USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Pomona Valley, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the valley who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
Ricardo, the father of the subject of our review, was a native of San Diego, and became a wealthy cattle and land owner, accumulating 13,000 acres and hundreds of cattle and horses in the Pomona Valley. His house stood near the site of the present Louis Phillips homestead, and was built in the adobe style of those days. He also had two stores, through which he supplied the necessaries of life to those living remote from towns. The Indians in his neighborhood were friendly, but there was trouble enough with the redskins that came down from over the mountains, and stole such cattle as they could lay their hands upon. Wild animals were plenty, but of no use until, through labor and expense, they had been somewhat tamed-if tamed they could be. Ricardo married Maria Soto, and their union was blessed with eight children. Maria was the eldest; then came Pilar Francisco, Ramon, Josefa, Antonio, Concepcion, Magdalena, and Ygnacio, the youngest.
The third in the order of birth, Ramon, who is still living at the old ranch at the age of eighty-nine years, received 278 acres as his share of the estate, and this land he farmed for many years, making of some of it a first-class vineyard. His wife, now deceased, was Teresa Palomares before her marriage, and she was a daughter of Ygnacio Palomares, distinguished in the annals of that pioneer family, after whom the town of Palomares was named. It was this pros-
214
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
pective town, Harris Newmark, the observant pioneer, tells us in his brimful "Sixty Years in Southern California," that was widely adver- tised during the "Boom" of 1887 through a flaming poster: "Grand Railroad Excursion and Genuine Auction Sale! No Chenanekin! Thursday, June 7, 1887. Beautiful Palomares, Pomona Valley ! Lunch, Coffee, Lemonade, and Ice Water Free! Full Band of Music." Ramon and Teresa Vejar had twelve children, including José, Zolio (deceased), Ricardo, who lives in South Pasadena, Maggie, who is at home, Frank Z., Constancia, the wife of P. S. Yorba, of Yorba, Orange County, Ygnacio, Estella, at home, Ramon, Abraham, Carolina (also deceased), and Riginaldo, who lives on the home place.
Frank Z. Vejar is a native of Spadra, where he was born on February 5, 1864, and attended the first school in that district. It was on his father's ranch, and was taught by P. C. Tonner, secretary of the first teachers' institute, in 1870, ever held in Los Angeles County. Mr. Vejar is now located on a ranch of 100 acres, a part of the old Palomares ranch, which he has developed, through his pro- gressive and scientific methods, and brought to a high state of cultiva- tion. He has sunk two wells, and installed a fine electric pumping plant, and set out twenty-two acres to walnuts, now ten years old, from which he procured in 1918 nine tons of nuts and in 1919 over fourteen tons. Besides this he has planted a new walnut grove of forty acres south of the Pacific Electric tracks, and between the nut trees he has planted rows of peaches. He raises alfalfa and cultivates grapes ; and he makes a success of all that he undertakes. Mr. and Mrs. Vejar also own valuable business property in Pomona, including the Vejar block, which they built on Main Street, between Second and Third streets, as well as a 741-acre ranch at Corona.
When Frank Vejar married, November 20, 1892, in Yorba, he took for his wife Miss Frances Yorba, a native of Santa Ana in Orange County, and a descendant of the famous old Yorba family, of pure Spanish extraction. At one time her folks owned 165,000 acres in what is now Orange County, grants given the pioneer Yorba by the indulgent King of Spain. Contrary to the tale often told of such early ranchers and the fate of their princely holdings, there are still some 11,000 acres of this original grant that are owned by four mem- bers of the Yorba family, and all are cultivated. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Vejar have had two daughters. Theresa died at age of four, and Grace is the wife of W. M. Pipkin, and they have . a daughter named Frances Joyce. The family attend the Roman Catholic Church and Mr. Vejar belongs to Pomona Lodge No. 789 of the Elks and also the Knights of Columbus. The Vejar family, therefore, preserve in a very interesting way the traditions of more than one line among the builders of California.
215
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
LOUIS PHILLIPS
Well deserving to be held in long and pleasant remembrance as one of the sturdy pioneers who helped to fashion and build the great commonwealth of California, and who was especially a leader and controlling factor in Los Angeles and parts of the Southland, Louis Phillips, who came to the Golden State in 1850, passed away at his home at Spadra on March 16, 1900. He was born in Germany on April 22, 1829, and when only thirteen years of age crossed the ocean to America with an elder brother. For seven years, he followed mercantile life in Louisiana, and then with a party of friends, he bought a sailing vessel and came 'round the Horn to San Francisco. He tried his luck at mining, but without success; and then, with a brother, Fitel, he opened a little store for the sale of general mer- chandise on the Long Wharf in the Bay City. Dissatisfied with that venture, he sold out to his brother, came south and located in Los Angeles, where he again engaged in general mercantile trade; after which he bought a portion of the so-called San Antonio ranch on the San Gabriel River, a fine stretch of several thousand acres, on which for ten years he farmed and raised stock. In 1863, he removed to Spadra, then in the San José, now in the Pomona Valley, and bought 12,000 acres of the San José Rancho. Three years later, on October 18, 1866, Mr. Phillips was married to Esther A. Blake, a native of Illinois and the daughter of William and Joyce A. Blake, who crossed the plains to California with her parents and settled in the San José Valley; an attractive woman enjoying a wide circle of friends, who died at Spadra on December 1, 1918, the mother of four children- Charles B., now deceased; George S. Phillips, of Pomona; Louis R. Phillips, of Spadra, and Nellie B., an only daughter, now Mrs. A. F. George of Los Angeles. Louis Phillips was an Odd Fellow and was a charter member of Pomona Lodge No. 246.
As with all big California ranchos, the division of the property of Louis Phillips was only a matter of time, and has been under special consideration of late. The estate includes the Phillips ranch of about 6,000 acres adjoining Pomona on the southwest, 1,500 acres of which are as fine land as can be found in Southern California, and as this is ripe for subdivision, the action is of vital importance to Pomona.
This rancho of Louis Phillips has a romantic history closely associated with early Spanish days in California; for it was a portion of the original grant made by the King of Spain to the Palomares and Vejar families. One of the early trails to California came over the Cajon Pass, through San Bernardino, Cucamonga, and passed the Phillips farm, and many a prairie-schooner party stopped there, some- times overnight, often for a longer stay, and passengers by the stage route to Yuma also traveled that way. Phillips raised cattle and
216
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
sheep on a large scale, and during the shearing of the thousands of sheep there were busy scenes such as will never again greet the eye of the traveler. What relation this neighborly and large-hearted rancher maintained to the rural life of this section may be gathered from the late Harris Newmark's "Sixty Years in Southern Cali- fornia," wherein he tells, among other things, of the early horse races. "The peculiar character of some of the wagers," he says, "recalls to me an instance of a later date when a native customer of Louis Phillips tried to borrow a wagon, in order to bet the same on a horse race. If the customer won, he was to return the wagon at once ; but if he lost, he was to pay Phillips a certain price for the vehicle !"
According to Phillips' contemporary, just quoted, the history of the San José Rancho in question had various twists and turns. Not less than 22,000 acres made up the grant given to Ricardo Vejar and Ygnacio Palomares by Governor Alvarado as early as 1837, and when Luis Arenas joined the two partners about 1840, Alvarado renewed his grant, tacking on a league or two of San José land lying to the west and nearer to the San Gabriel Mountains. Arenas, in time, disposed of his interest to Henry Dalton; and Dalton joined Vejar in applying to the courts for a partitioning of the estate. This division was ordered by the Spanish Alcalde in the late forties; but Palomares still objected to the decision, and the matter dragged along in the tribunals many years, the decree finally being set aside by the court. It is a curious fact that not until the San José Rancho had been so cut up that it was not easy to trace it back to the original grantees, did the authorities at Washington finally issue a patent to Dalton, Palomares and Vejar for the 22,000 acres which in the beginning made up the ranch.
The great land domain also had its tragedies, one of which is narrated, in his interesting manner, by Harris Newmark. "In 1864," he says, "two Los Angeles merchants, Louis Schlesinger and Hyman Tischler, owing to the recent drought foreclosed a mortgage on several thousand acres of land known as the Ricardo Vejar property, lying between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Shortly after this transaction, Schlesinger was killed on his way to San Francisco, in the Ada Hancock explosion; after which Tischler purchased Schles- inger's interest in the ranch and managed it alone. In January, Tischler invited me to accompany him on one of the numerous excur- sions which he made to his newly-acquired possession, but, though I was inclined to go, a business engagement interfered and kept me in town. Poor Edward Newman, another friend of Tischler, took my place. On the way to San Bernardino from the rancho, the travelers were ambushed by some Mexicans, who shot Newman dead. It was generally assumed that the bullets were intended for Tischler, in revenge for his part in the foreclosure; at any rate, he
217
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
would never go to the ranch again, and finally sold it to Don Louis Phillips, on credit, for $30,000. The inventory included large herds of horses and cattle, which Phillips (during the subsequent wet season ) drove to Utah, where he realized sufficient from their sale alone to pay for the whole property. Pomona and other important places now mark the neighborhood where once roamed his herds."
JOSÉ DOLORES PALOMARES
There is scarcely a resident of the eastern part of Los Angeles County to whom the name of Palomares is unfamiliar. Particularly is this true of those who are acquainted with the early history of the county. At a very early day the family became established here, having come from Mexico and originally from Spain, of which country they belonged to the nobility. The representative of the family whose name introduces this sketch and who was a well-known citizen of La Verne, traces his lineage to Don Juan Leocadio Palomares, of Sonora, Mexico, who married Dona Maria Antonia Gonzales de Zayas and had an only son, Cristobal. As a sergeant in the Mexican army the latter became connected with the military affairs of his native land. In the early days he identified himself with the pioneers of the then straggling hamlet of Los Angeles, where he served as judge and built a home on the present site of the Arcade depot. When quite advanced in years he passed away, thus closing a career that had been long and intimately associated with the pioneer history of the City of the Angels. By his marriage to Benedita Saiz he had the following-named children: Concepcion, Barbara, Rosario, Francisco, Ygnacio, of the Rancho San José, Louise, Dolores, Maria Jesus and Josefa.
The fourth member of this family, in order of birth, was Fran- cisco, who was born in 1806 and grew to manhood amid the primitive surroundings of his California home. During his entire life he devoted himself to farming, much of the time making his home in San José, where he had a ranch with large numbers of cattle and horses. At the time of his death he was eighty-three. His wife, Margarita ( Pacheco) Palomares, had died in 1857 when fifty-two years of age. They were the parents of the following-named children: Benedita, Maria Jesus, Christopher, Rosalio, José Dolores (the subject of this article), Con- cepcion and Francisco.
In the sketch of Porfirio Palomares, on another page, will be found further mention of the family genealogy and a record of the descent as traced from the governor of the castle of St. Gregory, at Oran, Spain. José Dolores Palomares was born in San José, Cal., March 24, 1841, and was reared to a knowledge of farm affairs. Selecting agriculture for his life work, he turned his attention to
218
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
farming in the Calaveras Valley and also had ten years of experience in ranching in Santa Clara County. A later venture was the real estate business, which occupied six years, and afterward he spent three years carpentering at Contra Costa. In 1876 he came to La Verne, where he owned a valuable farm and gave his attention to a super- vision of his interests. In 1882 he erected a commodious house and barn, planted fruit trees of various kinds and a vineyard. He died in about 1909. By his marriage to Sarafina Macias, daughter of Estaban Macias of Mexico, he had nine children, namely: Porfirio, Maggie, Chonita, Francisco, Arturo, Emilia, Rosa, Issavel and Ernestine.
JAMES M. FRYER
A successful rancher and a devoted member of the Baptist Church, who has the honor of being the son of a pioneer settler and preacher of the Word of God, is James M. Fryer, who was born in Conway County, Ark., June 25, 1847, the son of Rev. Richard C. and Caroline (Veazey) Fryer, both natives of Alabama. Richard Fryer crossed the plains to California with ox teams in 1852, there being seventy-five wagons in their train. He had with him his wife and four children; they encountered troublesome Indians and were seven months on the trip, finally drawing up at El Monte, Los Angeles County, in the fall of 1852. There he took a squatter's right and farmed the land. He was ordained as a minister of the Baptist Church and preached the Gospel; and as the only minister for miles around he both married and buried many. In 1867 he located at Spadra, when there were only three white families in the Valley, and bought 250 acres of land which he farmed. There were no trees then-all was a vast plain. While here Richard Fryer was very prom- inent in the affairs of the community and by reason of his superior ability and intellectual qualities he was honored by frequent selection to occupy positions of honor. In 1857 he was elected to the office of county supervisor, which he filled with efficiency, and he served a term as a member of the lower house of the California legislature in 1870 and 1871. After several years' residence at Spadra he sold out his interests there and moved to Los Angeles, where he passed away. Eleven children were born to this worthy couple, James M. being the third child.
James obtained his early education at the public schools at El Monte and in 1867 he began life for himself, buying fifty acres of land at Spadra, later adding more acreage, so that he now owns 112 acres. For a while he engaged in grain farming. Becoming inter- ested in horticulture he set out an orchard of walnuts and oranges, devoting thirty acres to Valencia and Navel oranges and forty acres
J. M. Juryen.
221
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
to walnuts. In all this ranching he has been very successful. For many years he served as a trustee of the San José school district, now the Spadra school district, being clerk of the board of trustees. Polit- ically a Democrat, he has always been very active in the political circles of the community. In 1878 he served as justice of the peace of his township and during President Cleveland's first administration he was appointed postmaster of Spadra, a position which he held for several years, being exceedingly popular with all classes of people, irrespective of party ties.
Mr. Fryer was married on November 20, 1870, to Miss Isabel Arnett, a native of Mississippi. There were born six children, two of whom are living. Bertha has become the wife of A. A. Salisbury, and she has one son, James. They reside at San Bernardino. Roy M. is a graduate of the University of California; he taught in the Oroville and Santa Rosa high schools and was later head of the science department of the Sacramento high school. His marriage united him with Minerva Biller, and they have two sons-Edward M. and Robert R. He now resides at Spadra and assists his father in the care of his ranch.
The Baptist Church at Spadra was organized by Mr. Fryer's father, and James Fryer is the only living charter member. Later the church was moved to Pomona and he has officiated as chairman of the board of trustees since that time. An interesting chapter in the life story of the Fryers associates them with popular education in an enviable manner. According to the Pomona Bulletin, after serving in the Spadra school district for the past forty-two years, J. M. Fryer, who has been called the "father of his school," resigned his position and his place was filled by the election of his son, Roy Fryer. In referring to his long term as director on the district school board. Mr. Fryer spoke interestingly of the many changes he has seen take place.
"I became a director soon after the Spadra school district was formed," he said, "and at that time there were about 100 children in the district. Soon after I became a member of the board a new school building was erected, the same building which is now in use. There are now very few children in the district. You see, years ago as the people began to settle in this vicinity all of them had large families and the children attended the Spadra school. But when the children grew up they scattered out into other places, leaving the old folks at home. None of them wanted to sell their land, for they think it is good enough for them, so there has been but little opportunity for families with children of school age to locate in this district during the more recent years." During the time, continues the writer in the Bulletin. that Mr. Fryer has held the position of school board director he has given generously of his time and has served faithfully and with great satisfaction to his district.
222
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
PORFIRIO PALOMARES
The Palomares family of California is descended from Don Francisco de Palomares, governor of the castle of St. Gregory at Oran, Spain. In his family there were six children, namely, Esteban, who was lieutenant-colonel of the Knights of the Order of Santiago; Don Juan, who became governor of the castle after his father's death; Don Antonio, who was a judge; Don José; Eugenio, who lost his life as a result of his attempts to overthrow the Catholic religion; and Dona Francisca, who married Don Diego Francisco, Knight of the Order of Santiago and governor of the plaza of Oran. The second of the sons, Captain Juan, is remembered in the history as the officer who led his men in a determined but hopeless resistance against the Turkish troops at Borcha. After the majority of his troops had been slain, not being able to defend himself and the castle, he set fire to the powder house or depository, and blew up the castle, beneath whose ruins the dead bodies of himself and his men were later found.
Tracing the history of the family down toward the present, we find another Don Francisco de Palomares, a well-known citizen of Toledo, Spain. His children were Don Francisco, who was clerk of the city of Madrid; Donicio, Maria Josefa and Juan Leocadio. The last-named crossed the ocean from Spain to Mexico and estab- lished a home in Sonora, where he married Dona Maria Antonia Gonzales de Zayas, sister of Father Elias, an influential priest. Their only son, Juan Francisco, was born in Sonora, and became the father of the following children: Herman, Antonia, Juana, Francisca, Pro- cofio, Almara, Tranquilina, Fiburcio, Manuel, Ygnacio and Jesus. Among the children of Manuel was Juan Leocadio, by whose marriage to Maria Antonio Gonzales was born an only child, Cristobal. The latter came to Los Angeles as a sergeant in the Mexican army and afterward served as judge of Los Angeles. His residence stood on the present site of the Arcade depot. By his marriage to Benedita Saiz he had the following children : Concepcion, Barbara, Rosario, Fran- cisco, Ygnacio, Louise, Dolores, Maria Jesus and Joséfa. Of this family Ygnacio married Concepcion Lopez, and their children were Louise, Teresa, Tomas, Francisco, Manuel, Josefa, Concepcion, Caro- line and Maria. The second of the sons, Francisco, at an early age secured employment as assistant on a ranch. Later he became a large property owner and wealthy cattleman. It is said that for years he was the largest land owner in all of the Pomona Valley, and over his fields roamed thousands of cattle and horses. Eventually he carried fewer heads of stock, but of a higher grade. On the ground where the home of Mr. Nichols now stands he built a large adobe house, and here the happiest days of his life were passed, in the society of his family and the many friends whom his genial qualities had drawn to him. In those days there was an abundance of rain, consequently the
223
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
pastures were in excellent condition for the stock. Little land was cultivated. Indians were numerous, but did no damage except to steal cattle occasionally. Wild game abounded, and the sportsman found rare pleasure in hunting the deer, antelope, bears and wolves with which the remote valleys were filled. Little did those pioneers dream of the wonderful transformation of the present; some of them lived to witness many of the changes wrought by the incoming of American settlers, and Francisco was among them. The increase in the values of land caused him to dispose of much of his property, and his last days were spent in retirement from business. He was one of the leading Democrats of his day and locality and for some time filled the office of supervisor. In religion he was of the Catholic faith. He died in 1882 when forty-six years of age, leaving a wife and four children. The former was Lugarda Alvarado, a native of Los Angeles, and who died June 14, 1896, at the age of fifty-six years. The children were Concepcion, who married Eduardo Avila; Chris- tina ; Francisco, who married Virginia Miller; and Porfirio, who forms the subject of this article.
When the estate was divided Porfirio Palomares received seventy- six acres for his share, of which amount he afterward sold twenty-nine acres. At this writing he owns 191 acres of excellent land where he raises alfalfa for feed. In addition he is the possessor of forty-three acres in San Diego County, the whole forming what is known as the Montserrat Ranch. His attention is devoted to a general farming business and to the management of his vineyard. On his place will be seen a substantial set of buildings, provided with the modern equip- ments. Like his father, he is a Roman Catholic in religion and a Democrat in politics. With his wife, Hortense, daughter of Vicente Yorba of Orange County, he has a large circle of friends throughout Southern California, and is regarded as a worthy descendant of Spanish nobility.
MRS. FRANCES ADA PATTEN
Among the teachers of the Golden State who have contributed definitely, permanently and mightily to its development as a great commonwealth is Mrs. Frances Ada Patten, a pioneer instructor in both Pomona and Los Angeles. A native daughter well worthy of her birthright, Mrs. Patten was born at Gold Lake, Sierra County, on July 3, 1860, the daughter of Joseph D. and Catherine E. (Shaw) Connor, who came to California in June, 1857. The name was orig- inally O'Connor, but when the family located in Southern California they dropped the "O." For a while Mr. Connor engaged in the uncertain ventures of a miner; then he purchased a resort at Gold Lake and afterward wandered all over the state. Mrs. Connor, a member of the Shaw family of Texas, was a school teacher, and a sketch of her life is found in the annual publication of 1913 of
224
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
Los Angeles County pioneers. Coming to Los Angeles in 1870, Mr. Connor prospected over a wide area among the mining camps, was engaged in contracting and building and also opened the first fish market in Los Angeles. He built all the stations for the mule-team trains that hauled freight for Mr. Nadeau between Los Angeles and Independence, and in the latter place Mrs. Connor taught school. Mr. Connor died in 1875 and she passed away in 1912 at San Fran- cisco. She was a sister of M. W. Shaw of Galveston, Texas, and was a member of a family that had lived there since 1847 and had become prominent, and they are represented in Green and Bancroft's History of Texas.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.