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 45
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In 1892 he came west and located at Pomona; and seven years later he embarked in the wall-paper and paint business, at which he continued until February, 1913. Then he sold out, and about the same time, his neighbors having discovered his special fitness for public office, he entered politics and assumed high civic responsibility.
He was elected mayor of Pomona, and is now serving his fourth term. Under his administration, the streets have been paved, and for nine and a half miles along the main arteries of traffic and thorough- fare an ornamental, practical lighting system has been installed. The Greek Theater has been erected, as one of the most creditable archi-
John F. Bowen
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tectural attractions of the town, and there has also been provided a municipal plunge. He is a Democrat in national politics ; but, first and last-an American and a Pomonan.
At Muncie, Ind., on November 25, 1888, Mr. Vandegrift was married to Miss Emma Meyers of Cleveland, Ohio. They have had one daughter, Gertrude, who is now Mrs. Milo Bowen. Mr. Vande- grift is decidedly a "home man," but he has also come to enjoy the attractions of fraternal society life. He is a Mason, and belongs to ยท the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. For twenty years he has been a Knight of Pythias, and for eleven years Deputy Grand Master, at- taining all the chairs. He also belongs to the Fraternal Brotherhood.
Interested to a degree beyond that felt by the average citizen in the past and the future of Pomona and district, Mayor Vandegrift is an active member of the Pomona Historical Society, and an advocate of the very sensible plan of collecting and preserving the annals of town and county.
JOHN F. BOWEN
The biography of John F. Bowen tells of a life full of interest and also of steady business application. Born near Columbus, Ohio, December 25, 1844, when a young lad of seventeen he enlisted, in 1861, in Company D, Ninety-fifth Ohio Infantry, for service in the Civil War, and served three years, seeing action in some of the prom- inent battles of that struggle for freedom. He was finally taken prisoner and confined for four months in Andersonville prison, that horror spot of the war, from which so many failed to escape with their lives and those who did were marked with ill health for life.
Young John Bowen was of stronger stuff, however, and on his discharge from the army he returned to Ohio and started in the gro- cery business, at Mt. Gilead. Here he remained in business for twenty-two years, taking part in the growth of the country during that after-war period. He was prominent both in fraternal and social circles as well as in business, and became a well-known figure in the community. A member of the Masons there, he also joined the Odd Fellows at Columbus, and was a member of Hurd Post, G. A. R. at Mt. Gilead. During his residence there he was vice-president of tlic First National Bank of Mt. Gilead.
In 1896 Mr. Bowen came to Pomona, and bought a twelve-acre orange grove; this he sold in nine months' time and then engaged in the grocery business on Second Street. Selling out this establishment, with his son, Charles, he engaged in the undertaking business for three years. This was his final business venture, and he then retired from active cares. His death occurred in Pomona, in June, 1917. A man of fine principles and strong character, during his residence
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here he was treasurer, deacon, and assistant superintendent of the Sunday school of the First Baptist Church. He was a member and held office in Vicksburg Post No. 61, G. A. R. of Pomona.
The marriage of Mr. Bowen united him with Julia A. Jenkins, of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, the daughter of a Baptist minister, and five children were born to them: Thomas D., deceased; W. Clyde, de- ceased, Milo S., of Long Beach, has two daughters, La Von and Nayda ; Charles F. of Ocean Beach, San Diego County, and J. Carson of Pomona, the father of a son, John Carson. Mrs. Bowen is an active worker in the Woman's Relief Corps, the Eastern Star, Red Cross and in the First Baptist Church.
HERBERT E. WALCOTT
The past decade has been one of almost phenomenal development in California, when barren lands have blossomed into vineyard and orchard almost overnight; beautiful homes have sprung up to be occupied by those most interested in the industries of the state, and with schools and colleges in all parts of the agricultural and horticul- tural sections in keeping with the advancement of the communities. The most important adjunct to all this prosperity has naturally been the marketing of the products raised in the fertile valleys and on the hillsides ; and the men who have given of their best years to make this marketing profitable, and have brought the output to the consumer in the best of condition and at the fairest prices, have indeed taken their place in the upbuilding of the state, and deserve their meed of praise when recording the events which led to our present "place in the sun." Among such men we mention Herbert E. Walcott, who for the past twenty-odd years has been actively interested in the various fruit exchanges in the state.
Herbert E. Walcott first saw the light of day in the farming districts of Kansas, born in Crawford County, November 12, 1867. He is a son of Samuel and Mary A. (Jewell) Walcott, farmer folk of that state and now both deceased, the mother a resident of Long Beach at the time of her passing. Herbert E. was the only son in a family of five children born to his parents, and received his schooling in the rural schools of his home environment and finished with a course at the Kansas Normal College, and a business course in a college at Sedalia, Mo. One year after leaving school he found employment in a general merchandise store at Arcadia, Kansas.
Full of ambition, and with the West as his goal, at the age of twenty-one Mr. Walcott came to California, first locating at.Sacra- mento, where he worked in the nursery department of the W. R. Strong Company for a time, gaining experience in the sales depart- ment; he then went into the green-fruit department and was with them
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and Pattee & Lett for eight years, and at the end of that period he came south to Pomona. After these years of experience in the fruit business, Mr. Walcott next formed a partnership with C. A. Ludlow to handle oranges, the partnership continuing for two seasons. The following year was spent in partnership with C. E. Greaser in the real- estate business, but he soon returned to his life work, the fruit busi- ness, and took a clerical position with the San Antonio Fruit Exchange for three years, and while so connected was appointed manager and secretary of the Pomona Fruit Growers Exchange, in 1905, and has held that position since that date.
The marriage of Mr. Walcott, in 1893, united him with Miss Julia E. Williamson, and two children have been born to them, Her- bert W. and Russell M., both now attending school in Pomona.
In fraternal circles Mr. Walcott is a member of the Masonic order, the Odd Fellows and the Fraternal Brotherhood. Fond of out- door life, he takes his recreation in that healthful manner, and is also individually interested in fruit culture, owning citrus orchards in the Valley. Formerly a member of the local board of trade, he is now a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and active in all plans put forward for the advancement of this section. A man of keen public spirit, which brings him to the fore in such projects, Mr. Walcott can be counted on to do his share in promoting the welfare of his home community, and is highly respected for his devotion to duty.
GEORGE J. WEIGLE
In the life of this successful citizen of Pomona are illustrated the results of perseverance and energy, coupled with judicious management and strict integrity. He was a citizen of whom any community might well be proud, and his passing left a void in the business life of this section, as well as in the hearts of his many friends, who esteemed him for his fine qualities of heart and mind. Born in Wurtemberg, near Stuttgart, Germany, February 6, 1865, George J. Weigle was a son of Michael and Christina (Myers) Weigle, also natives of Wurtem- berg. In 1872 the family emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in Lenawee County, Mich., six miles from Adrian.
George J. was the oldest in a family of eight children, and was educated in the schools of Palmyra, Mich. He followed farming with his parents, and came to California in the spring of 1887, his family following later. Here he secured employment on the Chino Ranch in San Bernardino County, working as a butcher for Richard Gird on a large stock ranch for two years. In 1891 he came to Pomona and started in the butcher business here with his brother, Charles, as a partner, in the old Central Market. In 1894 they moved to 240 South Main Street as the business grew, and in 1895 Charles withdrew and
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went into business for himself, and George J. continued alone until his death, June 24, 1916. He conducted three markets in Pomona, and a branch in Chino, all supplied from stock which he purchased and fattened on his twenty-acre ranch two miles south of Pomona ; there he erected a cold-storage plant and slaughter house, and built a large cold- storage and refrigerator plant at his market in town as well.
The marriage of Mr. Weigle, in Pomona, united him with Emma Hansler, a native of Niles, Mich., and three daughters were born to them: Hazel, Leola and Anita. The father erected a fine home on the corner of Seventh and Main Streets, and the family still reside there. A man of sterling qualities, always ready to help in any move- ment for the advancement of Pomona, Mr. Weigle was prominent in the civic and social life of the community as well as in business circles. Fraternally, he was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Foresters, the Fraternal Aid, and of Pomona Lodge No. 789, B. P. O. Elks. It is his standard of citizenry which has brought this section to its present era of prosperity.
JULIAN F. CUMBERLAND
It is natural that earnest devotion to the interests of California should characterize Julian F. Cumberland for the long span of forty- two years has elapsed since he first came to the Golden State, and though his stay was then but for a year he was, like thousands of others, drawn back to its borders, and now for a period of thirty-four years he has been continuously identified with the growth of Pomona Valley and one of the most important factors in the development of the La Verne section. Here he has led a useful, contented and pros- perous existence, exhibiting in the management of his extensive inter- ests a capability and energy equalled by few. Mr. Cumberland was born on September 18, 1835, near Hillsboro, Highland County, Ohio, a town that has become historically famous through its association with the earliest days of the temperance movement known as the "Woman's Crusade." Here a little band of courageous Christian women led by the widow of Judge Thompson, emboldened by their consecrated ideals, began this crusade, praying in and before the sa- loons amid the jeers and scoffs of the passers-by, but from this little band there developed the world-wide organization known as the Women's Christian Temperance Union, a movement that has gained momentum until now their cherished ideal of a saloonless America is to be realized.
Mr. Cumberland's father, William Cumberland, was born in Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in 1821, and when ten years of age he removed with his parents to Ohio and settled on a new farm eighteen miles south of Hillsboro. It was timber land and they cleared and improved it, William sharing
Rt. Cumberland .
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in this arduous pioneer life. Julian's mother before her marriage was Mary O. Cornetet, born near Buffalo, N. Y., of French parents, who came from France to Buffalo, N. Y. She came with her parents to Mowrystown, Highland County, Ohio, when that section was sparsely settled, and they became pioneer settlers of that region; Grandfather Thomas Cumberland, born in Delaware, died on the original Cum- berland place in Highland County, Ohio. Great-grandfather Cum- berland came from England, of old Presbyterian stock. William Cumberland and his wife owned the old Cumberland farm and reared their family there and there he passed away on the old home farm in 1871, esteemed and honored in the community that he had done a great part in developing. The mother passed away in 1907 at the age of seventy-nine years.
Mr. and Mrs. Cumberland were the parents of two children, but Julian, the subject of this review, alone grew to maturity. He was reared on the home farm in Ohio, and here was inculcated in him those lessons of thrift and industry that have played no small part in the marked success of his mature years. He received his education in the public schools of his locality and at the early age of eighteen he obtained a certificate to teach. He took a school in the adjoining district and taught there until his home district importuned him to teach, so he had charge of the school there until he was twenty-one years of age. When he took his first school he was engaged at the sum of $35 per month, but so well were the directors pleased with his work that they paid him $40, which was considered a very good salary in those days. When he became of age the desire to see more of the world led him to make a trip to California, and he arrived in Los Angeles on May 12, 1877, coming through from Omaha on a com- bination passenger and freight train, a journey that required nine days. Los Angeles at that time bore little semblance to its present metropol- itan appearance, being then a town of less than 10,000 population. Mr. Cumberland went to work on a ranch near Westminster, where he received $20 a month and board, but after remaining about a year he returned to Ohio and resumed teaching.
After his return to his native place he was married to Miss Clara E. Huggins, born on the adjoining farm to his father's place, and she was the daughter of Silas W. and Zenah C. (McFaddin) Hug- gins, who like the Cumberlands, were pioneer farmers of that section of Ohio. The Hugginses formerly were from North Carolina, of English descent, while the McFadden family came from Virginia to Ohio, and were Scotch-Irish, and were abolitionists, as were the mem- bers of the families on all sides. After several years' residence in Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Cumberland decided to try a complete change of climate, as both of them were in poor health. Accordingly they set out for California, arriving in Los Angeles August 1, 1885. Six days later Mr. Cumberland came to Pomona and on October 24
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he purchased eighty acres on the Base Line Road and Emerald Ave- nue, then called Gubser Road, which he later had changed by peti- tion to Emerald Avenue. In 1887 he bought eighty acres more, but later he had much trouble about the title to the land. He and others had bought this land from the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and had made improvements, but four or five years later the United States Government decided that the Southern Pacific had obtained this land fraudulently, so the settlers had no title. However they remained, and the United States Government a few years later de- cided that the settlers were innocent purchasers and issued them a patent direct.
Mr. Cumberland meanwhile had set out a considerable acreage in deciduous trees-twenty-six acres of prunes, three acres of apricots, three acres of pears, seven acres of Sultana raisins, eight acres of peaches and one acre of apples. When they came into bearing, how- ever, he found that there was no profitable market for the fruit and he was obliged to sell prunes at one and three-fourths cents a pound and Bartlett pears for $6.00 a ton, delivered six miles away. He then grubbed up the orchard and set out his first citrus trees in 1897. For the first three years he watered his orchard with a tank, but about 1900 Uncle Dick Wallace sunk the first well in this locality near the Base Line Road and obtained water for his place. He also bought twenty acres and sunk a second well on Williams Avenue, and in his generous way made the offer to put it into a company at cost so others could be benefited. The neighbors accepted the offer, and with Mr. Cumberland and others formed the La Verne Land and Water Com- pany, and put in a pumping plant. The company was organized in 1900, and Dick Wallace was president and Mr. Cumberland was secretary, and continued as such for many years. He then set out more and more acreage each year until he had sixty-five acres in oranges and fifteen in lemons, now full bearing. He was the prime mover and called the first meeting for the organization of the La Verne Orange Growers Association. The ranchers of his district had been taking their fruit to North Pomona for some time, but as they ran the plant on the Sabbath Day, which was not in accord with Mr. Cumberland's principles, he called a meeting, which resulted in the formation of the above association. Mr. Cumberland was made a director and vice-president from the start, and he continued to hold these offices until he sold his ranch in 1918.
Mr. Cumberland also bought a fifteen-acre orange orchard near his ranch for $8,400, kept it for twenty months, taking off two crops, and sold it for $20,500; he also bought eleven acres on Foothill Bou- levard and Garey Avenue and set it to oranges and in less than two years sold it for $11,000. The same year he purchased a tract of between twelve and thirteen acres between La Verne and San Dimas for $1,000, which he set to orchard, and when it reached the price of
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$1,000 an acre he disposed of it. All of this time he was improving his own ranch as well as rearing and educating his six children, send- ing them to Occidental College in Los Angeles. He also purchased a tract of 214 acres between Elmo and Pond, in Kern County, installed a pumping plant and devoted it to alfalfa and grain raising, and this ranch he still owns. Later he purchased sixty acres more near Mc- Farland, Kern County, which he sold to his son-in-law, Phillip A. Lee. He also has a desert claim of 320 acres near Blythe. In 1902 he moved to Highland Park, Los Angeles, purchasing his present home at 131 West Avenue 51, where he resided to educate his children. In 1913 he moved back to the ranch, where he lived until 1918, when he sold the ranch and moved back to his Highland Park home, from which place he looks after his extensive interests.
Mr. and Mrs. Cumberland are the parents of six children: Edna D., a graduate of Occidental College, is the wife of Rev. W. E. Roberts, who was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Sioux Falls, S. D., for eight years, but now pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Champaign, Ill .; Genevieve M., a graduate of Occidental College, is the wife of Phillip A. Lee, a farmer at McFarland; Esther C. graduated at Occidental College and from Stanford University with the degree of M. D., then served as interne at the Women and Children's Hospital at Syracuse, N. Y., for one year, where she met and married R. P. Kratz, who is now production manager of the Edison Electric Company at Ontario, where they reside; William Wilson graduated at Occidental College with the A. B. degree, then obtained the M. A. degree at Columbia University, and that of Ph. D. at Princeton at the age of twenty-six. He was statistician for the War Trade Board at the Peace Conference in Paris. He is now sta- tioned at Constantinople, studying the economic situation for the Peace Conference ; Homer Eugene is at home; Roger Craig served in the United States Army and was commissioned a second lieutenant at Camp Taylor, Ky. ; he is a graduate of Occidental College and is now attending McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
Politically Mr. and Mrs. Cumberland are stanch Republicans, coming from families who have always been strong adherents of the principles of that party, their fathers' homes having been stations on the "underground railroad" during the days of slavery, before the Civil War. Always interested in the cause of education, Mr. Cum- berland was one of the organizers of the La Verne district school and a trustee for many years. He was also an organizer of the First National Bank of La Verne and served continuously as a director until he sold out and resigned. In religious matters Mr. and Mrs. Cumber- land have always been very active members of the Presbyterian Church. They joined the Pomona church when they first came to the Valley in 1885, when there were only twenty-five members, and Mr. Cumberland was superintendent of the Sunday School for four years.
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During his former residence in Los Angeles he was an elder of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and he taught the adult Sunday School class, which reached a membership of eighty.
GEORGE H. WATERS
A man of unusual power in the community in which he lived and labored was the late George H. Waters, who died in Pomona in Sep- tember, 1917. He was a native of Hendricks County, Ind., where he was born on July 12, 1846, the son of Joseph Waters, a Ken- tucky farmer; and after having been reared on a farm, he went to the city of Indianapolis and engaged in business. In more ways than one he succeeded from the start; part of the experience there obtained equipping him for the still more difficult task of founding a home in a newer and more unsettled country.
In 1876 Mr. Waters joined a company of friends and they drove in wagons across the country from Emporia, Kans., to Denver, Colo. There he conducted a wholesale trade in fruit and produce, and also dealt in real estate, owning for a while considerable city property. His ideal was to so develop what he had that, while increasing the value of the estate, he added to the value and attractiveness of the neighborhood, and following that ideal, he became something more than a mere landowner, a real benefactor to the locality in which he lived.
He first came to California on a visit, and was so impressed with the country that he returned to Denver, disposed of his holdings and came to Pomona to make a home. In 1890 he established the G. H. Waters Canning Factory, the first successful canning factory in Pomona, where he ran a dry yard, and such was the quality of his products that he soon commanded orders from far and wide. He helped to found the Citrus Fruit Juice Company of Pomona, man- aged the business until about 1914 and assisted a number of young men to start in business in Pomona.
Later he bought fifty-three acres at the southern end of South Hamilton Avenue, which he at once developed, sinking a well and installing a pumping plant, setting out apple and peach trees, and planting alfalfa. He also owned a six-acre orange grove near Clare- mont and a ranch of seventy-five acres near Chino, which he planted to alfalfa and apricots, and developed, adding a pumping plant.
Turning to public service for the benefit of his fellowmen, Mr. Waters served for two terms on the Board of Education of Pomona, and also on the Board of City Trustees, and he gave freely to many enterprises for the betterment of the city. He was one of the founders of the First Christian Church, and acted as elder of the church and chairman of the board of trustees. He gave freely to the campaign
G.H. Waters
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funds of the church, and helped to raise money for its organ, costing $7,500. Being musical himself, and having a fine understanding of church music, he led the choir for years. He also contributed toward the erection of the Greek Theater in Ganesha Park.
Mr. Waters was married in Hendricks County, Ind., on October 15, 1868, his bride being Miss Harriet C. Fleece, a native of North Salem, Ind. She shared with her husband the trials of pioneer life and has survived him, to be the center of a circle of devoted friends.
CHARLES D. BAKER
Judged not only by his record as a member of the Board of Education, but also by his individual worth as citizen and idealist, it is evident that no better selection could have been made of a distinguished Pomonan, to watch over and direct the educational interests of the city, than that of Charles D. Baker, who came to Pomona only a decade ago, but has identified himself closely with the town ever since. He was born in Ogle County, Ill., on May 5, 1868, and began his education in the city schools of his district. Later, fulfilling a natural ambition for the best that was obtainable, he graduated from the Western College of Toledo, Iowa, where he made many friends and business connections of value, so that he was induced to stay and cast in his lot there.
He was in the drug business there for a number of years, and was also a member of the city council, standing for progression in all civic affairs. Then he went to Sioux Falls, S. D., where he was secre- tary and treasurer of a wholesale hardware firm. If he profited by a gradually developing experience such as many men would be glad to enjoy, and which has always stood by him in operations since, the communities in which he sought to accomplish something undoubtedly also gained through the cowork of one animated by high ideals and broad sympathies, and a desire to spare no pains when it was a question of securing what was needed.
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