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 192

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 192

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Coming to San Diego in 1887, Mr. Schwartz two years later became agent here for the Na- tional City & Otai Railroad, continuing in the same capacity until he entered public life. His nomination in the fall of 1898 for the office of county treasurer was followed by an election with a majority of eight hundred votes. The duties of his office he assumed in January, 1899, for a term of four years. While living in Chicago he married Anna Kuceoa, of that city, and a native

of Peoria, Ill. They have three sons, Edmund, Richard and Joseph. In his fraternal relations Mr. Schwartz is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Order of Foresters and Ancient Order of United Work- men, in several of which he is a trustee.

RUFUS FISLER. Eighteen miles from San Diego and two miles from the village of El Cajon lies the Chase ranch, which is one of the most thriving and productive of all the estates in the El Cajon valley. Ever since 1883 it has been under the efficient management of Mr. Fisler, to whose perseverance and enterprise may be attributed its neat appearance and in- creasing revenues. In the ranch there are sev- enteen hundred and fifty acres, all in one body. Of this vast tract one hundred and forty acres are under cultivation to various kinds of fruit, fifty acres being in raisin grapes, twenty-five in oranges, besides an abundance of pears, peaches, apples and prunes, also two hundred and seventy-five lemon trees and three hundred olive trees. The remaining acres are utilized for stock-raising purposes, a specialty being made of cattle, although in past years many horses were also raised.

A son of S. F. Fisler, M. D., the subject of this article was born at Clayton, N. J., in 1855. His education was such as the local schools af - forded. At an early age he began to take charge of lands owned by his father, and in this way he acquired knowledge that has since proved of inestimable value to him. In 1876 he went to Boulder, Colo., where for a year he engaged in prospecting and mining. On leaving Colorado for California, he settled in San Diego county and engaged in ranching for a year near the city of that name, after which he spent a year 011 the Sweetwater Frisbie ranch, then returned to San Diego, and soon afterward accepted the oversight of the ranch owned by Major Chase. Since then the entire ranch has been under his supervision, and he has given his time wholly to its management, taking no part in politics ex- cept to vote the Republican ticket. In fraternal relations he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Wood- men of America.

JOSEPH GABRIEL, proprietor of the Sun- flower poultry and pet stock farm, located on New York street and Maiden Lane, Pasadena, represents one of the largest poultry enterprises in Southern California, and by far the largest in Los Angeles county. Mr. Gabriel has made a scientific study of poultry raising, and no more perfect arrangements can be found anywhere for the successful raising of all kinds of domes- tic, fancy and game fowls. Much space is re- quired for the maintaining of the thousands of

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chickens raised every year, and four incubators are used the year round. Last year over four thousand were hatched, while this year (1902) the number has increased more than a thousand. Mr. Gabriel has about one thousand laying hens, and representatives of thirteen fine breeds, in- cluding Buff Cochins, Silver and White Wyan- dottes, white, brown and buff Leghorns, Plym- outh Rocks, black, spotted and white, black Langshangs, and many other varieties. He makes a specialty of Cornish Indian game cocks, and also has on hand numerous mammoth Pekin ducks and brown turkeys. His fowls are in de- mand all over the United States, and it is thought that he has shipped to every state in the Union.

In his younger days Mr. Gabriel lived on the paternal farm in Germany, where he was born March 1, 1860, a son of Joseph and Caroline (Drauske) Gabriel. When thirteen years of age he lost his mother, and that same year was ap- prenticed to a carpenter, under whose instruc- tion he remained for two years. In 1877 he came to America and located in Chicago, Ill., where he worked at his trade until 1885. He then came to San Francisco and worked as a foreman of construction for a couple of years, and in 1894 located in Pasadena, where he was similarly employed. Although successful in the application of his trade, he gradually became in- terested in the poultry business, and, starting with a few fowls of good breed, worked up to his present large business. In Chicago, Ill., Mr. Gabriel married Christine Miller, a native of Germany, and of this union there are six chil- dren: Annie, William, Carrie, Rosa, Josephine and Fritz. Mr. Gabriel is a Republican in polit- ical affiliation, and he is regarded as an enter- prising and worthy member of the community of Pasadena.

WILLIAM H. EVANS. Through the me- dium of various enterprises Mr. Evans has been enabled to promote the prosperity of his home town, Monrovia, where he has resided since De- cember of 1888. Perhaps in no way has he been more helpful than in the interesting of eastern people and capitalists in this ideal residence por- tion of the west, and the investments made by parties have proved not only advantageous to the investors themselves, but have reacted fa- vorably upon the town and its interests.

In Philadelphia, Pa., Mr. Evans was born in 1849. The educational advantages given him included attendance at the common schools, supplemented by a course of study in Newark College. On taking up an occupation he se- lected the trade of merchant tailoring, which he learned in all of its departments. When he se- lected a location for business, he chose Sandy Valley, Ohio, and there, in addition to working at his trade, he was interested in coal mines and

the manufacturing business, remaining in the town until ill health rendered a change of climate advisable. He then came to California and vis- ited different towns, deciding soon that Mon- rovia offered exceptional and unsurpassed ad- vantages from a climatic standpoint. The merchant tailoring establishment that he opened was the first shop of the kind here. After a short time he became interested in buying and selling real estate, which he continues to the present.

The marriage of Mr. Evans united him with Miss Herbert, of Columbiana county, Ohio, who now has charge of the office of the Sunset Tele- phone Exchange. They have two children, An- toinette and Harry, the former being the wife of George O. Monroe, and the mother of a son, Merton K. Monroe. Fraternally Mr. Evans is connected with the Royal Arcanum, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and Woodmen of the World, in which latter he has for four years served as an officer in the grand lodge of the state. More than once his fellow-citizens have showed their appreciation of his ability by se- lecting him to serve in offices of trust and re- sponsibility, and these various positions he has filled with energy, faithfulness and a high sense of honor. Included among these offices are those of city recorder and city clerk, which lat- ter he held for two and one-half years. The position of notary public he has also filled for eight years.

J. R. COOK. As proof of the long associa- tion of Mr. Cook with the delightful surround- ings of Long Beach, there stands at No. 327 Pine avenue a landmark interesting to all who enjoy the present advantages of the place, and which is none other than the first house erected on the site of the town by Mr. Cook, and for which he drew the lumber and plans. When he arrived here in 1882 little had been accomplished save the surveying of the town, and its present popularity and charm were undoubtedly but vaguely speculative. At first purchasing land for general farming purposes, a portion of which was set out in orchard, he devoted about four ycars to teaming, and in this capacity was in- strumental in securing most of the early lumber for the erection of the first home and buildings, which he brought from Wilmington and San Pedro. In connection therewith he successfully managed his farming and horticultural interests, and in time purchased a walnut orchard near San Juan, which he still owns, and which con- tains a walnut grove of ten acres ten years old. He also owns Long Beach property, for his faith in the future of his adopted town has inspired investments in some of its valuable holdings.

Not alone in California but in other parts of the country Mr. Cook has been brought in close proximity with pioneer conditions. Of English

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descent, he was born in Richland county, Ohio, November 12, 1829, and is one of two sons still living in a family of seven children, five daugh- ters being deceased. His father, Jacob, was born in Pennsylvania, as was also the pa- ternal grandfather, Noah, although the latter eventually removed to Ohio, where his death occurred. Jacob Cook was one of the very early settlers of Richland county, Ohio, and he lived upon the farm cleared from the heart of the forest until his death at the age of sixty-five years. He married Mary Lee, a native of the vicinity of Richmond, Va., and daughter of Sol- omon Lee, representative of a famous southern family. Mr. Lee was also an early settler of Richland county, Ohio, and died there when eighty-two years of age. While living on the paternal farm in Ohio, J. R. Cook attended the public schools and graduated from the high school at Lexington. At the age of seventeen he began teaching, and followed this occupation for three terms, and after his marriage, Septem- ber 26, 1848, began farming near Shelby, Ohio. In 1852 he removed by ox-teams to Whitley county, Ind., where he bought crude land and improved it from timber, and in 1857 again traveled over the country with teams and wagons, landing in Brown county, Kans., near Padonia, and five miles from Hiawatha. So well pleased was he with the west that he de- termined to still further penetrate its possibili- ties, so in 1860 he went with mule teams to Pike's Peak and then to Fairplay, in which lo- cality he engaged in mining for a year. He then returned to Kansas via the Santa Fe route, and established a trading post at what is now Fort Leonard, but was then Pawnee Rock, and here encountered the various interesting phases of pioneer life, at the same time working up a big business in general merchandise and general trading. At the time the Indian was an ever present menace to life and property, and the surrounding plains resounded to the tramping hoofs of innumerable buffalo herds. Mr. Cook went on many hunts after the buffalo, and he managed to keep on friendly terms with the Indians until the time of the final massacre. Even then his hitherto fair and considerate treat- ment of the red men was prolific of good re- turns, for a friendly savage warned him of the impending danger, and he was thus enabled not only to get out of the country with his family and goods, but could also aid others in making their escape from a terrible fate. Upon settling in eastern Kansas he farmed for some time, but eventually removed to Grand Island, now Buf- falo county, Neb., where he improved a farm from the rough and established a postoffice called White Cloud, and was himself the post- master. He materially aided in the building up of this section of the country, which happened to be on the great Mormon trail, and was ex-

tensively used by the disciples coming and going from the Mecca in Salt Lake City. He started the first school district of the place, and invested with his enthusiasm and enterprise many differ- ent outlets of activity.

In the spring of 1867 Mr. Cook fitted out an expedition and started over the plains with his family and worldly possessions, via Salt Lake City and the Humboldt route, and spent nearly three months in reaching Santa Cruz county, Cal. Here he put in his time farming, teaming and freighting, and in 1868 removed to Monte- rey county, and settled on a farm near Salinas, for three years also engaging as foreman of a large warehouse. In 1878 he removed to South- ern California, locating near Capistrano, in what is now Orange county, and farmed for three and a half years, and, as heretofore stated, came to Long Beach in 1882.

Mrs. Cook was formerly Harriett A. Kinney, a native of Cayuga county, N. Y., and daughter of George Rix Kinney, a native of Bennington, Vt. Mr. Kinney settled in Cayuga county, N. Y., and later in Lexington county, Ohio, al- though his death occurred after his removal to Huron county, Ohio. He married Sylvia Graves, who was born in Vermont and died in Ohio, and who was a granddaughter of Rev. Increase Graves, a clergyman of the Presbyte- rian Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Graves were born thirteen children, ten of whom attained ma- turity, and three are now living. One of the sons served in the Civil war. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cook, viz .: James Adelbert, who is a builder in Clearwater, Cal .; Rudolphus B., who is a horticulturist and owns thirty acres of land at Capistrano; Amy Jane, whose marriage to Joseph Rowse, of Capistrano, occurred February 12, 1884, being the first wed- ding that occurred in Long Beach (then known as Willmore City); Elmer Ellsworth, who is a horticulturist in Tustin; Ozias B., a horticul- turist of Capistrano; and Frank Emerson, who represents the Shepherd Fruit Company in Los Angeles. In political affiliation Mr. Cook is a Republican, and the Prohibition cause has found in him a stanch and uncompromising supporter. IIe has exerted his influence in this direction in Long Beach, and has in many other ways con- tributed to the best development of this part of the county.

THOMAS E. CLELAND, one of the suc- cessful ranchers of the vicinity of Florence, was born in Washington county, Me., in 1853. At the common schools he received a practical ed- ucation, and under his father's instruction be- came a model farmer and stock-raiser. . \t the age of eighteen he started out to earn his liv- ing, and in Boston, Mass., engaged as a clerk in a mercantile establishunent, changing his lo- cation in 1876 to California, and to the vicinity

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of Florence, which has since been the scene of his untiring efforts. In 1881 he purchased the ranch on Florence avenue upon which he now lives, and which has been transformed from wild mustard land to as fine a property as there is in this part of the county. Unimproved, the land was worth $300 per acre. It is at present fitted with all modern devices, among which is a private water plant, with an electric pumping apparatus.

Beginning in 1898, Mr. Cleland engaged in the dairy business, and he now has forty cows, and delivers milk and cream by wagon in Los Angeles. His stock consists of Jersey, Hol- stein and Durham cattle, and the dairy is con- ducted on model lines, with due regard for neat- ness and the welfare of customers. In 1883 Mr. Cleland married Leafy A. Stever, and of this union there are four children: Thomas E., Jr., Mary E., Paul O. and Fred W. The children are at home, and are receiving the benefits of a common-school education. In national politics Mr. Cleland is a stanch Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield. Ever since he arrived in this part of the state he has served on the school committee, and the graded school is located at the corner of his place. Fraternally he is well known, and is as- sociated with the Independent Order of Forest- ers, Lodge No. 966, at Los Angeles. He is one of the well-known upbuilders of Los Angeles county, and has taken a part in all public mat- ters, being esteemed for his uprightness of char- acter and common sense business methods.

NATHANIEL C. CARTER. At least two conclusions may be arrived at from the experi- ence of Mr. Carter in Southern California, first : that the climate affords remarkable advantages for the restoration to health of those whose lives have been despaired of elsewhere; second: that the soil affords opportunities for the attainment of ample means by men possessing persever- ance and force of will. When Mr. Carter came to the state, in 1871, the physicians of Lowell, Mass., had rendered their professional opinion to the effect that he could not live until spring. Nature, aided by climate, however, accomplished what other remedial agencies could not do, and he has since become one of the most energetic and prosperous horticulturists in his adopted home.

As the founder of the Sierra Madre colony Mr. Carter is best known, for it was largely through his judicious advertising that immi- grants were attracted hither from the east, thus furnishing a colony that for intelligence and moral standing has no superior. In February, 1881, he purchased from E. J. Baldwin one thousand and one hundred acres of Santa Anita rancho, commencing at the base of the Sierra Madre mountains and gently slop-

ing toward the valley. The tract was then in the primeval condition of nature, its sole use having been as a pasture for stock. Fore- seeing, however, its susceptibility to culti- vation, he divided the land into twenty and forty acre tracts, which he sold at low prices to permanent settlers. In order to render fruit- raising possible, he secured a water supply from numerous spring and streams in the mountains, and thus the problem of irrigation was easily solved. People began to buy homes here. Or- chards and vineyards were planted, avenues laid out, schools and churches erected, and the com- munity established upon a permanent and sub- stantial basis, which makes of it to-day one of the best portions of the county in which to es- tablish a home.

In Lowell, Mass., N. C. Carter was born in 1840, being a son of William and Julia (Coburn) Carter, lifelong residents of Lowell. The grand- father, Nathaniel Coburn, held the rank of cap- tain in the Revolutionary war, later dying in New York state. In connection with a brother, in 1862 N. C. Carter opened a grocery in Low- ell, but later sold his interest to the brother and turned his attention to the sewing machine business, also engaged in the manufacture of ready-made clothing and United States flags. The first flag made by machine work for the United States government was made by his wife in 1866. This lady, whom he married in Feb- ruary, 1864, was Annetta M. Pierce, of Lowell. They are the parents of five children, namely: Florence, wife of W. H. Mead, of Los Angeles ; Arthur N., of Sierra Madre; Julia F. and Anita E., at home; and Philip C., a student in the Throop Polytechnic Institute at Pasadena.

Obliged to relinquish all his interests in the east by reason of failing health, Mr. Carter came to California. For a few years he owned and occupied the Flores ranch near San Gabriel. Few of the pioneers spent more time than he in making known to eastern people the virtues of the great west, and it was he who in 1872 organized the Carter excursions, the first of the thousands of excursions that have since been conducted for the purpose of bringing prospective settlers to the coast. For some years, and until 1881, he conducted these ex- cursions, but his subsequent interests became so important that he could no longer take the time to go east as frequently as before. He was among the first to lay out lots in Pomona, and also laid out Sierra Madre, and a subdivi- sion of the city of Monrovia. In the organiza- tion of the Sierra Madre Water Company he was an active factor, and is still its largest stock- holder and a director. Politically a Republican, he has served his party both on the county and state central committees. In religious views he is a believer in Christian Science. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of

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Odd Fellows. For years he was a member of the Sixth District Agricultural Board, and in many other ways he has aimed to promote the general welfare.

The home of Mr. Carter, known as Carterhia, occupies one of the most picturesque locations in the San Gabriel valley. Its elevation of al- most fifteen hundred feet renders possible an excellent view of the Pacific ocean, thirty miles distant; also the towns of Pasadena, San Ga- briel and Monrovia. Adjoining it is Santa Ani- ta, the celebrated ranch of E. J. Baldwin. Los Angeles, fifteen miles away, is within easy ac- cess by means of an excellent steam-car service, thus giving the residents of Sierra Madre all the advantages of proximity to a metropolis, while at the same time they have the peace and plenitude of an ideal country home. With the greatest degree of truth it may be asserted that Mr. Carter made the most fortunate move of his life when he selected Sierra Madre as the scene of his future activities, and that decision, made about twenty years ago, he has since had no cause to regret.

G. W. SHIPLEY. The San Fernando Shet- land ranch, which was started by Mr. Shipley in 1900, is the only place in California where these ponies are bred and raised. In addi- tion to the management of the ranch, he had charge of a saddle, livery and riding school at No. 145 North Raymond avenue, Pasadena, where he had about forty saddle horses for rent. His riding school proved an original plan, and during 1901 instruction was furnished to three hundred and sixty-three pupils.

In St. Thomas, Canada, G. W. Shipley was born September 30, 1851, a son of John and Agnes (Sanders) Shipley, natives respectively of St. Thomas and Nova Scotia. His father, who was the son of a Scotchman, devoted his active years to farming pursuits, first in Canada, and later in the United States. In 1861 he settled on a farm in Leseuer county, Minn., and later made Sioux City, Iowa, his home, but is now living in Pasadena, Cal., where his wife died in 1901. In their family of five children, all but one are in this western state. The eldest. G. W., grew to manhood in the parental home, and learned the car-builder's trade at Sioux City in the shops of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Coming to Southern California in 1873, he spent a year at Westminster and two years in Anaheim, where he engaged in the horse business. In 1876 he returned east with a herd of wild horses, comprising six hundred and forty head, which he drove over the old Mormon trail east and sold in Columbus, Ohio. Next he went to Texas and bought wikl horses. large herds of which he drove north each year for four years, his route usually lving along the old Chisholm trail and up to Dakota and

Minnesota. Altogether he engaged in buying horses in Texas about eight years, meantime making his headquarters at Fort Worth and San Antonio, and shipping fourteen different herds into the northern states. A later location was in the Black Hills, at Rapid City, S. D., thirty miles from which town he had a ranch on Elk creek, and engaged in raising horses for sale to street- car companies. He was also manager of the South Dakota horse ranch, which owned four thousand acres under fence and had unlimited range for the pasturage of its herd of over one thousand horses.

Almost twenty years after his first trip to California, Mr. Shipley again came to the west, locating at Encinitas in 1892 and continuing there in the livery business for three years. Later he made Pasadena his home. Of late years he has made a specialty of Shetland ponies, and has had many fine mares of this breed. Among them is Midget, perhaps the smallest pony in the country. Another is Major, weigh- ing four hundred pounds. At the head of his herd are two fine imported stallions, weighing respectively two hundred and thirty and four hundred pounds. The ranch on which the ani- mals are kept is situated in the San Fernando valley, near Calabasas, and comprises three hun- dred acres. In politics Mr. Shipley is a Repub- lican, and fraternally is connected with the Woodmen of the World. His marriage, in Sioux City, Iowa, united him with Miss Mary Strange, who was born in England, and by whom he has one son, Fred.

ABBOTT J. BENT. The Bent family was established in America by one Abbott Bent, an Englishman and a farmer, who settled in New York and gave loyal service to .his adopted country during the war of 1812. William, a son of this immigrant, was born in Amsterdam, N. Y., in 1807, and spent much of his active life at Medina, that state, where he died at eighty- four years. Farming was his principal occupa- tion in early manhood, but later he gave much attention to promoting gas companies. He mar- ried Betsey H. Jackson, daughter of Philip Burr Jackson, a native of New York and a soldier in the second war with England. Of the two children born of their union, Abbott J., of Mon- rovia, Cal., was the elder, and was born in Or- leans county, N. Y., March 13, 1839. He studied in Medina Academy, Wesley Seminary at Gen- esee, and graduated from Eastman's Commer- cial College in Poughkeepsie. Very soon after the Civil war opened he enlisted in defense of the Union, his name being cnrolled June 17, 1861, as a private in Company A. Third New York Cavalry, each man in which owned his own horse. Before the close of the war pliys- ical disability caused him to be honorably dis- charged.

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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 192

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