USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 55
USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 55
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
RAMONA HOSPITAL-The illustration accompanying this sketch is the best possible description of the exterior environment, the quiet and digni- fied beauty and the building equipment of Ramona Hospital, which is a modern high class surgical hospital situated practically in the heart of the business section of San Bernardino, standing at the corner of Fourth Street and Arrowhead Avenue, one block from the Post Office. Be- sides the main hospital building the grounds include a. nurses' home, which was built in 1910 for the use of the hospital staff.
Ramona Hospital is conducted by the corporation known as the Ramona Hospital Association. The hospital was built in 1908 and has fifty beds, besides operating rooms and other facilities. One department of the hospital is devoted to obstetrics. In 1920 a pathological laboratory was added to meet the requirements of the hospital commissioners. The hospital is supplied with an elaborate X-Ray plant, including a portable Campbell apparatus for bedside use.
Until 1919 a training school for nurses was conducted, but since then the practice has been discontinued and now the staff is made up exclu- sively of graduate nurses.
The managing director and consulting surgeon of Ramona Hospital is Dr. H. W. Mills and the consulting physician is Dr. G. S. Landon. Other officials are: Dr. R. W. Prince, secretary, Dr. C. C. Owen, roent- genologist, Miss Ella Murray, matron, Miss B. Marsh, dietitian ; Ralph E. Swing, attorney.
EDWARD W. PRESTON is a native son of California, was born and reared in Rialto, and is one of the younger men who has achieved something definite in that community. He is cashier of the First National Bank of Rialto.
He was born there September 7, 1896, son of Godfrey and Lizzie (Oldenburg) Preston. His parents were natives of Germany, and his father who came to the United States at the age of fourteen, has since been a farmer and rancher in the vincinity of Los Angeles and Rialto, and is now living a retired life in Rialto. Edward W. Preston was only four years of age when his mother died. He acquired a public school education in his home town, and soon after leaving school he went to work in the First National Bank as a clerk. He was promoted to teller, then to assistant cashier, and in November, 1921, became cashier. Mr. Preston is an ex-service man. having enlisted May 14, 1918, in the Navy. He was in service until after the armistice, and during that time was Paymaster on U. S. S. "Wakula" and on the U. S. S. "Panuco." Mr. Preston is a republican, a member of the Methodist Church and of San Bernardino Post of the American Legion.
March 10, 1920, he married Miss Verna June Herkelrath, daughter of Charles and Anna (Ralphs) Herkelrath of San Bernardino.
CHARLES M. SHIELS, through boyhood, youth and mature manhood, has been a resident of Riverside nearly forty years. For many years he had an active part in a successful business enterprise founded by his father and conducted by father and sons, but for the past five years has given his time and care to the responsibilities of the important office of county sealer of weights and measures.
982
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES
Mr. Shiels is the oldest son of John and Emily (Woods) Shiels, Ca- nadians and of Scotch ancestry, and grandson of William and Elizabeth (Montgomery ) Shieis. John Shiels, who was born at Prescott, Canada, attended public school there until he was fourteen, and in 1849 the family moved to Maitland, Ontario. After working a year and a half on nearby farms John Shiels apprenticed himself to a competent tinsmith at King- ston, Ontario, learned the business, and then set up a shop of his own at Kingston. His good workmanship and his good citizenship made him a valuable asset of the community, and for thirty-four years he remained there in business.
Leaving Canada John Shiels came to Riverside in March, 1883. He brought a limited capital, but at once opened a shop under his own name and soon had his facilities as a tinsmith taxed to the utmost. His first location was on Main Street, near Ninth. From tinsmithing he began taking plumbing contracts, and eventually his was the leading plumbing firm of the city and handled many of the largest heating and plumbing contracts. For years it was his policy to give his personal direction to these contracts in the minutest detail. In 1891 his place of business was moved to a building still standing at Tenth and Market. His sons on reaching manhood became partners, and the firm was John Shiels and Son until the death of the senior partner October 25, 1911, after which the business was conducted as Shiels Brothers until June, 1919.
At Kingston, Canada, John Shiels married Emily Woods. Their five children were: Charles M .; William F., deceased; Emily E. and Mary F. Kirby, of Ottawa, Canada, and Miss Margaret E., living with her brother Charles at Riverside. The second son, William F. Shiels, was born at Kingston, Canada, was reared and educated and lived there until 1888, when he came to Riverside to join his father in business. He mar- ried in Riverside January 29, 1905, Miss Lydia Wildes, by which union there is a daughter, Frances. William F. Shiels died December 14, 1914. All members of the family in both generations have been devout Presby- terians. The wife of John Shiels died June 16, 1904.
Charles M. Shiels attended the public schools in Canada and the Model Schools there and accompanied his parents to Riverside in 1883. Here he finished his apprenticeship as a plumber in 1888, and immediately took the technical supervision of the plumbing business with his father. and gradually made plumbing the outstanding feature of the firm. He continued this business successfully after the death of his father and then of his brother until several years ago.
Mr. Shiels has been county sealer of weights and measures since 1917. He represents the authority of the State Department of Weights and Measures, and has given a most thorough and painstaking administration to his duties. His official jurisdiction covers a very extensive territorv in Riverside County, extending as far as Blythe and the Colorado River. Mr. Shiels is a strong republican, active in party affairs, and. like all his family, is a Presbyterian.
He is one of the prominent fraternalists in Riverside County and has enjoyed many honors in the various orders. He is a member of Ever- green Lodge No. 259. F. and A. M .: is a past high priest of River- side Chapter No. 67. R. A. M. : a member of Valley Council No. 27. R. and S. M .: Riverside Commandery No. 28. K. T .: Al Malaikah Temple of the Mystic Shrine and the Eastern Star. He is a past noble grand of Riverside Lodge No. 282. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a past chief patriarch of Star Encampment No 73 member of Canton No. 25 of the Rebekahs. is a past chief ranger of Court California No. 451. Independent Order of Foresters, and past commander of Riverside Tent No. 19, Knights of the Maccabees.
CAPT. ROBERT BOSWORTH
983
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES
Mr. Shiels and his sister Miss Margaret live together at Riverside. Miss Margaret is prominent in Riverside church and fraternal circles, being secretary of the Chapter of the Eastern Star. In the Presbyterian Church she is secretary of the Sunday School, and has performed the duties of secretary for a number of years.
LOYAL C. KELLEY, district attorney for Riverside County, has had a busy professional and public career since his admission to the bar, and has been a resident of Riverside County for over thirty years.
He was born in Ohio, February 20, 1884, and has been a Californian since the age of six. His father, Albert P. Kelley, was also a native of Ohio, and during the Civil war was a Union soldier four years, being a sergeant in Company C of the 72nd Ohio Infantry. For many years afterward he was a manufacturer at Carey in Wyandotte County. Loyal C. Kelley came with his parents to Riverside in 1890, and in the following year the family established their home at Corona, where his father is still living, retired. Mr. Kelley attended public school at Corona and in 1911 received his law degree from the University of Southern California at Los Angeles. For one year he practiced at Corona, and since then his home and offices have been in Riverside. A large part of his work as a lawyer has been in public and official channels. He was appointed deputy city attorney in 1914, holding that office until 1917. In the mean- time, in 1913, he also accepted the duties of deputy district attorney under Lyman Evans, and his service with the district attorney's office has been continuous from that date. In November, 1918, he was elected district attorney, and he took over the complete authority of the office on January 6, 1919, for a four year term.
Mr. Kelley has done much campaign work for the republican ticket. He is a Mason, Elk. Knight of Pythias and member of the' Sons of Vet- , erans. On November 28, 1912, at Riverside, he married Miss Neva A. Campbell. a native of that city. Her father. Albert P. Campbell, is a pioneer of Riverside County and widely known for his work as a high- wav engineer. For sixteen years he served as city engineer of Riverside and was highway commissioner of Riverside County from 1913 to 1918. in which period nearly all the important paved roads were constructed. He is now engineer for the Fresno County Highway Commission. Mr. Campbell stands high in Masonic circles in the state. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Kellev are Claire Elizabeth, born June 11, 1918, and Campbell Kelley, born April 17, 1920.
CAPT. ROBERT BOSWORTH in his eightieth year enjoyed the beauty and prosperity of his orange trees and home at Highlands and looked back over a record of experiences that make him one of the most widely traveled of men and proved him a man of the old American type in which enterprise, courage and daring were predominant qualities. Captain Bosworth lived in San Bernardino county for over thirty years, and came here soon after he retired from the sea. He passed away in his eightieth year September 10, 1921.
He was born at Bath, Maine. May 29, 1842, son of Robert and Mary Ann (McDonald) Bosworth. His father was also born at Bath while his mother was a native of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Robert Bosworth spent all his active life at sea and was captain of American vessels. Robert Jr. was the youngest among four daughters and two sons.
He acquired his early education at Bath and at the age of sixteen went to sea as a sailor before the mast. For twenty-seven vears there was hardly an interruption to his sea-faring experience. For eleven consecutive years, with only two weeks at home, he was on the high
984
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES
seas. On his first voyage he sailed with a coasting vessel from Bath to Mobile, where he shipped for Antwerp, then to Cardiff and back to New York. From a common sailor he was promoted to second mate, first mate, and for twenty years was a captain. In his home at Highlands is a painting of his first ship, the "Freeman Clark." Later he was captain and part owner of the ship Thresher which was lost when tugs towed her on an uncharted reef or rock. The insurance having ex- pired Captain Bosworth suffered a total loss. As captain he sailed over all seas and to nearly all ports. He rounded Cape Horn twenty times and Cape Good Hope eight times, spent two years in the East India trade, making calls at such ports as Calcutta, Rangoon, Burmah, Hong Kong, and over the China Sea and around the Philippines. He piloted vessels through the China Sea when piracy still existed, and he has seen victims with tongues cut out and set adrift by the pirates. At one time a vessel not far from his was set upon by a band one afternoon and the captain and crew killed. During his days as a sailor his ship was wrecked during the winter on the north coast of Ireland, the vessel going to pieces and the crew escaping in small boats.
Captain Bosworth married Miss Harriet Blake who was born at Rumford, Maine, May 23, 1849. Her mother was a native of Rumford of English ancestry and her father was a minister of the Gospel for fifty-two years. Mrs. Bosworth after her marriage had her home in the cabin of her husband's vessel, and for many years sailed the seas and has visited all the important cities and capitals of the world. When General Grant and party in their world tour reached Calcutta, Captain Bosworth and wife were invited guests at the great reception tendered him, attended by India's royalty and nobility, and Mrs. Bosworth speaks interestingly of the magnificence of that assembly and has a true woman's · memory for the jewels, camel hair shawls, diamonds and pearls and other precious stones that gave brilliance to the party. Captain Bosworth followed the seas when the American merchant marine was still supreme and when there was an American flag flying from the masthead in nearly every port he entered. An American vessel was the first ship sought by heavy shippers.
On retiring from the sea Captain Bosworth came to California and in 1888 purchased at Highlands ten acres of land. It was entirely un- improved, covered with rocks and brush, but had an exceptional location as subsequent events have proved. He had the land cleared, leveled and planted to oranges, built his home on Atlantic street, and his widow is now owner of one of the finest groves in the county, comprising fifteen acres. He was a member of the Gold Buckle Orange Association and during 1919-1920-1921 his crop was marketed through this association with a gross revenue of thirty thousand dollars. A sea-faring man, Captain Bosworth never drove a horse until he came to Santa Barbara in 1888. Captain and Mrs. Bosworth have one son, Robert Jr., who is unmarried and lives with his parents.
CHARLES WESLEY FILKINS will always be remembered in Riverside, not alone as an upbuilder of prominence and achievement, but for his lovable qualities which made every one with whom he came in contact his personal friend. During his residence in Riverside he was never in robust health, yet he accomplished much for the betterment and progress not only of his chosen home and county but for Southern California.
He had a keen appreciation of values, not alone in concrete form but in the abstract, and could visualize what the future held for this district if its latent possibilities could be wisely developed. This he did himself in many cases, and gave his energies and means for the furtherance of
985
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES
many enterprises and projects, and today they stand as monuments to his memory. Some of them for all time to come.
In the last years of his life, when his physical infirmities confined and prisoned him bodily, his outlook on life was invariably, cheerful and optimistic and he bore his burden of pain silently, never referring to it himself. From the record of his life many valuable lessons may be gleaned. To the time of his passing he aided in many ways those who came to him for help, no appeal being in vain.
Mr. Filkins was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1844, the son of Seneca and Mary (Haines) Filkins. His grandfather, Daniel Filkins, was a native of England but came to America at an early age, settling in Saratoga County. He owned many estates in that county, and his son Seneca was born also in Saratoga Springs, but he did not remain long in that state, removing to Lapeer County, Michigan, where he lived upon his country estates until his death. His wife was also a native of New York State, a daughter of Daniel Haines, a merchant and promi- nent in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Mrs. Filkins was of an old Holland-Dutch family, her mother having been a Miss Wynkook, one of her ancestors being Anneka Jans of New York.
C. W. Filkins received a good education in New York State, and at one time was a student of Schenectady College. He had three brothers, George M., a member of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry, who lost his life in one of the Civil war battles; William, who died in Topeka, Kansas, and Daniel D., a veterinary surgeon now residing in Kansas.
One of the regrets of Mr. Filkins' life was that he could not serve in the war of the rebellion. He volunteered at the commencement, but was rejected. After the war, in 1866, he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and there conducted a wholesale dry goods business for nearly twelve years. Then his health became the first consideration. and he sold out and removed to San Francisco. While in St. Paul he was buyer for the firm and in California he was a traveling salesman for a time. Then his wife's health impelled their removal to Riverside.
Mr. Filkins' mother passed on when he was a small boy, so that despite his frailness he became very self reliant, having practically to rear him- self. He was in many ways a self-made man, and when he arrived in Riverside he knew he had reached a land of opportunity. This was in 1880. and after trying out, tentatively, several projects, he was, in 1881, appointed postmaster of Riverside by President Garfield. He held the position under President Arthur, resigning, however, in 1885, but was not released until urgent telegrams from him finally forced recognition.
Previous to resigning he had invested in an orange grove here and one in Redlands. He was interested in real estate in Riverside, and im- proved a twenty acre tract sixteen miles west of Riverside. He was interested also in horses and raised many standard breeds of the Strath- more and Inka strains.
Mr. Filkins was never contented with one or two enterprises, and he conceived the idea of the town of Banning. Associated with him in the organization of the stock company known as the Banning Land and Water Company was Theodore H. Hofer, Evan Williams, Jacob Klein and George W. Bryant of Carson City, Nevada. Mr. Filkins was riding through what is now Banning, then a land of sage brush and cactus, and decided that irrigation could make a paradise of it. A colony was also formed for the town, which had been laid out eighty-eight miles east of Los Angeles in 1883, more than justified his faith in it. A flume had been constructed by a lumber company to bring down cord wood from the mountains to the Southern Pacific Railway, and as the land was alkali, Vol. 11-25
986
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES
cement ditches were constructed at points in the mountains through which the water flowed. Banning has grown into a real town, and the wilderness has been turned into orchards of many varieties of fruits. The company put over two thousand acres of land under water, and it has been culti- vated until today not only fruit but large crops of grain are raised. This was a project of great importance, and Mr. Filkins was the originator of the idea, buying the land and water, laying pipe and building ditches.
Mr. Filkins had a narrow escape from sudden death when, in 1888, he was present at the time John Oakes killed E. H. Morse, cashier of the San Bernardino National Bank. He had gone into the bank, spoken to Mr. Morse and was standing at the check desk when he heard a shot fired and turned to see Oakes standing at the cashier's window with a pistol in his hand and Mr. Morse trying to get his pistol out of his pocket. Oakes fired again and dodged down under the window. Mr. Morse shot through the counter and Mr. Filkins said "Now you've got him Ted," whereupon Oakes shot at him, the bullet going through his over- coat, coat and vest and striking his watch and lodging in the case. As Mr. Oakes ran out of the bank Mr. Filkins followed him and saw him put under arrest. His niece, Miss Edna M. Filkins, has the bullet in her possession.
In 1885 Mr. Filkins was presented with a fine gold watch of superb workmanship by the men he had interested in the Banning colony, Messrs. Klein, Hofer and Williams, two years after the enterprise was started.
Mr. Filkins was married in St. Helena, Napa County, California, to Miss Ella M. Ball, a daughter of J. D. Ball, a native of Virginia, who came to California in 1854. She passed on in the winter of 1902, but she will be remembered as not only a friend but an earnest worker in many ways, being one of the organizers of the Women's Club and an invaluable member of it. Their only child was drowned in Riverside in his fifteenth year. When Mrs. Filkins passed away the niece of Mr. Filkins, Miss Edna M. Filkins, daughter of his youngest brother. Daniel D. Filkins, tenderly cared for him, giving up her life for his comfort and well being. In their beautiful tribute to the memory of Mr. Filkins the committee of Ever- green Lodge No. 259. F. and A. M .. made especial mention of her care of her uncle during the years of affliction and commended her sincerely. Miss Filkins is now a Christian Science practitioner of Riverside.
Mr. Filkins was master of the above lodge in 1892, chaplin of the Grand Lodge. a Shriner, identified with Islam Temple, San Francisco; high priest of the local chapter, and past eminent commander of San Bernardino Commandery. He was a Mason in the real meaning of the word. He was a member of the Odd Fellows, a past noble grand in office. In politics he was a republican.
JOSEPH SCHNEIDER has been fighting Riverside conflagrations for more than twenty years, and his thorough fitness for the service is attested by his repeated reappointment as chief of the department. He was one of the "call men" and served under Captain Keith, the first chief, when the equipment consisted of only a hand pulled hose reel and a hook and ladder.
Chief Schneider, who has been identified with the good citizenship of Riverside for over thirty-five years, was born in Sainte Marie, Jasper County, Illinois, March 7, 1863, son of Joseph and Theresa Schneider. His father, a native of Holland, spent his active life in the United States as a merchant and farmer, was postmaster of Sainte Marie for twenty years or more, and was a leading republican in that community. His wife was a native of Alsace-Lorraine and met and married Mr. Schneider in Vincennes. Indiana, made famous by the romance "Alice of Old Vin- cennes." Both Mr. and Mrs. Schneider were devout Catholics.
987
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES
Joseph Schneider attended public schools to the age of thirteen, and after that began to make his own living. For a time he worked out for neighboring farmers, and later with his father, who was then a contractor in railroad construction. For a time he was a section hand on the Wabash Railroad, and his first independent business undertaking was a lunchı counter at Bement, Illinois. From there he vemoved to Decatur, Illinois, and conducted a lunch counter until 1886, when he came to Southern Cali- fornia. His first employment at Riverside was as a clerk for D. A. Car- rell in the Blue Front Grocery. In 1894 he went to Perris and for a year was in the grocery business there. On returning to Riverside he conducted a grocery store for two years, selling out, and then joined the Witherspoon Grocery, with which he was identified until 1898.
Mr. Schneider in 1898 was eleced constable for Riverside Township, an office he "held until 1902. On April 15, 1901, he was first appointed chief of the Riverside Fire Department, and has recently completed twenty years of service in that office. Chief Schneider has built up and made the fire department what it is today, a motorized service as good as any in the country in a city of this size. The headquarters station, which is allowed ten men, is a fine modern building on West Eighth Street. Chief Schneider is a member of the Pacific Coast Fire Chiefs' Association.
He was one of the charter members of the National Guard of Califor- nia when first organized, and was corporal No. 6 of Company M, Ninth Regiment. He is a republican, and so far as his official duties permit has been active in party affairs. He is a past noble grand of Riverside Lodge No. 282, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is past chief patriarch of the Encampment, and for two years was captain of the Canton. He joined the Riverside Lodge of Elks No. 643 soon after it was started, was esquire two years, and has since held the post of tyler.
November 4, 1890, Mr. Schneider married Miss Nettie C. Jackson, who was born at St. Catherine, Ontario, Canada. They have two children : Rena C., a graduate of the Riverside High School and an employe of the Southern Sierras Company ; and Muriel M., who is a graduate of the Riverside High School and the Los Angeles Normal School, and is now engaged in teaching.
ALBERT N. TEFFT-One of the younger generation of Riverside's busi- ness men, Albert N. Tefft has in a comparatively brief period of time established himself successfully in his chosen line of work. And this in the face of the difficulties attendant upon the fact that he started in prac- tically with no means and had to work for two years for others before he could embark in business for himself. Confident in the knowledge of his thorough training for the business, all he needed was the chance to open a place to demonstrate his ability. Since then he has had a most liberal patronage.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.