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 177

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 177

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

1186

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

attention for years. However, during that period he by no means forgot his old home state of California, and finally determined to return hither and spend his remaining years. This he did, settling near Fullerton, adjoining the Orangethorpe schoolhouse.

HEBER C. PARKS. The first white man who had the courage and hardihood to settle with the owner, Louis Rubidoux, on the Ru- bidoux ranch, comprising one and a half leagues, of which he became third owner, was Arthur Parks, the father of Heber C. Parks. This pioneer was born in England, and upon immi- grating to the United States settled at St. Louis, Mo., where he conducted a mercantile business for three years. He then removed to Cedar City, Utah, where he remained for two years, and from there undertook the journey to Cal- ifornia with wagons and ox-teams. He settled at San Bernardino, which was at the time a little cottonwood fort, occupied by the Mor- mons, and in 1857 removed to West Riverside, and the following year made his first purchase of land. Later he moved closer to the moun- tains, and there passed the serene evening of his life, which was followed by his death, in 1892. He left ten different pieces of property, aggre- gating one hundred and fifty-eight acres, all of which was located on the west side.

Heber C. Parks came to California with his father and is, therefore, the very oldest surviv- ing white settler in Riverside county, the Parks family being the first American family that settled in Riverside. The ranch belonging to Mr. Parks is seventy acres in extent, twelve of which are planted in oranges, nine acres being devoted solely to navels. He also raises large quantities of alfalfa, and has considerable raw land as yet unimproved. He has developed his property from its sage-brush condition to one of the best ranches in West Riverside.

HENRY ADAMS PEABODY. Now a resident of Santa Ana, Mr. Peabody was born in Detroit, Mich., March 19, 1837, a son of Adams and Frances Peabody.

During the Mexican war he received his first practical experience of life by working as a newsboy in Cincinnati, Ohio. Later he learned the printer's trade in Columbia, Mo. In 1857 he came overland to California. His first work in the west was driving three yoke of cattle from Colusa to Petaluma, a distance of over one hundred miles, for which he was paid $25. His next move was to Santa Rosa, Sonoma county, where he secured employment in the composing room of the Sonoma Democrat, a weekly paper. During the seven months he worked there he was paid $30 per week. After-

ward he was employed in San Francisco for eighteen months, first with the Globe, next with the National (now the Examiner ).

During the Civil war Mr. Peabody served in the Confederate army. After returning to Cal- ifornia, he became foreman of the Sonoma Democrat, and later was one of its proprietors.

After disposing of his interest in it, he became foreman of the Daily Independent of Vallejo, Cal., and later was foreman of the Times, a weekly paper of Visalia, Tulare county; afterward becoming foreman of the state print- ing office at Sacramento under Governor Irv- ing's administration. His next position was as foreman of the night force in the state printing office. When the Republicans came into power, he was retained in the position, which was a pleasant surprise to him and a tribute to his ability. At the end of the term the printers, who were, of course, mostly Republicans, pre- sented him with a valuable watch suitably in- scribed.

Having bought the Dispatch at Ukiah, Cal .. (afterward consolidated with the Democrat) Mr. Peabody remained in Ukiah for ten years. Com- ing from there to Santa Ana, he became part owner of the Morning Blade, but this he sold two years later. Under the second administra- tion of President Cleveland, he was for four years postmaster at Santa Ana, but was suc- ceeded by a Republican on the election of Presi- dent Mckinley. He then returned to the east and visited his old home in Missouri, after which he purchased a store at Newport Beach, Cal., retaining, however, his residence in Santa Ana.

CYRUS B. PULVER. At the age of twenty- one years Cyrus B. Pulver left New York state and settled in Will county, Ill., where he en- gaged in farming. His next location was Cham- paign county, Ill., but his labors there were not rewarded with success. Hoping a change might he beneficial, he went to LeRoy, Kans., and se- cured employment with Coffin & Graham, cattle dealers. With the money thus earned, he bought a team and then engaged in breaking prairie land near Wichita. After five years of pioneer farming, in November, 1881, he came to California, and bought a farm of forty acres near Newport. Unlike his experience in the east, he here met with success, and after five or six years sold the land to good advantage during the boom. Previous to this he had purchased nine acres on Santa Clara avenue, Santa Ana, where he now resides, and in addi- tion, he owns twenty-five acres near Olive. Politically he is a Republican in national issues, but independent in local affairs. While living in Kansas he was married, in Wichita, to Isa- belle S., daughter of Chauncey Hatch, a native of Vermont.

1187

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

DON PIO PICO, the last governor of Upper California under Spanish rule, was born in the mission of San Gabriel May 5, 1801, and was a son of José M. Pico by Doña Maria Eustaquia Gutierrez, the former of whom died at San Gabriel in 1819 and the latter in 1846. One of their sons, Gen. Andrés Pico, a conspicuous character in the early history of California, was born at the old presidio of San Diego November 30, 1810, and died February 14, 1876. When the United States invaded Mexico he served in the army of his country as general and signed the peace agreement with Gen. Fre- mont, who in after years was one of his stanch and warm friends. Another of the sons, José Antonio Pico, who was a soldier at Monterey, died at Santa Margarita. There were several daughters in the family, one of whom became the wife of Don Juan Forster, and another was Mrs. Maria Ortega, while two others married, in succession, José A. Carrillo.

The life of Don Pio Pico covered almost the entire period of the nineteenth century. He often in later life recalled the great earthquake of 1812 that destroyed the unfinished church of San Juan Capistrano, with many lives. He also remembered that in 1810 his father was impris- oned on account of having talked concerning Mexican independence in the company of which he was sergeant. In 1818 his father was sent to San Gabriel on account of the rising of the neophytes of the mission, but during the same year was recalled to San Diego to assist in the defense of that port against some pirates.

In 1821 Don Pio was employed by his brother-in-law, José Antonio Carrillo, to take twenty-five barrels of brandy to distribute among the missionary fathers of the northern part of the territory, as a present from Carrillo, who was then one of the most influential men in California. In 1828 Don Pio was appointed secretary of a commission, of which Captain Portilla was the head, which was ordered by Governor Echandia to try some charges against a Mexican citizen, in which the question of the precedence of the civil over the military authority was vigorously contested. The course of General Victoria was resisted by him, with others, in 1831, and their pronunciamento gained the support of all the military compa- nies in San Diego. General Echandia placed himself at the head of the force and sent fifty men, under Captain Portilla, to Los Angeles, with orders to imprison the alcalde, Vincente Sanchez, and set at liberty citizens illegally im- prisoned. These orders were faithfully carried out. At the same time General Victoria reached the mission of San Fernando. The next day an engagement took place between the two forces, which resulted partly in favor of Victoria, but the next day he surrendered to Portilla.

Don Pio Pico was governor at the time of

the change of government and faithfully en- deavored to defend the territory, but the con- test was a hopeless one, and he and his brother accepted the inevitable and became good Amer- ican citizens, continuing as such their remaining years.

FRANK J. CARPENTER, came to Los Angeles in the latter '40s, and in 1851 became jailer of the county and city jail. During his services in this capacity for nearly a quarter of a century he witnessed the most stirring and reckless period ever experienced by a western town, but from the first was master of the situa- tion, and of all who sought to violate the laws of justice and humanity. A strong and domi- nant personality, his magnetic influence was far reaching in its effects, and secured for him a reputation far beyond the confines of the little town. When his term as jailer had expired, he was for years a policeman in Los Angeles, and while patroling the streets of the crude village was face to face with the worst crimes of which human nature is capable. A shrewd financier and practical business man, he amassed a con- siderable fortune in stock and other enterprises. He was a Democrat in politics, and a man of liberal views and humane instincts. His death in 1894 was deeply mourned by innumerable friends, by the hundreds who knew him by hearsay and appreciated his services in the pioneer days, and by all who are loath to note the passing of the landmarks among the clar- acters of Southern California.

JOHN T. CARPENTER, a native of Platte county, Mo., was educated in the public schools of Los Angeles, and in 1858 engaged in the stock-raising business near the town, in part- nership with his father, Frank J. Carpenter. This occupation continued for four years, and in May of 1862, he married Deogracia Harri- meias, who was born in Los Angeles, of Spanish descent. For a time after his marriage lie was deputy jailer for his father at the city and county jail, and subsequently pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land near the town of Los Angeles. This he improved and farmed for a short time, but eventually sold, and came to Orange county, and purchased one thousand two hundred acres of land, which was a part of the old Santa Ana grant, and upon which he lived for a number of years. He then went to Los Angeles and engaged in the wood and coal business, which was followed by his removal to San Fernando, Cal., where he farmed until 1885. He then located in San Diego county on a ranch near San Marcos, where he engaged in farming pursuits until his removal to Olive pre- cinct. The ranch of Mr. Carpenter is composed of twelve and a half acres, and is devoted to vine- yards and fruit culture in general. In marked

1188

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

contrast to the size of his other possessions, it is yet a model property, under fine cultivation. An interesting feature in the life of Mr. Car- penter, and the one circumstance which has most conspicuously placed him in the public eye, is the outgrowth of his possessions on the old Santa Ana ranch. By virtue of purchase and residence he became legal owner of the one thousand two hundred acres, and of the water right which legally belonged to the land, under the riparian rights law. This right was for years under litigation, and was finally de- cided by the supreme court in favor of the John T. Carpenter water right. This enormous and just advantage to Mr. Carpenter has caused him to be known throughout the entire state. He is variously interested in the affairs of his locality, and is a prominent member of the Democratic party.

HERMAN W. HELLMAN, came to Los Angeles May 14, 1859. He was at the time about fifteen years of age and Los Angeles was a town approaching three thousand inhabitants. He brought little with him besides a good public-school education, backed with good health, temperate habits and a resolute purpose to do something and do it thoroughly and suc- cessfully. The following June he entered the employ of Gen. Phineas Banning, of Wilming- ton, as freight clerk in the forwarding and con- mission business. In December, 1861, he re- signed the position to join a cousin in the stationery business in Los Angeles. After several years he embarked in the fancy goods and stationery business on his own account, and continued therein until March, 1870, when he disposed of his business and spent a year and a half in Europe. Upon his return, in November, 1871, he and Jacob Haas (an old schoolmate) founded the house of Hellman, Haas & Co., which under Mr. Hellman's general direction carried on an extensive and successful whole- sale grocery business for nineteen years, ex- tending their trade throughout Southern Cali- fornia, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The life and energy of this aggressive business house have become a material feature of the splendid commercial history of Los Angeles.

From time to time Mr. Hellman made large and judicious investments in Los Angeles realty and substantial business enterprises, among which may be mentioned the purchase of stock in the Farmers & Merchants Bank, of which he was elected a director. In 1890 he retired from the firm of Hellman, Haas & Co., and accepted the position of vice-president and local manager of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, since which time he has given to the direction of its exten- sive business his best energies and close per- sonal attention.

JOHN ALPHEUS WILLSON, of Santa Ana, was born in Rockbridge county, Va., Oc- tober 22, 1838.

The education of John Alpheus Willson was obtained principally in Lexington and Browns- burg, Va. At the age of nineteen he became a dry goods clerk, and later acquired a business of his own in Lexington, Va., also in Sherman, Tex., where he was quite successful. During the Civil war he enlisted as a private in the Confederate army and was afterwards promoted to be captain of Company H, Rockbridge Guards, Twenty-fifth Virginia Infantry. While taking part in the battle of Antietam he was wounded in the hip. Soon afterward he was transferred from the infantry to the Fourteenth Cavalry, and served on the staff of Gen. John McCauslin until the surrender of Gen. Lee's army at Appomattox Courthouse.

The first sojourn of Mr. Willson in California was in 1887, but he soon returned to Sherman, Tex., with the hope that the change might bene- fit his wife's health-a hope that was destined to disappointment, for Mrs. Willson soon after- ward died. Before his return to Texas his two daughters, Evelyn and Carrie, had married, Evelyn becoming the wife of W. W. Henry, who is from Rockbridge, Va., and resides on St. Clair avenue, Santa Ana, where he has ten acres in walnuts and oranges. Carrie, is the wife of J. E. Copeland, and resides on Chicago avenue, Riverside, Cal. The two sons are William Dunlap Willson, an employe of the Santa Fe system in Los Angeles, and James Scott Willson, of Santa Ana. The second mar- riage of Mr. Willson took place in Santa Ana and united him with Mrs. Henrietta Jackson, of Columbia, Tenn., who by her former marriage had two children, James Jackson, of Columbia, Tenn., and Mrs. Effie Eckley, of Santa Ana.

GEORGE J. MOSBAUGH was educated in the public schools and at the state university of Indiana, and also studied at Louisville, Ky. He enlisted as a private in May, 1864, in Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-third Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, and served until his honorable discharge in September of the same year. After returning to his home in Indiana, he left for Pittsburg, Pa., and was for nine years engaged in active business. In the spring of 1875 he came to Orange county, Cal., and for eight and a half years was interested in horticulture, hav- ing started from the beginning and learned everything pertaining thereto. Naturally he became interested in the question of water sup- ply, and for one year was secretary of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigating Company. At the time of the organization of the Commercial Bank of Santa Ana, he was the first bookkeeper of the bank, a position which he creditably maintained for five years. He then became associated with

1189

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the newly organized Bank of Orange as cash- ier, and for six years faithfully and conscien- tiously worked for the interests of that institu- tion. In the meantime he had been elected cashier of the Commercial Bank of Santa Ana, with which he had formerly been identified, and he has creditably sustained the same up to the present time.

The commercial prosperity of Santa Ana has been augmented by the enterprise and public spirit of Mr. Mosbaugh, and he has held local offices of trust and importance. After the in- corporation of the city he was the first city treasurer, and as such looked well to the best interests of the community which he served. He is a member of the Republican party politically, and is associated with the Masons and the Grand Army of the Republic.

L. C. WAITE. Upon the organization of the First National Bank of Riverside, in May, 1885, Mr. Waite became one of its first stockholders, and seven months later he was chosen to fill the office of vice-president. In September, 1900, he became president of the institution, which, under his careful supervision, has gained a place among the substantial banks of Southern Cali- fornia, with deposits reaching upward of $800,- 000. During the year 1890 he aided in the or- ganization of the Riverside Savings Bank and Trust Company, of which he has from the first been a director and is now the president. This company has deposits aggregating more than $500,000, and is upon that solid financial basis which is the precursor of permanent success.

It is a matter of local history that Mr. Waite was the first attorney-at-law to settle in River- side, the first notary public and the first justice of the peace here, he having come to this city in December, 1870. Born near Lake Geneva, in Walworth county, Wis., September 12, 1842, he is a son of Sidney and Permelia (Barker) Waite. During the Civil war he served in the Union army. In the spring of 1870 he was ad- mitted to the bar in Tama county, Iowa, and in December of the same year he opened the first law office in Riverside, Cal., where later for four years he was justice of the peace. Soon he began to be interested in horticulture, which his keen foresight assured him would in time become the principal industry of Southern Cal- ifornia. At that time it was not known what varieties of fruits were best adapted to this soil and climate, therefore his first ventures were in the nature of experiments. Through ex- perience he soon acquired a thorough knowl- edge of horticulture with relation to local condi- tions. As a member of the firm of Waite & Simms he conducted a large nursery in this city, thus aiding others in getting a start in the business. He was the first horticulturist who successfully budded trees, and the different

varieties that he imported have since become well known among the recognized products of the region.

In addition to the nursery in Riverside, which he retained until 1896, Mr. Waite established the first nurseries in Redlands, also one at High- land. He laid out the town site of Highland and aided in the building up of that now beauti- ful and prosperous region. At this writing he is president of the Highland Domestic Water Company. Besides his orchard of thirty-five acres adjoining Riverside, he owns forty acres at Highland. He organized the North Fork Water Company at Highland, securing water from the Bear valley reservoir, and during the first ten years of the company's existence he held the office of president, but finally resigned in order to accept the position of president of the East Riverside Water Company, which he has since filled. Through his instrumentality was organized, in 1894, the La Mesa Packing Company, of which he has since been the presi- dent.

C. W. FILKINS. Born in Saratoga Springs, N. Y., in 1844, C. W. Filkins received a liberal education, completing his studies in Schenectady College. In 1866 he went to St. Paul, where he was engaged in the wholesale dry goods busi- ness for eleven or twelve years. Then, owing to failing health, he sold out and removed to San Francisco, and in the fall of 1880 located in Riverside. Here he soon embarked in several enterprises and in 1881 was appointed post- niaster by President Garfield. Later he held the same position under Arthur's administra- tion until he resigned, March 4, 1885. It was not until August, however, that his resignation was accepted, a special request by telegraph at last receiving attention. In the meantime Mr. Filkins had become a horticulturist and the second orange grove at Redlands was improved by him. He also dealt considerably in real estate in Riverside and locality and improved a twenty-acre tract, situated sixteen miles west of Riverside. For years he has devoted a part of his attention to the raising of standard-bred horses of the Inka and Strathmore strains.

Perhaps the most important of his many enterprises was the organizing of the Banning colony and the formation of a stock company known as the Banning Land & Water Company. Those associated with him in this company are Evan Williams, Jacob Klein, Tlieodore H. Hofer and George W. Bryant, the last-named of Carson City, Nev. On one occasion, when rid- ing through the country in the vicinity of the present flourishing town of Banning, Mr. Fil- kins conceived the idea of irrigating the then desert land thereabout, as he noted the flume which had been constructed by a lumber com- pany, for the purpose of transporting cord-wood

1190

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from the mountains to the Southern Pacific Rail- road. Laying out the town of Banning on the railroad mentioned, eighty-eight miles east of Los Angeles, in 1883, it has grown to large proportions, and has justified the hopes of its founder. Fine products are annually yielded by the well irrigated soil of that region, peaches, apricots, plums, almonds, figs, grapes and rais- ins being among the fruits raised. Owing to the alkaline character of the ground, at points between the mountainsand the land which it was planned to irrigate, cement ditches were con- structed, and in these channels the water flows pure and life-giving, fresh as in the mountains. Over two thousand acres have thus been placed under cultivation, and to-day extensive crops of grain are raised, in addition to other products.

HERBERT S. HAZELTINE, the manager of the D. E. Smeltzer celery farm near Santa Ana, is one of the enterprising young business men of Orange county. For some years he has made a specialty of the raising of celery, and it is doubtful if any resident of Southern California is more familiar with the industry than he. Through careful study he has gained a thorough knowledge of every detail connected with the occupation, is an excellent judge of the variety of soil adapted to the raising of the product, and is master of the situation in every instance. The business of which he is now the head is the largest of its kind in the world, five hundred cars of celery being shipped each year from Smeltzer's Station to eastern and southern points, and as far northeast as Canada.

WILLIAM F. LUTZ. This well-known bus- iness man of Santa Ana, who is president of the William F. Lutz Company, was born in Ess- lingen, Wurtemberg, Germany, June 18, 1867. The years of boyhood he spent at the old home- stead, but at the age of sixteen he came to America, in October, 1883, to seek a livelihood from a country that offered greater advantages than his own. Landing in New York, he pro- ceeded at once to Chicago, joining some rela- tives who were engaged in business there.

In order to prepare himself for a commercial life, Mr. Lutz attended the Bryant & Stratton Business College. On leaving that school, he secured employment as bookkeeper for the Haegele Ice Company, with which he remained five years. In March, 1888, he came to Cali- fornia, settling first in San Francisco, but in September, 1889, he removed to Los Angeles, where he was employed as stenographer by S. W. Luitwieler, dealer in agricultural imple- ments and vehicles. After three years in Los Angeles he came to Santa Ana, in 1892, and bought the branch implement house of Mr. Luit- wieler, since which time he has been identified with Orange county and its interests. At the

time of purchase, the business was conducted upon a very small scale, but with the constant development of the county his own enterprise has kept pace, and it is now the largest business of its kind south of Los Angeles. In the store may be found all kinds of vehicles and farm implements, and the proprietor is prepared to fill orders for every variety of farm machinery. The success attending the business is due to his energetic and capable management, and proves that he is a man of executive ability and commercial instincts.

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

Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 177

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