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 85

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

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REV. J. BOYD ANDREWS. Though not an old man at the time of his death in 1899. having attained to one less than three score years, Mr. Andrews accomplished a world of good during his ministrations in the Presby- terian church, to the interests of which he de- voted all of his years of activity. His benevo- lent disposition and innumerable acts of kind- ness are retained in the minds and hearts of the thousands to whom he eloquently indicated a life of serenity and goodness, and whom he per- suaded to adopt in their daily intercourse the up- lifting principles of Christianity.

Ifhalladay

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A native of Lamont, Pa., Mr. Andrews was born in 1840, and received in his youth admir- able educational advantages. He studied at La- fayette College, Easton, Pa., and at the North- western Theological Seminary in Chicago, from which he entered the ministry of the Presbyte- rian Church. Following his graduation he preached at Columbus, Wis., and at Appleton, of the same state, in which latter city he organized and built the first church of his denomination. An excess of zeal and consequent strain upon his mental and physicial well-being resulted in his resigning the pastorate at the end of six years, and removing to Hebron, Ill., near the Wisconsin state line. In 1888 he came to Car- pinteria, Cal., and at once evinced the almost superhuman vitality and activity which had char- acterized his efforts in the middle west. He built up the church and placed it on a substan- tial footing with others of the denomination in the county. For a short time he officiated in the church of Santa Maria, Santa Barbara coun- ty, and for three years had a pastorate at Santa Cruz, where he accomplished excellent results in building up the church. Combined with a natural felicity and eloquence of expression, Mr. Andrews possessed a genius for organization, which, perhaps, was the special claim for recog- nition in summing up his work. He rarely failed in reviving spiritless congregations, and infusing the necessary enthusiasm for a con- tinued interest when the work passed into other hands.

August 1, 1882, Mr. Andrews married Elsie West, who was born and educated in Wiscon- sin. To Mr. and Mrs. Andrews were born three children, Donald, Jean and Helen.

DANIEL HALLADAY. Upon the estab- lishment of the Commercial Bank of Santa Ana. in 1882, Mr. Halladay was chosen to occupy the position of president, which office he filled for a number of years, and since then he has acted in the capacity of vice-president. In addition to his connection with this concern he was a promoter and incorporator of the Bank of Orange, of which he has officiated as a direc- tor since its organization. At one time he was also a director of the Orange County Savings Bank. When the project of furnishing Santa Ana with gas for illuminating purposes was proposed, he promoted the plan and assisted in incorporating the Santa Ana Gas Company, of which he became a director. Another en terprise which he assisted in inaugurating was the Santa Ana, Orange and Tustin street rail- way, and he served as a director of this com- pany.

In Marlboro, Vt., Mr. Halladay was born November 24, 1827, a son of David and Nancy (Carpenter) Halladay, also natives of Vermont, the former being a son of Daniel Halladay, who

was a New Englander by birth. When twelve years of age Daniel Halladay accompanied his parents to Springfield, Mass., where the family resided several years, later settling in Ware, the same state. His education was received in pub- lic schools. When nineteen years of age he began to learn the trade of a machinist, which he followed as apprentice and journeyman for six years, and during the latter half of this time he was foreman in the American machine works at Springfield, Mass., and the machine works of Seth Adams & Co., in South Boston, Mass. From South Boston he returned to Springfield, resuming his former position as foreman in the American machine works. While there he had charge of the construction of the caloric en- gine, which was invented by John Ericsson, the famous designer of the Monitor. Upon its completion the engine was exhibited at the World's Fair in London, England, in 1851, Mr. Halladay having been sent to England for the purpose of superintending its exhibition and also its erection in the Crystal Palace in which it was placed among the American exhibits.

On his return from England, Mr. Halladay became a partner in a machine manufacturing concern at Ellington, Conn. In a short time, however, he removed to South Coventry, Conn .. and engaged in the manufacture of machinery there under the title of the Halladay Wind Mill Company. The greater part of the machines turned out by the company were his own in- ventions, for from an early age he had shown himself to possess considerable inventive ability. In 1863 the plant and business were moved to Batavia, Ill., where he made his home and con- ducted the business until his removal to Santa Ana, Cal., in 1880. Meantime, under his en- ergetic and wise supervision, the business at Batavia had assumed large proportions, and when wishing to retire from the manufacturing business, he disposed of his interest in the plant, it was at a satisfactory figure. Since becoming a resident of Santa Ana, he has had agri- cultural and horticultural interests, but his at- tention, as before stated, has been principally given to the banking business. Fraternally he is a Mason, and in politics has always supported the principles of the Republican party. His home in Santa Ana is presided over by his wife, who was formerly Susan M. Spooner, of Belch- ertown, Mass., a member of an old family of New England.

HENRY MILTON AMES. The Ames fam- ily was identified with the early history of Con- necticut. When the tide of emigration was mov- ing westward from New England, Leonard Ames determined to seek a home for himself and family in the then west. A native of Litchfield, Conn., and a farmer near that city, he had mar- ried Minerva Peck, and at the time of their re-

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moval they were the parents of two children. The little family journeyed in an ox-cart, drawn by two oxci, and in this primitive conveyance they crossed over into New York and traveled as far as the town of Mexico, Oswego county. The discovery of a fine large spring led Mr. Ames to locate there. Buying two hundred acres of heavily timbered land, he at once began to build a log house, the family living in the wagon until the cabin was ready for occupancy. Next he turned his attention to clearing the land and placing the soil under cultivation. Be- ing a man of great energy, he succeeded in mak- ing of his farm a valuable estate, and with in- creasing prosperity hc built for his family a frame house. This, in turn, became inadequate to their wants, and in 1835 he built a stone resi- dence which still stands, and in which he and his wife died. A man of stanch convictions, he was an abolitionist and a firm opponent of the system of slavery. In politics he voted the Whig ticket. His wife was the first Methodist who settled in Oswego county and the first meet- ing ever held by that denomination in the coun- ty was held in her little bedroom.

The youngest and the only survivor of the thirteen children of Leonard and Minerva Ames is Henry Milton Ames, born in Oswego county, N. Y., March 30, 1824. As a boy he attended Mexico Academy, which his father had assisted in establishing. In 1837 he went to Oswego, where he was employed in the manufacture of plaster and cement and operated a mill for that purpose. Later he engaged in building vessels. A subsequent enterprise was the forwarding and commission business, in which he forwarded goods that had come from New York City to Oswego by canal boats, transferring them to his vessels and shipping them west on the lakes. Through these various enterprises, Mr. Ames acquired a thorough knowledge of several dif- ferent lines of business, and he now turned his attention to a line somewhat different from any in which he was previously interested. Becom- ing the head of the private banking house of Ames, Howlett & Co., he continued until 1855, and in the meantime established a reputation as a financier of unusual ability. On severing his connection with the bank, in 1855 he established the Ames iron works of Oswego. Into this busi- ness, in 1870, he took his brother Leonard, also Isaac L. Merriam, but the following year, owing to failing health, he found it advisable to seek a more equable climate, and therefore disposed of his interest in the plant. which, however, is still known as the Ames iron works. While he was proprietor of the Ames Manufacturing Company, they manufactured portable engines, which found a large sale throughout the entire country and hundreds are still used in the coast states.

Since 1871 Mlr. Ames has been a resident of

California and for some years made his home in the northern part of the state, where he became interested in the stock business. Purchasing a ranch of sixteen hundred acres in Shasta coun- ty, he stocked the place and in time became the owner of very important interests. To facilitate the disposal of his cattle, he turned his attention to the slaughtering business, and built the first slaughter house and started the present Butch- ertown at Oakland. Subsequently he built other slaughter houses, also erected various warehouses, a hotel, and buildings for the pro- motion of his business. He was the first to slaughter beef at Salt Lake and ship the same in refrigerator cars to Oakland for the San Fran- cisco market. Another industry in which he en- gaged about the same time was the manufacture of beet sugar, for which purpose he leased a sugar refinery at Isleton, near Sacramento, but a year's experiment with the plant convinced him that the beets in that damp soil grew too large and coarse a fibre, and therefore the per- centage of sugar was too low to be manufac- tured.

The year 1882 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Ames in Southern California. It might be sup- posed by many that, having led a very active life, he would now retire from all business in- terests and, in this delightful climate would pass the afternoon of existence in quiet retirement. But those who would form such opinions cer- tainly could know little of the activity of the man. The exercise of his talents in various forms of business enterprise is with him insepar- able from existence. He is happiest when busi- est, hence has allowed increasing years to bring him no lessening of responsibilities. On coming to this part of the state, he bought two hundred acres near the San Gabriel Mission, for which he paid $17 an acre, and this he disposed of, during the boom, for $300 an acre, receiving a total of $60,000 for the whole. He then came to Los Angeles, where he now makes his home at No. 4517 Central avenue. The laying out of tracts in city lots and the improvement thereof have taken much of his time and attention of recent years. Under the title of H. M. Ames subdi- vision of Vernon, he laid out forty acres on Central avenue and Vernon street. He also bought sixty acres of the Glassell tract near the Los Angeles city limits, which he platted in lots that sold readily at private sale and auction. To facilitate settlement thereon. he became inter- ested in a company that built a street car line from the Santa Fe depot to the city limits on the Glassell tract, thereby bringing the lots into easy access from the business center. The irri- gation system that he established on the tract is still in use. At this writing his attention is given principally to the refining of oil, owning. with two partners, the Pacific oil refinery near the Santa Fe Railroad.

Thomas a Rice

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

MATT H. ARNOLD. One of the prosper- ous farmers in the vicinity of Ventura is M. H. Arnold, a resident of California since 1852, and a farmer in his present locality since 1868. He was born in DeKalb county, Ill., February 16, 1844, and is a son of Cutler and Emily ( Hough) Arnold. The family of which he was a member comprised the following children: . Henry, deceased; LeRoy, deceased; Matt H., Eugene, a farmer; Edward, of Fillmore, Cal .; George, who is engaged in farming near Hue- neme; Mrs. Emma Pitcher, of Hueneme; and Mrs. Fannie Baxter, of Los Angeles. The mater- nal ancestors were pioneers of Connecticut and Massachusetts and moved from New York to Illinois. The paternal ancestors became identi- fied with Connecticut and Vermont in an early day. Cutler Arnold, who was a son of Nathan Arnold, was born in Ohio in 1818, and in 1849 made the long journey overland to California. During 1868 he settled on a farm in Ventura county. where the subsequent years of his life were passed. He died in 1892.

In addition to a public school education Matt H. Arnold was privileged to attend Oakland Col- lege. His first efforts to earn a livelihood were in teaming on the frontier, hauling merchandise between California and Idaho and Nevada. Ever since eight years of age he has been identified with California history, his father having sent east for the family in 1852. When the family came to Ventura county in 1868 he accompa- nied them, and settled in the valley near Hue- neme. From that time until 1877 the three sons, Eugene, Edward and Matt H., conducted farm operations in partnership, but finally the prop- erty was divided and each started out alone. Since then and until November, 1902, Matt H. has been farming on his four hundred acre ranch two and a half miles east of Hueneme, which he still owns, raising stock, barley, corn, lima beans and sugar beets, in about the order named, as he became acquainted with the adaptability of the soil. In November, 1901, he bought the Thurs- ton place near Ventura, which is a portion of the Santa Paula y Saticoy tract and contains eighty-eight acres principally devoted to the raising of beans. The ranch is well improved and the house occupied by the family is large and comfortable.

In 1877 Mr. Arnold married Eliza Perkins, a native of Maine and a daughter of T. E. Perk- ins, who now resides in Los Angeles county. Of this union there are four children; Ralph M., Chester, Joe and Alice. When the Ocean View district was formed near Hueneme, Mr. Arnold was elected one of the school trustees and held the position for fifteen years, during which time the first school house in the district was built. Fraternally he is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Always a stanch Republican, he has served as a member

of the county Republican central committee and has been active in party matters. His worth as a citizen was early recognized and his influence in political matters was felt by all who came in contact with him either in local gatherings or committee work. In 1890 he was nominated for county supervisor and received the election in the autumn of that year, after which he served until 1894, meantime giving his support to all measures for the benefit of the county.

HON. THOMAS A. RICE, a typical repre- sentative of a distinguished southern ancestry, occupies a place in Ventura county warranted by his numerous capabilities, his unblemished integrity, and those admirable traits of citizen- ship everywhere recognized as productive of sound government and municipal purity. Of English descent, the family of which he is a member was first represented in America by the paternal great-grandfather, who emigrated from England and settled in North Carolina. The grandfather, Archibald, was also born in North Carolina, and married Miss Richmond, whose ancestors founded the town of Richmond, Va. To this couple was born William (the father of Thomas A.), who married Louise Ish, of Ten- nessee, the daughter of William Ish, also a Ten- nesseean. Besides Thomas A., there were in the family six other children, who profited by the prosperity and good fortune of their father, William. The family came to California when Thomas A. was ten years of age, he having been born in Jackson county, Mo., at Independence, January 24, 1849. The journey west was made overland, and the belongings of the family were augmented by one thousand head of cattle, suc- cessfully driven over the plains, and which formed the nucleus of large stock-raising enter- prises later conducted in Merced and Contra Costa counties. In the latter county the family owned two thousand acres of land. William Rice was a fine and courtly southern gentleman, whose death in 1885 left an irreparable vacancy in the hearts of all who had been the recipients of his bounty, the possessors of his friendship, or the rejoicers in his good fortune and genial personality.

Well fitted for future responsibility through educational advantages acquired at a private school, Thomas A. Rice embarked upon his first independent venture as manager of the farm of four hundred and seventy acres left him by his father. This beautiful and finely developed bot- tom land was located three miles from Oxnard, and to it has been added by more recent pur- chase until the acres composing it aggregate nine hundred. A more thoroughly up-to-date property cannot be conceived of. a truly splen- did ranch, with a whole village of ranch houses of modern construction, as well as a school house. The residence on the ranch is worthy

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of its surroundings, is built after the most ap- proved plans, and is fitted with electric bells, gas, hot and cold water, and most artistic and harmonious finishings. Beautified to the extent of the landscape gardeners' art are the grounds of this luxurious Southern California home, and surrounding hedges add that touch of intimacy and seclusion in keeping with the social stand- ing, tastes, and requirements of those who live upon its fertile acres, and are an integral part of this development of nature. Although at the present time the fertile lands are rented out with the exception of a twenty-five acre walnut ranch, Mr. Rice still has a general supervision over his property, and no one more than he awaits the prolific harvests which never fail in their mission or depart from the uniformity of their abundant measure. In addition to a gen- eral farming industry there were raised in 1900 six hundred acres of beets, and there is always maintained in the pastures a fine showing of blooded horses, both driving and draft.

Possessing an inborn capacity for noting and improving the surrounding opportunities, it is not surprising that Mr. Rice should appreciate the advantages in the sugar-beet industry, and should assiduously work for the accomplishment of the best results. Before Oxnard became the headquarters for one of the largest (and by far the best appointed) factories in the world, he worked incessantly for weeks to make it pos- sible to have the factory located here, by secur- ing the requisite guarantee of ten thousand acres devoted exclusively to beet culture. How admirable was this forethought has been repeat- edly demonstrated, and the presence in its midst of this really wonderful manufactory has in- creased the value of land one hundred per cent. One hundred acres accommodate the enter- prise. This land was formerly owned by Mr. Rice but was sold to the Beet Sugar Com- pany. He still owns two hundred and fifty acres located on either side of the factory, and which is devoted to the raising of beets. In addition to his other activities he is a director and large stockholder in the Bank of Oxnard.

Formerly presiding over his ideal rural home was the first Mrs. Rice, nec Lilian Flournoy, of Santa Clara county, and daughter of Thomas Flournoy, of Danville, Contra Costa county. Mrs. Rice, who died in 1897, was the mother of four children, viz: Blanche, who is a graduate of Mills College, class of 1900; Madge, who is attending Mills College; Alvin, who is attending St. Mathew's School, at San Mateo; and Merrill. who is at Mills and is preparing for college. Beyond all else save the splendid training in their home, Mr. Rice values the best possible education for his children, and he is prepared to develop and encourage the latent talent, and furnish any advantage for culture and improve- ment. Exampled is his theory of broad-minded

progressiveness by the advantages afforded his daughter, who, upon her graduation from Mills College, accompanied Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Pat- terson and daughter on an extended European tour which included Japan and other Oriental countries. In 1899 Mr. Rice married Virginia Moriarty, of San José, and the wedding jour- ney combined the pleasures incident to the oc- casion with the responsibility as delegate to Honolulu, in the capacity of horticultural in- spector, appointed by Governor Gage.

In politics Mr. Rice is a Democrat, and in the latter '8os served for a term as county super- visor. In November of 1890 he was elected state assemblyman, and had the unusual honor of running three hundred votes ahead of his ticket. At the last state convention of the Democratic party he declined the nomination for lieutenant-governor. He is at the present time horticultural commissioner of the state of California. Mr. Rice has taken an active part in the Masonic history of Southern California. He was made a Mason in Hueneme, and is now a member of the Ventura Chapter and Comman- dery and Mystic Shrine, Al Malakiah Temple. of Los Angeles. The precepts and teachings of the noble order Mr. Rice has exemplified in his daily intercourse with his fellowmen, and he stands to-day as a typical embodiment of a pro- gressive American citizen.

B. FRANK DENNEY BITHER. There is a tradition in the Bither family to the effect that many generations ago a boy was stolen from his home and placed on board a ship bound for America. The child was so small that he could give no intelligible account of himself, nor did he know his name. However, he displayed such a desire to bite everyone who came near him that he was called Bither, and in this way the family name originated. The family was carly established in Maine, where was born and reared Tyler Bither, a farmer of Aroostook county, who in 1854 braved the perilous voyage to California via Cape Horn and for a few years mined there. A later enterprise was the hotel business, after which he improved a farmi near Hill's Ferry. In the fall of 1876 he settled near Montalvo, Ventura county, and bought one hun- dred acres, he subsequently cultivated about three hundred acres of adjoining land. On sell- ing that property he came to Santa Barbara and in 1888 bought the Santa Barbara soda works. At first.he was a member of the firm of Coffman & Bither, but in 1892 he bought his partner's interest and thereafter continued alone until he ciied, in January, 1809. Fraternally he was an Odd Fellow and in politics a Republican. His wife, Sarah J., was a daughter of Moses Ward. who died at ninety-one years. She was born in Massachusetts, removed thence to Maine, and died in Santa Barbara. Of her nine children all

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

but two grew to maturity and six are now liv- ing, all in California.

The youngest son in the family, Ben Frank Denney Bither, was born in Stanislaus county, Cal., near Hill's Ferry, November 3, 1869. In the fall of 1888 he came to Santa Barbara and entered the employ of Coffman & Bither, where he remained a few years, meantime gaining a thorough knowledge of the business. In 1891 he settled upon a farm in Ventura county. Re- turning to Santa Barbara two years later, he was foreman for the asphalt company for two years, after which he became manager for his father in the soda works. On the death of his father lie became sole proprietor and as such has con- tinued since. In the works are manufactured all kinds of soda, which are shipped to adjoining cities and also sold in large quantities in the home town. The plant at No. 512 Garden street is modern in every respect and is fully equipped with the appurtenances of first-class works. The success that has attended the business is largely the result of unwearied application on the part of the proprietor, who gives his entire time to the building up of the plant.

Fraternally Mr. Bither is connected with the Foresters of America and the Fraternal Brother- hood. November 26. 1805, he married Miss Henrietta Bertha Rood. who is the only survivor of the two daughters of Noble and Martha (Ed- wards) Rood, natives respectively of Kent coun- tv, Mich., and New York state. The first of the Rood family to remove from New England was her grandfather, Zebulon Rood, a native of Ver- mont and a pioneer farmer of Michigan. Her father. also, was a farmer and lived near Big Rapids, Mich., where she was born. When six- teen vears of age he enlisted in Company A. Fourth Michigan Cavalry. and served mostly as a scout. In a battle his horse was shot under him and he was thrown senseless in a ditch, where he was captured by the Confederates. For eleven months he was a prisoner in Anderson- ville. not being released until the close of the Civil war. Later he settled in Texas, where he was a farmer and merchant. From there he came to Santa Barbara in Inlv. 1889, where he and his wife now make their home. Mr. and Mrs. Bither have two children, Edgar Rood and Barbara.

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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 85

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