USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume II > Part 37
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
MRS. CATHERINE COLLETTE SHANK, concert soprano and vocal instruc- tor, is a prominent figure in connection with the splendid musical activities of Los Angeles, and in her teaching she gives special attention to coaching in French, Italian and church repertoire.
Mrs. Shank was born at Santa Monica, California, but as a child was taken into the home of her uncle and aunt, Horace and Kathryn Burdick, at the corner of Second and Spring streets, then a fashionable residence district in Los Angeles but now in the heart of the business center of the city. As a little girl Mrs. Shank began singing in the small Catholic Church at Santa Monica, and in her native town she received the advantages of the public schools. Later she attended school in Los Angeles, where she studied music under the direction of Kate Bruno. For years she sang at Santa Monica, as Miss Catherine Hodge, this being her maiden name, and she early gave evidence of possession of a soprano voice of splendid timbre. She studied under the able preceptorship of Madame Mara Voron, teacher of many of the early singers of Southern California, and later she continued her studies under the direction of Madame Rubo. She has been constantly enlisted in church choir work, almost exclusively as soprano soloist, her choir work having been initiated when she was but eleven years old. Mrs. Shank has sung in many leading churches, including St. Vincent's Church and the Plaza Church, both in Los Angeles; the Presbyterian Church at East Los Angeles ; the Presbyterian Church at Pasadena ; the Los Angeles Jewish Synagogue, in which she was soloist; and also in Episcopal and Christian Science Churches.
The cultivation of her fine soprano voice was advanced when Mrs. Shank passed two years in study in Europe. In Paris she studied under Amy Adiny-Milliet, and she profited also by other splendid musical advan- tages abroad. After her return to the United States she sang three seasons in the Richmond Avenue Church in the City of Buffalo, New York, and while thus engaged she studied under Nuno, former bandmaster under Maximilian in Mexico, and the composer of the score of the Mexican national anthem. The Auditorium in Los Angeles had been completed shortly before Mrs. Shank's return to this city, and she appeared in the per- formance of the oratorio of "The Messiah" with which the fine building was dedicated. She has been called upon to sing in concert, oratorio, etc., as soloist, and recently appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Club. She has been successfully engaged in the teaching of vocal art for eighteen years, and has each successive season a roster of representative pupils. Mrs. Shank is a popular figure in the cultural and social circles of Los Angeles, and is an active member of the Dominant Club.
MRS. A. B. MAESCHER. A great deal of publicity has been given to the fact in magazine and daily press that Mrs. A. B. Maescher of Los Angeles
alberta . Wilson-Drew
227
HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
is the foremost woman building contractor in the United States. She was one of the first and still one of the few women to venture successfully into a field traditionally the province of men and build up a business that employs a large force of skilled workmen and handles a volume of business running well over a million dollars a year. This company, of which Mrs. Maescher is president, is the De Luxe Building Company, with offices on the fifth floor of the Union League Building.
Mrs. Maescher, whose maiden name was Ada B. Harper, was born in the famous Blue Grass section of Kentucky, near Lexington, daughter of W. R. Harper, at one time owner of the famous stock farm, Harper's Stock Farm, a great center for the production and training of Kentucky thoroughbreds. Mrs. Maescher was educated in the public schools of Kentucky and in a finishing school at Louisville.
March 22, 1883, she was married to Victor E. Maescher, a Cincinnati man, son of the proprietor of J. B. Maescher & Company, Cincinnati pork packers, one of the oldest establishments in its line in that city. At the time of his marriage Mr. Maescher was Cincinnati manager for Swift & Company.
In 1906 he came to California to restore his health. Mrs. Maescher has one daughter, Roxey Mae, now Mrs. Rex D. Weston, of Glendale. Soon after coming to California Mr. Maescher took a contract to sell land in the northern part of the state. Mrs. Maescher herself had an amateur interest in building, and turned her capable business talent to the contracting field. She started with a capital of only five hundred dollars, subsequently organized the De Luxe Building Company, and this business, according to information obtained from the Bradstreet agency, now enjoys the highest rating of any building company on its books. Mrs. Maescher employs one hundred and fifty men for the outside work of the company, and has an office force of fourteen. She has specialized from the first in high class and exclusive residence construction. She has never solicited business, has never advertised, and while a great deal of publicity has been given her and her work, it is the result of the inherent interest in such an extensive undertaking controlled and directed by a business woman. Her business has grown solely on its merits. During 1921 the business offered her was in such a volume that she was compelled to turn down contracts to the value of seven hundred thousand dollars. Mrs. Maescher has built homes for many of the most prominent people in Southern California. She is now erecting a home at Santa Monica for Mary Pickford.
Mrs. Maescher has a deep and sincere interest in the City of Hollywood, and out of that interest came her organization known as the De Luxe Film Company, whose purpose is the production of a propaganda picture illus- trating the essentially sound and wholesome life and conditions of the film capitol. This primary picture is entitled "Night Life in Hollywood," and Mrs. Maescher undertook this production with a view to counteracting the widespread and ill deserved fame given Hollywood in recent months.
MRS. ALBERTA P. WILSON DREW is a Los Angeles business woman with a record of substantial achievement in several lines of business. She has the distinction of being the first woman in Los Angeles to own and operate a garage.
She was born near Indianapolis, Indiana, and was sixteen years of age when her father died, leaving a widowed mother with three younger children. Alberta had been preparing for a career as teacher, but the necessity of doing something immediately for herself and for her mother caused her to go to work in a newspaper office in Indianapolis. Later she was employed under Col. James A. Hadley, editor of the magazine section of an Indianapolis newspaper and who married her mother.
While in Indianapolis Mrs. Drew was married December 16, 1898, to James B. Wilson. Mr. Wilson was in the job printing business. After his death she gave evidence of her sound business judgment by carrying on his printing establishment. She finally sold out and sixteen years ago
228
HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
came to California. Her first association with Los Angeles business was in department store work, and shortly afterward as boookkeeper in the Consolidated Garage at Los Angeles. She purchased the supplies and did all the collecting. She bought one of the garages of the consolidated chain, known as the P. E. Annex, which she changed to the Wilson Garage. She borrowed the money to buy this garage. After soon selling out to a partner she became manager of the Tally Ho Garage, which had also gone into bankruptcy. In four years she was able to pay off all the creditors, and she went into debt to buy the business, which comprises a fifty-year lease of the valuable property at 107 North Broadway, and all of the equipment. During the past four years she has brought this busi- ness to a prosperous condition, and has exhibited a rare degree of tact in entering and making a success in a field hitherto monopolized by men. The system Mrs. Drew has established in her business is regarded as perfect, and she was approached by the head instructor of the Polytechnic High School with a view of establishing the system in the garage depart- ment of that institution.
In December, 1920, Mrs. Wilson was married to Arthur L. Drew, at one time president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of San Bernardino, and later master mechanic of the Yellow Astor Mine. He is now one of the partners of the Tally Ho Garage. Mrs. Drew has a daughter, Dorothea Wilson, a student of the Southern branch of the University of California. Miss Dorothea is very talented in dramatics and singing, and recently took one of the leading parts in a play staged by University students.
Mrs. Drew is a charter member of the Soroptomist Club (a business organization for women), belongs to the Robley D. Evans Chapter of the Women's Relief Corps and is a member of the Los Angeles Trade Associa- tion. She has been encouraged to become a candidate as a member of the City Council, where her sound business judgment would give her unusual qualifications for useful public service.
OLIN WELLBORN. A gentle and gracious spirit had indwelling in the being of the distinguished jurist, lawyer, statesman and citizen to whom this brief tribute is dedicated. and by his character and service he brought special honor to the bench and bar of California. He served twenty years on the bench of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, and from this office he retired in 1915, on account of impaired health. He was in his seventy-ninth year at the time of his death, and was one of the loved and honored citizens of Los Angeles when he thus passed to eternal rest.
Judge Wellborn was born at Cumming. Georgia, on the 18th of June, 1843, a son of Charles Booth Wellborn and Mary Ann ( Foster) Wellborn. the former a native of Shelbyville, Tennessee, and the latter of Spartans- burg, South Carolina. Both the Wellborn and Foster families were founded in America in the early Colonial period of our national history, and the Wellborn family has given to the nation many able lawyers and jurists as one generation has followed another on to the stage of life. Judge Wellborn gained his earlier education in the common schools of Georgia. advanced his education by attending Emory College at Oxford, that state, and graduated from the University of North Carolina. In the last named institution he was a student at the inception of the Civil war, and he promptly manifested his loyalty to the Confederacy by tendering his service as a soldier in its ranks. He was a youth of eighteen years when the war began, and he enlisted as a member of the Fourth Georgia Cavalry, in which he became captain of his company and with which he participated in many engagements. He proved a faithful and gallant young soldier and officer, lived up to the full tension of the great conflict, and was wounded in action. His eldest brother died as the result of wounds received while serving as a soldier of the Confederacy.
229
HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
In the year 1866 Judge Wellborn was admitted to the bar of his native state and initiated practice in the City of Atlanta. In 1869 he removed to Dallas, Texas, where he not only rose to prominence in his profession but also became a power in political affairs, he having represented the Dallas District in the Congress of the United States four successive terms. In Congress he was a recognized leader in the ranks of the democratic repre- sentatives, and his record was one of characteristic fidelity and earnest service in behalf of wise legislation.
In 1887 Judge Wellborn came with his family to California and engaged in the practice of his profession at San Diego, where he remained until 1893, when he removed to Los Angeles. On the 1st of March, 1895, in the second administration of President Cleveland, he was appointed judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, and on the bench of this court he rounded out his career of distinguished service, he having retired only when his age and delicate health compelled such action. He was seventy-two years of age when he resigned his position on the bench, in 1915, and thereafter he lived virtually retired until his death.
When this honored citizen passed away the courts, the bar and the people in general gave high tributes to him, and the Superior and other courts adjourned for the period of his funeral. Judge Myers, in adjourning the Superior Court, gave voice to this estimate: "Judge Wellborn served for twenty years as judge of the United States District Court of the South- ern District of California. He retired therefrom at the age of seventy-two, leaving behind him a distinguished record of public service, carrying with him not only the respect but also the esteem and the genuine affection of practically all members of the bar with whom he had come in contact during this long term of service. He was a man learned in the law, indus- trious in its service, and it goes without saying that his integrity was a matter without question. The qualities which, I think, distinguished Judge Wellborn and earned for him the esteem and the'affection of this com- munity were his great kindliness of heart and gentleness of spirit, his untir- ing patience, his uniform courtesy and consideration not only for the rights but for the feelings of all those with whom he came in contact, his inflexible adherence to the mandates of the law, tempered by a broad charity for the weaknesses of others. He has left behind him a shining memory, which, I trust, will ever remain bright, and serve as an inspiration for all of us who follow the profession of the law, whether at the bar or on the bench." The local bar association and other organizations passed resolutions of appre- ciation and honor, and the funeral of the distinguished jurist called forth a great concourse of citizens of all classes-all anxious to pay to the deceased a final tribute of respect and affectionate appreciation.
In political sentiment and allegiance Judge Wellborn never wavered in adherence to the democratic party. He was affiliated with the United Con- federate Veterans and the Phi Kappa Sigma college fraternity, and he held membership in the California Club and other representative organizations in his home city of Los Angeles. His religious faith was that of the Methodist Church. His widow is a Baptist.
On the 26th of August, 1866, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Wellborn and Miss Liliore Turner, of Barnesville, Georgia, and she con- tinnes her residence in Los Angeles since the death of her husband, which here occurred on the 6th of December, 1921. Of the four children the eldest is Judge Charles Wellborn, who is, in 1922, serving on the bench of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County; Mrs. Roland P. Bishop and Mrs. Burton E. Green of Los Angeles ; and Olin. Jr., a representative member of the Los Angeles bar.
A life that justified itself in its every relation was that of Judge Well- born, and it is gratifying to be able to present in this publication even the foregoing brief tribute to his memory. The record of Judge Wellborn is full of lesson, incentive and inspiration.
230
HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
RICHARD DILLON. Among the distinguished characters who have left the impress of their individuality upon the history of Los Angeles, few attained so high a reputation for sagacity, uprightness and business ability as did the late Richard Dillon. Although some years have passed since he was called to his last rest, he lives in the memory of his friends as the highest type of a loyal citizen and an honorable and conscientious man. His life was actuated by high ideals and spent in close conformity there- with, his teachings and examples were an inspiring force in the world, and his love of principle and strength of character gained for him the respect and homage of the public as well. In his home, in social and business circles, he was ever kind and courteous, and no man was more respected or more richly deserved the regard in which he was held.
In 1875 Richard Dillon came to Los Angeles, bringing with him his wife and traveling in company with Mr. and Mrs. John Kenealy. They made the trip from San Francisco on the steamer Orizaba, and upon their arrival found the only dry goods store in the place the one conducted under the name of the Coulter Dry Goods Company. This concern had been in existence only a couple of months. Mr. Dillon and Mr. Kenealy opened the second one, under the firm name of Dillon & Kenealy, on Main Street, at Requina, across from the Temple Block and the old United States Hotel, then owned by Louis Messmer. They handled dry goods and notions, and built up a large trade. Subsequently they opened branches in other California towns and in Arizona. In 1888 Mr. Dillon retired from the Los Angeles store, but retained his mercantile interests in Arizona for a number of years. For some time he owned property at Whittier, now given over to oil production.
At the first auction of lots at Santa Monica Mr. Dillon bought twenty- five lots. A man of broad vision, Mr. Dillon realized that property was bound to advance in price at Los Angeles and invested heavily in it, and also did considerable building, erecting twenty-two houses at Seventh and Hill streets, afterwards leased to the Pantage interests. He also had many other interests, and he, John Kenealy and John McClure started 500 acres in vineyards at Roscoe. Subsequently, when this region was found to be ideal for orange growing, the vines were torn out and the land planted to oranges, and the name was changed to the present one of Orange Cove, and here an important colony has been established.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Dillon became the parents of four children, namely : Richard J., who is a corporation lawyer ; Dr. Edward T., who is surgeon in charge of Saint Vincent's Hospital ; Nannie, who married Daniel G. Grant, a son of one of the pioneers of Los Angeles; and Mary, who is Mrs. George Neville Warwick. The Dillon family lived for years on the site, corner of Seventh and Hill streets, now occupied by Pantage's Theatre, and the property is still owned by Mr. Dillon's heirs. Saint Vincent's College occupied the site at Seventh and Broadway.
Although active in business and social life, Mr. Dillon's interest centered in his home. The originality and profound grasp of his intellect commanded respect, and yet these were not all of the man. In every relation of life was shown the light that comes from justness, generosity, truth, high sense of honor, proper respect for self and a sensitive thoughtfulness for others. Such is the magnificent legacy Richard Dillon left to the generations to come after him.
ANTONETTE RUTH SABEL, director of the Chamber of Commerce Bureau of Industrial Music, which she organized, is one of the representa- tive women of Los Angeles, and one whose influence in musical circles is unbounded. She was born in Wisconsin, and comes of a family of musical talent. Her girlhood was stimulated by the atmosphere created by a very talented musical family, and almost from infancy her own abilities were carefully trained. At the age of four years her watchful parents placed her under expert training in both voice and instrumental music, and as she was advanced in the art she made choral direction her specialty,
Blokhutbell
231
HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
leaning as she does toward oratorio, in which she is a recognized authority. Although the Bureau of Industrial Music she organized in connection with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce is the only one of its kind in the country, it will not be long before others of a similar nature will be formed, for a constant stream of inquiries is flowing in to her from big municipalities regarding its functioning.
Miss Sabel's conception of "Industrial Music" is the finding and bringing to light of talent among the employed in the industries, and the training of the voices and giving their owners a chance to bring out any talent and an opportunity to thus express themselves. The Broadway Department Store, Bullocks, the Pacific Electric Company, the Southern California Edison Company and many of the other large concerns in the city have their band and chorus, co-operating with the Industrial Music Bureau. According to Miss Sabel's experience :
"Music in industry cuts down turnover ; makes the relationship between employer and employe a better one, with a more thorough understanding ; makes a wholesome outlet for the expression of the individual; carries into the home the influence and from there into the community ; increases efficiency and production, because when an employe is happy he is more efficient ; counteracts the more tawdry and sordid recreational activities of the average working man or woman."
In addition to the inspiration which is taking hold of the workers themselves, the movement is developing as a tremendous factor for the Americanization of foreign-born citizens, especially in plants where large numbers of them are employed. Miss Sabel is also an enthusiast with reference to music as occupational therapy in psychopathic wards of indus- trial hospitals, and recently delivered an address upon this subject before the Los Angeles County Medical Association.
For several years Miss Sabel has made California her home, and this period has been crowded with accomplishment and progress. She was "Goddess of Liberty" in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. New Year's Day of 1918. She was the first woman song leader commissioned by the War Department and directed the singing at Arcadia, the Government balloon station, and in that capacity made a signal success of her work, as she does of everything she undertakes. During 1922 she was appointed a member of the State and National Boards of Federation of Music Clubs to develop industrial music in California and the United States. She is a psychologist and political economist. When only seventeen years old she was one of the directors of the local Humane Society, and has always been interested in individual development and expression. In spite of all that she has accomplished Miss Sabel is still a very young woman, scarcely more than a girl, and her youth, unquestioned charm and beauty, combined with her genius, give her a convincing hold upon the imagination as well as the intellect of those with whom she comes in contact. She is but one of that coterie of brilliant women who are attracting a world-wide attention because of their remarkable work along so many important lines. While she is but one, she is a very important factor in this group, and it may be safely said that she has only commenced her career, and that the years to come will bring with them added honors and new spheres of usefulness for this talented daughter of Wisconsin.
STEPHEN C. HUBBELL. A resident of Los Angeles half a century, the late Judge Hubbell, who died December 14, 1922, was one of the notably strong men and wise leaders in the history of the city. He was a learned lawyer, though his name is chiefly associated with some of the larger business enterprises and the development of the city's public utilities and improvements. He represented an ancient and distinguished line of an- cestry both in America and in Europe. The original seat of the family was in Denmark. The Danish chieftain named Hubba was conspicuous in the early invasions of England by the Norsemen, and several places in England
232
HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
became known as Hubba's Hill. The name underwent various changes, first to Hubbahill and later to Hubbell. The first American was Richard Hubbell, who was born in England in 1627-28, and on March 7, 1647, took the oath of fealty to the government of the New Haven colony. He settled at Pequonnock in Fairfield County, Connecticut, where he died October 23, 1699. He was founder of a family that has grown and spread throughout the United States, and is now represented in its tenth generation. The Hubbells were conspicuous in the history of Connecticut and other New England states, New York, Michigan, Iowa and elsewhere. Nearly every generation has been represented by a farmer, and there have also been men of the name noted for military service and in the professions of medicine and the law.
The father of Judge Hubbell was Eli Hubbell, a farmer of Cattaraugus County, New York, and representing the sixth generation from Richard Hubbell. Eli Hubbell married Mary Huxley, who was born at Avon, Liv- ingston County, New York, in 1802. She was married to Eli Hubbell in 1820. She died at the age of eighty-one, and her husband died a few months later, at the age of eighty-seven. They had nine children, all of whom survived their mother. They were: Schuyler Philip, Nancy Ann, Chauncey Staple, Eli Sanford, Mary Alma, Lovisa M., Lodisa A., Stephen Charles and Spencer Ephraim. Judge Hubbell was the last survivor of the sons. The one surviving daughter is Lodisa A., wife of William H. Mills of South Dayton, New York.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.