History of Orange County, California : with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 133

Author: Armor, Samuel, 1843-; Pleasants, J. E., Mrs
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1700

USA > California > Orange County > History of Orange County, California : with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 133

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CHARLES HERBERT CHAPMAN .- An influential member of the board of trustees of Santa Ana who, as a very enterprising, far-seeing young man, has been able to contribute much toward the building up, and also the upbuilding of the city, is Charles H. Chapman, one of the acknowledged leaders in the lumber business. He was born near Louisville, in Pottawatomie County, Kans., on January 3, 1875, the son of Simeon J. Chapman, a native of Missouri, who settled in Pottawatomie County in October, 1868, after having lost three brothers in the Civil War. He homesteaded eighty acres there, improved the same, raised grain and stock and, when he was ready, sold his holding at a handsome profit. He located at Westmoreland, in the same county, and engaged in both the bakery and confectionery line, and in running a trans- fer business. When he retired, in 1903, he located at Santa Ana, residing for a while with our subject. He had married Miss Hattie M. Finney, a native of Ohio; and she is also, happily, still living in the enjoyment of health. Grandfather Chapman was a native of Pennsylvania, although Grandmother Chapman was of French parentage.

The fourth eldest in the order of birth, Charles H. Chapman was brought up on a farm until he was fourteen years old, during which time he attended the district school; and then he began to hustle for himself. He worked at the baker's trade, the first year for his "keep," and the following two years on a regular wage, in a bakery at Onaga, Kans., after which he entered the employ of the Onaga Lumber Company. He began at the lowest round of the ladder, worked up for nine years, and finally, when he came to have an interest in the company, had full charge of the concern. He might have remained there longer; but at the end of two years, the yard was sold, and then, instead of regarding the turn of affairs as in any way a set-back, he very wisely decided to avail himself of the opportunity to come to California.

In 1904 Mr. Chapman located at Santa Ana, and there at 120 Bush Street, at the corner of Second and Bush, he commenced what has since developed into his present imposing establishment. His yard was advantageously situated, half a block through to First Street, and by delivering with trucks, he gave general satisfaction and soon controlled an enviable trade. He also set up a small planing mill, which was kept busy filling orders from near and far. He belongs to the Retail Lumber Dealers' Association of Southern California, the Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants and Manufacturers Association; and in the latter organization, he was chairman of the Board for two years.

At Onaga, Kans., Mr. Chapman was married to Miss Myrtle M. Hayes, a native of Pottawatomie County, a lady of accomplishments and personal charms; and their fortunate union has been blessed with the birth of three children: Hazel, Elva and Viola. He was made a Mason in the Onaga Lodge in Kansas, and now he belongs to Santa Ana Lodge No. 241, at Santa Ana. He is also in the Santa Ana Council No. 14, R. & S. M .; and he, his wife and daughter are members of Hermosa Chapter, O. E. S. They attend the First Congregational Church, and Mr. Chapman teaches a boys' class in the Sunday School.

Having been elected a trustee of the city of Santa Ana in April, 1919, Mr. Chap- man is the water and sewer commissioner. He is a charter member of the Santa Ana Rotary Club, No. 641, and has long been chairman of the membership committee. He belongs to the Sunset Club, and the fact that he is chairman of its finance committee speaks for the good opinion held of him by his fellows.

@.J. Chapman

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MURRAY A. PATTON, D.D.S .- A dentist who has done much to elevate and preserve a high standard of ethics for the profession in Orange County, is Murray A. Patton of Santa Ana, who was born in Adams County, Nebr., on March 3, 1879. His father was M. B. Patton, now deceased, and he married Miss Alice Hossler. As parents having the best interests of their children at heart, they afforded such educational advantages as were possible to the lad, who grew up on a Nebraska farn.

When he was fifteen, the family came west to California, and at Santa Ana he continued his schooling, first in the grammar grades and then at the Santa Ana high school, from which he was graduated in 1900.

Going to Chicago, he took his professional courses at the dental school of the Northwestern University and graduated with the Class of '03. He might have found a lucrative field in the East, but he preferred California and so came to Santa Ana. On May 6, 1906, Dr. Patton was married to Miss Etta McNeil. Their union has been a fortunate one, and has been blessed in the hirth of two children, Thelma Chris- tine and Murray McNeil.

Dr. Patton, who is fond of hunting, golf and mountain climbing, belongs to the Lodge, Council, Chapter and Commandery in Masonry and the Elks and in the circle of each enjoys an enviable popularity. He is deeply interested in his home district, and ever ready, as a member of the Rotary Club, to "boost" any reasonable movement for local advancement.

ROY CHARLES PETERSON .- Probably there never was a time when it was equally a matter of interest as to the character and experience of the men in charge of the American shoe trade, and that may be one reason why success has rewarded the efforts of Roy Charles Peterson to serve the public, as proprietor of Peterson's Shoe Store, to the best of his ability. In Canada, where he was born, at Waterville, in Quebec, he laid the foundations on which he has subsequently, as a typically enter- prising American, so handsomely built. His father was Charles O. Peterson, and the maiden name of his mother was Margaret Porteous.

The family came to Santa Ana in 1907, and there the father engaged in the selling of shoes, and soon established an enviable reputation for both his judgment in selection and his ability to outdistance his competitors in prices. After a while he disposed of his interests, and retired. He died in January, 1920, at Santa Ana, and his good wife preceded him, passing away April 17, 1912.

Educated at the public schools in Canada, Roy was fortunate in being sent to the preparatory school for Dartmouth College at St. Johnsbury, Vt. Later, as a com- mercial representative, he traveled through the Canadian Northwest for several years. and when he joined his father at Santa Ana in 1907, it was to bring the fruits of wide wandering and varied experience for the benefit generally of the new business. In June, 1912, Mr. Peterson opened an establishment on Sycamore Street but as the busi- ness grew he moved to his new location, 215 West Fourth Street in June, 1920.

Notwithstanding these pressing obligations, Mr. Peterson responded to his coun- try's call during the great World War, and on October 30, 1918, enlisted in the Twenty-fifth Regiment, U. S. Heavy Artillery. He was keyed up for action and sacrifice; but the armistice prevented him seeing the service he had hoped to engage in. He therefore resumed, as an American and a Republican, such work as has been possible for him to perform in elevating the standard of good citizenship.

Mr. Peterson's wife was named Alice Norton before her marriage, and she shares with him an agreeable popularity in the circles where they are known. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Elks Lodge, where he is the Exalted Ruler (1920). Fond of fishing and other healthful diversions, Mr. Peterson loses no oppor- tunity to "boost" Santa Ana and all Orange County, and so is naturally a livewire in the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce.

MRS. ADELINA CARRILLO .- A charming and most interesting representative of one of California's most celebrated native families is Mrs. Adelina Carrillo, a sister of Felipa Dominguez, a daughter of Prudencio Yorba, a granddaughter of Bernardo Yorba, and a great-granddaughter of Antonio Yorba, who came direct from Spain to the Pacific Coast. Although of refined temperament and gentle demeanor, Mrs. Carrillo is a successful rancher and has very well managed her several properties, thanks in part to the assistance of her children. She owns a fine home ranch of 207 acres, and a grain ranch of 141 acres at Corona, in Riverside County, but makes her home on the ranch at Esperanza.

She was born at Yorba, then Los Angeles County, November 20, 1853, and as a child, attended the public school at Peralta, and then, to finish her education, she went to the Academy of Sisters of Charity in Los Angeles. On January 19, 1884, she was married to Joseph R. Carrillo, born in Los Angeles. Seven children blessed the union.

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Two were lost in infancy, and one has passed away of late. The other four are: Esperanza, who graduated from both the Corona high school and the State University at Berkeley, is now a teacher in the Hollywood High School; Edelfrida, also a graduate of the Corona high school, is the wife of Homer Pate, a farmer at Corona; Eutimio, the next, manages his mother's home ranch of 207 acres; and Elena is the wife of Norman Reeves, the oil man living at Esperanza. Eutimio served in the great World War, and joined the provost guard at Camp Kearny; and after serving with honor in the infantry, he was discharged with the coveted credentials on January 9, 1919, at Camp Kearny. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus.

Audel, the fourth oldest, was assisting in operating his mother's ranches when a mournful tragedy disturbed the otherwise placid waters of the Carrillo family life -- a tragedy whose one consolation was the evidence of the old heroic Yorba spirit that had animated the family for generations. On May 26, 1919, Audel Carrillo, visiting the Corona ranch, suddenly came upon two Mexican bandits who had broken into the ranch house and they shot him in cold blood-first, two inches below the heart and secondly in the back. With wonderful nerve and fortitude, the wounded young man, although bleeding profusely, drove his automobile to Corona at a speed of forty-five miles an hour, in quest of medical aid; and after personally reporting his case to the police, he went to the Riverside Hospital. There he was operated upon and made a brave fight for life; and although he lived from ten o'clock that morning until eight o'clock the following evening, he died on May 27, in his twenty-seventh year. He was powerfully . built and had been not only an indefatigable worker, but had played fullback on the Corona high school football team. He was, therefore, a general favorite-loved by everyone who knew him; and when he was buried at the Yorba Cemetery, his remains were followed to their last resting place by a large concourse of friends.

E. MARTIN CHRISTENSEN .- An upright, energetic and thoroughly capable young man who has already had a broad and valuable experience in life, is E. M. Christensen, known to his friends as "Martin," a native son, having been born in Los Angeles on November 20, 1884. His father was S. Christensen, a native of Denmark, who had married Johanna Christine Johnson, of Sweden. They were made man and wife in California, and came to Orange County in 1890. He had been foreman for the Griffith Lumber Company in Los Angeles, where he also built up a transfer busi- ness in the early eighties; and was employed by that firm to come to Santa Ana, lay out their yard here, and start their business. He is now an orange grower and has a ranch of forty-seven acres in the Garden Grove precinct, and there he and his good wife are among the most respected residents. Eight children-five boys and three girls-were born of this union; one boy died in 1886, and a daughter married Samuel Gibson and died on January 13, 1920.

S. Christensen having moved with his family direct to his ranch at Garden Grove in 1890, Martin Christensen's schooling was obtained in the Garden Grove district. He worked on the home farm until he was sixteen, and then he went north to Alaska, to seek his fortune. At Seward he worked with a construction gang for eleven months, when he was kicked by a horse and so severely injured that he was laid up in the hospital and lost his hearing in the left ear for fourteen years. Of late he has been slowly recovering the use of the injured organ, thanks to scientific skill and the patient ministrations of a devoted doctor.

From Alaska Mr. Christensen came back to the States and followed construction work in Oregon and San Francisco as a cement finisher. He reached San Francisco just after the earthquake, and the following year settled in Garden Grove, where he established himself as a cement contractor and manufacturer of cement pipes for irri- gation. He had no difficulty in demonstrating his ability in his chosen field, and soon built up an extensive business in pipe-making and the installing of irrigation systems.

Mr. Christensen's cement pipe plant is located on the ten acres which he bought in the Garden Grove precinct in November, 1919, and where he has a full complement of machinery and tools, with a mixer run by a two-horse power electric motor. He makes eight-inch, ten-inch and twelve-inch pipe, and in this section alone has laid about 100 miles of piping.

Besides this property, Mr. Christensen owns ten acres in the Katella voting pre- cinct, where he resides, and two houses and lots in Garden Grove. He belongs to the Orange Growers Association at Garden Grove, to the Walnut Growers Association at Anaheim, and to the Central Lemon Growers Association at Villa Park, being inter- ested in the culture of all three of these fruits.

On April 7, 1915, Mr. Christensen was married to Miss Rachel Knapp, a sister of J. A. Knapp, the well-known "Chili King." He and his good wife belong to the Bap- tist Church, and under the leadership of the Republican party, he votes for the prin- ciples and the men representing them most appealing to his conscience.

EMailin Christensen

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY

MRS. FELIPA Y. DOMINGUEZ .- A very interesting and distinguished repre- sentative of one of the noblest of Southern California families is Mrs. Felipa Dominguez, the well-to-do widow of the late Pablo Dominguez, and a successful rancher at Esper- anza, six miles east of Placentia in the Santa Ana Canyon. She always has a story to tell that is well worth the hearing; and those who are thus favored never forget the charm of her sympathetic and genial personality, as a delightful souvenir of "the good old days" of California hospitality.

The parents of Mrs. Dominguez were Prudencio Yorba and his good wife, who was Dolores Ontiveros before her marriage, and they had twelve children: Felipa, our subject, was the eldest, and attended the Sisters School at Los Angeles; Adelina, the next in the order of birth, is now Mrs. Carrillo and owns a ranch of 207 acres in the Yorba precinct, in which district David, unmarried, also lives; Angelina is the wife of Samuel Kraemer and resides in Placentia; Prudencio S. is also a rancher of the Yorba precinct; Zoraida is the widow of Coleman Travis, long a neighboring Yorba rancher, and Ernest is also a Yorba farmer; Dolores and her husband, Joseph Ruiz, reside in Santa Maria; Esperanza lived to see her fifteenth year, and the other children passed away at a very early age. Esperanza, the freight station on the Santa Fe, which has proven of such convenience in the dispatching of fresh fruit and other farm products, was named after the lamented daughter. Mrs. Dominguez was born at Yorba, August 24, 1852, and is now, therefore, one of the oldest settlers in what is now Orange County.

Mrs. Dominguez was unusually fortunate in her ancestry and may be pardoned for especial pride in her family associations with the historic past. Her great-grand- father was Antonio Yorba, a native of Catalonia, Spain, who came to the Pacific Coast as a soldier under the Spanish commander Fages. He landed at Monterey, and stopped for a while at the famous Monterey Mission. Being full of adventure, however, he explored nearly all of Southern California lying south of Yerba Buena, and fell in love particularly with that portion of the country which was drained by the Santa Ana River and the Santiago Creek. He obtained a grant to this land, which included all the lands from San Bernardino drained by the Santa Ana River and the Santiago Creek, to the Pacific Ocean; and under his hand this vast area became a very celebrated rancho. Legally, it was known as "El Canon de San Antonio de Santa Ana de los Yorba;" and after the death of Antonio Yorba, the title passed to his son, Bernardo Yorba. The latter improved the property in many respects, and built thereon a mag- nificent adobe of 90 rooms, which was the scene of many elaborate social functions. It had a dance hall with a polished floor, where fandango after fandango furnished enjoy- ment to the wide-awake young people. The third wife of Bernardo Yorba was a very ambitious and progressive woman, and she induced Bernardo to establish various kinds of shops and mills, where leather was tanned, and shoes, harness, saddles, lariats, tools, woolen, etc., mere manufactured. Utensils of iron and copper, axes, picks, shovels, locks and keys were among the things made, and many of these products are still known to exist. The ruins only of the spacious old adobe still stand; it was of two stories, the walls were twenty-six inches thick, and they were finished with white plaster. Rancho Yorba became one of the richest, as it was also one of the most cele- brated Spanish grants in Southern California. Bernardo Yorba lived to be fifty-eight years of age. Prudencio Yorba died July 3, 1885, and his wife, on November 24, 1894.

Mrs. Dominguez is also related, in a very interesting way, to one of the notable families of the North. She is a niece of Abraham Ontiveros, of Santa Maria, who was born on the San Juan Cajon rancho, on April 5. 1852, and was educated by Spanish tutors and in the public schools. He grew up on the Tepesquet ranch, and upon his father's death, inherited 2,000 acres of valuable land. Being decidedly progressive, he introduced the most up-to-date methods and machinery in the raising of his grain and stock; his horses became his pride; and to properly irrigate his land, he built a reservoir with a capacity of 200,000 gallons, on an elevation 150 feet high. After a residence of more than fifty years on his home ranch, Mr. Ontiveros abandoned farm life and moved into the town of Santa Maria. His two marriages united him with the well-known, long established Spanish families of Vidal and Arellanes.

Pablo Dominguez was born at Peralta, Orange County, in 1836, descended from an old family of California. After his marriage to Felipa Yorba, they engaged in farming at Peralta until his death in 1895, after which Mrs. Dominguez moved to her ranch at Esperanza which she inherited from her father, where she reared and educated her children. Mrs. Dominguez's 414 acres of land, was devoted largely to viticulture. When it became apparent that the nation would "go dry," the vines were grubbed out and in 1919 twenty-five acres of Valencia oranges planted in their stead. A Fordson tractor is used for plowing, and eight horses assist in the cultivating. Mrs. Dominguez makes use of a Paige automobile, and thus rapidly moves about where her distinguished

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ancestors journeyed in more leisurely fashion. Two hundred acres are planted to barley, and sixty acres to lima beans.

Five children blessed the union of Pablo and Felipa Dominguez: Dorinda is the wife of Adolph Marzo, he is the proprietor of the tomato cannery at Placentia, and resides at Peralta; Arnulfo Orlando, manages his mother's ranch, he also owns eighteen acres of budded walnuts on the south side of the Santa Ana River, which he himself planted six years ago; Lydia married Julian Yorba, the Puente rancher; Carlos N. helps to run the ranch, he joined the United States infantry, and was on the way to New York, to sail for France, when the train was wrecked at Geneva, Ill., and he suffered a compound fracture of the right leg, as the result of which he was honorably dis- charged: Pablo Vicente is married to Laura Irene Knowlton and resides in Anaheim, but he also assists his mother to operate the Dominguez ranch. The family attend the Catholic Church at Yorba, and enjoy their reunions in the handsome eight-room residence erected by Mrs. Dominguez in 1908.

JOSEPH NUSBAUMER .- An able and all-around excellent young man is Joseph Nusbaumer, son of the late Joseph Nusbaumer, the well-known pioneer who came to what is now the Newport precinct, then Los Angeles, now Orange County, as early as 1882. The elder Nusbaumer was born in Alsace, France, April 25, 1847. He served in the French army in the Franco-Prussian War. Immediately after the close of the war he came to Reno, Nev., and there he was married to Miss Sarah Britton, a native of Dayton, Ohio. She came to Nevada with friends, where she met Mr. Nusbaumer, and in September, 1882, they located in Newport precinct and purchased twenty acres which is still held by the family. Mr. Nusbaumer brought with him some of the most desirable qualities of the hard-working European; and these virtues, with those of the accom- plished and ambitious American wife, were happily transmitted in their one child, the subject of our interesting sketch, who had the good fortune to be born a native son, at Santa Ana, Cal., on November 9 of the year when his parents took up their residence here. The father died on July 24, 1917, but his widow is still living.

On March 16, 1911, Joseph Nusbanmer was married at Santa Ana to Miss Beulah Lawrence, a charming and devoted lady, who was reared in the pleasant environment of Sherman, Texas. Together they have striven and worked; and as a natural reward for intelligent operation, they enjoy a handsome return from all their investments.

Mr. Nusbaumer is a Republican in matters of national political import, but he does not allow partisanship to interfere with his supporting the best men and the most reasonable measures. This is particularly the case in local affairs. He and his broad-minded wife take a keen interest in popular education, and he is a trustee of the Diamond school district, situated two miles southwest of Santa Ana.

FRED BOOSEY .- No district in Orange County, perhaps, has been more noted than Tustin for its many busy ranchers, among whom Fred Boosey must be mentioned as having made for himself a high place in the esteem of all who know him. He owns a well-cultivated ranch of ten acres devoted to citrus fruit, although he is also exten- sively engaged in bean growing. He formerly worked as high as 500 acres in a season, hut at present he is operating 300 acres in conjunction with his orange ranch.

Mr. Boosey was born in Kansas on December 6, 1883, and is the son of Oliver and Sarah (Sherbet) Boosey, natives of the state of Vermont. The father served in a Vermont regiment in the Civil War, having enlisted when seventeen years of age. They migrated to Riley County, Kans., at an early day in the history of that state, and settled there as homesteaders; and they now reside at Clay Center, Kans. To them were born fifteen children, and twelve are living, among whom our subject is the elev- enth in the order of birth. Five of this number are in California, and two in Orange County-Henry and Fred. Howard, another brother, served in the World War.

Fred Boosey was reared and educated in the public schools of his native state, and always confined himself, until 1901, to agricultural pursuits. In 1901 he migrated to California, and since 1904 he has been in Tustin, Orange County, engaged in hean growing. In 1917 he bought the ten acres on Yorba Street which he devotes to Valencia oranges. As the result of his thorough way of carrying through any work undertaken, Mr. Boosey has never failed, with a good understanding of the local field, and by the application of the "last word" in science, to get high results.

In February, 1917, Mr. Boosey was happily united in marriage to Miss Celina Dalton, the daughter of Adolph and Emma (Hunt) Dalton, born in Montreal, Canada. but married in Massachusetts. A native of Chicago, Ill., she was educated in the public schools, and St. Anne's Academy. She is delighted with Southern California; is a lover of nature, and therefore enjoys the flowers and the birds of the Golden State, and could not he induced to return to the "windy city" by the lakes. Mr. Boosey is a believer in cooperation and is a member of the Santiago Orange Growers Association at Orange.

here lina lerose

la Filerose

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY

CHARLES F. CROSE .- It is true that when an individual is endowed hy nature with the valuable traits of determination and perseverance their success in life is usually a foregone conclusion. These characteristics were dominant in the character of the late Charles F. Crose, who was widely esteemed for his active participation in interests of a public nature, while he lived the few years granted him to be a citizen of Orange County.

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History of Orange County, California : with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 133

Author: Armor, Samuel, 1843-; Pleasants, J. E., Mrs Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1700

Author: Armor, Samuel, 1843-; Pleasants, J. E., Mrs
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1700