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 167

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

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a master Mason and a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias.

The marriage of Mr. Finley and Margaret A. Mearns occurred in San Francisco in 1888, Mrs. Finley being a daughter of George and Eliza- beth Mearns, the former of whom is well known and a prominent member of Dr. Mckenzie's Church. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Finley, namely: William H., George M. and Theodore R.

WILLIAM EDGAR SHEPHERD. The science of law in Ventura has no more forceful exponent of its unyielding principles than Wil- liam Edgar Shepherd, who was born in Fair- field, Jefferson county, Iowa, June 30, 1842. Of Scotch-Irish ancestry, the emigrating members of the family settled first in Virginia and later removed to Kentucky, where Thomas, the father of William E. Shepherd, was born and reared. When a young man he moved to Fair- field, Iowa, and there followed the tanner's oc- cupation, but died in middle age, when his son was one year old. His wife, Sarah J., was born near Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, of English descent, and was a daughter of James Edgar, a native of Pennsylvania and a farmer in Ohio. Of the three children born to her marriage Wil- liam Edgar alone attained maturity. At the time of her death he was nine years of age. His education was acquired in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and he was graduated from the academy at twenty- two years of age.

During the Civil war Mr. Shepherd was mus- tered into Company H, Third Iowa Volunteer Infantry, at Keokuk, and served for three years in the army of the Tennessee. After participat- ing in the battles of Shiloh, Holly Springs, the sieges of Corinth and Vicksburg, he was de- tailed in the United States postal department at Vicksburg, and was chief clerk in the military postoffice until his discharge from the service June 8, 1864. Returning to Iowa he became local editor of the Oskaloosa Herald. During the administration of President Lincoln he was appointed postmaster of Oskaloosa and held the office for five years, with the exception of six months, when he was removed by President Johnson on account of his refusal to support the presidential policy. His letter, "I am not for sale," in answer to what was called Presi- dent Johnson's "bread and butter" policy, brought him words of praise from all parts of the United States, but it also caused him to lose the postoffice for six months, which, com- ing on the eve of his wedding, caused him no little financial inconvenience, but he did not al- low policy to triumph over principle. His re- instatement followed upon the passage by con- gress of the tenure of office act.

In the meantime Mr. Shepherd had improved whatever of leisure came his way by studying

law, and was admitted to practice at the Iowa bar in 1866, following which he practiced his profession in partnership with John F. Lacy, now member of congress from Iowa. He was a delegate to the National Liberal Republican convention which brought about the nomina- tion of Horace Greeley for president, and in 1872 he was a candidate for state elector. A perusal of the work upon Southern California written by Charles Nordhoff led Mr. Shepherd to locate in the far west, believing that the cli- mate would be beneficial to Mrs. Shepherd. In 1873 he came to Ventura and bought the Signal, of which he was managing editor for five years. During that time he named the town of Nord- hoff after the writer. On the Democratic ticket, in 1878, he was a delegation candidate for the constitutional convention of California, but was somewhat in the minority on account of a combination, and was consequently defeated. The same year he began the practice of law and has since built up an extensive clientele, his reputation as an astute and able practitioner being of an enviable nature. He is recognized as a strong advocate and strenuous fighter. guarding well the interests of his client at every point, and quick to seize and persistent in holding the point of vantage. As a criminal lawyer he has few equals in Southern California. He possesses a fine argumentative ability, and when convinced of the correctness of his posi- tion nothing swerves him from his stand. For a number of years he has been city attorney of Ventura.

In this résumé of the life of Mr. Shepherd it is fitting that mention be made of Mrs. Theo- dosia B. Shepherd, who has a world-wide repu- tation as a floriculturist and seed-grower, and who occupies a prominent position as an orig- inator of new plants. From her seed gardens in the heart of Ventura have come many aston- ishing revelations in the propagation of flora novelties, consummations which could have come only from an intensely artistic and beau- tiful nature, and one who sufficiently appreciates the possibilities of soil and climate by which she is surrounded to spend years of enthusiastic toil in endeavoring to practically convince the na- tion that here, of all places under the sun, is the home of her delightful and inspiring occupation. In the very nearness of nature's heart, she has succeeded from a small greenhouse, costing less than $5, to a trade that reaches to nearly all the countries of the world. her green, bath and packing houses requiring the continual labor of several men. So great an authority is this lover of all that is beautiful in nature that her correspondence is great, especially from mem- bers of her own sex, who admire her spirit and success, and would profit by her experience. Numberless correspondents have visited her grounds and written up her work, and she is

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

known as the pioneer flower seed and bulb grower on the western coast of California. Her work is dearer to her than are the ambitions of the devotees of art and fashion. She has been a contributor to many journals and periodicals, is interested in many subjects, and keeps abreast with the developments in the arts and sciences. To her the study of plant life has been only a preface to the study of astronomy and metaphysics, and the present and the future to her are full of promise and hope. In the face of the fact that she has reared a family of four children, has been a moral and progressive force in every goodundertaking in thecommunity, and is a woman of unusual tenderness and resource- fulness in the making of a delightful home for her family, it seems remarkable that in addition she has also found time for the exercise of her knowledge and talents in a special direction. Along the line of her favorite occupation she has been a great student, and also keeps in touch with the work by attending flower con- ventions.

Mrs. Shepherd was born in Keosauqua, Iowa, October 14, 1845, a daughter of Judge Augus- tus Hall, one of the first members of congress from Iowa and late chief justice of Nebraska, a man of rare ability and noted for his equitable rulings and lucid exposition of the law. His son, Richard Hall, is a prominent attorney of Omaha and at one time was a law partner of Senator Thurston. The education of Mrs. Shepherd was principally acquired in Batavia, N. Y. The chil- dren born of her marriage are named as follows: Augustus H., a resident of Ventura; Mrs. Myr- tle Lloyd, of this city; Margaret, who has been her mother's assistant in the business; and Edith, wife of Fred Kelsey, of Ventura. Mr. Shepherd is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He entertains liberal religious views, regarding all denominations as equally worthy of consideration and assistance. As a Democrat he has been a delegate to numerous state and county conventions, and is ex-chair- man of the county committee.

STEPHEN TOWNSEND. The roll call of the strong personalities who have contributed to the upbuilding of California would be incom- plete without due mention of Stephen Town- send, at present one of the real estate men of Long Beach. As long ago as September 21, 1876, he came to what is now Pasadena (then a purely speculative proposition), and was one of the first to buy on the Lake Vineyard tract. His five acres were put under oranges and de- veloped into a paying investment, and when the boom was instituted the property was diverted into other channels of activity, and in due time was platted under the name of the Townsend subdivision, and thus passed into the hands of home-seekers and builders. With unerring fore-

sight he saw the future of Pasadena, and set about bringing within its borders the advan- tages which drew people from other localities. He obtained the first franchise in the city and organized and built the Pasadena street rail- way, of which he was president for five years. Later on he contracted for and built the Alta- dena Railroad and other street car lines, and his energy and enterprise brought about the grad- ing and building up of Orange Grove avenue, the finest avenue in the city. He also built up the Pasadena Warehouse and Milling Com- pany's plant, and operated the same for some time. In his effort to secure admirable munic- ipal government he accepted the office of city trustee on the second board. His conservative judgment and enterprising plans for the general improvement were accepted and acted upon by a large contingent in the growing town, and his influence extended into various channels of development. Prior to coming to Long Beach he became identified with the Wakena Land Company, which bought eleven thousand acres of land in Tulare county, to the management of which he devoted himself for about six years.

Of English ancestry on both sides of his family, Mr. Townsend was born in Hamilton county, Ind., October 19, 1848, and is the oldest son in a family containing thirteen children, four of whom are living. One of his brothers. W. H. Townsend, is engaged in the real estate busi- ness in Los Angeles. His father, David, was born in Ohio, and in 1855 located in Cedar county, Iowa, near Iowa City, where he farmed and raised stock until 1876. He then removed to California and became a member of the Indiana Colony, now Pasadena, where he en- gaged in horticulture up to the time of his death. His wife, formerly Sidney Mandlin, was born in Ohio, and now, at the age of more than four score years, is living in Pasadena. After completing his education in the public schools and at the Iowa State University, Stephen Townsend began to farm on his own responsi- bility upon land purchased in Franklin county, where he lived for three years. He then re- turned to Cedar county and was similarly occu- pied for a couple of years, and in the fall of 1876 accompanied the rest of his family to the present site of Pasadena.

In 1895 Mr. Townsend became permanently associated with Long Beach, where he had bought twenty acres of land on the Anaheim road, adjoining the city limits, and one mile from the beach. The following year he started out in the real estate business and laid out sub- division block 14, and lots 1 and 24, as well as the Tutt tract. and the Townsend, Robinson & Co.'s tract of twenty-five acres on the Anaheim road. In time he contemplates the laying out of his original twenty acres on the Anaheim road. He is one of the organizers and directors of the

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Long Beach Improvement Company, and a member of the Long Beach Board of Trade. In 1901 he took as partners in the business Frank E. Robinson and B. P. Dayman, and las since conducted his affairs under the firm name of Townsend, Robinson & Co. This is one of the most substantial firms of the kind in this part of California, the high character and ability of the men comprising it giving assurance of con- tinued real estate activity.

In the state of Iowa Mr. Townsend married Annie M. Carroll, a native of Indiana. They are the parents of two children. Vinton Ray Townsend is a graduate of the high school and is now attending the University of California, from which he will graduate in the class of 1903. Esther Bell Townsend, now Mrs. Dr. Cavert, of Los Angeles, is a graduate of the Los Angeles State Normal. Mr. Townsend is a member of the Fraternal Aid, and is active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a member of the board of trustees and assist- ant superintendent of the Sunday school. His many sterling qualities have made him a nota- ble acquisition to the localities which have prof- ited by his enterprise, and he is especially hon- ored in Long Beach, for the betterment of which he has labored so faithfully and well.

ROBERT STRONG. The mental and moral strength and fine business ability of Robert Strong have, for many years, been appreciated by the community of Pasadena. He came here in 1888, and has not only been extensively en- gaged in real estate, but has large interests in cement and oil, and has been foremost in pro- moting the general growth of the city. The re- mote forefathers from whom he is descended lived their useful lives in Scotland, and the fam- ily fortunes were shifted to the north of Ireland through the removal of the paternal great-great- grandfather to county Donegal. The family was established in America by the paternal grandfather, Robert, who was born in the north of Ireland, and settled in Albany, N. Y., where he was a merchant and assistant in the post- office. His son, Anthony M., the father of the present Robert, was born in Albany, and though his active life was devoted to the whole- sale mercantile business in his native town, his later years were spent in Philadelphia, Pa., where he died at the age of eighty-two years. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. In young manhood he married Sarah Jones, a native of Groton, Mass., and the granddaughter of the widow of Captain Davis, who fell at the head of his minute men at Concord Bridge in 1775. Her portrait, by Harding of Boston, made in 1840, when she was ninety-eight years old, is a striking picture of a woman of the Revolu- tion. Mrs. Strong, who died in New York, was the mother of three sons and one daughter, of

whom one son and one daughter are still liv- ing. Richard died during the Civil war as adjutant of the One Hundred and Seventy-sev- enth New York Volunteer Infantry ; and Charles, who was a merchant in Albany, died in New York City.

Robert Strong was born November 20, 1836. He graduated from the Albany Academy in 1854, and from Princeton College in 1856, with the degree of A. B., his alma mater conferring upon him the degree of A. M. in 1859. In 1856 he entered the Albany Medical College with the intention of devoting his career to that profes- sion, but at the end of a year changed his mind and entered the Princeton Theological Semi- nary, from which he was graduated in 1861 with third honors. He was ordained in Minneapolis and took charge of the Westminster Church in that city until the breaking down of his health in 1865. To regain his lost strength he returned to Albany, convinced that the ministry necessi- tated closer application than his health would permit. Hoping much from the climate of Cal- ifornia he came here in 1872, and was so de- lighted with the prospects that he settled in Westminster, Orange county, where he pur- chased a half section of land, and engaged in farming and horticulture. He also started and maintained a nursery, and went into the exten- sive raising of fine stock. In connection with these varied interests he also preached for a short time, but was soon convinced of the futil- ity of any additional work. He became promi- nent in the affairs of Westminster, and was ap- pointed superintendent of the colony there assembled. He disposed of all the lands of the colony and entirely wound up the business of the owners.

In 1888 Mr. Strong allied his fortunes witlı Pasadena, and has since been in the real estate and notary business. In connection with his partner he laid out Madison square, compris- ing ten acres, and under the firm name of Far- ris & Strong accomplished much towards the improvement of the city. Since the death of Mr. Farris, March 24, 1902, he has continued in business alone, with every prospect of a fu- ture increase of business. He is a director in the California Portland Cement Company; the Pasadena Mutual Oil Company, operating on the Kern river; and in the Del Rey Oil Com- pany. He is a member of the Alumni Associa- tion of Princeton, the Kappa Alpha Society, and of the Society of Pioneers of Los Angeles County. A Republican in political affiliation. Mr. Strong has never entered the arena of office seeking. As a member of the Presbytery of Los Angeles he served as clerk from the organiza- tion of the church in 1874 until his resignation in 1889.

The union of Mr. Strong and Villa Marquis occurred in Westminster, Orange county, Cal.

C. J. Daily

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mrs. Strong was born in Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of Rev. John Marquis, a clergyman in the Presbyterian Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Strong have been born two children: Archibald McClure, who is a graduate of the Leland Stan- ford University, class of 1899, and is now a mining engineer and United States deputy min- eral surveyor at Independence, Cal .; and Rob- ert Marquis, a prospective graduate of the class of 1903, of the University of the City of New York.

CHARLES J. DAILY. Although at present devoting his attention to the cultivation and im- provement of the ranch that he recently pur- chased, comprising three hundred acres of val- uable land, two miles northwest of Camarillo, to the majority of the residents of Ventura county Mr. Daily is best known through his work as manager of the Patterson ranch, which position he held for many years. This splendid ranch property, one-half mile north of Hueneme, lying on the sea between the Hueneme and Ventura road, is one of the best known and most finely developed country places in Southern Califor- nia. Formerly the property of John D. Patter- son, now of Geneva, N. Y., it was sold by him in 1900 to the Patterson Ranch Company, stockholders in the sugar beet company. The president is Robert Oxnard and the agent, Major T. A. Dreffill. In 1885 Mr. Daily was called to the position of manager and continued in that capacity until December 1, 1901, mean- time having the entire management of the tract of five thousand and twenty-one acres. The land was originally a colonial grant. The con- tinued cultivation of years has transformed its barrenness into unexcelled fertility and grati- fying productiveness, the large crops of beets and beans making the ranch a profitable invest- ment for its owners. On the property are three sets of ranch houses, one in the center, the others at either end of the tract, the finely fur- nished offices being in the former. The cultiva- tion of the land is conducted upon a scale com- mensurate with the size of the tract, and it is an interesting scene to watch from the road the multitude of horses working in the fields, giving the appearance of a vast cavalry brigade, as they follow one another in teams of from four to eight horses.

A knowledge of agriculture and an apprecia- tion of its possibilities are inherited by Mr. Daily, and this inheritance has been fostered by years of experience in the occupation. The Dailys are of Irish extraction. The great-grand- father, Thomas Daily, Sr., was born in county Tyrone, parish Gorton, and when a young man came to the United States, settling in Pennsyl- vania. For years he conducted a farm in Mon- roe county, N. Y., where he died at ninety-six years of age. The oldest child born of his mar-

riage to Miss Wilcox was Arthur Daily, to whom belonged the distinction of being the first male child born in Rush township, Monroe county. He became a farmer and died in his na- tive county when sixty-nine years of age. Orig- inally a believer in Democratic principles, his views changed during the Civil war and there- after he voted with the Republicans. He mar- ried Lorada Baker, who was born in New York and died in young womanhood, leaving two children, Charles W. and Elizabeth, the latter now deceased.

After having farmed for some years in New York, Charles W. Daily went to Kansas, where he suffered many hardships during the struggle between the abolitionists and pro-slavery ele- ment. For two and one-half years he served in Company L, Fiftieth New York Engineers, and at the close of the war was honorably dis- charged at Elmira, N. Y. Afterward he con- ducted a farm in Van Buren county, Mich., then returned to New York, later settled in Isa- bella county, Mich., and finally, after having once more gone back to New York, came to California in 1892, since which time he has made his home with his son, Charles J. He has two other sons in California, these being Erastus W. and W. P., who are ranchers at Springville. His wife, whom he married in New York, was Ruth F. Green, a native of Ohio.

Near Rochester, N. Y., Charles J. Daily was born February 7, 1859. At the age of thirteen he accompanied his parents to Michigan. In 1885 he came to California and has since made Ventura county his home. In 1891 he married Theresa Gisler, whose father, the late Max Arnold Gisler, was a pioneer of Ventura county. Born of this union are four children: Thomas, Lillian, Edna and Milton. In national politics Mr. Daily is a Republican. On the subject of ranching few are better posted than he, whichi fact was proved by his long retention as man- ager of the Patterson ranch, and his experience in raising beets and beans has given him a thor- ough knowledge of these two very important products.

SAMUEL STRATTON. The fact that Mr. Stratton has made Pasadena his home since 1882 entitles him to a position among the city's early settlers, as he has also been one of the most active and prominent developers of its real estate. By birth a Kentuckian and by de- scent connected with the F. F. V.'s, he is a son of Robinson and Nancy (Miles) Stratton, na- tives of Virginia and pioneers of Robinson county, Ky. In the latter county Samuel was born January 17, 1832, and there his father died three years later. The widowed mother, accom- panied by her five children, removed to Illinois and settled in Macoupin county near Carlin-

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ville, where she remained until death. Of her family Samuel is the sole survivor. The edu- cational advantages which even the poorest boy of to-day enjoys did not fall to his lot, for it was necessary that he should aid his mother in the support of the family at as early an age as possible. His time was given largely to the breaking of raw prairie land, for which ox-teams were used. In the winter months, when work on the farm was suspended, he was allowed to attend a pay school, held in a log building, desti- tute of all conveniences, and where the method of instruction was as crude as the text-books employed. His independence of spirit and energy are indicated by the fact that, when only fifteen years of age, he started a small store in · Piasa, Ill., and this he continued, on a larger scale, until 1854, meanwhile also acting as deputy postmaster.

Believing that the west offered greater ad- vantages than the east, Mr. Stratton determined to cast in his lot with the gold-seekers of the'50s. The year 1854 found him coming via Panama to San Francisco, and from there he went to the placer mines of Shasta county. Four years later he returned to Illinois via the Nicaragua route and New York. Taking up mercantile affairs again, he opened a store in Litchfield, Mont- gomery county, and later bought a farm near Litchfield, where he was one of the first in the county to take up the raising of fine Jersey cat- tle. For the purpose of securing the best breeds, in 1877 he went to the isle of Jersey and pur- chased about twenty full-blooded animals. After having for some years carried on a prosperous business, in 1882 he sold out and settled in Pasadena, buying ten acres on the southwest corner of Colorado and Moline streets and lay- ing the land out in acre lots. His were the first acre lots that were sold in Pasadena. He also laid out twenty acres on Marengo avenue and California street, known as Webster & Strat- ton's subdivision; and two and one-half acres on the corner of Marengo avenue and Colorado street, known as Skillen & Stratton's subdivis- ion. On this last-named corner he erected the first apartment houses ever built in Pasadena, and he also built an apartment house on Ma- rengo avenue, both of which blocks he still owns. Another improvement was the building of business property on Colorado street. He as- sisted in organizing and became a director of the Pasadena Street Railway Company that built (on Colorado street) the first horse-car line in Pasadena. For some years he was a di- rector in the Lake Vineyard Water Company. Though reared in the Democratic faith, his sympathies are strongly Republican. His first presidential vote was cast for Fillmore, and he has never failed to vote at each succeeding general election. Formerly he held office as a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the work

of which he has long been an earnest contribu- tor.

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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 167

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