USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume II > Part 15
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Daniel W. Standlee acquired his early education in the public schools of Arkansas. He was twenty years of age when he came across the plains. They had no trouble with the Indians, and the trip was eventful only because of the routine of hardship inseparable from
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such a mode of traveling. Soon after his arrival Mr. Standlee married Miss Mollie Stewart. They were married in her father's old home, adjacent to her present residence. Mrs. Standlee is a native of Texas, and her father, James Stewart, a native of Tennessee, served with a Texas Cavalry Company in the Southern Army. On coming to Cali- fornia in 1869 he also purchased land near Rivera, and lived there during his active career, finally retiring to Los Angeles, where he died in 1901.
About the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Standlee bought twenty-six acres near Rivera. In addition to the five acre tract at Santa Fe Springs they own and farm sixteen acres near Rivera. This home place is only two miles from the Santa Fe Springs oil field, and geologists who have examined the ground claim that it is in the same anticlinal fold and has therefore prospects of rich oil resources under- neath. Land still further away than this has been leased by the large interests and is being held for future development.
Mr. Standlee has been a member of the Ranchito Walnut Growers Association since its organization. Most of his farm is planted to walnuts, with some deciduous fruits. His hard work and enterprise long ago placed him in the class of the most substantial inen of this community. He has never sought public office, votes as a democrat, and he and Mrs. Standlee are members of the Presbyterian Church.
Of the six children born to their marriage five are living. Odessa died in 1892, at the age of twenty. James, now in the life insurance business at Los Angeles, married Lizzie Hersey, and their three daughters are Gean Althea, Theresa and Dorothy. De Mirt, a butcher at Whittier, married Gertie Belchie and has two daughters, Erma and Vivien. Annie is the wife of W. W. Crawford, a farmer of the Downey District, and they have a daughter, Nena May. Earl was in the cigar business at Whittier, but sold his interests there recently. He married Marie Taylor. Nina, the youngest child, married B. J. Martin, of Long Beach, and is the mother of a son, Standlee Martin.
ALBERT P. FILLPOT. In point of time the passage of sixteen years is a short interval, but under right conditions and able management it has sufficed to transform a hamlet drowsing in its native growth of wild mustard into a busy, beautiful little city of California, urban in appear- ance and with all the advantages, comforts and facilities that accompany cultured modern life. This transformation has been witnessed at Whittier by one who has been deeply interested, Albert P. Fillpot, who has long been one of the leading real estate dealers here.
Albert P. Fillpot is an enthusiastic Californian, but he is not a native son. He was born in Iowa, May 6, 1863. His parents were Charles B. and Keziah (Dodson) Fillpot, both of whom were born and died in Mis- souri. His paternal grandfather came to this country from Scotland, and his mother's people came from Ireland and one of her ancestors served in the Revolutionary war. His father was a soldier in the Union Army in the Civil war until his eyesight failed, when he was discharged and returned to his farm.
Until he was fifteen years old Albert P. Fillpot remained on the home farm and attended the public schools, but then, led by a boy's love of adven- ture, he made his way to Idaho, where for three years he was a range rider on the Snake River. It was a wild region at that time, and no moving picture drama could depict to the boys of today the real dangers and thrilling experiences that Mr. Fillpot met with there. He returned then to Missouri, and during the next six years was engaged in the mercantile business at different points, having interests at Sheldon, Jerico, Greenfield and Cameron. It was in 1887 that Mr. Fillpot first came to California, and he located on a ranch near Downey in Los Angeles County, also buying property at Rivera and embarking in the stock and dairy business, and
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during the next three years made a daily trip to Los Angeles to serve his customers with milk.
In 1890 Mr. Fillpot went back to Missouri and resumed merchandising, but he had not forgotten California, and in 1906 he returned to Los Angeles County and took up his residence at Whittier, where he became one of the early business men and conducted a grocery store for many years afterward. With business vision he recognized the future possibili- ties of this section, immediately became interested in handling real estate, and has so continued ever since. In 1908 he took a desert claim of 160 acres situated at Hinkley, northwest of Barstow, in San Bernardino County, where he developed water and raised alfalfa and deciduous fruits with great success, and finally sold the property for $28,000. At the present time he has valuable property interests at Whittier, and owns also an eight- acre lemon grove at North Whittier Heights. As an individual realtor he has in the past sixteen years handled an immense amount of property both at Whittier and in the county, and has continued equally active since forin- ing a partnership with Roy A. Barr, the firm style being Barr & Fillpot. Like many others who came to California thirty-five years ago, Mr. Fillpot endured some of the hardships of pioneering, but he has never lost interest in Los Angeles County and believes that no section of the United States offers more attractions for a home or more possibilities for legitimate busi- ness enterprises.
Mr. Fillpot married in Missouri, September 1, 1883, Miss Alma H. Holder, who was born in Missouri, a daughter of Martin Holder, who died in 1888, a Union veteran of the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Fillpot have two daughters : Pearly, who is the wife of K. C. Davis, with the Standard Oil Company at Whittier, and they have three daughters, Dorothy, Gladys and Phyllis ; and Beulah, who is the wife of Oval Redman, a rancher near Whittier, and they have one daughter, Bettie.
Mr. Fillpot has been a consistent democrat all his life, although, as he humorously relates, his father-in-law, who was a strong republican and quite an influential man, made many efforts to change his political views. These efforts were without effect, however, and while in Missouri he was a prominent factor in county politics for years, serving as a member of the County Democratic Central Committee, and frequently as a delegate to both county and state conventions.
FRED W. HADLEY is a prominent banker of Whittier, and through his financial connections and enterprise has been one of the leading factors in the development of the city and vicinity, particularly in the great productive resources of this region.
Two generations of the Hadley family have been recognized leaders in banking. His father, the late Albert Hadley, devoted his entire active life to banking, and was an authority on financial matters. A native of Indiana, he began his banking experience at Rockville, that state, in 1864. Later he was in the banking business at Lawrence, Kansas, and in 1889 came to California. He was assistant cashier and then cashier of the National Bank of California at Los Angeles. At Whittier he served suc- cessively as cashier, vice-president and at the time of his death was president of the First National Bank of Whittier. Albert Hadley married Mary Brown, of German ancestry and a native of New York State.
Fred W. Hadley was born July 1, 1874, while his parents resided at Lawrence, Kansas. He attended public school there, and on leaving Kansas he worked for a year with a mortgage firm in Denver, Colorado. Then coming to Los Angeles, he attended high school in that city, and took a course in Whittier College. He left college to become collector for the National Bank of California at Los Angeles, and while with that institu- tion was advanced to bookkeeper and then to paying teller. Mr. Hadley has been a Whittier banker since 1903. He was first bookkeeper for the First National Bank, then assistant cashier, then cashier and since 1911 has been president.
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The other important interests through which he exercises large influ- ence in the affairs of this section of Los Angeles County are the Whittier Savings Bank, the Hadley Ranch Company, the Murphy Land Memorial Hospital, the Southern Counties Gas Company and the Whittier Home Telephone Company, in all of which he is a director. The Hadley Ranch Company, of which he is one of the owners, has three hundred and seventy acres on the Rivera-Downey Road. One hundred and twenty-five acres of this land are planted in valencia oranges, one hundred and eighty acres in walnuts, and the rest is bottom and pasture lands. Mr. Hadley also owns a lemon grove in San Fernando.
He is a member of the Whittier Walnut Growers' Association and the El Ranchito Citrus Association of Rivera. During the World war he acted as chairman of three of the Liberty Loan drives at Whittier. Mr. Hadley is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge of Whittier and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Los Angeles and is a republican.
February 27, 1904, at Los Angeles, he married Miss Mabel Wees, a native of Canada and daughter of the late Charles Wees. They have one son, Frederick Norman Hadley.
EDWARD A. GIBBS was a young man at the time when he established his home in the City of Los Angeles, in 1881, and here he passed the remainder of his life, secure in the high esteem of all who knew him. He was skilled in his profession as a lawyer and also in that of engineer, both vocations having received his attention within the period of his resi- dence in Los Angeles. He was for many years connected with the engi- neering department of the city government, and also served as a member of the City Council.
Mr. Gibbs was born in the State of Iowa, in 1853, a date that shows that his parents were pioneer settlers in that commonwealth, where his father was long and prominently identified with the lumber business. Edward A. Gibbs graduated from the Iowa Wesleyan College, where he took courses in both the engineering and law departments. For several years he was engaged in the practice of law in the City of Chicago, and in 1881 he came to Los Angeles, where he engaged in the practice of law and became prominently identified with local politics. In 1887 he was elected representative of the old First Ward in the City Council, his retirement occurring after he had completed one term. He thereafter continued his law practice until the condition of his health made it imperative for him to . find occupation that would give him a measure of outdoor work. He thus resumed engineering work, he having previously been, in 1887-8, con- nected with the city engineering department. He became deputy city engi- neer in January, 1898, and he retained this position until about seven months prior to his death, which occurred October 31, 1921. All legal matters pertaining to this department were assigned to his jurisdiction, and in his death the city lost an able, loyal, valued and honored official. In token of respect for him the city hall was closed for the period of his funeral, which was attended by representatives of the various departments of the city government. The Board of Public Works and the City Council both sent to the bereaved family engraved memorials in expression of regard, affection and appreciation of the deceased. The death of Mr. Gibbs occurred at his home, 1932 Lovelace Street, where his widow and children still reside. Mr. Gibbs was a republican in political allegiance, and his religious faith was that of the Catholic Church, of which he was an earnest communicant and a member of St. Vincent's Church.
On the 29th of August, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gibbs and Miss Eloisa Martinez, who was born and reared in Los Angeles and who is a daughter of the late Louis Martinez, an honored pioneer of this state and an early member of the City Council of Los Angeles. Besides his widow Mr. Gibbs is survived by five sons, all of whom still reside in Los Angeles: Edward A., Robert A., Arthur W., Carl P. and George L. Edward A. is engaged in the fire-insurance business, with
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offices in the Citizens National Bank Building ; Robert A. is a member of the firm of Wilson & Gibbs, produce dealers; Arthur W. is an engineer employed by the city government ; Carl I'., a graduate in mechanical engi- neering, is an electrician by occupation; and George L. is, in 1922, a stu- dent in the Polytechnic High School.
FRED C. NELLES has made a splendid record in his administration as superintendent of the Whittier State School at Whittier. His able and progressive policies have brought to this school high reputation as one of the model institutions of its kind in the United States.
Mr. Nelles was born in the City of London, Province of Ontario, Canada, on the 23d of September, 1873, and is a scion of a family whose lineage traces back to Scotland, some representatives settling in Canada and others in the State of New York. He whose name initiates this review is a son of the late Henry E. and Annie H. (Browne) Nelles, the former a native of Ontario, Canada, and the latter of Scotland. Henry E. Nelles was a banker-a man of prominence and influence in connection with busi- ness and civic affairs in Ontario, Canada. Both he and his wife were residents of California at the time of their deaths, they having come to this state in 1895 and he having engaged in the practice of law at San Diego.
After coming to California Mr. Nelles spent some time in citrus fruit culture in San Diego County. Later he moved to Los Angeles, where he was identified with the manufacture and sale of power machinery. He organized and was president of the Gas Power Machinery Company. After selling his interest in this industrial enterprise Mr. Nelles, in March, 1912, became superintendent of the Whittier State School, an office of which he has since continued the efficient and valued incumbent. In consonance with a request made by the president of the Board of Trustees of the institution, Mr. Nelles made a preliminary survey of conditions and require- ments, and thereafter made a report in which he offered recommendations relative to new policies of management. Three months later he was invited by the governor of the state to become a member of the Board of Control in charge of the state institutions, with the purpose of initiating at other state institutions the same policies of management which he had suggested for the school at Whittier. Shortly afterward conditions at the Whittier State School became unsatisfactory, and it was contended that Mr. Nelles' policy was impractical and could not be made successfully operative, owing to its super-idealism. Mr. Nelles then requested the governor of the state to release him from the Board of Control and to place him in active charge of the school until he could demonstrate in a practical way that his policy was sound. He estimated that seven years would be required for the fruition of this demonstration, and as he has recently completed ten years of service as superintendent of the institution no further voucher is needed to determine the enduring value and practical working efficiency of the policies which he advocated and adopted. The old idea was that boys needed punishment and that only a small percentage could respond to other corrective measures. Mr. Nelles took the ground that it was a problem in education and that there was need for scientific research in underlying causes, and that changes should be worked out on a scientific basis, psycho- logical and practical. In consonance with his policy the congregate system at the Whittier school was transformed into the cottage system, with . emphasis on home life and atmosphere. Opportunity and proper provision were made for trade training, in order to give the boys an earning capacity in the open market. The response on the seven years' test shows that seventy-seven per cent of the boys thus trained at Whittier are more than holding their own since leaving the institution. Here Mr. Nelles has main- tained discipline but no distinctive punishment, the old background of which was the fear of physical pain. Mr. Nelles has proved successful in developing the normal nature and activities of the boys in his charge, and has substituted for the form of punishment previously employed a system
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of loss of privileges. His executive policies represent the finest humane ideals and work to the making of useful citizens of boys whose energies have been misdirected and who need help rather than punishment.
While a resident of Los Angeles Mr. Nelles was a director of the good-government organization, director of the City Club and otherwise active in civic affairs. His basic Masonic affiliation is with California Lodge No. 278, A. F. and A. M., of Los Angeles, and he is a member also of Whittier Commandery No. 51, Knights Templar. He is a director of the Whittier Chamber of Commerce, and in connection with a special post- graduate course at Leland Stanford University he there became affiliated with the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity. At Whittier he is a member of the Hacienda Country Club.
Mr. Nelles has been a deep student of civic and sociological problems and conditions, and is actively identified with a number of important national organizations, including the American Sociological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Social and Political Science, and the National Eugenics Research Associa- tion. He is a member also of the California Society of Mental Hygiene, the California Psycopathic Association, is a member of the advisory committee of the Parents-Teachers' Association and a Boy Scout executive. He is a bachelor, and at Whittier reside also his two sisters, Misses Elizabeth and Cora Nelles.
DAVID H. WHITE. In the conducting of his representative business as an undertaker and funeral director in the City of Whittier Mr. White now utilizes the modern and handsomely appointed building which he erected for the purpose at 401 East Philadelphia Street.
Mr. White was born in Jasper County, Iowa, in the year 1872, and is a son of Addison and Eliza (Holloway) White, both of whom were born in the State of Indiana, the lineage of both tracing back to English origin. The original American representatives of the White family came from England and settled in North Carolina prior to the War of the Revolution. Addison White was for a long term of years successfully established in the furniture and undertaking business at New Sharon, Iowa, where he remained until 1894, when he came with his family to California and engaged in the same line of business at Whittier. He was one of the hon- ored citizens and representative business men of this place at the time of his death, and here his widow died in the year 1916.
David H. White continued his studies in the Iowa public schools until his graduation from the New Sharon High School as a member of the class of 1887, and thereafter he pursued a course of higher study in Penn College at Oskaloosa. Upon the establishing of the family home in Cali- fornia he became associated with his father in the furniture and under- taking business at Whittier, and after the death of his father he individually continued the industry. After the death of his mother he sold the furniture department, and has since given his attention exclusively to the undertaking business, in which his establishment and its facilities and service are of the best modern standard. Mr. White is a director of the Community Bank of Whittier, and is the owner of a well improved citrus fruit grove near his home city.
In 1897, at Whittier, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. White and Miss Grace Hodgin, who likewise was born in the State of Iowa. The children of this union are three in number, and at the time of this writing, in 1922, all are attending the schools of Whittier.
FRANK A. FLETCHER. To the late Frank A. Fletcher is due much credit for the present marketing system for the citrus crop in the Whittier District. He was known as a man of great motive power and of broad constructive ideas as well, and it was with sincere regret that all who knew him or had benefited by his presence here learned of his death in 1917.
Frank A. Fletcher was born in Vermont. Before coming to California
bb. Desmond
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he had acquired an extensive business experience. For many years he conducted a harness business at Minneapolis, Minnesota. On coming to Whittier in 1900 he bought fifteen acres in the East Whittier District, ten acres of which were planted to oranges and lemons and the remainder to deciduous fruits. While he found this crop very productive, he was not satisfied with the result obtained in the marketing of the fruit of the Whittier District. Two years after he came he had a conference with his agent in Minneapolis, and then gathered several of his local friends together and organized the Whittier Citrus Association. This has been built up into one of the largest and strongest organizations of its kind in Southern California. What the organization has accomplished is too well known for further review here. The general advertising now being done by this citrus exchange is based on the ideas advanced by Mr. Fletcher, who pointed out the way and the reasons for such expenditure on the part of the organization.
Mr. Fletcher was a veteran Union soldier. He served as a sergeant in the Fifteenth Vermont Infantry, and at the close of hostilities became captain of a company of Vermont State Militia. He was a member of the first high school board of Whittier, and served two terms. He married Carrie A. Bidwell, a native of Massachusetts. He died in August, 1917. They had two daughters and one son. Ruth F. is the wife of Ray Wood- ward, a citrus grower, and the mother of three children, named Grace, Albert and Fred. Edna V., the second daughter, is the wife of Mark Lee, a resident of Eagle Rock and a public accountant in Los Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. Lee have three children also, Bernard, Frank and Olive.
Marcus or Mark E. Fletcher, the only son of the late Frank A. Fletcher, has in a large sense continued the work and influence of his honored father in the Whittier District. He was born in Minneapolis, January 15, 1877. He was educated in the public schools of that city, and for a time was in the hardware business and for a brief period in the drug business. He was a young man of twenty-three when he came with his father to California. Mr. Mark Fletcher now has twenty-five acres in East Whittier, planted to Navals and Valencias. He replaced the deciduous fruits on the five acres acquired by his father with citrus. These groves lie above the frost belt, on the slops of the foothills, and have never failed to return a crop. Mr. Fletcher is a member and has served as a director of the Whittier Citrus Association. He is deeply interested in all matters affecting the interest of Whittier and vicinity, particularly good roads and civic improve- ments. He served two years as a director of the Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Park and Playground Committee of that body. Mr. Fletcher is a member of the Sons of Veterans, the Hacienda Country Club, is affiliated with Whittier Lodge of Masons, and has served on the Repub- lican County Central Committee.
He has one of the very beautiful homes of Whittier, called "Edmaru." At Whittier, June 20, 1911, he married Miss Myrtle King, daughter of Eli and Anna King. Her parents were pioneers of the valley and well known citizens here. Mrs. Fletcher is a member of the East Whittier Women's Club, and has served as its treasurer for two years. She and Mr. Fletcher are members of the Plymouth Congregational Church. They have one son, William, born in 1912, a student in the Whittier schools.
CORNELIUS CHARLES DESMOND was about eight years of age at the time when the family home was established in Los Angeles. Here he was reared and educated, and here he became one of the most thoroughly rep- resentative business men and a citizen of prominence and influence, the while his was ever an inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem.
Mr. Desmond was born at Lawrence, Massachusetts, and was fifty-nine years of age at the time of his death, which occurred December 22, 1920. He was a son of Daniel and Ellen (Daly) Desmond, both natives of Ireland. Daniel Desmond came to the United States in company with his four brothers, and they became the owners of a large factory at Lawrence, Massachusetts. The manufacturing plant was finally destroyed by fire, and
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