History of Riverside County, California, Part 34

Author: Holmes, Elmer Wallace, 1841-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 845

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In 1892 occurred the marriage of J. W. Ryan and Miss Libbie Ackerman, a native of Pike, Wyoming county, N. Y., and who shared with him the esteem and good will of the community. Their only son, Walter J., is a graduate of the San Jacinto high school, class of 1912, and is early adapting himself to a business career.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Ryan was a delegate to several county conventions, and for four years held the office of justice of the peace. He served continuously as city treasurer after the in- corporation of San Jacinto, with the exception of the first six months. He was a member of the G. A. R. until the post disbanded, after which it devolved upon him to take charge of Memorial Day exercises. He was a member and past grand of San Jacinto Lodge No. 383, I. O. O. F., of which he was treasurer from its organization until his death, and was a member of the Rebekahs, of which lodge Mrs. Ryan is a member and has filled several offices in the order and is past noble grand. As a man and citizen Mr. Ryan was pub-

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lic spirited, eager and willing to aid all movements for the building up of the town and county and by his sterling qualities endeared himself to all with whom he had social or business relations, and at his passing San Jacinto lost one of her most energetic supporters and business men and his family a loving husband and father.

HERBERT D. KNIGHT

A short distance from the shores of Lake Ontario and in close proximity also to the islands whose picturesque scenery have given fame to the St. Lawrence river, the Knight family lived and labored · for several generations and earned their livelihoods mainly through the tilling of the soil near Kingston in Frontenac county on the Canadian side of the water. A soil none too fertile and a climate none too genial developed within them powers of courage, perse- verance and endurance, but proved obstacles of such power that attainment of worldly wealth was impossible and a continuous struggle was necessary in order to provide the necessities of existence. Into such surroundings Stephen Knight was born in 1853 and such also were the early associations of his wife, Mar- garet; nor did their circumstances change with their marriage. The most indefatigable exertion was necessary in order to provide for their family. It was finally decided to remove to Southern Cal- ifornia and in 1888 the family settled in Riverside. Besides the subject of this sketch the children in the parental family were James S., rancher; Bessie, Annie and John F., all residents of Riverside, and the youngest a native of this city. The mother of these children died at the family home in Riverside in November, 1905.

The first business in which Stephen Knight became interested was the management of a livery barn, which he bought and con- ducted at Riverside. After conducting the business with fair success he disposed of it and from that time until 1901 he carried on a hardware store in this city. Upon selling out his stock of goods he turned his attention to the feed and fuel business and remained so engaged until November, 1907, the date of his death. During the years of his residence in this city he won many warm friends and recognition as a business man of high character and upright prin- ciples. Movements for local advancement met his ardent support

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and he proved himself to be progressive and public-spirited in civic affairs.

Herbert D. Knight was born in Kingston, Canada, in August, 1882, and therefore was just ready to enter public school when the family settled in Riverside. After his school days were over he began to serve an apprenticeship to the plumber's trade, at the age of eighteen years, and continued at the same until he had acquired a thorough mastery of all details, when he began to work for wages. Continued experience increased his skill in the occu- pation and now he ranks as one of the most capable plumbers in the county. During August of 1907 he became a member of the firm of Potter & Knight and has since built up a large business in apparatus for plumbing, beating and ventilating, besides taking contracts for such work. Various substantial and elegant residences have been piped under his supervision and in every instance the owners have expressed satisfaction with the character of the work, whether in the line of plumbing or in the equipment for heating. Ever since he started out to learn the trade he has been so deeply engrossed with his chosen occupation that he has had no leisure for participation in public affairs nor has he taken part in any fraternal activities, aside from those connected with the local lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. In the circle of young people he enjoys enviable popularity and among all ages and every class he has a large number of well-wishers who have witnessed with interest his energetic and capable application to business.

GEORGE A. FRENCH

It is scarcely possible to overestimate the value of thorough preparation for life's activities and particularly is this true when the ambitions turn toward one of the professions. In these special- ties, whose representatives almost invariably are men of profound thought and trained reasoning faculties, the untrained and unpre- pared find no opportunity for advancement in a struggle that calls for the greatest skill of the educated. It was the good fortune of Mr. French to secure thorough preparatory training in his youth. His own diligence in study and the interest in his progress mani- fested by his father were the principal factors in his intellectual growth. The years of study qualified him for the responsibilities of the world and since he embarked in law practice he has enjoyed a gratifying degree of success in the profession.

The French family is of eastern colonial extraction. Charles O.,

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father of George A., was born at Williston, Chittenden county, Vt., February 24, 1839, and in early years became a resident of Burling- ton, Vt., where he enjoyed excellent advantages. After his graduation from the University of Vermont he embarked in business for himself and for some time he was proprietor of a book and sta- tionery store, but this he sold in 1876 in order to enter upon larger activities. With his removal to New York City began his entrance into a general publishing business, and for some years he met with a slow but steady growth in commercial success and built up a plant of considerable importance in the metropolis. Meanwhile from 1882 until 1887 he served as president of the Dolores Valley Mining Company. Upon his retirement in 1910 from the publishing business he came to California and since then has resided with his son in Riverside.

Among the children of Charles O. and Mary H. French there was a son, George A., whose birth occurred at Burlington, Chitten- den county, Vt., July 5, 1868, and whose primary education was obtained in the city schools. During the year 1880 he was sent to the St. Paul's private school in Concord, N. H., and there he remained until his graduation in 1886. Next he entered Trinity College at Hartford, Conn., from which he was graduated in 1889 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Three years later his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Entering the law department of Columbia University in New York City during the fall of 1890, he remained in that institution dur- ing the winter term and took the preparatory course of lectures. In 1891 he matriculated in the New York Law School, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1892. The superior court granted him the right to practice before the bar of that state and with this groundwork of preparation he entered upon professional activities.

The need existing for a more healthful climatic environment brought Mr. French to California in 1896 and led him to relinquish his professional work temporarily for outdoor life, his first home in the west being upon a farm of about two hundred acres in Riverside county. The entire tract was under cultivation to grain with the exception of twenty acres in olives. After three years on the ranch in 1899 he moved into Riverside and resumed the practice of law, which he still continues. In addition he serves as judge of the police court, having been first appointed to the office in 1907 under the administration of Mayor S. C. Evans. In January, 1910, he was again chosen to fill the position and on January 1, 1912, received the re-appointment by Mayor W. L. Peters. At the time of coming west he was unmarried. July 25, 1899, he married Miss Alice Lin- denberger of Winchester, daughter of Hon. F. T. Lindenberger, who represented this district in the state legislature during the season

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of 1897. The family of Mr. and Mrs. French comprises three children : Dorothy E., Mary H., and Charles Oliver, pupils in the public school. The family are Episcopalians in religious faith. In politics Mr. French supports Republican principles. Numerous organizations, social and fraternal, number him among their prom- inent members, this list including the New England College Club, the College Men's Association of Southern California, the National Geographic Society, Psi Upsilon Fraternity, Royal Arcanum and Independent Order of Foresters.

E. P. CLARKE

The managing editor of the Riverside Daily Press since 1894 has been E. P. Clarke, who was born in Maine and educated at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Kent's Hill, Me., and at the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., graduating from college in 1885. For several months following his graduation Mr. Clarke was on the United States Geological Survey in Maine and New Hampshire. Coming to California just before the end of the year, he joined his brother, A. F. Clarke, in starting the Ontario Record, now the Ontario Daily Report, continuing to edit this paper until his removal to Riverside.

Outside of his heavy editorial duties Mr. Clarke has found time to contribute occasionally to the Sunset Magazine, Pacific Monthly and the Overland. He has also done considerable work as a lecturer to teachers' institutes and before women's clubs. Since 1900 he has been a member of the board of managers of the South- ern California State Ilospital for the Insane at Patton and for the most part of that time served as chairman of the board. Mr. Clarke has been prominent in the progressive political movement in California, and is a member of the Republican state committee. Hle was prominently discussed as a candidate for congress in 1912. but declined to allow his name to be used. Some years ago he spent one session of congress in Washington as private secretary to Congressman S. C. Smith, in order to familiarize himself with the work of that congress and the departments in Washington.

Mr. Clarke is one of the directors of the Riverside Y. M. C. A. and served for ten years as president of the organization. He is an active member of the Methodist Church and was a delegate to the General Conference at Minneapolis, Minn., in 1912.

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ACTOR LENOY AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS L

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John f Hewitt

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the family (. the we - county, Pa .. f . rua. : la. i. of that county. I' trala. ular come o; - weby. employment as dori . ;;; county, Ill., in the spot,pp . a Joke of oxen and began to. .. first season he had pur .... . : had bought another team. : to Kentucky where he be Pittsburg, where he sold the . ix months spent m the !! and from there went to Wa. in teaching school. and remar . ing for mercantile affair -.

Joming a brother and his i ::: of 1:54, John J. Hewitt became at .. . of Ogle county. He was the first ' Forreston, beginning in the wint. .. barked in a commercial enterpri + w. In 1856 his brother, Theodore. i,s .. ... but died before he had completed the - the work and used it for hotel purpose .. In 1- : hotel. which is still in operation. In the fall of ; and im Montgomery, Ala., invested about $50,000 . .

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tained his interest there until 1-72. 9 ..... . ruary of 1868 be opened the Bank of For. until 1572, when he disposed of his stock in. .

1×20 be established the Farmers' and Trae and wa- chosen president of the same. Ow'ezt came to California in the fall of 1881 and travel . . until early in 1882, when he arrived at Riverside. .. the town suited him and at once he purchased! property . . the homestead owned by him until his demist.

From the first John J. Hewitt was pion .... it . 22

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JOHN J. HEWITT

From an early period in the commercial development of River- side up to the present time the name of Hewitt has been intimately identified with horticultural, business and financial undertakings, and it would be a difficult task to find any family more worthy than they of representation in the annals of the county. The founder of the family in the west was the late John J. Hewitt, born in Franklin county, Pa., February 15, 1828, and educated in the public schools of that county. Ill health prevented him from completing the reg- ular course of study. During 1848 he went to Chicago and secured employment as clerk in the National hotel. Removing to Ogle county, Ill., in the summer of 1849, he bought one-half interest in a yoke of oxen and began to break prairie. Before the close of the first season he had purchased the claim of his partner and also had bought another team. In the fall he sold both teams and went to Kentucky, where he bought tobacco, shipping it by river to Pittsburg, where he sold the entire shipment at a fair profit. After six months spent in the business he returned to Franklin county and from there went to Washington county, Md., where he engaged in teaching school, and remained there until he relinquished teach- ing for mercantile affairs.

Joining a brother and his father at Forreston, Ill., in the fall of 1854, John J. Hewitt became identified with the business growth of Ogle county. He was the first buyer and shipper of grain in Forreston, beginning in the winter of 1854-'55, after which he em- barked in a commercial enterprise which was sold the next year. In 1855 his brother, Theodore, began to build the Central hotel, but died before he had completed the structure. John J. finished the work and used it for hotel purposes. In 1858 he built another hotel, which is still in operation. In the fall of 1865 he went south and in Montgomery, Ala., invested about $50,000 in cotton planta- tions, hiring negroes to do the work and paying them regular day's wages. The business was not very successful but Mr. Hewitt re- tained his interest there until 1872, when he sold out. During Feb- ruary of 1868 he opened the Bank of Forreston, and this he operated until 1872, when he disposed of his stock in the concern. In June of 1880 he established the Farmers' and Traders' Bank of Forreston and was chosen president of the same. Owing to impaired health he came to California in the fall of 1881 and traveled through the state until early in 1882, when he arrived at Riverside. The location and the town suited him and at once he purchased property, establishing the homestead owned by him until his demise.

From the first John J. Hewitt was prominent in affairs tending

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to promote civic progress. When the First National Bank was or- ganized he became a director and continued in that position for years. In 1890 he was chosen to succeed Mr. Naftzger as president of the bank and that position he filled with marked success, until his death. With other progressive citizens he founded the Southern California Fruit Exchange and his helpfulness to the city was further enhanced by his association with the syndicate that built the first railroad into Riverside. As a financier he possessed remark- able capabilities. On the organization of the Riverside Savings Bank he aided in placing the concern upon a solid basis and in establishing it in the confidence of the people. Besides all of his other enterprises he was president of the Keeley Institute, and was the founder of the branches in Southern California and managed all of the branches on the coast. After a period of activity with the Arlington Presbyterian Church he and his wife became connected with the Calvary congregation, and in his death, which occurred September 11, 1900, that religious organization lost one of its most generous members and sagacious leaders. For years he also con- tributed generously to the Young Men's Christian Association of Riverside. He was a hard worker for the temperance cause and before the county was organized lent valuable aid to the leader to have Riverside created as a temperance county. While he did not take any part in politics he was stanch in his allegiance to the Re- publican party. In Illinois he became the first clerk of Forreston township upon its organization.

The first marriage of John J. Hewitt took place in Ogle county, Ill., January 15, 1857, and united him with Miss Susan Emerick, by whom he had four children: Emerick B., who died aged twenty-one years; Grace, Mrs. O. E. Rosenstiel, of Freeport, Ill .; Theodore D., of Riverside, and Philo, who died in infancy. Mrs. Hewitt died while yet in the prime of life. The second marriage of Mr. Hewitt took place in Freeport, Ill., December 3, 1872, and united him with Miss Martha E. Hutchison. The eldest of the two children of this marriage is Buelah Woods, wife of Dr. William Wallace Rob- lee of Riverside; they are the parents of three sons and two daugh- ters, Milo Hewitt, William Wallace, Jr., Abigail, Ralph Woods and Frances. Ethel Milroy married G. C. Dennis, and they with their four sons, Guy Hewitt, Charles Milroy, George Theodore and Rob- ert Eugene, are residents of Los Angeles.

Mrs. Hewitt, who is a descendant of ancestors of Revolutionary fame, is a native of Center county, Pa. She was educated at Olome Institute at Canonsburg, that state. Her father, George W. Hutch- ison, died when she was a small child and her mother, Nancy M., became the wife of W. W. Smythe and the family removed to Illi- nois in 1864 and settled in Freeport, in which city she was mar- ried to Mr. Hewitt. For two years thereafter they lived in For-

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reston, after which they returned to Freeport and made their home until coming to California. Mrs. Hewitt has been very active in the civic development of Riverside and was the founder and is still a member of the Woman's club. For years she was active in W. C. T. U. circles and it was mainly through her energies that when the county was created it came in as a prohibition county. For twelve years she has been president and an energetic worker in the woman's auxiliary of the Y. M. C. A. Ever since becoming a resident of Riverside she has been a prominent worker in the Presbyterian church and its societies. No woman has been a more interested observer or more zealous worker in the general devel- opment and moral uplift of the citizens of the county than has Mrs. Hewitt.

JAMES D. CLAPP

Years have come and gone since the death of James D. Clapp, but so well had he lived and so thoroughly had he impressed his personality upon various lines of activity that his accomplishments have not been forgotten. He became identified with Riverside at an early day, when its present prosperity was undreamed of and when settlers were few and improvements lacking. Under these conditions he identified himself with fruit-growing interests, and at no time did he become discouraged with his undertaking, con- tinuing to develop and improve his property from that time until Death stilled his hand.

The ancestry of the Clapp family can be traced to early New England history. Nathan Clapp, the father of James D., was a native of Connecticut, where he grew to manhood and later estah. lished a home of his own. When his son J. D. was a child of two years the family home was transferred to York, Livingston county, N. Y., where his boyhood was passed. The time and place were conductive to obtaining only the most meager opportunities for an education, but notwithstanding this, by diligence and deter- mination he acquired an excellent education. Several institutions contributed to this end, but none more than the Wyoming (N. Y.) Academy, an institution well known in that day. For a time after leaving the academy he taught penmanship in Temple Hill Acad- emy, at Genesee, N. Y., but after giving up this position he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. The breaking out of the Civil war about this time made him ambitious to join the ranks and assist in maintaining his country's honor, but ill-health prevented this. During the period of the war he was making his home in Hazel Green, Delaware county, Iowa, but subsequently he returned

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to New York, settling on a farm in Livingston county. Deriving no benefit from the change of location, he determined to come to California in the hope that the balmy air and sunshine would restore his health. Coming to Riverside in the year 1871, he soon began to see a change for the better, a circumstance that naturally attracted him to the place, and he determined to make it his permanent home. His foresight as to the future of the locality proved well founded, for he lived to see it grow from an undeveloped country to be one of the best-known fruit sections of America, and he also had the personal satisfaction of knowing that he had taken an active part in bringing about these conditions. Upon coming to Riverside he bought twenty acres of land on Brockton avenue, which he set out to oranges and other fruits. Later, in 1880, he purchased two and a half acres on Ninth street that was sold by his daughter to the city a year ago. Here his last days were spent and here he passed away March 23, 1896, when in his seventy-ninth year. Conservatism and good judgment may be given as the keynotes to the success that came to him in his various enterprises. During his entire business career he never showed the recklessness of investment so common in this day and genera- tion. On the other hand he was very conservative, and so accurate was his judgment that he rarely had cause to deviate from his decision. Public life had no attractions for him, but he was a stanch Republican and always supported party men and meas- ures. The Congregational Church of Riverside benefited by his membership and support, and many charities and private individ- uals were recipients of his benefactions.

Mr. Clapp's marriage, in Livingston county, N. Y., united him with Miss Mary Jane Dodge, who was born in that county the daughter of John Dodge, a volunteer in the war of 1812 who had moved there from New England and settled on a farm. Mr. Dodge was one of three county school visitors (a position corresponding to that of county school superintendent of the present day) and filled the office without remuneration, considering it a privilege to thus help this community. He was born in Wardsborough, Windham county, Vt., October 24, 1784, and died in York, N. Y., April 30, 1853, when sixty-eight years old. Mrs. Clapp was educated in the public schools of her home county and in Rochester Female Seminary, after which for a time she taught school in New York. After the death of her husband she continue to reside in the old homestead, until her death, which occurred November 9, 1902. This was also the home of her only daughter, Helen E., until her marriage to S. G. Ames, of San Diego. A niece of Mrs. Clapp, Miss Nancy M. Burt, has been a member of the household ever since she accompanied the family to California. She is at present residing at No. 992 Mulberry street, Riverside.

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PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR. ITMAY AND TILDAN FOUNDATIONS R

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STUSon So teile Taken at age of about 42 years

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After his earlier ! .... of the old Po-mand ( M. . doin College. .... ... quirements of . ..... office of his father . med .... later segregated a. . . the first register of poker : prominence for to :. years. same county, and va ided ti From 1-57 to 1500 Mr. Hill v ... dent Buchanan, and after that . legal affairs. He was an eximia and interested in many veut :re -. . methods and the capable profit: . .

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History of Riverside County, California, Part 34

Author: Holmes, Elmer Wallace, 1841- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 845

Author: Holmes, Elmer Wallace, 1841-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 845