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 193

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 193

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Entering the railroad service, Mr. Bent was for a time brakeman on the Erie road and was later promoted to be conductor, holding this position in the government employ at the close of the war. From that time until 1871 he was with the Louisville & Nashville road and the Canada Southern. In the latter year he went to Medina, N. Y., and organized the first gas company there, the stock of which he afterward sold. In 1874 he secured employment as con- ductor with the Canada Southern Railway Com- pany. Four years later he settled in Shelbyville, Ill., where he carried on a jobbing and retail business in books, stationery and music. In 1878 he ran the first train into the National Park over the Northern Pacific Railway from Livingston, Mont., and afterward was a conduc- tor on the St. Paul road, with headquarters at Wabasha, Minn. His residence in California dates from 1888, when he settled at Monrovia, afterward working with the Santa Fe for six months and the Southern Pacific for a similar period. Since 1891 he has engaged in the real- estate and insurance business, is also promoting the mining stock of the Big Five Mining Com- pany of Colorado, and is a director in the Edgar Union Consolidated Mining and Mill Company.

While living in Shelbyville, Ill., Mr. Bent married Miss Isabel V. Sampson, who was born in New York. Their daughter, Leila E., is the wife of Prof. G. Walter Monroe, principal of the high school and superintendent of the city schools of Whittier, Cal. Fraternally Mr. Bent is connected with the Grand Army of the Re- public, Lodge No. 308, F. & A. M., at Mon- rovia, of which he is a charter member, Lake City Commandery No. 6, K. T., and has also been raised to the Scottish Rite degree. While in Shelbyville he became a charter member of Lodge No. 92, A. O. U. W. He is also con- nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Improved Order of Red Men. In political belief he adheres to the principles of the old Jacksonian Democracy, and always votes for the men and measures of his party. In reli- gion he is connected with the Congregational Church.

The Big Five, already alluded to as forming one of the chief interests of Mr. Bent, is a co- operative mining association, in which five thou- sand people in various states are interested. Although in existence only since 1895, the as- sociation now controls and operates mines in three of the important gold centers of Colo- rado, and is extending its work into Mexico. Among its properties are the Dewdrop mine and mill, and the Adit, NiWot, Columbia and Tin- berline mines in Ward district of Colorado; Wil- cox and Central tunnels, Miami, Edgar-Union, Belman and Dove's Nest mines at Idaho Springs: the Union timnel in the San Juan country, Colorado, and old Spanish mines in

Sonora, Mexico. The total acreage of mines owned approximates one thousand acres, while the total value of equipments is $800,000.

G. A. STARKWEATHER. Descended from an old family of New England, Mr. Stark- weather of Ventura was born near Concord, N. H., April 19, 1852, and was left an orphan at the age of five years. Two years later he went to Baltimore, Md. While in that city he made the acquaintance of some members of the Thirty-eighth Massachusetts Regiment, on their way to the front at the opening of the Civil war. Through this chance acquaintanceship he was appointed sutler's clerk and accompanied the regiment to Louisiana and Mississippi, wit- nessing the siege of Vicksburg and accompany- ing Bank's expedition up the Red river. Dur- ing the latter part of the war he was with the First Delaware Light Artillery. On his return from war he went to Wilmington, Del., and soon was taken as a protege by a physician of Centerville, that state, with whom he made his home and for four years had the privilege of attending school. Later he entered the Penn- sylvania Military Academy at Chester, Pa., from which he was graduated in 1873 as a civil en- gineer and with the rank of first lieutenant. During a portion of his college course he was cnabled to pay his expenses by serving as an instructor and officer in charge.

In the fall of 1873 Mr. Starkweather secured employment as a civil engineer with the Penn- sylvania Railroad at Altoona and was sent to different localities and different divisions of the road, working as draughtsman and assistant en- gineer and rising to the rank of supervisor of work. In 1887, by reason of impaired health, he relinquished his position, intending to aban- don railroad work entirely. On coming west he spent a year in the mercantile business at Pasadena, but in 1889 took up railroading once more, this time in the employ of the South- ern Pacific Railroad, as general foreman of the Yuma district, then at Santa Ana and later at Los Angeles. In 1891 he was appointed to the Yuma district, and a year later sent to Benson, Ariz., on the Tucson district, from which point in a year he was transferred to Deming, N. M. In 1895 he was sent to the Fresno district as roadmaster. March 1, 1898, he was appointed roadmaster of the Ventura district.

The marriage of Mr. Starkweather united him with Mary J. Ehrenfeldt, a sister of Fred and George Ehrenfeldt, who are connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad system. The six chil- dren born of their union are as follows: Rose A., who is married and lives in Fresno, Cal .; George Albert, Jr., an agent with the Southern Pacific Railroad; Susie P., Annie, Essie and Frank. Mr. Starkweather was made a Mason in Ventura Lodge No. 214. F. & A. M., and is

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connected with Chapter No. 50, Commandery No. 18, the Council, R. & S. M., and Al Ma- lakiah Temple, N. M. S., of Los Angeles. Other organizations which number him among their members are the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Fresno, the Fraternal Aid and Fraternal Brotherhood. He is a believer in the doctrine of the Methodist Episcopal Church and politically upholds Republican principles.

CHARLES BECKWITH. While undoubt- edly the success so far gained by Charles Beck- with of Ventura county may be ascribed in part to the excellent start given him by his father, the late Francis J. Beckwith, yet he possesses qualities so energetic and manly that, without any assistance, it is safe to say he would still have achieved commendable success. It was in 1874 that he came to California with his parents, Francis J. and Sarah (Gruenemyer) Beckwith, natives respectively of New York and Pennsyl- vania, the former of English descent,- the lat- ter of German extraction. As a pioneer of In- diana, F. J. Beckwith for some years tilled the soil of Steuben county, where he was well known and honored. In that county were born his children, Carrie, Charles, Adelbert and Emma, all of whom now reside in California.

On settling in Ventura county, F. J. Beck- with bought property near Santa Paula, the in- crease in value of which added not a little to his income. With a brother, Addison, he inherited seven hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, a portion of the old Briggs grant. This came to them from the estate of another brother, Apple- ton W. Beckwith, who had long been one of Ven- tura county's most honored citizens and had served acceptably as supervisor and in other positions of trust. Some years after his death, F. J. Beckwith purchased the interest of the brother, Addison, in the estate, thus acquiring all of the valuable land, and this he bequeathed to his wife, at his death, December 27, 1901, when sixty-seven years of age. It was hiis de- sire above all things else to assist his children in getting a start in the world, and to this end he presented each of them with a ranch of forty acres. His daughter Carric, wife of George Jones, is living three miles cast of Ventura, on the land given her by Mr. Beckwith, while the other daughter, Emma, wife of Milton Ba- ker, resides six miles east of Ventura. The sons, Charles and Adelbert, reside with their mother on the home ranch.

The education of Charles Beckwith was main- ly received in the schools of Ventura county. It was a part of his father's creed that children should never be reared in idleness, so he was early put to work and given his duties on the home farm. He scarcely remembers when he was not helping with the work, so young was he when initiated into the labor of the ranch.

Having acquired a thorough knowledge of agri- culture at an early age and being pleased with the occupation, he determined to make it his life calling, and therefore has continued to fol- low it uninterruptedly to the present time. He is a member of the Fraternal Brotherhood of America, and in politics votes with the Repub- lican party. His marriage united him with Llewella Oar, who was born in Sonoma county, Cal., and is a daughter of Edwin and Mary Oar. The three children born of their union are Ada, Ralph and Myrtle.

REV. CHARLES B. SUMNER. There is no one whose name is more closely associated with the history of Pomona College than Rev. Charles Burt Sumner, who holds the position of secretary of the executive committee of the board of trustees and has also occupied the chair of Biblical literature since 1888. Indeed, ever since the founding of the institution, his own personal history has run parallel with that of the college. He has fostered its welfare, has advanced its interests, and by his literary and business ability has been a powerful factor in its growth. No record of the college in future generations will be complete which omits the name of this scholarly gentleman and firm champion of advanced education.

Briefly narrated, the history of the founding of Pomona College is as follows: In 1867 three Congregational churches were formed in South- ern California; these united to organize the Southern California District Association, and the constitution provided for a committee on education. In 1882 they took action looking to the establishment of a Congregational school. Five years later it was decided to form a gen- eral association of Southern California, and this general association, consisting at that time of twenty-one churches with twelve hundred mem- bers, immediately gave full power to its com- mittee on education not only to select the col- lege site, but also to appoint trustees, requiring them to take final action within thirty days. It was then decided to establish the college near Pomona, and soon afterward the committee on education appointed the first board of trustees. Rooms were rented and work was begun at Pomona in September, 1888. In January of the next year Claremont (now Sumner) Hall, to- gether with considerable valuable property, was given to the college, and the work was trans- ferred to Claremont. The first president was appointed in July, 1800, and the first class was graduated in June, 1894. It is the aim of the college to give a complete and thoroughi col- lege training, but it also endeavors to develop physical health, moral sturdiness and Christian principles. Its teachers are chosen, not merely with reference to scholarship, but also with re- gard to their personal influence in the forma

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tion of character. In accordance with the state statute, the college is a self-perpetuating body with powers of a corporation. It is managed by a board of trustees that reports to the churches from time to time, and the general association has a board of visitors which keeps the churches in touch with the college. The three courses of study, classical, literary and scientific, each require four years of strictly pre- paratory work. Special courses are permitted, but lead to no degree, while to other graduates are given the degrees of A. B., B. L. and B. S. respectively. Diplomas are also given to grad- uates of the School of Music and the School of Art and Design.

Taking up the personal history of Rev. C. B. Sumner, it may be stated that he was born at Southbridge, Mass., received a common-school education, supplemented by the splendid ad- vantages afforded by Yale College, of which he is a graduate, class of 1862. He then took a theological course in the seminary. For five years he taught in Monson Academy, after which he was pastor of the Monson Congrega- tional Church twelve years, and for three years ministered to the church at West Somerville. The condition of his wife's health rendered a more favorable climate necessary. and he re- moved to Tucson, Ariz., where he served as superintendent of home missions for three years. Overwork caused the failure of his health, and in 1887 he came to Pomona, where he organized a Congregational Church. At the same time he became interested in estab- lishing a Christian college of the best New Eng- land type, and soon resigned his pastorate in or- der to devote himself to the founding of such an institution. The trustees having the selection of a site in charge considered various propositions, and the result finally was that the college was at Claremont, four miles northeast of Pomona. The college was incorporated October 14, 1887, and in January, 1888, Mr. Sumner, one of the orig- inal trustees, was selected financial agent. Eighty acres were donated by H. A. Palmer and forty acres by the Misses Wheeler. On this site plans were made for building. The corner stone was duly laid September 26, 1888. The first term was begun in a rented building, cor- ner of Fifth street and White avenue, Pomona.

However, before much had been done on the building, Messrs. G. H. Fullerton, E. F. Kingman, F. A. Miller and H. A. Palmer, who owned the beautiful building erected for a hotel at Claremont, presented the same, with three hundred town lots, to the trustees for the use of the college. The original site was then aban- doned, and January 1, 1889, removal was made to Claremont, where the building now known as Sumner Hall was at once utilized. It was admirably adapted for the purpose and was wholly new, never having been used for hotel

purposes, although constructed with that object in view. Holmes Hall was erected in memory of Cyrus W. Holmes, Jr., of Monson, Mass., by his widow and daughter, and is a large building, heated with steam. It contains faculty rooms, art rooms, society halls, chapel and recitation rooms, and a reading room with the better class of daily and weekly papers. The donors of this building, which cost $25,000, were members of the church in Massachusetts to which Mr. Sum- ner at one time ministered.

The Pearsons Hall of Science is the gift of Dr. D. K. Pearsons, of Chicago, and cost $25,- 000. It is of cream pressed brick, two stories in height with basement, 90x60 feet in dimen- sions, lighted by gas, heated by steam, and prac- tically fireproof. In this hall are the office and president's room, the physical department (first floor), chemical department (basement), and biological department (upper floor). In 1900 a gymnasium was built at a cost of $5,500, one- half its cost being contributed by Mrs. Helen Goodwin Renwick in memory of her husband, whose name has been given to it by action of the trustees.

The first president of the college, Rev. C. G. Baldwin, was elected in July, 1890, and served until 1897. The following year Rev. F. L. Fer- guson assumed the presidency, and in 1902 he was succeeded by Dr. George A. Gates. Ad- ministration of affairs is in the hands of fifteen trustees, the majority of them must (by articles of incorporation) be Congregational, but it is especially specified that the college shall not be sectarian, and the instruction given in reli- gion is broad and comprehensive, with no tinge of denominational spirit. This department has been constantly under the oversight and in the charge of Mr. Sumner, who has filled it with tact and ability. He also fills the chair of moral philosophy.

Among the local positions filled by Mr. Sum- ner are those of director of the Indian Hill Citrus Union, trustee and member of the board of managers of the Claremont Congregational Church, director of the San Antonio Fruit Ex- change and of the San Dimas Lemon Associa- tion. He has a beautiful home which com- mands a broad view of the Pomona valley, and in it he has spent many happy and contented years. His heaviest loss was the death of his wife, Mrs. Mary L. Sumner, in whose honor Sumner Hall is named. They became the parents of two children. The daughter is the wife of Rev. Eugene H. Benson, an Episcopalian rec- tor. The son, George Stedman Sumner, Ph. D., was graduated from Pomona College in 1894 and received the Ph. D. degree from Yale College. Ever since completing his education he has been connected with the faculty of Po- mona College, where he is now professor of history, and instructor in economics.

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A. J. AMESTOY. The estate managed by Mr. Amestoy consists of six hundred acres of land and lies near Rosecrans, where he makes his home. In order to promote the interests of the heirs of his father, Domingo Amestoy, the estate has been incorporated, and he owns an equal share with the others. A visitor to the ranch is impressed by the unusual number of buildings, and also by the large collection of birds, representing many unusual kinds. A glance over the land shows that it is under the care of a careful and painstaking manager, who delights in maintaining a high order of cultiva- tion.

By virtue of his birth in this state, Mr. Ames- toy is entitled to membership in the Order of Native Sons of the Golden West. He was born July 20, 1868, and is a son of Domingo and Marie (Aycagues) Amestoy, natives of the south of France. When seventeen years of age his father left his native land and went to South America, where he was employed in the man- ufacture of shoes at Buenos Ayres and later at Montevideo. After seven years in that coun- try, in 1851 he became a pioneer of California, settling at Colegrove, Los Angeles county, where he embarked in the sheep business. From a small beginning he built up a large business, and at times had on his ranch as many as fifty thousand head of sheep. The industry proved a very profitable one until the advent of set- tlers in ever increasing numbers rendered it difficult to secure large ranges for his flocks, and he then sought new fields of activity. In 1875 he came to Gardena and bought six hun- dred and eighty-five acres of the Rosecrans tract. On this ranch was located a half way house, where the stage coach running between Los Angeles and San Pedro was accustomed to secure relays of horses. In addition to this property he acquired El Encino ranch of four thousand four hundred and forty-four acres, sit- uated in the wheat belt of the San Fernando valley, and the improvement of this tract occu- pied not a little of his time in later years. When he died, March 17, 1891, he left a large estate, representing the fruits of a lifetime of toil and judicious management. Besides the large tracts mentioned, his estate owns the following Los Angeles property: No. 202 North Main street, sixty feet ; west side of Spring, between Temple and Franklin streets, two hundred feet; North Los Angeles street near Plaza, forty feet; Los Angeles street, between Commercial and Re- quena streets, one hundred and fifty feet; cor- ner of Aliso and Alameda streets, two hundred feet ; and Aliso street, fifty feet; also five lots near East Side park. Through the constant growth of Los Angeles, much of this property has acquired a high value, and represents in- vestments of the utmost importance.

In the family of Domingo Amestoy there are

five sons and three daughters, namely: A. J., J. B., P. D., M. F. and J. P .; Mrs. J. A. Gless, of Boyle avenue, Los Angeles; Mrs. L. Sentous, of Girard street, Los Angeles; and Mrs. C. W. Wells, of Los Angeles street, same city. Of these sons the first-named, A. J., received his education in Santa Clara College, supplemented by two years of study in an institution in France. Since his return home and his entrance into business affairs, he has made his home in Gar- dena, and is judiciously managing the Rose- crans tract. He is loyal to his native land, a typical Californian, interested in all that con- tributes to the welfare of the state. Like his parents and the other members of the family, he adheres to the Roman Catholic faith. His marriage united him with Miss Therese Hiriart, who was born in France. Her father, Frank Hiriart, likewise a native of the south of France, came to the United States and settled in Cali- fornia, engaging in the fruit business in Los Angeles, where he built up a considerable wholesale and retail trade.

CALVIN W. ABBOTT. Among the archi- tects and builders whose attainments have re- dounded to the credit of Southern California, none is more securely launched in the public esteem than Calvin W. Abbott, formerly one of the principal upbuilders of Pasadena, and now one of the creative forces of Long Beach. Pre- ceded by his well earned reputation he came to this town in March of 1901, and although the intervening time has been comparatively short, lias abundantly substantiated prevailing expec- tations, as evinced particularly in the Friends' Church and the Bowyer Hotel.

In his ancestral affiliations Mr. Abbott is for- tunate, for among those bearing his name pa- triotism has played a conspicuous part, as well as the high moral courage and devotion to prin- ciple as lived and taught by. the Society of Friends. The emigrating forefathers came from England, and evidently settled in the south, and some of their number carried muskets upon the gory battlefields of the Revolution. The pa- ternal grandfather, John, was born in Georgia, and settled near West Milton, Miami county, Ohio, in 1817. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and in 1854 removed to Marshall county. Jowa, where terminated his useful and indus- trious life. While in Ohio he joined the So- ciety of Friends, a faith to which his children and grandchildren have since adhered. On the farm developed by the grandfather near West Milton, Miami county, Ohio, Calvin W. Abbott was born January 21, 1840, and there also his father, Samuel, was born. The elder Abbott was reared in Ohio, and in 1852 removed to West Branch, Cedar county, Iowa, near Spring- ciale. where he lived until his retirement. In

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1884 he came to Pasadena, Cal., and died while on a visit to his son in Trinidad, Colo., three years ago. He also was a member of the So- ciety of Friends. He married Rebecca Miles, a native of Miami county, Ohio, and daughter of William Miles, born in South Carolina. Mr. Miles was a member of the Society of Friends, and an early settler near West Union, Ohio, where he conducted a farm, and where he died in 1852. Mrs. Abbott, who died in Colorado shortly after her husband, was the mother of three children, of whom Calvin W. is the oldest, and all of whom have developed into capable members of society. One of the sons, Judge A. J., is an ex-judge of Kansas, and the father of Clarence Abbott, attorney-general of New Mexico. J. M. Abbott is chief engineer of the Walter Morgan System of Heating and Venti- lating, in San Francisco.

Though reared on the paternal farms in Ohio and Iowa, Calvin W. Abbott was favored with excellent educational advantages, due largely to his studious habits and ability to earn the money for his advanced tuition. When seven- teen years old he entered the University of Iowa, at Iowa City, and later taught school for a few years. During 1857 and 1858 he was one of those selected to run the underground railroad in Iowa, ten miles being the extent of his run. In this capacity he had many exciting adventures vastly pleasing to a boy between seventeen and twenty years of age, and he re- tains vivid recollections of an acquaintanceship with John Brown, J. H. Keage, and many oth- ers belonging to that notable following. In 1857 he began to learn the rudiments of archi- tecture and building at West Branch, Iowa, and in 1860 started out on his own responsibility as a contracting architect and builder. In 1874 he embarked upon an ambitious planing mill enterprise at Muscatine, Iowa, and for five years did a large business in cutting lumber, making sash, doors and other acquisitions to buildings. In 1879 he began farming near Osage City, Kans., and at the same time he contracted and built, combining thie occupations with consid- erable success. In 1884 the Kansas farm was disposed of and he came to Pasadena, Cal .. where he was identified with the upbuilding of the town. During the first three years of his residence there he devoted himself to the sale of lots in the C. W. Abbott subdivision, for which he had purchased ten acres of land, and after that he devoted his time to building and contracting, and in all drew the plans and put up sixty or more residences in the city, besides numerous public buildings. Owing to impaired health he decided upon a change of occupation in 1892, and traveled for three years along the coast in the interest of the Smead Heating and Ventilating Company of Denver, Colo. Upon returning to Pasadena he continued his former

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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 193

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