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 98

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

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REV. SALMON R. WELDON. By the hosts of friends drawn to him by noble characteris- tics, and by the many business and other asso- ciates who profited by his unusual executive and financial ability, Salmon R. Weldon is remem- bered as one of the representative citizens of Santa Barbara, and one of the truest-hearted gentlemen who ever struggled against the dis- couraging condition of years of impaired health. Of Puritan-English descent, his ancestors were sea-faring men, and owners of vessels. His father, Jonathan, was born near Barnstable, Mass., and was an educator during the forepart of his life, at one time being principal and owner of an academy at Providence, R. I. Later he be- came a pioneer of the region around Rockford, Ill., at what is now Winnebago, where he im- proved a large farm, and where his death oc- curred at the age of seventy-seven years. His

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wife, Mary (Davis) Weldon, was born in New England, and was of Welsh descent.

Born at Keene, N. H., December 3, 1823, Sal- mon R. Weldon was reared after his twelfth year on his father's farm near Rockford, Ill., and was educated at Jubilee College, in Illinois. His ear- liest aspirations were toward the ministry of the Episcopal church, and his theological training was acquired at Gambier, Knox county, Ohio, af- ter which he was ordained in Chicago by Bishop Whitehouse. For seven years he was rector of the Zion church, at Freeport, Ill., and then, owing to failing health, became rector of Saint Paul's church, built by Jay Cook, at Put-In-Bay, Ohio. His efforts were there handicapped by physical disability, and at the end of four years he came to California, hoping to benefit by the delightful climate and the change, but was never after able to realize his expectations of doing good in the church. He nevertheless did a great deal of missionary work which was less arduous than the responsibility of a church, and in 1872 located in Santa Barbara, where he continued for a time his ministrations. His death occurred May 31, 1887.

Mr. Weldon's advice was a boon to all who hesitated on the brink of some important under- taking, for his keen insight, comprehensive grasp of all sides of a question, and ability to gauge the ultimate result were truly startling in correctness. Not the least of his power was the sterling integrity which influenced all of his de- cisions, and which actuated all of his undertak- ings in life. In Santa Barbara he was one of the prime organizers and vice-president of the Santa Barbara County National Bank, and he was also interested in and vice-president of the First National Bank. With Mr. Calkins he bought a ranch of two thousand acres in Ven- tura county, about five miles from Ventura, which is one of the finest cattle ranches for miles around. His extreme youth had also its com- pensations, for while on the farm in Illinois he patented the first seeder ever invented; the pat- ent, however, rests with Mr. Gorham, for, after the improvement of his health and his return to the ministry, he left to that gentleman the man- agement of the patent and its manufacture. It has since been known as the Gorham seeder, and has been extensivelv used.

At Winnebago, Ill., Mr. Weldon married, Jan- nary 1, 1853, H. Loraine Gorham, who was born in Rutland, Vt., a daughter of Alonzo Gorham, also of Vermont. The paternal great-grand- father. Seth Gorham. was born in Connecticut, and settled in Vermont after his service in the Revolutionary war. The mother of Mrs. Weldon was formerly Mercy Humphrey, of Vermont, the member of an English family who early set- tled in New Hampshire and later in Vermont. The parents were pioneers of Winnebago, Ill., and both died in the state of their adoption.

Mrs. Weldon was one of the first pupils of the Rockford Female Seminary (now college). To Mr. and Mrs. Weldon were born two children, now living, W. R. H., who is a business man of Santa Barbara, and Jane A., also a resident of Santa Barbara.

NAOMI WHEELAN. The advance along all lines of endeavor to meet the demand created by the multiplicity of tastes represented in even small communities, has not found the artistic in- stinct in the west undeveloped, or indifferent as to its place among refining and progressive in- fluences. Practical and at the same time grace- ful and beautiful effects are evolved from the artistic faculties of many who recognize the need of straying from beaten paths if necessary, to draw the attention, by force of the unique and satisfying, from the hardening and depressing commercialism of the time. Miss Wheelan has been one of those who recognize the power and utility of things interesting and pleasing to the eye, and while the particular groove in which she accomplishes her mission is not original with herself, she is nevertheless the first to manufac- ture and introduce art work in burnt leather to the residents of Santa Barbara, and her studio opposite the Arlington on State street has samples galore of the best possible procurable effects in this now justly popular and much de- manded novelty. It is doubtful if any in the country have attained to higher excellence along this line, or meet with a more gratifying appre- ciation. Under Miss Wheelan's skillful man- agement a wholesale as well as retail business is carried on, and her productions are in demand from one end of the state to the other. This is a particularly creditable and worthy showing, as it was as late as 1898 before the artistic pro- ject was formulated and put into execution.

The family to which Miss Wheelan belongs on both sides were prominently connected with the city and surrounding country of New Or- leans, La., to which region her father, Hon. Peter Wheelan, emigrated from Ireland with his parents when nineteen years of age. He was there engaged in the foundry and machine business, but in 1850 came to California, via Pan- ama, and was for several years interested in min- ing. To a helpful extent he was instrumental in starting some entirely new enterprises in the west, and among his other accomplishments was the putting up of the Alta Press, and the erec- tion of the Wheelan Flour Mills, the first manu- facturing flour mill in San Francisco. He is now with the Southern Pacific Milling Company, of San Francisco. As a stanch and uncompromis- ing Democrat, he has held several responsible political positions, among others being those of supervisor and state legislator, the latter office having been held for two terms.

On the maternal side Miss Wheelan is of Ger-

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man descent and is by inheritance connected with the aristocracy and nobility of the empire. Her mother, Catherine Frances Baker, was born in New Orleans, a daughter of John Henry Baker, a large planter of Louisiana, and who came to California in 1856. They located on and named Baker's Beach, where Jolin Henry Baker farmed one hundred and eighteen acres of land until the latter part of 1856. Mrs. Wheelan's grand- mother was a Von Sitler, wife of Count Von Sit- ler, a man of many millions, and a most eccen- tric nobleman. A firm adherent of the Catholic faith, he would brook no departure from his be- lief on the part of any member of his family, and when his sons disregarded his wishes and followed the leadings of conscience to the Prot- estant church, he retaliated by loaning all of his money to the German government for ninety- nine years. The time limit of the loan expired in 1856, and, the baron's vengeance accomp- lished, steps are now being taken to divide the property among the rightful heirs, of whom Miss Wheelan is one. Mrs. Wheelan did not live to profit by the distribution of the baronial gold, but died in Santa Barbara in 1893, leaving two children, of whom Miss Naomi is the younger, the son being F. H. Wheelan.

A native of San Francisco, Miss Wheelan is a graduate of the Mills Seminary, and in 1890 came to Santa Barbara with her mother, and bought a ranch of twelve acres in Montecito, known as the Casa del Mar, or House by the Sea, which still remains in her possession. In 1898 she started in the burnt leather industry, since which has followed her fine and uninter- rupted success. Miss Wheelan has hosts of friends in Santa Barbara, and possesses the fac- ulty of making and retaining friendships wher- ever she might elect to live.

HON. B. T. WILLIAMS. So long ago that no record has been kept of his emigration, an ancestor named Williams departed from the liome of his forefathers in Wales and, it is sup- posed, settled in Virginia. When the yoke of English tyranny became intolerable to the col- onists, some of his descendants bravely shoul- dered the musket and followed the martial for- tunes of Washington through Valley Forge and the Revolutionary war. The great-grandfather, Thomas, went from Virginia to Kentucky with Daniel Boone, and in the Blue Grass state the paternal grandfather, another Thomas, was born, and eventually married Nancy Boone, a niece of the great Indian fighter. The grand- father, Thomas, was one of the foremost early educators of Kentucky, and for more than thirty years held the chair of mathematics in the Uni- versity of Kentucky. He was a graduate of the College of Virginia, and thirteen of his sons graduated from the Kentucky institution which so profited by his years of tireless service.

Dr. J. S. Williams, the father of Judge Wil- liams, was born in Pemberton county, Ky., and received his general and medical education in the University of Kentucky. He subsequently located in Chillicothe, Mo., and in Scotland county, that state, married Amanda M. Down- ing, a native of Virginia, and daughter of Henry Downing of Virginia, one of the early settlers of Scotland county. He continued his medical practice in Missouri until 1853, when, with his wife and six children, of whom Judge Williams was the youngest, he came overland to Califor- nia with ox teams, via the Platte and Humboldt route, to Placerville, and located in Santa Rosa, Sonoma county. He worked up a good practice in the west, and was equally successful in Santa Rosa and in San Diego to which he removed in 1869, and where his death occurred in 1880, at the age of seventy years. His wife, who was the mother of seven children, four of whom are liv- ing, died in Santa Barbara in 1898. Of the two sons born to her, William Thomas attained to distinction as a member of the California bar, was ex-district attorney of Santa Barbara, and was said to be the most lucid and forceful prose- cutor that Los Angeles county has known. His professional services in California covered a per- iod of thirty-four years, and his death occurred in July of 1900, while still maintaining his office of assistant district attorney of Los Angeles county. Of the daughters of the Williams fam- ily three are living in California and one resides in Texas.

Judge Williams was born in Mount Vernon, Mo., December 25, 1850, and was educated in the public schools and graduated from the academy of Santa Rosa. His preliminary knowledge of law was acquired in the office of Judge William Ross, of Santa Rosa, and he was admitted to the bar in Sacramento in 1871. As the first prac- ticing lawyer in Ventura, he sprang into rapid prominence, and in 1873 was elected district at- torney, and re-elected in 1875, after which he resumed a general practice. In 1884 he was elected judge of the superior court of Ventura county, his re-election following in 1890 and in 1896, the opposing Democratic party failing to make any nomination against him. Possessed of a clear-cut logical mind, stored with the most exhaustive legal lore, he has impressed his prac- tical erudition upon the law history of this coun- ty, and has gained a reputation for equitable rul- ings, just decisions, and a thorough adaptation to the requirements and amenities of a great pro- fession. Not less impressive than his mental acquirements is a physical development the har- monious proportions of which carry out the Greek idea of reflection between the material and the intellectual, a blending of forces, neither of which is overshadowed by the other. Six feet six inches in height, and weighing nearly three hundred pounds, he is an expres-

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sion of health, correct living, and high think- ing, and withal one of the most genial and ap- proachable of gentlemen.

The delightful home of Judge Williams is graciously presided over by Mrs. Williams, whom he married in Santa Barbara, and who was formerly Irene Parsons, a native of San José, and daughter of Jacob Parsons, who came from Illinois to California during the days of 1849. Mrs. Williams is a graduate of the San José Normal, and has engaged in extended edu- cational work. Of the children born to Judge and Mrs. Williams five are now living: John T., who is a graduate of the Hastings Law School and is now practicing in San Francisco; Irene, who is a graduate of the Los Angeles Nor- mal, class of 1901, and now engaged in teach- ing; Paul, Kate, and Benneta. Judge Williams became a Mason in Los Angeles, and is now a member and past master of Ventura Lodge No. 214, and Chapter No. 50, R. A. M. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, and the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks.

P. J. WILSON. Were any additional proof necessary to convince the citizens of Los An- geles of the large hearted and disinterested en- terprise which animates the career of Mr. Wil- son, it would be readily found in his splendid service to the city as supervisor of the fourth dis- trict. Since he assuined control of his office in January of 1901, subsequent to his election on the Republican ticket in the fall of 1900, after a hard fight with five other candidates, and an overwhelming majority of twelve hundred, he has steadily advanced the best interests of his district, and is constantly improving upon pre- vious methods of management. Foremost among the noticeable advancements is his idea of oil sprinkling of the roads, the patent sprink- ler for the same owing its origin to the invent- ive talent of himself and J. W. Earle. The ma- chine is operated something like the regulation water sprinkler, water being substituted by the inore lasting and satisfactory oil, and the roads the following day are gone over with the harrow. This process is continued during April, May and June, and the results have more than justi- fied the expectations of the promoters of the innovation. As chairman of the county farm committee, he has devoted his administration to saving the county money, and to placing it where the best possible results may be achieved. In other ways also Mr. Wilson has served the Re- publican party, and he has been a delegate to various conventions ever since he came to Cali- fornia, and is an ex-member of the county com- mittee. As a politician of the broad and liberal sort, he has never used as a means of personal advancement at the expense of public interest, the various offices to which his ability has called

him, and he enjoys to an exceptional degree the confidence of the community at large.

A native of Caledonia, Columbia county, Wis., Mr. Wilson was born January 26, 1859, and is a son of James Wilson, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and came to America with his father, another James, who located in Decorah, Colum- bia county, Wis. The grandfather Wilson is re- membered as one of the most helpful and earn- est of the Wisconsin pioneers, who unflinchingly faced the dangers and vicissitudes of the forests, in the midst of which he hewed himself a farm and reared a family to years of usefulness and success. On Tolan creek, on the old state plank road, he built and managed the Wilson hotel, long one of the hospitable inns in the then wild country. The latter years of his life, however, were spent in comparative retirement at Poy- nette, Wis., where his death occurred. James Wilson, the father of P. J., was a very promi- nent man in Wisconsin, the greater part of his life being spent in the vicinity of Lodi, where he had a large farm and raised short-horn cat- tle, and engaged in general farming. The last four years of his life were spent in California, although his death occurred in Wisconsin June 7, 1900, while on a visit to the former scene of his activity. He was a Presbyterian in religion, and a man of extended moral influence in the business walks of life. As a Republican he took an active interest in the party undertakings of his neighborhood and for sixteen consecutive years was commissioner of Columbia county, and chairman all of that time. He married Isa- bella Mckenzie, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, a daughter of Peter Mckenzie, one of the early settlers of Decorah, Wis., where he died at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, who died in 1888, was the mother of four sons and three daughters, four of whom are now living: James P., who is an attorney at Leadville, S. D .; P. J .; S. W., who is with the United Wholesale Grocery Company of Los Angeles; and W. J., who has charge of P. J.'s mercantile business.

Mr. Wilson was educated at the public schools of Lodi, Wis., and after graduating from the high school, assisted his father in the manage- ment of the home farm. At the time he was the oldest child at home, and he remained there until his removal to California in 1884, being the first of the family to come west. In Los Angeles he secured a position as foreman of the Park Station warehouse, and was subsequently superintendent of the same for six years, a po- sition which he resigned to engage in the mer- cantile business at what was then Park, but which is now University Station, at the junction of Vermont and McClintock streets. Here he built the first store in the neighborhood and started the general merchandise business in which he has since been engaged. He also built a residence at the point, and at the time there was

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uut one car line running there, an old horse car making a leisurely trip about once an hour. The locality is now visited by three of the best lines in the city, and general business activity has cor- respondingly increased. He also became inter- ested in starting the Union public schools, and was one of the first board of trustees who se- cured the erection of the eight-room house, which marked the beginning of what is now the banner district of the city.

In Los Angeles Mr. Wilson married Carrie M. Barrows, who was born in Connecticut, and is a daughter of J. A. Barrows, one of the pio- neer hardware merchants of Los Angeles, and at present retired. Mrs. Barrows, who was edu- cated in Los Angeles, is the mother of two chil- dren, Hazel J. and Juanita.

J. SALTER. It was the privilege of Mr. Sal- ter to spend his boyhood years upon the Isle of Wight, where he was born. Thus he had the advantage of a climate and scenery scarcely surpassed by California itself. Indeed, within the very narrow limits of the island he found all kinds of scenery in miniature, with an en- vironment so attractive that it remained, until her death, the favorite home of Queen Victoria. Born in 1852, he was twelve years of age when apprenticed to the builder's trade, and under the supervision of expert masters acquired a thorough knowledge of stonemason work and carpentering. Seven years were spent as an ap- prentice, at the expiration of which time he was qualified to engage at the trade for himself, and accordingly proceeded to London, where he remained about three years. Returning to his native island, he took up contracting and build- ing. However, the island was too small to afford constant employment of the nature he desired, and he therefore determined to seek work in the United States. During 1888 he crossed the ocean to New York and the conti- nent to California, settling in Pasadena.

As is generally known, the boom had faded at that time and the reaction that set in threw hun- dreds out of work, crippling business of all kinds. Around Pasadena alone five hundred men were idle, anxious for work of any kind. It seems, therefore, under these circumstances, remarkably fortunate that Mr. Salter was able to sccure employment within two weeks after his arrival, and it is surely noteworthy that from that time to the present he has been kept stead- ily busy at contracting in general mason work. Among the contracts he has filled may be men- tioned those for the Gill and Iver houses, and the residences of Walter Watkins and Mrs. James Smith. Giving his attention closely to his chosen occupation, he finds no time for participation in politics, and is not connected with any fraternal organizations except the Woodmen of the World. In religious views he

is a Presbyterian. The residence which he built on Waverly Drive is presided over by Mrs. Sal- ter, who was Miss Hannah Jane Harvey, a na- tive of the Isle of Wight. They have two daugh- ters: Mrs. Ellen Jane Tyler, of Pasadena: and Kate Anne, who is at home

GEORGE M. WILLIAMS. The six hun- dred acres of land owned by that enterprising agriculturist, George M. Williams, has been utilized by him in about all of the ways possible in this wonderful part of the state. His un- doubted success and land holdings are quite re- markable when it is known that he started with practically nothing but a supply of inexhaustible grit and determination, and patiently awaited the reward of his labors. His property is distribu- ted in different parts of the county, at Goleta and elsewhere, one hundred acres comprising the home place near Santa Barbara. The or- chard contains one hundred and fifty acres, and here are raised apricots, peaches, walnuts, be- sides a vineyard which covers twelve acres. He has a fine house. and a barn 58x70 feet in di- mensions, and all modern improvements aid in the carrying on of his enterprises. On one of his farms north of Goleta irrigation is accomp- lished from an exhaustless spring, that in win- ter and summer continues to pour forth its crys- tal clear water. The situation of the farm three miles from town is convenient, as Mr. Williams markets all of his fruit and garden truck at Santa Barbara. He makes a specialty of beans, of which he has a uniformly excellent crop.

In 1872, in Santa Barbara, Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Eliza Towne, a native of California, and of this union the following children were born: Georgie, Mary, Fannie, Birdie, Edith, James G., and Charles. Mr. Wil- liams votes with the Democratic party, but he believes in voting for the best men and meas- ures regardless of party. He is fraternally associated with the Masons at Santa Barbara. with the Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Pro - tective Order of Elks.

ROYAL WISWELL. So long ago that no authentic record has been kept of their emigra- tion, the Wiswell family settled in Vermont, where was born the paternal great-grandfather, Samnel, who courageously espoused the cause of the colonists and bravely fought for their release from British tyranny. The son of the Revolutionary hero. the paternal grandfather. was also born in Vermont, as was John Wis- well, the father, who married Ada Willard.

The earliest youth of Royal Wiswell was spent in southern Vermont, where he was born September 2, 1815. He was reared on his father's farm on the Connecticut river, and at- tended the early subscription schools. In 1839 lie removed with his mother and the rest of

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the family to Illinois, locating in Knox county, where the mother died in Galesburg at the ad- vanced age of ninety-nine years and fourteen days. After his mother's death, Mr. Wiswell became a farmer in Warren county, and ex- tensively raised stock and general produce. In the fall of 1879 he left the farm in charge of his son and removed to Galesburg, where he lived in practical retirement. In the spring of 1886 he decided to benefit by the splendid cli- mate of California, and after a few years of resi- dence in Carpinteria located on a small ranch of thirteen acres near by, which has since been his home. Though not engaged in business af- fairs, he attends to the management of his ranch, which is well improved and put out in walnuts and general fruits. He has erected a beautiful home, and enjoys to the fullest extent his horticultural pursuits, and the peaceful suc- cess which is his after years of anxious toil.

In 1844 Mr. Wiswell married Julia Burgess, who died in 1864, leaving five children, three of whom are living: Ada, who is the wife of Ray Boydston; Newell, who is a farmer in Kansas; and Rose, who is the wife of Zac Lescher. The second wife of Mr. Wiswell was formerly Mrs. Sarah (Wood) Moore, who died after coming to California. In 1890 Mr. Wis- well married Mrs. Malinda (Burton) Kelly, who, through her marriage with Mr. Kelly, had nine children, of whom Mrs. Elizabeth Sutton re- sides in Summerland and William Kelly in Car- pinteria. In politics Mr. Wiswell is a Repub- lican, but has never desired official recognition.

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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 98

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