USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 64
USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 64
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FRANCIS D. KELLER-According to the deep-rooted belief of every native son of California, Francis D. Keller, of San Bernardino, is greatly
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to be envied, for he is not only one of those sons, his father one of the early pioneers, but he was born in the city of which he is now an in- portant business factor. And he not only spent practically all his life in San Bernardino, but he married the daughter of a pioneer.
His father was Francis M. Keller, a native of Illinois, who after being educated in the public schools took up the occupation of farming and con- tinued in it until he retired. He came to San Bernardino with his mother in 1854, and spent most of his life in that city and district. He was for thirty years a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics, a democrat.
The mother of Francis D. Keller was Rachael Emma (Robinson) Keller, a native of lowa, who came to San Bernardino via the ox team route when a little girl. With her husband she is now living in San Bernardino, on a ranch on Mill Street, about two and a half miles from San Bernardino. They were the parents of five children: Francis D., Clara D., Alma N., Henry (Deceased) and Rachael, wife of George Hol- brook, of San Bernardino.
Francis D. Keller was educated in the public schools of San Bernar- dino and for one year attended Sturges Academy. He then went into the hardware business in 1887, as an employe of George M. Cooley, and he remained in this position until 1899 and left it to take one with C. W. Nettler He remained here until 1903, and then, with A. B. Thomas, bought the business and incorporated under the name of the San Ber- nardino Hardware Company. This continued for ten years, when the business was reorganized in 1913, J. F. Mckinney coming into the or- ganization. It was at the same time disincorporated and made a partner- ship firm. The firm has always been a popular one and none stands higher in the estimation both of the public and of business associates, and its steady growth into the fine established business it is today is well merited. A knowledge of all branches of the business, careful supervi- sion, expert buying and square dealing has placed the firm in the secure niche it occupies in the business world of San Bernardino.
Mr. Keller was united in marriage in 1895 with Ada R. Vale, a daughter of W. A. Vale, the pioneer photographer and piano dealer of San Bernardino, who has retired and is now enjoying life in the city. They have one child, Gerald Vale Keller. Mr. Keller is a member of San Bernardino Lodge No. 836, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. of Arrowhead Parlor No. 110, Native Sons of the Golden West, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He gives his political faith to the democratic party.
ORLIS I. KENNEDY-A more gifted and versatile citizen San Ber- nardino County perhaps never had than the late Orlis I. Kennedy, whose death on August 12, 1920, was a source of profound sorrow to his many associates and friends as well as to his immediate family. During his residence at San Bernardino, extending over twenty years, he had achieved a notable place as a successful lawyer, but even more as an enthusiastic student and searcher of scientific truth, particularly in the realm of economic and theoretical geology, and he possessed that depth and sweetness of character usually found in men of intense devotion to nature and her works. While he handled a successful law practice, his chief enthusiasm and source of recreation was in studying earth forma- tions. He was an authority on seismic disturbances, was an accurate forecaster of earthquakes, and the subject had intrigued him greatly and just prior to his death he had written a treatise on the "Romance of the Earthquake." Since his death his theories have been adopted by Stan-
Orlis I. ATermedy
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ford University. It is a fascinating story dealing in popular language with the scientific aspect of a subject that is little understood by the general public.
Mr. Kennedy was born in Indiana, June 16, 1873, son of J. T. and Martha (Allen) Kennedy, the latter now deceased. His mother was born in North Carolina of an old English family, and from the same ancestry is descended the noted Kansas journalist and author, William Allen White. J. T. Kennedy was born in Virginia, of old Virginia stock, and is now living in San Bernardino.
Orlis I. Kennedy acquired his education in the public schools of Vir- ginia, in the Turkey Coo Seminary of that state, and in 1890 came to San Bernardino. Here he studied law under John Brown, Jr., and other attorneys, and after being admitted to the bar in 1914 had a busy gen- eral practice in civil, criminal and probate work.
His geological investigations had a practical turn and for years he was regarded as a scientific authority on the oil field of the coast. As a field geologist he carried on his work in some of the most inaccessible places, and frequently was accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy, who through him learned the beauties of the waste land and the pleasure of sleeping under the stars. Mr. Kennedy with Erwin Swarthout, Arthur Armen- trout and his own son, William Kennedy, located the oil fields of the Painted Hills Oil Association in Townships 2, 3 and 4, South, Ranges 3 and 4, East, S. B. M. This property lies about fifty-four miles east of San Bernardino and north of Whitewater Station, which is about twenty miles from Banning. The holdings of the company now consist of 3,520 acres, comprising a huge anticlinal fold of the earth upon which the shale and fossil associated with oil bearing sands were found in abundance. At the present writing the first well is down between 600 and 700 feet and has penetrated the first oil sands. The fifty original locaters of the land have pooled their interests in the association, and Mr. Kennedy was prominent in its organization and was president until his death, when he was succeeded by Mrs. Kennedy as president. Cecil H. Phillips is secretary and Roy F. Bradley, treasurer. The other direc- tors of the association are C. W. Linfesty, Charles Bennett, Dr. C. Chandler and Clarence Johnson, all of San Bernardino except Dr. Chandler, of Hollywood.
The late Mr. Kennedy also owned a ranch on the St. Andrews Fault. and derived much pleasure from its operation. This property is still retained by Mrs. Kennedy. In politics he was a socialist, was a mem- ber of the County and City Central Committees of the party, and at one election was candidate for the office of mayor. At the age of twenty- three he enlisted in the United States Navy as a marine, but after a short time was discharged on account of ill health.
January 16, 1899, at San Bernardino, Mr. Kennedy married Miss Cora E. See. She was born at Whittier, California, and is a member of the Baptist Church. Her father, the late Joseph W. See, was a na- tive of Missouri, crossed the plains in 1854, and for many years was a merchant and farmer in the Whittier district. Mrs. Kennedy's mother. Eudora (Brown) See, was born in Northern California and is now being at Long Beach. Four children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy : William, who as mentioned above, was one of the original discoverers and is active in the affairs of the Painted Hills Oil Associa- tion, has his father's intense interest in geology, and in spite of his youth has several times been called upon for expert advice and investigation. The other son of Mrs. Kennedy, Orlis I., Jr., died at the age of eighteen. The two daughters are Helen, wife of Lowell Russell, of San Bernardino,
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and Margaret, member of the class of 1923 at the San Bernardino High School.
JULIUS OEHL was one of the early settlers in San Bernardino and the pioneer meat packer of San Bernardino County. He was born in Denmark, January 6, 1855, the son of Julius and Louise (Tychosen) Oehl. His father was prominent in official and military life, holding a public office and also serving as an officer in both the Danish and Ger- man armies.
Mr. Oehl at the age of seventeen decided to come to America, and he landed in New York in 1872. He went into the butcher business for a year, and then responded to the call of the West and located in Mon- tana. Here he worked at the same trade for several years, acquiring such proficiency that he went to Kansas as foreman for the Jacob Dold Pack- ing Company. Here he gained much necessary experience and went to Socorro, New Mexico, where he opened a retail meat business, opening also a branch store in Crafton, New Mexico.
He came to San Bernardino in 1886 and at once started in the meat business, in a retail shop. In this he was successful and decided to start a packing plant, which he did in a very small way on East Ninth Street. The business outgrew the cramped quarters, and he took over an old plant formerly run by J. S. Purdy. This was soon enlarged and several times since it has outgrown the space and has had to be enlarged. The present plant has a capacity of about twenty cattle, fifty sheep and twenty hogs daily. The trade now extends to all the surrounding towns, as far east as Needles and out on the desert.
Mr. Oehl was a member of the Woodmen of the World and of the Lutheran Church. He married in June, 1885, in New York, Miss Kath- erine Claussen, a daughter of Johann and Flanke (Siever) Claussen, of Denmark. They were the parents of six children: Ernest Oehl, manager of the Oehl Packing Company ; Richard, who married Louise Delore, has two children; Julius married Leila Ella Rowe and has three children ; Herbert married Beatrice Holmes ; Conrad married Leona Wilson; Freida is the wife of Clifford Stewart, a banker of Perris. These children with the exception of Mrs. Stewart, are all residents of San Bernardino.
Ernest Oehl, manager of the Oehl Packing Company, was born in Socorro, New Mexico. August 11. 1886, and was educated in the public and high schools. He afterward went to work with his father, and upon the latter's death the widow conducted the business for a short time, but it soon became too heavy a task for her and Ernest, with the help of his uncle, Conrad Oehl, took over the business and has since managed it. taking full charge in 1916, his uncle retiring. As each younger brother came of age he was admitted into the firm as an equal partner.
Ernest Oehl married Sadie Crumley, daughter of Mrs. Flora Crum- ley, in 1912, in San Bernardino. She died on May 30. 1919, and their infant child also died. Mr. Oehl married December 25. 1920, in San Bernardino. to Vannetta Blanche Secor, a native of Colorado and a daughter of Henry Frey. a contractor of Van Nuys, California. Mr. Oehl is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. San Bernardino Lodge No. 836. and of Arrowhead Council No. 534, United Commercial Travelers. A younger brother. Conrad Oehl, served nine months in the navy during the war and was honorably discharged at the close of hostilities.
JAMES WEMYSS BENNERS. physician of San Bernardino, is descended from a long, illustrious line of ancestors on both sides of the family. His
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father, Isaac Benners, traced his line back to the French Huguenots who left France aiter the revocation of the Edict of Nantes to seek freedom from persecution and more tolerant conditions in America.
Isaac Benners was a man of strong and sterling character, a remark- able personage, trusted and honored by his fellowmen as few men are. His fellow citizens showed their high regard and esteem by their actions. And he justified their faith by the justness and fairness with which he administered the duties of the offices given to him. No trust in him was ever violated, and he was ever watchful of the interests of his people, rich and poor alike.
He was a native of North Carolina but moved to Alabama in 1855, his vocation at the time being that of a farmer ; but later on he occupied a most unique and peculiar position. Although he was not an attorney, he held the office of justice of the peace in Birmingham, Alabama. When the new constitution was being framed the attorneys of the community included a section which provided that a county or superior judge should be a regular qualified and admitted attorney ; with the exception of the two justices of the peace at the time holding office. They wanted Mr. Benners for judge, and the provision was framed in that manner so as to make this possible. That the attorneys knew the man and his character was shown by the fact that afterward, when he was elected judge, as planned, he held the office by successive re- elections for the next twenty-eight years. At the close of the twenty-eighth vear he voluntary and determinedly retired and is now living in Birming- ham, Alabama.
The mother of J. W. Benners was Miss Harriet Hatch, a native of Alabama, who traced her ancestral line to England, being a direct lineal descendant of Oliver Cromwell. She died in Birmingham in 1892. The children of her union with Isaac Benners numbered seven, of whom five are now living. J. W. Benners being the third in order of birth.
His early education was acquired in the Lebanon, Tennessee, public schools. Later he clerked in a drug store in Alabama and afterwards in Louisville, Kentucky. He had decided to become a physician, and so he kept on in this line until he graduated in pharmacy in Louisville in 1888. He then entered the medical departinent of the University of Louisville, and was graduated with the class of 1893. In 1897 he took the post graduate courses in the Post Graduate Medical School of New York. He next took a post graduate course at the Medical College of San Francisco, this in 1915.
He started practicing in Louisville, and continued there from 1893 to 1911, when he came to California, but after a stay of one year he went to Georgetown, Colorado. He practiced there for three years, when he returned to California, locating at Long Beach. He spent one year there and one year at Highland, coming to San Bernardino in 1918. He is now doing a general practice in that city.
Doctor Benners married in 1890 Addie Lucas, a daughter of Charles Lucas, of Kansas City, and a granddaughter of General Lucas, of In- dependence, Kansas. They have one child, Josephine, wife of Mark T. Smith, of San Bernardino, and she has two children, Mary Frances and Mark T. Smith, Jr.
Doctor Benners is a member of the California State Medical Associa- tion and of the San Bernardino County Medical Association. He is a life member of Shibboleth Lodge No. 750, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; and of Highiland Castle, Knights of Pythias. He is independent in politics. He is a member of the Congregational Church.
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EDWARD DOYLE REID came to Riverside County in the early eighties, and had some modest working part in some of the pioneer development of this district. He is the oldest clothing merchant of Redlands, and ha's had an active business career in this section of California for over thirty years.
Mr. Reid was born in McDonough County, Illinois, February 11, 1863, son of L. G. and Rena Reid, both parents natives of Kentucky. His father achieved prominence as an Illinois lawyer. Seventh in a family of ten children, Edward D. Reid grew up in Southern Illinois, attended school until he was eighteen, and then, acting upon the advice of physi- cians, came to California, reaching Riverside in October, 1881, more than forty years ago. The first year he took outdoor work, employed on ranches and cultivating and working among orange groves. Then, after a trip to the northern part of the state, he returned to Redlands, and in 1884 was employed during the construction of the original Bear Valley Dam. Thus his own recollection of his early experiences enables him to tell much of the pioneer development of the Redlands water supply, of the development of electrical energy, and the very foundation of the citrus industry in this part of the state.
In the spring of 1886, Mr. Reid returned to Illinois, but after a year and a half came back to Riverside in 1888. At that time he entered the service of the Reynolds Clothing and Furnishing Store, learned the business by a diligent apprenticeship and remained a trusted worker of the firm for fourteen years. Severing his connections there in 1902. Mr. Reid came to Redlands, and soon afterward the firm of Reid & Findlay began business as clothing and furnishing goods merchants at 218 Orange Street. To that business Mr. Reid has now given his consecutive attention for nearly twenty years. Their dealings and good business management brought a steady and constant improvement, and the firm stood out conspicuously in varying fortunes that swept away other competing concerns. The firm owned both the stock of goods and the building. There was no change in the management until October 1. 1920, when Mr. Findlay retired. This change was followed by the incorporation of E. D. Reid & Company, and under this title the old business is continued at the original location. This is the oldest clothing store in Redlands from the standpoint of continuous service.
Mr. Reid was reared a Presbyterian. He is affiliated with Redlands Lodge of Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In July, 1895, he married Miss Genevieve Parkinson, of Redlands. They have an adopted daughter. Ruth Adeline Reid, who was born March 18, 1913. Mr. Reid has made his success through his own efforts and enjoys an honored station in the community of Redlands.
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