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 197

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

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AURELIUS WINFIELD HUTTON. I11 Abbeville district, South Carolina, April 8, 1805, was born Aquila D. Hutton, and in Edgefield district of the same state, in 1812, was born Elizabeth H. Tutt, the parents of A. W. Hutton, who was born near Hopewell, Greene county, Ala., July 23, 1847. About January, 1866, lie entered the law office of Bliss & Snedecor, at Gainesville. Remaining with them about one year and a half, he then entered the law de- partment of the University of Virginia, from which he was graduated in June, 1868. On his return home he determined to locate in the then little known state of California. Sailing from New York, January 23, 1869, he arrived via the isthmus in San Francisco, February 15, 1869. There he remained until April of that year, and then came to Los Angeles. Immediately upon his arrival he entered the office of Glassell & Chapman, but in a short time began practicing law. He was one of the original stockholders in the San Gabriel Orange Grove Association, the corporation which purchased and laid out the lands upon which Pasadena was originally founded. He acted as attorney for the com- pany. In December, 1872, he was elected city attorney of Los Angeles. In December, 1874, he was re-elected, being the first person chosen twice in succession. As city attorney he drafted the first special charter (that of 1874) for Los Angeles. The city had been incorporated under a general law, and various special acts had been passed by the legislature down to that period. In 1876 the charter was revised by him and the city council. There have been other city char- ters since then, but in these may be found many of the wise provisions laid down in that of 1874. As city attorney he assisted in drafting the ordi- nance granting the first franchise for a street railway, and conducted the legal proceedings for the condemnation of lands donated by the city to the Southern Pacific Railway Company, in pursuance of the vote of the people for rights of way into the city. Prior to his incumbency, so far as can be learned, there had never been used in the mayor's or municipal court any complaints, warrants or commitments. After some efforts he succeeded in convincing the proper officials that the law required such for- malities.

In February, 1887, the number of superior judges of the county was increased from two to four, and a full meeting of the bar was held to select two attorneys for recommendation to the governor. There were six applicants. On the first ballot, two being voted for at once, Mr. Hutton received a four-fifths vote. Governor Bartlett appointed him to one of the 'positions. On the distribution of the business of the courts, recommended by a committee of prominent at- torneys, assisted by the late Judge Brunson. who had resigned as superior judge. there were

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assigned to Judge Hutton's department three- fourths of all the common law and equity cases tried without juries, and nearly all the law and motion calendar. He presided for some of the other judges and tried a few cases with juries, but never in his own department did he have a jury. He gave general satisfaction, as was evidenced by the support given him in the elec- tion of 1888. In the celebrated issue between the Southern Pacific Railway Company and one Coble, with reference to the overlapping land grants, Judge Hutton, in a case involving one hundred and sixty acres, found for the defend- ant, thus declaring the land grants forfeited, and opening them to settlement. This was the first decision by any court of this important question. Subsequent cases involving the same question were instituted in the United States circuit court, and Judges Ross and Sawyer decided them in favor of the railroad company and against the government and the settlers. An appeal to the United States supreme court was next had, and this court reversed the rulings of Judges Ross and Sawyer (See 146, U. S. R., pp. 570-615) and laid down the law as Judge Hutton had done in the Coble case.

DANIEL FREEMAN. The most trivial in- cidents sometimes change one's destiny. Had the newsboy, on the train running from Macon to New Orleans, in February, 1873, placed on the seat occupied by Mr. Freeman any other book than "Nordhoff's California," his whole future and that of his family would have been different. He had been traveling through the south with his wife, who was suffering from consumption, and it was his plan to take her by steamer to Jamaica, but the casual reading of the description of California awakened his inter- est. The book was bought, its contents eagerly scanned, and the result was that they started for the Pacific coast the next morning. Arriving in San Francisco, he visited different portions of California, investigating various ranchos. Among other places visited was the Centinela rancho, over which he rode in April, 1873, with the owner, Sir Robert Burnett, now of Scotland. He was attracted by the wealth of grasses and bright flowers, and decided that, with cultivation, the place might be made a bower of beauty. However, as to its value for agriculture, the baronet did not give an encouraging report, for he stated the land was too dry for farming and valuable only for grazing purposes. On leaving this ranch, Mr. Freeman visited many other properties, but none attracted him as did the Centinela. In September he leased the ranch for five years, with the privilege of buying it within that time, for $6 an acre, the total acreage being twenty-five thousand. Besides the Centinela, he acquired the Sausal Redondo, so that his property extended from Ballona to

Redondo, and from the ocean almost to the present limits of Los Angeles.

In purchasing the land Mr. Freeman also ac- quired sheep, and afterward engaged largely in the sheep-raising business. The loss of twenty- two thousand head, owing to a drought in the winter of 1875-76, led him to seek another in- dustry to which to devote himself. During that season he experimented with barley, and, on a rain-fall of only four and one-half inches, raised an average of twenty-five bushels per acre, on a section of land. Since then wheat and barley have been among the staple products of the ranch. In 1880 he sent a shipload of wheat to Liverpool and another of barley to New York, and every year large shipments have been made to various points.

El Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela (for such is the name of the estate as given by early Spanish settlers), when Anglicized, becomes the Ranch of the Spring of the Sentinel. The name was taken in part from the splendid natural water supply, which was known to exist although wholly undeveloped prior to Mr. Freeman's ac- quisition of the land. The artesian wells now give one hundred and fifty miners' inches of water. Water can be found at any point on the ranch at ninety feet, and a splendid supply at one hundred and fifty feet. An orchard bore as fine seedlings as could be found anywhere, but these are now being budded over to Washing- ton navels and Valencia lates. The original ranch house, which is perhaps one hundred and fifty years old, is the home of A. C. Freeman, the oldest son of Daniel Freeman, while the latter, with his daughter, Mrs. Charles H. Howland, and her husband, Captain . Howland, occupy a new residence that is one of the most beautiful in the west, standing in a parklike en- closure of about sixty acres, acre after acre studded with rare shrubs, exotic plants and choice trecs. The grounds were laid out by Captain Howland, who also planted the orchard of twenty-five acres that is now in fine bearing condition.

Of Canadian birth, Daniel Freeman was born in Norfolk county, June 30, 1837. His ancestry is traced to Edward Freeman, who came from England to America in 1658, and settled in Woodbridge, N. J. Born in 1670, he was mar- ried at Woodbridge in 1696, and his son, Wil- liam, was a native of that city. The latter had a son, Andrew, who was the great-grandfather of Daniel Freeman. The latter, on his mother's side, was of Scotch-Irish lineage. When a young man he studied and practiced law, while at the same time he owned a large shipyard at Port Burwell, on Lake Erie. In 1866 he mar- ried Miss Christie, by whom he had two sons and one daughter, and whose death occurred in California in 1874. Personally he is a man of remarkable business capacity, with the shrewd

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foresight and force of character that almost in- variably bring success to their possessor.

JOHN EDWARD HOLLENBECK was for years one of the most influential men of Los Angeles, to whose development he was a large and progressive contributor. His interests were varied and important; his career was one of 1111- usual activity. Arriving in Los Angeles in the spring of 1876, he settled permanently in the city which he had visited two years before and of whose future he had from the first cherished the greatest hope. He purchased land on the east side of the Los Angeles river and erected what was at that time one of the most valuable residences in the entire state. This continued to be his home until his death. To the improve- ment of the place he gave much time and thought, and expended thousands in the embel- lishment of the several acres of grounds.

In 1878 Mr. Hollenbeck became a stock- holder in the Commercial Bank of Los Angeles, and was elected its president, holding the posi- tion three years. He then, with others, organ- ized the First National Bank, of which he was chosen president, and he held the position until ill-health obliged him to retire from heavy busi- ness responsibilities. After his resignation as president he and his wife spent many months in travel in this country and abroad. Before and after his return from Europe he bought large tracts of property, and at one time owned six hundred acres four miles south of the city lim- its. On this property he planted a vineyard of three hundred acres. He also owned land in the San Gabriel valley, on which he raised oranges, lemons and grapes. Among his other possessions was a grain and stock ranch, com- prising thirty-five hundred acres of La Puente rancho. In 1884 he built the Hollenbeck block, one hundred and twenty feet on Spring and two hundred and forty feet on Second street. At one time he was the principal owner of the East Los Angeles and Main and Sixth street horse- car line, and was also interested in the line to Boyle Heights.

After five months of gradually increasing weakness, Mr. Hollenbeck died September 2, 1885. His forethought was shown in the fact that he had made provision out of his estate for all of his relatives. In his passing from earth Los Angeles lost one of its prominent and suc- cessful pioneers.

GEN. MARSHALL C. WENTWORTH, known from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, through the numerous guests that he has enter- tained at his White Mountain and California hotels, as one of the most genial and attentive of hosts. spends his summers at Wentworth Hall, Jackson, N. H., and his winters at the Raymond, Pasadena, Cal. A son of William H.

H. and Mary (Clark) Wentworth, he was born August 16, 1844, in Jackson, N. H., of good English ancestry, being a direct descendant in the eighth generation from Elder William Went- worth, the immigrant, the lineage being: Wil- liam, Ephraim, Ephraim, Ephraim, Spencer. Charles B., Willian H. H., Marshall C. Elder William Wentworth was baptized in 1615 at Alford, England, where also he was reared and educated. Accompanying Rev. John Wheel- wright to America in 1636, he settled at Exeter, N. H., where he was for many years pastor of the Congregational Church.

Spencer Wentworth, the great-grandfather of General Wentworth, was the first of the name to locate at Jackson, coming here with his wife, whose maiden name was Eunice Smith, at an carly day. Charles B. Wentworth, son of Spen- cer, was born in Meredith, N. H., and there spent his early life. Coming to Jackson with his parents in 1816, he located two miles above Jackson Falls, on the road to Carter Notch, where he was engaged in farming until his death in 1845. He served as deputy sheriff for Coos county for a number of years.

William H. H. Wentworth, son of Charles B. and father of the General, was born in 1818, and was a lifelong resident of Jackson. Succeeding to the homestead cleared by his father from the wilderness, he carried on general farming throughout his active career. His death oc- curred in 1864. A man of sterling worth and integrity, he was highly esteemed as a citizen, and exerted a beneficial influence in the com- munity. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Free Will Baptist Church. He married Mary Clark, who was born in Maine, of Welsh ancestors. Having received a good education, she taught school prior to her mar- riage, being a most successful teacher.

Marshall Clark Wentworth inherited a love of knowledge and books from his mother, and toiled hard to obtain an education, walking eight miles every day that he might attend the district school, at the same time doing such work on the homestead as usually falls to the lot of a farmer's boy. Although but sixteen years old when the war that threatened the dis- solution of the Union broke out, he was among the first to offer his services to his country, wringing a reluctant consent from his parents. He enlisted April 27. 1861, at Bethel, Me .. as a private in Company I, Fifth Maine Vol- unteer Infantry, for a term of three years, dur- ing which time he was never absent from duty for a day, but took part in every engagement participated in by his regiment. Returning home at the expiration of his term of enlist- ment, he found his father ill, and remained to care for him. Ilis father died a few months later; and he re-enlisted in January, 1865, in the First New Jersey Cavalry, in which he

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served until the close of the war. During the war he participated in twenty-seven engage- ments, including the first and second battles of Bull Run; the Seven Days' fight; the battle of South Mountain; the first and second bat- tles of Fredericksburg; the engagement at Salem Church; the battles of Spottsylvania, May 10 and 12, 1864, when his regiment broke the rebel lines and captured many prisoners; and those of Gettysburg, Mine Run, and Five Forks. He had many hairbreadth escapes while in the army, at one time, while on picket duty with three companions, being attacked by twenty rebels, who killed one of his companions and captured two, he alone escaping, although wounded. At Five Forks he received a wound in the foot, from which he still suffers. He re- fused offers of promotion, preferring to stay in the ranks with his comrades, who said of him, "A braver soldier never fired a gun!"

Returning to Jackson at the close of the war, lie remained there for a short time, and then served for a while as conductor on a passenger train running between New York and Eliza- beth, N. J. He has since been constantly en- gaged in the hotel business, winning fame and friends, his active career in this line com- mencing with his marriage. May 30, 1869, he married Georgia A. Trickey, daughter of Cap- tain Joshua and Martha P. (Meserve) Trickey, and very soon after the young couple took pos- session of the Thorn Mountain House, which Captain Trickey built especially for them. In its care and management they put forth their best efforts, making it one of the most attractive of the many summer resorts in the White moun- tain region, giving their personal attention to their guests.

Meeting with great success, General Went- worth has since erected other houses of enter- tainment, building Arden Cottage in 1881, Wentworth Hall and cottages in 1883, Thorny- proft in 1885, Glenthorne the same year, and Elmwood in 1886. In 1892 he added a hand- some building called "The Casino." which con- tains a theater, ball-room and other amusement rooms. In 1891 he erected "Wentworth Cas- tle." It is built of rough field stones and con- tains fifteen handsome rooms, nearly all of them with open fireplaces. This is the private resi- dence of General and Mrs. Wentworth and is occupied by them from May until November each year. It is situated on a sightly eminence, two hundred feet above Wentworth Hall and Cottages, and opposite Jackson Falls. It is, perhaps, one of the finest private houses in the state. Since then he has done what an artist would do in finishing or completing a picture, and has made it the most ideal place in Amer- ica.

During the winter seasons the General has continued his work in warmer climates, in 1884.

1885 and 1886 having charge of the Laurel House, at Lakewood, N. J., and from 1891 to 1895 being manager of the Raymond, at Pasa- cena, Cal. In the year last named the Raymond was burned; and General Wentworth assumed the control of La Pintoresca, Pasadena, retain- ing it throughout the winter seasons until the completion of the new Raymond, a larger and more magnificent hotel than the former one, of which he has the entire management. In 1899 he planned and equipped the magnificent hotel, the New Frontenac, in the Thousand Islands, St. Lawrence River, N. Y., and subsequently managed it for two years. During the winter of 1899 and 1900 he also assumed the manage- ment of the mammoth hotel, the Lakewood, at Lakewood, N. J., in connection with his Cali- fornia hotel, La Pintoresca. Two winters were also spent traveling extensively abroad, much time being devoted to the study of the science of hotel keeping as exemplified in European countries.

General Wentworth is a Republican in his political affiliations, and served from 1881 until 1882 as quartermaster-general on the staff of Governor Charles H. Bell, and in 1884 was a member of the Republican electoral college. Fraternally he is a member of Mount Washing- ton Lodge, F. & A. M., of North Conway: of Greenleaf Chapter. R. A. M .. of Portland, Me .; and of the Saco Valley Lodge, No. 77, I. O. O. F., of North Conway.

It is safe to say that General and Mrs. Went- worth are wider and more favorably known to the guests that frequent the leading summer and winter resorts of our country than any other persons connected with the hotel business, which they have so ably assisted in raising to a very high standard by the introduction of agreeable and esthetic features, giving to eaclı guest the pleasures and comforts of home life.

GEN. JOHNSTONE JONES. Gen. Jolin- stone Jones, of Los Angeles, was born in Hills- boro, Orange county, N. C., September 26, 1848, and is a son of Col. Cadwallader Jones, formerly a resident of Columbia. S. C. In 1872 he became editor of the Daily Observer at Charlotte, N. C., but sold his interest in the paper in 1874. During that year he was elected secretary of the state senate; in 1875 was secre- tary of the constitutional convention of North Carolina; in 1876-77 edited the Daily News at Raleigh, N. C .: and January 8, 1877, was ap- pointed adjutant-general of North Carolina, with the rank of brigadier-general, by Governor Zebulon B. Vance, who was afterward United States senator. To this office he was reappointed by Governor Thomas J. Jarvis in 1881 and bv Governor Alfred M. Scales in 1885. his third term expiring in January, 1889. In 1884. while a resident of Asheville, N. C., and adjutant-

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general of the state, he was elected a representa- tive of the county of Buncombe in the general assembly of the state.

On account of the ill health of Mrs. Jones the family came to California in August, 1889. In San Diego General Jones entered into partner- ship with James E. Wadham and engaged in the practice of the law. In September, 1890, he was nominated by the Democratic party of San Diego for district attorney, and received eight- een majority in the November election, out of a total vote of seven thousand and thirty-four, he being the only Democrat on the ticket elected in the county that year. He filled the office for two years. In March, 1893, he formed a co- partnership with James L. Copeland, ex-district attorney of San Diego, and Frank W. Good- body, ex-deputy district attorney.

The partnership was dissolved in October, 1893, and on the Ist of November of that year General Jones removed to Los Angeles and en- tered upon the practice of the law in this city. In 1896 he was nominated for the state senate in the thirty-seventh senatorial district, compris- ing the larger part of the city of Los Angeles, being the Democratic nominee, with the en- dorsement of the Populists, Silver Republicans and Labor party, and was defeated by Hon. R. N. Bulla, the Republican nominee. January 1, 1899, he was appointed assistant district at- torney by James C. Rieves. In the Spanish- American war he raised a cavalry regiment of twelve troops in ten days after the declaration of war and tendered their services to the presi- dent and governor. The companies were located in the city of Los Angeles, and in Pasadena, Los Nietos valley, Norwalk, Whittier. Santa Ana and San Bernardino. The organization was complete and numbered twelve hundred men. He was elected colonel of the regiment.

J. P. SPENCE. Overlooking the San Gabriel valley and occupying an attractive and pic- turesque location high up in the foot hills near Monrovia stands the home of Mr. Spence. This California pioneer of 1851 was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland, December 15, 1829, being a son of Gabriel and Jane (Porteus) Spence, life- long residents of the Emerald Isle. His pa- ternal grandfather, James Spence, crossed the ocean to America and settled in Ohio, where he gave his attention to the improvement of a farm, remaining there until he died. The ma- ternal grandfather, David Porteus, was a farmer of Ireland. In a family of three children J. P. Spence was the youngest. He was given a fair education in private schools and from an early age assisted in tilling the soil of a homestead. Starting out for himself in 1850, he sought the greater opportunities of the United States, and for a time remained in Ohio. However, a year later he joined the throng of gold-seekers in

the west, and for eight years engaged in mining in Nevada county, Cal.

Turning his attention to another form of ac- tivity Mr. Spence in 1850 settled in Santa Clara county, where he bought seventy-five acres ad- joining the city of San Jose. This he improved and afterward sold at a fair profit. A later pur- chase consisted of two hundred and thirty-six and one-half acres adjoining the town of Mil- pitas, in the same county, and this property he also improved and sold. The year 1887 found him in Southern California. Coming direct to Monrovia, he bought a ten-acre tract, which he has improved with oranges. In addition he is the owner of twenty-six acres at Burbank, both of which properties have been increased in value through his judicious improvements and con- stant cultivation.

Though at no time active in public affairs nor solicitous for official recognition, Mr. Spence is not unmindful of every duty which he owes as a citizen, and we find him a contributor to movements for the public welfare. In politics he always votes with the Republican party. Some years after coming to California he estab- lished domestic ties through his marriage, in 1856, to Miss Annie White Parker, who was born at Southampton, Long Island, daughter of a sea captain. The second wife of Mr. Spence. whom he married in 1892, was formerly Fannie Leach and was a native of New York. In his family there are four sons and one daughter, namely: Willie P .; Dollie, wife of William R. Olinder, of San Francisco; Edward, Frank and George. The family are identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

G. A. STEVENS. This pioneer of 1874 in California, who is now engaged in business in Long Beach, was born in Gillhall, Vt., a son of Rev. Henry Reginald and Henrietta (Hodgekin) Stevens, also natives of Vermont. He was the only son among five children, all of whom are living. His father, when a young man, en- tered the Methodist Episcopal ministry and dur- ing the Civil war served as a chaplain in a Ver- mont regiment. Not long after the war closed he removed to Michigan and settled in Hills- dale, Mich., where his uncle, Rev. Ransom Dunn, D. D., had in 1855 established the Hills- dale College, under the auspices of the Free Baptist Church. On account of failing health in 1874 he came to California, where the genial climate soon restored him to his former strength and usefulness. He continued to live in the west until his earth life ended, in February, 1894.

Of the Vermont town where he was born De- cember 3, 1866, G. A. Stevens entertains no recollections, as he was taken to Michigan in infancy. When he was about five years of age he accompanied the family to California, and

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after a year in San Francisco went with them to Berkeley, next to Oakland, from there to Fresno, later to Pine Ridge, thence to Hanford, and finally to Santa Barbara county and from there to Kings county, in each of which places his father held pastorates. About 1885 the fam- ily came to Los Angeles. Meantime he had attended public and high schools, and after coming to this city was a student in the Uni- versity of Southern California. Later he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific, and then was with the Santa Fe Railroad Company, for a time as baggageman and then as conductor between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. After ten years of experience in railroading he abandoned that occupation in 1894 and has since been especially interested in buying and selling horses. He can scarcely remember the time when he did not make a "hobby" of the subject of horses. His friendliness toward the animals is reciprocated by them, and even the most unruly specimen of equine flesh easily be- comes tractable under his control. In 1898 he opened the Bay View stables at Long Beach, of which, and of the Bay View Transfer Company, he has since been proprietor and manager. The stable on Ocean avenue is the largest building of its kind in the city and is equipped with vehicles of every kind, including the popular tally-ho.

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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 197

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