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 183

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

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Frederick P., an electrical engineer with the Edison Company in Los Angeles, Cal .; Flor- ence, a student in Claremont College; Edith and Leonard, students in the Chino schools.

In order that he might be at home with his family, Mr. White abandoned field work and re- turned to San Diego, after which he was tem- porarily interested in the cattle business. ] 1891 he came to Chino to take charge of the Chino Land and Water Company for Richard Gird. Two years later he accepted a position as manager of the L. W. Blinn Lumber Com- pany, which was established in 1891 and handles all kinds of building material, with a plant cov- ering six lots. Since 1891 Mr. White has re- sided in Chino and now owns an attractive home on Seventh street. Fraternally he is connected with the blue lodge and chapter of Masonry, and in religion is connected with the Christian Church, of which he is an elder. His interest in educational matters led to his acceptance of the position of trustee of the grammar and high schools of Chino, in which office he has been instrumental in promoting the welfare of both pupils and teachers. His service as countv su- pervisor has also been satisfactory and has proved him to be a man of great public spirit, intensely interested in whatever plan is inaugu- rated for the benefit of the people.

B. S. WESTON. The chance results of a sea- faring life brought Mr. Weston to Wilmington, and he has never had reason to regret his deci- sion to settle in California, for during his resi- dence here he has accumulated a large and valuable property and has also retained a power of endurance not always seen among men many year's his junior. He was born in Salem, Mass., September 14, 1832, being a son of Cutler and Eliza (Masury) Weston, natives respectively of Hamilton and Salem, Mass. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Weston, a soldier of the Revolution, was a lifelong resident and farm- er of Massachusetts; the maternal grand- father, John Masury, was a ship-joiner by trade and followed that occupation in Salem until his death. At an early age Cutler Weston began to sail the high seas and in time he rose to the position of master mariner in the West Indies and European trade. While still a young man he died on the west coast of Africa in Liberia. Of his five children all at- tained mature years except one.

The youngest of the family was B. S. Weston, of Wilmington. With a common-school educa- tion to aid him in the battle of life, he left home for the life of a sailor, and during ten years he served on ships that sailed to remote ports of the earth. His first voyages were to the east and west of South America, after which he made several trips between San Francisco and China. It was during 1850 that he began to mine in

California, and later he secured other work in San Francisco, after which he sailed to Hong Kong and the Sandwich Islands. On one of these voyages he drifted to Catalina island, and there, in 1859, he began to raise sheep, having as his partner N. A. Narbonne. In 1868 they brought the sheep to the mainland, a distance of twenty-six miles, and placed them on a range of six thousand acres which they bought. The sheep business was disposed of in 1882, and later the partners divided the land between them. At this writing Mr. Weston has nineteen hun- dred acres, which is planted in corn, barley and wheat. An abundance of water is supplied by two seven-inch wells, five hundred feet deep, the motive power being a five-horse-power gas engine. All of the buildings on the place were put up under his personal oversight, and the ranch is a monument to his skillful and pains- taking management. The active management of the land is now in the hands of O. S. Wes- ton, his nephew, who was born in Georgetown, Mass., but has made his home on this property for some years. The home is presided over by Mrs. Sarah P. Weston, wife of O. S. Weston, and is brightened by the presence of their son, Benjamin P.

The extensive travels of B. S. Weston during his early life gave him a fund of information that largely atoned for the deficiencies of his early education, and by accurate habits of ob- servation and reading he has acquired a breadth of knowledge not always secured by those whose school advantages are far superior to his. Many years ago he was made a Mason, and the blue lodge at Wilmington and chapter in Los Angeles have his name enrolled among their members. Though at no time in his life an ardent partisan, his advocacy of Republican principles is stanch and unwavering.

HON. CHARLES J. WALKER. The mu- nicipal head of Long Beach is also one of its most influential and substantial citizens, in that his varied attainments have placed him in touch with its most enterprising and developing op- portunities. An easterner by birth and early training, he was born in Livonia, Livingston county, N. Y., November 8, 1869, and is the youngest in a family of five children, three of whom are living, he being the only one in Cali- fornia. Latter day ancestors have lived princi- pally in New York, and in that state the father, William D. Walker, was born, and engaged in the manufacture of furniture in Livonia. Dur- ing the Civil war he served in a New York regi- ment in the Union army, and in 1879 sought to enlarge his prospects by removal to Tulare county, Cal., where he soon after died. His wife, formerly a Miss Esterbrook, was also born in New York, and died when her son, Charles J., was a baby.

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When the family fortunes were shifted to California Hon. Charles J. Walker remained in his native state, and after completing his edu- cation in the public schools attended the Alfred University. Upon removing to Portersville, Tulare county, Cal., in 1889, he was employed by a large real-estate firm, and later in the ab- stract office, at a later period serving as deputy auditor of the county under Mr. Jeffords. This position was resigned in 1895 to come to Long Beach, where he embarked upon a real-estate and insurance business, in which he has since achieved pronounced success. As an insurance man he represents several of the leading com- panies in the country, and besides maintains with credit responsibilities in many of the most substantial enterprises of the city. He is presi- dent of the Long Beach Land Improvement Association, which concern has purchased the Alamatos Beach town site, and is rapidly selling off lots. He is a director in the First National and the Citizens Savings Banks, and one of the organizers of the latter. In addition he is presi- dent of the Cash Store Company, Incorporated, a retail grocery establishment, located on the corner of First and Pine streets, and the largest of its kind in the town. He is also superintend- ent of the John Carroll fruit ranch. From time to time valuable city holdings have passed through his hands, and he has built and sold many residences in different parts of the town. His own residence is located on the corner of Cedar and Fourth streets.

Since coming to Long Beach Mr. Walker has married Carrie D. Ziegler, who was born in Minnesota, and is a graduate of the Los An- geles State Normal. Mrs. Walker is a woman of unusual intellectual attainments, and was for- merly one of the well-known educators of Southern California. To Mr. and Mrs. Walker have been born three children, Alice, Charles and Gustavus. In political affiliation Mr. Walker is a stanch Republican, and has taken a prominent part in the local undertakings of liis party. In April of 1900 he was elected to the city board of trustees for four years, and upon the organization of the citizens' ticket was made president of the board and has been mayor ever since. His administration has been favor- ablv received, his tactful adjustment of munici- pal complications having won unstinted praise. Mr. Walker is a member of the Board of Trade, and is fraternally connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. A member of the Methodist Church, he is also one of the official board, and one of the strong- est supporters of the denomination. The ca- reer of Mr. Walker is worthy of emulation irom whatever vantage ground viewed, for, added to an exemplary life, have been pronounced busi- ness success, an untarnished political record. and a vital interest in all that has to do with the

noblest and best and most intelligent citizen - ship.

JAMES HANLEY. A public-spirited career of which any city might be proud is that of James Hanley, experienced railroad man and supervisor of Los Angeles county since Janu- ary of 1893. The customs of other countries than our own have contributed their impressions to the formation of the inclinations of Mr. Han- ley, and of these his native land of Ireland, where he was born April 14, 1847, has played the least important part. When a lad of ten years he accompanied the rest of his family to the great country of Australia, the good ship Fusilier rounding the Cape of Good Hope on its voyage of 160 days. Arriving at his destina- tion, the boy was educated in the national schools during the slight leisure of his busy life, and while still young began to learn the rail- road business. As a wiper he started in to work for the Queensland & Great Northern Railroad Company, and in time became a fireman on the road.

In the meantime his thought had been wan- dering to the chances to be found in the United States, and in 1866 he boarded the American barque Ethan Allen at Sydney, and on the way to San Francisco the voyage of four months was enlivened by stops at Tahiti and Honolulu. In Sacramento he found an opportunity to con- tinue in his former occupation, and became identified with the Central Pacific Railroad at a time when there were only ninety miles of the line completed. He was soon promoted from fireman to engineer, and in this capacity came to Los Angeles. As an employe of the South- ern Pacific Railroad Company he ran the first engine between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and for ten years creditably filled the positions of freight and passenger engineer. After twenty years of active work he resigned his amicable connection with this company and engaged in the real estate business, and later in the harness business. In 1888, on the Democratic ticket, he was elected to the city council for one term, and in 1892 was a candidate for supervisor, and was elected then and again in 1896. At the time there was not another Democrat elected on the ticket, a circumstance partially duplicated in 1900, when Mr. Hanley and Judge Trask were the only successful Democratic nominees. In this last election Mr. Hanley won by seven- teen votes, but the matter came up in court before Judge Allen, who decided in his favor. The disputed question is now in the supreme court, but the justice of his side and the ground- iess cause for complaint will undoubtedly result favorably for the defendant.

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A man of strong personality and fearlessness of expression, Mr. Hanley's political career has arraigned injustice and municipal corruption.

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The permanent improvements in many direc- tions date back to his first election as supervisor, when the matter of roads received the most earnest considerations of the board. At the time a change was made from the old-time method of filling from the sides of the road to filling in and piking with decomposed granite, thus creating a paved road, and one practically indestructible. The plan has also been adopted of doing away with bridges over dry gulches, and of substituting stone culverts. These im- provements are in accord with the idea of per- manency advocated by Mr. Hanley, who believes in the strong and substantial which in the end is always the cheapest. As councilman he has served on many important committees, and for one term was on the board of fire commission- ers, also for one term was a library trustee. At present he is chairman of the finance commit- tee. In 1898 he was a candidate for sheriff, but was defeated by W. A. Hammel.

In Blue Canon, Placer county, Cal., Mr. Han- ley married Katie Dolan, a native of Wheeling, W. Va., and who came to California with her parents when sixteen years of age. Of this union there are six children: Mamie, who died at the age of six years; William, who died when four years old; James Charles, who is a graduate of the Los Angeles Business College, and is employed in the office of General Manager Muir of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company; John T., who is a graduate of the high school, and is employed in the surveying corps of the Salt Lake Railroad; Katie Gertrude and Robert Emmett. Mr. Hanley is the friend of educa- tion, and sees in the perfecting of the system a ready means for the accomplishment of all that is conceded to be substantial in municipal and social government.

EMMET DENSMORE, M. D. It is a note- worthy fact that no part of the United States has attracted to it, in so large a degree as has California, men who have gained success in varied fields of endeavor. Among these espe- cial mention belongs to Dr. Densmore, whose life history proves the possibilities that await determination and perseverance, when coupled with ability and intelligence. Although a resi- dent of Long Beach and a firm believer in the horticultural and commercial possibilities of California, he still retains extensive business in- terests in the east, where a portion of his time is spent. On acquiring property interests in this state in 1895, he began the improvement of two ranches, both of which he still owns. One of these comprises forty acres at Burnett, all of the tract being in orchard. The other ranch consists of one hundred and ten acres at Los Alamitos, three-fourths of which has been put under fruit. However, the management of these properties does not represent the limit

of his activities in California, for he is president of the Densmore-Stabler Refining Company, which owns a plant on East Ninth street and the Santa Fe tracks, Los Angeles, and is en- gaged in the manufacture of lubricating oils. In addition, he is president of the Barnard- Densmore Company, Incorporated, which is en -- gaged in the manufacture of distilled water and preserved fruits, and occupies a plant at No. 135 West Fourteenth street, Los Angeles.

Tracing the history of the Densmore family, we find that Joel Densmore, a native of Ver- mont and a soldier in the war of 1812, became a pioneer of Crawford county, Pa., and there passed his remaining years, dying at Erie. For a wife he chose Sophia Compton, who was born near Batavia, N. Y., a member of an old family of New England; her death occurred in Mead- ville, Pa. Five sons and two daughters were born of this union, the youngest, Emmet, hav- ing been born in Blooming Valley, Crawford county, Pa., May 19, 1837. Few advantages were given any of the children, for their parents were limited in means. In spite of their lack of advantages, they attained success that was little short of remarkable. In the school of experience they early learned lessons of even greater importance than those acquired from text-books. Being men of great ingenuity. keen mental acumen, and not a little inventive genius, they were able, backed by their indom- itable determination, to become leaders of men in every community with which they were iden- tified. Yet, in looking back over their lives, they remember the early years of struggle, the hardships they endured and the obstacles they overcame. When only ten years of age, Em- met was apprenticed to the printer's trade in the office of the Crawford Journal and serving four years in learning the printer's trade. At the age of fifteen he entered Allegheny College, where he remained until completing his sopho- more year. Before he was nineteen he married, and soon afterward entered the printing office of his brother James in Elkhorn, Wis.

The first independent venture of the young man was as a manufacturer of shingles in Chat- field, Minn., but the panic of 1857 proved fatal to the industry, and he returned to Pennsyl- vania. After the discovery of oil on Oil Creek he induced his brother Amos to join him in its production, it being his idea to form the firm of Densmore Brothers and give their three brothers each an interest in the business. At first the company's capital was very limited. nor were they the possessors of the expedients that aid in the successful management of an oil business to-day. No pipe lines had been con- structed, and it was necessary to ship the oil in barrels, an expensive method. For aid in making these shipments, they built large re ceptacles for the storage of oil. The bottoms

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of these were tamped with clay covered with a few inches of water, and as the water slowly leaked away it was replaced. The sides were of lumber, the cracks of which were pitched. The outside was supported by earth embank- ments. The bulk boats, which they built at Rice- ville, Pa., were floated down Oil Creek to their wells and filled, then transferred to pond fresh- ets (large ponds of water let loose to make a temporary rise in Oil creek), and ran down to Oil City, the then mouth of the creek. From there they were floated or towed by steamboats down the Allegheny river to Pittsburg, where the oil was marketed. The tank previously de- scribed and also the bulk boat mentioned were chiefly the invention of Amos Densmore, who of all the brothers was perhaps the most gifted as an inventor.

Associated with his brothers James and Amos, Emmet Densmore was interested in the introduction of the Remington typewriter, and later with Amos engaged in the manufacture , and introduction of the Densmore typewriter, of which Amos was the inventor. To the brother James may really be attributed the praise for the founding of the typewriter enter- prise, as he furnished C. Latham Sholes the necessary capital to complete and patent the invention, and it was through his perseverance during fifteen years of experiments that ulti- mate success was afterward attained. It will thus be seen that in many fields of activity the brothers have been pioneers and successful workers.

August 14, 1855, Enmet Densmore married Elizabeth Heard, daughter of James Armstrong and Hannah (Floyd) Heard. The children born of this union were as follows: Darlot, who is engaged in the refining of oil in Los Angeles; Shelly, deceased; Iantha, residing at Lillydale, N. Y .; and Percy, a business man of Paris, France. Dr. Densmore was united in marriage with Mrs. Helen Barnard May 14, 1881. About that time he took up the study of medicine and in 1885 received the degree of M. D. from the New York University Medical College, after which he engaged in practice in New York City for several years. He is the author of "The Natural Food of Man," 1890; "How Na- ture Cures." 1890; and "Consumption and Chronic Diseases," 1899; and, in connec- tion with Mrs. Densmore, for several years published in London a periodical entitled "Natural Food." Of late years he has de- voted much time and thought to popularizing hygiene and to extending a knowledge of diet in its relation to health and disease. It is said that every man has a hobby, and if this is the case with Dr. Densmore, the subject of hygiene is probably his hobby. Believing that much sickness might be avoided by a proper ob- servance of the laws of hygiene, he has made it

his chief object of recent years to extend among the people a knowledge of the subject and to arouse them to a knowledge of the necessity of the observance of its laws. By means of the proprietary remedies which he and Mrs. Dens- more manufacture at their plant in Brooklyn, he has distributed in the past ten years throughout the United States over thirty mil- lion copies of pamphlets devoted to an exposi- tion of hygiene and health. In all of his enter- prises he has had the co-operation and counsel of his wife, a woman of exceptional ability.

HELEN BARNARD DENSMORE. Tlie successful prosecution by women of varied lines of business has been so frequently seen of re- cent years that it no longer awakens the sur- prise and curiosity it once aroused. However, within the memory of those scarcely beyond middle age, a different condition existed and scarcely any occupations, save school-teaching, domestic service and dressmaking, were open to women. During the years of the Civil war, when Mrs. Helen Barnard was a newspaper cor- respondent, reportorial work was almost ex- clusively in the hands of men, and she had the distinction of being the first woman to sit in the reporters' gallery of the House of Repre- sentatives in Washington. Wielding a fluent pen and possessing a keen insight into human nature and the motives which prompt certain lines 'of action, she gained a wide acquaintance and an enviable reputation in the field of jour- nalism. Her conspicuous ability and her inter- est in matters of national importance led Presi- dent Grant to appoint her a Commissioner of Emigration; and, in order that she might suc- cessfully and thoroughly study the condition of the emigrants, this zealous commissioner crossed the Atlantic as a steerage passenger.

In 1881 Mrs. Barnard became the wife of Dr. Densmore. and the following year they estab- lished, on Forty-fourth street, New York City, a large and lucrative medical practice for the reduction of obesity by diet and hygiene. They were the first in New York to adopt the Har- vey-Banting method for the reduction of obes- ity. Many of their wealthy patients explained the treatment to their family physicians, and as a result in a few years substantially the same treatment as that inaugurated by Mrs. Dens- more was dispensed by large numbers of ortho- dox physicians throughout New York and Brooklyn. In 1885 Dr. and Mrs. Densmore es- tahlished the business of manufacturing and selling proprietary remedies, chief among which is Garfield Tea, of which they are sole proprietors. They have an office and plant at No. 145 Forty-first street. Brooklyn, while their Brooklyn residence stands at Eighty-fourth street and Eleventh avenue. The remarkable

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success of their proprietary business proves the high quality of the remedies, and Dr. Densmore ascribes much of the credit for this success to his wife, whose ability is far above the average. Notwithstanding the many enterprises in which she has been interested, she has always found leisure to keep posted concerning events of national importance, and few are better in- formed concerning current happenings. Believ- ing the imprisonment of Mrs. Maybrick to be grossly unjust, she has been active in endeavor- ing to secure her release, and a few years ago published an account of the Maybrick case in pamphlet form. Many of these were distrib- uted in England, during the frequent visits of herself and husband to that country. Socially she is a member of the Ebell Club of Long Beach and the Friday Morning Club of Los Angeles.

ALEXANDER GAVIN. Of sturdy Scottish birth and ancestry, Mr. Gavin was born near Ellen, Aberdeenshire, April 15, 1868, and is a son of Alexander Gavin, a native of the same locality. The paternal grandfather, James, was a blacksmith by trade, but in later life devoted himself to the more peaceful occupation of farm- ing. Alexander Gavin began life with his father's latter-day occupation, and for many years was a successful farmer, at the present time, how- ever, giving his attention to the insurance busi- ness in Banff, Scotland. He married Anna Diack, also a native of Scotland, and who died in Aberdeenshire, leaving six children, all of whom are living, Alexander Jr. being second.

On his father's farm Mr. Gavin was reared to maturity, and his education was acquired at the district schools. When twenty-one years of age he crossed the ocean to America and set- tled on a farm near Manitoba and Winnipeg. Not entirely satisfied with his selection of a place of residence, he removed to Salt Lake City in the fall of 1890, and there applied him- self to learning the cement business. In 1894 he located in Los Angeles as a possible desir- able field for future activity, and found employ- ment as finisher with the firm of Chapman & Whittier. Two years later, in 1896, he began to contract for cement work, and has since laid miles of sidewalks and curbing all over the city especially in the Weisendanger and O. Day additions. He has also built himself a residence at No. 927 East Twenty-fourth street.

After coming to Los Angeles Mr. Gavin mar- ried Eugenie Lattimer, who was born in Texas, and came to Los Angeles when ten years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Gavin have been born two children, Lawrence Gerald and Helen. Mr. Gavin is politically inclined towards the Democratic party, but entertains very liberal views. He is a member of the Cement Con- tractors' Association, and has done much to

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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 183

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