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 32

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

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ROBERT EDWIN LARTER .- Numbered among the leading citizens of the Westminster district, Robert Edwin Larter has occupied a place of prominence for many years in the agricultural, commercial and financial interests of Orange County. A native of Canada, he was born in the Province of Ontario, ten miles west of Niagara Falls, September 7, 1861. His parents were Robert and Mary J. (Hansler) Larter, the latter a native of Canada; the father was born at Norwich, England, and came to Canada with his mother when a boy of fifteen. He was a millwright and cabinet maker, and later became interested in farming. He became prominent in the politics of his locality, heing a man of excellent judgment, and served on the township and county councils of his Canadian home. In 1875 he made a trip to California, and while here he bought 160 acres of land; returning to Canada he remained there until the fall of 1876, when he came with his family to make California his permanent home. This was just after the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and his land lay in what was then Los Angeles County, this being some years before the organization of Orange County. It was peat land, and was then a morass of willows, tules and blackberries, and it took much hard work to put it under cultivation, but it eventually became very productive. Robert Larter passed away in 1904; his widow survives him and resides at Westminster, having reached the age of eighty-four.

The first fifteen years of Ed. Larter's life were spent in Welland County, Ontario, his birthplace, and there he received his early education, attending the schools at Westminster after the family removed here. He early began to work, however, help- ing his father reclaim the swamp lands of their farm and breaking the virgin soil, and this practical experience he found to be of great value later in life when he took up farming on his own account. He purchased 120 acres of land and devoted it to general farming and dairying, in which he was very successful, also engaging in the celery industry when that business was at its height. Business acumen and wise investments have added to his capital and he now enjoys an affluence, the reward of industry and intelligence. Always public spirited. Mr. Larter has for years been prominent in the affairs of the community. A stanch Republican, he was chosen some years ago to represent that party on the board of supervisors, an office which he filled with great satisfaction to his constituency. He is now a member of the County Republican Central Committee, and prominent in all the councils of the party. He has always been interested in the cause of education and has given of his time to help raise the standard and equipment of the schools here, having served on the Hunting- ton Beach Union High School Board. He was on the building committee of the Orange County Court House when that structure was under way and was prominent in the establishment of the Talbert Drainage District and the reestablishment of the Bolsa Drainage District. An authority on financial affairs in the locality, he is a director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Santa Ana. In fraternal circles he is a charter member of Westminster Lodge No. 72, I. O. O. F.

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Mr. Larter's marriage, in April, 1889, united him with Miss Pearl Kiefhaber, who was born in Indiana, but who came to Westminster with her parents when but a child. Four children were horn to Mr. and Mrs. Larter, two of whom passed away in infancy. Those living are Marie L., the wife of Orel C. Hare of Westminster, whose review appears elsewhere in this work; and Lutie, who is Mrs. Will McClin- tock, her husband being a rancher at Garden Grove.

HENRY OELKERS-In naming the pioneers of Orange County any list would be incomplete without special mention of Henry Oelkers, who for nearly forty years was identified with the wine industry of Anaheim. He was born near Hamburg, Ger- many, February 17, 1856, and received his education in that country.

In 1882 Henry Oelkers immigrated to America and settled at Anaheim, where he obtained employment with his uncle, William Konig, now deceased, who came to Anaheim from Germany in 1859. Mr. Konig purchased twenty acres on South Los Angeles Street, where the Southern Pacific Railway depot is located. Here he planted a vineyard, erected a winery and continued to manufacture wine for many years. The land has greatly increased in value and is now built up with residences and business blocks. William Konig was very public-spirited and always willing to support every worthy movement that had as its ultimate aim the upbuilding of the best interests of Anaheim. One of his most noted acts-one that expressed in a very substantial way his keen interest and pride in the civic affairs of Anaheim-was the donation of the site of the public library. Being an able and successful business man, possessed of sound judgment and executive ability, William Konig was recognized by his fellow citizens and duly elected to the important office of trustee of Anaheim, which he filled with great satisfaction to his townsmen and credit to himself. He passed away in 1911, mourned by a host of friends.

Henry Oelkers was associated with his uncle from 1882 to 1911, where he learned the husiness of winemaking and grape culture, eventually becoming the superintendent of his plant. In recent years he has been engaged in pruning and grafting and other- wise caring for orange and lemon groves, and is recognized as an expert in his line of work. During his nearly forty years of residence in Orange County he has wit- nessed marvelous changes-the development of the citrus industry, the growth of small villages into up-to-date and prosperous cities and the wonderful development of the oil fields.

In October, 1914, Henry Oelkers was united in marriage with Lisette Pohl, a native of Germany, hut for a number of years a resident of Chicago. She had a son by a former marriage, who is now known as George Oelkers, now attending the Poly- technic High School in Los Angeles.

Fraternally, Henry Oelkers is a member of Anaheim Lodge No. 199, I. O. O. F .: Concordia Singing Society; charter member of Lincoln Hospital of Los Angeles, and religiously belongs to the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.

JOHN B. NICHOLS-Well known in Santa Ana as an attorney-at-law, John B. Nichols is a native of Fond du Lac County, Wis., and is the son of Thomas and Clarissa (Brown) Nichols, both deceased. Thomas Nichols was born in the State of New York and his wife was a native of Maine, their marriage being solemnized at Albion, Edwards County, III. The parents died when John B. was a small boy, and as a consequence he went to live with an uncle in Edwards County, Ill., for a few years, but ever since he was twelve years old he has made his own way in the world. He returned to his native state and worked out on farms near Fond du Lac and lived with an uncle there until he was ahout fifteen years old, then returned to Illinois. His elementary education was received in the rural school of his district during the winter time, as he was obliged to work on the farm during the other seasons of the year. He finished his high school course at the Albion high school, after which he attended the Southern Illinois State Normal University at Carbondale from which he was graduated. Later he entered the University of Illinois at Cham- paign, working his way through this institution by teaching school, and after grad- uating he engaged in educational work in that state.

In 1897 Mr. Nichols came to Santa Ana, where he was principal of what is now the Roosevelt school three years, afterward hecoming principal of the schools at Orange. From 1903 to 1907 he filled the post of superintendent of schools for Orange County, elected on the Republican ticket, and then moved to Oxnard, Ventura County, where he was principal of the Oxnard schools. Later Mr. Nichols went to Los Angeles County, where he accepted the position of principal of the Union high school at Compton, where he remained two years.

In the meantime Mr. Nichols had been improving his spare moments by reading law, having always cherished a desire to enter the legal profession. While living at Urbana, Ill .. he took part of a course in law and finished his course in Los Angeles

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY

and was admitted to the bar in 1915, first practicing his profession in Los Angeles. On February 1, 1919, Mr. Nichols returned to Santa Ana. where he opened his office and has since prosecuted his profession in this city.

Mr. Nichols has been twice married; his first marriage was solemnized at Albion, Ill., when he was united with Miss Jane Marriott of that city. She passed away in 1903 at Santa Ana, leaving five children: Claude W .; Nora, Mrs. D. D. Dawson; Edna, Mrs. Lucien Wisser; Ruth, Mrs. C. O. Harbell, and William H. The second marriage of Mr. Nichols, in Orange, in 1908, united him with Miss Mary S. Schofield. In his religious associations Mr. Nichols is a Methodist. In politics he is a Republican, and fraternally is a Knights Templar Mason, affiliated with the Santa Ana lodges.

DOMINGO AND MARIA BASTANCHURY .- Among the pioneer settlers of what is now Orange County, the names of Domingo and Maria Bastanchury will never be forgotten, for they were liberal supporters of all movements that had for their aim the betterment of local conditions and the upbuilding and development of the new county. Of foreign birth, Domingo Bastanchury first saw the light of day at Aldudes, Basses-Pyrenees, France, in 1839, the son of Gracian Bastanchury. Domingo never had the opportunity to obtain an education, as he had to work hard from a very early age, but what he lacked in book knowledge he made up in business sagacity, and from an humble sheep herder he rose to a position of prominence and wealth in his chosen home place. When a young man of twenty-one he left home and friends and came to America, for he knew that brighter opportunities awaited the man of energy and judg- ment than were to be found in his own home locality in the Pyrenees. His objective point was California and he left on a sailing vessel that took six months to make the journey from his local port around Cape Horn to California. The ship encountered many storms and the passengers suffered many hardships, but they bore them all with fortitude and eventually landed in the land of their hopes-California.

Arriving here in 1860, Mr. Bastanchury worked as a sheep herder for wages and after several years in that capacity he gradually acquired a band of his own and as these increased he became independent; at one time he was the largest sheep owner in Los Angeles County, having from 15,000 to 20,000 head that were grazed all over the south- ern part of the state. During the dry years when feed was scarce he would take his flocks into the mountains and try to save them from starvation. At other times the sale of wool was so slow on account of the tariff conditions that after it had been kept for two years it had to be sold for two cents per pound. What that meant to the sheep men, no one but themselves knew. As the ranges were diminished in size by ranchers who began to grow various kinds of crops the sheep men gradually went out of business and Mr. Bastanchury acquired large land holdings in what is now Orange County. He had 1,200 acres south of Fullerton and later had 6,000 acres northwest from that city. There still remains of the original acreage 3,300 acres. The family together have 3,000 acres planted to citrus fruits, the largest individual citrus grove in the world. All the development of the large tract has been accomplished within the past ten years, as prior to 1910 it was grazing land or barley fields. This work was done by the Bastanchury brothers, Gaston A., Joseph F., and John B., who comprise the Bastan- chury Ranch Company, now owners of most of the property.

Domingo Bastanchury was united in marriage in Los Angeles, on July 16, 1874, with Miss Maria Oxarart, who was born in 1848, in the same place as her husband and who came to California in 1873. Her parents were John and Martha Oxarart, farmers in Basses-Pyrenees, who raised grain, cattle and goats. The daughter obtained a limited education in her native home, but after coming to America she attended school a year to perfect her English. Mrs. Bastanchury shared with her husband all the trials and hardships incident to pioneer life on the plains of Southern California and while he was in the mountains with his sheep she was alone with her little family, her nearest neighbors being several miles away. She well remembers the country when there was no sign of the present town of Fullerton; all trading was done in Los Angeles or Ana- heim. The whole country was devoted to grain raising and to the raising of stock, with the exception of the grape industry that was being developed about Anaheim. Then came the making of wine, one of the industries of note in the state at one time There were only two houses between her home place and Los Angeles, and where now hundreds of autos travel the main road between Los Angeles and Fullerton, in the early days there would not be more than one team a week.

Mr. and Mrs. Bastanchury became the parents of four sons: Dominic J., who owns and lives on his 400 acres near La Habra which is planted to walnuts and citrus fruits; Gaston A., manager of the Bastanchury Ranch Company; Joseph F., and John B .. all of whom reside on the ranch and assist in its care. It is marvelous to realize that when so much land is continually changing ownership that this large holding is

Domingo astanchury

Maria OBastanchury

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still intact and under the highest state of development, all accomplished by the young men who have grown up in Orange County. On July 21, 1909, Domingo Bastanchury passed away at his ranch home, the house having been erected by himself and his good wife in 1906, and was counted one of the show places of this section of Orange County. Mrs. Bastanchury makes her home on her 200 acres and is in the enjoyment of the best of health and enters heartily into all movements that mean progress and better living conditions in the county. Much of the prosperity now enjoyed by the family is due to the capable management and foresight of this pioneer woman who has been a witness of the wonderful transformation of the county and Southern California · since she first settled here, a young girl. She believes in living and letting live and when she can aid any worthy enterprise for bettering local conditions she is ready and willing to do so. Now in the evening of her days she can look back upon a life well spent and forward without fear, for she has done her part to make the pathways of her descendants smoother than the paths she once trod and to prepare them for the tasks that lead to success.

D. EDSON SMITH .- A well-known pioneer, highly esteemed for his scholarship and long years of fruitful labors, is D. Edson Smith, of West Seventeenth Street. Santa Ana, whose accomplished wife is almost as favorably known for her art studies and work, particularly in experiments with architecture. He was born in Dorset, Bennington County, Vt., on January 11, 1839, and came westward with his parents when he was only a year old, residing successively in ten different states. He was a member of the first class to be graduated from the University of lowa in 1858, and for a while taught school in Missouri, and next served as a teacher eighteen miles southwest of Syracuse, N. Y. He also taught in Pennsylvania, and at the close of the Civil War he was engaged by the Freedman's Bureau to instruct some of the freed slaves in Virginia and North Carolina.

In 1867 he settled in the Oneida Community in New York State, where the colony made iron and steel devices, and also silverware, and there he remained until 1881. when he came to California and purchased a home. He went back to New York for a year, but in 1883 he returned to the Coast and the Golden State.

For ten years he was secretary of the Pomological Society of Southern Cali- fornia, and he became well-known throughout the Southland as the editor of "Re- pute." He also edited work for the month department of the Rural Californian for three years, and then he published an article entitled, "Ten Acres Enough," in which he set forth the argument that in California ten acres handled properly was sufficient for any man to take good care of, and quite as sufficient for his prosperity. This article was widely copied, and gave Mr. Smith national fame. In 1901, Mr. Smith was sent to the Buffalo Exposition to represent the Rural Californian. A son of Mr. Smith having become manager of the Oneida Community silverware factory, with his headquarters at Niagara Falls Mr. Smith spent some time with him during the Exposition visit.

The purchase made by Mr. Smith in 1881 included ten acres, which he developed so cleverly that it became known as the Model Ranch. Then he sold his land, and moved into town. The removal involved their building a new home, and Mrs. Smith. who had made a special study of architecture, particularly the antique, designed their dwelling and created a structure that was so notable as to attract wide attention. The first Mrs. Smith was Miss Sarah Frances King before her marriage, and a mem- ber of a long-honored family in the Empire State, and their one living son is Eugene Deming Smith, who is at present in San Francisco as manager of the office there for the Oneida Community. The present Mrs. Smith, to whom he was married in May. 1888, was Ellen Frances (Hutchins) Reid, the mother of Ransom Reid, who was for twenty years superintendent of the water works of Santa Ana.

The Smiths, of which our subject is such a worthy representative, date back to the Pilgrim Fathers and the famous Preserved Smith, who came from England and brought so much that was desirable to the New World. What enviable blood they transmitted to Mr. Smith, with all of noble and ennobling sentiment such as emanates from a sound hody and a sound mind, may be judged when it is stated that now, in his eighty-second year, Mr. Smith is far more supple than the average man of thirty. He can stand on the edge of a hrook, for example-and the writer of these lines has witnessed him in the operation-and so lower his head to sip the purling water that he has no need of flattening out his body to get a drink, and having thoroughly studied the laws of nature, he affirms that any man can be young at eighty who eats and other- wise lives correctly.

Mr. Smith was a resident of this section when it was a part of Los Angeles County. He served as president of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company for a number of years, and was one of the organizers of the Southern California Apricot Growers Association.

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GEORGE McPHEE-Orange County is to be congratulated upon having, as its sealer of weights and measures, George McPhee, a man of true worth and un- questioned probity of character, one who has filled this important post for six years with credit to himself and to his constituency in the county. Mr. McPhee was born October 19, 1856, in Kent County, New Brunswick, the son of George and Roxana McPhee. The father was a millwright and George assisted him in the work until 1881, when he migrated farther westward in the great Dominion of Canada, stopping at Winnipeg, Manitoba, but subsequently locating at Birtle, where he conducted a hotel for six years.

In 1892 he arrived in California, locating at Elsinore, Riverside County, where · his brother conducted a newspaper. Here he remained until 1896, when he came to Santa Ana and purchased an interest in the Santa Ana Blade, serving as the city editor of this progressive publication for sixteen years. His wise, conservative and patriotic editorials and the high ideals of citizenship advocated by the Blade wielded such a potent influence in moulding public sentiment in the county that to his efforts can be attributed the effectual solution of many of the county's difficult problems. In 1911 Mr. McPhee was nominated by acclamation for city councilman; he made no campaign, but was elected by a splendid majority, and at his second election he led the field in number of votes received. During his two terms of four years each, as councilman, Mr. McPhee was a member of the committee on public buildings and city affairs. He was always greatly interested in every worthy movement that had as its aim then upbuilding and betterment of civic conditions in Santa Ana; during the years that he served as councilman many public buildings were erected, miles of street pavements constructed, an ornamental lighting system installed and the city grew by leaps and bounds.

In 1914 Mr. McPhee received the appointment of county sealer of weights and measures, and so efficiently has the work of this department been conducted that Orange County was recently complimented, by the state sealer of weights and measures, as being the banner county of the state in this line of work. The packing houses and factories of the county co-operate with Mr. McPhee in the prosecution of the work, which greatly aids him in the operation of his department. He believes in educating the public to the importance of this work and in conducting a campaign along this line.

In 1888 Mr. McPhee was united in marriage with Miss Martha Anderson, a native of Ontario, Canada, and three children have been born to them: Barry H., who is connected with the Edison Company of Santa Ana, married Miss Helen Neff; C. Ross is a prominent musician of Santa Ana and his marriage united him with Miss Grachen Denman, of Los Angeles; Muriel is married and resides in Seattle, Wash. Fraternally Mr. McPhee is a member of Santa Ana Lodge No. 794, B. P. O. Elks; also of the Modern Woodman of America.

HERBERT A. FORD-A prominent citizen of Orange County, and one who had been a factor in both the mercantile life of Fullerton since its inception as a small settlement, and who also developed a tract of land to oranges and walnuts which has since become one of the finest residence districts in the city, Herbert A. Ford was a native of Michigan, born in Wright, that state, on May 12, 1859. His parents were David A. and Jane Ford, both born in New York State, the father, now ninety-two, living in Garvanza.

In 1884 Mr. Ford came from Dakota to what is now Orange County, first settling in Placentia, where he followed horticultural pursuits and worked as a ranch manager. When the town of Fullerton was started, in 1887, he located there and started the first store, with Mr. Howell as a partner for one year, under the firm name of Howell & Ford. Later he bought his partner out and continued the business alone. During this time he had purchased twenty acres of land on West Commonwealth Avenue, from the Pacific Land and Improvement Company, and also set ont several orange and walnut groves in the Fullerton district on shares for this company.

The marriage of Mr. Ford in 1889 united him with Carrie E. McFadden, daughter of that honored pioneer, William M. McFadden, who is mentioned elsewhere in the history. Three sons blessed their union: Alvin L., dairy inspector of Kern County, is married and has a son, Herbert Alvin; Maurice E., who saw service in France for eight and one-half months in the late war in the Three Hundred Sixteenth Division, is at home; and Herbert A., a dentist of Fullerton; he was first lieutenant in the Dental Review Corps, U. S. A., stationed at a camp in Georgia.

Mrs. Ford is an active member of the First Methodist Church of Fullerton, and of the W. C. T. U .; she is past matron of the Eastern Star, and a member of the Ebell Club and the Placentia Round Table, as well as prominent in Red Cross work during the war. Since the death of her husband, which occurred in 1894, Mrs. Ford

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has subdivided the original ranch of twenty acres, known as the Orchard Subdivision, and the property has all been sold off under her personal management and is now the choice residence district of Fullerton, many fine homes adorning the tract. Mrs. Ford completed a beautiful bungalow on a portion of the land which she retained, and there she makes her home, taking an active part in the social, church and club life of the community which she has seen grow from such small beginnings to its present rank as one of the most beautiful towns of Southern California.

MRS. PEDRILLA P. PFEIFFER .- For nearly half a century a resident of Orange County, Mrs. Pedrilla P. Pfeiffer, widow of the late John A. Pfeiffer, one of the county's most honored citizens, now makes her home at 127 North Grand Street, Orange, where, now in her seventy-ninth year, she maintains an active interest in the progress of the community.

Born February 13, 1842, at Shelbyville, Ill., Mrs. Pfeiffer was the daughter of Robert and Hannah (Way) Parrish, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Indiana. The father was a wagonmaker by trade, and for many years conducted a shop at Shelbyville, where he was a well-known citizen. He passed away when Mrs. Pfeiffer was but six years old. Of a family of six children, Mrs. Pfeiffer is the only one now living and the only one to take up residence in California. She grew up at Shelbyville, attended the public schools there, and at the age of twenty, on April 15, 1862, she was united in marriage with John A. Pfeiffer.

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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 32

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