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 194

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

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occupation of architect and builder, and in March, 1901, located in Long Beach.

In West Branch, Iowa, Mr. Abbott married Harriett Kirk, a native of Randolph county, Ind., and of this union there have been four children, three of whom are living. Everetta is now the wife of Mr. Keys, of Los Angeles, manager for the Westinghouse Electric system; Lenwood is agent of the Metropolitan Life In- surance Company at Bakersfield; and Lillian is the wife of Albert Smith, of Berkeley, Cal. Al- bert Francis was a shoe merchant, and died in Pasadena at the age of twenty-five years. Mr. Abbott is a member of the Society of Friends, and is nationally and locally a Prohibitionist.

ALBERT C. WILLIAMS. There is no en- terprise of its kind better known throughout Santa Barbara county than El Monte dairy, of which Mr. Williams is the proprietor. In 1895 he purchased a ranch of two hundred and twelve acres adjoining Santa Barbara, and on it en- gaged in general farm pursuits until 1899, when . he started the dairy that is now the object of his care and attention. The success of the ven- ture soon justified him in increasing the size of the dairy, and he now has one hundred head of cows, of which the majority are Jerseys, with a few Durhams in the bunch. He makes a spe- cialty of furnishing the best grades of milk and cream to the Santa Barbara trade. His dairy is noted for the excellence of its products, and his business is therefore large and growing. In 1901 he built a three-story residence on El Monte ranch. The house stands on an eleva- tion and overlooks Channel Island, Goleta val- ley and parts of Santa Barbara, thus affording a picturesque view and an attractive environ- ment. In addition to this property he owns a farm of six hundred and forty acres, of which three hundred and forty acres are under culti- vation.

On La Mesa, Santa Barbara county, Mr. Williams was born March 24, 1864, his parents being A. J. and Julia Williams, the former de- ceased and the latter well known as the light- house keeper at Santa Barbara Point. When he was a boy he spent much of his time at the lighthouse. In 1881 he graduated from the Santa Barbara high school, after which he en- gaged in farming in El Cajon valley near San Diego, having as a partner in the venture his brother-in-law, Mr. Maxfield. In. 1883 he went to Olympia, Wash., where he was employed by Robert Frost in the hardware business. Two years later he went to Los Angeles, where he opened a fruit and general commission business. continuing in that city for four years, and then removing to San Francisco, where he had an office on Front street, and carried on a general commission business. In 1891, as traveling sales- man, he went to Mexico, and for a year trav

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eled through that country for a San Francisco firm, his services in this capacity being espe- cially valuable on account of his familiarity with the Spanish language. Returning to San Fran- cisco, he remained there until 1895, and then established his ranch near Santa Barbara, where he has since made his home. His interest in politics is limited to casting a vote for Repub- lican candidates, but he has always been too engrossed in business matters to participate in public affairs.

The marriage of Mr. Williams took place in Oakland, Cal., and united him with Miss Lily Le Noir, who was born in that city. Her father, Nathaniel Le Noir, was a member of a Philadelphia family that descended from French ancestors, and was a pioneer of Oakland, where he engaged in business many years. Mrs. Williams is a member of the Congregational Church and a participant in much of its work, as well as in other movements of an uplifting and philanthropic nature. One child was born of her marriage, a daughter named Leonora Frances.

GEN. PHINEAS BANNING. This noted pioneer of California was born in Newcastle county, Del., September 19, 1831, and de- scended from one Phineas Banning, of England, who in colonial days settled in what is now Kent county, Del. His son, John, a merchant of Dover, was a member of the council of safety during the Revolutionary war, and, as a mem- her of the first electoral college, was one of the three from Delaware to cast the electoral vote which made George Washington the first president of the United States. John A., son of this revolutionary patriot, graduated from Princeton College, and was a man of scholarly attainments. By his marriage to Elizabeth Low- ber he had eleven children, Phineas being the ninth. When he was a boy of twelve years he left home, and with fifty cents as his entire cap- ital, started for Philadelphia. Arriving at that city, he secured work in his brother William's law office, but afterward was employed in a wholesale store. In 1851 he left Philadelphia for California, via the Isthmus of Panama. Landing in San Diego, he proceeded to Los An- geles. In November, 1852, he began freighting between this city and San Pedro. From that time forward he was prominently identified with the history of California. He founded the town of Wilmington, which he named in honor of a city in his native state. For some years he had the sole management of the Los Angeles & Wilmington Railroad.

Realizing the incalculable advantages to be derived from a good harbor on the coast here, he twice went to Washington to secure appro- priations from congress for the improvement of San Pedro harbor. Besides attending to his

business interests he bought and improved six hundred acres in Wilmington. On this property he had the largest well in the country, attach- ing thereto steam pumps, by which water was raised into several reservoirs, thus furnishing the water supply for Wilmington and San Pe- dro, also for irrigating purposes and for vessels in the harbor. He made large sums of money through his various enterprises, and, had it not been for his great generosity, he might have become a millionaire. In politics he was a Re- publican. His military title was earned in the command of the first brigade of the California state militia, of which he was appointed briga- dier-general. He died in San Francisco, March 8, 1885, leaving to his family a fine estate, which was the accumulation of the later years of his life.

TRUMAN BERRY was the second perma- nent settler in Whittier, having located here in 1891, when a barley field covered the ground on which now stands the prosperous town. He is a native of far off Somerset county, Me., where he was born December 18, 1852. His parents, William and Lucy (Andrews) Berry, were also natives of Maine, as were many of his ances- tors. He passed his youth on his father's farm in Maine, and was of valuable assistance in the management of the farm. He also studied with zest at the public schools, which opportunity was supplemented by a course at the Concord (Me.) high school. Having thus fitted himself for an active, independent life, he decided to start out for himself, and in 1889 undertook the journey to Socorro, N. M., where he en- gaged with marked success in the transfer and livery business. Not being satisfied with the future prospects of his surroundings, he next moved to California, and located in East Whit- tier, where he became interested in the up- building and improvement of the crude condi- tions then existing here. At the present time he has a fine ranch given over to the cultiva- tion of oranges, lemons and English walnuts and covering ten and one-half acres. In addi- tion he owns a ranch of fourteen and one-half acres in English walnuts.

P. J. BOLIN. A builder to whose skill Los Angeles is indebted for many constructions is P. J. Bolin, a native of Brockville, Ontario, born January 11, 1858. His paternal grandfather. Frank Bolin, was born in Ireland, and crossed in a sailing vessel to Canada, where he settled on a farm near Brockville. The country was wild and unpromising, and might have offered slight inducement to an indolent man, but this earnest pioneer cleared off the timber and created a home for those dependent on himn. He lived to be ninety years old. His son, John Bolin, the father of P J., lived to be eighty-six

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years old, and he also was a farmer in Ontario, and a promoter of the agricultural prosperity . of his neighborhood. Long life is further in- sured to Mr. Bolin on the maternal side, for his mother, formerly Catharine Dean, a native of Kittly, Ontario, and daughter of Anthony Dean, a farmer of Ontario, is now nearly eighty years old, and her father lived to the age of ninety. To John Bolin and his wife were born nine children, of whom P. J. is fourth, another son, Thomas, is also a resident of Los An- geles.

The preliminary education of Mr. Bolin was acquired in the district schools of Ontario, and from earliest youth he was taught to assist in the work around the farm. At the age of fif- teen his somewhat circumscribed life broadened perceptibly when he started out to learn the trade of carpentering, at which he applied him- self until 1880. He then located in. Chicago, Ill., and after a time started west gradually mak- ing his way to McPherson, Kans., then to Trin- idad, Colo., and later to Las Vegas, N. M., tarrying for a time in Deming and Silver City. He then found employment in the building de- partment of the Santa Fe Railroad Company at El Paso, afterwards returning to Trinidad, Colo., in 1882. In May of the same year he located in Los Angeles, and from that time until 1892, found positions as foreman for different contractors. Since 1892 he has engaged in in- dependent building and contracting with success, and has put up many residences, flats and public buildings in different parts of the city. Among his undertakings may be mentioned the Goss flats on South Hope street, the Morgan flats on the corner of Eleventh and Los Angeles streets, the Campbell residence on Rampart , street, the E. A. Warner residence on Vermont avenue, the F. X. Fields residence on East Los Angeles avenue, and Dr. Murphy's home on Boyle Heights.

In Los Angeles Mr. Bolin married Anna Rudesill, a native of California, and of this union there are three children, Leland, Lela and Mabel. Mr. Bolin is fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Politically he is a Republican in national elections, but in local matters votes for the best man irrespective . of political ties.

GUSTAV A. BOMAN. Before associating himself with the cement contracting industry of Los Angeles in 1892, Mr. Boman acquired an extended knowledge of the conditions prevail- ing in the extremity of the middle north states, and especially was he made familiar with the perils and experiences which befell the freighter among the heavy timberlands of the pineries. He was born in Westrejotlan, Sweden, near

Falkoping, December 27, 1865, his parents, John and Johanna (Larsen) Boman, being na- tives of the same part of the country. His father was a stockman and farmer, and the pos- sessor of several large ranches, making his headquarters for the greater part at Karsgaar- den. The paternal grandfather, Andrew, was a soldier in the Swedish army up to the time of his death. The parents, who died in Sweden, reared six of their eight children to maturity, and the three living are in America, Gustav A., however, being the only one in California.

At comparatively an early age Mr Boman was obliged to shoulder responsibility, for at the age of fourteen he was left an orphan, and thereafter went to live on an adjoining large farm with his guardian. He attended the pub- lic schools and learned to be a farmer after the best known methods. In 1882 he came to America, remaining for a year at Rockford, Ill., and then went to Minneapolis, and on to British Columbia. There he was employed by the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company in the construction of their line from Calgary west to Cariboo Creek. With four horse teams he freighted for the railroad for three years, and in 1886 participated in the Indian war in the north- west territory as freighter for the Canadian gov- ernment. At the expiration of hostilities he re- turned to Minneapolis, but was soon back on Cascade Range as a freighter for the Canadian Pacific. At the end of six months he again located in Minneapolis, but a year later tried his luck in the Gogebic Region of northern Michi- gan.

In 1890 Mr. Boman became identified with the Pacific coast, and for a couple of years mined in different parts of Oregon, and in No- vember of 1892 located in Los Angeles. He became interested in the cement business with Mr. McCombs, and afterwards was foreman for Clark & Neimann for four years. In 1897 he began to do business on his own responsibility, and has since built up a large trade in the cement contracting line. His skill has not only been exercised in Los Angeles, but he has re- ceived commissions from Soldiers' Home, Pasa- dena, and many adjoining towns, and has con- structed miles of curbing and sidewalks. He built a residence at Gladys avenue and Seventh street, but this was eventually sold, and he now owns a home at No. 532 Beaudry avenue.

While living in Portland, Ore., Mr. Boman married Tina Swenson, a native of Norway, and of this union there are five children: Ellerly Sigfrida, Gladys Juliette, Stella, Esther Maria and Florence Elevera. Mr. Boman is a mem- ber of the .Cement Contractors' Association. With his wife he is a member of the Swedish Christian Mission, and is one of the board of trustees. He has a large acquaintance in Los Angeles, where he is regarded as one of the

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reliable and substantial members of a pros- perous community.

COL. J. A. DRIFFILL. One of the most enterprising men of Oxnard is Col. J. A. Driffill, manager of the American Beet Sugar Company. He was born at Rochester, N. Y., September 24, 1859, a son of William H. and Elizabeth Driffill, and received his education in the high school of his native town, supplemented by a course at a business college. Upon starting out in the world to earn his own living, he engaged in the whole- sale boot and shoe business at Rochester for a few years and came to California in 1883, settling at Pomona. For about ten years lie was inter- ested in the cultivation of oranges, and then en- tered the employ of the American Beet Sugar Company at Chino. When the factory was erected at Oxnard, in 1897, he was the first man on the ground, and has since looked after the in- terests of the company with unflagging zeal and remarkable executive and financial ability. His capabilities are recognized by all the community, and he is ever brought forward to lend the benefit of his counsel and judgment in all mat- ters of important public moment. His respon- sibility in connection with the Beet Sugar Com- pany is of such a nature as to demand the time and undivided attention of any two ordinary men, but so great is his capacity for application that no smallest detail is neglected, nor any duty, however slight, left undone.

In 1883 Mr. Driffill married Miss Emma Gor- don of Rochester, N. Y., daughter of Alex- ander Gordon of that city. Of this union there are two daughters, Mary Edith and Emma Mabel. Mr. Driffill has an additional responsi- bility in connection with the presidency and man- agement of the Colonial Improvement Com- . pany and with the vice presidency of the Bank of Oxnard. He is variously associated with the social and other organizations in which the town abounds, and he has been a member of the Los Angeles lodge of Masons since 1887. He was connected with the same organization in Pomona, and is president of the Masonic club at Oxnard, which built the Masonic Temple, gen- erally conceded to be the largest in a town of this size in the United States. He is also a mem- ber of the Elks at Santa Barbara and the Knights of Pythias at Chino.

H. NOTTHOFF, the chief engineer of the United Electric Gas and Power Company at Santa Monica, is of German ancestry and a member of a family which has for generations given evidence of exceptional mechanical abil- ity. His father, William, was a son of John Notthoff, an expert machinist, and at an early age entered the government employ as a loco- motive engineer, continuing as such for forty-

eight years, when, June 1, 1901, he was retired cn a pension. His wife, Katie, was born in Nassau, Germany, a daughter of Jacob Miller, who engaged in the freighting business. To their union were born four sons and two daugh- ters, all living. The two who are in America reside in Santa Monica, where W. G. is his brother's assistant engineer.

In Essen, Rhine province, Germany, H. Nott- hoff was born June 27, 1863. His educa- tion was obtained in public and private schools of Essen. At the age of fourteen he was ap- prenticed as a machinist in the government locomotive works at Essen, where he served for four years. On completing his trade, in 1881, he came to America and settled in Racine, Wis., where he was employed as erecting engineer with the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Com- pany for eighteen months. In the fall of 1883 he came to California and for four years was chief engineer of Maier & Zobelein's brewery at Los Angeles. When the Los Angeles cable street railway was introduced he became a machinist in the company's shops. After a year he went to Fillmore, Cal., as erecting and operating engineer and superintendent of the quarries owned by D. Kilpatrick, whose plant he completed and then operated for a year. Returning to the east, he was for two and one- half years chief engineer of the Loebe Foundry Company at Decatur, Ill., whose shop he erected, introduced the machinery, put the plant in running order, and then operated for a time.

On his return to California Mr. Notthoff was for three years foreman of the Eureka Oil Com- pany of Los Angeles. For several years, as erecting engineer for Levi Booth & Sons of Los Angeles, he traveled through this state and Arizona, putting up engines for them. May 10, 1899, he became superintendent and erect- ing engineer of the United Electric Gas and Power Company at Santa Monica, which plant he started and has since operated, having an engine of fifteen hundred horse-power, which supplies light and power for Santa Monica, Ocean Park, Long Branch and Redondo, also for San Pedro, Soldiers' Home and Sawtelle. To aid him in his work he utilizes various in- ventions that are the product of his fertile brain and skillful hands. All of the appliances are the most modern and the plant is first-class in every detail. Along the line of his chosen oc- cupation he holds membership in No. 2, National Association of Stationary Engineers, in which he served as secretary for two terms. He is connected with the Fraternal Brother- hood No. 133, at Santa Monica. In politics he votes with the Republicans. His marriage took place in Peoria, Ill., and united him with Miss Annie Henzel, who was born in Decatur, that state. They have six children, Harry, William, Arthur, Raymond, Hannah and Mary.

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PHILIP EICHHOLZ. In his capacity as an expert slater and tiler Mr. Eichholz has been identified with building interests in Los Angeles since the summer of 1885. He is a native of the Rhine province, Germany, and was born at Mulheini, June 12, 1857. His father, William, was a native of the same province, where his active life was devoted to slate contracting at Mulheim, on the Ruhr, and his grandfather, Eichholz, was a boat owner and extensive ship- per on the Rhine, and he also served in the German army. The mother of Philip Eichholz was formerly Gertrude Hueser, a native of the Rhine province; her father, a shipper on the Rhine, lived to be ninety-three years of age and his father lived to be a century old. Mrs. Eich- holz, who is still living in Germany and is eighty-five years of age, is the mother of thir- teen children, all of whom are living, Philip being the fourth in order of birth and the only one in America.

In accordance with the long-established cus- tom, Philip Eichholz left the public schools when about fourteen, and was apprenticed to a slater in Mulheim, his term of service covering three years. After completing his trade he started out as a journeyman slater, and in his wanderings visited Austria, Bohemia, Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland, and picked up a great deal of useful information as well as con- siderable financial remuneration for services ren- dered. In 1877 he enlisted in the German army as a soldier in the Seventeenth Mulhausen Regi- ment, and served in Alsace for three years after which he was honorably discharged. In 1880 he came to America, and in New York City he worked at his trade for three years, later finding employment in Newark, Jersey City and Brook- lyn. In 1883 he crossed the ocean and visited amid the scenes of his youth in the Rhine province, and upon returning to America came immediately to California, which he reached in the fall of 1884. In

San Francisco he worked at his trade until the summer of 1885, when he located in Los Angeles and engaged in general building and contracting, but made a specialty of slating and tiling. He has been variously employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and did the work for the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Stewart building, the United States Postoffice building and the Sisters' Hospital, besides numerous residences and general buildings throughout the city. On his own responsibility he has built three different residences besides the fine and substantial Eichholz block, which is two stories high and 110x50 feet in ground dimensions.

In New York City Mr. Eichholz married Emma Preusser, who was born in Elberfeldt, Germany. Of this union there was one child, Anna, who died when one year old. Mr. Eich-

holz is a Republican in national politics, and has taken a great interest in the undertakings of his party. He is connected with the Masonic order, Maccabees and Foresters.

JOHN M. EVANS. As his name implies, Mr. Evans is a Welshman. He was born in Merionethshire, Wales, May II, 1862, and his father, David, his mother, Jane Evans, and his grandfather, Evans, were natives of the same shire. The father was a farmer in his native land, where his death occurred. The mother, who is now a resident of Montgomeryshire, Wales, had nine children, six of whom are liv- ing, J. M. being the oldest and the only one in California.

J. M. Evans was reared among the hills of his native land, and was educated in the public schools of Dolgelly. When sixteen years of age he began to work in the state stone quarries at Festioniog, in the northern part of the shire. At nineteen years of age he immigrated to America, reaching Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1881, where he worked at bridge building until 1883. He came to California from the northern city and engaged in horticulture and grain raising in Anaheim. Not entirely satisfied with this oc- cupation as a permanent means of livelihood, he located in Pasadena in 1886 and engaged in teaming and general contracting for three years, after which he remained on a farm in the northwestern part of Los Angeles county until 1896. This land was homesteaded and con- sisted of one hundred and sixty acres, and to the improvement of the same Mr. Evans devoted his best efforts, putting in all manner of modern and labor-saving innovations, developing water and making his property a paying and congenial home. In March, 1902, he sold his farm. After lie located in Los Angeles in 1896 he engaged in the feed and coal business at No. 2806 South Main street, but in April of 1801 changed his place of business to his present location at No. 2910 South Main street. Here he has worked 11p a large trade-in fact, the largest in this part of the city. He carries a large and complete stock of all kinds of feed, grain and fuel, and his upright business methods and desire to please have resulted in more than realized expectations.

February 23, 1887, Mr. Evans married Eliza- beth Roberts, who was born at St. Asaph, Wales, a daughter of Rev. Richard Roberts, a native of the same place, and granddaughter of John Roberts, representative of a fine old Welsh family. Rev. Mr. Roberts was a merchant be- fore entering the ministry of the Congrega- tional Church, and his useful career was cut short at the age of forty-eight years. To Mr. and Mrs. Evans have been born three children, David Meredith, Gwendoline, and Gladys, the latter of whom died at the age of three years While living on his farm Mr. Evans took con

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siderable interest in the politics of the Repub- lican party and served as school trustee and was president of the board of trustees when the school was built. He is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Fraternal Brotherhood. He is an excellent busi- ness man and public-spirited citizen, and has not only commercial standing but has as well made many friends in Los Angeles.

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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 194

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