History of Los Angeles county, Volume II, Part 85

Author: McGroarty, John Steven, 1862-1944
Publication date: 1923
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 840

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Many years ago George Wright bought ninety-six acres of wild land at Azusa. Of this Julian C. Wright still owns thirty-six acres. When they obtained it it was absolutely wild and arid, and J. C. Wright set a portion of it to citrus fruit. He now has his modern home on this land, at the cor- ner of Alosta and Ben Lomand avenues. Mr. Wright as a youth did all the work of a typical rancher and stock raiser. He recalls Los Angeles when it was a Pueblo town, with no side walks, and with only three brick houses. The streets were dusty or muddy trails and the water works con- sisted of a donkey drawn cart with a barrel of water peddled from door to door, and the river was the community bath house.

Of all the trips there ever was, it surely seems to me

It was the time we started west, when we left old Kankakee.

It was the land of plenty, the land of hogs and corn;

There was plenty of chills and fever, it was the place where I was born.

Our outfit was not of the modern kind-it was a prairie schooner ;

If we would have had a Henry Ford, we would have got there sooner. We had a lot of luggage and camped out every night,

There was a lot of work to do to fix things up alright ;

The nights were pretty cold and the days were pretty warm,

Sometimes we would be traveling in the worst kind of a storm.

We came to the Mississippi, it was too deep to ford,

A boat is the thing we ought to have had, but did not have a board.

Some people would get fussed up, but you couldn't scare the boss; We calked the wagon bed with a blanket and ferried right across.

It was here we left Old Illinois, the land that we loved best, And struck out across the plains for the wild and woolly west. The oxen swam the river with the men upon their backs,

They carried their clothes upon their heads, tied up in a sack. We started out that morning, the roads were the worst we ever had. This was the land of the Navajo Indian and they were a-getting bad.

There was a plenty of timber and grass, and the country was getting flat,

We camped on the bank of a river, I think they called it the Platte.

The mosquitoes were very bad while we were catching some fish, Which after traveling so far was a very tempting dish.

Down in the southern skies we saw an awful dust

And somebody said it was Indians, they were making an awful fuss ;

So we drove the wagons in a circle and made a hollow square,

Now we could see a black streak on the horizon and

For the Indians we began to prepare.

The dust was getting thicker and something was sure on the go;

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We soon were convinced it was not Indians, but a herd of Buffalo. There must have been a million, for they were passing by all day, After killing a few for the meat we were busy storing it away ; The Buffalo they were traveling north and we were traveling west, So we thought that we would lay over a day and take a little rest. We traveled on until we came to the land of old Geronimo ; He said that with our contraption across his land we could not go. Our Boss was named Kit Carson, he was an Indian scout,

He said that he would like to know what the fuss was all about.

They had not quarreled but a little while till Geronimo began to run.,

For he only had a bow and arrow and Kit Carson had a gun. We started out for California on the Old Santa Fe trail And there we found Old Buffalo Bill carrying the U. S. mail;

We came across a government fort on the Pages River in New Mexico,

The Commander said we would have to stay for it was not safe to go.

As winter was coming on and the Apaches were getting bad, We certainly needed a little rest, so we were really glad ;

We had had a plenty of grief and were not looking for an Indian fight,

So we stayed there for over a year and I think it was all right ;

For in the spring there came a lot of Pioneers-that made a bigger train.

So we piled our things in the wagons and went towards California again.

We went over the mountains to Albuquerque, camped upon the Rio Grande ; It is not a great river for water, but great for sand,

Then went through the land that once belonged to old Montezuma,

Went through Tucson and stopped at Fort Yuma ;

We crossed the Colorado on a ferry with Mr. Polhamus

And went through the valley that muskmellons made famous;

Got into California, down in the southeast corner,

And came through the ranch that belonged to Colonel Warner ;

Then stopped at a lake and camped at a hot spring,

So as to feed up our cattle and to wash out a few things ;

Came through Temescal and went down to Puente. Talk of your pioneer trips and in this trip we had plenty.

So we went through Los Angeles, a small Mexican town,

Went down near Compton and there we settled down;

Bought us a span of horses and sold our steers,

And there we went to farming and stayed there forty years.

JULIAN CARSON WRIGHT.

THOMAS S. CHENEY, one of the leading citizens of Pomona, is a self- made man, and one who has earned honestly, by hard work and good man- agement, what he possesses today. He has also earned the respect and con- fidence of his associates, and by them is held in high regard. Mr. Cheney was born in Carroll County, Arkansas, August 27, 1847, a son of William W. and Martha (Meek) Cheney, the former of whom was born in Oberlin County, Tennessee, in 1815, while the latter was born in Indiana. They went overland to Carroll County, Arkansas, in about 1832, and became pioneer farmers of that region. Of their twelve children ten reached ma- turity, and of them all Thomas S. was the fifth in order of birth. Leaving Arkansas in 1856, the Cheney family came to California, over the route that led north of Salt Lake, and were fortunate in having no Indian troubles on their long trip. Settling in Solano County, the father rented land and farmed it for a time, but subsequently went to Napa, now Lake County and worked for others during 1860. Then for three years he raised cattle in San Luis Opispo County, but as these were all dry years he was bankrupted, and in 1863 he went to Soledad Canyon, Los Angeles County, and spent one year in that vicinity. From there he moved to San Bernardino, and was there for five years. He was also at Downey, but died at Rivera in 1897, his wife having passed away in 1880 at Santa Monica.

Owing to the different changes in residence the education of Thomas S. Cheney was somewhat limited, but he attended the country schools and

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made the best of his opportunities, few though they were, and when he was only sixteen years old he left school and began riding horses for range work, which meant eighteen hours daily in the saddle.

When he was twenty-three years old he married Miss Celia Elizabeth Neighbors ; she was born in Mississippi, a daughter of Allen W. and Pris- cilla (Burroughs) Neighbors, who came to California in 1864 with ox teams from Texas, to which state they had gone from Mississippi with teams on account of the disturbed condition in Mississippi during war times. They were cattle raisers. Mr. Neighbors died at Los Angeles in November, 1907, and Mrs. Neighbors died in Arkansas many years before him. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney had four children born to them, namely: Ella May, who was born September 25, 1874, at Downey, California, married W. H. Nixon, now of Fort Worth, Texas; Ida Arminta, who was born March 2, 1877, married C. C. Stalmaker, and died February 15, 1919, and two boys who died in infancy.

After his marriage Mr. Cheney settled at Downey, and for a time con- ducted a dairy, and he also at one time conducted one at San Luis Obispo. For thirty years he was engaged in farming, first on rented land, but later on his own property, his farm containing sixty acres. This he sold at the end of the thirty years, and going to San Luis Obispo, bought 807 acres of good grazing land that he sold in 1919 at a handsome profit, and bought his present comfortable home at Pomona. When Mr. Cheney began life for himself he was penniless, and had to ride the range in order to get a little money with which to go into business. In everything he undertook his wife was his partner, and their married life has been a 50-50 proposition, and he accords to her full credit for what she has accomplished. He has been a life-long democrat, but has not cared for office. Such men as he have been the backbone in the great development of Los Angeles County, and it is gratifying that he, with many others, have been spared to see and enjoy what their hard work and many sacrifices have produced.

HIRAM DANIEL CLARK. It has been truthfully said that no man can live to himself alone, and in nothing is this more clearly proven than in business operations. Each individual and every concern is dependent, the one on the other, not only for a successful operation, but for life itself. It is this mutual dependency which makes possible the growth and develop- ment of a community and the consequent rise to wealth and power of its citizens. When the fertile soil of the San Fernando Valley was made to yield bumper crops, not only did ranchers profit, but there was created an immediate demand for reliable concerns to handle the produce and provide the necessary supplies for carrying on these large activities. One of the enterprising young men of Los Angeles County who was far- sighted enough to see the opening and profit by it is Hiram Daniel Clark, proprietor of the Lankershim Grain Company of Lankershim, a concern that is doing a splendid business and adding its portion to the general pros- perity of the San Fernando Valley.

Hiram Daniel Clark was born at Los Angeles, June 29, 1893, a son of William E. Clark, a native of Kansas. He was educated in the Sunflower State, but left it when still a lad and came to California. After numerous experiences of a varying nature he established his present feed and fuel business at Los Angeles, has developed it to large proportions, and is now recognized as among the reliable dealers in these commodities in his home city.

Growing up at Los Angeles, Hiram Daniel Clark was given the educa- tional advantages afforded by the excellent public schools of that city, and was taught the dignity of labor and the wisdom of being thrifty by his watchful father. His first connection with the business world was as an. employe of the Pacific Telephone Company, and he continued with it for five useful years, and when he left it to embark in his present undertaking he carried with him the good wishes of his employers and associates. Upon coming to Lankershim Mr. Clark recognized the propriety and wisdom of

Frank G. Ferriou

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY

working for civic advancement through regularly organized associations, and enrolled himself as a member of the Chamber of Commerce of this community, and has continued active in the deliberations of this body. For several years he has been an enthusiastic member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, but this is his only fraternal tie.

Mr. Clark is a family man, as he married, October 21, 1915, Miss Alice I. Tucker, who was born, reared and educated at Sierra Madre, California. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have two bright little children, Betty and Robert. Not only is Mr. Clark enjoying a business prestige that must be gratifying, but he is recognized as a dependable citizen as well. His business is constantly expanding, and his territory now covers the whole of the San Fernando Valley. He handles hay, grain and everything in poultry supplies, including incubators and brooders of the latest and most approved designs, and his offices and warerooms cover a floor space of 50,000 square feet. Employ- ment is given to five experienced salespeople. Having been so occupied . with business Mr. Clark has not found time to enter politics, but he does take an intelligent interest in seeing that first-class men are elected to office, and giving such candidates a whole-hearted support in every way within his power. It is such young men as Mr. Clark who are making the San Fernando Valley what it is today, and too much credit cannot be accorded to them and to their enterprise and sagacity.

ALBERT M. MONTGOMERY was born in Jamestown, California, April 4, 1870. His father, Albert G. Montgomery, was of a Southern family, be- ing born in South Carolina. His mother, Helen Maither, was a Canadian. The little family of three did not live long in Jamestown, but moved to Santa Monica when Albert was four years old. At this time the town was of small dimension, there being a school house as the central structure and a few scattered residences. Mr. Montgomery had to thank this school for his education. Even at the adolescent age, when most lads enjoy many hours of play, Mr. Montgomery's time out of class was employed by his taking care of the school room.

After graduating from this edifice of learning he was employed for some years in a general store. There he learned the trade of a merchant, and decided to become one himself. Many of his friends, among them men of financial success, emphatically discouraged him in his proposed venture. But in the face of all the discouraging advice he, with a partner, Mr. F. B. McComas, established a small dry goods and men's furnishing store on Third Street. Mr. McComas was bought out some few years later. The little business flourished and grew from year to year until 1922 saw "Mont- gomery's" the largest dry goods and men's furnishing house in the Bay District.

Throughout his life Mr. Montgomery was always intensely interested and an ardent helper in all civic undertakings. He was a member of the . Chamber of Commerce and of the Elks, and was for four years on the Santa Monica School Board. He was a democrat, a member of the Mer- chants Association and of the Greater Santa Monica Club.

Mr. Montgomery died January 1, 1923, and left surviving him his wife, Isabelle H. Montgomery, and son Irving. No man who has ever passed into the great void of which we know so little was ever so sincerely missed by his friends. Death took away a good man, but it did not and never can erase. the tender memories of him from those who were favored with his acquaintanceship.

FRANK FINLEY MERRIAM, Speaker of the California Assembly, was born on a farm near Hopkinton, Iowa, December 22, 1865. His father, Henry Clay Merriam, was Massachusetts born, an Iowa pioneer and Civil war veteran; his mother, Anna E. Finley, was of Irish parentage and a native of famous Pike County, Missouri. The son was the eldest of eleven children and inherited many of the sterling qualities which characterized the life and deeds of his father.

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Frank F. Merriam was educated in the public schools and at Lenox College from which he graduated in 1888. He earned his own way through college, first as janitor, then as librarian and later as teacher. During the vacations he worked on a farm or at carpenter work. He was an honor man, winning the college oratorical contest and representing his institution in the state association. Immediately after graduation from Lenox College, he was elected principal of the Hopkinton schools where he remained for three years. He was then elected superintendent of schools at Wisner, Nebraska, and reelected for the ensuing year but resigned to take charge of the speaker's bureau of the Iowa Republican State Com- mittee in the presidential campaign. Returning to teaching after the campaign, he was principal of the Hesper, Iowa, schools and then Superintendent at Postville, Iowa.

Having purchased the Hopkinton Leader, he finally gave up school work to engage in the newspaper business. In connection with his newspaper work, he was clerk of the House Committee on appropriations and at the next session clerk of the Senate Committee on Judiciary of the Iowa Legislature ; in 1896 and 1898 he was a member of the House of Represen- tatives and by reason of his experience early became a leader and chairman of the most important committees.

In 1898 he was nominated and elected Auditor of State of Iowa on the republican ticket, later receiving the nomination for a second term without opposition ; and election by nearly one hundred thousand majority over the fusion candidate. Following his occupancy of the Auditor's office, Mr. Merriam removed to Muskogee, Indian Territory, where he engaged in the newspaper business, first as part owner and editor of the Times and later as half owner and business manager of the Phoenix. Owing to sickness in the family the Merriams removed to Long Beach, California in 1910 and have since made that city their home.

Mr. Merriam's California experience has been exceedingly pleasant. For ten years he was connected with the advertising department of the Long Beach Press, resigning as advertising manager to give personal attention to other business in which he had become interested. In 1922 he undertook the management in Southern California of Friend W. Richardson's campaign for governor. The effectiveness of the primary campaign and the later campaign for election is indicated in the ballots cast for the various candidates.

Business success, however, does not measure the attainments of Mr. Merriam in Long Beach. In 1916 he was elected to the California Assembly from the Seventieth District and was reelected in 1918, 1920 and 1922. The last election was unanimous, since no candidate opposed him either in the primary or the election contest. He was elected Speaker of the forty-fifth session and served with great credit and distinction. As a presiding officer he was appreciated for his "ability, uniform courtesy, impartiality and fairness." Although the session was the longest since the Civil war and many questions were debated with vigor and intense earnestness, these situations but emphasized his splendid leadership.

The legislative career of Mr. Merriam, his successful part in the campaign for Governor Richardson, and his popularity as Speaker of the Assembly by reason of his ability and fairness, have made him one of the foremost political leaders in California. He has uniformly supported the progressive policies in state government; has been a staunch advocate of the principle of economy and efficiency in the business of government ; and has given his efforts in behalf of moral and humanitarian questions. Having been a teacher, he is a friend of education and a strong supporter of measures looking to its advancement.

Few men are held in higher esteem at his home in Long Beach than Frank Merriam. No man is used more than a useful man. The man who is always busy is the man who is always needed. Mr. Merriam is serving his third year as president of the local Red Cross Chapter; has just relinquished the chairmanship of the Boy Scout Council; is president

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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY

of the Long Beach Advertising Club ; a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce; president of the Fourth Supervisorial Chambers of Com- merce ; assistant superintendent of the Sunday School of the First Presby- terian Church; president of the Men's Bible Class and president of the Federated Church Brotherhood of Long Beach. As a fraternalist, he is a member of the Masons, Elks, Moose and Knights of Pythias lodges. He has just relinquished the position of Royal Vizier of the Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan and at the 1923 session of the Grand Lodge was elected Grand Prelate of the California Knights of Pythias.

In all his efforts, civic, fraternal and political, Mr. Merriam has been most ably seconded and aided by his wife, Nellie E. Merriam. She has taken much interest and an important part in club affairs, being affiliated with the P. E. O. Sisterhood, the Daughters of American Revolution, Pythian Sisters, Ebell Club, City Club and church organizations. For two years she was president of Chapter AF, P. E. O .; Organizing Regent and Regent for two years of the Long Beach Chapter Daughters of American Revolution ; and for two years Supreme President of the Pythian Sisters.

CHARLES A. MCCLINTIC, who has had an extensive experience in the real estate business in this section of Los Angeles County, was born in Milroy, Pennsylvania, and is the son of Rev. Hugh and C. Elizabeth (Ehrenfeld) McClintic.

After completing his education he spent a few years at school teach- ing in his native state, and for about five years was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Pittsburgh. Following that he engaged in the jewelry business, and in 1910 he arrived in California and. located at Los Angeles, following the same line. Since the spring of 1912 his home has been at Eagle Rock. In 1920 he engaged in the real estate busi- ness, which he has since followed. He recently formed a copartnership with E. E. Bowen, and the firm has its offices at 5210 East Ridgeway Avenue. He is a member of the local Real Estate Board, the California Real Estate Association and the National Real Estate Association. Mr. McClintic has property interests in Eagle Rock and elsewhere.

He married Miss E. Jeanetta Macklin, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 10, 1910. They have two children, Eileen and Robert Hugh, the former a native of Los Angeles and the latter of Eagle Rock. Mrs. McClintic is a member of the Woman's Twentieth Century Club of Eagle Rock and is an active worker in St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.

CLARENCE WHIPPLE has been on the Pacific Coast twenty years, and has been a salesman, contractor and is now in the real estate business at Huntington Park. He and J. O. McDonald in July, 1921, established the firm of Whipple & McDonald to do a general real estate, insurance, loan and contracting business. Their offices are at 251 South Pacific Boulevard, and they have a working force of about twenty people. They handle resi- dence, business and industrial property. The firm are members of the Realty Board and the State and National Realty Associations.

Mr. Whipple was born at Salem, Michigan, October 2, 1876, son of Henry and Isabel (McGraw) Whipple. His parents, now deceased, were born in Michigan, and his father was a farmer. Clarence Whipple was reared in his native state, attended public schools, the Ann Arbor High School, the Ypsilanti Business College and finished his education in the University of Michigan. His first experience as a traveling salesman was as a representative of the Peninsula Portland Cement Company. He also was a stock salesman for the Mount Clemens Beet Sugar Company. In 1902 he came to California, locating at Ocean Side, and for a time represented the Arnot Coat & Robe Company of Detroit, Michigan, with territory all over the Northwest. For a year or so Mr. Whipple was connected with the DuBois & Davidson Furniture Company, and in 1906 engaged in the con- tracting business, with headquarters at Los Angeles.

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His home has been in Huntington Park since 1903, and he continued in the contracting business here until 1918, when he took up real estate as an additional line and since his partnership with Mr. McDonald has devoted a large part of his time to the contracting work of the firm. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On July 29, 1902, Mr. Whipple married Miss Rose Roule, of Detroit, Michigan, where she was born and educated. They have one son, Clarence H.

JOSEPH OLIVER McDONALD is junior member of the real estate firm of Whipple & McDonald at Huntington Park. He has been in the real estate business for several years in California.

Mr. McDonald was born at Brighton, Wisconsin, was reared there, attending the public schools, and his experiences up to the age of twenty- two were limited to the farm. Following that for a time he was in the mercantile business at Burlington, Wisconsin, and then became a traveling representative of the Homer Laughlin China Company of Liverpool, Ohio.

Mr. McDonald located at Huntington Park in 1916, and soon afterward became identified with the real estate business. He has been a member of the firm Whipple & McDonald since 1921. He is a member of the local Realty Board, the State and National Real Estate Associations, and is a Mason and Elk. In 1913 he married Miss Anna Landerman, of Rockford, Illinois.

J. WALKER CLARK, D. C., has represented his profession in Hunting- ton Park with marked ability and success, his associate in the practice of chiropractic being his wife, Mrs. Clark, who is also a graduate of the same school as her husband.

Doctor Clark was born at Paulding, Ohio, July 14, 1889, son of Dr. Robert J. and Emma E. (DeWitt) Clark. His parents were natives of Indiana, his father of Ossian and his mother of Reifsburg. Dr. Robert J. Clark was educated for the medical profession, and practiced for a number of years in Elwood, Indianapolis, South Bend, Elkhart and Goshen, and is now living retired at Cincinnati, Ohio.

J. Walker Clark received his early education in the public schools at Marion, Indiana, and for eight years was a traveling salesman for the Nordyke Marmon Automobile Company of Indianapolis. He gave up a business career to become a student in the Ross College of Chiropractic of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was graduated with the Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 1921. Doctor Clark practiced at Marion, Indiana, until October, 1922, when he located at Huntington Park, California. He is a member of the fraternities of the Masons, Elks and Odd Fellows, and belongs to the Huntington Park Chamber of Commerce and the Presbyterian Church.

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History of Los Angeles county, Volume II, Part 85

Author: McGroarty, John Steven, 1862-1944 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Number of Pages: 840

Author: McGroarty, John Steven, 1862-1944
Publication date: 1923
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 840