USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume II > Part 29
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WILLIAM KENNEDY WEAVER. For eighteen years prior to his death, which occurred June 16, 1921, Mr. Weaver has been a representative and highly honored member of the Los Angeles bar, and his ability and character had gained him high rank in his profession.
Mr. Weaver claimed the old Keystone State as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1862. He was a scion of one of the old and distinguished families of that commonwealth, where one of his paternal ancestors was the founder of historic old Washington and Jefferson College. John Weaver, father of the subject of this memoir, was for a number
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of years a member of the faculty of this institution and was a man of exceptional scholarship. The Weaver, McMillan and Reamer families, of which Mr. Weaver was a representative, were among the oldest in Pennsylvania, and these family names have been prominent in the history of that state. To a hardy, sterling and Godfearing ancestry Mr. Weaver was indebted for his giant physical stature and equally great mental power. He thus held the princely heritage of mens sana in corpore sano-a sound mind in a sound body.
William K. Weaver received excellent educational advantages in his youth, but heavy responsibilities soon fell upon his shoulders, in pro- viding for the support of his sister and their widowed mother, besides which he depended upon his own resources in preparing himself for his exacting profession. In the early '90s he removed with his mother and sister to the City of Chicago, and while finding employment that enabled him to support them and himself he acquired his legal training by attending night classes in a Chicago law school. He was admitted to the Illinois bar about the year 1897, and thereafter he was engaged in the practice of his profession in Chicago until 1903, when he came to California and established his residence and professional head- quarters in the City of Los Angeles. Mr. Weaver had deep apprecia- tion of his professional stewardship, and ever observed the best ethics of the vocation which he dignified and honored by his sterling char- acter and large and worthy achievement. He was a resourceful trial lawyer and well fortified counselor, and the integrity of purpose that marked his professional career found exemplification also in all other relations of his noble life. He did not gain great fame in his profession. Indeed, it is to be doubted that he had desire for mere reputation in his chosen vocation. He was content to be one of the earnest and quiet workers in his profession and faithfully to represent and protect the interests of his clients. He always commanded unqualified popular confidence and esteem, and his gracious personality won to him the staunchest of friends. Of such a man was to be expected the tender and chivalrous care and solicitude which he manifested for a venerable mother and invalid sister for many years prior to their deaths, and he delighted in this gracious service of love. Genial, with a sense of humor that ever created about him an atmosphere of good cheer, he found joy and compensation in all relations of life and faced with courage all adverse conditions and influences.
From his boyhood Mr. Weaver was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and his faith was one of works that were righteous and of good report. He was kindly and tolerant in his judgment of his fellow men, and his favorite philanthropy was the wise one of helping others to help themselves.
In 1912 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Weaver and Miss Caroline Bealmear, who survives him and who finds a generous meas- ure of consolation and compensation in the memories of their ideal companionship that was severed only by his death. He left to his widow his entire estate, which was of substantial order, and since his death Mrs. Weaver has continued her residence in Los Angeles, her pleasant home being at 1948 South Harvard Boulevard.
R. H. SCHWARZKOPF, whose home is on Huntington Boulevard and Golden West Avenue in Arcadia, with business offices in the Story Build- ing at Los Angeles, has been foremost in the development of the Arcadia section of Los Angeles County. He built one of the finest of the early homes there, was a rancher and farmer, and his practical knowledge of conditions led him into the real estate business on an increasing scale and he has been primarily responsible for making a district of fine homes out of a tract of former grain fields.
Mr. Schwarzkopf was born at Newark, New Jersey, September 28, 1873, son of C. G. and Bertha (Lewis) Schwarzkopf. His parents were
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born in Wuertemberg, Germany, came to America as children, and were married in New Jersey in 1858. C. G. Schwarzkopf was a manufacturing jeweler in the East.
Youngest in a family of five sons, R. H. Schwarzkopf attended public schools at Newark, and in 1896 came to California. For a time he trav- eled in the interests of an Eastern firm of jewelry manufacturers. In 1897 he entered Leland Stanford University, graduating A. B. with the class of 1901, and paid all his expenses while in the university by working during vacations. He became a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Stan- ford. Afterward he resumed his connections in the commercial field, and for ten years traveled all over the West from Denver to the Coast. Leav- ing the road, Mr. Schwarzkopf bought and settled on a five-acre tract near Arcadia, and on it he built a three thousand dollar home, one of the finest in that vicinity at the time. He also engaged in scientific poultry raising, and developed a very substantial business. After two years he sold out, and began the development on a larger scale of a block of small poultry and fruit ranches in the Arcadia District. The land he secured for this purpose was a tract of the old South Santa Anita Land Company, and he subsequently bought up and subdivided several subdivisions, comprising from ten to one hundred acres. His work has gone on until he has con- verted about five hundred acres into small home ranches, and at the present time has a one hundred acre subdivision on Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia. Mr. Schwarzkopf has done a great deal to break up the vast holdings in this vicinity and institute development on a smaller and more intensive scale, and one that represents a greater source of permanent prosperity to the district.
Mr. Schwarzkopf was active in the organization and has served three terms as president of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, has been presi- dent of the South Santa Anita School Board, and has declined the offer of a number of other local offices. He is a republican, is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Palo Alto, and the Elks Lodge at Monrovia. He is on the membership committee of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the largest organization of the kind in the world, and Mr. Schwarzkopf was the principal speaker at a recent luncheon in the Alexandria Hotel, on which occasion he advanced a new constructive program of work which received the hearty endorsement of the Chamber.
In 1897, at Palo Alto, Mr. Schwarzkopf married Miss Grace E. Hoon, who came to California from Dixon, Illinois, and was also a student at Stanford University. Eight children were born to their marriage: Chet- wood T., who spent two years in the University of California; Bertha Elizabeth, a student in the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles; Kathryn Winifred, a student in the University of California, these three children being all graduates of the Monrovia High School; while the younger chil- dren are Miriam Evelyn, John Rudolph, Frank Robert, Helen Dolly and Jean Louise.
The son Chetwood was born in 1899, and enlisted shortly after he was eighteen years of age for service in the navy during the World war, as an ordinary seaman. He was promoted rapidly, and at the time of his dis- charge was captain of a gunners crew on the cruiser Seattle, and was in convoy service during the war. Not a single demerit mark is set against his record while in the navy. After his discharge he spent two years in the merchant marine service and made several trips to the Orient, finally entering his father's realty organization in Los Angeles.
MISS MAY D. LAHEY. Since 1911 Miss May D. Lahey has been a resi- dent of Los Angeles, where for a time she was engaged in the practice of law but for the past six years has been the incumbent of a responsible public posi- tion. One of the most notable signs of the times, indicative of the trend of modern thought, is the attitude of public opinion toward the woman in professional life, and the acknowledgment of her worth and the value of
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her work. Miss Lahey's high honors and professional success are such as might well be envied by a much older attorney.
Miss Lahey was born in Queensland, Australia. Her father, James William Lahey, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1855, and as a lad was taken by his parents to Australia, where, at Brisbane, Queensland, he met and in 1879 married Emily Matilda Lahey, who was born in County Armagh, Ireland, in 1860. They became the parents of seven children and passed their lives in Australia. Miss May D. Lahey received her early education in the public schools of her native place, and was sent to this country to complete her training. In 1911 she entered the University of Southern California as a law student, and was graduated from that institu- tion in 1914, at which time she received her degree. She at once started the practice of her profession at Los Angeles, but at the end of eighteen months was offered and accepted the important position of referee, Superior Court, Department Two, a post which she has retained for the last six years. Miss Lahey possesses a mind analytical, logical and inductive, readily recognizes the relation of facts and co-ordinates the points under discussion, indicating a thorough mastery of the subject and a mind trained in the severest school of investigation, wherein close reasoning has become habitual and easy. While in her office her dominant quality seems to be a clear, incisive intel- lect. In social circles she possesses those truly womanly traits of character which everywhere command admiration and respect. She has simply made use of the innate talents which are hers, directing her efforts along those lines where rare discrimination and sound judgment have led the way.
JOHN PATRICK DELANY. The complexity of modern conditions some- times confuses men and deadens their sense of discrimination between right and wrong, so that in the contingency of having to decide they fail to prove adequate to the occasion. There are others, fortunately, whose strong sense of justice and deep religious nature are never subservient to the trend of popular clamor or a desire for over-ambitious personal advancement. Such a man was the late John Patrick Delany of Los Angeles, who during the years he resided in that city made it the better for his existence. While not a man of national fame, yet his own circle benefited largely from his influence and the poor and needy from his benefactions.
Mr. Delany was born April 2, 1853, at Dublin, Ireland, and was given an university education, assisting himself through this period by acting as bandmaster at the university. His father dying when he was a young man, he became the support of his mother and sister, and for a time worked at the jeweler's trade on Lower Sackville Street, Dublin. In 1880 he immi- grated to the United States and became a diamond broker for Mrs. Lynch of New York City. In 1889 he embarked in business on his own account. opening the Astor House jewelry store, and while there developed his talent for inventing jewelry. He was the inventor of a wonderful inge- nious patent collar button, which should have brought him a fortune, but while he was ill others infringed on his patents. Mr. Delany came to Cali- fornia in 1895, but before locating permanently spent some time in travel all over the state and Mexico. Eventually he settled at Los Angeles and opened an optical business in the old Hollenbeck Hotel, Second and Spring streets, subsequently moving to the Ramona Hotel, and eventually to Broadway, near Fourth Street, where he engaged in business until a stroke of paralysis caused his retirement. During the last eight years of his life he lived quietly at his home, 2129 Oak Street, where his death occurred March 7, 1922. Mr. Delany was known as one of his city's practical philanthropists, and his benefactions were numerous and large. He did not aspire to public office, but his connections with prominent men of affairs in all walks of life were. of a character that made him well known. In civic affairs he always gave his support to worthy movements. His religious affiliation was with the Catholic Church.
In his native land Mr. Delany married Miss Mary Mccarthy, who died in New York, and of their children two survive: Rev. Richard
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Patrick, born at New York City, August 2, 1883, educated primarily in the graded schools of New York City, studied at St. Vincent's College in 1896, 1897 and 1898; in 1900 went to Perryville, Missouri, where he studied for twelve years in the mother house of the Vincennes of the Western Province, was ordained in 1912, and missioned to Dallas, Texas, where he is now priest of the Catholic Church; and Mary Josephine, the wife of A. F. LaGaye, with one child, Mary Teresa, born January 11, 1918. Rev. Richard Patrick Delany, who had taken an extended trip with his father through Guatemala, South America, officiated at the elder man's funeral, which was held at St. Vincent's Cathedral.
John Patrick Delany married in New York City Elizabeth Ryan, who was born August 5, 1867, at Killarney, Ireland, and died at Los Angeles September 8, 1908. They became the parents of the following children: John, who is deceased; Helen; Amelia, a nun at Immaculate Heart Academy, Hollywood, California; Anita; Catherine; Josephine, a nun at St. John's, San Bernardino; James Ryan; Thomas Connaghty ; a twin of Thomas C., who died in infancy ; and Georgia Ann, born in 1892, who died in infancy.
MISS CELIA GLEASON. Neither a college degree nor a technical train- ing in library science, so called, is so important to the public librarian as the right sort of appreciation of the opportunities. A knowledge of the require- ments of the public schools for cooperative work, experience in dealing with educational institutions, sympathy with the uniformed attitude of many people toward books as educational tools and as friends, faculty for bringing disassociated elements together in a common cause and sincere appreciation of the library form some of the real needs of the person hold- ing the important office referred to. In none of these is Miss Celia Gleason, librarian of the Los Angeles County Library, lacking.
Miss Gleason was born at Colpoys Bay, Canada, a daughter of Leonard and Elizabeth (Tracy) Gleason. When a child she was taken by her parents to St. Albans, Vermont, where she attended public school, her education being completed at St. Albans Academy. Later the family moved to Yonkers, New York, which continued to be Miss Gleason's home until 1887, in which year, because of the ill health of her sister, she accom- panied the latter to Los Angeles. In this city she became, in December, 1889, associated with the Public Library, in the capacity of attendant. On September 2, 1899, she was appointed assisant librarian, and acted in that capacity until December 23, 1912. This institution was founded in Decem- ber, 1872, by a voluntary association of citizens who elected a board of thirteen trustees to manage its affairs, viz: Gov. J. G. Downey, S. B. Caswell, H. K. W. Bent, Col. G. H. Smith, Judge Sepulveda, W. H. Mace, A. W. Potts, T. W. Temple, R. H. Dalton, Gen. George Stoneman, W. B. Lawlor, General McConnell and Harris Newmark. The affairs of the library were managed for six years as the Los Angeles Library Association, and a small stock of books was obtained, partly from the proceeds of life membership fees and partly from monthly dues. In April, 1878, it was voted unanimously to dissolve the Association, the City Council then taking charge of the property, from which time it was known as the Los Angeles Public Library. In January, 1879, the City Council and mayor became a permanent Board of Regents, and the record shows that $250 was appro- priated for the buying of books, followed by an additional appropriation of $150 in June, 1880. The sum of $1,000 was used in buying books during 1883, and from that time forward constant improvement and development was noted, which, although slow during the earlier years, was brought more and more fully into action. Miss Gleason played a prominent part in the development of the library, particularly in the perfection of an efficient and expeditious system. In 1912 she resigned and was appointed librarian of the Los Angeles County Library, a position which she still retains. She has done much to build up this library to its present 300,000 volumes.
Miss Gleason is a member of the Friday Morning Club, and has several
4. Kale
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other social and civic connections. Her discharge of duties has been marked by courtesy in a high degree. She possesses infinite tact and fixed purpose, and has the ability to meet all kinds of people under varying circumstances. She has a personality enabling her to take her proper part on public occasions, and possesses business acumen fitting her to plan and administer large projects. With such an equipment in the main office, the technical machinery, well systematized, is running smoothly and the library is mak- ing itself a great power.
THOMAS F. FOLEY. Out of the researches of his character and indi- vidual enterprise the late Thomas F. Foley earned success in business, and larger even than the material estate he accumulated was the wealth of esteem he enjoyed among his friends and associates at Los Angeles, where he was in business for nearly twenty years and where he developed Foley's Furniture Company to one of the leading enterprises of the kind in South- ern California.
He was born in London, England, June 23, 1868, and was four years of age when his parents came to America and settled on a farm in New York State. He was reared and educated in the East, and from there removed to Chicago, and in 1900 came to California. His home was in San Francisco for three years, and from there he came to Los Angeles. Mr. Foley practically grew up in the furniture business, and for a number of years he was a member of the Mackie-Foley Furniture Company at Los Angeles, and about ten years before his death established the Foley's Fur- niture Company, and was its sole proprietor. This business is located at 648 South Main Street.
Mr. Foley was more or less of an invalid the last two years of his life. In the summer of 1922 he went East for medical treatment at the Burleson Sanatorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and died there September 13, 1922. He was a charter member of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, a member of the Hollywood Country Club, of the Los Angeles Retail Fur- niture Men's Association, and was a very popular leader in the Elks Lodge and was buried under the auspices of that lodge in Los Angeles. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary W. Foley, and there were also a few surviving sisters in Chicago. The late Mr. Foley was a thorough business man, was unassuming and cared nothing for outward show, was charitable and it is said that he had not an enemy in the world. His relations with his employes were typical of the man. When any employe did not measure up to the standard required, Mr. Foley would not at once dispense with his services, but would use every possible endeavor to develop what was best in him and try to bring out every character which would tend to improve his personality. Every employe felt that Mr. Foley was not simply their employer but a friend as well, one to whom they could always go for counsel and advice, and his demise was sincerely mourned by them all.
HENRY CAMP POST. When the history of music as exemplified by artists who have resided in California shall be written properly, few men will be found who have stamped more deeply their individuality upon the musical development of their period than did the late Henry Camp Post of Los Angeles. The complete history of his busy life would be inspiring and serve as an example to those seeking achievement that can only come through persistent and thoughtful effort.
Mr. Post was born at Grand Haven, Michigan, August 7, 1856, a son of Hoyt G. and Julia A. (Camp) Post. When he was four years of age Henry Camp Post was taken by his parents to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he attended the graded and high schools, and in his youth displayed marked musical talent. It was the wish of his parents that he become a civil engineer, and as he had some ability in this direction and a liking for the calling he entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and took up the study of that vocation. One month before graduation he was per- suaded by his instructors to give up his engineering studies and apply him-
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self whole-heartedly to his musical training in order that he might develop his gifts to their utmost. Accordingly, he left college and went to Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany, and other musical centers of Europe, where he studied under the instruction of the greatest teachers from 1879 to 1883. Returning to this country in the latter year, he took up his residence at Grand Rapids, in which city he became a foremost teacher of music. He also was well and favorably known because of his contributions to the various news- papers upon musical subjects and eventually became recognized not only as artist and writer but authoritative critic. He also wrote many stories on California. Failing health caused his removal to California in 1900, in which year he located at Monrovia, but in 1903 returned to Grand Rapids, where he was united in marriage, September 14 of that year, with Miss Louisa Gibbard. They returned to Los Angeles in 1912 with their two children, Hoyt Gibbard and Julia Elizabeth, who were born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mr. Post's death occurred December 23, 1916. He had connections with a number of musical organizations and was popular socially and actively interested in civic affairs.
Louisa Gibbard Post, the widow of Henry Camp Post, has won an enviable position in the literary and public world of Los Angeles. Born at Victor, Michigan, she received a high school education there, and after her marriage and her subsequent location at Los Angeles became interested in literary and welfare work. In 1914 she joined the movement known as the Mothers and Teachers Circle of the Cohuenga School, of which she was president from 1917 to 1919. In 1919 and 1920 she was treasurer of Eschscholtzia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of Los Angeles, of which she was also a director for one year and then second vice regent. At the same time she was state reciprocity chairman, a position which she holds at this time. Mrs. Post is a tireless worker in behalf of the organization, among the members of which she is greatly popular. She is also a member of the Council of Community Service and of the Board of Directors of the Monta Vista Lodge, a recreation camp for the under- nourished poor children of Los Angeles.
MISS ELLA BUCHANAN. In the various activities and occupations of life in which individuals gain distinction, the contemporary biographer may find much food for thought and study. To him is granted an insight into the intricate workings of the marts of trade and commerce ; he is permitted a glimpse, perfunctory perhaps, of the official machinery which creates and develops our leaders in the political arena; his is the privilege of tracing. step by step, the advance of those who have chosen professional lines as their field of endeavor. But it is rarely his opportunity to have for his subject one who has come to the forefront in the exclusive field of art. The ordinary individual, master though he may be of business, politics or a profession, bows to the skill of the artist. His is the God-given power. Commercial success, professional attainment, public prowess, all these may be gained through a steady and persevering application to the rules and principles which govern them ; but the ability to depict the happenings of our existence, the genius to create in bronze, stone or marble the repre- sentation of the things that are and the things that have been, the capacity of showing men the meaning of Life, these gifts are given but to few. It little befits the layman to attempt to draw a pen picture of one whose work has brought her to the very forefront among contemporary American sculptors. It must suffice to sketch the salient points of a career that has been crowned with unqualified success, that of Ella Buchanan, of Los Angeles.
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