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 38

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

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Undoubtedly Senator White inherited much of his ability from his father, William F., himself a man of literary tastes and the author of "Early Days in California." A native of Ireland, edu- cated in New York City, he came to California, accompanied by his bride, in 1849, and spent his remaining years in this state, principally re- siding on his large ranch at Watsonville, Santa Cruz county. He married Fannie Russell, a relative of Hon Stephen Mallory, of Florida, whose son served in the United States senate at the same time with Stephen Mallory White. At this writing Mrs. Fannie White resides in San Francisco. In her family there were two sons and six daughters who attained mature years, and all are living excepting Stephen M. One of the family, Edward, resides at Watson- ville.

In San Francisco, Stephen M. White was born January 19, 1853. His boyhood days were largely passed on the ranch in Santa Cruz county. He was educated in St. Ignatius Col- lege at San Francisco, and in Santa Clara Col- lege, from which he was graduated with the degree of B. S. After having been admitted to the bar, in the fall of 1874 he came to Los An- geles, where he was soon recognized as a prom- ising lawyer and able man. His election to the office of district attorney, in 1883, was a tribute to his ability and the recognition of the same by the people. It was largely due to his admirable service in that capacity that he was selected as one able to represent the district in the state senate. His election in 1886 may be termed the beginning of his public career. Thenceforward he remained in the service of his state and coun- try. Soon after he became senator the governor, Washington Bartlett, died, and Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Waterman became chief executive, which

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caused Mr. White to be made presiding officer of the senate in the first session and acting lieu- tenant-governor in the second session. His thorough knowledge of parliamentary law en- abled him to fill these positions with fairness to all and in a manner preventing criticism from any.

The stanch advocacy of Democratic principles by Senator White brought him into notice among those of his party throughout the state and nation. His ability as a leader was unques- tioned, his knowledge of parliamentary law un- excelled by any statesman, and his insight into questions of state thorough and comprehensive. In 1888 he was delegate-at-large to the Demo- cratic national convention, of which he was chosen temporary chairman. Four years later he was a delegate, and again in 1896 served as delegatc-at-large and permanent chairman. His career as United States senator began in 1893, and during his service in Washington he made a notable record for thorough work in questions of finance and commerce. Perhaps, however, his greatest work, and that which will stand as his monument, was in connection with the establish- ment of the harbor at San Pedro. For this measure he stood with his whole heart. He gave himself unreservedly to promoting its success; this, too, in spite of the enormous moneyed interests ar- rayed by the opposition. Finally, after a strug- gle that would have daunted a man less deter- mined, he conquered, and the harbor was estab- lished that is destined to be a mighty factor in the future growth of California. What the future might have held for him is beyond our ken, but it might reasonably be supposed that, had he been spared to old age, the remainder of his life would have been given to public serv- ice and to a championship of measures calculated to promote the welfare of the state. When he passed away, February 21, 1901, there were not wanting men who believed that the greatest Democrat west of the Rocky Mountain region had been called away; be that as it may, certain it is that his death removed one of the notable figures in the senate during the latter part of the nineteenth century and one of California's great- est statesmen.

In Los Angeles, June 5, 1883, Mr. White mar- ried Miss Hortense Sacriste, who was born in North Carolina and came to Los Angeles with her father in 1873, afterward going east and completing her education in a convent at Phila- delphia. Her acquaintance with Senator White began when she was fifteen years of age, and they were married as soon as her education was fin- ished. Bornof their union were four children now living, William Steplien, Estelle, Hortense and Gerald Griffin. Her grandparents, Francis and Eliza (Genotelle) Sacriste, resided near Phila- delphia, where the former engaged in manufac- turing. Her father, Charles, was born at Bor-

deaux, France, and received his education in a Quaker college at Wilmington, Del. After com- ing to Los Angeles he started the first woolen manufactory in this city, it being located on Sixth and Pearl streets. His death occurred in 1890. His wife, Ann (O'Neill) Sacriste, was born in Ireland and received her education in a convent at Wilmington, Del. Some years after the death of her husband she passed away in Los Angeles. They were the parents of eleven children, only four of whom are living, Mrs. White being the youngest of these. The other daughter resides at Santa Clara, Cal., while the two sons make their home in Virginia.

HON. ORESTES ORR. For some years past the Republican party in Ventura county has had as one of its principal members ex-Senator Orr, a resident of the city of Ventura since 1878. His prominence in the party may be judged from the fact that for several terms he was chosen chairman of the county central committee, while for many years he was a member of the state central committee. The various positions to which he has been elected have come to him from his party and are a tribute to his popularity and a just recognition of his worth. For three successive terms he served as district attorney, being elected in 1884, 1886 and 1888, and serv- ing until January, 1891. On the Republican ticket, in 1892, he was nominated for senator and was elected, over two opponents, by a large plu- rality, serving in the state legislative sessions of 1893 and 1895. During his first term he was chairman of the committee on roads and high- ways and in 1895 was honored by the chairman- ship of the committee on corporations, both of which positions he filled in an efficient and cred- itable manner. At the expiration of his second term he was not a candidate for re-election, but resumed the practice of law, in which he had previously been engaged.

The Orr family is of Scotch descent, but the first of the family in America came from county Donegal, Ireland. They possessed the sturdy characteristics of the Scotch-Irish race, and these qualities have been transmitted to their descendants. The great-grandfather of Mr. Orr settled in Pennsylvania, where the grandfather, Russell, was born and reared. In early man- hood the latter settled in Mahoning county, Ohio, where he afterward improved a farm. The father, Casselman, was born on that home- stead and when a young man sought a home- stead for himself among the cheaper lands of the Mississippi valley, settling in Wayne county, Ill., where he cleared and improved a farm and remained until his death. He married Mary E. Willett, who was born in Ohio and died in Illi- nois. Her father, George Willett, a Virginian by birth, sojourned in Ohio a few years, and then established his permanent home in Wayne

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county, Ill. The Willetts are an old Virginian family, of English origin.

In a family of three sons and three daughters (all living), Orestes Orr was the oldest and was born near Fairfield, Wayne county, Ill., Decem- ber 5, 1857. As a boy he attended district schools in Illinois. Showing the possession of qualities that fitted him for the law, he deter- mined to fit himself for that profession, and accordingly took up his studies in Fairfield. Coming to Ventura, Cal., in 1878, he continued his studies in the office of Williams & Williams, and in 1881 was admitted to the bar, since which time he has engaged in practice, with the excep- tion of the period spent in the state senate. For one term he was city attorney. This was during the early period of his practice and furnished him with the practical experience so essential to complete success in the law. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks at Santa Barbara, and is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His marriage took place in Ven- tura and united him with Miss Ella M. Com- stock, who was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa. They are the parents of three children, Charles, Addie and Frank.

JOHN M. RADEBAUGH, M. D. The pio- neer physician of Pasadena is a descendant of two of Pennsylvania's oldest families. On the paternal side he represents the fourth generation from Peter Radebaugh, a captain in the Revo- lutionary conflict; the third generation from Jacob, a merchant; and the second generation from John Radebaugh, a native of Franklin county, Pa., a soldier in the war of 1812 and for years a large real-estate owner in Chambersburg, Pa. The family was founded in America by Heinrich Radebaugh, father of Capt. Peter, and an emigrant from Germany to Lancaster, Pa., in 1738. When the Reformed Church was established the family had cast in their fortunes with those of the new faith, and succeeding gen- erations adhered to the same belief.

Through maternal ancestry Dr. Radebaugh traces his descent from Peter Middelkauff, who came from Germany to America in 1728 and set- tled in Lancaster county, Pa. His son, Leonard, served as a private in the Revolutionary war, and in defense of the same cause fought side by side with three of his wife's brothers, bearing the family name of Castle. This Revolutionary sol- dier had a son, Jacob, who was a farmer in Adams county, Pa. Next in line of descent was David, who inherited the valor of his Revolu- tionary ancestor and offered his services to the country in the war of 1812. At nineteen years of age he was brevet-major. At the close of the war he took up mercantile pursuits in Gettys- burg, Pa., and became so prominent in Adams county that he was elected from there to the state legislature and senate, serving in the for-

mer body for a period of fifteen years. Though he was about seventy years of age when the Civil war broke out, years had not extinguished the fire of his patriotism, and he was as eager to serve his country as he had been fifty years before. His service at that time as captain of the Pennsylvania Cavalry Company Militia was remarkable by reason of his unusual age for ac- tive service. His death occurred in Shippens- burg. He had married Susan Mark, whose grandfather was a captain in the first war with England.

The father of Dr. Radebaugh was John, a na- tive of Chambersburg, Pa., a graduate of Penn- sylvania College, and a practicing attorney in the city of his birth. While he was still too young to have achieved success, at the very out- set of his career. when twenty-eight years of age, death brought to an untimely end all of his activities and blasted the hopes he had cherished for a successful future. He had married Mary Middelkauff, who was born in Gettysburg, Pa., and who survived him many years, dying when sixty-three. Of their union two children were born, but David died in infancy, and John was the only one to attain maturity. He was born in Chambersburg March 11, 1851, and grew to manhood in Gettysburg. After having prepared for college in Chambersburg Academy, in 1866 he entered Pennsylvania College, where he took the complete course, graduating in 1870 with the degree of A. B. Three years later the degree of A. M. was conferred upon him. During the same year (1873) he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Penn- sylvania and received the degree of M. D. By competitive examination he was awarded a posi- tion as interne in the Orthopedic Hospital, where he remained a year, afterward being for fifteen months connected with the Philadelphia Hospital. The experience gained in these two institutions was of inestimable value to him when he began in practice for himself, which he did in Philadelphia. After a year of private practice there he joined his stepfather, Dr. Robert Horner, a graduate of the University of Penn- sylvania, the two practicing together in Gettys- burg.

When Dr. Radebaugh came to Pasadena in 1881, it was not only his first glimpse of this now beautiful city, but also his first visit to the coast. Being pleased with the country, he de- cided to remain, and he has since made Pasadena his home. He was the first physician to build an office here, the location he selected being now the site of the Carrollton Hotel. At the time there were only two physicians in the com- munity, and both of these were ranchers, de- voting little time to the profession. Hence he deserves the title of "pioneer physician." He is now located on Euclid avenue and conducts a general practice, in addition to which he served

6 Allwoodleoopen 6

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as a member of the board of health from its or- ganization until 1901. By means of study in the Post-Graduate School of New York City he has kept in touch with the many developments made in therapeutics since he completed his university course, and his knowledge is further enlarged by the careful perusal of medical jour- nals and other literature bearing upon the pro- fession, also by his active connection with Cali- fornia State and Los Angeles County Medical Societies. Though not active in politics to the extent of partisanship, he is nevertheless a strong Republican. In religion he is of the Episcopalian faith.

ELLWOOD COOPER. It is the opinion of many that there is no region where wise judg- ment and tireless industry bring more satisfac- tory results than in this far western state. With a soil that readily responds to cultivation and a climate that is unsurpassed, the horticulturist lias much to aid him in his efforts to gain suc- cess; and certainly, if the career of Ellwood Cooper may be taken as an example, a young man has great opportunities in the field of hor- ticulture in California. Eliwood ranch is known throughout the entire country. To the student of progress it presents a type unique and inter- esting. Established by its present owner in 1870, it has since been developed from a seem- ingly barren waste into a valuable homestead. The owner is a man who has made a thorough study of horticulture, and his knowledge of the science was recognized some years ago by his election as president of the State Board of Hor- ticulture. A practical test has been made of many theories he held, and in this way he has promoted his own success, as well as advanced the science of horticulture. He is a leader, pos- sessing the resourceful mind, the keen judgment and the originality of thought that fit him for projecting new ideas and new methods of work into his chosen occupation.

Ellwood ranch lies twelve miles west of Santa Barbara and is intersected by Hollister avenue. It comprises two thousand acres, the western portion of which extends from the ocean to the mountains. At the foothills there are a number of tenements and other houses, occupied by the employes of the ranch, and lying seven-eighths of a mile from Hollister avenue. One of the most noticeable features of the property is the olive oil manufacturing plant, which is the larg- est in California, and from which is turned out. more oil than from any other plant in the world. Two hundred and fifty acres are planted in an olive orchard, comprising twelve thousand five hundred trees. Mr. Cooper is the pioneer olive- grower of Santa Barbara county, having planted his first trees in 1872, and since then he has demonstrated that the olive is one of the most profitable trees grown here.

Besides the olives, there are one hundred acres in English walnuts, with about four thou- sand trees; and more than one thousand decidu- ous fruit trees. To protect these trees from the ocean winds and to modify the climate, Mr. Cooper planted a large number of eucalyptus trees, comprising twenty-five varieties of this genus. In addition to the fruit industry, many hundred acres are devoted to grain and grazing, the owner having a herd of one hundred and fifty Jersey cattle, from which he supplies butter to Santa Barbara and San Francisco. In an article in the Youth's Companion the Marquis of Lorne refers to Mr. Cooper as a "gentleman who has a magnificent farm on the Pacific and lias shown that California can produce better olive oil than France, Spain or Italy; grapes as good as any man could desire; English walnuts and European almonds in crops whereof the old countries hardly ever dream; oranges, lemons and Japanese persimmons, with other fruit and crops too numerous to mention; and all hedged from the gentle sea winds by belts and bands of Australian eucalypti, which grow in ten years to one hundred feet. But such a paradise is not for the beginner, who must make his money before lie indulges in so many broad acres."

Tracing the ancestry of the Cooper family, we find that they are of English extraction and Quaker belief, and adhered to the peace-loving customs of their sect. The first of the name in America came with William Penn from Eng- land. The grandfather, Jeremiah, was a son of John Cooper, and a woolen manufacturer, while the father of our subject, Morris, was a farmer and miller. The wife of Morris Cooper was Phoebe Barnaby, who like him was a native of Pennsylvania and the descendant of English Quakers. Ellwood Cooper was born in Lan- caster county, Pa., in May, 1829, and received school advantages. When quite young he went to Philadelphia, where he worked in a store for a year, and then joined an importing and ship- ping house. His employers, Samuel A. Lewis & Bro., were engaged in the Brazilian trade, prin- cipally with Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. In 1855 he left Philadelphia, taking a position with a shipping house in the West Indies, where he remained ten years, being for a year head clerk and afterward a partner in the busi- ness. His home was at Port au Prince, St. Do- mingo. The unhealthful climate finally forced him to return to the States, and afterward he connected himself with a mercantile house in New York, that ran a line of steamboats, built ships and had vessels trading with many differ- ent countries. They were both importers and exporters, and conducted a large commission business. The revolution in Cuba during Grant's administration and the troubles in Hayti before the overthrow of General Salnave caused

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the firm great losses in money, although in other respects they were uniformly prosperous.

The inclement climate of the Atlantic sea- board led Mr. Cooper to invest in California property and in 1870 he came to Santa Barbara county and settled upon the ranch which he had purchased before leaving the east. This has been the scene of his subsequent activities and successes. His knowledge of horticulture is so extensive and thorough that he has been re- peatedly requested to furnish articles on the sub- ject to newspapers and periodicals, and he has been a very frequent contributor to the Santa Barbara Press. In addition he is the author of three books: "Report of Trade, with Statistics, between the United States and San Domingo;" "Fruit Culture and Eucalyptus Trees;" and "Treatise on Olive Culture." Through these various publications he has done much to direct attention to needed reforms in fruit-growing and to arouse attention on the part of intelligent men in this industry. With the firmest faith in California's future, he has never hesitated to proclaim the richness of her resources and the wide range of her possibilities. Indeed, it is to such men as he that the state owes its present standing. One phase of the olive industry in which he has been particularly interested is its introduction as a food and medicine. Physicians testify to the value of pure olive oil as a reme- dial agency, possessing a direct alterative effect in constitutional diseases and restoring to a worn-out or broken-down tissue just such ele- ments of repair as its reconstruction demands. It is also used with happy results for massage, inunctions and bathing. Hence its introduction into the homes throughout our country will be attended by helpful consequences, and he is a true friend of humanity who labors toward that end.

In Philadelphia, in 1853, occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Cooper and Miss Sarah P. Moore, a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant of Quaker ancestors who accompanied William Penn to America. One son and two daughters comprise the family of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. The former, Henry, is in charge of the oil manu- facturing industry. The latter, Ellen and Fan- nie, also reside on the home ranch.

The political belief of Mr. Cooper brings him into hearty sympathy with the Republican party. He was an ardent admirer of President Mc- Kinley as embodying the highest type of Amer- ican spirit and American impulse, and ap- proves of the protective system known as the McKinley tariff ; also supported his conservative and determined course in the Cuban difficulties; admired the very able manner in which the in- cidents arising out of the Spanish war were managed; champions the policy adopted in the Chinese outbreak; and, in a word, believes that the prosperity enjoyed by the United States the

past few years is directly attributable to the lamented martyr president, William Mckinley.

DE LA GUERRA FAMILY. Hon. Pablo de la Guerra, ex-lieutenant governor of Califor- nia, was born in Santa Barbara, November 29, 1819. His father, Don José Antonio, was a son of Don Juan José de la Guerra, and, following the Spanish custom of adding to the paternal surname the name of the mother's family, he was known as Don José Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega. Born March 6, 1779, in Novales, Spain, in 1797 he went to the city of Mexico, where he was em- ployed by his uncle, Don Pedro Noriega, in the mercantile line. In 1801 he arrived in California and settled at Santa Barbara, in whose early his- tory he was destined to become an important factor. He became so large a land-owner that at one time his possessions aggregated two hun- dred and fifty thousand acres, including the fol- lowing ranches: San Julian, forty-eight thou- sand acres; Simi, ninety-six thousand acres; Las Pozas, forty-eight thousand acres (where Santa Paula and other towns now lie); Tapo vineyard, fourteen thousand; El Conejo, twenty- four thousand five hundred, and Los Alamos, forty-eight thousand acres. Nearly all these tracts were stocked with many thousands of cat- tle, sheep and horses. He owned the de la Guerra gardens, in the center of what is now Santa Barbara. While acting as military gov- ernor of Alta California, he resided on the corner of what is now Santa Barbara and Cañon Per- dido, called "El Presidio," but this place be- coming too small for his family, he built the de la Guerra mansion, which is a well-preserved historic house of Santa Barbara.

The marriage of the Don united him with Doña Maria Antonia Carrillo, who was born in Lower California, of Spanish descent. In 1810, when Mexico claimed independence, lie was appointed Habilitado General from both Califor- nias to the vice-royal government in Mexico, and, starting toward the capital with his family, he was captured at San Blas by the patriots, then in revolt against Spain. Many others were arrested at the same time and a large number were shot, but, he being among the last to be captured, miraculously escaped, saved by the tidings of the approach of the Spanish General Callejas. On joining the Spanish forces he found liis wife, who had become separated from him. He also lost a writing desk containing $30,000, but three days later he met a priest whom he knew and who by chance had found and recog- nized the writing desk. On the delivery of the desk, the owner was pleasantly surprised to find that the money had not been molested. With this sum he bought a vessel and returned to Santa Barbara. In 1811 he was appointed to the command of the troops at San Diego, and there he made his home for some years. In 1817

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lie was appointed captain of the troops at Santa Barbara and returned thither, which afterward continued his home, with the exception of a brief period spent in Mexico as Habilitado Gen- eral.

Finding that in Santa Barbara there was a scarcity of every convenience of life, he gave his influence toward the development of mate- rial resources and the establishing of new in- dustries. Among other things hie established an olive oil plant, a flour mill, carpenter and blacksmith's shop, shoe store, bakery, soap fac- tory, general warehouse, and drug and dry- goods store, all of these being in the rear of the mansion, except the soap factory, drugs and dry-goods store, which were within twenty feet of the present city hall. One of the cap- tain's most enjoyable duties was the distribu- tion of soap, gratis, to the Indians and Mexi- cans, who came each week to receive their al- lowance, which was given to them with a joke or pleasant remark. Then, too, they often re- ceived donations of clothing, blankets, sugar, lard, and other essentials. Over three thousand Indians at one time resided at the mission, and a large number of them were known by name to the captain.

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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 38

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