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 66

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 66

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Mr. Amerige's marriage was solemnized in Boston, September 12. 1894, when he was united with Miss Annetta Jackson, who was born in North Searsport, Maine. but

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reared in Boston. She also comes of a very old and prominent New England family, whose ancestors served in the Colonial and Revolutionary wars. She is the daughter of Joseph Jackson, a native of Maine who was a shipbuilder in Searsport and later in Boston, where he continued shipbuilding until he retired, he and his wife spending their last days there. Her mother, Eliza Thorndyke Sawyer, was born in Thorndyke, Maine, a daughter of Rev. John Sawyer and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sawyer. Grandfather Sawyer was a well-known Baptist minister in his day. They are closely related to ex-Governor Sawyer of New Hampshire and the Chadborns and Hamlins of Maine. The Gilman family also dates back to England; when Mrs. Amerige's great-great-grandfather Gil- man, with three brothers, came from England in their own ship to Beverly, Mass., they were given a grant of land in New Hampshire and proceeded to colonize it. Thus Gilmanton, N. H., was named for her ancestors. Annetta Jackson was the youngest of a family of six children, and was reared and educated in Boston, residing there until she came as a bride to Fullerton. A woman of culture and refinement, Mrs. Amerige is much loved and highly esteemed by her many friends, who appreciate her for her kindness, amiability and worth. She has always been intensely interested in her husband's affairs and has encouraged him in his ambitions, and both have always bent every effort to aid in the civic and moral uplift of Fullerton. She is a member of the order of the Eastern Star and the P. E. O.

Mr. Amerige was one of the five founders of the Fullerton Lodge of Odd Fellows and is a member of the Fullerton Club and the Board of Trade. He is a strong Pro- tectionist and Republican and has been prominent in the councils of the party. Almost every year with his wife he makes a trip back to his old home in Massachusetts, visit- ing their many friends and relatives. Particularly do they maintain a live interest in the growth and development of Fullerton and freely give of their time and means to 'all enterprises that have for their aim the beautifying of the city and enhancing the comfort and happiness of its citizens. Mr. Amerige can safely be said to be not only Fullerton's oldest but also its foremost citizen.

PETER GODDICKSEN .- Prominent among the steady, industrious citizens of Orange whose character and foresight enabled them to succeed themselves and to be able and willing to point the way to success for others, is Peter Goddicksen, a native of Flensburg, Germany, where he was born on December 10, 1853. His father was Claus Goddicksen, a farmer, who had married Elise Clare Carlsen. They are now de- ceased, but they left behind to honor their worthy name five children, two of whom are in the United States; Nicholas Goddicksen is still living in South Dakota.

Peter, the eldest, was brought up on the home farm, emigrating in 1875, to the United States and located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he was employed on a farm, in Avoca township, for a couple of years. He then homesteaded 160 acres, and preempted another 160, and besides secured a timber claim of 160 acres, in 1882, all in Douglas County, S. D .; and while pioneering there, converted this raw land into an improved farm. He broke the prairie, raised hogs and cattle and thus got a fairly good start. He was both a trustee and the treasurer of the school committee, and all in all was honored by those who knew him.

Later he sold out and removed to Hornick, Woodbury County, Iowa, where he was a farmer for six years; and in 1901 he made his first trip to Southern California, when he visited Orange. Two years later, in January, he returned to California, and located at Orange, where he bought a ranch on East Chapman Street; and there, on one place, he resided for seventeen years. There were eighteen and a half acres, and nearly all the tract he set out to orange trees, particularly Valencias, and to lemons, and after awhile had there an unusually well-developed orchard. He joined the Santiago Orange Growers Association, and was one of the first members of the McPherson Heights Citrus Association, and was on its first board of directors, and was also a member and a trustee of the Lemon Growers Association. He had an orange nursery, and was one of the first to set out avocados. He had nine acres of land set out to oranges, olives and lemons, and this he sold, disposing also of some six and a half acres set out to oranges, north of Whittier Heights. In 1919, Mr. Goddicksen sold his ranch and located in Orange, where he now resides at 306 North Center Street, still retaining a twenty-acre orchard of apricots at Nuevo, in Riverside County; he also owns ten acres of unimproved land there, and twenty acres of oranges half way between Orange and Anaheim.

During his residence in Dakota, Mr. Goddicksen was married to Miss Emelie Ertinger, a native of Wuertemberg, Germany, and the daughter of Albert and Katherine (Kik) Ertinger. As far back as 1874, Mrs. Goddicksen came with her parents to Clay County, S. D., and settled near Yankton, the family later removing to Douglas County. Mr. Ertinger was a judge in Germany, and he never wanted for courteous and com-

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plimentary attention, and the full appreciation of his worth as an American citizen. After his death, his widow was married a second time to Fred Seiser, and they now reside on East Chapman Street, Orange. Five children of Mr. and Mrs. Goddicksen are still living; Elise E. educated at the Los Angeles high school and at the Orange County Business College, was city stenographer of Santa Ana, and is now a public stenographer and notary; she is very musical and is a pianist, vocalist and whistler. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church; William resides in San Francisco, and with him is his brother, A. Lenz, an instructor and consulting man for the Cleveland tractor. William was a member of the Three Hundred Sixty-fourth Regiment and saw service overseas for two years; A. Lenz was in the service and did limited duty; Elsie K. is in the Orange high school, and the youngest is Grant C. Goddicksen.

Mr. and Mrs. Goddicksen are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Santa Ana, and they are both strong Republicans. Mr. Goddicksen is a member of the Ancient Order United Workers, and of Orange Lodge No. 225, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and his wife, and daughter Elise, are members, with him, of the Rebekahs.

EDWARD RUSSELL AMERIGE .- In the annals of Fullerton a name that will ever stand ont distinctly in its history is that of Edward Russell Amerige, one of Orange County's foremost citizens, who with his brother, George H. Amerige, founded this thriving town, now one of the prosperons municipalities of the Southland, and gave all his energy and effort to its npbuilding. In civic life he was also a leader from the formation of Fullerton; he was prominent in the county and represented his district in the Legislature, where his aggressive enterprise and influence made them- selves felt. Liberal and progressive in his ideas, at his passing away on May 3. 1915. Orange County lost one of its best men.

Edward Russell Amerige was born in Malden, Mass., August 1, 1857, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Giles (Russell) Amerige, prominent citizens of Malden, a history of the Amerige family and their forhears being recounted in the biography of George H. Amerige, on another page of this work. Mr. Amerige grew to manhood in his native town and after completing his education there he entered into partnership with his brother, George H., in the wholesale and retail hay and grain business, and with their characteristic energy built up a very large and successful business. They had become intensely interested in the Pacific Coast region and after much thought and investigation concluded to cast in their lot in the Golden State. Disposing of their husiness interests in Massachusetts, they arrived in California in May, 1886, coming first to Pasadena, the vicinity of which was then mostly grain fields. They immediately purchased a ranch and here they made their headquarters for a few weeks, during which time they traveled over various parts of the county.

They became much interested in the Anaheim section, as they saw great possi- bilities for the locality between that place and the Placentia district, so in 1887 they purchased 430 acres of wild, uncultivated land, the present site of Fullerton. It was covered with wild mustard and brush, but with their natural optimism and New England foresight, they saw the possibilities of locating a town, since the Santa Fe Railroad Company was planning to build its road to Santa Ana and on to San Diego. They made their plans and had the town laid out, the first stake in the survey being driven by Edward R. Amerige on July 5, 1887, at the corner of Spadra Street and Commonwealth Avenue. They had interested the Santa Fe Railroad Company by giving them an interest in the town site, so the railroad was located through the new town. Other partners were taken in and changes made in the joint ownership. The sub- siding of the boom caused a cessation of progress for the time being, but through all these years the Amerige brothers never lost their optimism and faith that it would some time he a large town.

When the railroad was surveyed through, the naming of the town had to be decided on. Mr. Fuller, president of the Pacific Land and Improvement Company, a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad Company, as well as others, wished to name the town Amerige, but the brothers modestly requested that some other name be given, their only wish being to make it a good, substantial, growing town, and they suggested that it he named Fullerton, after the aforesaid official, which was done. However. the old-time citizens know how hard George and Edward Amerige worked to build up the town, never losing faith in the place during all the hard times, and think it an injustice that the town should not have borne the name of its founders. Subsequent events show how Edward Amerige and his brother did all they could to build up the city, taking a prominent part in its civic life and in the establishment of its financial institutions.

Edward R. Amerige was the first mayor of Fullerton and served two terms on its board of trustees as well as trustee of schools. He also served two terms (1903-

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1905) in the Assembly of the State Legislature. He was prominent in matters pertain- ing to irrigation and was for a time president of the Anaheim Union Water Company. A Knights Templar Mason, he was a well-beloved member of that organization and was one of the founders of the Fullerton Lodge, F. & A. M., and it was largely through his efforts that the first Masonic Temple was built in Fullerton, and at his passing the funeral service here was conducted by the Knights Templar, while accord- ing to his request his body was taken back to Massachusetts and buried in the old family lot in Forest Dale Cemetery, at Malden.

ELMER ELLSWORTH JAHRAUS .- Of French and German descent, E. E. Jahraus of Laguna Beach is the son of Andrew Jahraus, who was one of the leaders in the revolution against German militarism in those stirring days from 1832 to 1846. With Carl Schurz, who was later so prominent in the public life of America, and a member of President Grant's cabinet, Andrew Jahraus fled from Germany to America in 1847, after a reward had been offered for their capture, dead or alive, by the militarists. Mr. Jahraus located in Hamilton County, Ohio, near Cincinnati, and there established himself as a decorator and building contractor. His marriage, which occurred there, united him with Miss Christine Gruber, a native of Alsace-Lorraine, who was brought to America by her parents when but a babe. Of a famliy of five sons and three daughters, E. E. Jahraus, the subject of this sketch, is the youngest son. He was born January 27, 1866, at the family home in Hamilton County, Ohio, and when he reached school age he attended the public schools at Urbana and Dayton, Ohio.

Leaving home at the age of eleven to make his own way in the world, Mr. Jahrans found his first employment in a cigar factory at Urbana, Ohio, and also worked for two years in a woolen mill. When he was fourteen years old he entered the employ of one of the largest broom manufacturing concerns in the East, thor- oughly learning the trade and remaining with them for seven years. Leaving Ohio in 1886, Mr. Jahraus went to Au Sable, Mich., on Lake Huron, where he became an expert in the cigar manufacturing business. After becoming a foreman he determined to carry out his long-cherished ambition to become a traveling salesman, so he started on the road for his brother, who was a cigar manufacturer of An Sable, and continued his work as a salesman for some time, and recalls many interesting experiences he had during his travels. Later he went to Alpena, Mich. ,and for many years was superintendent of a large cigar factory. A brother-in-law of Mr. Jahraus having located in Oregon, he planned to remove to the Northwest, but finally came to Los Angeles instead.

Coming to Santa Ana in 1900, he remained there for a year and a half, where he was in the employ of Leo Goepper. In 1902 he moved to Laguna Beach and opened a cigar factory and curio shop in the Beach Hotel, shipping souvenir boxes of cigars to all parts of the United States. While in this business he became inter- ested in the future of this beach city, and this interest has grown with the years, so that a large measure of the development work carried on there in late years is due to his enthusiasm and energy. Starting in a small way in the real estate business as the Laguna Beach Realty Company, Mr. Jahraus is now the largest realtor in that district. At the time of the organization of this company there were only about ten permanent families there, and the tourists were depended upon to make up the life of the town. The only connection with the rest of the state was by stage from El Toro, so that it was practically inaccessible to the average traveler. Under the efficient leadership of Mr. Jahraus, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and the public, the community has begun to show marked improvement, with good schools and good roads, and it is on the coast line of the proposed State Highway. The Sanitary District was also established largely through Mr. Jahraus' efforts and he is a member of its board.

Among Mr. Jahraus' many other activities he is president of the Chamber of Commerce, vice-president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Orange County, one of the members of the board of control of the Laguna Beach Art Associa- tion, which is making this beach a mecca for artists from far and wide, and he was for many years a member of the school board. During the war he was chairman of the Liberty Loan Committee of Laguna Beach, and as one of its four-minute speakers did much to further their drives. During his youthful days he served for four years in the Ohio State Militia, and was detailed for service at Cincinnati during the riot that caused such disturbances there in 1884. Politically Mr. Jahraus has not actively aligned himself with any party, preferring to give his support to the best men and measures, regardless of party affiliations.

Mr. Jahraus' marriage united him with Miss Henrietta Beadle, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Beadle, both natives of England, who were for many years

S. Townsend

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engaged in the hotel and mercantile business in Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Jahrans are the parents of two children, Joseph R. and Pauline C., the latter graduating from the State Normal School at Los Angeles in 1920.

Joseph R. Jahraus enlisted on April 1, 1918, in the Thirty-third Engineers Corps, U. S. A. Stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah, for one month, he was then sent to Camp Devens, Mass., thence overseas, landing at Brest, France, July 12, 1918. He was on one of sixteen troop ships, sailing under a convoy of two battleships and six de- stroyers, and when they reached the submarine zone they were met by a fleet of twenty-four destroyers, and as they neared the coast of France they were under the protection of three dirigibles and many small craft. Mr. Jahraus was detailed at once to active service as a wagoner in the Engineer Corps, and was overseas ten months. Arriving in America May 1, 1919, he was given his honorable discharge at the Presidio at San Francisco, June 2, 1919.

In October, 1914, Joseph R. Jahrans organized the Laguna Beach Lumber Com- pany, being president of the same, and except for the period of his overseas service he has served continuously as manager of the business. Their shipping station is at Irvine, on the Santa Fe Railroad, and all lumber is hanled by truck to Laguna Beach. The company is enjoying the heaviest business in its history, and this bids fair to increase greatly with the continned growth of Laguna Beach.

The Jahraus family all stand high in the regard of the residents of Laguna Beach and enjoy a well-deserved popularity there, for they are everywhere recognized as among the most enthusiastic and dependable workers for the best interests of this attractive beach town. They are members of the Episcopal Church at Santa Ana and prominent in its circles.

STEPHEN TOWNSEND .- Among the representative citizens of Southern Cali- fornia, and held in the highest esteem by all who knew him, Stephen Townsend came to the Golden State as early as 1876. He first located in Pasadena, where he proved an important factor in the development and upbuilding of its best interests, securing its first franchise and building its first railway; and later the Altadena and other street car lines; establishing the Pasadena Warehouse and Milling Company and conducting the same successfully; and as a member of the city board of trustees advancing plans which were acceptable to both the conservative elements and were acted upon to the entire satisfaction of the people. In 1895 he became associated with the interests of Long Beach, in which city he foresaw a wonderful future.

Mr. Townsend was a descendant of English ancestry, the first members of both paternal and maternal families having located in this country during its colonial period. Descendants drifted into the Middle West, and in the state of Ohio, David, the father of Stephen Townsend, was born and reared to manhood as a farmer's son. He married Sidney Maudlin, also a native of Ohio, and until 1855 they remained residents of that state and of Indiana. In the last-named year they emigrated to Iowa and in Cedar County, near Iowa City, engaged in general farming and stock raising. He continued in that location until 1876, when he brought his family to California and became a member of the Indiana Colony, now Pasadena, where he engaged in horticulture up to the time of his death. He was survived twenty years by his wife, who passed away in 1903, at the age of eighty-three years.

Stephen Townsend, the eldest son and sixth child of their thirteen children, was born in Hamilton County, Ind., October 19, 1848. He was but seven years old when the family located in Iowa, where he received his education in the public schools and later the Iowa State University. Upon leaving the university he began to farm on his own responsibitly upon land purchased in Franklin County, where he made his home for three years. Following this he was similarly employed in Cedar County for two years, when in 1876, he accompanied the family to California. The West ap- pealed to him, with its broader opportunities and responsibilities, and he readily became one of the most prominent men of Pasadena, developing his latent powers of manage- ment and executive ability.

Prior to Mr. Townsend's location at Long Beach he purchased twenty acres of land on the Anaheim Road, adjoining the city limits and one mile from the beach. The year after his location at Long Beach he engaged in the real estate business, laying out varions divisions there and also helping in the development of Huntington Beach. He was a partner in several real estate firms, among them Bailey and Townsend, Town- send and Campbell, the Townsend-Robinson Investment Company, later the Townsend- Van de Water Company. He also contributed extensively to the development of Orange County, being one of the organizers and directors of the Orange County Im- provement Association of Newport, of which he acted as president, serving in the same capacity for the La Hahra Land and Water Company and for the Sunset Beach Land

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Company. In addition to the foregoing Mr. Townsend was vice-president of the First National Bank of Long Beach and president of the First National Bank of Huntington Beach. He organized and was president of the Land and Navigation Company which owned 800 acres where the Long Beach harbor was dredged; in fact he took an active interest in all movements tending to promote the welfare of this section of California. The real estate firm which he organized was one of the most substantial in this part of the state, and carried on an extensive business, the high character of ability enlisted in the work making it one of the most successful enterprises of Long Beach. In addi- tion to his engrossing real estate interests he was active in the municipal life of Long Beach, in 1903 being elected president of the board of trustees, which office he filled with efficiency.

In Iowa, near lowa City, in Johnson County, on October 19, 1869, Mr. Townsend was united in marriage with Miss Anna M. Carroll, who was born near LaPorte, Ind., and who came to Iowa with her parents when she was seven years of age. While a stu- dent at the University of lowa she met Mr. Townsend, the acquaintance resulting in their marriage. They became the parents of five children, two of whom died in early childhood, and Frances Maye passed away in 1901, aged twenty-eight years; she had graduated from the College of Music of the University of Southern California in 1894; Esther Belle, who is a graduate of the Los Angeles State Normal School, is the wife of Dr. A. T. Covert of Long Beach; Vinton Ray graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and from the medical department of the University of Southern California, as an M.D., married Miss Ada Campbell, the daughter of W. L. Campbell, and they reside at Los Cerritos.

Mr. Townsend was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and prominent in all its good works, officiating as a member of the board of trustees and superintend- ent of the Sunday school, and was a member of the building committee when the new church was erected at Long Beach. He was also a director of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association and served as president of the Long Beach Hospital Association, of which he was one of the organizers. It can truly be said of Mr. Townsend that he was representative of the best in American citizenship, living up to a high standard in public and private life, and in his passing away on July 22, 1920, the community lost one of its most valued citizens, whose influence had ever been exerted for its moral uplift and betterment. Like her distinguished husband, Mrs. Townsend has always been prominent in the life of the city, particularly in the circles of the Methodist Epis- copal Church and of the Ebell Club, and aiding in all other movements for the community's good.

MME. HELENA MODJESKA .- No complete and satisfactory history of Orange County ever can be written that does not record the life and labors of Mme. Helena Modjeska, the famous tragedienne, and her happy and fortunate relation to the Cali- fornia Southland, in which she passed so many dreamy and eventful days, and where at length, scarcely more than a decade ago, she closed her eyes forever to the scenes of an admiring world. She was born at Cracow, Poland, on October 12, 1840, the daughter of Michael Opid, a noted musical instructor there, whose home was the rendezvous for artists and musicians in the old capital, and very naturally aspired toward the stage; but it was only after she had married Gustav Modrzejewska- abbreviated later to Modjeska-that she was able, in 1861, to overcome family opposition and appear in an amateur performance in Austrian Poland. So great was her success that her husband organized a company to support her on a tour of Galicia, and within two or three years she had become, on her return to her birthplace, the leading lady at the local theater. All Poland soon sounded her praises; her fame extended to Germany, France and England; and even the younger Dumas paid her the high compli- ment to invite her to Paris to take the part of Marguerite Gautier in his famous "Dame aux Camelias," best known to the world through the acting of Sarah Bernhardt. She remained loyal to Poland and the Polish stage, however, and only ventured abroad after her first husband's death.

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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 66

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