist denomination and in his last hours he dictated a letter to Campbell. the last words of which were, "Brother, I hold fast to the truth." One of the most fruitful ef- forts of his life was the establishment of a school in Louisville where young men were educated for the ministry. On leaving Louisville about 1831 he went to Missouri as a missionary and organizer of churches, and some of his most effective work was in that then frontier state, where he lived the self-sacrificing, devoted and earnest life of a home missionary. At the same time he bought a large tract of land near Little Union, Mo., where he gave considerable atten- tion to the improvement of the land and the building up of a comfortable homestead. In- dicative of his fine mind is the fact that he had mastered eight languages at the time of his death. Indeed, he may be classed among the most scholarly men of his day and denomina- tion. To a large extent his talent has descended to his descendants. His granddaughter, Ida M. Merrill, became a writer of local note, and mar- ried Jesse H. Butler, of Los Angeles, who was also a talented writer and the author of several books. As a girl she made constant and ear- nest efforts to save the Talbot boys, of Marys- ville, Mo., from being hung; however, her ef- forts were futile, but after their death it was discovered that they were not guilty.

Thomas Merrill, Jr., was educated for a law- yer, but to please an uncle, who was a jeweler, he took up that trade in Columbus, Ohio, later succeeding to his uncle's business. From there he moved to Columbus, Ill .. and thence to Quincy, same state, where he was a pioneer. His next location was LaGrange, Mo., where he started two retail jewelry stores, one of which was conducted by his son. He died in La- Grange and was buried in Woodland cemetery at Quincy, Ill., one and one-half miles from LaGrange. His wife, who was a great-niece of Sterling Price, of war fame, was at one time matron of Mount Carroll Seminary in Mount Carroll, Ill., and during that time her daughter, the subject of this article, was a student in the school, entering at nine years and leaving when sixteen. Next she took a course in the Gem City Business College at Quincy. After living for a time in Knox county, Mo., she came to California, arriving in Los Angeles with only $6. Though friendless and well-nigh penniless, besides being far from strong, she was not eas- ily daunted. Without trouble she secured work as a seamstress, thus making a living for herself and her mother. Soon she had saved a little money, and with this she bought a cow and began selling milk. Later another cow was

HON C. J. WILLETT

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bought and finally she started a dairy business in Los Angeles. This she sold to Victor Hall for a neat sum. In 1890 she removed to Buena Park, Orange county, taking there her herd of sixty-five cows and selling milk to the con- densers at that place. In 1893 she came to Gardena, where at first she rented pasture, later buying a home and afterward purchasing an eight-acre tract, part of which was in straw- berries. In addition, she owns property 011 Thirty-ninth street, Los Angeles, and two lots on Forty-third street and Central avenue. As a proof of her success, it may be stated that she now has a herd of one hundred and six head of cattle, and, besides, takes charge of fifty head belonging to other parties. In her herd she still has the first cow that she bought, and now seventeen years old. In raising horses she has also been successful, though making less a specialty of this than of the cattle. In her home, as the special object of her love and care, is her mother, now seventy-five years of age; the two have never been parted, and their devotion to cach other is particularly deep and strong. In all work planned by the daughter the mother has been a constant helper, and her sympathy co-operation and wise counsel have been of the nitmost aid.

HON. C. J. WILLETT. While New York was still a straggling village on the banks of the East and Hudson rivers the Willett family came from England and established itself in the new town. On the incorporation of the city one of the name was elected the first mayor. On Long Island, too, they were pioneers, and Wil- lett's Point was named in their honor. One of their most noted representatives was Col Marinus Willett, who won fame in the French and Indian wars and as a Revolutionary sol- dier, and afterward received from the votes of his admiring fellow-citizens the office of mayor of New York.

During the war of 1812 Col. James Willett, who was the son of a lieutenant in the Revolu- tionary struggle, held the rank of colonel and commanded his regiment on more than one fiercely-contested battlefield. The latter part of his life was passed upon a farm in Washington county, N. Y. His son, Rev. J. T., was born at Argyle, that county, and graduated from Union College, which conferred upon him the degrees of A. B. and A. M. Entering the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, he labored as a pas- tor in New York state, and then in Michigan. settling in 1865 at St. Louis, Gratiot county. His death occurred near Cincinnati, Ohio, when he was seventy or more years of age. His life was one of self-sacrificing devotion to the cause of Christ and the church, and the memory of his honorable career is a priceless heritage to posterity. His wife, Cornelia A., was born in

Essex county, N. Y., and died near Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, Hon. Reuben Whallon, was born in New Jersey of Irish descent and be- came a prominent citizen of Essex county, N. Y., where for many years he held office as county judge and later was honored by election as member of congress from the district.

In a family of four children, C. J. Willett and Mrs. Nora W. Spooner, both of Pasadena, are the only survivors. The former was born in Essex county, N. Y., June 5, 1849, and spent the first sixteen years of his life in his native locality. After graduating from the Grand Rapids (Mich.) high school in 1867, he en- tered the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1871, with the degree of A. B. Three years later the degree of A. M. was conferred upon him. Upon leaving col- lege he taught for a year at Chelsea, Washtenaw county, after which for three years he was con- nected with a bank in St. Louis, Mich. Mean- time his leisure hours were devoted to the study of law, and in 1877 he was admitted to the bar at Ithaca, Mich., after which he opened an office at his home town of St. Louis. In that city he married Miss Hattie C. Crosman, who was born near Welland, Ontario. For years he was one of the town's leading men. The various offices to which he was elected testify to his activity as a citizen and his popularity as a man. For one term he served as county attorney, and he also acted as city attorney, city treasurer and mayor of St. Louis, filling these various posi- tions with credit. The welfare of the local schools was promoted through his efficient service as a member of the board of education, which position he filled for ten years. In 1883 he was honored by election as regent of the University of Michigan, and this office he held for eight years.

Since coming to Pasadena in 1893 Mr. Wil- lett has been as deeply interested in the city's welfare as in his former home in Michigan. While engaging in the practice of law, he lias not only managed his private professional affairs, but has also held official positions. Un- der the new charter he is the first to occupy the office of city attorney, in which position he is proving himself to be the "right man in the right place." For six years he has been a mem- ber of the board of education and is now its president. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and has been admitted to practice in all of the courts, county, state and United States supreme court. In religion he is an Episcopalian. While in St. Louis he was made a Mason, served as master one term, and was raised to the Royal Arch degree. In Ithaca, Mich., he joined the commandery, K. T., and at Detroit the consistory, A. A. S. R., while he became a Shriner in Moslem Temple, N. M. S., at Detroit. At this writing he is connected

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with Corona Lodge in Pasadena; also the chap- ter here, in which he is past high priest; and the commandery, in which he is past eminent com- mander. On the organization of the Pasadena Consistory he became a charter member and is now a past officer and thirty-third degree Mason, besides which he is a member of Al Malakialı Temple, N. M. S., Los Angeles, and past potentate.

HON. CHARLES B. GREENWELL. The secretary of the Hueneme Wharf Company, and state senator from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, was born in San Francisco, Cal., in 1866. Though comparatively a young man to have attained to the distinction so read- ily accorded him, his success is not surprising when it is known that his life is fashioned some- what after the strong and substantial outlines indicated in the career of his father, Capt. W. E. Greenwell. Captain Greenwell (who is repre- sented at length elsewhere in this work) was a distinguished member of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and was born in St. Mary's county, Md., in 1824. He was a gradu- ate of the Georgetown (District of Columbia) College, and studied law in the office of the dis- tinguished Washington jurist, Brent. He re- ceived his appointment to the coast survey from Dallas Bache, superintendent, and an intimate friend, and served in Mobile bay, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico until 1854. The following year he was transferred to the coast of California to assume charge of the coast survey party un- der General Ord, and was thus employed until 1861. Although a southerner, he espoused the cause of the Union during the Civil war, and was stationed at Washington, D. C., during the secession congress. After the war he returned to California, and continued in the coast survey until a few years before his death at his home in Santa Barbara, August 27, 1886. A dis- tinguished man and capable officer, his strong and forceful personality dominated and invested with truth and wisdom every condition with which he had to deal, and it is said by those who knew him best that the government never ob- tained the services of a more loyal, disinter- ested, or wholly worthy man.

Charles Bennett Greenwell was reared in Santa Barbara, and was graduated from the high school and college of that place. As a prepara- tion for future independence he learned civil en- gineering and practical surveying, and was for a time city engineer of Santa Barbara, and also served as county surveyor. In 1884 he became identified with the Hueneme Wharf Company, which position he has since held, being also a stockholder in the company. From an early period in his life he has been interested in the politics of the Republican party, and his singu- lar fitness for office was rewarded in 1898 by his

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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 160

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