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 39

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

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Captain de la Guerra died February 11, 1858, at the age of eighty-three, and he and his wife, who had died December 25, 1843, were buried in the same sepulchre under the floor of the old mission church. They were the parents of eight sons and five daughters, and to them they gave every possible advantage. Two sons were sent to the city of Mexico to be educated, one to Chile, South America, and still another to Eng- land, while several sons and grandsons were sent to Georgetown, D. C. The eldest son, José Antonio, married Doña Concepcion Ortega y Lopez. Juan José was graduated from three colleges in England and his early death termi- nated a career that gave brilliant promise. The other children were Rita de Jesus; Maria Teresa, who married William Hartnell; Raymundo; Maria de las Augustias, who married Manuel Jimeno, secretary of state and provisional gov- ernor of Alta California, and after his death became the wife of Dr. James L. Ord, of the United States army; Francisco, who married Ascension Sepulveda and afterward her sister, Concepcion; Pablo; Maria Ana, who married Alfred Robinson, of Boston, Mass .; Joaquin; Miguel, who married Trinidad Ortega de Pico; Antonio Maria, who was captain of a native Cal- ifornia cavalry during the Civil war; and Maria Antonia, who married Cesario Lataillade, a na- tive of France, and after his death became the wife of Don Gaspar Oreña, a native of Spain.

After completing his education in the city of Mexico, Pablo de la Guerra returned to Cali- fornia, and, at the age of nineteen years, he served as collector of customs at Monterey,

then, with one exception, the most important office in the state of California. At the age of twenty-eight, March 7, 1847, he married Doña Joséfa Moreno, member of an old Spanish fam- ily of Monterey. They became the parents of six daughters and one son. The son and three daughters reached maturity; Francisca, widow of Thomas B. Dibblee; Carlos, inter- preter, teacher and translator of Spanish; Del- fina, and Herminia, widow of Louis E. Lee, of Rochester, N. Y. In 1849 Pablo de la Guerra was a member of the first constitutional conven- tion of California. For several terms, and until 1861, he was a member of the state senate. Dur- ing the latter year he was elected president of the senate, and, on the election of Governor Downey to the United States senate, the lieuten- ant-governor became governor, and Senator de la Guerra was promoted to the office of lieuten- ant-governor, which he filled ably. March II, 1861, he was admitted as attorney and counsel- lor of the supreme court. October 21, 1863, he was elected judge of the first judicial district, comprising all of Southern California. He was re-elected in 1869 to serve another term of six years, but in 1873 his health became so seriously impaired that he resigned the office. He died February 5, 1874, in Santa Barbara, and was in- terred in the family sepulchre at the Mission Church. Personally he possessed a high sense of honor, great dignity of bearing, and a marked consideration for others. Courteous to all, his friends were many and his influence great.

ALFONSO L. DEN. This cattle raiser, dairyman and horticulturist was born in Santa Barbara county, at the Dos Pueblos (now the Naples) ranch, March 19, 1854. His father, Nicholas A. Den, was one of the very early set- tlers of California, having arrived in the western country in 1836. Alfonso received his education in California, and was graduated from Santa Clara College in 1875, with the degree of Bache- lor of Science. Almost immediately he turned his attention to ranching and stock-raising, and be- came part owner of the Dos Pueblos ranch, which he built up and improved, and where he carried on extensive sheep and cattle enter- prises. Originally the possessor of fifteen hun- dred acres of land, he has disposed of all save five hundred and fifty, which is located about twelve miles from Santa Barbara. Two hundred and sixty acres of his land are rented to the Ox- nard Sugar Company. Ninety acres of the re- mainder are under English walnuts in a bearing condition, ten acres under bearing olive trees, and the balance is devoted to cattle raising and a dairy. For the dairy Jersey cows alone are raised, and the place is called Glen Anne, be- cause located in the glen of that name. Al- though possessing a fine country home, Mr. Den is at present a resident of Santa Barbara. He

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is a Democrat in politics, has been a school trus- tee for some years, and is ex-member of the central committee.

The marriage of Mr. Den and Annie Taylor was solemnized in Santa Barbara in 1900, Mrs. Den being a native of Santa Barbara, and a daughter of Alexander S. Taylor, formerly a newspaper and general literary man.

ROBERT MACKINLAY, M. D., who is en- gaged in the practice of medicine at Santa Bar- bara, has been a resident of this city since the fall of 1893. A descendant of an old Scotch family, he was born in Edinburgh June 10, 1861, and was the oldest son of John and Sybella (Grieve) Maekinlay, natives of Edinburgh, where the former has long been connected with manu- facturing interests.

After having been primarily educated in pri- vate schools, Robert Mackinlay matriculated in the University of Edinburgh in 1878, and con- tinued his studies in that institution until 1882, when he graduated with the degree of M. B. Five years afterward his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of M. D. Immediately after graduating he opened an office in Man- chester, England, and there gained his first practical experience in professional work. Two years later he removed to Litchfield, England, where he carried on a general practice until 1893, the year of his removal to Santa Barbara. His entire time is devoted to the practice of medicine and surgery, and in both he keeps abreast with the latest discoveries and developments. At one time he acted as secretary of the Santa Barbara County Medical Society and he still is con- nected with the same. He has his office on State street, opposite the Arlington hotel.

During his residence in England, Dr. Mac- kinlay was united in marriage, in Lincolnshire, with Miss Marian Trevor Bradburne, who was born in Plymouth, England, and who, like him- self, was reared in the faith of the Church of England. They are the parents of three chil- dren, John, Lucia and Anna.

PAUL DE LONGPRE. Throughout the United States there are few names that carry with them such magic in artistic circles as the name of Paul de Longpré. Often called Roi des Fleurs, he is indeed the "King of the Flowers" in the realm of art, and his paintings of floral beauties have won admiration from noted con- noisseurs of America and Europe. In his studio, and in galleries where his creations are exhibited, they are often greeted with the ex- clamation, "Could Paradise contain anything more lovely?" From one painting to another the visitor passes in wonderment and admira- tion, noting the fact that even the smallest studies are treated with an artistic sympathy re- vealing the depth of feeling that the artist pos-

sesses. The assertion of another artist, "He is not a painter ; he's a botanist," shows the universal recognition among professionals of his accurate delineation of flower life. Being wholly self- taught, he owes nothing to other maters, but has allowed ample scope to the development of his own original and novel ideas in art. Bonnat, Bouguereau and Gérome, when consulted with reference to his work, declared in writing "The compositions in flowers, by Paul de Longpré, are above criticism and are known as a great success. One cannot praise them too highly."

In Lyons, France, Paul de Longpré was born in 1855. His mother was a Creole, born on the island of Martinique, a beautiful young girl of fortune, accomplished, and with much charm of manner. After her marriage to Vietor de Longpré she made her home in France, but her husband's artistic abilities, though of an high order, did not prove remunerative, and her in- come became exhausted. The eldest sons, when nineteen and seventeen years of age, went to Paris, where they earned a livelihood for the family by painting fans. The younger son, Paul, in time also became interested in the same work. He was ten years old when he began to paint. Artistic ability was his by inheritance. The stamp of genius was upon even his earliest pro- ductions. In 1876, when twenty-one years of age, his first picture was accepted by the Paris Salon. From that time onward his career was one of success. The sale of his pictures brought him a small fortune, which, unfortunately, was entirely swept away through the failure of a bank in Paris, and at the time of coming to New York City in 1890 to begin a fortune again, he had only $900 left. Being a stranger in Amer- ica, he saw his little capital dwindle down to $400, and still prospects were gloomy. It was at that time he had the courage to expend or invest every dollar that he had in the painting of flowers for an exposition of flower paintings, the first of its kind ever made anywhere. Secur- ing the finest gallery there, he started the ex- hibition. All his acquaintances had predicted a failure, but the venture proved the turning point in his career. Amateurs of art and all the press were delighted with his work. Sales were rapid and frequent, and his exhibitions afterward be- came annual affairs that brought together the aristocracy of New York as critics and pur- chasers.

From the time of his first exhibition in 1896 until 1899 Mr. de Longpré was one of New York's most notable artists. During this time he often heard of California, and particularly of its wealth of flowers. Desiring to become ac- quainted with the flora of the Pacific coast, he came to California in March, 1899, and for two years rented a residence on Figueroa street, Los Angeles, where, in the midst of beautiful sur- roundings, he was afforded exceptional oppor-

John f. Amore.

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tunities of painting from nature. In June, 1900, he began to build on the property which he pur- chased from ex-Governor Beveridge on Pros- pect avenue, Hollywood, near Los Angeles, and since then he has given much time and thought to the creation of a homestead which it is his ambition to make the most artistically beautiful in California. There are many who believe that his ambition has already been realized. Certain it is that Hollywood is unique among the home- steads on the coast. Designed from original plans of his own; with interior finishings that are unique and tasteful, including hardwood floors with inlaid borders in every room; with a studio fitted up with rare works of art and art treas- ures; with furniture made from original designs, including cabinet, stands, screens, tables, etc., manufactured of black cherry ; and portieres that were selected after thousands had been ex- amined, in order that the desired harmony in color might be maintained; with these many other attractions, the residence is one never to be forgotten by those who have the good fortune to be entertained by the genial host. Here he and his wife, with their two daughters, have their home. In the east, he has annual exhibitions in various cities. Every winter his work is dis- played first in the American Art Galleries in Madison Square or at Knoedler's, in Fifth avenue, New York. . At a recent exhibition in that city twenty-eight paintings were sold for nearly $7,000. In every city where his work has been displayed the press and the best art critics have been unstinted in their praise of his skill. He is recognized as the great American master of the flowers. His knowledge of their form and structure is absolute and his taste in combination is unsurpassed. On the walls of liis studio there is not a picture which will not repay careful study and fascinate by the skill with which the artist has performed his task. They are works of high art in their play of light and shade, in the taste with which the accessories are introduced and treated, in their harmony of tone and their breadth of style. A mere glimpse at his pictures proves him to possess a genuine love for flowers, and it is his belief that they have refining influences ; that all children should be reared in an atmosphere where flowers dwell, and that pictures of flowers should be hung on the walls of nurseries, where they will claim the attention of the children.

JOHN F. MORE. The More family is well known in Southern California, and its various members are entitled to conspicuous places in the history of the regions where they became extensive land owners and prominent promoters of enterprise in the early days. John F. More was born in Medina county, Ohio, August 19, 1839, and is the only surviving male member of

a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, all of whom in time came to Cali- fornia. A. B., the oldest son, settled in this state in 1847, coming from Mexico, where he had helped to prosecute the war. T. W. and A. P. came west in 1849, and Henry H., in 1850, and they established the firm of More Brothers, who began business by driving cattle to the mines, but eventually became owners of large tracts of land. In 1854 they bought the Calle- tano or Sespe tract and later the Santa Paula- Saticoy. At one time they owned a strip of land extending from within a mile of the sea up the Santa Clara valley for more than thirty-two miles; fifteen thousand acres of this tract they afterward sold to G. G. Briggs. It was in this valley that T. Wallace More was assassinated on the memorable night of March 24, 1877, by masked men who first set fire to his barn in order to get him out of his house, and then shot him as soon as he appeared. Mortally wounded, he entreated that they shoot no more, but his dying request was for naught, and they continued to pierce him with bullets in order to make sure of their deadly work. A. P. More died in 1893 and at that time was the owner of the island of Santa Rosa. Of the brothers, A. P., H. H. and A. B. are buried in Oakland, Cal., and L. W. and T. W. in Santa Barbara.

The youngest of these brothers was John F. More. He received his education in Ohio and there married Miriam Hickox, daughter of Royal N. Hickox, of that state. Born of their union are three children now living, namely: Belle, wife of C. P. Austin; Miriam and John F., Jr., the latter a student in the University of California at Berkeley. Three children are de- ceased: Olive, who died in infancy; Mary, who graduated with the class honors from Mills Seminary and died in young womanhood; and Alexander H., who died when a young man. Mr. and Mrs. Hickox reside with their daugh- ter, Mrs. More, at No. 131 Arrellaga street, Santa Barbara, where the family have a pleasant and comfortable home.

The ranch belonging to Mr. More is situated five miles from Santa Barbara, on the sea coast, and covers one thousand acres of land that slopes toward the mountains. The ocean bank is one hundred feet high and of solid rich clay, where are found large pockets of asphaltum con- taining many thousand tons. This is easy to mine, for when blasted on the beach the tide carries away the loose clay, leaving the mineral free. To facilitate the shipment of produce Mr. More has a private picr. His walnut orchard covers two hundred acres and is without doubt one of the largest in Southern California. There is also a large olive orchard. Modern improve- ments are everywhere apparent, including a sub- stantial ranch house and commodious barns. The house is occupied by the men employed in

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carrying on the work of the ranch, and Mr. More himself stays there when the busy season requires his absence from his Santa Barbara home.

Off the coast of Goleta, the little village near the More ranch, is the speed ground for the United States gunboats, chosen especially be- cause of the enormous quantities of oil floating on the water and thus producing a calm sea. Three towers are built for the starting gauge, one of which is on Mr. More's ranch, and the others on the site of the Santa Barbara moun- tains. The bay west from the ranch was once quite a harbor, and a large shipping industry was conducted, the same receiving its name from Daniel Hill, to whom Governor Pio Pico granted four thousand four hundred and forty acres of land. Mr. Hill built a schooner and launched it before the present little town, and hence the name Goleta, or schooner.

Politically Mr. More is affiliated with the Re- publican party. All of his brothers had similar political views, with the exception of the oldest, A. B., whom the others declared took a Jeffer- sonian Democratic view of politics merely for the sake of argument with the brothers.

HUGH D. VAIL. The name of Hugh D. l'ail will ever be associated with the history of Santa Barbara. By nature and training a lover of science, he delighted in fathoming its un- changing laws, and in leaning upon its funda- mental principles. The simplicity of his faith as a Quaker recognized no irreconcilable antago- nisms between religion and science, and there- fore the inimutable laws of nature were intensi- fied and strengthened by the element of the unknowable, which is after all the shadowy road beyond scientific calculation.

The Quaker instinct was deep seated, and ex- tended beyond one John Vail, the American founder of the family, a Quaker preacher, who emigrated from England and settled in New Jersey about 1710. His descendants have in- variably been people of influence and position in their respective localities, and Hugh D. upheld the traditions of his forefathers. He was born in Plainfield, N. J., and received a thorough lit- crary and scientific education, graduating from Haverford College. The greater part of his life was spent in Philadelphia, where he was en- gaged in active business until his retirement in 1875. In 1881 he located in Santa Barbara, and thenceforward, until his death, June 28, 1900, he was prominently identified with the city's growth and achievements. He was director and vice- president of the First National Bank, was a di- rector in the Commercial Bank of Santa Bar- bara, and was president of the Library Building Company, which organization owned considerable business property on State street,

including what is commonly known as the Clock building. He was a strong and un- compromising Republican, and possessed a stir- ring and contagious vitality which extended to many lines of activity. He erected a residence on Chapala street, and here his last days were spent in the enjoyment of that esteem which his character and achievements merited. As per- taining to astronomy and meteorology he was widely quoted as an authority, on weather re- ports especially his accuracy was rarely ques- tioned, and his services in this capacity were of untold value to the cities which profited by his residence. He married Miriam L. Vail, a native of Rahway, N. J., and they became the parents of two children, Hugh F. R. and Edward F. R. Vail.

HON. P. M. GREEN. It would be impossi- ble to write a history of Pasadena without mak- ing frequent mention of Hon. P. M. Green, to whom in no small degree is due the credit for the fame of the city as one of the most beautiful residence cities in the world. His connection with its history extends back to the days of the Indiana colony, ere yet a city had been dreamed of or its possibilities for culture become a vision in the minds of the most sanguine. As early as 1873 he was among the twenty who organized the Orange Grove Association and incorporated the same, acquiring the right of title to fifteen hundred acres, which was subdivided into home- steads of from fifteen to sixty acres. The fol- lowing year the preliminary survey was com- pleted. Meantime a few members of the In- diana colony had come west to investigate for themselves and Mr. Green among others dis- cerned the possibilities that lay dormant in the soil, awaiting the hand of the skillful horti- culturist to develop them. With him to see an opportunity was to grasp it, and his early identi- fication with Pasadena is but another indication of the wisdom of his judgment and the keenness of his foresight.

The Green family is of old Quaker stock, al- though, notwithstanding this, it was represented in the Revolutionary war by men who, though peace-loving as are the Friends, were yet too in- dependent to brook tyranny. North Carolina was the early home of the family, whence they removed to Kentucky, and in that state Lot Green was born and reared. Removing to Rush county, Ind., he became justice of the peace and the leading man of his community, but died in 1845 before he had provided his family with the comforts it was his ambition to secure for them. He was a Whig in politics and in religion was connected with the Missionary Baptist Church. His wife, Annie Cooper, was born, reared and married in Kentucky, where her father was a Baptist minister. She died in 1842, when her

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Jon, Perry M., was scarcely four years of age. Of her eight children only three are living, and two of these are in Pasadena, Perry M. and Mrs. A. O. Porter. The former was born in Rush county, Ind., May 7, 1838, and was next to the youngest in the family. Orphaned when very young, he never knew the affection and careful oversight of father and mother, and his was a somewhat lonely boyhood. When fourteen he began to clerk in a store, but the work being uncongenial, he went on a farm as a hired hand, receiving $7 a month. After a time he resumed clerking, and then attended the Richland Academy in Rush county. When nineteen he began to study law with Davis & Wright of Shelbyville, and in 1859 was admitted to the bar of Indiana, after which he engaged in practice at Shelbyville for five years. During this period he assisted in organizing the city government, served as the first city clerk, and for four years acted as city attorney. However, believing that a larger city would offer more encouraging op- portunities for advancement in the world of commerce, in 1865 he removed to Indianapolis, where he became a member of the firm of Campbell & Green, wholesale and retail manu- facturers and dealers in drugs. On disposing of his interest in this business in 1873, he came to California, his decision to come west being influenced by the hope that a mild climate might benefit his wife's health.

Acquiring property in the Indiana colony, Mr. Green became the owner of sixty acres two miles south of Pasadena, and here his early knowledge of horticulture was gained. How- ever, to a man of such keen mental faculties, the management of a fruit farm did not present a sufficient outlet for his activities, and we find him acquiring many other interests as the years passed by. In 1885 he organized the Pasadena Bank, with a capital stock of $50,000, of which he became president and manager. In May of 1886 this institution was converted into a na- tional concern, and incorporated as the First National Bank of Pasadena, capital stock $100,- 000, with a present (1902) surplus of $70,000. It is significant of the wise supervision of the president that the institution has always paid ten per cent dividends annually. In 1901 a savings department was also organized, under the title of the Pasadena Savings, Trust & Safe De- posit Company, with a capital stock of $50,- 000. Of this institution Mr. Green is also presi- dent.

From the early period of his residence in Pasa- dena, Mr. Green has been associated with com- panies for the securing of water and has been interested in every movement for the providing of adequate irrigation facilities. For twenty- five years he has been a director of the Pasa- cena Land and Water Company, which was the first of the kind organized in this vicinity and

which also established the first system in the state whereby water was conveyed by pipes for irrigating purposes. The efforts of the con- pany provided an abundance of water for the Indiana colony tract on the west side. The first gas company organized here had Mr. Green among its directors and promoters, and he was also a director of the first street car company in this city. Under his supervision the bank erected a large building on the corner of Fair Oaks avenue and Colorado street, which was equipped with modern conveniences for the con- venience of the bank officials. On the organiza- tion of the Los Angeles National Bank Mr. Green was placed on its board of directors and he is also its vice-president.

In Shelbyville, Ind., October 30, 1860, Mr. Green married Miss Henrietta Campbell, whose father, John S. Campbell, was born in Dela- ware, reared in Philadelphia, Pa., and became a pioneer of Indiana. During the presidency of Abraham Lincoln he served as postmaster of Shelbyville. Other offices were tendered him, including those of mayor and recorder of deeds. Mr. and Mrs. Green have one child, Mary. On the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pasadena in 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Green became charter members, and from that time until 1901 he held the office of trustee, finally, however, declining further re-election. Another agency for good, the Y. M. C. A., has always received his encouraging aid and sympathy, and his service as a director of the local organization has been helpful to the cause. He has been a constant member of the Pasa- dena Board of Trade and a warm adherent of all organizations and movements for the com- mercial upbuilding of Southern California. While he has never been an active partisan, his advocacy of Republican principles is pro- nounced. On that ticket, in 1879, he was elected to the state legislature as a representative from Los Angeles county. The present constitution was adopted during the same year, and the legis- lature of 1880 therefore had a very serious task set before it, in the adaptation of the laws to the constitution. At that session he introduced a bill for the establishment of a state normal at Los Angeles, and, though failing of passage then, he had the satisfaction of knowing that it was carried during the next session. On the expiration of his term he was not a candidate for re-election, but resumed the duties of private life. While, however, his ambitions are not in the direction of public affairs, yet he is in every respect a progressive citizen, who keeps in touch with the developments of the age, whether in the banking business, in commercial circles, in problems connected with adequate irrigation at reasonable cost and in the other varied move- ments typical of twentieth century activity in Southern California.

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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 39

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