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 175

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

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At the age of fifteen Mr. Van Dompselaar was left an orphan with little to depend on save his own enterprise and ability, and he proved worthy of the emergency created by the death of his parents. In order to prepare himself for self-support he discontinued his educational re- searches at the public schools, and with the thorougliness characteristic of Dutch charac- ter and undertakings began to learn the trade of building. He shouldered the lowly hod with its burden of brick or mortar and patiently made his way to the greater responsibilities involved in brick-laying and plastering. Every depart- ment known to master builders was invaded and conquered by this careful workman, and at the end of four years he started out on the roads of Holland as a journeyman builder. After years he was rewarded with the position of foreman of construction on a high-school building, and from then on his trade was comparatively easy

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of prosecution and attended with· considerable success.

Of a decidedly ambitious nature, Mr. Van Dompselaar rightly estimated that a broader field than the Netherlands awaited him in Amer- ica, and in the spring of 1873 he located in Min- neapolis, Minn., where he was not long in find- ing carpenter work, and where he soon after turned his attention to building and contracting. He in time found a remunerative position as superintendent of the tile and slate roofing de- partment of a Minneapolis firm, following which he traveled over different parts of the country in search of a desirable permanent location, vis- iting on his journey Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Washington, and in the spring of 1893 located in Los Angeles, where he engaged in the carpenter business. Six years later, in 1899, he began contracting and build- ing, and at the present time has much admira- ble work to his credit, his particular aptitude seeming to run towards the designing and con- struction of artistic and convenient residences, of which he has put up many in different parts of the city. Among his important contracts have been those for George W. Stimson and for Neimeyer on Central avenue. He has also ac- complished some work on his own responsibil- ity, and has built three different residences for himself.

In Holland Mr. Van Dompselaar married Regyna Veltman, a native of that country, and of this union there are two children, Theresa, who is engaged in educational work, and is a graduate of the Los Angeles Normal, class of 1897; and Dollie Alida, who is living at home. Mr. Van Dompselaar is a Republican in na- tional politics, and is fraternally connected with the Independent Order of Foresters. He is one of the substantial men of Los Angeles, and probably has no superior in the building line in Southern California.

MARTIN WETZEL. As chief engineer of the county court house plant, also as a broad- minded politician and enterprising and respected citizen, Mr. Wetzel is well known in Los An- geles, and is one of the town's most faithful up- holders and advocates. He was born in Louis- ville, Ky., September 12, 1853, and is the oldest (and only child in California) in a family of two daughters and three sons, of whom one daugh- ter is deceased. His father, Anton, a noble pa- triot of the Fatherland, was born in Baden, Germany, and came to America when a young man. After locating in Kentucky, he engaged in the boot and shoe business, and was thus employed when the army of freedom was estab- lished in Baden in 1848, in the hope of shaking off the yoke of German rule. He decided that his duty lay in the direction of fighting for the freedom of Baden, and, accompanied by his

brother-in-law, Fred Schweickert, who died later in San Diego, Cal., he returned to his na- tive land to fight for an already doomed cause. With the collapse of the patriotic movement he escaped with Carl Schurz to America, their party including Stube, the historian, General Siegel and many others. In Louisville, Ky., he re- sumned the boot and shoe business, and in con- nection therewith managed with admirable suc- cess his large plantation near the city. At pres- ent he is living in Louisville, and, at the age of seventy-eight, is hearty and well, and young in heart and appearance. His wife, formerly Bar- bara Snyder, was born in Baden, Germany, and died in Kentucky.

The education of Mr. Wetzel was acquired in the public schools of Louisville, and he gradu- ated from the high school. His first business experience was gained with his uncle Schweick- ert, who had a government contract to furnish stores with hardware and merchandise, and in 1866 he accompanied his uncle as clerk and had charge of several stores along the way in Ne- braska and later in Wyoming, as far as Bear river. In 1867 he went to California, by stage from Corinne to Wells, and by train to Sacra- mento, and thence to San Francisco and San Diego. Finding nothing in his line to be done, he returned to Wilmington and came to Los Angeles, and still finding no occupation, re- turned to Wilmington and worked on the wharf at that place. When the Wilmington & Los Angeles Railroad was started he entered the employ of the company in the machine shop, and later became fireman and machinist. In 1872 he was promoted to the position of engi- neer, and the following year began to run be- tween Downey and Los Angeles, until the line was extended to Anaheim, twenty miles distant, after which he ran between Los Angeles and Colton, the end of the road. He was the first to be promoted to engineer on the Southern Pa- cific in Los Angeles county, and when the road was connected with the Southern Pacific to San Francisco he was promoted to passenger engi- neer, and ran overland between Los Angeles and Mojave for many years. In 1893 he re- signed from the service and went to Old Mex- ico, on the Mexican Central, between Guadala- jara and Irapata, and upon returning to Los Angeles, entered 'the employ of the Pasadena & Los Angeles Electric Railway Company. During the six years in this capacity his tasks were pleasant and congenial, and the position is remembered as one of the most satisfactory in his career. In 1900 he resigned to accept liis present position as chief engineer of the county court house plant, which has an engine and two boilers.

In Los Angeles, Mr. Wetzel married Julia Snyder, who was born in Rochester, N. Y., and became the mother of three children: Emma is

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now Mrs. Robert Heaney, of Los Angeles; Charles was accidentally shot while hunting, at the age of fifteen; and Raymond was killed in the Southern Pacific shops when eighteen years old. Mr. Wetzel is a Republican all the time, and has been prominent in the political affairs of Los Angeles. He has served on the central committee, and was superintendent of street sprinkling for two years. Fraternally he is asso- ciated with the Wilmington Masonic Lodge No. 198, and is a charter member of the Los An- geles Ancient Order of United Workmen No. 55. He was reared in the Lutheran faith, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church. At No. 514 Pasadena avenue he made his home for twenty-five years, and his present residence is at No. 2114 Pasadena avenue.

ROBERT P. VIVIAN. The identification of Mr. Vivian with the Los Angeles Electric Com- pany began in January, 1895, when he accepted a position as machinist in their plant. Three years later, in recognition of his ability and faithful service, he was promoted to the position of chief engineer, in which capacity he has since continued. The duties of the place are dis- charged with intelligence, and the engineer's quick and versatile mind is ever eagerly reach- ing forward, in an endeavor to apply important improvements and to discover more perfect methods of mechanism than those already at- tained. With this thought in view, he has in- vented a number of devices in improved ma- chinery, including an automatic safety stop and a metallic rod packing device, both of which have been applied successfully in the works.

As first mate of a vessel that sailed round the Horn during the early '50s, Robert Vivian, a na- tive of Cornwall, England, and a member of one of that country's old families, came to Cali- fornia in the pioneer days of this state's history. His voyages had taken him to every important port and every sea in the world, but after set- tling in San Francisco he gave up a seafaring life, and, as a member of the firm of Green & Vivian, conducted a ship-rigging establishment until his retirement from business. In that city he died when fifty-two years of age. Frater- nally he was connected with the Improved Order of Red Men. In Boston, Mass., he mar- ried Catherine Byrne, a native of county Water- ford, Ireland, whence she immigrated to Bos- ton, Mass. At her death, which occurred in San Francisco in 1898, she left three sons and one daughter, all of whom remain in San Fran- cisco except Robert P., the youngest of the family. He was born in San Francisco April 23, 1868, and at an early age began to learn the machinist's trade, serving for four years in the Risdon iron works. Meantime, in order to se- cure desired advantages, he attended the Lin-

coln evening school, from which he was grad- uated with honors.

In order to assist in putting in the machinery of the Boyle Heights and Downey avenue plants of the Los Angeles cable railway, Mr. Vivian came to Los Angeles in 1889. While putting in the engines, his work was executed so promptly and with so much skill and intelli- gence that he attracted the attention of the su- perintendent of the plant, who tendered him the position of engineer at Boyle Heights. His ambition had been to return to San Francisco and complete a course in draughting and draw- ing, and it was only after considerable thought, as well as persuasion on the part of the master mechanic, that he was induced to relinquish his plans for the future. For two years he acted as engineer of the Downey avenue plant and for three years was a machinist in the Southern Pacific shops, after which he entered the em- ploy of the Los Angeles Electric Company, where he has charge of a plant of three thousand horse-power. At one time he was secretary of the National Association of Stationary Engi- 11eers, Los Angeles No. 2, which he represented in the national convention at Milwaukee in 1900. By his marriage to Elizabeth M. Smith, a native of San Francisco and the daugliter of pioneers of that city, he has two children, Robert Joseph and Irene, the family making their home at No. 724 Lawrence street. In religion they are of the Roman Catholic faith, holding mem- bership in St. Viviana Church, and Mr. Vivian is also associated with the Catholic Order of Foresters. Fraternally he holds membership in the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

WILLIAM A. WING. A resident of Los Angeles since 1893, Mr. Wing was born in Levant, Me., and is a descendant of an English family that came to America during the colonial period, thenceforward identifying themselves with the progress and development of Maine. In Dexter, that state, occurred the birth of both A. J. Wing and his father, Joshua. The latter was a millwright, but the former took up the work of a contracting painter, and as such be- came known throughout his section of the state and was given contracts for many large build- ings. Though not active in politics, nor an office-holder, he was a stanch Republican. In religious views he was connected with the Bap- tist Church. He died at Levant in July, 1901. His wife, who survives him, was Jane L. Mills, daughter of William Mills, a farmer of Maine and a descendant of English ancestors.

In the family of eleven children (all living), William A. Wing was sixth in order of birthi. and he and a brother, Walter F., are the only ones in California. He was born February 20, 1871, and received his education in the Levant grammar and high schools. When fourteen

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years of age he began to work under his father, with whom he continued for seven years. From 1892 until 1893 he was employed in Lowell, Mass., and in the fall of the latter year came to California, settling in Los Angeles. During the spring of 1894 the firm of W. T. Dunvell & Co. was organized, consisting of himself, W. T. Dunvell and Richard Arenz. Six months later the junior members bought out the principal partner and the partnership of Wing & Arenz was formed, which has continued to the present day. The firm have had many contracts for painting, among them being those for the Bos- ton Dry-Goods Store, Laughlin building, An- gelus hotel, New Raymond hotel, First Baptist Church, St. Paul's Reformed Episcopal, Jeffer- son Street Methodist Episcopal and Christian Science churches; the Van Nuys, Posey, Bon- filio, Francis, Canfield and Neur residences; be- sides residences, churches and public buildings all over Los Angeles county. During the busy season employment is furnished to about fifty hands, and these are superintended by Mr. Arenz, while Mr. Wing gives his attention to the taking of contracts and a general management of the business. He is connected with the Builders' Exchange and has been treasurer of the Master Painters' Association ever since its organization. Politically he is a Republican, and fraternally is connected with Lynde Lodge No. 174, A. F. & A. M., in Hermon, Me. His business location is No. 117 Winston street, while the residence of himself and wife (the lat- ter formerly Louise Barz, of San Francisco) stands at No. 1029 West Seventeenth street.

EDMUND B. FOSTER. This pioneer of the Buena Park district came to Orange county in the winter of 1876,and two years later bought and settled upon the land where he has since lived. The ranch which he owns comprises eighty acres and is devoted to dairying and to a general farming business. Of eastern birthı and parentage, he was born in Oneida county. N. Y., December 31, 1837. At the age of four years he was taken by his parents to Madison county, N. Y., and there grew to manhood, meantime becoming familiar with all the duties connected with the management of a farm.

At the time that he settled in Orange county and purchased his present property he found the land in practically a wild and primitive condi- tion, he being the first permanent settler on the farm. The improvements now noticeable are the result of his energy and capable foresight. and he has made of the tract one of the best ranches in the neighborhood. In addition to the management of his property he has maintained an interest in local affairs, especially in the wel- fare of the schools, and as a member of the board of trustees of the Centralia school district has done much to advance the standard of schol-

arship and elevate the condition of the schools of the district. In his former home in the east, as here, he was an active worker in the Repub- lican party, and his efforts were always to be re- lied upon in the interests of his party. Dur- ing his residence in Stockbridge, Madison county, N. Y., he held a number of offices, in- cluding those of assessor and highway commis- sioner. His connection with the business inter- ests of the county was also intimate, and for several years he was manager of the Siloam cheese factory at Smithfield, that county.

ALVIN M. WOODS. Shortly after the close of the Mexican war, in which he was a soldier, John Woods, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a farmer of Hamilton county, that state, con- ceived the idea of attempting to raise stock and general farm products in California. At that early day little was known concerning the far west and few residents of the east had braved the dangers of the unknown mountains and des- erts or the monotony of a voyage around the Horn, in order to try their fortunes in a region so remote from civilization. With all the cour- age and enthusiasm of youth, in the fall of 1847 he crossed the plains along the northern route, and finally arrived at Sutter's Fort, where gold had been discovered only a few weeks before. He operated the first sawmill at the fort, but his original intention of becoming a farmer was never lost sight of, and in 1849 he entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land at Santa Cruz, which through his efforts was transformed from barren waste to an improved farm. On that homestead his death occurred in 1884, when he was sixty-nine years of age. His wife, Mary A. (Silvey) Woods, was born in Bed- ford, Mo., and died at Santa Cruz, Cal., when sixty-two years old. Of their eleven children, all but one are still living, Alvin M. being one of twins that were about the middle of the family in order of birth. In Santa Cruz, where he was born February 9, 1860, he attended grammar and high schools.

On leaving the farm, when seventeen years of age, Mr. Woods became a fireman on the railroad between Santa Cruz and Watsonville. Three years later he secured a similar position on the California Southern, running to San Diego. Eight months later he was transferred to San Luis Obispo as stationary engineer dur- ing the building of the road, and after another eight months he went to New Mexico, where he engaged as a machinist and erecting engineer in the mines of Grant county. A year later he went back to Santa Cruz, where he was chief engineer of the electric light plant of the city. A mining expedition to the Columbia and John Day rivers in Oregon consumed six months, after which he was locomotive engineer on the line of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Com-

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pany for eight months. Again returning to Santa Cruz, he later was engaged by a San Francisco mining company to erect their patent amalgamating machinery in Calaveras and So- noma counties. After the completion of this re- sponsible work, he resumed the position of chief engineer of the Santa Cruz electric light plant, where he continued for two years.

The first position held by Mr. Woods in Los Angeles, where he arrived in 1894, was that of engineer of the power house of the Los Angeles cable railway. Eight months later he was em- ployed to assist in putting up and starting the Sherman plant. For eighteen months he was chief engineer of the Santa Monica electric light plant, and the two following years were devoted to erecting work. In 1901 he accepted the posi- tion of chief engineer and electrician at the Hol- lenbeck hotel, since which time he has superin- tended the remodeling and enlarging of the fine power plant. His thorough knowledge of ma- chinery adapts him for responsible positions, and in the various capacities in which he has been employed his work has always been satis- factory and reliable. Prominently connected with Los Angeles No. 2, National Association of Stationary Engineers, he has held the offices of corresponding secretary and vice-president in the local division. The nominees of the Repub- lican party receive his ballot and its principles his support, while fraternally he is associated with the Modern Woodmen of America. After coming to Los Angeles he was united in mar- riage with Miss Dora Robertson, who was born in Indiana, but was reared principally in the west. They have one child, Grace Woods.

CHARLES ALLGEYER. On a ranch near Brookhurst, in Orange county, Mr. Allgeyer has made his home since 1890, previous to which he resided for several years near El Monte, this state, and followed general farm pursuits in that locality. At this writing he is the owner of a homestead of thirty acres, all under cultivation, and another ranch of ten acres situated about one and one-half miles south of his home place. All of the trees on both tracts were set out by himself, all of the improvements were made by him personally, and therefore the present con- dition of the land may be attributed to his per- severance and judicious labor.

In Baden, Germany, Mr. Allgeyer was born November 2, 1854. The first fourteen years of his life were passed in Germany, where he re- ceived a fair education. He then accompanied his parents to America, taking passage at Havre on the steamer Atlantic, and landing in New York after a voyage of twenty-six days. From the latter city the family proceeded to Mont- gomery county, Mo., and there remained for many years, meantime carrying on farm pur- suits.

He is a member of the Fullerton Walnut Growers' Association and is well known among the horticulturists of his vicinity.

E. HENRY WAY, M. D. Since establishing his residence in Riverside, in 1884, Dr. Way has won and maintained a high reputation for skill in medicine and surgery. Through previous years of successful practice in the east, added to post-graduate courses of study not only in this country but also abroad, he had acquired a thorough knowledge of the science to which the active years of his life are being given. On the formation of Riverside county he was ap- pointed county physician. He organized the hospital and continued in charge of the same for three years, when it was moved to San Jacinto, and he resigned. His special courses in Eu- rope include post-graduate work at Guy's Hos- pital, London, England, in 1878; a course at Vienna in 1891, and six months in the same city in 1900-01, where he had the advantage of personal contact with the most famous special- ists of the old world.

Referring to the personal history of Dr. Way, it may be stated that he was born in Paynesville, Ohio, August 25, 1851, being the youngest of seven children. After acquiring a preliminary knowledge of therapeutics as a student of Dr. E. W. Robertson, he entered the Cleveland Medical College, from which he received the degree of M. D. in 1874. During the same year he became assistant to his former preceptor, with whom he remained for two years. He then embarked in independent practice, selecting Jef- ferson, Ohio, as his location. After a few years the failure of his health led him to remove, in 1881, to Ludington, Mich., where he not only built up an excellent general practice, but also was employed as surgeon for several of the large milling companies. Owing, however, to the severity of the climate, his health again fail- ing, he was obliged to make another change, and thereupon came to Riverside.

During his residence in the east Dr. Way was a member of the hospital board, and he also served as county health officer for two years until the office was discontinued. The California State Homeopathic Association numbers hin among its members, as also the Southern Cali- fornia Homeopathic Medical Association, and he has also been connected with the American Institute of Homeopathy. The Republican party receives his support politically, while in religion he is identified with the Congregational Church. While living in Jefferson, Ohio, he was made a Mason and raised to the Chapter degree. He is a charter member of the Riverside Chapter and past eminent commander of the commandery at this point. The residence which he occupies stands on Orange street and was built under his personal direction. He has for many years

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owned orange grove property, but has devoted himself to professional and not horticultural work.

CHARLES WHITTED, D. D. S. In the practice of dentistry, to which he is giving luis mature years, Dr. Whitted has gained a repu- tation for skill and thorough professional knowledge, and has established a practice that is a tribute to his ability. Both in Indiana, where the earlier years of his practice were passed, and in Santa Ana, where he opened an office in February, 1894, his position is among the suc- cessful representatives of his profession. Of eastern parentage, he was born near Blooming- ton, Ind., December 12, 1853, a son of Silas and Lucetta (Owen) Whitted. Primarily educated in the public schools of Springville, Ind., he aft- crward carried on his studies in the high school. On graduating therefrom, he matriculated in the University of Indiana at Bloomington, where he took the complete scientific course, graduat- ing with the degree of B. S. On the completion of his literary studies, he turned his attention to the study of dentistry, and for a time was a stil- dent in a dental school in Cincinnati, later con- tinning his studies in Indianapolis, where he was graduated, both in the regular course and in a post-graduate course. He received the honors of his class, his standing surpassing all previous records in scholarship. His first location for practice was at Bloomington, where he estab- lished a growing practice that in time extended among the best families of the place. From the beginning of his practice in Santa Ana, Cal., he met with the recognition due his skill and drew an increasing patronage, as a result of his thorough professional knowledge and superior skill.

BELMONT PERRY. The ancestral home of the Perry family was in central England, and the immigration of some of their members to the United States long before the Revolution · resulted in the immeasurable gain to American history of such distinguished representatives as Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the "Hero of Lake Erie," and Commodore M. C. Perry, known to fame through his association with the Japan expedition. Belmont Perry, attorney-at- law of Santa Ana, was born in Flemington. N. J., March 14, 1854.

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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 175

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