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 34
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Fraternally, Mr. Cogswell, Sr., was a Master Mason, and in his religious associations was a member of the Unitarian Church. He died at Pomona in 1911. Mrs. Cogswell is a member of the First Baptist Church at Pomona and also a member of the Order of Eastern Star, and active in Red Cross work.
B. A. WOODFORD
The life work of B. A. Woodford of Claremont, former general manager of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, is so closely interwoven with the history of cooperative marketing as exemplified by that body, that his name will always stand out clearly and promi- nently as one of the earliest and most forceful leaders this great move- ment has had. The work of these public-spirited men has made possible the present prosperous condition of the citrus industry in Southern California, and no praise is too great in recognition of their unselfish labor in bringing to completion this gigantic scheme for the protection of the citrus industry.
Born at Westhaven, Hartford County, Conn., in 1860, Mr. Woodford was educated in the public schools of Hartford, and we next hear of him in the Ozark district of southwestern Missouri. There he engaged for eight years in farming and stock raising. The New Englander, however, could not "be shown" by Missouri that corn at twenty cents a bushel and fat hogs and cattle at three cents per pound pointed the high-road to fortune, and he turned toward the West as a more promising field for his endeavors.
Coming to California in 1888, Mr. Woodford first settled at Upland, then North Ontario, and the next five years, being a period of great citrus planting in the state, we find him engaged in grading lands and planting orange groves for himself and others. He soon saw that the marketing of the products would be the big business of the country, and with others organized the Lemon Growers Exchange at Upland, the first association of lemon growers in California and which has been in continuous operation ever since. At that time the commercial packer would not handle lemon shipments East, claiming that the fruit would not keep and could not be successfully sold in competition with the Sicilian lemon.
In 1896, on the election of President McKinley, Mr. Woodford saw the opportunity for obtaining an adequate duty on oranges and lemons as a help to a struggling industry, and through his activities a mass meeting of citrus growers was called and a committee of seven appointed, one from each of the southern counties. As a result, a flat duty of one cent per pound on citrus fruit was obtained. In that same year the Ontario-Cucamonga Fruit Exchange was formed, with Mr. Woodford as manager, and during his term of office the citrus
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output in the district was increased from virtually nothing to some 2500 cars annually.
In September, 1904, the California Fruit Growers Exchange resumed operations, with Mr. Woodford as general manager, and for eight years he held this position, in which the work of a lifetime was crowded, with the usual penalty, impaired health for the worker, and he retired to devote his time to developing several groves in the La Verne district, his ambition being to produce one and one-half cars per acre, and he has very nearly reached this productiveness in his orchards; using the most scientific methods of cultivation and sparing no expense to get results.
In 1908, Mr. Woodford assisted in getting the upholding of the citrus industry in the country again before Congress, and the duty on lemons was increased to one and one-half cents per pound, which helped materially in further development in the state, the output now reaching 10,000 cars annually. This effort was put through by the Citrus Protective League.
The marriage of Mr. Woodford, on May 8, 1889, united him with Miss Emma B. Harwood, and five children have been born to them: Alfred, an instructor at Pomona College; Mary; Marjorie; James ; and Katherine. Mr. Woodford has joined no fraternal organ- izations, but has devoted himself exclusively to the upbuilding of the citrus industry in the Valley, and his life work has been crowned with a success of the faith of the pioneers in the industry now being demon- strated by ever-growing proportions. In political issues he supports the Republican party.
JONATHAN V. BOWMAN
When Jonathan V. Bowman closed his eyes to the scenes of this life the Pomona Valley lost one of her stanch upbuilders. He was a descendant of a Virginia family who settled in Indiana in pioneer days. A native of Ashland County, Ohio, he was born January 16, 1839, and as an infant he was taken by his parents to Kosciusko County, Ind., where he attended school. When a young man he went to Henry County, that state, and followed the trade of carpenter. He enlisted for service during the Civil War, responding to the last call for troops, in an Indiana infantry regiment, and served till the close of the conflict. He then went to Coffey County, Kans., followed his trade of carpenter, was elected justice of the peace at Burlington, Kans., and became a member of the school board.
In July, 1887, Mr. Bowman came to Southern California, with Pomona as his objective point, thereby carrying out a long-felt desire to come West. He invested in a tract of land on South Garey Avenue, set out trees and while they were coming into bearing he raised sweet potatoes on the place, which he marketed with success.
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He was joined by his wife the following September, and ever since then Pomona has been their home and the scene of his activities, until his death on February 16, 1916.
In 1885 Mr. Bowman was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Veach, born in Indiana, and who still lives on their home place in Pomona. Not having children of their own, they adopted a niece of Mrs. Bowman's, whom they reared with care and love as an own daughter. The niece, now Mrs. Lavina Kirkman Penley, is connected with the Pomona Library and has been active in library work for several years.
Mr. Bowman was affiliated with the Masonic order and with Vicksburg Post No. 61, G. A. R. He was a supporter of all move- ments for the upbuilding of his adopted city and state.
MRS. CORNELIA A. SPENCE
As a city of high musical talent and taste Pomona has long enjoyed an enviable reputation, and, in Mrs. Cornelia A. Spence, possesses a musician of exceptional versatility. Mrs. Spence was before her marriage Miss Cornelia A. Soule, and is a descendant on the maternal side of an old Knickerbocker family, and on the paternal side traces her lineage back to the landing of the Pilgrims. She was born near Rochester, N. Y., but reared and educated in Fond du Lac, Wis. A natural musician, at an early age she evinced her predilection for the art, and began the study of music at the age of eight. For eleven years she played the pipe organ in the Presbyterian Church of Fond du Lac, where she also taught piano and organ.
The marriage of Miss Soule united her with J. A. Spence, a native of Ireland, who came to Ohio as a young man. He engaged in the merchandise business in Chillicothe, Ohio, and continued to follow the occupation in Fond du Lac, Wis. During the country's need in the stress of our great civil conflict, he enlisted as a private and came out with the rank of major, lieutenant-colonel by brevet. He also served as acting judge advocate of his division. In 1899 he came to Pomona, where he held the position of bookkeeper for the San Dimas Water Company up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1909. A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Spence, Jay Spence, a native of Chicago, Ill., who came to Pomona in 1889 at the age of nineteen to accept a position in the First National Bank. He learned the banking business and for eleven years was with the First National Bank of Pomona. Later he became cashier and president of the Bank of Oxnard, Ventura County, Cal., and from that position was called to the position of cashier in the Los Angeles Trust & Savings Bank at Los Angeles, Cal., and in 1919 was made vice-president. He is a young man of talent and has made rapid strides in the business world. He married Estelle Minier of Cincinnati, Ohio, and three children
Il. Baynham
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have been born to them: Dorothy, a student in the University of California at Berkeley, and the twins, Jay, Jr., and Jayne.
Mrs. Spence has been a factor in the musical world since coming to Southern California. She played the pipe organ in various churches of Los Angeles, and in Pomona she has substituted in several of the churches, and also taught piano and organ in Pomona. She estab- lished the Spence Orchestra at Pomona, consisting of Miss Willa Kent and Miss Jean Kent, both talented musicians, and plays at concerts, dances, weddings, receptions, etc., and has used her art, in which she has been so signally successful, not only in a commercial way, but in giving pleasure to her friends. For a period of fifty years Mrs. Spence has played in churches in different cities in the United States, repre- senting nearly every denomination. She is active in Pomona's musical circles, and in Red Cross work during the World War.
JOSEPH P. BAYNHAM
The steady and rapid growth and the increased prosperity of Pomona Valley is directly the result of the pioneer settlers in this lo- cality who have spent the better part of their lives in developing its latent resources and in building up a community which, socially, eco- nomically and in civic progress ranks with any in the state, and has during the years attracted the better class of citizenry to help in the further advancement of this ideal home community. Among the old settlers in the Valley Joseph J. Baynham stands well to the front in the roster of names of pioneer orange men here. Born in Fulton, Mo., September 28, 1857, he was a son of G. H. and Martha E. (Games) Baynham, the former born in Halifax, Va., August 17, 1814, and the latter a native of Georgetown, Ky., born December 5, 1821; their marriage taking place December 4, 1839, at Fulton, Mo., and in that locality Joseph J. was reared and received his education in the public schools and Westminster College at Fulton, Mo. After school days were over Mr. Baynham engaged in farming and stock raising, making a specialty of pure-bred and high-grade horses, cattle and sheep-a business he greatly enjoyed. However, wishing to seek a milder climate he disposed of his holdings in Missouri and removed to Pomona Valley, Cal., in 1886. This was at the very beginning of a settlement here, and during the formative years of the Valley he aided materially in developing the citrus industry and in laying the foundation for its present day phenomenal state of cultivation. He was one of the first men to engage in orange growing in the La Verne district, and from the beginning had great faith in the future possi- bilities of the culture here. For the first five years he hauled water in barrels and tanks to irrigate his growing orange grove, and his per- severance during those years of working against obstacles, when the
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present day irrigating facilities were as yet only dreams, met with success and he became one of the prominent orange growers of the district. He gave his orchard the same care and attention that had made him so successful in stock raising in the East, and he succeeded in developing and growing what has become one of the finest orange groves in the Pomona Valley. He was one of the prime movers in the organization and development of the La Verne Land and Water Company, of which company he was vice-president and director.
The marriage of Mr. Baynham occurred in Fulton, Mo., as had that of his father before him, and united him with Katherine De Groff, a native of Paris, Ky., the ceremony taking place August 2, 1883.
Mrs. Baynham was a daughter of A. P. and Margaret E. (Robnett) De Groff, natives, respectively, of Rochester, N. Y., and Paris, Ky. Her grandfather on the paternal side was born in France and migrated to New York State, where A. P. De Groff was reared. After graduating from college he followed the vocation of teaching, later removing to Paris, Ky., where he was engaged in educational work and there he married. In 1860 he removed with his family to Paris, Mo., where he followed farming until his death.
Great-grandfather Robnett came with two of his brothers from their native France to Virginia. The name was originally Robinette, but the emigrant changed it to Robnett, so as to establish a particular and distinct spelling of the name by his branch of the family. His son, Moses Robnett, was an early settler of Kentucky, locating in the fa- mous blue grass region near Paris, where he married Miss Maria Kenney, a native daughter of Kentucky.
Mrs. Baynham is the fourth oldest in a family of ten children and is the only one in California. Four children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jos. J. Baynham : Charles Robnett, a successful orange grower in the Claremont district; Willa De Groff is Mrs. Rickett of Pomona ; Joseph Robnett is a successful orange grower in the La Verne district; James De Groff was a member of Company D. Seventh California Infantry, National Guard. On the declaration of war on Germany by the United States Congress he enlisted with his regi- ment and was mustered into the One Hundred Sixtieth Infantry, later being transferred to the Forty-first Engineers and went with them overseas February, 1918, serving with the first army until the armis- tice, after which he was transferred to the Twentieth Engineers, assist- ing in the cleaning up and rehabilitating of the country. His last three months overseas was spent as a student in the Law Department of the American Expeditionary Forces University at Beaune.
Returning to San Francisco June 1, 1919, he was mustered out in that city June 17, with the rank of sergeant, and he is now attending Pomona College. He is a member of the Chas. P. Rowe Post of the American Legion at Pomona.
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During his many years of residence here Mr. Baynham was active in all good works in the community; a Democrat in politics, he exerted his influence to further civic betterment in his district, and in church work he served as deacon of the First Baptist Church in Po- mona for over thirty years, and held that office at the time of his death. Fraternally he was a member of the A. O. U. W., and of the Fraternal Aid. His passing, which occurred June 1, 1918, removed from the community a man in whom reposed the sincerest respect and admira- tion of all, and ended a life which was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Baynham continues to reside at the family home, 228 College Avenue, Claremont, which they built in 1906. The children are very kind, loving, and devoted to her and assist her in looking after the affairs left by Mr. Baynham. She is hospitable and charitable and has a large circle of friends by whom she is held in the highest esteem.
THEOPHILE CORBEIL
The pioneer among his countrymen in the Pomona Valley, Theo -. phile Corbeil stands a unique figure. The success he has achieved in life has been entirely the result of his own effort and application. He was born May 10, 1859, in Hautes-Alpes, France, of French parents, and was fortunate in having a father that attached importance to the benefit of a good education. He was kept in school until twenty-one years of age, then entered the French Army, and after serving for five years accepted the call for volunteers and went to Africa, where he served eight months during the uprising of the Arabs. After his return to France he was employed in the paymaster's department of the army as a messenger, and in 1885 renounced the life of a soldier and was soon afterward united in marriage with Rosalie Sarazin. Two years later, in 1887, he and his wife sailed for America, and arrived in Los Angeles, Cal., April 21, 1887, with but thirty-five cents in his pocket.
Undaunted by the vicissitudes of life, he and his wife worked for a time in a restaurant, and later he found employment with the Southern Pacific Railroad in road construction work, and in May, 1887, arrived at Pomona. He was in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad nine years, and in the meantime built a home in Pomona and later purchased a twenty-acre unimproved ranch near Chino which he planted to apricots, peaches, prunes and grapes. This land, for which he paid fifty-seven dollars an acre, he sold in twelve years' time for $450 per acre. This gave him his start to success and prosperity. He next bought twelve and one-half acres of unimproved land on East San Bernardino Avenue, Pomona, planted the land to Navel and Valencia oranges and installed an irrigating system. This grove produced over $10,000 worth of fruit for the season of 1918-19.
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His next real-estate venture was the purchase of nine acres on Kingsley and Alexander avenues. This he also planted to oranges, and the trees are now three and five years old. In 1916 Mr. Corbeil bought five acres in the Charter Oak district. The crop on this last piece of property yielded 2,000 boxes of fruit for the season of 1918. He bought five acres on Alexander, adjoining his twelve and one-half acres, in November, 1919.
Mr. and Mrs. Corbeil are the parents of four sons, Denne, Silvan, Theophile, Jr., and Fred. Silvan served seventeen months at the submarine base at San Pedro; Fred was in San Pedro four months, and at Mare Island five months, when he was discharged. They were volunteers in the United States Navy during the World War.
Mr. Corbeil is a man of superior business ability, and it is to his business perspicacity that a large share of his financial success and the competency he has amassed is due. He is a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
HANS B. HANSEN
A very successful fruit grower who arrived in the United States a poor boy and, having become a self-made man, has risen to a state of comfortable affluence, is Hans B. Hansen, who was born at Schleswig- Holstein, on January 19, 1851. He learned the trade of a shoemaker and then, in 1871, at the age of twenty years, came to the United States, as so many of his fellow-countrymen had done before him, in the expectation of finding here a larger field, and in this he was not disappointed. For a while he worked on a farm in Warren County, Illinois, and later engaged as a shoemaker at Monmouth, near by, afterward removing to Burlington, Iowa, where he plied his trade for one year; then he went to Lenox, that state, where he had a shop of his own and carried on business until coming to California.
In 1883 Mr. Hansen came to California and for three years busied himself with farming near Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County. In September, 1886, however, persuaded that Pomona offered still greater advantages, he came south and bought five acres of land on Grand Avenue, east of Garey. It was raw land, but he planted it to apricots and prunes, and during the ten years that he was there, he developed it along scientific lines, so that he was able to seil some of the acreage at a decided advance.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hansen had bought his present ranch of ten acres at the corner of Garey and Grand avenues, and here he planted apricots, walnut trees and peaches, an orchard so well laid out and attended to that, when only three years old, it produced twelve tons of green fruit. Indeed, in 1917 his apricot crop brought $1,250 in the open market; and the following year, forty walnut trees yielded $400.
Hans B Hansen
Manne I Hansen
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As the result of continued hard, honest labor, Mr. Hansen owns a business block on East Second Street, one on West Second Street, and one on South Main Street. He is also a stockholder in the Irrigation Company of Pomona, having encouraged that laudable enterprise to his utmost ability. He is a member of the Walnut Growers Associ- ation at Walnut.
At Lenox, Iowa, on November 15, 1877, Mr. Hansen married Nannie J. Landon, a native of Virginia, but who was reared in lowa from the age of four years, by whom he has had five children, all girls. Annie B. is the wife of William Capper, of Perris, Cal .; Maggie M. lives at home; Hattie E. is the wife of R. E. Damon, of Perris; and Mabel C. and Viola R. are also at home. The family are members of the First Christian Church; Mr. Hansen is a Mason.
JOHN A. FENDER
A veteran of many campaigns, civil and military, who saw much of the vigorous life of the great plains and frontiers, and took part in all the excitement of the early gold discoveries, witnessing events now a part of our most stirring national history, is John A. Fender, a native of Yancey County, N. C., where he was born on September 22, 1842. He started from home on January 1, 1859, and stopped in Missouri until March, when he outfitted with ox teams to cross the plains for the Golden West in quest of gold; from Salt Lake City he drove a band of cattle and mules for Ben Halliday to California. He went back to Nevada. There, in the Gold Hill district, he mined near the farm with the Comstock vein, arriving soon after the big vein was discovered; and he was in that vicinity during all the famous excite- ment. The place was called Virginia City, but there were no buildings to designate the place, just a number of tents.
After mining in Nevada for two years, he came back to Cali- fornia and located at French Town, nine miles below Placerville, in El Dorado County, where he worked at mining from the fall of 1862 to 1864. He also worked in the old Hubbard Copper Mine, and helped build the wagon road across the Tehachapi Mountains in the winter of 1863-64.
In 1864 he returned East and for a short time saw service in the Civil War, fighting with Van Fleet's brigade in Sheridan's army for two months in the Shenandoah Valley. Later, he teamed for a while at the national capital. From 1867 to 1885 he farmed in Missouri, for the most part in Linn and Bates Counties, and there he owned a fine farm of 160 acres.
Selling out in 1885, he came to Pomona for his health, and opened a harness shop on West Second Street, and later he moved to the corner of Second and Thomas streets, where he did a large
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business. He next bought two ranches of ten acres each in Charter Oak district, and then he traded these ranches for the Oxford Hotel, at the corner of First Street and Garey Avenue, Pomona, which he soon greatly improved, adding another story and making $18,000 worth of improvements. He conducted this hotel for a number of years, and now has leased it to others to operate. He owned a ten- acre ranch on Ramona Avenue, which he recently sold at a good profit, and he also sold a ten-acre alfalfa ranch on North Street. Now, retired from active life, he devotes his time to looking after his real-estate interests. He has made a success of his business ventures, and claims that the climate of Pomona Valley has greatly prolonged his life.
In Yancey County, N. C., Mr. Fender was married to Miss Linda Taffa, a native of North Carolina, by whom he has had five children. Besides a son, Joseph, the four daughters are Mrs. Julia Wheelan, Mrs. Lyna Overman, Mrs. Mary Alford and Mrs. Kate Lewis. Mr. Fender is one of the leaders in the Holt Avenue Meth- odist Church, South, and, in his usual public-spirited manner, gives freely to the same. Especially is he proud of being a California pioneer, and "boosts" for California and Pomona Valley first, last and all the time.
CHARLES H. CHAIN
An official of Pomona who has been very loyal to both the town and the Valley is Charles H. Chain, foreman of the Pomona city schools. He was born in Portage County, Ohio, September 12, 1862, the son of William and Matilda (Case) Chain, natives of New Balti- more, Stark County, and Portage County, Ohio. In 1865 the family went to Oil City, Pa., at the time of the first oil discovery, and there the father engaged in teaming for a time; later he engaged in the retail business of ice and soda water until the panic of 1877. The following spring they moved to Jefferson County, Kans., where Charles H. assisted in developing some prairie land into a productive farm. The Chains were certainly pioneers there, and the best educa- tional advantages that the son had were supplied by the country school.
On October 23, 1884, at Nortonville, Kans., Mr. Chain married Miss Laura A. Slane, the daughter of George and Elizabeth ( Rogers) Slane, who were born in Illinois and Virginia, respectively. After establishing himself in domestic comfort, Mr. Chain farmed in eastern Kansas, in Jefferson County. In 1885 he took up a Government claim of 160 acres in Gray County, and the spring of the next year he brought his family, consisting of wife and baby, overland by wagon to their new home. Little by little he added to his holdings, until he had three quarter-sections of land. He began with nothing, but by hard work, self-denial, thrift and economy succeeded in getting a start and built a sod house and barn for his needs. In order to make a
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