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 198

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 198

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By the marriage of Mr. Stevens to Miss Veva Wilcox, who was born in Sacramento and reared in San Bernardino, there are three children, Ruth, Fern and Bert. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Stevens is a member. In fraternal relations Mr. Stevens is identified with the Woodmen of the World and the Uniform Rank, K. of P., while in politics he is a Republican, and commercially holds membership in the Long Beach Board of Trade.

J. CARVASSO FRASER, M. D. The geneal- ogy of the Fraser family is traced back to Sir Simon Fraser, a daring and gallant Scotchman, who was given a coat of arms by Robert Bruce in recognition of his courage in saving the life of that distinguished leader when hard pressed on the field of battle. From Scotland the family became transplanted in New England. Hon. Allen Fraser, a native of Connecticut, re- moved to Oneida county, N. Y., where he cleared a farm out of the primitive woods. A man of worth and intelligence, his fellow-cit- izens several times clected him a member of the state legislature. By birthright he was a mem- ber of the Society of Friends. On the farm that he cleared from the forest was born his son, Westel W., who succeeded to the posses- sion of the homestead and there died at fifty- four years of age. In early manhood he mar- ried Hannah Whitaker, who was born in Steu- ben, Oneida county, N. Y., and was a danghter

of Joseph Whitaker, a native of Connecticut, of Puritan stock, a farmer by occupation, and during the war of 1812 a soldier in the American army. The homestead near Westernville is still occupied by Mrs. Fraser. Of her two sons and two daughters, J. Carvasso, the oldest, is the only one in California. He was born on the farm near Westernville November 24, 1850, and received his education in public schools and Whitesboro Academy. By reason of delicate health in boyhood he first became interested in medicine, and in that way decided to make the profession his life work. In order to secure the means necessary for his medical education he taught school between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, and then took up the study of med- icine under Dr. Wolcott of Holland Patent. In 1872 he matriculated in the medical department, University of Michigan. A year later he en- tered Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York, and while there acted as assistant to Dr. Keyes, professor of skin diseases and sur- gery. March 1, 1875, he was graduated from this institution, after which he returned to Oneida county and opened an office at Ava. Gradually he built up a practice that extended through all of the surrounding country. The constant demand for his services, by night and by day, gave him no opportunity for needed rest and undermined his constitution. Just about this time an epidemic of diphtheria broke out among adults, and he was among his patients night and day. Finally, when the disease had about been stamped out, he himself fell a vic- tim, and, being worn out with constant service among his patients, he was not in condition to easily conquer the trouble. When the diphtheria passed away, paralysis set in, and for three months he was practically helpless. When that disease had been successfully treated, a weak- ness still remained in the throat that rendered necessary removal to a less trying climate.

With the hope that California might prove beneficial, Dr. Fraser came west in November, 1885. Within two months his throat was well again, and he then went back east and resumed his practice. In July, 1887, he decided to settle in California permanently and came to Pasadena, soon, however, removing to San Diego, and from there coming back to Pasadena in June, 1888. During the summer seasons of 1892, 1893. 1894 and 1895, he acted as physician at Wentworth Hall in the White mountains, while in the winter months he was physician at the Raymond hotel, but the burning of this building not only forced him to change these arrangements, but also caused a total loss of his books and surgical instruments. In 1896 he visited Honolulu. An attack of pleurisy, in June, 1800. caused him to relinquish profes- sional work, and, although he has since regained his health, he has retired from active practice.

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In October, 1900, he accepted the presidency of the Pasadena National Bank, but, finding the confinement taxing his strength, he resigned in February, 1901, and returned to his old home for the summer. From 1897 to 1901 he was a director of the bank, and is still one of its stock- holders. Other local interests are the owner- ship of residence property in Pasadena and two ranches near the city. In common with many Californians, he has mining interests. Included among these are his interests at Randsburg, also in Sierra county, Cal., and he is president of the Success, Piute and Al Medico Mining Compan- ies, also vice-president and a director of the Electro-Geodetic Mining Company. The Pasa- dena Board of Trade numbers him among its members. In political views he votes with the Republicans. In the east he married Miss Edith A. Brown, a native of Ohio. He was made a Mason in Baron Steuben Lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M., of Booneville, N. Y., and is now con- nected with Pasadena Lodge, No. 272, F. & A. M .; was raised to the chapter, commandery and thirty-second degree in this city, and is a mem- ber of Al Malaikah Temple in Los Angeles.

REV. A. C. JEFFRIES. The original stock of the Jeffries family was Scandinavian or Horse-Vikings, and the genealogy is traced back to the year 900 in Normandy, from which country they accompanied William the Con- queror to England in 1066. In early periods the name had various spellings, viz .: Godfridus, Godfrey, Godefroy, Godefrey and Geofferoy, gradually changing in later times to Jefferoy, Jefferrey, Jefferey, Jefferies, Jeffrey, Jeffris and Jeffries. The ancestor in America was Robert Jeffries (whose name, according to his Norman- English ancestors, would, in the year 1106, have been spelled Rolf Godefroy.) He was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1656, and came to Amer- ica in 1681, settling at Uplands, now Chester, Pa., where he died in 1739, leaving a large fam- ily to inherit his name. In 1688 he had married Jane Chandler, who was born in England in 1670 and died in East Bradford, Pa., in 1726. She was the mother of seven sons and five daughters, all of whom survived her, namely: George, John, William, James, Robert, Thomas, Benjamin, Patience, Charity, Jane, Anne and Mary. Three years after the death of his first wife, Robert Jeffries, at the age of seventy- three, married his second wife, Anne Archer. who bore him a son, Richard, born at East Brad- ford, Chester county, Pa., February 24, 1730. The latter, like his father, was twice married. In his family there were twenty-nine children, twenty-one of whom attained years of maturity. His first wife was Jane Logue, whose surviving children were: Jesse, Samuel, Caleb, John, George, Joseph, James, Hannah and Abigail.

In 1785 Richard removed from Chester

county to Huntingdon county, Pa., where his wife died the same year and was buried in a graveyard on the home farm, on the north bank of the Tuscarora river. A year thereafter he married Nancy Davis, who was born May 5. 1765. She was the mother of twelve surviving children, namely: Mark, Armor, David, Nes- bit, Richard, Robert, Isaiah, Mary, Rachel, Nancy, Elizabeth and Sarah. Her death oc- curred in 1841 at Piqua, Ohio, where she had lived with her son Robert and her daughter Elizabeth, Mrs. James Thompson.

In the early days the son and namesake of the original ancestor, Robert Jeffries, settled in the south ; various sons of Richard and Jane (Logue) Jeffries, also went south, including Samuel and Caleb, who settled in Virginia; James, a sea cap- tain, who went to Baltimore; and George, who settled in Frederick, Md. In appearance the founder of the family in America was a man of fine physique, about six feet tall, of dignified bearing and cordial manner, and one who en- joyed the pleasures of social life. He was noted for his energy, industry and business capacity, and his advice was often sought in private and public affairs. He was a son of John Jeffries, of Wiltshire, England, a respected country gen- tleman and landed proprietor, whose family line is traced back to the tenth century; and a cousin of Judge George Jeffries, baron of Wem, chief justice under King Charles II and Lord Chan- cellor of England under King James II, and who died a prisoner in the tower of London in 1689. The motto of the family, which is still used in England and America is Post Nubila Phoebus (freely translated, "The sun shines forth after the clouds have passed").

From the southern branch of the family Rev. A. C. Jeffries of Los Angeles is descended. He was born near Columbus, in Fairfield county, Ohio, February 17, 1839. His father, James, of Virginian birth, accompanied his parents to Ohio at nine years of age and spent the remain- der of his life there, engaging first in freighting and later exclusively in farming. In religion he was connected with the United Brethren Church. Though his life was prolonged to the age of seventy-nine years, he was quite active and strong until his last illness. He was a son of William Jeffries, a Virginian, and an overseer of slaves there, but from 1818 until his death a resident of Fairfield county, Ohio, where he en- gaged in teaming and farming.

The marriage of James Jeffries united him with Mary Benadun, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and died there at eighty-seven years of age. Like her husband, she was con- nected with the United Brethren Church. Her father, George Benadun, was a Pennsylvanian, of German extraction. In her family of six sons and eight daughters, all but two attained matur- ity, and of these A. C. was the fourth in order

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of birth. His boyhood days were passed in Ohio, where he began to operate a rented farm at twenty-two years of age. The following year he married, February 20, 1862, Miss Rebecca Boyer, a native of Fairfield county, her father, Jonathan Boyer, having settled there from Pennsylvania. The Boyer family is of German descent. Born of this marriage were six sons and four daughters, two of whom died in child- lood. The following survive: Alameda, wife of Louis Boyer, of Los Angeles; C. C., in Ari- zona; Lydia, Mrs. J. H. Southworth, of Los Angeles; Willis E., (known as Tom), and John, at home; James J., who as the world's champion has brought renown to the family name; Charles, (known as Jack), who is with his brother; and Lillie, at home.

In 1882 Rev. A. C. Jeffries removed from Ohio and bought a sheep ranch near Los An- geles, the place consisting of ninety-seven and one-half acres, of which he still owns sixty acres. The balance has been sold off in lots in East Los Angeles. The family have continued to make their home on the ranch, the superintend- ence of which is given over to the son John. The house at No. 591 Arroyo Seco avenue, East Los Angeles, was, at the time of building, in 1882, one of the best in the city. Since 1887 Mr. Jeffries has devoted himself to preaching, which he follows after apostolic plan, accepting no remuneration for his labors, and preaching on the street or in such buildings as are available. Recently he returned from a long evangelistic tour in Europe. Constant traveling and preach- ing do not impair his rugged and strong vitality, and he is unusually active for a man of sixty- three, carrying easily the burden of his years. Possessing a unique personality, with long hair and beard and a face whose lines show deter- mination, he is a conspicuous figure in any throng, and the interest which his appearance attracts is heightened by a conversation with this self-sacrificing and faithful preacher of the Gospel.

GEORGE F. JENNINGS. The discovery of gold in 1849 brought many adventurous spirits to California, numbered among whom was George F. Jennings, a native of Lockport, N. Y. Those were times of peril by sea and perils by land, of hunger and thirst, of dangers from savages and from wild animals, and only a man of great bravery could pursue his way undaunted and undiscouraged. In his struggle to discover gold in the mines, he labored early and late, glad if. when pay day came, there was enough gold to pay the miners and other laborers. When it is considered that his father was wealthy and the necessity for this struggle not apparent, it will be recognized at once that he was a man of great determination and pride, who wished to secure an income independent of family aid. His

father, John D. Jennings, was a native of Ver- mont, and throughout much of his active career engaged in the real-estate business in Chicago, where he bought large tracts of land at an early day and, reaping the benefit of the vast increase in price, accumulated an estate valued at $4,- 000,000. To him belongs the credit for originat- ing the system of the ninety-nine year lease, which has been everywhere adopted.

The marriage of George F. Jennings united him with Mrs. Lovell, a native of Burlington, Vt., and a daughter of Warren and Hannah (Rockwood) Gibbs, also born in Vermont. Her maternal grandfather, Reuben Rockwood, was a farmer of Vermont, but died in middle age be- fore his daughter was born. During many years Warren Gibbs held a leading position in Vermont by virtue of his position as editor of St. Albans Messenger, a leading paper of the state. For some twelve years he was president of the Vermont Life Insurance Company. An active politician and able statesman, he filled nu- merous offices, chief among which was that of state senator. Later he removed to Chicago, Ill., and there he died in 1895, at the age of sixty-four years.

Shortly after leaving school Miss Gibbs be- came the wife of E. W. Lovell, M. D., who was born in Vermont and engaged in the practice of medicine from early manhood until his death. One child was born to this union, John G. Lovell, president of the Hodge Bros. Company, of Pasadena, and now in charge of the automo- bile department of the same. At this writing a brick block is building on the corner of Union and DeLacy streets, which on comple- tion will be occupied by the company. In 1893 Mrs. Lovell was married to Mr. Jennings, who, as previously intimated, had large mining inter- ests in the west, included among these being an interest in a gold mine in Nevada, of which Gen- eral Page was part owner. After his retirement from active cares Mr. Jennings indulged his fondness for horses and fishing, and was often to be seen driving behind a fine span of horses, or seeking some quiet spot, with an abundant sup- ply of fishing tackle and bait. In politics he was a Republican, but not active. In religion both he and his wife affiliated with the Congrega- tionalists. His death occurred in Pasadena. Mrs. Jennings makes her home at No. 537 South Orange Grove avenue, and also owns a residence in Chicago on the corner of Thirty- fourth street and Michigan avenue. Included among her other possessions is a ranch of one hundred acres, adjoining the Country Club on the east, and beautified by a grove of live oaks. Water has been introduced by pipe line and every improvement has been made preparatory to planting. In her travels around our own and other countries, Mrs. Jennings has exercised her fondness for kodaking and has secured some

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pictures that are artistic souvenirs of various incidents and experiences. Doubtless her en- joyment of travel has been greatly enhanced by her disposition, which is sunny and cheerful, with a happy knack of looking at the humorous side of things; and it is the possession of this and other admirable traits that has won friends for her in every place she has visited.

J. W. JOHNSON. In addition to following the occupation of a contractor and builder in Gardena, Mr. Johnson is the owner of a small fruit farm and devotes a portion of his time to its cultivation. The tract comprises four and one-half acres, of which one acre is in alfalfa and the balance divided equally between raspber- ries and Logan berries. In the supervision of his garden and in filling contracts for building, he finds his time well occupied, and thus has never had occasion to regret the decision which led him to remove to California in December of 1892.

Near Lexington, Mo., Mr. Johnson was born January 3, 1865, being a son of G. W. and Mary (Pennington) Johnson, natives of Frankfort, Ky. He was the younger of two sons and the youngest among the six children that comprised the family. On removing to Missouri, his father settled near Lexington, where he bought eighty acres, and the remaining years of his life were devoted to the improvement and cultivation of this tract. The son, J. W., received his educa- tion in district schools in Missouri, supple- mented by a course of study in the high school of Omaha, Neb., where later for six years he was engaged in the photographic business. From there he went to Kenosha, Wis., where he was similarly occupied for six months. The same occupation was subsequently followed in Salt Lake, Utalı, for thirteen months, after which he came to California and followed pho- tography in Los Angeles for a year or more. From that business he turned his attention to contracting and building, in which he is still engaged. December 7, 1899, he came to Gar- dena, where he now makes his home. Though never a partisan in political views, he is never- theless a stanch Republican. He is connected with the Fraternal Brotherhood, the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Independent Order of Foresters, in which latter organiza- tion he served as chief ranger for one year.

In Garden Grove, Cal., occurred the marriage of J. W. Johnson and Miss Frankie Holt, and they are the parents of two sons, Claude and Carl, who are respectively eight and five years of age. Mrs. Johnson was born in Nova Scotia, and in 1867 was brought to California by her father, J. W. Holt, who settled at Hollister and took up general farming pursuits. From there in 1890 he removed to Garden Grove and bought

a ranch of forty acres, which he has since oc- cupied and cultivated.

M. W. RAIBLEY. Although spending a por- tion of the '8os in California, Mr. Raibley did not become a permanent resident of the state until 1895, at which time he settled in Moneta, his present home. The first purchase that he made here consisted of ten acres, partly. im- proved, and afterward he bought a tract of sim- ilar size, but destitute of improvements. On the land he has erected a ranch house, planted an orchard, and secured an abundance of water from a seven-inch well, two hundred and eight feet deep. He has ten acres in bailey, two acres in Logan berries, four acres in peas, and a small tract in alfalfa. In addition to this prop- erty, he has one hundred acres in barley, the land being leased from the German-American Savings Bank.

On the night that Abraham Lincoln fell a victim of the assassin's bullet, April 15, 1865, M. W. Raibley was born in Spencer county, Ind., being the fourth in a family of four sons and two daughters. His father, John, a native of Ger- many, was brought to the United States by his parents at seven years of age and settled near Batavia, Ohio, where he grew to youth on a farm. When sixteen years of age he went to Indiana and settled in Spencer county, buying and improving a farm of one hundred and thirty acres. The remaining and active period of his life was spent in the improvement and cultiva- tion of this tract, and on it his death occurred in 1901, when he was sixty-four years of age. He married Caroline Wilhelmus, who was born in Germany, but was brought to America by her parents when three years of age, and hence en- tertained no recollection of the land of her birth.

When Mr. Raibley was a boy there was no school nearer his home than a primitive build- ing one and one-half miles distant, and often it was not convenient to send him there, for his services were needed on the farm. Hence he had little or no educational advantages, yet by study in the great school of experience he has acquired much valuable knowledge, chief among which is his ability to hold his own even under trying and adverse circumstances, and against the schemes of dishonest adventurers. When a young man he operated a sawmill in Indiana. During 1886 he came to California and secured employment in a vineyard at Florence, later working in a winery. Returning to Indiana in 1888, he bought a farm and devoted himself to its cultivation. But, after an experience with California climate, he was dissatisfied in In- diana, and accordingly returned to the far west, where he hopes to spend the balance of his life. By his marriage of Miss Fannie Taylor, of In- diana, he has three children, John, Charles and

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Margie. Fraternally he is a member of the In- dependent Order of Foresters.

HENRY KOEPKE. The success which has rewarded the efforts of Mr. Koepke proves him to be a man of more than ordinary ability. If he had been to the "manor born," so that as a native American citizen he could have risen from poverty to his present position, it would be saying much; but when it is remembered that twenty-seven years of his life were passed upon a foreign soil, and that in America he began with less than nothing, his success is praiseworthy. To-day he is a thoroughgoing American, in sympathy with everything that bears the mark of progress and independence, and no resident of Tropico is a more loyal citi- zen than he.

In Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, Mr. Koepke was born February 18, 1844. In youth he served an apprenticeship of three years to the wagon-maker's trade, paying $40 for the privilege of learning the trade under an em- ployer who gave him long hours of toil and little recreation. As a journeyman he was em- ployed at Hamburg for three years, also in other cities. In June, 1871, he arrived in New York City, and from there went to Waterloo, Iowa, thence to a small town, Denver, twelve miles distant. Buying a few tools with which to begin work, he found himself $15 in debt, in a strange locality, without means or friends. However, a young man of energy is not easily discouraged, and Mr. Koepke did not allow himself to be daunted by adverse circumstances. For two years he worked at his trade there, and then started a wagon shop of his own in Tripoli, Iowa. There he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Reimers, who was born in Holstein, Germany, and died in Oregon November 26, 1895, leaving three children, namely: Ernest, who is engaged in the grocery business at El- lensburg, Wash .; Minnie, at home; and Fred- erick, a student in the Cooper Medical Col- lege at San Francisco, Cal. The second mar- riage of Mr. Koepke took place in 1897 and united him with Miss Melinda Schultz, of Columbus, Ohio, by whom he has two sons, Arnold and Henry.

Selling out his shop at Tripoli in 1880, Mr. Koepke moved to Oregon and bought one-half section of prairie land in Umatilla county. On this land, as soon as he had cleared it, he began to raise wheat. From time to time he added to his possessions until now his property aggre- gates fifteen hundred acres in one body, which is rented, his rental for 1901 being over ten thousand bushels of wheat. In addition he is the owner of two hundred acres of valley land near Ellensburg, Wash., valued at $10,000, and a store building valued at $15,000 in the city of Ellensburg. Since 1897 he has made his home in

Tropico, where he owns a homestead of six and one-half acres, planted in citrus and decidu- ous fruits. Being to a large extent retired from business cares, he devotes himself to the over- sight of his homestead, the care of the trees and the cultivation of the fruit, this work being done, less for a hope of profit, than for the at- tainment of his ambition to possess a thrifty bearing orchard, that will compare favorably with the best in the neighborhood. With his family he attends the Presbyterian Church. His life has been one of busy industry, but in his large estates he is fully repaid for the self-sacri- ficing labors of previous years. Passing his life in business and agriculture, he has paid little attention to politics, further than supporting good men for office. He is a man of warm heart and generous impulses, and one who de- serves and receives credit for what he has ac- complished in the world.

MRS. JENNIE A. REEVE. Long Beach is happily the gainer by the presence in the midst of its manifold advantages of women with many claims to distinction, and whose ideals and en- dowments reach beyond the boundaries of the purely social and ethical to participation in vital business enterprises. Among the women whose force of character and ability to cope with the strenuous activities of life have won for them an honored place in this community, none more emphatically realized their many-sided expecta- tions than has Mrs. Jennie A. Reeve, a resident of this seaside town since 1896.

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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 198

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