USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 44
USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 44
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San Bernardino that same year after a long trip. Their third child was born in Nevada on the way here. Mr. Daley was a rancher and stock man all his life, and he continued in that occupation until his death on his ranch.
When he reached San Bernardino he knew at once that this was the El Dorado he was seeking, and immediately purchased fifteen hundred acres of land. On this land the City of Colton now stands. With keen foresight he located a water right of 1500 inches of water for irrigation purposes. In the latter he was associated with a Mr. Meeks, who ran a grist mill. Meeks wanted the water for power and Mr. Daley wanted it for irrigation, so it was a fine combination. This ditch was known as the Daley and Meeks Ditch. As a comparison of values it may be noted that while at that time this water was not of any great commercial value, it would today be worth about thirty million dollars.
When he first came to San Bernardino Mr. Daley lived with his family in the old fort, but moved shortly and started a hotel on the northwest corner of Third and E streets, which was called the Daley Tavern. This hotel became noted all over the United States, and many people gained rather exaggerated ideas of its size and when landing there asked to be shown the Daley Tavern. When they saw a one story place, containing only fourteen rooms, they were rather astonished, as they had the im- pression it was a more imposing edifice. He sold this hotel before he bought the ranch.
On the ranch of fifteen hundred acres Mr. Daley established a colony, but in 1862 he sold out all his interests in the tract and moved into San Bernardino. In 1873, eleven years later, the Southern Pacific built the station there and the town of Colton was established.
Mr. Daley bought five hundred horses and drove them all the way to Salt Lake and to Idaho, where he traded them for beef cattle, which he took to Reno, Nevada, and there fattened them for the market, selling them in Sacramento. These trips were hard ones, full of adventures of all kinds.
In the spring of 1864 he bought the property known as the old Daley homestead, and here he lived until he died, rancher and stockman to the last. He helped build the first road to Little Bear Valley under Captain Hunt, and was known as the Mormon road. Later, in 1868-9, he built the Daley road, over which was hauled most of the lumber that built the city.
Mr. Daley was not alone a rancher, for he performed many civic duties, being one of the first councilmen of San Bernardino and also chairman of the Board of Supervisors when the county was changed into districts, making five instead of three districts. He was also chair- man of the board when the first Court House was built. He was an active republican, and always took an active part in all public affairs, a prominent figure in all civic and county movements. His wife was Nancy Hunt, a native of Illinois, who, as before noted, made the long perilous trip with him overland. She died at the age of ninety-four, on December 26, 1920, at the old Daley home where she had lived fifty-eight years. They were the parents of eleven children: Moses Loami, born in Iowa; Celia, wife of B. M. Wall, born in Iowa; Edward, the child born in Nevada ; Nettie, born in the fort in San Bernardino; C. J., born in the Daley Tavern ; John, also born in the Tavern; Grace, who died at the age of six; Frank B., one of the leading attorneys of the district; Louise, wife of Frank Higgins, of Merced; Mary, wife of George Asher, of San Francisco; Kate, wife of George L. Bryant, of San Bernardino, all born in San Bernardino and all proud of that fact.
Vol. 11-20
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Charles Jefferson Daley, with Nate Crandell, took the contract for grading the City of San Bernardino for $27,000 in 1888, the first time it was graded. Mr. Daley was in charge of building part of the Arrowhead road to Little Bear Valley. He helped work on the Southern Pacific from Spadre to San Bernardino, and also into Colton. He worked on the Santa Fe while building from San Bernar- dino to San Diego in 1881-2, and later through the Cajon pass. Mr. Daley helped work on the ditch that took the first water irrigation into Riverside.
He married July 31, 1879, Edna Talmadge, a daughter of Frank Talmadge, of San Bernardino. Mr. Talmadge was the owner of Little Bear Valley and Mr. Daley was married in the valley, where Little Bear Lake now stands. Frank Talmadge, was a noted Indian fighter and in 1867 the Indians surrounded his place in Little Bear Valley. Talmadge, Curry, John Welty, Jonathan Richardson, Bill Cane and George Lish fought the red skins off, meeting them on what is now known as Indian Hill. Three of the Indians were killed and two of the white men wounded, Welty being shot through the shoulder and Cane in the leg. Talmadge dispatched Richardson for help. The next afternoon every man in San Bernardino who could pack a gun went out after the Indians. One posse surrounded them at Indian Hill, on the road to Big Bear Valley, and killed thirty-four of them, and that was the last trouble that San Bernardino had with the Indians. Mr. Talmadge was the oldest Mason in San Bernardino, and was a man of much prominence. He had five children, and his sons : Will, John and Frank, now run the largest part of Big Bear Valley. His two daughters: Mrs. Daley and Etta, wife of I. H. Benson, of San Bernardino. Mr. Daley is a republican in politics. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, San Bernardino Lodge No. 348 Free and Accepted Masons, and was one of the charter members of the Woodmen of the World Lodge in San Bernardino. He is also a member of the San Bernardino Parlor No. 110 Native Sons of the Golden West.
FRANK B. DALEY is not only a native son of California, but he has the honor of being the son of that grand old pioneer couple, Edward and Nancy M. (Hunt) Daley. That he has been worthy of that honor is proved by the record of his life, for it has been one of progress to the position he now occupies as one of the leading attorneys of the county. As soon as he graduated he commenced the mastery of the law, and so thoroughly familiarized himself with its theories and practices that his success was assured from the first. He is well versed in the intricacies of the law, and a long period of practice has given him a wide, deep knowledge of humanity as well. He has given himself without stint to his profession and has found his reward in the large clientele he has built up and retained.
Mr. Daley was born near Colton, San Bernardino County, May 13, 1861. He is the son of Edward and Nancy (Hunt) Daley, whose history is given at length in the sketch of Charles Jefferson Daley. Since that was written the dearly loved and revered mother has passed on to join the husband of her youth, mourned not only by her children but by every one who knew her, and their name was legion. She was ninety-three years of age on August 10, 1920, and she lived until December 26th of the same year. To all her friends, both new and old, she was tenderly known as "Grandma" Daley, and as long as they remain on earth her memory will be one of their dearest, best remem-
Frank B. Daley.
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bered possessions. She was a pioneer of the real kind. Born of rugged pioneer parents, the eldest of a large family, she early learned to plan, to economize, to make the best of everything. Then when she married Edward Daley she entered another pioneer era, in the West instead of the East, for with her husband she crossed the plains with ox teams, reaching San Bernardino June 20, 1851. All the heartaches, privations, adventures and discouragements of the early pioneers fell to her lot, but through it all she made her home, even when a cabin, the center of hospitality. She always contrived to give the "home touch" to her surroundings, making rugs, and having furniture made, and always she had flowers, wild or cultivated. So dear were flowers, "God's thoughts," to her that always her birthdays brought them in loving tribute. She never was happier than when dispensing her gracious hospitality whether it was to some high dignitary or one of the lowly, judge, governor or next door neighbor. Of late years her day of birth was the occasion of almost public celebration, so great were the throngs of friends, so gorgeous the flowers brought to her. Truly hers was the "white flower of a blameless life." "Grandma" Daley was the mother of eleven children, seven of whom were living when she left them forever. Frank B. Daley, the subject of this sketch was her youngest son and, as is usually the case, there was a very strong bond between mother and son.
Edward Daley, the father of Frank B. Daley, died in 1896, one of the most prominent, highly esteemed men who made that city home. He was one of the founders of the city, filled many positions of trust and was honored above all others.
Frank B. Daley was educated in the public schools of San Bernar- dino and in the high school of Oakland, California. He was graduated from there with the class of 1883. After a year's time he entered the offices of Judge H. C. Rolfe to study law, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. He had offices with Judge Rolfe until 1906.
From January, 1894, to January, 1899, Mr. Daley was district at- torney of San Bernardino County. From 1904 he practiced alone until 1910, when he formed a partnership with W. E. Byrne, which has since been continued. The firm is attorneys for the Mutual Land and Water Company, the California Trona Company, the Rock Springs Cattle Company and for a number of other corporations.
Mr. Daley married in 1890 Alena M. Martin, of Kansas. They have one child, Helen I., formerly a teacher in the Coachella High School and now the wife of Hiram E. Smith, connected with the Standard Oil Company in Riverside County. Mr. Daley owns a fifteen acre orange grove near Rialto. He is a member of the San Bernardino Lodge No. 348, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; of San Bernardino Lodge No. 836, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; of San Bernardino Valley No. 27, Knights of Pythias ; and of the Woodmen of the World. He is also a member of Arrowhead Parlor No. 110. Native Sons of the Golden West. In politics he is a republican.
PETER T. CARTER-While he is not a native of California, Mr. Carter is one of the most enthusiastic and persistent boosters of the state and more particularly of his chosen home, Riverside and River- side County. For over twenty-five years he has been a prominent grower and rancher, and he knows the possibilities of the section as few men do, and he has the vision to see what the future can hold if the latent possibilities are developed properly. He is an authority on irrigation, as he is in horticulture and general ranching, and he has
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accomplished much in the way of improvement and advancement for all the lines in which he has been engaged.
Mr. Carter was born in Elinghearth, England, September 3, 1863, and his father, Peter Carter, was also a native of England. The elder Arnold came to America in 1878 with his family and settled in Luling, Texas, where he followed farming and conducted a hotel. Peter T. Carter was educated in the common schools of England until his coming to America, when he assisted his father in the ranch- ing and in the hotel keeping. When he was nineteen he decided to learn a trade, and took up watchmaking and continued in that until twelve years had passed, when he came to California, locating in Moreno, Riverside. In Moreno he at once saw the future of the citrus industry, and he engaged in the growing of oranges and general ranching. He still has the original investment, which was one hundred and sixty acres, of which he has thirty-two and a half acres in oranges and twenty in grain.
In February, 1912, Mr. Carter accepted the position of manager of the now famous Hendrick estate, which consists of 16,000 acres, all in River- side County and largely in grain. In his management of the estate Mr. Carter has accomplished much towards its improvement and has consider- ably advanced its value.
He is the president of the Moreno Mutual Irrigation Company, which expects to cover about 3,000 acres with the water it will have.
Before coming to Riverside Mr. Carter had a most interesting experi- ence in Alaska. spending the year, from 1902 to 1903, at Kodiak Island. He was engaged in the hatching of salmon for the Alaska Packing Asso- ciation and thoroughly enjoyed his unusual work while there.
Mr. Carter married in Weimar, Texas, June 22, 1886, Mrs. Martha Rebecca Thomas. They have one child, Olive, wife of C. O. Reed, the county auditor of Riverside County. Mr. Carter is a member of the Episcopal Church of Riverside and one of its vestrymen for several years. His fraternal affiliation is with the Riverside Lodge, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks.
Mr. Carter was a member of the Texas State Militia and was a non- commissioned officer.
CHESTER W. BENSHOOF has been a member of the Riverside bar since 1909, and while his energies have been quite fully employed in a growing volume and importance of practice, he has been ever ready to put his time at the disposal of local movements and organizations working in the interests of the general welfare of the community.
Mr. Benshoof was born at Muscatine, Iowa, September 5, 1869. His father, Evan Benshoof, was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, of a family represented in the Revolutionary war. Evan Benshoof was a pioneer, leaving Western Pennsylvania in 1844 and going out to Iowa when it was practically a wilderness. He helped his father hew a farm out of the woods, later making a farm for himself out of raw Iowa prairie land, and lived there the rest of his life. His wife was Calista Allbee, who was born in Vermont, of Massachusetts Colonial ancestry, her family having come from England soon after the landing of the Pilgrim fathers. Two of her ancestors were in the Revolutionary war, Colonel Ebenezer Ban- croft, who fought at Bunker Hill, and his brother, Captain James Bancroft, in the Long Island Campaign. The Allbee family moved to Iowa in 1857, and the father of Calista helped build the first bridge over the Mississippi River at Davenport.
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Chester W. Benshoof was reared on a prairie farm in southwestern Iowa and was educated in the public schools of that state. He and his father "batched" in an 8x12 shanty while the lowa farm was broken out of the prairie, and at the age of nine years Chester drove three horses attached to a 14 inch plow. At the age of fourteen he received a man's pay on the thresher. He spent six years as a carpenter and builder in Iowa returning to care for his father, who was ill. For six months he remained on the home place, devoting all his spare time to the study of the law.
He entered the State College at Ames, and in 1905 received his law de- gree from the University of Iowa. He taught school two years and enjoyed a successful law practice at Muscatine four years, and in April, 1909, came to Riverside and has been in active practice since December of that year. His first law partner was W. H. Ellis. The firm of Benshoof & Ellis continued until Mr. Ellis was appointed justice of the peace. Later for a year and a half Mr. Benshoof was a partner with J. L. Granttham, under the name Benshoof & Granttham. Since June, 1919, he has prac- ticed alone. Among other interests he is attorney for the Riverside County Title Guaranty Company. He was appointed and served as police judge of Riverside during 1915-16. Judge Benshoof was an ardent war worker, and was a member of the questionnaire committee and a leader in many of the local drives.
As a republican he has served on the Central Committee. He is a member of Evergreen Lodge, F. & A. M., a past commander of Riverside Commandery, K. T., a past high priest of Riverside Chapter, R. A. M., and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Riverside Bar Association. He and his family are members of the Christian Church.
At Davenport, Iowa, June 29, 1904, Mr. Benshoof married M. Ella Taylor, a native of Iowa, daughter of John A. Taylor, who was a railroad man. Three children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ben- shoof. The only one now living is Robert E., a student.
LYMAN EVANS, an attorney of Riverside, is almost eligible for a mem- bership in the pioneer ranks of the state, for he was a number of years prominent in legal circles of San Bernardino before he came to Riverside to live.
Mr. Evans possesses the distinction of having been connected with the office of district attorney in San Bernardino and Riverside counties for a quarter of a century-a record probably unequalled in any other part of the country. The administration of his office was in accordance with the eternal verities, justice and right, and marked him both as jurist and gentleman. He has never failed in courtesy nor in the exercise of the ethics of his profession. No consideration of personal advantage can swerve him from the right course, as he sees it, and the public knows him as a man who will not compromise with his conscience nor with his op- ponents when he is satisfied he is right. He has never been dominated nor controlled by any man, or set of men, but has gone about the busi- ness of life with the vigor and spirit born of honest purpose.
In private as well as public life he is esteemed for his courtesy and unfailing kindness, for he takes a real living interest in his fellowmen and he also is always willing to work for the benefit of the commonwealth.
Mr. Evans was born in Clinton County, Iowa, September 1, 1847, the son of Charles Evans and Almina Ferguson Evans. His father was a farmer and a native of New York, going from there to Pennsylvania and then to Iowa in 1839, making him a pioneer of that state. He died in
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1888 in Webster County, Iowa, where he made his home during the latter part of his life.
The mother of Mr. Evans was a native of Pennsylvania, where she was born in 1819. She was the daughter of Samuel Ferguson.
On his paternal side the grandfather of Mr. Evans was also a Lyman Evans, and he was a soldier in the War of 1812. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution and was a native of Connecticut. The family traces its ancestry back to Wales and to the early part of the seven- teenth century.
Mr. Evans was educated in the public schools of Iowa and in its university. He studied law in De Witt, Iowa, under Judge Pelley. He was admitted to the bar in 1870. He commenced the practice of his pro- fession at Bedford, Taylor County, Iowa, in 1872, and while he was successful in that, as in other lines, he decided to come to California, arriving in San Bernardino in 1887.
Mr. Evans is a republican and he took an active part in Iowa politics, rendering his party and state conspicuous service. He represented them in both county and state conventions. He was a member of the Iowa Legislature in 1882-1883.
His ability was recognized at once in San Bernardino, and he was appointed deputy district attorney under Henry Conner, serving from 1889-90, and in 1892-3, when Judge Oster was district attorney. He re- moved to Riverside in 1893, when the latter county was organized, and in 1899 was elected the district attorney of Riverside County, holding that office continuously until 1919. After a continuous service of twenty years he declined re-election to the office and resumed his private practice in the City of Riverside, in which he is now engaged.
Mr. Evans married, December 4, 1872, in Monmouth, Illinois, Mary N. Wallace, a daughter of Thomas Wallace, a farmer of Fairview, Ohio, in which state she was born. They have two children: Helen, who has been librarian of the State Normal School at San Jose for several years, and Wallace, who is a business man in San Francisco. The fraternal membership of Mr. Evans is in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World of Riverside. He is also a member of the Sons of the Revolution.
The family is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Riverside.
CHARLES A. WEBBER, whose death occurred at his attractive home in Highgrove, a surburb of the City of Riverside, on the 26th of January, 1908, came with his family to California in the year 1887, and he was one of the venerable and honored citizens of Riverside County at the time when his righteous, gentle and kindly life came to a close. He ordered his course on a high plane of integrity and unselfish personal stewardship, and his standing in the community was such that a tribute to his memory properly finds place in this publication.
Charles Austin Webber was born in Halifax County, Nova Scotia, in January, 1841, a son of Francis and Mary (Andrews) Webber, both of whom likewise were born in Nova Scotia, the former having been of Holland Dutch ancestry and the latter of English lineage. The patro- nymic of Webber is a contraction of Van Webber, the original form in Holland, where the family was one of prominence. Francis Webber became a pioneer in the lumber industry in Nova Scotia and shipped lumber to South American, English and many other foreign ports.
In addition to receiving the advantages of the common schools of his native province Charles A. Webber there attended Arcadia Uni- versity at Wolfeville. After leaving the university he became actively
Charles. Weller
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associated with his father's extensive lumbering operations, and he continued his connection with the Nova Scotia lumber trade until 1887, when he came with his family to California, the manifold attractions of which made deep appeal to all members of the family after experi- ence with the somewhat austere climatic conditions of the north Atlantic coast. At Highgrove, now one of the most attractive subur- ban sections of Riverside, Mr. Webber purchased six and one-half acres of land, together with ten acres situated just over the line in San Bernardino County. Here was established the family home, and Mr. Webber played a large part in the development and upbuilding of Highgrove. His ability gained to him marked prestige in connection with the supervision and development of orange groves, and to this field of service he devoted his attention until the time of his death, besides which he raised and sold a number of fine horses. He made his home one of the most attractive in Highgrove, and there his widow still resides.
A man of broad views and high ideals, Mr. Webber was implacable in his opposition to the liquor traffic and early became an ardent worker in the ranks of the prohibition party. While still a resident of Nova Scotia he gave vigorous service in behalf of the temperance cause, and was a member of the grand division of the Sons of Temperance. His deep religious conviction and faith found expression in his daily life and also in his earnest work as a member of the Baptist Church, he having been a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Riverside at the time of his death, and his widow being still one of its zealous and loved members.
At Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the 19th of December, 1871, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Webber and Miss Sophia Ogilvie, who was born and reared in that city, a daughter of George and Ann (Bruce) Ogilvie, both of whom, as the names clearly denote, were of staunch Scotch lineage, the Ogilvie family having been of the high- lands of Scotland and the Bruce family of the lowlands. George Ogilvie became a farmer in Nova Scotia, and was only thirty-one years of age at the time of his death, his widow surviving him many years. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Webber the following brief record is consistently entered: Miss Helen Stevens Webber, who is a graduate of the Missionary Training School in the City of Chicago, and is now with her widowed mother; Harrison Ogilvie Webber was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the 22nd of November, 1874, and his rudimentary education was there acquired in the public schools. After the removal of the family to California he attended the public schools of Riverside, and thereafter entered Leland Stan- ford University, in which he took a course in civil engineering and bridge construction. Before the completion of a full course he left the university and entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, in the service of which, from 1902 to 1915, he was actively identified with the erection of modern steel and wooden bridges in California, Nevada and Oregon, the year 1900 having been marked by work of this order in the Imperial Valley of California. For two years Mr. Webber was supervisor of bridges and buildings of the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in Mexico, from Guaymas south to Guadalajara. For one year, 1907-8, he was in service on the extension connecting the ocean-to-ocean line, from Guatemala to El Rancho, or, as it is better understood, from Fort San Jose, on the Pacific, to Port Barrios, on the Atlantic. In 1915 Mr. Webber severed his connection with railway service and returned to his home at Highgrove, where hr
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