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 65
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WILLIAM M. OGILVIE
A Scotchman who laid the foundation for his future, enviable career in the schools and first-class technical establishments of his native land, and then, coming to America, began to apply the fruits of his ex- perience under conditions he might never have found so favorable at home, is William M. Ogilvie, the rancher of West Holt Avenue, in che Packard Orange Grove tract. He was born at Dundee, Scotland. on January 18, 1881, and there attended the public schools and academy, receiving a good business education. As a result of his ex- cellent training, he became a bookkeeper and cashier in the Jute Spin- ning and Weaving Manufacturing Company at Dundee, Scotland.
Migrating to the United States and California, he came to Po- mona and joined the Scotch and Canadian colony in the Packard tract, and in 1909 bought an orange grove of five and an eighth acres, which was run down. He greatly improved the place, and set out lemons, Valencia and Navel oranges, and walnuts. He owns a fine modern tractor, and does contracting work on other orchards in the tract, culti- vating in all over 100 acres.
On October 24, 1906, Mr. Ogilvie was married at Dundee to Miss Nellie Dick. Her father followed the sea and sailed all over the globe ; and on one of his early trips, he came to San Francisco when that place was a hamlet rather than a town. One daughter, Margaret, blessed their union, and she also was born at Dundee.
The family attend the First Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Ogil- vie participates in civic life and reforms along progressive lines. He and his family dispense an old-time hospitality.
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WILLIAM HENRY SMITH
The biography of the Smith family, dealing as it does with pioneer days both in the East and West, is of unusual interest and full of incidents which bear on the history of the times. James A. Smith, father of William Henry, was born in Western Reserve, Ohio, and during his school days was a classmate of James A. Garfield, and a personal friend of that eminent statesman in later life. They were closely related to the Burnside family, his second cousin being Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside. James A. Smith married Maria Hanson, a native of South Bend, Ind., and the young couple crossed the plains to California in pioneer days, the husband walking the greater part of the way while his wife drove one of the wagons, arriving in Hang- town in 1852.
William Henry Smith was born at Grand Island, on the Sacra- mento River, Colusa County, September 10, 1855. Here he was raised until reaching nine years of age, when the family started East once more; they drove with wagons to Sacramento, and there took steamer down the river for San Francisco, from which port they em- barked for the Isthmus of Panama, and on December 4, 1864, crossed the isthmus on the railroad, the young lad's first ride on a train. For thirteen years the family lived in Livingston County, Illinois.
In 1874 the father bought a section of land near Artesia, Los Angeles County, and in 1876 he returned to California and located on this ranch and lived there until his death, in 1910. Young William Henry worked with his father on the ranch at Artesia until 1879, the year of his marriage, which united him with Sadie Law, a native of North Hampshire, England, who came to the United States when two years old. After his marriage Mr. Smith operated a ranch of his own at Artesia, comprising fifty-five acres devoted to grain and alfalfa. From there he went to Madera County, where he had a ranch of 1,040 acres, and this he operated until 1912, when he traded his Madera holdings for two ranches on East Franklin Avenue, Pomona, raising peaches and apricots ; after cultivating this property for four years, he traded it for a five-acre orange grove at Fontana, San Bernardino County, and two houses and three lots in San José, and other property. He is also the owner of a one-fourth interest in a business block on San Pedro street, Los Angeles, this property being located in the wholesale district in the city. Mr. Smith's first visit to Pomona was in 1894, when he drove from Artesia with a load of produce ; the now thriving town was then a village with more saloons than grocery stores ; he has seen many changes both here and in Los Angeles, which he watched grow from a small city, in 1876, to its present size.
The following children were born to Mr. Smith and his wife: Mrs. L. W. Nevens of Vallejo; George A., married and living in Oak- land, Nellie M. died at the age of twenty-three; Caroline, wife of
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D. W. Anderson of Pomona; Leon W. entered the United States Army October 5, 1917, was sent to Camp Lewis, later transferred to Camp Kearny, he volunteered to go across early and went to France as a casual, joining the "Yanks" Division September 12, 1918, in the One Hundred Third Infantry. He served sixty-seven days at the front, taking part in all the battles during that time, and came through without a scratch, though when he fired his first shot his gun exploded. He reecived his discharge April 19, 1919, and while in England visited his mother's birthplace; Hope M. of Claremont; and Veda L., wife of Forest Anderson of Vallejo. The mother passed to her reward December 1, 1901.
FRANCIS HARDING WHITE, PH.D.
The colony of people who have selected Claremont as their home are in many respects exceptional people, both as regards education and accomplishments. This ideal spot has attracted men from all walks of life, scholars, artists, eminent horticulturists, and the more practical business man alike have found here the fulfillment of their ideas regard- ing an environment in which to spend their days, and they in turn have helped to make it what it is, educationally, socially and financially.
Among these, Francis Harding White fills a place of his own, formerly as an educator, and in recent years devoting his time to his writings, and also to horticulture. A native of New York State, he was born in Attica, October 9, 1862, a son of Richard and Mary Anne (Coleman) White, of English and Irish extraction. The father was a railroad executive, and his death occurred in Washington, D. C .; the mother is also deceased.
Francis Harding White was the seventh child of the seven chil- dren born to his parents. His education was started in the public schools of Alexandria, Va., and the Attica Union school. He then was prepared for college under private instructors and entered Prince- ton University, graduating in 1887 with the degree of A.B., later re- ceiving his degree of A.M. He also took a post-graduate course at Harvard, getting his A.M. in 1898, and degree of Ph.D. in 1912. He filled the position of professor of history and political science in the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan, Kans., from 1888 to 1897, then was instructor in Wellesley College in 1898-99. Four four years he had charge of philanthropic and educational work in Brook- lyn, N. Y.
After these years spent in useful work in the East, Mr. White came to the West Coast and accepted a position as instructor in Stan- ford University in 1904-05. In the latter year he came to Pomona College and took a post here as instructor, later becoming professor
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of history in the college, a position he retained until he retired in 1916 to give his attention to writing and study and to the development of his orange groves.
A writer of some note, Mr. White has published a text book and numerous articles in the Political Science Quarterly, the Charities Re- view, and the Industrialist, his text book outlining United States history.
When he married, Mr. White chose for his wife Miss Anna Fair- child, the ceremony taking place June 24, 1891, at Manhattan, Kans. Mrs. White is a daughter of the late Dr. Geo. T. Fairchild, who for many years was President of the Kansas State Agricultural College, of which institution she is a graduate. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White : Arthur, Halsted, Alan, Helen, Irving and Milton. A man of exceptional ability and mind, progressive in every meaning of the term, Mr. White is greatly esteemed in the community and war- rants his position by the interest he has shown in advancing the best interests of Pomona Valley at all times when within his power to do so. His recreation is spent in playing golf, and the family attend the Clare- mont Congregational Church.
CHARLES E. GREASER
A public-spirited man active in war work and in the extension of popular education, who has more than once proven a citizen above party, and who, therefore, enjoys the respect of all who have followed his career, is Charles E. Greaser, the secretary and manager of the Home Builders Loan Association, at 261 South Thomas Street, Po- mona. He was born in Ohio, having first seen the light of day in Clark County on November 29, 1859, and his parents were Michael and Barbara A. (Baney) Greaser. The father died in Denver at the age of sixty-six, while the mother is still living, making her home with our subject. She had eight children-five boys and three girls-and Charles was her second child.
He was educated at the public schools of Topeka, to which city the family moved when he was ten years of age. Then he farmed in Kansas until he was twenty-one, and after that he learned the carpen- . ter's trade. Having plenty of ambition, and the necessary capacity for work, he studied architecture at night and operated not only as a builder, but as a contractor. For several years he was supervising architect with large concerns in Denver.
Coming here in December, 1895, he engaged in real estate and insurance for the next ten years, and in March, 1908, he organized the company he is at present associated with, assuming his position as director, and commencing that series of prosperous programs which has also affected the prosperity of many of Pomona's permanent in-
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terests. The Home Builders Loan Association has resources to the amount of $1,225,000.00, from $25,000 of capital subscribed to the above, and a guaranteed capital of $100,000, and a surplus of $25,000. Mr. Greaser very naturally belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and leaves no stone unturned to boost whatever the chamber endorses. He has also served on the Board of Education.
At Topeka, Kans., Mr. Greaser was married to Miss Ida Wizer, on November 29, 1888, and have two children that are living. One is a son, Arthur D. Greaser; and the other a daughter, Miss Helen J. The family attend the Methodist Church. Mr. Greaser is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Encampment, Canton and ranks as major on the general's staff, and he also belongs to the Rebekahs.
The Home Builders Loan Association has done much to develop parts of the beautiful Pomona Valley and so may be regarded as a valuable agency in the upbuilding of the state itself.
WILLIAM H. PRESNELL
That it pays in dealing with your fellowmen not only to be honest and just, but generous and sympathetic, is demonstrated in the career of William H. Presnell, the proprietor and manager of the "Golden Rule Basketeria," at 105-107 South Garey Avenue, Pomona. He was born in Wellington, Sumner County, Kans., on July 24, 1880, and there attended the grammar schools, graduating from the Sumner County High School with the Class of 1903. His parents were Wil- liam J. and Susan (Cunningham) Presnell, and the father followed building contracting and farming, the latter after settling in Kansas.
William took a course in architectural drafting in the Inter- national Correspondence School, and for three years thereafter he remained in his father's office, drawing plans for buildings. When he went to Wichita, Kans., he entered the employ of the International Harvester Company as bookkeeper, becoming cashier, and then, for three years, traveling auditor ; and after that he removed to Winfield, in the same state, where for a couple of years he was associated with the Winfield Implement and 'Vehicle Company.
In November, 1911, he located in Phænix, Ariz., just when the territory was coming into statehood, and was appointed by Governor George Hunt a member of the Board of Special Examiners authorized to make a survey and install an accounting system for state institutions, state offices, boards and commissions, and to provide an accounting system for all county officials in the state in order that they might be uniform. He also assisted in installing the accounting system of Phoenix, Ariz., at the same time that he had his own offices as a public accountant and auditor in the Walker Building at Phoenix.
Mr. Presnell came to Pomona in November, 1916, and became 35
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associated with the "White House Groceteria" as assistant manager and half owner. He sold out his interests there, however, in March, 1919, and on May 20 of the same year he established and opened "The Golden Rule Basketeria" at 105-107 South Garey Avenue, which has been a success from the start. The store was remodeled under the direction of the proprietor, and made modern in every respect, with the latest and most approved fixtures. Everything sold in his estab- lishment is of the freshest and highest quality.
Mr. Presnell takes his motto from the ennobling sentiment in the Golden Rule, "Therefore all things, whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them;" and he not only strives to put this sentiment into daily use in every transaction throughout his extensive establishment, but he has made the reputation of his store more widely known by a card, reading as follows: "Our aim always to please, our goods to have quality, our service courteous." An orchestra is in attendance Saturday afternoons and evenings, and affords just the uplifting entertainment desired. As might be expected, Mr. Presnell is an active member of the Pomona Chamber of Com- merce.
At Payson, Ill., Mr. Presnell and Alice Stewart were united in marriage on December 25, 1906, and they have three children : Ralph, Mildred and Lillian. Mrs. Presnell, who is a daughter of Cyrus and Margaret Stewart, farmer folk of Adams County, Ill., shares with her husband the esteem and good will of a large circle of friends.
MILTON W. ZANDER
It is hardly possible at the present day to fully estimate the influ- ence that wonderful convenience of the twentieth century-the automo- bile-has played in the colonization of desert wastes and the building of cities in places formerly remote from the centers of habitation. Suffice to say that some of our brightest business men are engaged in the automobile industry.
Among Pomona's enterprising and successful citizens who are engaged in handling automobiles is Milton W. Zander, the proprietor of a garage at 150 East Monterey Street, and agent for the Hupmobile and Briscoe cars. Mr. Zander is a Wisconsin boy by birth, and first saw the light of day in the Badger State in Clark County, November 10, 1886. He was reared and educated in Elgin, Ill., and came to Pomona in 1903, a youth in his teens. For four years he served an apprenticeship as machinist in the plant of the Pomona Manufacturing Company, and spent one year on gas engines. In 1908 he engaged in the auto repair business on his own account, having a small shop of two rooms. As the business grew he erected a small garage, and later built the fine modern building which he now occupies. In connection
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with the business he runs a first-class machine shop and maintains a service which is an important factor in making his sales, for his patrons know that he can be relied upon to make a car satisfactory to the pur- chaser, and the name-Milton W. Zander-stands for quality and satisfaction
In 1919, Mr. Zander won a beautiful silver cup offered for cars- costing at factory $1200 or under-in the Los Angeles-Yosemite run ; he made the run with a Briscoe, covering the 374.5 miles on thirteen gallons of gasoline, averaging 28.8 miles to the gallon, and since it was the first time he had ever been over the route and unfamiliar with same, could have doubtless made a still better record had he been familiar with the roads. On November 8, 1919, in an official test, Mr. Zander, with three passengers, in a Briscoe four-cylinder car, made a world's record for economy for four-cylinder cars by making 51.2 miles on one gallon of gasoline. Besides his automobile agencies Mr. Zander also handles trucks and tractors and his garage stands for all that is to be desired in a modern motor car business, an example of the business ability and fair methods of its owner.
The marriage of Mr. Zander, which occurred in Riverside, united him with Miss Effie Whipp, a native of Missouri, and two children have been born to them, Dallas and Ellis. Fraternally, Mr. Zander is a member of the Knights of Pythias. In his church affiliations he is a member of the First Christian Church of Pomona, and in business circles he is active in the work of the local Chamber of Commerce.
ROY HUSTON
The citrus fruit industry is one of the greatest and most important industries of Southern California, and Roy Huston, foreman of the packing house of the San Dimas Lemon Association, is well equipped in knowledge of the various phases of citrus culture for the responsible position he holds. He was born in Garden City, Cass County, Mo., July 20, 1883, the son of William J. Huston, who was born in Illinois, of New England ancestry, and who came to Cass County, Mo., when a young man. Mrs. Huston before her marriage was Miss Gertrude Lotspeich, born in Cass County, and descended from an old Southern family. They followed farming there until the mother died in 1908, when Mr. Huston sold out and retired to Kansas City. Of their six children, Roy is the eldest. He spent his younger years among rural surroundings, experiencing the usual life of a boy reared on a farm, attending the public schools. In 1905, when twenty-two years of age, he came to Pomona, Cal., where for three years he was in the employ of the American Beet and Sugar Company as foreman of the filtering department at their factory in Chino. During the winter months, when the factory was not in operation, he found employment in the
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orange and lemon groves of the Valley, gaining a thorough knowledge of the citrus fruit industry. In 1908 he entered the employ of the San Dimas Lemon Association at San Dimas as night watchman of the plant. Later he was picking foreman in the lemon orchards of the association, and in 1913 was transferred to The Limoneria Company, at Santa Paula, of which C. C. Teague is the manager. While with this company he was general manager of the lemon picking crews, and after three and one-half years in their employ he returned to San Dimas and became foreman of the packing house of the San Dimas Lemon Association, his present position. Not only an expert on lemon culture, Mr. Huston is also a young man of superior executive ability and sound judgment, and his valuable services are appreciated by his employers. He is also president and general manager, as well as one of the organizers, of the Citrus Improvement Company of San Dimas. This company owns 320 acres at the mouth of the San Dimas Canyon which they are improving and planting to lemons, having al- ready fifty-five acres in orchard. The ranch is known as the Highland Home ranch. This is a highly developed grove and the stockholders in the company, of whom there are fifteen, plan to increase the grove to ninety acres in lemons.
In San Dimas Mr. Huston was married to Miss Ella Smith of Pittsfield, Ill., and they are the parents of four children, Evelyn, Leonard, June and Ida Nadine.
MRS. IDA E. ABORN
A woman of culture and refinement, who has amply demonstrated that she can manage an important California ranch and bring it to a high state of cultivation, is Mrs. Ida E. Aborn, one of the prominent residents of South Sycamore Avenue, Claremont. She is a native of Barrington, R. I., where she was popular as Miss Ida E. Peck, the daughter of Asa Peck, a descendant of an old Colonial family promi- nently identified with the successful conduct of the Revolutionary War and the securing of our independence from Great Britain. She is a lineal descendant of Joseph Peck, who emigrated from old Hingham, England, to New Hingham, Mass., in 1638. One of his descendants bought land from the Indians, a farm that Mrs. Aborn's father owned and where she was born, and it is still in the possession of the Peck family. After a while, she lived for four years in Montclair, N. J., where her personality won her many friends; then she went to Ger- many to educate her children in Leipsic, the great musical center and book market of the world, and there for four years enjoyed advan- tages not then found in the New World, still in its process of formation.
On her return to America, Mrs. Aborn fortunately directed her
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pathway toward the Pacific, and with her children located at Claremont in the Pomona Valley. In 1908 she bought her present orange ranch of ten acres on South Sycamore Avenue, Claremont-a tract of raw land which she has developed into a fine place. She has erected a hand- some, comfortable home and the usual outbuildings, and already has one of the most attractive ranches of its size for miles around.
Not less than seventeen varieties of fruit are on the place, besides her oranges, for she has a good family orchard of apples, peaches, pomelos, figs, almonds, apricots and grapes, all personally supervised by her. This daily supervision of the estate is both a pleasurable duty and an inspiration to her, and in thus directing the ranch affairs, she points the way in a very interesting manner for other women of Cali- fornia to follow.
Two children gave Mrs. Aborn joy and comfort. A daughter, Frances, herself the mother of three children, is the wife of Frank H. MacDougall; a professor in the University of Minnesota ; and a son, Barton, who married and became the father of two children, died at the promising age of twenty-four. Mrs. Aborn is an attendant of the Congregational Church of Claremont, and took part in Red Cross and other war work; and she is a member of the Claremont Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, whose research and memorial work recall the days when her pioneer ancestors bought their land from the Indians.
J. HARVEY DEERE, B.A., D.D.
Noteworthy among the active and talented ministers on the Pacific Coast, J. Harvey Deere, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pomona, is known throughout the state and in Arizona as an orator and public speaker and a most successful worker in his Master's vine- yard. Broad and liberal in spirit, sincerely devout in his convictions, he is a practical Christian, and his kindly, sympathetic nature makes him a true minister of the gospel and a helper of men. A fluent and convincing speaker, he reaches all walks of life, and an earnest effort to save men to the highest purposes pervades all his works, his strong moral force impressing young and old, and making him a power for good in the community.
Mr. Deere first saw the light of day in Montgomery County, Ind., August 31, 1871. After finishing his preliminary schooling he attended normal school at Valparaiso, Ind., teaching one year there- after. In 1894 he became a student at Wabash College, Crawfords- ville, Ind., and during his college days there was active in athletics, playing on the ball team two seasons, one of which he held the bat- ting record of the team. In 1897 he was graduated from Franklin College, Franklin, Ind., with the degree of A.B., and three years
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later became an alumnus of the Rochester Theological Seminary of Rochester, N. Y. Five years thereafter he took a post-graduate course in theology at the Baptist Seminary, Louisville, Ky.
After thorough training and study for his life work, Mr. Deere took as his first charge, the First Baptist Church of Lima, Ohio; after a successful pastorate of two years the necessity of seeking health for the family drove him into Dixieland, where he took charge of the Carson-Newman College Church, and in addition to his pastoral re- sponsibilities he supplied occasionally the chair of philosophy and logic in the college.
In 1907 Mr. Deere came to Redlands, Cal., and after three years in Southern California he responded to an unsought call to the First Baptist Church in Phoenix, Ariz., where for five years he met with wonderful success, baptizing 195 converts and receiving some 1000 people into the church. While there his Alma Mater honored him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. As things go in a minister's life, Doctor Deere next found himself serving as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Fresno, Cal. While in that city he became the minister member of the Rotary Club, an organization of business men with one representative from each classification of business. This gave him touch with the business interests of the city and helped to increase his responsibility in the making of public addresses. While in Fresno he was also one of the Four Minute Men.
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