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 179

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 179

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Mrs. Ferguson's art is to be seen at the galleries at Exposition Park, in Los Angeles, and also in San Francisco. She is an active member in the Independent Society of Artists of New York City, the California Art Club and the Laguna Beach Art Association, of which she is a charter member. She also belongs to the Hollywood Woman's Club, and to the MacDowell Society.

GEORGE ROHRS .- A hard-working, progressive and successful native son of whom California may well be proud, is George Rohrs, whose life reflects his high ideals, and does credit alike to his esteemed parents and to himself. His father was Fred Rohrs, the well-known rancher and realty owner, who was born in Germany, in the historic year of 1848, and came out to America when he was still in his teens. His mother was Anna Gobrugge before her marriage, also a native of that country, and she came to the land of greater freedom, hoping to better her condition-a wish that was amply satisfied. They were true pioneers of the great state of Ohio, where they were married, and later did their part in helping to develop the still greater common- wealth of California.

George was born in Orange County on December 10, 1884, and attended the Central school at Santa Ana. Then he worked on his father's ranches. In time, too. he purchased twenty acres to the west of his father's ranch, where he set out orange and walnut trees. He also sunk a good well, and so has reserve water for irrigation. as has his father on the home ranch. He uses a tractor and horses, and works his ranch at the same time that he operates his father's. He is a member of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company.

In May, 1914, Mr. Rohrs was married to Miss Dora Miller, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Miller, of Tustin Avenue, whereupon they went to the East on an extended honeymoon trip of several months. He had already built a fine residence upon his ranch, and furnished the same, and it was ready for his home upon their return. Mr. Rohrs was the owner of real estate and specially of buildings for business purposes in Santa Ana, so that he may well be looked upon as one of the men of affairs in the city.

L. E. ALLEN .- A conservative, but enterprising rancher who has had the advan- tage of seeing the steady growth and sure development of the county from the time that he was a boy, so that it is perfectly natural for him to work for home interests. and especially, with his appreciation of education and love of literature, for the public schools, is L. E. Allen, a native of Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada, where he first saw the light on April 14, 1883. His father, H. A. Allen, was born in Ontario and a descendant of a well-established old Puritan family of the New England states. He became both a farmer and a banker, and married Emma German, a native of the Empire State, a member of that fine old New England circle among whom was Senator Obadiah German.

H. A. Allen came out to California on a visit in 1860, but returned to Canada. Twenty-four years later, he returned, with his family. L. E. Allen was then a babe; but in the course of his boyhood he progressed through the grammar grades of the local schools. On April 14, 1886, Mr. and Mrs. Allen and their family moved on to the eight acres on Main Street, known as the Potts Place, which constituted the home ranch; and there our subject, as a dutiful son, worked until he was twenty-one years old. When the father died, in 1916, he left over eighty acres of land to his widow, Mrs. Emma Allen.

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L. E. Allen helped Mr. Stevens survey the Fruit Company's ranch and helped to set out many of the best orchards in this section. His brother, A. H. Allen, is a partner with him in their ranch enterprises, operating fifty-two acres of land in the city limits of Santa Ana, with two residences, nearly all set out to walnuts. They use tractors and horses to operate the ranch. Another brother, Gerald, and the mother, Mrs. H. A. Allen, now reside at Los Angeles. Mr. Allen belongs to the Santa Ana Walnut Association and the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company, and in national politics is a Republican; but he endeavors to perform his duty in relation to local affairs by a groad-gauged nonpartisanship, enabling him to work and vote for the best men and the best measures. ,

JOHN W. SAUERS .- Yorba Avenue borders some of the most attractive ranches in the Tustin District, and of special attraction is the well-developed property owned and operated by John W. Sauers, a native Nebraskan, who is widely known as one of the most practical of farmers. There are twenty acres in the tract, and nine are de- voted to English walnuts, while eleven bear Valencia oranges. Ten of these acres Mr. Sauers purchased in 1913, and upon the original ranch he built his dwelling house; the other ten he bought as recently as 1917. All the land was in poor condition when he first acquired it, but now he is able to point to a high state of cultivation. The splendid and well-kept appearance of his orchard demonstrates the large amount of labor and care he gives to the cultivation of his place, leaving the soil and trees in such fine condition that it is the consensus of opinion it is one of the best orchards and counted one of the show-places of the district.

Born at Hooper, Dodge County, in the Black Water State, August 1, 1880, he is the son of John and Jane (Bruner) Sauers, natives of Pennsylvania, who became pioneers of Nebraska. The father was an extensive farmer and stock raiser, who later came to Orange County, where he became a successful and prominent horticulturist at Tustin. He and his beloved wife passed away at Santa Ana, where they had re- sided during later years. Grandfather John Sauers served in a Pennsylvania regiment in the Civil War. A brother of J. W. Sauers, C. E. Sauers, and a sister, Margaret, now Mrs. Suddaby, are also residents of Tustin.

John W. Sauers was brought up and educated in the public schools of Nebraska, and in time learned the trade of his father, carpentering. After years of application to this handiwork, he came out to California, in 1906, and fortunately settled in Orange County, where he has come to enjoy the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men.

Mr. Sauers has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1903, was Miss Maud Osborn before her marriage, and she became the mother of a daughter, Volga Laurene. His second wife, married in 1914, was Miss Hazel, a daugh- ter of R. M. Rowley, who was a pioneer of Santa Ana, coming from Massachusetts to California in the early days. Being a pharmacist, he started a drug store on Fourth and Main streets, still known as the Rowley Drug Store, of which he was the active head until he died in 1918. His widow still survives him. Mrs. Sauers was born in Santa Ana, and was a graduate of the high school. They have one child, a son, John Vernon Sauers.

Mr. Sauers has never affiliated with any lodge, but he is nevertheless popular for his personal worth as a man. Among ranchers he holds his own as a horticulturist and agriculturist who knows what he wants, and who goes about the getting of it in a scientific way. Mr. and Mrs. Sauers take an active interest in civic affairs, as well as a deep interest in religion, both being active members of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana.

ANDREW COCK .- For many years a prominent resident of Orange County and actively associated with the development of the horticultural wealth of this part of the state, Andrew Cock is today one of the best informed and most highly respected horticulturalists in California. He is owner of an exceptionally valuable ranch just south of Santa Ana, located on South Main Street, and consisting of fifty-five acres, devoted to general farming and the nursery business. This property is under a high state of cultivation and is splendidly improved, making one of the most attractive homes in the vicinity.

Mr. Cock is a native of Waco, Texas, born Angust 22, 1886, but came to Cali- fornia with his parents when he was a baby, locating at Tustin, where the father engaged in ranching. He received his education in the public grammar school at Tustin and in the Polytechnic high school in Santa Ana. When he was nineteen years of age he entered the employ of the San Joaquin Fruit Company at Tustin, being stationed on their 1000-ranch near that place. From his boyhood he had been keenly interested in horticulture and here he found ample scope for the development of his natural inclinations. He found the development of this great fruit ranch a task

Dr. Sauers

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entirely to his liking, and at the age of twenty-two years he was made manager, which position he held, discharging the heavy responsibility which it entailed with ability and efficiency, until 1919. In the development of the San Joaquin Fruit Com- pany's ranch Mr. Cock was especially successful. He made a careful and detailed study of individual trees and secured the buds only from record trees, that produced fruit of superior quality and in great abundance, thus developing a superior stock of trees. He assisted with the planting of the first tree, soon after his employment by the company, and later as manager, superintended the development of vast groves of oranges, lemons and walnuts. In September, 1919, he resigned his position to engage in farming for himself, and purchased his present property at Santa Ana, where he has since made his home.

The marriage of Mr. Cock occurred in Tustin, and united him with Miss Nellie Gertrude Matthews, a native of Kiowa, Kans., who came to Tustin, Cal., with her parents in her teens. Of their union have been born three children, two sons and a daughter, namely, Leonard, Lewis and Margaret. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cock have a wide circle of friends in Orange County, and have taken an active part in social and civic affairs. Mr. Cock is a member of the Santa Ana Branch of the Federal Reserve Board and a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, Tustin lodge, of which he is past chancellor.

Mr. Cock is descended from a long line of splendid American ancestry. His father was Linneaus A. Cock, born near Marshall, Texas, April 6, 1856, and his grandfather, Lafayette Cock, was a native of Tennessee. Lafayette Cock removed to Mississippi, where he was married to Bennetta Taylor, a native of Mississippi. They later removed to Texas and engaged in farming near Marshall, but eventually returned to Mississippi where Lafayette Cock passed away July 31, 1861, and Mrs. Cock, September 25, 1865. Linneaus A. Cock was brought to Holmes County, Miss., by his parents in 1860 and was reared and educated in that state. He was married in Madison County, Miss., December 11, 1884, to Miss Viola Ward, a native of that county and the daughter of the Rev. T. M. and Mattie (Taylor) Ward, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Holmes County, Miss. Rev. T. M. Ward, was a Princeton graduate and also held a medical degree from Columbia University. He rode the Methodist circuit for many years, preaching and practicing medicine, carrying his Bible and his medicines in his saddle bags. The maternal great-grand- father of our subject, Andrew Cock, was Elias Taylor, who served through the Mexican War as private aide to General Zack Taylor, of whom he was a nephew. He was a prominent railroad man, being one of the builders of the Southern Division of the Illinois Central Railroad, and served as its president for many years.

After their marriage Linneaus Cock and his bride went to Waco, Texas, and engaged in cattle raising until 1887, when they came to California, locating at Tustin, Orange County, where they engaged in ranching. In 1899 he bought a ranch near Tustin which he greatly improved, and now has ten acres of Valencia oranges and five acres of walnuts, in full bearing. He is retired from active business and resides in Tustin with his wife. Of the children born of this union, seven are still living, all well and favorably known in Orange County. They are Mrs. Edith Egert, a teacher in the Los Angeles schools; Andrew, the subject of this sketch; Alma, a graduate nurse, now residing in Los Angeles; Thomas, a traveling salesman for the Sherwin-Williams Company, of Los Angeles; Edgar, a machinist in Tustin; Willis residing on his father's ranch at Tustin; and Howard, a student in the Polytechnic' high school in Santa Ana.

S. F. DEAMUD .- A conservative, but progressive man, whose great perseverance has brought him a measure of prosperity which, in turn, makes him a natural, enthusi- astic "booster" for Santa Ana and Orange County, is. S. F. Deamud, a native of Wayne, Wayne County, Mich., where he was born on January 22, 1858, eighteen miles west of Detroit. His father, Samuel Deamud, was a native of Toronto, Canada, and as a maker of shoes controlled for his lifetime a large and profitable business. His mother was Sarah Moore before her marriage, and she was a daughter of John Moore, an Englishman by birth. When Samuel Deamud and his wife married, they came to Wayne, Mich., to make their home.

The lad was sent to the ordinary local schools, and being fond of machinery, learned how to run an engine when he was a mere youth. After a while, he moved about from town to town in Michigan, and then he went beyond the state's borders into and through other large cities, acquiring valuable practical experience.

In 1881 he took up a homestead tract at Arapahoe, Furnace County, Nebr., and staying with the venture, won out and acquired full title, proving up on the 160 acres. Then he sold his Nebraska holdings, and, like a modern knight, motored west to California in a Maxwell touring car.

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At 1003 Grand Avenue he purchased two acres, which he improved and developed in the setting out of walnuts and oranges. He has stock in the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company, and so gets the benefit of their irrigation service. He is also a member of the Santa Ana Walnut Growers Association. He is something of a poultry fancier, with a preference for the best strains of Leghorn and Rhode Island Reds, and for the purpose he has an ideal poultry house.

On June 7, 1897, Mr. Deamud was married to Mrs. Ella (Scheeks) Keeler, a widow with two children. Mabel is the wife of Clyde Larson, a farmer of Nebraska, and Lulu is at home. Mrs. Deamnd's father, Nelson Scheeks, was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, in the Civil War; and the mother died shortly after of sorrow. Mr. Deamud has a brother, William H. Deamud, who has been a resident of Santa Ana for the past thirteen years. He also has a sister, Mrs. Charles Amann, of Los Angeles.

In national politics a Republican, Mr. Deamud has supported prohibition as a desirable move for the bettering of society; and he has also liberally encouraged both War loan drives and the work of the Salvation Army.

CHARLES L. COTANT .- A young, but enterprising and very capable business man, who is fast rising in the local commercial world, is Charles L. Cotant, a native of Nevada, where he was born at Elko on September 13, 1893. He is the son of Allen Leroy and Margaret Cotant, early settlers of Nevada and Montana, his father having been engaged extensively in the cattle business. He came to Orange County for the first time with his parents in 1898, when Allen L. Cotant purchased a ranch of seventy- five acres in various tracts at Tustin. The home place was on First Street and Glen Avenue, and was formerly known as the W. S. Bartlett place; it had groves of walnuts and oranges, and there the father still resides.

Charles L. Cotant attended both the Tustin grammar and the Orange County high schools, and took a course in the School of Commerce and Finance in Los Angeles in 1910. He also attended the Los Angeles Military Academy. In 1911, he was employed to make collections for the Cudahy Packing Company, and two years later he associated himself as assistant cashier with the First National Bank of Tustin, a position he held for two years. In March, 1915, he took charge of the collection, escrow and bond departments of the First National Bank of Santa Ana.

On August 31, 1915, Mr. Cotant was married to Miss Eileen Tubbs, the daughter of V. V. and Lillian Tubbs of Tustin, who came to California in 1890 from Emerson, Mills County, Iowa, where they were landowners. Miss Tubbs was graduated from the Santa Ana high school, after which she pursued an art course at Pomona College. One daughter, Mary Elizabeth, has blessed this marriage. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church and share in its spiritual, social and sociological life and work. Mr. Cotant is a Republican in matters of national political moment, but never allows the hindrance of narrow partisanship to interfere with his support of the best measures for the community in which he resides.

BARRETT L. HALDERMAN .- An enterprising young rancher, whose scientific knowledge of horticulture has contributed greatly to his success, is Barrett L. Halder- man, a native of Phillips County, Kans., where he was born on November 11, 1883. His father, Charles M. Halderman, was a native of Ohio, but was reared in Iowa and removed as a pioneer to Kansas, where he homesteaded 160 acres in Phillips County. He married Miss Eliza Pillsbury, also a native of Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry, 'and became an extensive landowner in the Northwestern States. Coming to California, in time he brought his family to Santa Ana, and bought a ranch at Tustin; and since 1903 he has been associated with ranch properties in Orange County.

Barrett Halderman attended both the grammar and high schools at Long Island, Kans., and for two years studied at the Manhattan Agricultural College. At that time, however, he felt less interest in horticulture, and developed instead a live interest in trade. He became a grain buyer and shipper in North Dakota and Minnesota.

On October 1, 1913, Mr. Halderman was married at Lincoln to Miss May Hadell, the daughter of Alfred and Emma (Nye) Hadell. Her father was a merchant at Long Island, Kans., and was well known for both his enterprise and his high sense of honor. Three fine boys have blessed this marriage-Earl, Alan and Barrett. The family attend the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Halderman owns eleven and a half acres on East Washington Street, and the family controls ninety acres of the best soil in the county. No wonder, then, that they are all good "boosters."

The three brothers of Mr. Halderman have excellent military records, and all the Haldermans are noted for their loyalty. Barrett Halderman is a Democrat, but non- partisan when it comes to helping along worthy projects of a local character. He is a member of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company, the Santa Ana Walnut Growers Association, and the Anaheim Orange Growers Association. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Knights of Columbus.

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DR. BERNICE BENNETT .- The professional circles of Huntington Beach have recently been augmented by the addition of the able and efficient osteopathic physician and surgeon, Dr. Bernice Bennett. She is the daughter of Arthur W. and Mary E. (Slocum) Bennett, and was born in Adair County, Iowa. Her early education was re- ceived in the public school of her district and was supplemented by the first-year course of the high school at Earlham, lowa.

In 1908 Miss Bennett came to California, locating at Monrovia, where she con- tinned her schooling, graduating from the Monrovia high school in 1912. Deciding to enter upon a professional career, Miss Bennett chose the science of osteopathy, together with that of surgery. She entered the Pacific College of Ostopathy, until it merged and became the College of Osteopathie Physicians and Surgeons, and was graduated from the latter institution in January, 1916, with the degree of D. O., after which, to equip herself more thoroughly for the responsibilities of her chosen profes- sion, she took a post-graduate course at her Alma Mater. and finished the requirements in June of the same year.

Because of her splendid ability and thorough training, Dr. Bennett was selected as an assistant to Dr. A. E. Pike, of the Osteopathic Sanitarium at Long Beach. She gained much valuable experience by her association with this famous osteopathic physician, which greatly aids her in her professional work.

In November, 1919, Dr. Bennett opened an office at Huntington Beach in the First National Bank Building. Although she has been a resident of Huntington Beach but a short time. Dr. Bennett has already established a splendid practice, and her fame, with her thorough knowledge of the science of osteopathy, which is being spread abroad, greatly angments her clientele. She is a member of the Delta Omega Society, and professionally is a member of the Orange County Osteopathic Association and the California State Osteopathic Association.

JOSEPH A. MERRICK .- An engineer who makes a specialty of steel structural engineering is Joseph A. Merrick, prosperous rancher and business man of Santa Ana. Orange County, and numbered among the enterprising and progressive men of the Tustin district. He is the owner of ten acres devoted to the culture of citrus fruit. He purchased his present home ranch in 1917, and has erected a beautiful and commodious bungalow with all modern improvements and conveniences.

Mr. Merrick was born in 1874 in the state of Kansas, and is the son of Dr. John K. and Sarah Merrick. The father, a man of letters who added the degree of D.D.S. as well as M.D. to his name, practiced his profession in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Kansas. In the parental family of nine children two became dentists and six of the nine are now living, namely, Henry, Mary, Hattie, Don, Grace and Joseph A. of this sketch. He was reared and educated in California, coming to the latter state in his early childhood. For twenty-five years he has followed mechanics, principally structural steel engineering in connection with the Lacy Manufacturing Company about thirteen years, holding a position with them at the present time. He was with the Union Oil Company eleven years and has been a resident of Orange County, Cal., for fourteen years. His marriage April 14. 1900, united him with Miss Pearl E. Dixon, a native of Minnesota, and of their happy union three children have been born, namely, Vernica, J. A. Jr., and Ronald.

CHARLES L. HANSEN .- An enthusiastic advocate of the superior possibilities of Fullerton and her environing districts, whose opinions carry the greater weight because of the scientific and practical attainments of the "booster," who can himself demonstrate what can be done through his own high degree of cultivation, is Charles L. Hansen, the rancher of Placentia Boulevard, who is a native son not only of Cali- fornia, but of Placentia, where he was born in the boom year of 1886. on August 7, the youngest son of Peter Hansen, the well-known pioneer. He attended the grammar school at Placentia, and in 1909 was graduated from the Colorado School of Mines, with the degree of E. M.

Since that time, Mr. Hansen has been very successful in mining engineering. He was first employed as a mining engineer with the Quartette Mining Company at Searchlight, Nev .: then he became superintendent of the Investors Mining and Leas- ing Company at Wall Street, Boulder County, Colo .; then manager of the Dagger Mining and Milling Company at the Vontrigger mines in San Bernardino County. covering a period from 1909 until 1915. He is frequently employed as an expert, his trips taking him to different parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. In all of these positions of responsibility he has demonstrated fully his fitness for the problems and work committed to his care. Somewhat impaired health, however, led Mr. Hansen to return to Placentia and assist his father to subdivide the home ranch.

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In the beginning, he purchased two acres and a house on Placentia Boulevard. and now he owns sixteen acres in Valencia and Navel oranges, full bearing. In 1919, with H. C. Head, he bought ten acres adjoining, also developed to oranges. He takes a keen interest in agriculture, and as a result of advanced, intense study and what might be termed intensive farming, obtains the largest returns for all his invest- ments. From 145 Valencia orange trees, for example, seven years old, he harvested a yield of 1.140 field boxes of fruit. He belongs to the Placentia Orange Growers Association, and also has valuable oil leases.

On December 10, 1912, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Agnes Hanifan, a daughter of Thomas Hanifan, who lived retired at Los Angeles until his death, Novem- ber 10, 1920. She is a graduate of the State Normal at Los Angeles, and is most active in club life at Fullerton, being an ex-president of the Ebell Club. In national politics a Democrat, Mr. Hansen is at all times a nonpartisan, supporter of the best obtainable for local improvement, and he is never more loyal to his home district than after such a trip as he recently made of 1,600 miles to the Yosemite and Lake Tahoe.

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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 179

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