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 83

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

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with whom he remained until 1888. He then became a partner of Enoch Pepper, an asso- ciation amicably continued up to the time of his death, May 9, 1899. He was one of the most erudite of the counselors in law who have main- tained the legal prestige of this city, and he had a large clientage among the prominent and wealthy members of the community. He at- tended to all of the legal business of the German consul at San Francisco, and many large corpo- rations enlisted his services in adjusting their differences. He was particularly modest and conservative, and those who appealed to him felt instinctively that their case rested in safe and reliable hands. Nor did he ever disappoint their expectations.

So expansive a nature as that possessed by Dr. Lindenfeld must needs reach out and touch the many interests by which he was surrounded, and he therefore was responsible for the success of many enterprises and for the development of many resources. He seemed to grasp the needs of those who, like himself, were struggling for the best the world contained, and he felt the limitations of many who had been less fortunate and successful. To those who desired land and were yet unable to meet a single heavy outlay he came as a discerning and helpful friend, and was the first in the city to lay out lots to be purchased on the installment plan. He laid out the Pioneer building lots in East Los Angeles, and was one of the promoters of the Pioneer Association. Politically a Republican, he was active in local and state matters from the first of his residence in the west, was a delegate to many conventions, and served on many committees. Fraternally he was associated with the Knights of the Maccabees, and he was for many years a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He lived very near to the heart of nature, and to him the mountains and mines and sunsets and plains were eloquent with interest, and told a story all their own. With a keen and trained eye for the why and wherefore of things, he discerned beauty and utility where others saw but the commonplace and uninteresting. He was the soul of honor, and the highest type of the universal gentleman.

In Rochester. N. Y., Dr. Lindenfeld married Catherine Baker, November 6, 1866. Mrs. Lin- denfeld was reared in Rochester, and is a daugh- ter of Frank Baker, who immigrated from France when a young man and settled in New York, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness until his death in 1867. In his native land he had been a linen weaver. The mother of Mrs. Lindenfeld was formerly Johanna Larson, who was born near Sarlouis, Prussia, a daughter of Daniel William Larson, who was one of the first settlers of Rochester, N. Y. Mrs. Baker, who died in New York March 4, 1865, was the mother of two children, and of these, John

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Baker is in the employ of the New York Central Railroad Company and lives in Rochester. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lindenfeld: Harriett M., who is a graduate of the normal school and her father's former assistant, and is now in the office of the recorder of Los Angeles county; Charles N., who is a resident of New York City and a graduate of the Manhattan College and of the Columbia Law School; George J., who is an attorney and is in the Philippine Islands; William J., who is mining in Arizona; Emina, who is now Mrs. Pingree, of Los Angeles; Caroline F., Lillian A., Hor- tense A., and Marie A., at home. The Linden- feld home in Los Angeles, on South Hope street, is one of the delightful and hospitable places of the city, and there the most gracious tact and good-fellowship are lavishly dispensed. The appreciation of culture which was the dis- tinguishing characteristic of Dr. Lindenfeld dur- ing his capable and well-directed life has been handed down to his sons and daughters, and was always shared by his wife, who is one of those broad-minded and sympathetic- women who adorn and improve any community that is honored by their association.

CALEB E. WHITE. Few of the men now living in Pomona have been identified with the history of California for a longer period than has Mr. White. He was one of the '49ers who were led to cast in their lot with the then un- known west at the time of the discovery of gold here. Since that time he has made his home in this state. The wonderful improvements that have brought this state to a foremost position among the great commonwealths of America he has witnessed and aided, and he deservedly oc- cupies a position among the public-spirited pio- neers to whose self-sacrificing efforts the organ- ization and development of the state may be at- tributed. When nineteen years of age he started for California, being one of a party of fitteen who purchased the brig Arcadia, and sailed from Boston to San Francisco via the straits of Ma- gellan. After a tedious voyage of two hundred and sixty-three days, they sailed through the Golden Gate October 29, 1849.

In 1850 Mr. White embarked in the general mercantile business in Sacramento, as a mem- ber of the firm of Haskell, White & Co. How- cver, this firm was dissolved in a short time. Subsequently he engaged in the nursery busi- ness on a ranch on the American river, and also for seventeen years was a member of the firm of White & Hollister, in the nursery business. At a later date he became interested in sheep- raising, having a sheep ranch at Florence, Los Angeles county. The year 1880 found him a pioneer of what is now the city of Pomona. He was one of the prime movers in securing the organization of the city, and served as a mem-

ber of its first board of trustees. He has become one of the well-known horticulturists of the region. His place consists of seventy acres, of which sixty acres are in orchard. In addition to the management of this property, he has for ten or more years served as vice-president of the People's Bank of Pomona.

OSCAR MORSE, operator of the Santa Bar- bara Electric, Gas and Power Company's works, was born in Nevada county, Cal., April 6, 1864. His father, Ezra Morse, came from an old New England family, and was a shoemaker by trade. In the early '5os he settled in Nevada City, where he plied his trade, and in 1871 came to Santa Barbara with the intention of starting a shop there. His plans, however, miscarried, for while in San Francisco he contracted typhoid fever, which terminated fatally two weeks after his arrival in Santa Barbara. His wife, formerly Martha Holt, of Mississippi, and who died in Santa Barbara in 1891, was the mother of two children, of whom Oscar Morse is the only sur- vivor.

When his father removed to Santa Barbara from Nevada county, Oscar Morse was a lad of seven years. He attended the public schools of his adopted city, and received his earliest im- pressions of life and work from the activities here represented. In 1873 he went back to Ne- vada county and engaged in teaming for a few years, and after his return in 1881 remained in the employ of the old gas works for eighteen months. He then engaged in ranching, and was later with the Santa Barbara Water Company for two years. In 1889 he became identified with the Santa Barbara Gas Company, beginning at the bottom and working his way forward until he became chief operator of the works. Since the change of the company to the Santa Bar- bara Electric, Gas and Power Company he has had entire charge of the gas plant, and his serv- ices have met with approval of those who placed him in his present responsible position. Mr. Morse is independent in politics, and takes an active interest in city affairs.

HON. DUMMER KIAH TRASK. The birth of D. K. Trask occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 17, 1860. Soon after the breaking out of the Rebellion his parents removed to Maine. There he grew to manhood, attending the common schools of Jefferson, Me., and the Nichols' Latin school, and later being graduated from the Waterville Classical Institute, at the head of which renowned seat of learning Dr. J. H. Hanson then stood. For several terms young Trask engaged in teaching in his home state, but finally yielded to his growing desire to see something of the far west, where he believed greater opportunities for success awaited him. In 1882 he arrived in Stockton, and, after spend-

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ing the summer in the harvest field, and subse- quent to his successful standing in the teachers' examination, he was offered the principalship of the Linden public schools, where he taught for a period. He served as a member of the San Joaquin county board of education.

Thus, well launched in the educational field, he established the Stockton Business College and Normal Institute, where he trained and in- structed large classes of students and over two hundred teachers. Besides having charge of the college, he was preparing himself for admission to the bar. He sold his interests in the college in order to give his undivided attention to the profession of his choice. He was admitted to practice by the supreme court of the state, at San Francisco, in July, 1890. In the following September he came to Los Angeles, where he opened an office. Within a short period he built up a good practice, and was employed in many important matters. In no measure did his interest in the cause of education languish, as was shown when he served on the city school board in 1893 and 1894. In 1898 he was ap- pointed judge of the superior court of Los An- geles county, and is acting in that capacity at the present time. In his political affiliations he is a strong ally of the Democratic party.

BRADNER W. LEE. Born in East Grove- land, Livingston county, N. Y., in 1850, Mr. Lee received his education in public schools and by means of a course of private study. From New York, in 1871, he went to Mississippi, where he prepared for the legal profession under the pre- ceptorship of his uncle, Col. G. Wiley Wells, then United States district attorney, northern district of Mississippi, subsequently a member of Congress from that state, and later United States Consul-General to Shanghai, China. Mr. Lee was admitted to the bar in that state in 1872, after which he held the position of assist- ant United States attorney for seven years. On resigning that position he came to Los Angeles in 1879 and associated himself with Judge Brun- son and Col. G. Wiley Wells in the law firm of Brunson, Wells & Lee. On his arrival in this county he was admitted to practice before the state supreme court, April 30, 1879, and when the United States circuit and district courts were organized for Southern California, he was ad- mitted to practice in them. At the time of the election of Judge Brunson to the bench of the superior court, the firm was reorganized under the name of Wells, Van Dyke & Lee, Hon. Walter Van Dyke being a member thereof, who after a time was elected to the judicial bench, has since served as judge of the superior court, and is now associate justice of the supreme court. Since then Mr. Lee has been associated with different partners, being for a time a mem- ber of the firm of Wells, Guthrie & Lee, later

the firm of Wells, Monroe & Lee, next that of Wells & Lec, and upon the admission of Judge Works, ex-justice of the supreme court, the name became Wells, Works & Lee. On account of failing health, Colonel Wells finally retired from practice, and since then the title has been Works & Lee, the senior member being Hon. John D. Works. During almost the entire pe- riod of his residence in Los Angeles, Mr. Lee has participated in its prominent legal contests, and he has been connected with some of the most noted litigations in the history of the state.

FRANK E. MORRILL, the postmaster at Montalvo, Ventura county, who is also engaged in the general inercantile business at this place, was born in Canterbury, N. H., July 8, 1833, being a son of Hon. David Morrill, member of congress from Merrimac county, N. H., and one of the leading men of his state. Under the in- fluence of such a father, his boyhood training was received and his education acquired. At eighteen years of age he left the home where he was born and reared and went to Worcester, Mass., where for two years he worked in the pistol factory of Allen & Thurber. In 1853 he came via the isthmus to California, and at once made his way from San Francisco to the mines at Nevada City, where he mined until 1860, at the same time acting as proprietor of the Me- chanics' Hotel. In 1856 this hotel was burned, but he at once rebuilt the structure and resumed business.

Trading his property in 1860, Mr. Morrill ac- quired a farm in Yuba county, which, under its present title of Bonanza ranch, is said to be worth at least $100,000. It comprises over one thousand acres, three hundred acres now being in fruit. In 1875 he disposed of the property to the Excelsior Ditch Company, who named it the Bonanza. The same year he purchased a ranclı in Penn valley, Nevada county. The old Gasso- way ranch (by which name the property was known) comprised three hundred and twenty acres, largely in pasturage, but to some extent under cultivation to grain. The improvement of this land proved a profitable employment. Through his efforts, in 1890, the Excelsior Ditch Company extended its ditch to his land, allow- ing him to secure water from the main ditch. This proved of great benefit to him. Thirty-five acres of his land he planted in grapes, twenty acres in fruit, and forty acres in red clover and alfalfa.

On the occasion of being a second time bought out by the Excelsior Ditch Company, in 1892, Mr. Morrill returned to his old home in New Hampshire, where he celebrated his father's ninety-fifth birthday anniversary, and also vis- ited the World's Fair in Chicago. Returning to California, in the fall of 1893 he settled at Mont- alvo and bought out the general store owned

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by Mr. Grassi, since which time, with his son, C. O. Morrill, he has successfully carried on a general mercantile business. Several of the best houses in town are owned by him. In addition to his store, he has built and now conducts a livery and feed stable. In July, 1899, he was ap- pointed postmaster, which position he has since filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to his fellow-citizens. In all of his enterprises he has had the assistance of his wife, a lady of abil- ity and resourcefulness, and at present taking charge of the Montalvo hotel. She is the mother of eight children, namely: Mrs. Ella Miller, Frank W. Morrill, Mrs. Sarah Miller, James D., Charles O., Mrs. Mary Sanborn, George E. and Edwin M. Morrill.

In the local work of the Republican party, Mr. Morrill is active. In all ways he is ready to as- sist in the upbuilding of the community and the advancement of Montalvo's interests. For more than twenty years he has kept his membership in in the Nevada City Lodge, A. O. U. W. Be- sides his property in Ventura county, he is still the owner of one hundred and forty-five acres in Yuba county, on which are raised oranges, apples, pears, prunes and other varieties of fruit.

J. C. F. MILLER, whose skill as a builder and contractor has evolved some of the finest residences and public buildings in Santa Bar- bara, was born in Auburn, Christian county, Ill., October 30, 1858. His father, Henry Clay Miller, was born in Ohio, and worked at his trade of cabinetmaker there, and after his re- moval to Mount Auburn, Ill. During the Civil war he served in an Illinois regiment until the restoration of peace, after which he re- turned to his old home neighborhood in Il- linois and lived there for two years. He then removed to Macon, near Decatur, and bought a farm, upon which he lived until settling at his present home in Leavenworth, Kans. The pa- ternal grandfather was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent, and lived for many years and finally died in North Liberty, Ohio. The mother of J. C. F. Miller was Elizabeth (Botkin) Miller, a native of Ohio, and daughter of Isaac Botkin, a native of West Virginia and a farmer in Ohio. Mrs. Miller, who died in Illinois, was the mother of eleven children, eight of whom are living, J. C. F. being the sixth and the only one in Cali- fornia.

Until eighteen years of age Mr. Miller re- mained on his father's farm and. attended the clistrict schools. In 1876 he removed to Marion county, Kans., and after staying for a year re- turned to Illinois and learned the carpenter's trade in Macon county. In 1882 he went to Ore- gon, and at the end of two months proceeded to Walla Walla, Wash., and worked at his trade, returning in 1883 to Chicago, Ill., where he re-

mained for six years. During that time he was foreman for E. L. Lord, and had a responsible position. In 1889 he came to Santa Barbara and worked as a carpenter until 1892, when he branched out into building and contracting, which he has since followed. He built his own residence in Oak Park, and among other cred- itable undertakings attributed to him are the res- idences of Dr. Doremus and Dr. Strong, the Bond residence, the Washington school; and at Montecito, the residences of General Strong and Mrs. Boynton, an addition to the Waterman residence, and the Country Club and cottages.

In Santa Barbara, February 12, 1891, Mr. Miller married Bertha Elliott, a native of Wis- consin, and daughter of Ezekiel Elliott, who was born in New York state. Ezekiel Elliott was a contractor and builder, and early settled at Lone Rock, Wis., where he was engaged in farming, and became prominent in the community. He came to Santa Cruz, Cal., in 1875, and engaged in horticulture, and then removed to San Fran- cisco, where he manufactured kindling wood. Later removing to Alameda, he engaged in the wood and coal business, but in 1883 came to Santa Barbara and was engaged in the stock business on the San Nicholas and Anacapa ; however, he is now in practical retirement. He married Phoebe Vincent, who was born in New York, a daughter of Joseph Vincent, also a na- tive of New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were born two sons and two daughters, of whom Mrs. Miller is the youngest. Joseph V. Elliott is a contractor in Santa Barbara; Anna M. is the wife of Mr. Humphrey of Santa Barbara: and Ray is a carpenter by trade. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller has been born one child, Vivian Iole. Mr. Miller is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a Republican in poli- tics.

W. H. AKERS. In many journeyings in many lands one would find few travelers who have seen as much of the world as has Mr. Akers, or who have as intelligently observed and laid up stores of information from various parts of the world. A native of Hackettstown, N. J., he was born of parents also natives of the eastern state, and was educated at the New- port Naval Academy. In 1865 he entered the merchant marine, sailing from New York to Aspinwall, and the same year to San Francisco by way of the Horn. Later he made many trips around the Horn, and in 1867 entered the em- ploy of the Pacific mail service, making several trips to Panama. He followed the uncertain fortunes of the sea until 1885, and in the course of his travels went around the world several times. On many of the ships in which he sailed he held rank as first officer, and his sea-faring existence was not marred by either serious acci- dent or great peril.

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In 1885 Mr. Akers sought a terra firma exist- ence, and lived in San Francisco until 1892. In May of that year he came to the Montecito val- ley and bought the ranch which he now owns, and upon which lemons are raised extensively. Improvements have been brought about on the property, and in 1892 the owner erected a pleas- ant rural home in which his family are comfort- ably housed. He devotes all of his time to the ranch which has proved a source of profit and successful experiment. In keeping with his en- terprise Mr. Akers entertains an interest in the development of liis locality, and is an ardent promoter of education. In politics a Democrat, he is now serving his second term as trustee of the Montecito school district, and has been a member of the Democratic general committee for some time, and also a delegate to numerous county and state conventions. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, and a trustee in the same, and is fraternally associated with the Santa Barbara Lodge, No. 613, B. P. O. E., and a charter member of the lodge. In 1889 Mr. Akers married Miss Gillard, a native of New Zealand, and they have four children: Weston, Mollie, Helen and William H., Jr.

FELIX C. HOWES. The founder in America of the family which was represented by the late Felix C. Howes of Los Angeles, hore the name of Thomas Howes and was a native of England. About 1637 he set sail from his home land for the strange country beyond the ocean, the tedious voyage across which con- sumed many weary weeks. Arriving at Plym- outh Rock, where recently the Pilgrim Fathers had first set foot upon American soil, he pro- ceeded from there to Salem, Mass., which after- ward continued to be his home. By his mar- riage to Mary Burr, who came from Norfolk county, England, he had three sons, James, Thomas and Jeremiah, all of whom proved to be noble men and the worthy ancestors of a large and prosperous posterity. Ebenezer, son of Jeremiah, had a son, Thomas, born in 1699, who married Deborah Sears. Their oldest child, Moody, born in 1724, married Hannah Snow, who died in July, 1758. In search of more fertile land he moved from Yarmouth to Putnam county, N. Y., in 1748, and purchased a tract of six hundred acres from the Indians. Not a furrow had ever been turned in the soil. The land was in the condition of primeval na- ture, and his was the task to clear, till and cul- tivate. On that place he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1806. Of his first marriage there were four children. In 1759 he married Sarah Ellis, by whom he had nine children. Of these Samuel, born in 1768, had three sons, Exenetus, Bailey and Francis, all of whom be-

came prominent citizens in their respective com- munities and bore an honorable part in agri- cultural pursuits and progressive movements. Of these sons Bailey, who was born in 1802, became a successful farmer, cultivating a home- stead which is now the site of the Croton reser- voir. Of his marriage to Mary Cole of New York there were three sons born, namely: Os- car, who was an instructor in the University of Chicago and died in that city; Byron, a banker, and a veteran of the Civil war, who died in St. Paul; and Felix Cary, who died in Los Angeles. It is the last-named of these sons who forms the subject of this article.

In Putnam county, N. Y., Felix C. Howes was born May 15, 1838, and there he received such advantages as local public schools and academy offered. His course in life was determined when he was twelve years old, when, after hav- ing received a check for certain work he had done, he went into a bank to cash it. He often afterward declared that he then resolved to be- come a banker, and the tenacity with which he adhered to that resolution is shown by the rec- ord of his later years.

In 1854 he went to Hastings, Minn., join- ing a brother, with whom, after some years spent in clerking, he engaged in the banking business. During the Civil war he was in the government employ as a clerk in the commis- sary department, and accompanied General Sherman through Georgia to the sea. On his return to Minnesota he resumed the banking business at Hastings. Removing to St. Paul about 1873, he became cashier for the Marine Bank, but, finding the winters of that northern city too severe, he resigned in 1875 in order to seek a more genial climate. In search of a suitable location he traveled along the Pacific coast, visiting many towns and cities, and not- ing everywhere the remarkable improvements that had been made on the coast. Being pleased with Los Angeles, he decided to make his home in this city, and accordingly purchased one hundred and sixty acres on West Jefferson street (now within the city limits). This tract he placed under cultivation to oranges. About 1883, in connection with Major Bonebrake, he organized the Los Angeles National Bank, of which he continued to be cashier and a director until his death. This institution has a paid-up capital of $500,000 and is one of the most solid and substantial banking institutions of the city". In addition to his intimate connection with its early history and upbuilding, he was interested in many different enterprises for the progress of the city.

Though he was never a partisan nor an office- seeker, yet his interest in politics was deep and abiding, and the Republican party owes much to the counsel and sympathy of such men as he. Despite his varied interests and the consequent

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demands upon his time he was always accessible to those who desired his counsel.

In St. Paul, Minn., September 21, 1866, Mr. Howes married Mrs. Clara (Sanborn) Emery, who was born in Waterville, Me. Her father, Daniel Sanborn, was a native of New Hamp- shire, and accompanied his father, Theophilus, to Charleston, Me., settling upon a farm. His education was received principally in Water- ville College, after which he became a law stu- dent. Admitted to the bar, he soon attained eminence as a practicing attorney and won his way gradually to a foremost rank at the Bangor bar. For many years he was probate judge in Penobscot county, and it is said of him that his service on the bench was as creditable as that at the bar. Fair and impartial in his decisions, wise in his rulings, extensive in knowl- edge of the law, he was admirably qualified for the work of jurist. In the midst of his profes- sional and official duties he found time to maintain his membership with the Odd Fel- lows and Masons. In 1882, when seventy-one years of age, he died at his home in Bangor, Me. The family of which he was a member has a lineage that can be traced back to the days of Willian the Conqueror, the Sanborns having accompanied that famous Norman in his memorable expedition to England.

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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 83

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