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 48
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As boys, back in Wisconsin, Fred and Frank followed farming, getting a first-class preparation in agricultural work before, in 1883, they came further West, to La Verne, then Lordsburg, and became pioneers in the undeveloped Pomona Valley. Their uncle, J. A. Packard, had preceded them here, and had bought 170 acres of raw land, to the north of Lordsburg, now known as the Evergreen Ranch, and they set to work with a will to develop the place. At first, grapes and deciduous fruit were raised, and later these were dug out and oranges planted. They brought the place to a high state of cultiva- tion, and Fred was for twelve years foreman of the ranch. When they
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left, they had 100 acres planted to oranges, and now all of the acreage is devoted to the cultivation of that fruit, and the place is one of the most productive in the Valley.
For a year, Fred was foreman of the Indian Hill Packing Plant, and then the two brothers engaged in the fruit and grocery business in Pomona, until 1909, when they entered upon contracting and build- ing, in which they are now engaged. They have uniformly done fine work, and among the notable places built by them in the Valley may be mentioned the home of C. R. Clark, three houses for Harry H. Denny, the F. D. Baker residence, a residence costing $4,000 in Pasa- dena and a modern bungalow at Altadena. In Delano they built five houses for the Fred L. Baker Company of Los Angeles, and they also constructed three other residences there for Mr. Northey. Together, the Messrs. Ellsworth own an orange grove of ten acres, all of seven- year-old trees, in the Monte Vista Tract, east of San Bernardino Ave- nue-choice property, reflecting the good judgment of the purchasers and developers.
Both of the brothers have been married. Fred became the hus- band of Miss Sophia Herring, a native of Minnesota, at Claremont, on May 17, 1887, and she is now treasurer of the home missionary society of the Methodist Church, in which organization he has been active for many years. He is now affiliated with the Trinity Methodist Church, has been treasurer of the Sunday School since the church was organized and is now chief usher. At La Verne, Frank married Miss Stella Barnes, who died in the spring of 1919, the mother of two children, Paul and Ruth, and honored and beloved by all who knew her. Both Fred and Frank Ellsworth belong to the Fraternal Aid, and they are also Odd Fellows.
CHARLES V. GILLETTE
The importance Pomona has attained as a city and the promise of growth and development in the near future has brought the best talent in all branches of business to her environs. Charles V. Gillette, the well-known painter and interior decorator of Pomona, was born in Hayes City, Kans., August 4, 1881. He was but six years of age when he accompanied his parents to California, in 1887. The family settled at Stockton, San Joaquin County, and young Charles received his education in the public schools of that city. When sixteen years of age, in 1897, he went to San Francisco and learned the trade of painter and decorator with a man experienced in that line of work. He followed this trade in San Francisco until April, 1906, when he was driven out of the place by the disaster that overtook the city in the earthquake and fire which followed it. He came to Pomona in 1906, where for two years he was in the employ of William A. Vandegrift. He then began contracting on his own account, and has been engaged
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in this business ever since. He is the leader in his line of work in Pomona and is noted for the excellency of his work and its artistic qualities. He makes a specialty of inside work, and even in dull times is kept busy. In 1913 he was called to Los Angeles to do the work on one of the large apartment houses in that city. He did the decorating on the new Opera Garage, the Hotel Avis and the Claremont High School, and among the fine homes that he has decorated in Pomona may be mentioned the residences of Lee Pitzer, William A. Fox, W. L. Wright and Col. F. P. Firey.
He married Esther Welch, June 20, 1906, daughter of E. H. Welch, the pioneer of North Pomona, and they have two children, Irving and Everett by name.
In his religious convictions Mr. Gillette is a member of the First Christian Church at Pomona. Fraternally, he belongs to the inner guard of Pomona Lodge No. 107, K. of P., and is a member of Pomona Lodge No. 246, F. & A. M.
AMERICUS BENEZETTE AVIS
A substantial business man who brought with him from the East the valuable experience of nearly two decades, is Americus Benezette Avis, the hardware dealer of Second Street. He was born at Lincoln, Gloucester County, N. J., on February 14, 1856, the son of Paul Avis, who was long prominent in county offices, and Sarah (Benezette) Avis, both of whom are now dead.
The oldest child of seven children born to this union, Americus was educated in the public schools, and when he was ready for a busi- ness career, he engaged in the hardware business at Vinland, N. J., where he remained in that line for eighteen years. Despite the fact that the field was not equal to his capacity, he nevertheless laid there the foundation in experiment and experience of his later and larger successes.
In 1903 he came to Pomona, and reestablished himself by starting his present business. In January, 1904, he bought his present business property, and there he has since been closely identified with the life of the town. In May, 1919, Mr. Avis incorporated his business as Avis Hardware Company, himself as president and Charles E. Otto, vice-president, and his daughter, Ethyle Avis, secretary and treasurer. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and has served as one of its directors for two terms.
In Vineland, N. J., on April 20, 1886, Mr. Avis was united in marriage with Miss Phoebe Angeline Wilcox, of Philadelphia, Pa., and two children have blessed their union, Ethyle, as above stated, secretary and treasurer of the Avis Hardware Company, and Paul, who served in the United States Army in France, as a sergeant of
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Company B, One Hundred Sixtieth Regiment of Infantry. The family are members of the First Methodist Church, where they are especially popular, Mr. Avis being chairman of its board of trustees.
Mr. Avis is a Mason and belongs to the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery in Pomona. But fond as he is of fraternal life and his many friends in the orders, he also likes hunting and fishing, and re- joices to find himself in Nature's great outdoors, Southern California.
JOHN BRADFORD CAMP
Noted throughout the Valley as the man who first used the fumi- gating method in the preservation of orange groves, John B. Camp of La Verne deserves mention as one of the early citrus growers of this section and the inventor of the baboon tent used to fumigate the trees and save them from the insect pests which at one time threatened to destroy the orange industry here. Born on a farm in Tennessee on June 24, 1844, Mr. Camp came of a family who were opposed to slavery, and when the Civil War broke out, he espoused the cause of the Union. He was conscripted into the Confederate Army and hid in the woods for a year to avoid serving in their ranks. During this time he had many thrilling experiences with Confederate soldiers. He was finally captured and bayonetted, but made his escape and helped five other prisoners to escape also. He made his way from near Chat- tanooga for 300 miles through the mountains of Tennessee and Ken- tucky, finally reaching the Union Army near Lexington, Ky. He then made his way to the home of a brother in Illinois, who sent him to school for four years at the University of Chicago. He was a student there at the time that Lincoln was assassinated and was one of the procession of 75,000 that marched through the streets of Chicago.
He then returned to Tennessee and engaged in the mercantile business, and during his residence there he was married to Miss Mary D. Bridges, daughter of Col. George Bridges of the United States Army. Later they moved to Kansas, where he engaged in stock farm- ing, but was driven out by the grasshoppers, losing all that he had accumulated. Coming to California in 1874, Mr. Camp came down the Valley on the first passenger train operated by the Southern Pacific, in 1875. He lived in Riverside for five years, being engaged in the nursery business. In 1880 Mrs. Camp passed away, and Mr. Camp took his three little motherless children back to Tennessee to his people. In 1881 he returned to Riverside, and well remembers in December of that year seeing snow eleven inches deep all over the Riverside plain, and improvised sleighs being driven through the streets of that city.
In 1882, Mr. Camp purchased thirty acres on San Antonio Ave- nue, Pomona, improving the property to grapes and deciduous and
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citrus fruits. He sank nine wells in the Loop and Meserve Tract and was one of the starters of the Citizens Water Company. He still owns 160 acres on Brown's Flat, north of Claremont. A man of education and breadth of interests, Mr. Camp during his residence in Pomona ·took a keen interest in its upbuilding and assisted whenever possible in its further development. He has the honor of making the first effort to give the people of California, and also of the whole country, the right of the initiative, the referendum and the recall. In 1892 he was president of the Los Angeles County Farmers Alliance, and induced that organization to petition the Legislature to incorporate such a measure in the constitution. Such a bill passed the Assembly, but did not reach the Senate. Fraternally, Mr. Camp has been for many years a Mason, being a member of the Blue Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter and the Council, all of Pomona. One son, Orin, lives to carry on the family name.
WILLIAM R. COON
An orange grower who, despite the difficult problems of a science still in the making, has "made good" here, thereby contributing some- what to the development of Pomona and the increase of its wealth, is William R. Coon, who was born at Troy, N. Y., on July 3, 1883. His father was one of the founders of the Cluett-Coon Company (now Cluett-Peabody Company), the famous collar makers, and he enjoyed the best of educational advantages. He attended Yale College and graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School, in 1904. Then, for two years, he was engaged in the wall-paper business at New York City.
Coming to California and Pomona in 1907, he decided to master orange growing ; and, with his customary methods of thoroughness, he set about to begin at the lowest round of the ladder, or at least to start out with the simplest operations and facts. For a year he worked as a common laborer on an orange ranch, and then he bought a grove of thirteen acres on Mountain Avenue in the Kingsley Tract. This grove had been badly run down; but he so improved it that later he sold off three acres, and now he has ten acres left. For a number of years he did his own work in developing the property, thereby more surely mastering the game and at the same time becoming more and more robust with the outdoor experience ; but now his operations are more extensive, requiring help. He also owns a grove of six acres on Fifth Street, Ontario, and this he also improved. He recently bought three acres within the city limits of Pomona, on which he plans to build a fine home.
With R. B. Denny of Claremont as a partner, Mr. Coon owns two more groves, which are being improved. A few years ago he started a mail-order business, selling oranges direct to the consumer, all over the country, and he advertised in the Country Gentleman that
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he would ship three dozen oranges, neatly packed, for $1, express prepaid. He received orders from nearly every state in the Union, and even from Honolulu, and worked up such a large business that it proved a good advertisement for California, and especially for Pomona Valley. He also packed and shipped small boxes of oranges of the tangerine variety under the "Coon Brand." With twelve in a box, the sales ran from 7,000 to 10,000, and this lively business has been maintained. He has also made a specialty of buying direct from the grower and shipping oranges east. He was a director of the Claremont Citrus Association and also a director of the Packard Water Company.
On October 2, 1909, and at Claremont, Cal., Mr. Coon was married to Miss Jeannette Durbin, a native of San Diego County, and at one time a student at Pomona College. Three children have blessed the union-Dorothy F., Margaret E. and William R., Jr. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church of Pomona.
CHARLES P. CURRAN
It would be difficult to find a man more emphatically in accord with the true Western spirit of progress, or more keenly alive to the opportunities awaiting the intelligent man of affairs in Pomona Valley than Charles P. Curran, who has built up a successful lumber busi- ness, and identified himself with the best undertakings of his district. A native of Illinois, Mr. Curran was born in Dixon, May 4, 1863, a son of Daniel and Catherine ( Donoghue) Curran. His father was a prominent contractor and builder of Dixon for forty years.
Educated in the public schools of Dixon, Mr. Curran entered the high school there, but did not finish the course, and for a time worked with his father, later joining him in business for a number of years. In the spring of 1895, he came to California, and settled in Norwalk on a ranch for one and one-half years. Then, because of his wife's health, he went to Prescott, Ariz., stayed there the same length of time, and finally took his wife back to Illinois and her death occurred in Chicago, in 1898. After this sad event Mr. Curran worked for a time at Polo, Ill., then returned to California and for several months worked for the gas company in Los Angeles.
In June, 1902, he came to Pomona, and with his brother, Frank Curran, opened the lumber yard with which he has been so success- fuly identified ever since. He later bought out his brother's interest in the business, and now his sons are a part of the firm, which still maintains the firm name of Curran Brothers, Incorporated.
Mr. Curran's first marriage united him with Miss Alice Mc- Grath, the ceremony taking place September 20, 1890. Two sons were born to them: Phillip J., who served with the United States
8.6. Sillen
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Army in France; and Gerald. The wife and mother died February 24, 1898.
On February 20, 1913, Mr. Curran was united in marriage with Grace A. Ager, a native of Minnesota. A man of considerable force of character, and deeply interested in furthering the development of the Valley, Mr. Curran has proven an active worker toward that end since first taking up his residence here. Of the original directors and organizers of the Savings Bank of Pomona he is the only one now serving on the board; he was one of the original organizers of the Home Builders Association of this city. Mr. Curran was a member of the original Board of Trade here and has for the past fourteen years been on the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce; for the same length of time he has been serving on the Hospital Board. In fraternal organizations he is a member of the Elks and of the Knights of Pythias.
EDWARD E. GILLEN
A prominent figure in Pomona business circles, and a man of fine character and superior mental qualities, the late Edward E. Gillen was identified during his residence here with the development of the Valley, both individually and as an enterprising real estate promoter. Born in Eden, Vt., November 12, 1863, he came to Franklin, Nebr., when fifteen years of age, worked on a farm during the summer months, and attended school in winter for several years. He then entered Franklin Academy, graduating from that institution when twenty-one years of age.
After finishing his college course Mr. Gillen went to Benkelman, Nebr., and went into the real estate business, in which he was quite successful until the state suffered from several dry years. In the fall of 1893, Mr. Gillen with his family moved to Pocatello, Idaho, and there he engaged in the grocery business; this business he was obliged to give up on account of sickness, and in November, 1895, moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he was assistant secretary of the Y. M. C. A., remaining in that position until the winter of 1897. That year Mr. Gillen went to Baltimore, Md., to work for the Historic Record Company in the gathering of historical data, and continued in this work for about six years. He later compiled two sets of histories of the state of Utah.
The marriage of Mr. Gillen, December 29, 1889, in Benkelman, Nebr., united him with Bertha E. Gring, and five children were born to them : Earle C., Lloyd William, Everett M., Anna B. and Edith Marguerite. Two of these, Lloyd and Edith, died when only two years of age. Mrs. Gillen was born in Bowling Green, Ohio, a daugh- ter of W. B. and Jane E. (Smith) Gring, both natives of Ohio, her father being a veteran of the Civil War; as a member of an Ohio
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regiment he was captured and a prisoner of war in Andersonville for six months.
The family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles, and in the summer of 1899 he became interested in the Belgian hare industry, and made three trips to England to get the best pedigreed imported stock. Mr. S. J. Chapman and Mr. Gillen were partners in this work and were quite successful for the short time that they gave to it. After closing out this venture, Mr. Gillen again took up his historical work, until the spring of 1903, when he moved to Pomona and purchased a seven-acre orange grove, on Kingsley and Orange avenues, and here made his home, and lived until his death, which occurred October 17, 1914.
During his years of residence in Pomona Mr. Gillen again en- gaged in the real estate business, and was interested to a considerable extent in the citrus industry, owning, besides his home ranch, a ten- acre grove on Holt Avenue, and a five-acre grove on Kingsley Avenue. In addition to these holdings he was the owner of numerous city lots and some business property here. He was a member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Repub- lican Club, and always very much interested in city affairs and the upbuilding of Pomona. Fraternally he was an active worker in the Odd Fellows lodge, in which order he was a past grand of the subor- dinate lodge, a member. of the Encampment and of the Rebekahs.
JOSEPH ELLIOT
The mind can conjure no picture in the line of fruit-growing so beautiful or attractive as an orange grove, and this æsthetic side of the culture of the orange appeals to the imagination of the Easterner as strongly, perhaps, as the millions that flow into the coffer annually from the sale of this delicious fruit.
Men from all states of the Union can be found among the suc- cessful orange grove owners of Southern California. Among these Joseph Elliot of Pomona Valley is entitled to mention. He was born in Allen County, Kans., October 12, 1874, and reared in the town of Colony, Anderson County, in the Sunflower State. In 1891, at the age of seventeen, he came to Pomona, and, like many other young men, worked in the orange groves of the Valley. He was in the employ of the Lindsey Brothers of Ontario, setting out orange groves, and helped set out many of the productive groves in Pomona Valley and was largely instrumental in the development of the industry.
For ten years he followed the barber's trade at Pomona and Covina, and in 1902 purchased his present five-acre place at the corner of Alexander and East Kingsley Avenue. He has a finely developed orange orchard, one-half of which is planted to Navel and the other half to Valencia trees. He has also fifteen twelve-year-old walnut trees
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and a family orchard. The property was undeveloped at the time he bought the land and he set out all the trees and developed the place himself. In 1916, his 192 Valencia trees produced 1,500 boxes of fruit, and 192 Navel trees produced 800 boxes of fruit. He has installed a fine cement-pipe system of irrigation on the property and is the owner of a manufacturing plant of cement pipes for irrigation pur- poses. He does this work in his spare time, and has installed a number of irrigation systems in the Valley. His wide acquaintance with and excellent knowledge of the orange industry, coupled with good judg- ment and industry, has enabled him to make a success of the business.
His marriage united him with Alva M. Robker, a native daughter of California, whose father was among the early pioneers in Mendo- cino County, who engaged in the lumber business. Their seven chil- dren are: Verna, Frances, Alfred, Margaret, Maxine, Ruth and Phyllis. In his fraternal affiliations Mr. Elliot is a Moose.
FRANK C. EVANS
An old settler who so far succeeded in casting his lines in pleasant places, when he came to Pomona, that now, in comfortable retirement, he needs only to look after his ranch property, is Frank C. Evans, who was born at Boston, Mass., on February 14, 1849. At the age of twenty-two he removed to Lowell, in that state, and clerked in a meat market; and on June 11, 1873, he arrived at Los Angeles. Soon after, he took up 160 acres of government land adjoining the San José Grant, near what is now La Verne, and later lost the same ; and later, in 1876, he took up the same number of acres in Section 132 in the Live Oak District, and, proving it up, became the second man to settle in that neighborhood. He still owns eighty acres of the land originally granted by the government, which is devoted to the raising of grain, fruit and bees.
In 1884 Mr. Evans came to Pomona, and his previous experience in the meat business becoming known, he was offered a position as fore- man and bookkeeper of the Chino Ranch Markets. In 1912 he retired from the meat business, with the satisfaction of having contributed to the proper guidance of Pomona commercial affairs.
Mr. Evans was fortunate in his marriage, at Chino Ranch, to Lillian M. Watt, an attractive lady of Canadian birth, by whom he has had six children : Harriet is the oldest, then come Harold, Frank and Kathleen, and the youngest are Edward and Madeline.
Surrounded by interested auditors, Mr. Evans never fails to enter- tain with his stories of early, frontier days. When he came there were only a few white people in the Valley, and antelope roamed at will; and while the Indians prospected for gold, he searched for the yellow dust in Palmer Canyon, the only district where gold was found in the Valley, and brought it into Pomona, where he sold it for $18.50 an
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ounce. Men needed to have brawn as well as brain in those strenuous times-although it was not long before brain counted for as much as muscle and other physical endurance.
JOHN S. BILLHEIMER
One of the leading and most progressive men in San Dimas, who by his energy and enterprise has contributed greatly to the up- building of this section is John S. Billheimer, secretary and manager of the San Dimas Lumber Company, a successful business man and financier. He was born in Jonesboro, Tenn., April 10, 1864. His father, Rev. Isaac Billheimer, was a minister of the gospel in the old days when he preached gratis and farmed for a living. In 1872 he removed with his family to Clinton County, Ind., where as a minister he did much good and was a much loved and highly respected man; his death occurred in 1910. Mr. Billheimer's mother was Salome E. Sherfy and she died in 1879. She was the mother of six children, of whom John S. is the eldest; he was reared in Clinton County, Ind., from the age of eight years, whither his parents had removed in 1872. Here he received a good education in the public schools, which was supplemented with a course at Mt. Morris College, Mt. Morris, Ill. Then he made his way to Kansas in 1885 and taught school near Lawrence, Franklin County, until 1887, when he satisfied a desire to come to the Pacific Coast and located in Pasadena, where he was en- gaged in business until 1901, nearly all of which time was spent in the lumber trade. While thus engaged he completed a commercial course at the Pasadena Business College, an accomplishment he has since found of great value and benefit to him.
Finding a good opening for a lumber yard in Lordsburg, now named La Verne, he organized the Lordsburg Lumber Company, of which he has since been president and general manager. He estab- lished a lumber yard in that prosperous locality and has met with pronounced success. When the name of Lordsburg was changed to La Verne they named the company the La Verne Lumber Company. From his advent there he supplied San Dimas with lumber, and seeing the need of a yard, he organized the San Dimas Lumber Company in 1904 and established the lumber yard. He had also supplied Clare- mont with lumber so he also organized the Claremont Lumber Com- pany, and was its president until he sold his interest. He is now secre- tary and manager of the San Dimas Lumber Company, a business that has grown to very large proportions.
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