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 32
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Southern California proved the real magnet, however, and set- tling in Azusa, Mr. Hathaway bought 150. acres and engaged in ranching there for five years. In 1888 he came to Pomona and made this his home until his death, December 12, 1905. He bought forty acres on South White Avenue and twenty acres near Chino; he first purchased five acres on White Avenue and there made his home. He built several houses in Pomona, besides owning a number of ranches in Pomona and Chino Valleys, and in his development work he became a representative pioneer and upbuilder for his community. He was
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a member of the First Baptist Church and highly esteemed by his many friends in California, and particularly this section of the state.
Mrs. Hathaway is also a pioneer, and to the pioneer women of the state, no less than to the men, are due the honor and respect of the generations that have followed, for without their faithful devotion and toil there had been no home carved in the wilderness nor civilization brought to the western frontier. As previously stated, Mrs. Hath- away is a native of Paris, Texas ; her father, Hiram C. Russell, owned a part of the site where Paris now stands. A native of Tennessee, born in 1812, he crossed the plains to California with his family in 1858 and practiced law in San Bernardino and later in El Monte, where he was justice of the peace; he was a Mason and a man of strong character, his death occurring in 1890. Hiram C. Russell married Louisa Standefer, born in Alabama, and besides Mrs. Hath- away, the other living children of this marriage are Virginia Russell of Pomona and Mrs. H. B. Briggs. Mrs. Hathaway relates many interesting experiences of early days in the Valley, when the country was a wilderness, inhabited by many lawless people; she passed through this section before Pomona was even thought of, and has seen all the changes wrought by advancing civilization. She is a member of the Christian Science Church and, like all pioneer women, has unu- sual breadth of character and has borne her full share in the making of this great commonwealth.
Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway had eight children born to them, six sons and two daughters : William lived in Pomona, was a farmer, and died leaving five daughters; Hiram, living in· Wintersburg, Orange County, is a rancher ; Jefferson H. of Pomona is in the bicycle repair business ; Charles W., who makes his home with his mother, was a rancher; George died aged twenty-four; Walter also is with his mother ; Louisa P., Mrs. Weeks, near Ontario, has one daughter; and Anna, Mrs. Gardner, died and has one living daughter.
PETER FLEMING
An honored pioneer citizen of Pomona Valley whose name will always be associated with one of the most important developments of the Valley is Peter Fleming, the founder of its water system. With James Beckett as a partner, he established the waterworks, built the waterways and formed the Sycamore Water Company, also the Con- solidated Water Company.
Of old Eastern stock, Peter Fleming was a native of Vermont, and his wife, Margaret (Coleman) Fleming, a native of Massachu- setts. They came to Spadra, Cal., in 1875, and Peter Fleming first engaged in the dairy business, later becoming interested in the bee industry. He was also an orange grower in Lordsburg, now La Verne,
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and in Mountain View, with George Roher as a partner, the firm name being Fleming and Roher. He maintained his interest in the water company up to the time of his death, remaining superintendent until that date, October 2, 1898. His widow survives him, with their six children : Mary A. and E. J. Fleming, both born in the Eastern state ; William T., Fred A., Frank X. and Walter, born in Pomona.
Fraternally, Peter Fleming was a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is remembered as a progressive and public-spirited man, always ready to help in the advancement of Pomona, and to see her wonderful possibilities in the future and work to make them realities.
WILLIAM S. TRUE
A rancher and his wife who have contributed much to the ad- vancement of more than one department of California agricultural life are Mr. and Mrs. William S. True, who live on Bowdoin Avenue, north of Foothill Boulevard, in La Verne. William S. True was born in La Salle County, Ill., September 18, 1868, and comes of good old New England Revolutionary stock. His father, George A. True, now deceased, was a native of Massachusetts, and he married Miss Eliza M. Stevenson, who was born in New Jersey. The parents, with their family, came to La Verne in 1886, and George A. True bought ten acres of the famous Morris Keller ranch, then set out to grapes and prunes, and later he took out the vines and prune trees and set out oranges and lemons. Mrs. George A. True has also passed away, leaving a blessed memory, the mother of two children, both of whom are in La Verne. Angie, now Mrs. Hartshorn, resides on the old home place, and William S., the subject of this review, is living on his own ten acres of oranges and lemons, a grove formerly part of the Vic. Keller ranch. This finely-developed ranch was also formerly set out to prunes, but they were grubbed out and citrus trees planted.
Mr. True's property is indeed one of the most desirable in all this locality, possessing as it does a well and a fine pumping plant, installed at a cost of $8000. This unimpaired source and adequate machinery afford an ample supply of water for all possible purposes, and must always prove a valuable asset to those operating the farm. Mrs. True, who was Miss Edith Inez Smith before her marriage, is a native of Coldwater, Branch County, Mich. She is a daughter of James and Catherine (Ames) Smith, both natives of Michigan, her father being the first white male child born in Litchfield, Hillsdale County. Her grandfather, Hervey R. Smith, born in New Hamp- shire, was an early settler of Litchfield, and donated the land for the city park at that place. James Smith was a merchant in Michigan. In 1886 he moved to Santa Paula, Cal., and three years later to Po-
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mona, where he resided until his death in 1909. His widow survives him and continues to reside on the old home place. Of the ten chil- dren born to this worthy couple, eight are living. Mrs. True was the third, in order of birth, and she has a twin sister, Mrs. Ethel Line- barger. She was educated at the college at Adrian, Mich. Coming to California in 1888, she became a resident of Pomona in 1889, and it was here that she made the acquaintance of Mr. True, which resulted in their marriage, which occurred on January 15, 1895, the ceremony being performed in Los Angeles.
They have been very successful in citrus growing as well as in raising Anglo-Nubian goats, an enterprise in which they both obtain much pleasure and keen enjoyment. Mrs. True was one of the organ- izers and the vice-president of the Citrus Belt Milk Goat Association, and is one of the largest breeders of milk goats in Southern California, having sixty head on her ranch. She makes a specialty of Anglo- Nubians and her herd is headed by the famous buck, Banzai Abdallah, pure Anglo-Nubian No. P .- 18 I. N. B. A., No. 642, A. M. G. R. A. Holly Lodge Shingle, his grandsire, was bred by Baroness Burdett Coutts, of England, and he was imported nine years ago, and he is the greatest progenitor of the Anglo-Nubians of America. He sired the greatest milker known to the western world, B. Tallassae, which gave nine quarts a day. Abdallah's dam, Wigmore Brownie, No. P .- 2 I. N. B. A., No. 464, A. M. G. R. A., was a pure-bred imported Anglo- Nubian doe of great renown, a producer of big rich milkers. Mrs. True also owns Silkie, No. G-422 I. N. B. A., three-fourths Nubian, one-fourth Saanen; sired by Holly Lodge Shingle, dam Bonanza Maid, No. G-256 I. N. B. A., a seven and a half quart milker. The Anglo- Nubians produce the richest, sweetest-flavored milk, from which but- ter may easily be made, and all the butter used on the True ranch is made from goats' cream. Mrs. True breeds and sells goats, many of which have brought high prices, and she has taken prizes at all the milk-goat shows in Southern California where she has had an exhibit.
Mr. and Mrs. True are members of the Pomona Valley His- torical Society and of the Claremont Pomological Club, as well as the Society of Pomona Valley Pioneers. Mrs. True is descended from Revolutionary stock on both her paternal and maternal side, and par- ticularly on the latter from Elijah Ames, Ebenezer Pardee and the Wisners, who served in the Revolutionary War. She takes pride and satisfaction in being a member of the Pomona chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Trues take a live interest in the past of the Valley, as they look forward to the future, and they are among those who feel the wisdom of preserving the annals of the neigh- borhood before it is too late.
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JOSEPH T. LAUGHLIN
An enterprising and very successful pioneer in the auto transfer and delivery field is Joseph T. Laughlin, for the past two decades familiar to residents of the Pomona Valley, for here he found the happy solution of his troubles. It is no wonder, then, considering that Pomona and vicinity claim Mr. Laughlin as their own, that he should have become, in his increasing prosperity, one of the best "boosters" of this favored part of the Golden State.
Mr. Laughlin was born in Adams County, Ill., on January 1, 1860, and in that vicinity was reared on a farm where, especially in those disturbed days, there was little chance for an education, for he had to work early and late to assist his father. He really started in on the farm when he was nine years of age, and it was not long before he was doing a man's work. His father had a threshing machine, and every fall until he was twenty-two years of age, he assisted his father in running the same.
He then started to farm for himself, renting land in different sec- tions, his last place being a farm of 210 acres in Hancock County, Ill. He started in a small way with one horse; but by hard work and intel- ligent application of his wits and experience to the problems of the hour, he made a success of grain farming and was doing well enough to encourage him to remain where he had risen.
On December 28, 1884, Mr. Laughlin married Miss Alice Cham- berlin, a native of Illinois and the daughter of Noah and Mary Jane (Riley) Chamberlin, and when her health failed it was necessary for him to take her to another climate. By good fortune, he had his atten- tion directed to Southern California ; and having sold out all his effects, in 1902 he left for Pomona. His first employment made him a driver of a city street sprinkler owned by a private person, and next he worked for the city in the same capacity, continuing in the municipal service for three years. He then drove an Orange Belt Emporium delivery wagon for another three years, and after that he went into the delivery busi- ness for himself.
This line of activity he has now followed for a number of years, and he runs an auto-delivery truck, undertaking all kinds of trucking. His business has carried him all over the Valley and many miles be- yond, especially to the beaches, but he has never lost his first love for Pomona, which he considers an ideal spot for both a comfortable home and a profitable trade, with appreciative patrons. His wife, always the best of helpmates, has entirely recovered her health, so that no one could be more loyal than either she or he to Pomona.
Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin have reared a large family of children : Elsie is the wife of E. L. Lindsey of Claremont, and the mother of five children; Floyd, the first-born and a general favorite, died at the age of nineteen; Mabel is the wife of Richard Brown, of Long Beach ;
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Florence has become Mrs. Robert Motts of Pomona ; Arno is an expert machinist and assisting his father ; Verner was a soldier, having enlisted in the regular army, in the 165th Field Artillery, at the Presidio in San Francisco, from which place he was transferred to Camp Kearny ; he saw eleven months' service on the battlefields of France, went over the top and was gassed, and he is still in the service, able to give a good account of himself ; Aldo was born in Pomona, while Grace is a school girl. The family attend the Cavalry Baptist Church of Pomona, and Mr. Laughlin belongs to the Loyal Order of Moose and the Modern Woodmen. On coming to Pomona, Mr. Laughlin bought a house on South Garey Avenue, and later he traded it for his present home at 237 West Eighth Street.
WALTER SHAFER
Pomona has been fortunate in the quality of citizens who have chosen this beautiful Valley as their homesite, and who have unselfishly worked to help their neighbor as well as themselves. Among these may be mentioned Walter Shafer, who passed to his reward August 18, 1911, but whose name is held in appreciative remembrance in the hearts of friends and neighbors who were associated with him in the years of his residence in the Valley. A native of New York state, Mr. Shafer was born about twelve miles from Middleburg, Schoharie County, January 3, 1855, and in that state he engaged in farming.
In 1888 Mr. Shafer came West and settled in Pomona Valley, and soon after his arrival here purchased four and one-half acres of land on North San Antonio Avenue, which had been planted to Navel oranges and prunes, but he replanted to Navel and Valencia oranges and brought the property to a high state of improvement. Later, he planted ten acres to oranges for a Mr. Kelley, and still later became owner of that tract also, which he sold at a profit and continued in the development of his original ranch. While developing his own prop- erty Mr. Shafer took an active interest in the development of the com- munity as a whole, and he was president of the California Produce Company, one of the independent packing companies of the Valley. He was a director in the Kingsley Water Company, and a director and stockholder in the Fraternal Aid Association, which erected the Opera House at Pomona.
Together with John C. Deck, Mr. Shafer organized a fumigating concern when that method of obliterating the scale was first started, and they ran several gangs of men and had the largest outfit in the Valley, even going into San Bernardino County to operate. Mr. Shafer finally bought out his partner and operated the business alone, and he was thus engaged at the time of his death.
February 11, 1890, Mr. Shafer was united in marriage with Mary A. Northrup, a native of Michigan; two daughters were born
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of their union, Winifred May, a student at Pomona College, and Mildred Julia. During his many years of residence here Mr. Shafer took an active part in church work in the Presbyterian Church; and fraternally he was a member of the Fraternal Aid and of the K. O. T. M. A kind and obliging neighbor and a true friend through both adversity and spiritual trials, it is for these traits of character that his memory is held in loving esteem by his many friends in the community.
CHARLES CLARK
One of the pioneer business men of Pomona who has taken part in the business affairs of the city from his first arrival here, in 1888, until his retirement from active duties, in 1913, Charles Clark has watched the march of progress during that period and did his share toward the upbuilding of the community. He is a native of England, born in Chelmsford, February 6, 1848, a son of Benjamin and Emma (Auger) Clark, both now deceased. He received his education in the English schools and remained at his studies until ten years of age. At that early age he started in his business career, and worked at and learned the bakery trade, remaining in that business in his native country until eighteen years of age.
Mr. Clark then came to the United States, and located at Chicago for ten years, then removed to Des Moines, Iowa, and lived in that city twelve years. At the end of that time, in 1888, he came to Pomona and went into business for himself, remaining as proprietor of the bakery and restaurant he established until 1913, when he sold out to his sons and now lives retired from business affairs.
The marriage of Mr. Clark, in Beloit, Wis., September 23, 1872, united him with Miss Alice Pauline Wells, and three sons and two daughters were born to them; Arthur, now deceased; Frank, pro- prietor of the San Pedro Bakery, and Ralph, succeeding his father in Clark's bakery in Pomona. The two girls died in infancy in Iowa. The family attend the Episcopal Church. With his wife and children, Mr. Clark made a visit to his old home in England to see his aged mother, and he and his good wife now live to enjoy the fruits of their years of industry in the beautiful valley where they worked for the better part of their lives, content in the knowledge of work well done and lives lived for the betterment of their neighbors as well as them- selves. Mr. Clark was the pioneer baker of Pomona, in business con- tinuously for twenty-five years. Fraternally he is a Mason and a Shriner; a member of the Elks, of which he has been manager since 1912; the Foresters, and the Fraternal Aid. In politics he supports the Republican party.
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CARLTON SEAVER
To have been a good American citizen, active in the upbuilding of this great commonwealth, and to have reared a family with high American ideals and equally active in putting these same ideals into practical use, is fame enough for any man, and any community may be justly proud to have in its boundaries so many of these families as has Pomona Valley. Representative among them may be mentioned Carlton Seaver. Mr. Seaver was born at Rochester, N. Y., the son of B. E. and Mary J. (Pryor) Seaver, also of that city. He was educated at the public schools and so given the foundation for his later career.
While still a young man, about 1870, Mr. Seaver became engaged in the mercantile and banking business at Traer, Iowa. In 1884 he settled in Pomona and purchased land and planted an orchard, and in 1885 he entered the Pomona Valley Bank as president.
In 1886 he converted that bank into the First National Bank, continuing as president, and the institution has had a large part in the development of Pomona Valley, in the husbanding of its resources and the laying of a sound foundation for its future prosperity. During Mr. Seaver's term as president the bank building was erected, an event of importance and a milestone in the life of the city, for it was then the finest structure in Pomona.
Resigning from the bank, in 1898, since that date Mr. Seaver has devoted his attention to his private interests and to the general welfare of his home community. His marriage, which occurred in Iowa, united him with Miss Mary Samuels, a native of New York state, and of their union six children were born, all of whom are graduates from Pomona College: Georgia Gladys is the wife of Dr. Roy E. Thomas of Los Angeles. Doctor Thomas is also a grad- uate of Pomona College. Mrs. Thomas studied in some of the best art schools and her talent in shown in the beautiful paintings from her brush. Next in order of birth is Frank R., an attorney in Los An- geles, a graduate of the Law Department of Harvard University, and patriotic American, who organized the Ninth Division of the Cali- fornia Naval Militia, and upon the entrance of the United States in the war, enlisted in the Navy and was engaged in the convoy service. He is practicing in Los Angeles. The third child, Byron D., is also a Harvard Law School graduate, an attorney of prominence in Los Angeles. He enlisted and passed the examination for a commission in the army. Homer C. received his degree of M.D. in the Medical Department of the University of California and enlisted in New York in the Medical Corps of the United States Army and saw service in the Argonne and other hospitals at the front. He is now practicing in San Francisco. Marguerite, a graduate of Wellesley College and also of the Chalmers School of Dancing, was prominent in Y. W.
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C. A. work. She is supervising principal of hygiene and physical education in the Los Angeles city schools. And the youngest of this promising family, Manila, is now taking a course in applied arts at Columbia University.
Mrs. Seaver has always been prominent in club work, serving as president of the Ebell Club of Pomona, and was state superintendent of the Southern California Division. She was also very active in Red Cross endeavors, especially in shop work during the World War. With such progenitors, the children could hardly fail to make their mark in the world, and it is to these representatives of Young America that we look for her future of unlimited possibilities.
WILLIS A. NORTON
That a man may do more than one thing well is demonstrated beyond doubt in the career of Willis A. Norton, the Claremont orange grower and plumber, whose property adorns the Base Line Road. He is a native son, and was born at Duarte on August 30, 1884. His father was George Norton, a native of Iowa, who came to California in 1875 and located in Los Angeles; and later he removed to Pomona, where he became identified with water development in the Claremont and Pomona districts. He hauled the first load of pipe that was used to develop water in the Kingsley Tract, and as a stationary engineer was employed on the Loud Ranch, at the pumping plant, and later still was in the same capacity with the Del Monte Irrigation Company. He was, too, the first engineer with the Claremont Domestic Water Com- pany, and he also planted an orange grove on the Base Line Road, where he erected a home and developed water, which was in time sold to the Valley View Irrigation Company of Claremont. Having sold this ranch property, Mr. Norton went to reside in Los Angeles. His wife was Miss Lydia French before her marriage, and she is now deceased.
Willis attended the public schools of Los Angeles and the Pomona High School, and with Mr. Holt, the plumber of Claremont, he began the plumber's trade. From 1904 to 1917 he worked as a plumber in Santa Monica and Venice, and for five years was foreman for J. H. Jackson of Santa Monica. During his stay at that place, he worked on many of the buildings erected while Venice was being built, and he also helped construct some of the finest edifices in Ocean Park and Santa Monica.
In 1907, he bought ten acres of raw land on the Base Line Road north of Claremont, which he cleared, graded and planted, with seven acres of Navel oranges and three acres of lemons. In 1917, he re- turned to Claremont to make his home there and to look after his orange ranch, and in the summer of 1919, he became manager of the
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Hardy Plumbing Shop in Claremont. His expert knowledge of plumb- ing has always made him in demand, and he has thus done much to help build up the districts in which he has lived. The same ability to grasp the problems of ranching has assisted Mr. Norton to become one of the very successful citrus ranchers in the Valley. As early as 1897 Mr. Norton constructed a bicycle and rode it in Los Angeles down Broadway from Fremont Street.
While at Santa Monica, Mr. Norton was married to Miss Alice Coriell, a native of Kansas, whose parents were Julius D. and Jane (Hesser) Coriell. They have one son, Robert C., and the family are affiliated with the Methodist Church. Mr. Norton is a Mason, and belongs to the Santa Monica Lodge No. 307, F. & A. M., and is also a member of Pomona Chapter No. 76, R. A. M.
ELMER EUGENE ARMOUR
A professional and business man of Pomona, whose successful career ought to inspire the ambitious youth of this and other California communities, was the late Elmer Eugene Armour, who died at his home in Pomona on May 1, 1912. A native of Ohio, he was born at Chagrin Falls, September 25, 1861, the son of John Armour, a mer- chant tailor who lived to be ninety-three years of age. His mother was in maidenhood Polly Ward, and she was the second wife of John Armour and she proved the ablest of helpmates.
Elmer Eugene received his schooling at the public schools in Chagrin Falls and early took up the study of pharmacy. At the age of seven years he met with an accident that injured his leg and he was thus handicapped from joining with his mates in their more excit- ing and strenuous games. After becoming a full-fledged pharmacist he continued at his calling at Chagrin Falls until the fall of 1887, when he came to California and settled in Pomona. He began here at the close of the first wild inflation in real estate, with slender finan- cial resources but with an ambition to succeed in business by following in the paths of honor and rectitude. He entered the employ of E. T. Palmer, and old-timers recall the marvelous industry, the perennial cheerfulness and the everlasting persistency of Mr. Armour in those days, thirty-two years ago. He won the respect of everyone about him and came to be recognized as a young man of sterling merit.
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