USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume II > Part 16
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about 1867 two of the brothers, Daniel and Cornelius, came to California, the former opening a men's hat store in the little town of Los Angeles, and the latter engaging in a similar line of enterprise in San Francisco. The marriage of Daniel Desmond was solemnized in Lawrence, Massa- chusetts, and after he had established his business in Los Angeles his family here joined him. He was one of the venerable and representative citizens of Los Angles at the time of his death, in 1912, and his widow here passed to eternal rest in July, 1921, at the age of eighty-four years. Of their ten children eight attained to maturity, namely: Margaret ( Mrs. C. D. Baker, of Yuma, Arizona), Cornelius Charles (subject of this memoir ), Nellie, Nora, Catharine and Mary (twins), Ann, and Daniel J. Mary is the wife of Alexander Shields, Pacific Coast agent for the Equit- able Life Insurance Company ; Ann owns and conducts the Desmond photographic studio on Hill Street, Los Angeles ; and Daniel J. died in March, 1920. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic Church.
Cornelius C. Desmond was, as previously stated, about eight years old when he became a resident of Los Angeles, and here he attended both St. Vincent College and Santa Clara College. As a youth he became associated with his father's mercantile business, and eventually he expanded the scope of the business to include the handling of general lines of cloth- ing and furnishing goods, and developed the establishment into one of the foremost retail emporiums of the city. This fine store is still con- ducted under his name, and has much of pioneer distinction. Mr. Des- mond was a man of splendid business ability, and possessed the sterling personal characteristics that ever engender popular confidence and good will. He was zealous in charitable and benevolent work, and gave earnest service as president of the local St. Vincent De Paul Society, formed for the purpose of looking after and providing for the poor and those other- wise in distress or misfortune. He was a valued and popular member of the California Club, the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and the Old Country Club, and was a grand knight of the Knights of Columbus. As a zealous communicant of the Catholic Church he held membership in the parish of Los Angeles Cathedral, as does also his widow. He was specially active in relief work for the sufferers in the great San Francisco earthquake and fire, and in the period of the World war he gave loyal and liberal support to the Government war-support agencies.
Long years of close and indefatigable application to business finally brought great impairment in the health of Mr. Desmond, and from 1912 until his death he was virtually an invalid. He made a trip around the world in an effort to recuperate his physical powers, but he bore with char- acteristic fortitude and patience his sufferings and inactivity, and bravely faced the inevitable when he realized that his life was destined to come to a close. In the city which represented his home and the stage of his constructive activities during virtually his entire life, his death, on the 22d of December, 1920, brought a general feeling of loss and sorrow, for none had been more honored in the business and social life of the community.
Mr. Desmond chose as his wife Miss Agnes Dodd, who was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, January 29, 1865, and who was a child of two years at the time of the family removal to the City of Chicago, where she was reared and educated and where she continued to reside until her marriage, she having formed the acquaintance of Mr. Desmond while she was spending a winter in California. Mrs. Desmond still maintains her home in Los Angeles, in the social activities of which city she has played a representative part, she being sustained and comforted by the devotion of her daughter and by the affectionate regard of her wide circle of friends in this city. Of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Desmond the elder is Mary Elizabeth, who is now the wife of J. G. Van Ness Clarke, of Los Angeles, and the younger, Philip Cornelius, died on the 10th of January, 1914.
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In all of the relations of a signally active and useful life Mr. Desmond well upheld the prestige of a family name that has been one of honor and distinction in connection with the civic and business development and progress of Los Angeles, and it is gratifying to be able to present in this publication even a brief tribute to his memory.
JOSEPH A. COLE, one of the most active men in the citrus and walnut growing industry at Whittier, and a solid and influential citizen of this district, has spent practically his whole life in Southern California, although he has experimented with other sections of the country, in every case, how- ever, being called back by the lure of the Golden State. He was born near Downey, California, December 10, 1865, and has devoted his life to the development of an estate which has few equals in the district. A man of vision, he has always recognized the value of Southern California lands and has gradually added to his holdings until he now has about 270 acres, the greater portion of which is planted to citrus or walnut growth. It is difficult for the layman to appreciate the fact that within the span of one man's lifetime values here have increased from a few dollars an acre to a value ranging from $5,000 to $6,000 per acre.
The father of Joseph A. Cole was G. W. Cole. and he and his wife, Olive M. (Chilson) Cole, pioneers of the valley, took a determining part in the growth and development of this region. A sketch of their lives is given elsewhere in this volume, together with the biography of their son, C. E. Cole, a brother of Joseph A. Cole.
Joseph A. Cole received his educational training in the little adobe school of Los Nietos, and as soon as he was old enough he engaged in ranching on the tracts owned by his father. When he reached his majority he was given forty acres by his father, and on this land he set out walnuts. With this as a nucleus he has built up his present magnificent estate, adding by purchase and inheritance until he now has 100 acres on Kings Lane, which is practically the old Cole homestead; 125 acres in North Whittier, which is above the frost line, and is also in the oil district, and which he has planted to oranges and lemons. The "freeze" of 1922 did not affect this crop. He also has twenty acres of valencias at La Habra, and twenty acres of hay south of the Leffingwell ranch. As this is also high ground, oil may be developed. In the 100 acres of the old homestead he has about sixty acres in the old walnut grove, twenty acres in budded walnuts, and the remainder in alfalfa and corn, but will eventually put this in walnuts. He is bringing back the fertility of the soil with alfalfa crops. The home place is half a mile from producing oil wells, and all land has been leased up to his lines.
Although Mr. Cole has devoted himself to the care and cultivation of his holdings in this district, he has not done so to the entire exclusion of other interests, for he has traveled extensively in this country and had some very interesting experiences. For a time he took up mining and prospecting as his occupation, and worked in the Loop Mine near Con- conully, Washington, and in the Golden West in British Columbia. That was in 1889, when that part of the country was still the "wild and woolly West," and men could spend days on the trail without encountering a human being. In that region all kinds of game abounded, and it was a hunter's paradise, that has since been destroyed by the onward march of civilization. The men of the hills in those days killed for meat and not for sport, and the sight of a band of deer was not the signal for senseless slaughtering. It was the day when "squawmen" were numerous and good fellowship prevailed. The ties formed in these natural surroundings were so strong that many who sought to sever them and returned to the more civilized haunts of men found that they could not be content in their Eastern homes and returned to their beloved West once more. Mr. Cole was also profitably engaged in the cattle business in Arizona, but always went back to California, which, after all, he feels is the "garden spot of the world."
Not only has he been active in the development of his personal interests,
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but has borne his part in the advancement of the district, and is a member of La Habra and North Whittier Heights Citrus Associations, is a director of the Whittier Walnut Association, the Whittier National Bank and the Whittier Ice and Cold Storage Company. Through his efforts as president and a director of the Banta Ditch Company, the water supply of this region has been materially bettered. He is an active and honored member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Hacienda Country Club. A republican, he is very active in local politics, and a loyal supporter of party measures and candidates. During the Spanish-American war he was one of the organizers of the Home Guards, and he took a patriotic part in the war work during the late war.
On November 29, 1894, Mr. Cole married Miss Nola Landreth, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Thomas Landreth, now deceased, who came to California when Mrs. Cole was a child. The Landreth family comes of Revolutionary stock and English descent. Mrs. Cole is a member of the Whittier and East Whittier Woman's Clubs, and is active in these organizations. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have two sons, namely: Roy Kenneth and Cawthern Chester, the latter a student of Pomona College, class of 1924. Roy Kenneth Cole is a graduate of Whittier High School and Pomona College, and was an officer of the military department of the last named institution. He also had one year at Cornell University. At present he is assisting his father on the ranches. During the late war he enlisted in the tank division of the service, but the armistice was signed before he was called to the colors.
WALTER G. RICH is an engineer and an expert on practically every phase of gas production and distribution, and for a number of years has been a popular citizen of Whittier, where he has his headquarters as dis- trict manager for the Southern Counties Gas Company.
Mr. Rich was born in Salem, Massachusetts, November 4, 1881. His father, Charles O. Rich, was born in Massachusetts, of Revolutionary and English descent, came to California in 1887, and is now living at Ingle- wood, California. His business is that of an interior decorator. The mother, Hannah M. Banks, was born in Maine, of Irish descent, and is now deceased.
Walter G. Rich was six years of age when brought to California, and he acquired his early education in the schools of Glendale and the high school at Los Angeles. He prepared himself for life by learning the mechanical trade of plumber, and he worked at that trade in Los Angeles for four years. Leaving that, he joined the Los Angeles Gas Company, and served in all its departments until he was thoroughly familiar with every feature involved in the production and distribution of gas. He con- tinued in the service of the Los Angeles Gas Company from 1904 to 1910. In the latter year he was called to Mexico City, Mexico, as manager for the Mexican National Gas Company. In this capacity he manufactured the first artificial gas ever made and used for domestic purposes in the republic of Mexico. After about seven months, however, he returned to the United States on account of the Diaz revolution. Following this expe- rience in old Mexico Mr. Rich was safety inspector for the Los Angeles Gas Company during 1911-12. Since the latter year he has been in the service of the Southern Counties Gas Company, acting as district manager at Orange during 1912-13, and since 1913 has been district manager at Whittier. This company gets its supplies from all the oil fields east of Los Angeles, and the supply and outlet are better at this writing than ever in the history of the gas fields in Southern California. The gas for dis- tribution and domestic use is received direct from the refineries and delivered dry, with all the gasoline and moisture taken out.
Although only seventeen years of age at the time, Mr. Rich enlisted during the Spanish-American war in 1898 in Troop D of the Los Angeles Cavalry. However, the troops never reached the lines of active service, and he was given a discharge at the close of the war. Mr. Rich is affiliated
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with the Elks Lodge of Whittier, the Chamber of Commerce, and has in- terested himself in community affairs, being one of the popular citizens of this locality.
November 11, 1902, at Los Angeles, Mr. Rich married Miss Gertrude Florence Kennedy, who was born in Los Angeles and is of Irish ancestry. Her father, Thomas Kennedy, is associated with the Perry Lumber Com- pany of Los Angeles. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Rich are: Elsie Helen, member of the class of 1926 in the Whittier High School, Wilmer E. and Melville C., both attending grammar school.
JOHN CARDEN. Orange growing is an industry that in California yields generous returns on the investment of time and money, and at the same time enables the one engaged in it to enjoy life in the midst of ideal surround- ings. Some of the most valuable groves of Southern California are to be found in Los Angeles County, and their owners are men who have been attracted to the Golden State by the remarkable opportunities here offered. However, none of them have attained to wealth without displaying energy and initiative, for in this industry, as in all others, much effort must be exerted to obtain good results. One of the men who is now enjoying a well- merited prosperity from the handsome yield of his fine grove is John Carden of Whittier.
John Carden was born in Ohio, June 17, 1849, a son of John and Mary Cornic Carden, both natives of Ohio. The father, now deceased, was a farmer of Des Moines County, Iowa, and served as supervisor for several years. John Carden's grandfather was born in Yorkshire, England, but came to this country and settled in Ohio.
John Carden attended the local schools and the University of Iowa. Until 1887 he was engaged in farming in Iowa, but in that year came to California, and in October of that year reached Carlsbad, and remained there for eighteen months. He then went to Santa Barbara County, and spent eight years in Carpenteria Valley, following farming until 1898, when he went to Gardena and purchased there twenty acres of farm land, which he improved, and on which he continued to reside until 1912, when he sold his place to the Spanish-American Industrial School, which still occupies the site of his former farm. In December, 1912, he came to Whittier, and the following year he purchased an orange grove on the Guirado Road on Citrus Grove Heights, practically above the frost line. In 1914 he set out his own Valencia trees, and now has a very fine grove. He is a member of the Whittier Citrus Association. In politics he is inde- pendent. The Methodist Church holds his membership.
In 1876 Mr. Carden married at Middletown, Iowa, Miss Jennie L. Long, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of John Long, an Iowa farmer of English descent. Mrs. Carden died in 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Carden had two sons and one daughter who are now living, namely: Harry, who is a farmer of Victorville, California, married Miss Hattie Knight, and they have one son, Glenn ; Charles Albert, who is cashier of the Whittier Savings Bank, married Miss Maud Clayton, and they have two children, Louis and Alberta ; and Mary E, who is at home. They lost one son, Francis, in April, 1888, and one daughter, Mrs. Grace Alberta Hughey, who died in 1912 and who left one son, Russell Hughey. While he has never sought to come before the public, Mr. Carden takes an interest in local affairs, and he holds the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and associates in the citrus industry.
CHARLES W. FISHER. It often happens that it is not until a man's book of life is closed by death that a true appreciation of his work and value to his community is accorded him. The reason for this lies in the fact that in retrospect alone does each deed stand forth, and the whole as well as a part is seen. Even then the full significance of a good man's life and work cannot be adequately determined, for the influence of what he labored to accomplish and the principles for which he stood live on and
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continue to be potent factors in the development of the character of others. While the late Charles W. Fisher, for many years one of the substantial and reliable insurance men of Los Angeles, was held in high esteem by the many with whom his multiform duties brought him into contact, it was not until he was taken away that these same people realized what a friend, kindly, helpful and sympathetic, they had had in him, nor how strongly he had always striven, by word and deed, to advance the interests of his home city and aid in furthering movements for moral uplift.
Charles W. Fisher was born at Monticello, New York, in 1854, a son of Peter Fisher, a lumberman, owner of large forests. His grandmother was Charlotte Field, a descendant of the Cyrus Field family. In his youth Charles W. Fisher was given the advantages afforded by attendance at Monticello Academy, a private school, and had for his classmates the chil- dren of some of the wealthiest people in that part of the state. While a student of that institution he distinguished himself and was recognized as being the star debater of the school.
For three years after leaving Monticello Academy Mr. Fisher was principal of a school district near Monticello, and was popular as an edu- cator, but he did not care to remain in that field, for he felt his abilities fitted him for another vocation. Consequently he went into mercantile life, and, coming West, located at Rockford, Illinois, and for four years conducted a store in that city. Even then a man of broad vision and fore- sight, he recognized the need for a shipping point for the farmers in the vicinity of what is now Monroe, and worked diligently and effectively until he succeeded in establishing it, and saw to it that lumber adequate for the erection of the first buildings of the new village was shipped to this point, although to do so he had to overcome many obstacles. Mr. Fisher not only established Monore, but he located there himself, opened for the con- venience of the residents and the outlying farmers the first store, and for a number of years conducted it, and was recognized as the leading citizen of his period.
In the meanwhile, however, Mr. Fisher fell a victim to hay fever, and hoping that a change would help him he went to Lincoln, Nebraska, where for five years he was in a live-stock business. This change was not pro- ductive of the results hoped for, and he finally came to California and located at Los Angeles, at a time when its realty boom was at its height. Mr. Fisher immediately saw the possibilities in this line, and entered upon negotiations for the purchase of what is now the fashionable St. James Park, but while he was in the East making arrangements to finance the deal the slump came in values, and he felt it would not be expedient to carry out the plan at that time. Mr. Fisher at that time drew a wonderful picture of the future of Los Angeles. Returning to Los Angeles, he became general agent for the Northwestern Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, and later held the same responsible position with the Union Central Life Insurance Company of Cincinnati, and built up a large vol- ume of business for both companies in California. Twelve years prior to his death he retired and moved to his beautiful home at 440 Mission Street, South Pasadena, where his family still reside.
Mr. Fisher married Lela Nash, a native of Wathena, Kansas, a daugh- ter of Cassius M. Nash, of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher became the parents of two daughters, namely: Elizabeth Rundle and Mary Frances, both of whom reside with their mother. The death of Mr. Fisher occurred November 18, 1921, and in his passing Los Angeles County lost one of its most representative citizens.
ERNEST J. SAUNDERS. Very successful in business affairs, Ernest J. Saunders has in a quiet way exercised a healthful influence in all matters affecting the growth and prosperity of his home community of Whittier. He has lived there for twenty years, and from Whittier has prosecuted his varied interests as a contractor and builder, citrus fruit grower and in other lines of enterprise.
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Mr. Saunders was born in England, December 30, 1861, son of Job and Eliza (Bagnell) Saunders, both natives of England, and now deceased. Job Saunders followed merchandising in England, and in 1871 brought his family to the United States and settled in Michigan, where he was a merchant and farmer until his death.
Ernest J. Saunders was ten years of age when he came to America, and he grew to manhood in Michigan, finishing a public school education there. For about twenty years his energies were taken up with farming, and in 1901 he came to California. His most extensive work as a contractor and builder was during the first ten years of his residence at Whittier. A number of years ago he bought acreage and planted and developed it into citrus groves, and has since sold most of his original plantings. From his holdings he has retained twenty acres of oranges in North and East Whit- tier. He is a member of the Whittier Citrus Association and the North Whittier Citrus Association, and is interested in several oil fields.
While a contractor Mr. Saunders built the first home in Monte Bello, for James Stewart. At the present time he is superintending the con- struction of the magnificent new edifice of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Whittier. The plans for this structure were drawn by Arthur G. Lindley of Los Angeles. Mr. Saunders and wife are both active workers and he is an official in this church. For many years Mr. Saunders has owned one of the very beautiful and attractive homes of Whittier, built in 1903 at 122 North Friends Street. He has erected a number of the fine bungalows in the city. He owns a summer residence at Idlewild in the San Jacinto Mountains.
Mr. Saunders is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and is a republican. He married Mrs. Ida E. McMichael, a native of Minnesota, and daughter of H. W. Mendenhall, of that state. Her father spent his declining years in East Whittier.
ALVA STARBUCK. While it is undoubtedly true that the opportunities offered in Southern California are not excelled by any others in the country, it is equally true that everyone does not possess the faculty of utilizing these advantages so as to secure the best results. Here, as elsewhere, the earnest, sagacious, far-sighted man, willing to apply himself and to give the best of his talents to the matter in hand, is the one who succeeds. The quitter fails in Los Angeles County, as he will everywhere else. Within more recent years a new industry has been developed in this region, that of oil production, and one of the men who has taken advantage of it and sought to find through it expression for his business abilities is Alva Starbuck, of Whittier, secretary and manager of the Home Oil Company, which controls forty-seven acres in the oil fields near the east limits of the City of Whittier.
Alva Starbuck was born near Indianapolis, Indiana, May 29, 1860, a son of Samuel and Luzena (Jessup) Starbuck. The Starbucks came from England to the American Colonies, and were among the first of the New England settlers. Subsequently members of the family went south to North Carolina, then to Ohio, and then to Indiana. The Jessups are of Revolutionary stock and English descent, and Mrs. Starbuck was born in Wayne County, Indiana. Samuel Starbuck was born in Ohio, from whence he went to Indiana and became a farmer of Hendricks County, which he at one time served as commissioner. His death occurred in 1901. passing away on the old homestead where his ten children were born, and his wife also died there. Four of the sons came to California, namely : Alva, whose name heads this review; Asa, who is a citrus grower of East Whittier ; William, who is now retired, was a druggist of Fullerton and the builder of the telephone system of that city; and Edwin D., now a professor of the University of Iowa, was formerly a professor in Leland- Stanford University, Palo Alta, California.
Alva Starbuck attended the public schools of Indiana, and after he completed his education began work at farming. In 1887 he came to
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Whittier, and for eleven years was engaged in the drug business in this city. When the oil business first developed in this district Mr. Starbuck, with a number of friends, organized the Whittier Home Oil Company. Their drilling operations have been successful and the wells have been producing since 1898. The steady output is now seventy-five barrels per day, and only a portion of the field has yet been developed. Three-fourths of the stock is held by the directors, who are Dr. W. V. Coffin, president ; T. H. Buckmaster, vice president ; L. M. Baldwin, L. Butman, L. Landreth, A. C. Maple and Alva Starbuck, secretary and manager. Mr. Starbuck is a republican, but takes no part in politics outside of local affairs. He is the owner of a lemon orchard of eleven acres on the Stamey tract, four miles southeast of Whittier, and he owns his home at 147 North Wash- ington Avenue. He belongs to the East Whittier Citrus Association and the Whittier Chamber of Commerce. Reared in the faith of the Society of Friends, he is active in the local meeting.
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