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 70

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 70

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

he was engaged in trading between California and South American ports, carrying hides and tallow south and returning with a cargo of mer- chandise. When gold was discovered in Cali- fornia, the Don sold his vessel, and Mr. Oreña engaged in trading on his own account. In 1852 he bought the Rancho de la Espada at Point Conception, comprising fifteen thousand acres, and this land he stocked with cattle, an enterprise that brought him large returns in subsequent years. Meantime other ranches were added to his property, including San Julian ranch of forty-eight thousand acres, which he had bought from the estate of Don José de la Guerra. Indeed at one time his landed posses- sions aggregated fifty leagues and the brands he adopted were to be seen on cattle throughout that entire country. His herds constantly in- creased, and the prudent oversight of the busi- ness brought excellent financial returns.

Hard times came and his losses were heavy, but he has managed his affairs so that he has gained a competency. Though since 1887 Mr. Oreña has made San Francisco his home princi- pally, his interests in Southern California are so great that necessarily much of his time is spent in this part of the state. Included in his posses- sions are twenty-five residences which he built in Los Angeles, between Sixth and Seventlı, Hope and Flower streets; an entire block of business houses on State street, Santa Barbara; ranches in Ventura and San Luis Obispo coun- ties; Los Alamos rancho, Santa Barbara county, comprising five thousand acres; and Cuyama Rancho No. I, aggregating twenty-two thou- sand acres, in San Luis Obispo and Santa Bar- bara counties; besides various other valuable properties in Southern California. In the man- agement of all of this property he is ably assisted by his sons. The eldest son, Leopoldo de Oreña, was, until his death in 1900, manager of his father's large business interests in Santa Barbara. The second son, Dario, is now super- intendent of the ranch here; Orestes is an at- torney in San Francisco, while Arthur superin- tends his father's Santa Barbara interests. A daughter, Anita, died at twenty-four years of age; Serena Rosa is the wife of Wm. De Koch, of San Francisco, and Acacia T., the youngest of the family, resides with her father at No. 779 Geary street, San Francisco. Mr. Oreña's wife, whom he married in 1854, was Senorita Maria Antonia de la Guerra, daughter of Capt. Don José Antonio de la Guerra.

Notwithstanding the accident of birth in a foreign country and of foreign parentage, Don Gaspar Oreña is a patriotic American, intensely loyal to the country of his adoption, and a firm believer in the perpetuity of our national institu- tions, over which the stars and stripes shall for- ever float. In his political preference, he is a Democrat. It has never been his desire to oc-

453

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cupy public office, and the only position he ever accepted was that of supervisor of Santa Bar- bara county, in which capacity he served for six years. During all of this time he refused to ac- cept any remuneration for his services, it being his desire that he might donate, gratuitously, to his country whatever of help it was possible to give. Personally he possesses the proud spirit which is his by inheritance from a long line of aristocratic Spanish ancestors, but with it are combined a geniality of disposition and kindness of heart that have won and retained the friendship of his American associates.

FRANKLIN A. COREY. The foreman of the Limonera rancho, which is situated near Santa Paula, Ventura county, came to Califor- nia in the fall of 1886 from Rockford, Ill., of which city he is a native and near which as a boy he roamed over his grandfather's estate or assisted in tilling the soil of the farm. His father, Alonzo Corey, was a native of New York, but as early as 1828 settled at Edgar, Clark county, Ill., and in 1835 removed to the unde- veloped regions of Winnebago county, same state. As the population of the county increased his land rose in value, and his influence also became more apparent. A believer in Repub- lican principles, he was frequently called upon to occupy positions of local trust, and was a prominent man in his community.

In Chicago, Ill., in 1872, Franklin A. Corey married Miss Mary Van Sickler, a native of Canada. In the fall of 1886 he came to the Pacific coast. Settling in the Santa Clara Valley of the South, for eleven years he devoted his attention to raising lima beans, and during part of that time had four hundred acres planted in this vegetable. For several years he had charge of a part of the old Herold rancho, four hundred acres of which were planted in wal- nuts. Since coming to California he has made the raising of walnuts and beans his specialties. In 1899 he became associated with the Limo- nera rancho, of which he was made general foreman in February, 1900, and still continues in this position.

At this writing Mr. Corey owns two hundred and fifty bee hives on the Santa Clara river bottom. In 1897 about six tons of honey were produced, and during succeeding years the yield has also been gratifying. Fearing the ravages of the frosts, in 1899 he placed five thousand coal baskets in the company's or- chards, thirty-seven to an acre, and on cold nights these were burned, making the entire orchard from six to ten degrees warmer and thus escaping the frosts. At this writing the company has ten thousand baskets on the ranch. He has learned that "eternal vigilance is the price of success," so never abates in the unwearied care given the ranch and neglects

not even the smallest detail. In politics he is an interested worker in behalf of the Repub- lican party.

A. M. COX. That neat hostelry in Santa Maria, known as the Hart hotel, has an enviable reputation among traveling men and the general public as a place where one may comfortably abide for a day or week and miss nothing from the conveniences usually to be found only in larger cities. The proprietor, Mr. Cox, is ever alert to meet any requirement on the part of his guests. By his ready tact and accommodat- ing spirit he wins many friends while catering to the comforts of his guests.

Mr. Cox is a native of Sarcoxie, Jasper county, Mo., and was born in 1870. His parents, A. W. and Mary A. (Powers) Cox, natives, re- spectively, of Hocking county, Ohio, and Mis- souri, now reside in Santa Maria, Cal. The grandfather, Lewis Cox, was a native of Mary- land, and in early manhood moved to Ohio, where he married Anna Bradford, a native of that state. After some time spent upon a farm in Hocking county he moved to Iowa and set- tled on a farm in Van Buren county. Still later he established his home in Clark county, Mo., and there his death occurred. Afterward Mrs. Cox came to California, where she was mar- ried to Dr. Charles Shaug, a pioneer of Santa Maria. During March, 1872, her son, A. W. Cox, arrived in Santa Maria and at once set- tled on a farm near the town. At this writing he owns four hundred and forty acres of land, much of which is under cultivation. A stanch Republican in politics, he served for four years as postmaster of Santa Maria, and three times has been elected county supervisor, in which office he is still serving. In his family there are three sons: A. M., A. E. and C. B.

For the greater part A. M. Cox secured his education in Carthage, Mo., of whose high school he is a graduate. This education was sup- plemented by a business course in a college in Santa Barbara, after which he served as deputy postmaster at Santa Maria for five years and en- gaged in the transfer business for three years. With R. L. Jones as partner, in 1898 he opened the Hart hotel. After a time he purchased his partner's interest, and has since been sole pro- prietor and manager. Under his supervision the hotel has gained an established reputation as a first-class house, and is fitted out with modern conveniences, including sample rooms and bathrooms. Mr. Cox married Emma, daughter of George Sharp, engineer of the Santa Maria waterworks, and they have a son, Stacy V., a bright and interesting boy.

Progressive in thought and action, Mr. Cox has stood for the furthering of the best interests of his town and the encouraging of its enter- prises. In politics he is a Republican and fra-

454

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ternally is associated with the Elks at San Luis Obispo and the Knights of Pythias at Santa Maria. He enjoys the respect of those who know him and is accounted a success in his chosen occupation.

HON. JOHN CROSS. As one of those whose financial ability has placed him in touch with the splendid opportunities of Los Angeles, Hon. John Cross is recognized as a promoter of the city's welfare. Like most men who have risen on their own merit, the youth of Mr. Cross was not exempt from trial and responsibility, and he gained his first impressions of life from the practical surroundings of a farm. A native of Clarkston, Oakland county, Mich., he was born October 15, 1842, a son of John and Cath- erine (Riley) Cross, natives, respectively, of Somersetshire, England, and New York state. The first American representative of the family was the paternal grandfather, George, also born in Somersetshire, and who, upon immigrating to America, settled near Syracuse, N. Y. After- wards he removed to Oakland, Mich., of which region he was a pioneer, and where he plied his trade of wheelwright with considerable success; his last days, however, were spent in Syracuse. John Cross was a farmer in Michigan, but re- moved to Ogle county, Ill., near Lightsville, where his death occurred the same year. His wife, who died when her son John was five years of age, was the mother of seven children, three living, John being the youngest.

In 1854 John Cross, then twelve years of age, removed to Ogle county, Ill., and settled with his brother, Philip, on a farm near Lightsville. The two brothers entered upon a life of cease- less activity, and, in addition to general farming, operated a threshing machine all over the county. Four years afterwards the younger brother removed to Missouri, the journey from Tipton to Springfield, a distance of one hun- cired and eighty-five miles, being accomplished by stage coach. In Springfield he engaged in the mercantile business. At the time of seces- sion he was a member of the state militia, armed and equipped for service. Upon being ordered into camp by Governor Jackson, the company split into two factions according to their sym- pathies, and the Union boys kept the arms. Mr. Cross went to St. Louis, and after the com- pany was recruited he was made captain of Company M, Fourth Missouri Cavalry, and participated in the battles of Wilson Creek, Boonville and Lexington, and then went to Arkansas in pursuit of Price and Shelby. After being mustered out at the end of three years, Mr. Cross was made captain of Company I, Fourteenth Missouri Cavalry, and from then on saw constant service, thirty-two days being passed in the saddle during Price's raid, during which time he did not experience the luxury

of taking his clothes off. For the last six months of the war he was stationed on the plains in pursuit of the Indians, and was pres- ent at the Indian council in October of 1865, held on the present site of Wichita, Kans.

After being mustered out of service in No- vember of 1865, at Leavenworth, Kans., Mr. Cross returned to Illinois and engaged in the mercantile business at Winnebago. In 1869 he went to Arkansas and became interested in the hotel at Hot Springs. In 1871 he shifted his fortunes to Little Rock and started a livery busi- ness, at the same time receiving the United States mail contract for four years. This was the beginning of a stage experience which, from the standpoint of extent and general usefulness, has few counterparts in the west. The general knowledge of Mr. Cross and the resources at his command permitted his entering bids on as many as fourteen hundred routes at one time, and he put in lines throughout Arkansas, Mis- sonri, Indian Territory, Kansas, Colorado, Mis- sissippi and Texas. In Little Rock he con- structed the first street car line in the town, completed in 1877, his bid having been chosen out of three submitted. After completion this road was operated by him for eight years, and at the same time built and operated the first street car line in Lexington, Ky.

Owing to impaired health, Mr. Cross sought relaxation from his numerous interests . and came to Los Angeles in 1886. Once under the magic spell of climatic and other inducements. lie disposed of his interests the other side of the Rockies by telegraph, and with Major Bone- brake bought the Santa Barbara street car line. Under the stroke of his enterprise the system was materially enlarged and extended to the Mission and towards the Cottage Hospital. After selling this road he built the narrow gauge Los Angeles & Glendale road, and afterwards, with Mr. Kerns and friends, organized the Los Angeles Terminal Railroad, of which he was president and general manager, as well as half owner. The road extended to Pasadena and Altadena, and was twenty-five miles in extent, and eventually came into the possession of Mr. Kerns. Mr. Cross then turned his attention to the organization of the Ventura & Ojoi Valley Railroad, between Ventura and Nordhoff, a dis- tance of eighteen miles, and after placing it on a paying basis disposed of it to speculators. Since then he has been working on the construc- tion of the Sacramento & San Joaquin Railroad, a standard gauge fifty-two miles long, running up the Sacramento valley, for which the right of way has already been secured. Mr. Cross is the president of the company, and the work of construction will begin in the fall of 1902. In addition to other responsibilities, he is interested in the Pacific Coast United States Mail and Ex- press Company, and is associated with his

W. J. Lucas

457

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

nephew, A. P. Cross, in the United States mail service in Dallas, Tex., and Colorado Springs, besides holding stock in several stage and mail routes in California, one running between Amedee and Fort Bidwell, a distance of one hundred and thirty miles, and one a hundred miles in length between Alturas and Amedee. In April, 1902, Mr. Cross organized and incor- porated the Vallejo, Benicia & Napa Valley Railroad Company, which includes the fran- chises in all three cities, and contemplates con- necting the same by electric lines. Mr. Cross is president of the company.

The delightful home of Mr. Cross, located on the Loma drive, in Colina park, is presided over by Mrs. Cross, formerly Laura L. Diver, a native of Ohio, and whose family settled in Lewis county, Mo., in 1854. Mrs. Cross had two brothers in the Civil war; of these Leroy met his death while fighting for his country, and Amor attained to the rank of captain. As a stanch Republican Mr. Cross has rendered valuable service to his party in Southern Cali- fornia, and during 1897 served as a member of the Legislature from the Seventy-fifth district. He was chairman of the committee on military affairs, and though urged to stand for office in 1898, refused on the plea of business cares. He is prominent in Grand Army of the Republic affairs, and is a member of the Bartlett Logan Post of Los Angeles, and during his residence in Winnebago, Ill., was commander of the post the year after its organization. He is a member of the California Commandery of the Loyal Legion. Mr. Cross is possessed of those ster- ling personal attributes which secure business success and which win for him also the confi- dence and good will of all who appreciate his valuable services in the upbuilding of his adopted city.

W. T. LUCAS, M. D. The professional for- tunes of Dr. Lucas have been closely identified with the history of Santa Maria, for he has wit- nessed, since coming here October 16, 1879, the rise in the general interest in the town, the erection of nearly all the houses and buildings, and the starting of the enterprises which have brought it to its present prosperous condition. In the mean time his skill as a surgeon and phy- sician has been amply rewarded, and from the carly days up to the present time he has been confidently consulted by a large portion of the population, who are rarely disappointed at his disposition of their cases.

A native of Buchanan county, Mo., Dr. Lucas was born March 18, 1850, a son of George G. Lucas, who was born in Ohio and reared in In- diana, and Sallie (Thomas) Lucas, a native of Kentucky, and at present living at Madison, Cal. The father was a farmer by occupation, and in 1864 migrated to Montana, with "prairie schoon-

ers," a hundred head of cattle, and considerable freight. At the time, W. T., who was but a boy, rode astride the hurricane deck of a mule. The family settled in Deer Lodge valley and con- ducted a butter and cheese dairy until 1868, when they disposed of their interests and re- moved to near Woodland, Yolo county, Cal .. where the father died in 1899. W. T. Lucas was educated in the public schools of Woodland, and in Hesperian College, and for a time taught school in Yolo and Solano counties. In 1874 he entered the Medical College of the Pacific, at San Francisco, from which he was graduated with honors in the class of 1876. For the fol- lowing two and a half years he practiced at Woodland, Yolo county, and while there had charge of the hospital, and held a professorship in Hesperian College, after which he took up his temporary residence in Guadaloupe, Santa Barbara county. While there he served as county physician until his removal to Santa Maria in 1884.

From time to time Dr. Lucas has come into the possession of considerable property, owning a quarter-section ranch and various town- lots besides the residence property which he pur- chased in 1887. In Sacramento county, in 1879, he married Lulu Maupin, daughter of William Maupin, who was killed during his service in the Civil war. To Dr. and Mrs. Lucas have been born two children, Lee Forman and Oreon S. The former, who is twenty-one years of age, has just finished a course of study in Boone's Acad- emy at Berkeley, and will enter Stanford Univer- sity, with the intention of preparing for the prac- tice of medicine. Oreon S., a daughter of eight- een, is at present in school at Oakland, Cal. Dr. Lucas is a Democrat in politics, and was a can- didate for the legislature in 1884, but was de- feated with the rest of the ticket. He is promi- nent in fraternal circles, is an enthusiastic Mason and has the most extensive Masonic library in Southern California. He is a Master Mason of the lodge at Guadaloupe, has been a member of the grand lodge for several years, and belongs to the San Luis Obispo Chapter No. 62, R. A. M., and the San Luis Commandery No. 27, K. T. He was past grand master of the state in 1896-97. He is also associated with several benevolent lodges, and is prominent in promoting the cause of education.

CAPT. CHARLES C. DE RUDIO. The genealogy of the de Rudio family is traced back to the twelfth century, when Hercules Nosadanus was knighted by Frederick II. and assumed the title Count Hercules de Rudio. Three centuries prior to the raising of the fam- ily to the nobility, a Roman patrician, Hercules, went to Belluno, Italy, as governor under Otto the Great, who was the great-grandson of Char- lemagne, and from that time for a period of

-158

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

three hundred years his descendants held au- thority as governors until Hercules was raised to the title of count. Captain de Rudio's grand- father, Hercules, was jurisdisent count under the empire of Austria, and at the time the rev- olution of 1796 broke out in Italy he declared himself in favor of the French when the French troops entered Italy. From that day to this the family has always been found on the side of movements for the freedom and independence of all races. The father, Hercules, was born in the state of Venice, Italy, in 1792, and died there in 1874, at the age of eighty-three, having survived all of his generation. During the revolution of 1831 he gave his influence to the movement, following the example of his father. There were seven sons and seven daughters in his family, but only three daugh- ters are living, while of all the sons Captain de Rudio alone survives. The title of count has descended to him, but, titles not being in har- mony with the spirit of American independ- ence, he prefers to be known by his military title of captain. His mother was a daughter of Count Fortunato de Domini, a colonel in the Austrian army; she died in 1865 in Italy.

In the ancient city of Belluno, state of Venice, Italy, Charles Camillo de Rudio was born August 26, 1832. Taking up professional studies in 1845, he entered the Austrian Military Acad- emy of Milan, where he was thoroughly ground- ed in military tactics and the science of war. During the revolution of 1848 he joined the Venetian Legion of the Cacceatori della alpi in Venice, but left it in March of 1849 in order to join Garibaldi's Legion in Rome. With that command he served at the front and in vari . ons sieges. However, the fall of the Roman Republic and the capture of that city by the French forced him into exile, and he traveled through different European countries. While in England he was married, in Surry county, to Miss Eliza Boothe, a member of a very old fam- ily of Nottingham. Her father, William, was a son of William Boothe, Sr., both manufacturers and merchants, while her mother, Jane, who is now eighty-one years of age, was born in Not- tingham, her father, John Stuarts, having re- mnoved there from Scotland. There were three brothers and one sister in the Boothe family, the latter (Mrs. de Rudio) being the only one in America. Of her marriage to Captain de Rudio four children were born, namely: Hercules A., a graduate of Faribault (Minn.) College and now a mining engineer in Honduras, Central Amer- ica; Roma Elizabeth, Mrs. Scott, of Los An- geles; Italia Louisa, wife of Lieut. S. E. Adair, of Los Angeles, and Charlotta America, who resides with her parents at No. 1034 South Figueroa street, Los Angeles.

When the Civil war opened in America Cap- tain de Rudio began to be intensely interested

in the struggle, his sympathies from the first being with the Union in its effort to free the slaves. He became a member of the Emanci- pation Society in London, and as soon as pos- sible crossed the ocean to enlist in the army, arriving in this country early in 1864. On the 25th of August, that year, he became a men- ber of Company A, Seventy-ninth New York Highlanders, and later was commissioned lieu- tenant in the Second United States colored troops. His next assignment was with Com- pany D at Fort Meyer, Fla., whence he was ordered to the mouth of the Caloosahatchie to guard the post at that point. A later transfer was to Fort Meyer, Fla. There one of the videttes was captured by the Confederates, but managed to make his way back to Lieutenant de Rudio, who made preparations to defend the depot as long as possible and then, if need be, destroy it by fire. The next morning the Con- federates appeared in a mangrove road, three miles distant. However, they were soon ob- served to be making a precipitous retreat, the gunboat Honduras having fortunately made its appearance. A few days later Lieutenant de Rudio was complimented upon his tactful con- duct at the time. He was anxious to participate in the expedition, but was ordered to remain at his post with thirty-six men. On the return of the expedition he was ordered to Fort Meyer, where he was notified that the port was to be abandoned and he had been selected to remain, with a detachment of twenty-five picked men, for the purpose of destroying the fort after the troops and the property had been conveyed to a safe distance, these precautions being taken on account of the enemy being in the vicinity. With his men the lieutenant carried out orders, and then followed the others away. January 5, 1866, he was mustered out at Key West, Fla. So satisfactory had been his service that General Newton recommended him for promotion to captain, but the recommendation was not car- ried out.

General Grant, while secretary of war ad in- terim, appointed Lieutenant de Rudio a second lieutenant in the regular army August 31, 1867, and the latter reported to his regiment at Louis- ville, Ky., March following. Soon afterward Major-General George H. Thomas selected him to go to Lebanon, Ky., with fifty picked mounted infantry for the purpose of enforcing the civil rights bills and the revenue laws. He ar- rested the first Klu-Klux in Kentucky. In April. 1869, he was relieved of these arduous duties and ordered to Louisville, thence to Atlanta. Ga., for consolidation with the Sixteenth Infan- try. April 17 he was on waiting orders, but the same day received a telegram from the adjutant- general of the Department of the Cumberland (General Whipple), ordering him to report with- out delay to his headquarters, he having been

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 70

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