USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume II > Part 79
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Selden Jesse Newton attended the public schools of his native city, and at the age of fourteen years began to learn the trade of a watchmaker and
Je A. Sanchez
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jeweler, with E. E. Chandler, who is still in the jewelry business at Boone. After five years spent with Mr. Chandler, Mr. Newton went to Odeboldt, Iowa, and spent three and one-half years with the jewelry store of Edward Mathews. Mr. Newton then went to Chicago and took a course at the Chicago Opthalmic College, and then went on the road as a traveling op- tician, fitting glasses. After one year on the road he located at Pontiac, Illinois, and was in the employ of John S. Murphy as a jeweler and optician for thirteen and one-half years. At this time he decided to move to the Pacific Coast and after making a preliminary trip through the West he came to Long Beach, arriving November 30, 1903. On February 1, 1904, he opened a jewelry store at 214 Pine Street, occupying half the store, his equipment comprising one show case and a work bench, and his watchmaker's tools. When the beautiful Marine Bank Building was erected, Mr. Newton was one of the first to occupy one of the new stores, and here he has since remained. He carries a full line of diamonds, watches, clocks, jewelry, silverware, cut glass, decorated china and similar articles. All kinds of fine watch, clock and jewelry work is done, and jewelry is made to order.
Mr. Newton is a republican. He belongs to the Brotherhood of Amer- ican Yeomen, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, and was one of the first board members of the business bureau of this organization, and he is a charter member of the Long Beach Kiwanis Club. The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Long Beach holds his membership.
September 22, 1897, Mr. Newton was married at Pontiac, Illinois, to Rosalie Marks, daughter of James and Harriet Marks, pioneers of Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Newton have one son, James Augustin, who was born at Pontiac. He attended the grade and high schools of Long Beach, being graduated from the latter in June, 1919. In June, 1923, he graduated from the College of Commerce and Business Administration of the Uni- versity of Southern California. Being but two and one-half years old at the time his parents came to Long Beach, his recollections all center here, and he is as enthusiastic with reference to this beautiful city as though he were a native son. The Newtons maintain a comfortable home at 1070 Chestnut Avenue, Long Beach.
Mr. Newton is proud of the fact that he comes from old and honored American families. The Newtons trace back to England, and on his mother's side, the date of the establishment of the family in this country dates back to an early period of the history of New York.
FRANCISCO A. SANCHEZ. One of the most beautiful homes of Whit- tier was built and is occupied by Mrs. Margarita Sanchez and her daughters. Mrs. Sanchez is the widow of the late Francisco A. Sanchez, and is a daughter of John Rowland, Jr. The names Sanchez and Row- land are intimately associated with some of the earliest and most important factors in the history of Los Angeles County.
The parents of Francisco A. Sanchez were Juan Matias and Louise (Archuleta ) Sanchez, whose ancestors had settled in New Mexico among the first Spanish colonists of that district. They were high bred Spaniards and were long prominent in the New Mexico colony. Francisco A. Sanchez had the same inclination as his father and, in fact, all of the older generation of Spanish descent for large land holding, and it was the pursuit of ranching and stock raising, with citrus fruit later included, that laid the foundation for the comfortable fortune left by both Juan and Francisco Sanchez to their heirs. From New Mexico Juan Sanchez brought his family to California in 1848, set- tling in Los Angeles County and soon selecting a home at El Monte. He bought land there, and in time became possessed of large and valuable property. He was a stock raiser on the generous scale that prevailed in the early days. He prospered in all his undertakings except the gold min- ing. When gold was discovered in 1849, and the entire country was wild with excitement over the gold finds, he went into the placer mines, but soon
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decided he could secure far more gold from the ground by means of his ranching than by panning. Juan Sanchez died at his home in El Monte November 11, 1885. Of his children now living there are Thomas L., Julian L. and Mrs. B. Guirado.
It was about ten years after the Sanchez family came to Los Angeles County that Francisco A. Sanchez was born. His birth occurred at El Monte; October 21, 1858. He died in his fifty-seventh year, July 18, 1915. He possessed sound and natural abilities, was well educated, and through- out the district where he spent his years was recognized as a very able man and a splendid type of citizen. His interests were diversified, rang- ing from educational affairs to the constructive activities involved in ranch- ing and the management of landed property. He attended public schools, spent nearly three years in St. Vincent's College at Los Angeles, another three years at Santa Clara College in Santa Clara, and completed a busi- ness course in Heald's Business College at San Francisco. With this education he returned to El Monte and immediately assumed the manage- ment of the home ranch, carrying on his father's work and greatly adding to the value of the property by his efficient management.
About the time he took charge of the ranch he married Miss Margarita Rowland. They lived at the old homestead until 1885, and then moved to Los Nietos. Here Mr. Sanchez bought land, and at the time of his death had a ranch of sixty acres in oranges and walnuts. He also owned thirty acres in oranges and walnuts in East Whittier. He was essentially public spirited, and the possession of large interests brought him into close cooperation with every movement affecting the community at large He was secretary of the Los Angeles Water Company many years, a trustee of the Los Nietos public schools, and was one of the enthusiastic members and secretary of the Pioneer Club. He was associated with the orchardists in their organizations, serving as a director of the Whittier Walnut Growers Association for many years. He was affiliated with the democratic party, though not naturally given to politics. His family for generations had been Catholic, and he was a loyal member of that church.
Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez had eight children. Juan C., the oldest, is owner and manager of a fine ranch at Puente, and married Cecilia Cross, daughter of George Cross, of Puente. They have one daughter, Carmelita Luz Cross. Louisa J., the second child, is the wife of Einer H. Huff, in the real estate business at Los Angeles, and their three children are Barbara Louise, Einer Howard and Wanda Leonore. Raimundo P. Sanchez is a rancher at Puente. Leonore P. died in September, 1910. Zenobia T. is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Los Angeles, and is very popular in both social and musical circles. Luz J. Sanchez is a graduate of the Whittier High School and is the wife of Bernard Dunphy, an oil field worker at Whittier. Francisco A., Jr., is the active manager of the family estate. Ricardo T., the youngest child, was born December 27, 1901, and died April 20, 1921.
The grandfather of Mrs. Sanchez was the Southern California pioneer, John Rowland, who came from New Mexico with Juan Matias Sanchez. They were intimate friends and associates in the pioneer days, and the marriage of Francisco Sanchez and Margarita Rowland was a fitting union and a natural sequence of that old friendship. In the early part of 1919 Mrs. Margarita Sanchez erected her beautiful home at 602 North Friends Street in Whittier. It is a handsome piece of architecture, and at the same time a real home full of comfort and ease. The site was selected by Mrs. Sanchez for the wonderful view. At the base of the home grounds the beautiful valley rolls away into distance, with a chang- ing panorama of orchards, green fields, gorgeous flowers, and also the great automobile highways, sufficiently removed so as not to disturb the tranquility of the home. It is an inspiring and an ideal site for the home of decendants of pioneers who began the work of development in this region. Besides her home property Mrs. Sanchez is owner of 249 acres at Puente, about fifty acres of which are in walnuts. This land is also
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thought to be rich in oil. Mrs. Sanchez has given an oil lease on the property she owns at Los Nietos to the Standard Oil Company. A well at this writing is being sunk on the property about 1000 feet north of the original Bell well at Santa Fe Springs. The land is in the same anticline.
Mrs. Sanchez and her daughters, Miss Zenobia and Mrs. Bernard Dunphy, are members of the Catholic Daughters of America. She and her daughter Zenobia entertain extensively in their beautiful home, and are prominent members of the social circles of Whittier.
FRANCIS HUDSON GENTRY, an architectural engineer who has shared in some of the notable public architecture of Los Angeles County as a designer. Mr. Gentry is a member of the firm of Parker O. Wright and Francis H. Gentry, Architect & Engineers, with offices in the Marine Bank Building at Long Beach.
.He is a native of Los Angeles, son of Thomas L. Gentry, Senior, and Mary E. Gentry. His father is also a native of California and for thirty years has been a member of the Los Angeles fire department and now holds the rank of captain in that organization.
Francis H. Gentry was educated in public and private schools in Los Angeles in architectural engineering and has had a long course of practical experience. He engaged in business at Los Angeles in 1911 and since 1918 has been located at Long Beach. He and Parker O. Wright have been associated together for ten years, making a specialty of planning schools and other public buildings. They have designed more than twenty-five school buildings in southern California. Some of their more recent work includes Lincoln School for the City of Pasadena, the Yorkdale School Building at Los Angeles and in Long Beach they drew plans for the Burnett Library, for the Fire Stations Nos. 7 and 8, the Fire Alarm Bureau, and they were architects for the Horace Mann school, the John C. Fremont, Temple Avenue and the Seaside Schools. The firm have also handled a large number of residences and business building structures.
Mr. Gentry is a director of the Los Angeles Mutual Building and Loan Association, is a republican, and is president for 1923 of the Long Beach Chapter of the American Associations of Engineers and vice president for 1923 of the Long Beach Architectural Club. He is affiliated with Palos Verdes Lodge No. 389 Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, Long Beach Chapter No. 84, Royal Arch Masons, Long Beach Council No. 26, Royal and Select Masons, Long Beach Commandery No. 40 Knights Templar, Al Malaikah Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Los Angeles and Long Beach Lodge No. 888 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. At Long Beach he also belongs to the Kiwanis Club, Masonic Club and Shrine Club. Mr. Gentry is a Presbyterian.
He married at Kerman, California, Julia Louise Hammond, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Willard K. Hammond, a raisin grower of the San Joaquin Valley. They have a daughter, Marla Jule Gentry, born in 1920.
CHARLES T. WARDLAW. Looking back over a long and useful life Charles T. Wardlaw has every reason to be proud of what he has accom- plished, for every step of his progress has been characterized by a faithful performance of the duty at hand, and a willingness to do a little more than was expected of him. As he advanced in years and was accorded the posi- tion that was his in his home community by reason of his ability, he dis- charged the responsibilities of good citizenship with the same conscientious- ness, and still continues to do so, having more time to devote to civic affairs than formerly, when engrossed with his personal matters. It is such men as he who make up the great bulwark of the American people, who can always be depended upon to do what is right just because it is the proper thing to do and not for fear of punishment or with the hope of reward.
Charles T. Wardlaw was born at Granville, Putnam County, Illinois, June 29, 1859, but has long been a resident of Van Nuys, where he is now
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living in honorable retirement. When he was nine years of age the fam- ily moved to Paxton, Illinois, and there he was reared and educated, and also learned to be a telegrapher, and for eighteen months was with the Wabash Railroad in that capacity. For several years thereafter he worked for different railroads in the South, and then, in 1881, came to Los Angeles County, and for some time was in the employ of the Western Union Tele- graphy Company, going from that concern to the Union Pacific Railroad, and still later was with the Salt Lake & Los Angeles Railroad. In 1913 he severed his connections with railroading and for six years was manager of a large ranch, and then bought his present ranch at Van Nuys, located on Sherman Way. For several years he was vice president of the First National Bank of Van Nuys that is now a branch of the California Bank of Los Angeles. Mr. Wardlaw maintains membership with the Masonic fraternity, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Kiwanis Club, and is interested in the growth of all of these.
On September 5, 1886, Mr. Wardlaw was united in marriage with Miss Pamelia Richardson, of Paxton, Illinois, a native of Illinois, whose educa- tional training was acquired at South Bend, Indiana, in Saint Mary's Col- lege. She belongs to the Friday Morning Club, the Los Angeles Woman's Club and the Van Nuys Woman's Club, and is zealous in behalf of women's activities. Mr. and Mrs. Wardlaw became the parents of the following children : Evangeline, who is the wife of W. E. Day, of Los Angeles, has one son, Charles Wardlaw Day ; and John R., who resides at Van Nuys, is married and has one son, John R., Junior.
WILLIAM E. GARNER. It is no unusual thing for loyal Americans to speak of California in terms of national pride. Although her romantic history of the past, her favorable location, her natural beauty, climate and wealth, have become familiar tales to every American school child, the inter- est in this wonderful country has never grown stale. In recent years, with the discovery of her rich oil fields, an added stimulus has been given to the very general idea that the Golden State is well named in every con- ception of the word. With wealth already flowing from her waters, her rich, productive soil and her mines, Nature has, indeed, been kind to also bestow hidden reservoirs of oil and in such abundance as to prompt the declaration that romance has again centered here as in the golden days of 49. Among the prominent men who have had the ability and foresight to take advantage of the situation at Long Beach, no one is better known than William E. Garner, president of the Garner-Kelly Oil Company, and Garner Oil Corporation and a member of the real-estate firm of Garner Brothers.
Mr. Garner was born at Parkville, Platte County, Missouri, a son of Hugh Henry and Catherine (Surbur) Garner, retired residents of Long Beach, but formerly for many years well known educators in Kansas and Missouri. The father of Mr. Garner is a veteran of the Civil war, having served throughout that period in a Kansas regiment.
William E. Garner was the fourth born in a family of six sons and one daughter, all of whom survive. The daughter is a resident of Los Angeles as is also one son, another lives at Cleveland, Ohio, while the other four sons are leading business men of Long Beach, to which city the parents removed from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1907.
Mr. Garner was mainly educated in the public schools of Kansas City, Missouri, from the schoolroom going into a newspaper office, a business connection which he maintained for many years afterward and in which he became widely and favorably known. For an extended period he was traveling circulator for the Kansas City Star, the St. Louis Republic and the Los Angeles Express, and for eleven years was advertising and busi- ness manager of the Long Beach Press. After retiring from the Long Beach Press in 1917, Mr. Garner bought a partnership in the Long Beach Rubber Company, with which concern he remained connected until March, 1923.
M. Orban Jo.
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It was in 1921 that Mr. Garner became sufficiently interested in oil devel- opment to make substantial investments. In partnership with C. E. Kelly, a native of Ohio with interests in the Texas oil fields and experienced in min- ing and smelting, Mr. Garner organized the Garner-Kelly Oil Company, which has become an enterprise of immense importance in the oil production industry in this section. The company has 49 acres of holdings in six sepa- rate locations in California fields, has extensive holdings in Signal Hill and Santa Fe Springs and also at Torrance in San Bernardino county, being interested in fifteen wells alone in the marvelously rich district of Signal Hill. Mr. Garner is the able president of this corporation and gives the larger part of his time to his oil interests, but is identified also with the real-estate situation here, an important one, and a member of the firm of Garner Brothers, dealers in real-estate and securities, with offices at 140 Locust Avenue, Long Beach, his partners being Clyde A. and E. J. Garner.
Mr. Garner was married at Los Angeles, California, on March 27, 1906, to Miss Blanche Whittredge, a daughter of Willis and Clara Whit- tridge, prominent residents of Long Beach. Mrs. Garner was born and spent her childhood at Springfield, Ohio, and later was graduated from the University of Utah. She takes an active and intelligent part in matters of public interest, and is past president and a director of the Signal Hill Civic League, the oldest civic organization in the City of Long Beach. Mr. and Mrs. Garner have one daughter, Marian June, who was born at Long Beach and is justly proud of the fact that she is a native daughter of California.
In political life Mr. Garner is a democrat and while he has never sought public office for himself, during his many years of newspaper work was an active partisan. He is an important member of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and a hearty worker for everything that promises to be of substantial benefit to the city. He belongs to Palos Verdes Lodge No. 389, Free and Accepted Masons; to Long Beach Lodge No. 888, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks; and is one of the older members of the Advertising Club of Long Beach. His handsome private residence is situated at 3535 Lincoln Avenue, Los Cerritos, Long Beach.
MICHAEL ORBAN, JUNIOR. Some men are born with an instinct for business details, and are able to make a success of whatever they undertake. Others, no matter how hard they may try to improve their condition, appear unable to make any progress. When such men as the former have the good fortune to operate in Southern California they are doubly successful, and not only do they accumulate wealth, but assist others associated with them to acquire large means, and their interests form a valuable asset to the communities in which they are conducting their operations. Michael Orban, Junior, of Whittier, has been successful as a merchant, lumberman, oil producer, farmer, fruit-grower and banker, and is justly regarded as one of the most important men of Los Angeles County.
Mr. Orban was born at Summerfield, Illinois, October 24, 1862, a son of Michael and Katherine (Dreher) Orban. The elder Michael Orban was born July 26, 1835, in Bavaria, Germany, and he came to the United States with his parents when two years old. During his active years he was engaged in manufacturing brick in Summerfield, Illinois, but is now living retired at the home of his son. His wife was born March 17, 1841, in Feckweiler principality of Birkenfeld, Rhineland, Germany, and she is deceased.
Michael Orban, Junior, attended the public schools of Illinois, and then, going to Kansas, worked at farming and at other kinds of work until 1886. He then began the business career which was to be such a prosperous one, opening a small mercantile house and conducting it with increasing prosperity for twenty years, then selling and coming to California, arriving in this state in 1905. The scene of his mercantile operations was Towanda, Butler County, and while living there he invested quite extensively in
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Butler County land, and when oil was struck in the Towanda and El Dorado fields his properties were near the center of the producing land. He still owns 520 acres in this territory, and on this land producing wells have been drilled, some of which are still producing, and a part of the property is still undeveloped.
Upon coming to California Mr. Orban spent one year at Pomona, was then in the lumber business at Pasadena with his brother, Peter Orban, and continued thus off and on until 1913, when he came to Whittier with his brother and bought the business owned by the Whittier Lumber Company. For the next seven years they did a banner business, but then sold, and Michael Orban invested the proceeds in California land, for he is an enthusiast with reference to the magnificent possibilities of agriculture and horticulture in the Golden State. At present he owns 1,800 acres in Maderia County, which he has in grain, and 600 acres in Inyo County, part of which is in alfalfa, pears and apples. Mr. Orban has other interests, for he is a director in the Community Bank of Whittier, and is president of the Mutual Building & Loan Association of Whittier, one of the strongest organizations of its kind in Southern California, and he was one of the organizers of it. Since coming to Whittier he has been active in its Chamber of Commerce. He is a Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery Mason, and active in all these bodies at Whittier. A republican, while residing in Kansas he took an active part in politics and served on the several central committees of his party, and represented it as a delegate in conventions.
On September 21, 1887, Mr. Orban married in Towanda, Kansas, Miss Luella Mooney, born in Illinois, a daughter of Rev. Isaac Mooney of Towanda, Kansas, now deceased. Mrs. Orban's brother, Judge V. P. Mooney, has served as judge of the Probate and Juvenile Courts for three terms, and was recently elected for a fourth term, and is one of the leading men of his community. He was the author of the Butler County, Kansas, History. Mr. and Mrs. Orban have two children, who are twins. Vivian is the wife of D. R. LaMon, of the Anglo-California Trust Company of San Francisco, California. They have one child, Corine. The second twin, Corine, is the wife of Harold C. Chapple, an auto salesman of Whit- tier. The Christian Church of Towanda, Kansas, which was founded by the Rev. Isaac Mooney, holds the membership of Mr. Orban and his wife, and they are valued by their associates in church work, as they are in other circles, for they are fine people in every sense of the word, and worthy of the highest consideration.
GEORGE HADLEY STEWART was one of the ablest men in the financial and industrial life of California for a period of thirty years. His home during the greater part of his time was in Los Angeles. Among other honors and distinctions in public affairs he was the first president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission.
He was born in Chicago, February 25, 1852, son of Alexander Morrison and Nancy Elmira (Hadley) Stewart. As a small boy he accompanied his father during the battle of Fair Oaks in 1862, and subsequently he was made an honorary member of the One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Volun- teers Association and was also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He was educated in the public schools, attended Oberlin College preparatory department from 1862 to 1865, and from 1866 to 1868 was a student in the Wyers Military Academy at Westchester, Pennsyl- vania, and from 1869 to 1872 was a student in Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio. Before completing his education he was doing work to earn his way. He handled a newspaper route in 1870 and was clerk in a store in 1871.
Soon after leaving college Mr. Stewart came to California, and from 1872 to 1874 was employed in the grocery store at Gilroy, and from 1875 to 1881 was confidential clerk to Gen. John Bidwell at Chico. For two years (1881-82) he farmed in Fresno County, and from there removed to San Francisco, and during 1882-85 was cashier and bookkeeper in a wholesale house. He was associated with William T. Coleman at Astoria, Oregon,
alex. B. Stewart
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