USA > California > San Bernardino County > Ingersoll's century annals of San Bernadino County, 1769-1904 : prefaced with a brief history of the state of California : supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and portraits of many of its representative people > Part 78
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Mr. Cantwell worked at his trade in San Bernardino for a couple of years after his arrival then went to Tulare county where he remained four years. Returning south he spent five years on the peat lands in the Los Bolsas district. He filed a claim for a homestead in what is now Riverside county and lived on it for two years then returned to his old home in San Bernardino where he has resided ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Cantwell are the parents of seven living children, who are all married and residents of Southern California.
E. J. BRIGGS was born in Kansas City. Missouri, December 1, 1878, the son of Caleb Briggs, a blacksmith, and Betsy Heacock Briggs. He is one of a family of ten children, eight living and all residents of San Bernardino valley, with exception of a brother in Arizona.
Mr. Briggs attended the public schools of Rialto until 1893, when the family removed to Colton, but after a few months returned to Rialto where they purchased a twenty acre lemon ranch which is still in possession of the family. After leaving school Mr. Briggs went to work in a grocery store belonging to his brother, in Colton. He next came to San Bernardino and entered the employ of Russel & Dodson, and later for J. B. Parazette : then for Russel Bros. At the end of that time he was able to engage in business for himself. and opened a grocery store in the old Base Line store on D street, where he is building up a prosperous business, and laying the foundation for a successful future. Mr. Briggs is a member of the K. O. T. M.
GEORGE JORDAN, of San Bernardino, was born in Germany, July 17. 1841. He was the only child of George and Caroline Thiel Jordan. His father was a watchmaker and the family came to New York in 1854. After remaining in that city two years they removed to Columbus, Georgia, where the father obtained employment as watch-maker in a jewelry store and the son was apprenticed to another firm to learn the trade of watchmaking. There he learned his trade and remained about ten years, until the death of his father; ther. shotrtly after, about 1861 with his mother, he returned to Germany. After a stay of two years in Hamburg, where he followed his chosen trade, he came back to the United States,
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.
and in 1867 accepted a position with a San Francisco jewelry house, which concern he even- tually succeeded. He remained in the jewelry business in San Francisco twenty years, then removed his business to San Bernardino and is now a resident of Los Angeles.
Mr. Jordan married Miss Elizabeth Lyle in San Francisco in 1884. They are the parents of two children, Walter and Helen. Mr. Jordan is a member of the Redland lodge of Elks, the I. O. O. F., Royal Arcanum and A. O. U. W. He is a member of the Uni- tarian church.
JAMES BLAIR BLEDSOE, of Halleck, was born in Lavaca county, Texas, August 16, 1858, the son of Joseph H. and Mary J. Bledsoe. His father was a Kentuckian by birth and a descendant of an old and influential family which dates back to the Revolutionary per- iod. The family came overland to California in 1858 and after a short stay in San Bernar- dino went north and located in Oregon. About 1870 the family returned to San Bernardino county and since that time several of the sons have been well known residents of the county. J. B. Bledsoe lived in Ventura county until 1878 then located on the Mojave where he has since resided, being one of the stock men of that district. He has acted as a member of the school board and has been a deputy sheriff, taking an active part in ridding the count- try of cattle thieves, etc.
Mr. Bledsoe is a Mason, San Bernardino Lodge, F. and A. M., Valley Lodge, No. 27, Knights of Pythias, Rathbone Sisters and Gate Chapter of the Eastern Star.
ROBERT JOHNSTON MARTIN, of Colton, was born December 14, 1841, at Green- field, Mercer county, Pa. His father, Thomas Martin, was a merchant and farmer; his mother, Ann Johnstone Martin, was the daughter of a clergyman. When Robert Martin was nineteen years of age he removed from Pennsylvania to Iowa, and soon afterwards enlisted in the 31st. Iowa Valunteer Infantry, and served with that regiment two years in the Red River country, and forty-two days in front of Vicksburg, closing his military service with the flag raising at Appomatox court-house. In 1866, Mr. Martin married Miss Lizzie L. Fox, a sister of the late Dr. Fox of Colton. He engaged in teaching school, and was a deputy sheriff of Jasper county, Iowa, until his departure for California in 1883. Three years after locating in Colton, Mrs. Martin died, leaving two daughters; Sadie A., now the wife of W. A. Reed, of Telluride, a mining engineer; Miss Kittie O., who was for eight years a teacher in the Colton schools and who is now teaching in Los Angeles.
Mr. Martin's experience in municipal government has been recognized since coming to his western home. He has been elected member of the City Council and also of the School Board of Colton. He is a Vice Commander of the Dist. Div., G. A. R. He is a Mason, Senior Warden of his lodge, and a Knight Templar.
GEORGE W. CUNNINGHAM, of Chino, was born in San Bernardino, June 10, 1863. He was a son of Dr. Chas. P. Cunningham, a pioneer citizen of San Bernardino county. and is the ninth of a family of twelve children. He grew up in San Bernardino and on the Azusa Rancho, a part of which his father owned and occupied. He now owns a produc- tive alfalfa ranch near the town of Chino. He married Miss Addie, a daughter of Hiram James, who came to California from Iowa in 1882. They have six children, Lloyd G., Oella F., Grant E., Ruth and Bernard-twins-and Hazel.
JOHN P. BORTHWICK, of Ontario, was born in Edinburg, Scotland; December 6, 1839, where he served an apprenticeship as watch-maker from 1852 to 1859. Enlarging his experience in later years by travel and its opportunities, he was employed by a distinctly first-class firm in Newcastle on Tyne, Belfast and his native city.
In 1870, he emigrated with his family to America and settled in Wilkesbarre, Penn- sylvania. He spent many years in the employ of the leading establishment of that town- that of Timothy Parker and Son. Failing health however compelled him to seek favorable conditions in California. He spent some time in San Francisco, Oroville and Santa Bar- bara, then removed to Los Angeles. But his health demanded outdoor exercise and through the kindness of Chaffey Brothers, the founders of Ontario, he left the watch bench for a whole year and assisted the working staff in the planting of trees and the laying out of Ontario in 1883-4.
Mr. Borthwick filled an engagement in Los Angeles and returned in January, 1887, when the growth of the colony permitted him to begin permanent business as the pioneer jeweler of Ontario.
REUBEN H. FRANKLIN, of Colton, was born in Miller county, Missouri, in 1845. His father, John S. Franklin, was a native of Kentucky who removed to Missouri in 1824, thus becoming one of the pioneers of the state.
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.
At the breaking out of the Civil War young Franklin enrolled in the state militia under Captain Goodman and in 1864 he joined the 48th Missouri Volunteers and fought bravely in the ranks until the close of the war.
With the exception of a year and a half in Dakota, Mr. Franklin resided in Missouri until 1888 when, with his family, he removed to California and located at Colton. Ever since his advent in this town he has served the public as city marshal, tax collector, justice of the peace, and city recorder. He is now a member of the city board of trustees. For many years he was the principal furniture dealer in the place and he continues to be one of Colton's enterprising business men.
In 1869, Mr. Franklin married, in Missouri, Miss Ellen M. Austin. In 1899, they were called upon to mourn the death of a son, H. Clay Franklin, who died in Colton, leaving a widow and two children.
THE CONSOLIDAED ABSTRACT & TITLE GUARANTEE COMPANY of San Bernardino was incorporated April 6, 1891. It is a combination of three abstract companies previously doing business in the county, viz: Woxencraft Abstract Company, Abstract & Title Company of San Bernardino and Hill Records. They have in their offices all the val- uable records in existence at that date. Their records are kept up on the same general plan as that of the Title Insurance & Trust Company of Los Angeles.
CHARLES T. BROWN was one of the first settlers of the Hermosa tract. He was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, July 14, 1862. He is the son of William Brown, a trades- man, and of the fifth generation in descent from Peter Brown, one of the Mayflower pil- grims. His mother's maiden name was Ruth Homes. Both his parents died while he was very young and he made his home with his maternal grandfather, B. B. Homes, until fourteen years of age when his grandfather died and he was thrown on his own resources.
Mr. Brown is in partnership with his cousin, A. H. Leonard, and they own forty acres of land at Hermosa. They were the first purchasers after these lands were put on the market . They have set out their land to fruit, about one half citrus and the other de- ciduous fruits.
Mr. Brown married Miss Linda Huffman, of St. Louis, Missouri, February 5, 1890. They have one child, a daughter, Julia.
FRANK MONAGHAN, for many years a resident of Needles, was born in New York city, May 13, 1850. When a young man he entered the employ of a railroad company and he came to Southern California in the employ of the So. Pacific as a conductor. When the railroad construction gang reached Needles in 1883. Mr. Monaghan, in company with Dan Murphy, opened a general merchandise store in tents. This became the largest and most important mercantile business in Needles and Mr. Monaghan is still interested in it. In 1893. the firm of Monoghan and Murphy put in a water works plant and an ice factory at Needles. Needles was made an icing station for the refrigerator service and the plant supplied ice. They have also engaged extensively in mining developments.
Mr. Monaghan served as Justice of the Peace from 1884-87 and was a member ot Needles school board. He was married in 1875 to Mrs. M. E. Guthrie of Wilmington, Cal. They have two sons, Frank E. and Chas. B., and a daughter, Lillian. The family now re- side in Santa Ana, where Mr. Monaghan is interested in Brea Cañon oil developments.
JOHN EMORY BROOKINGS, of Redlands, was born in Cecil county, Maryland, Sep- tember 3. 1846. His father, Charles Brookings, was also a native of Cecil county; his mother, Eliza Johnstone Brookings, was a member of the Protestant family of Johnstones of Fermaunah county, Ireland.
Mr. Brookings began his business career as a grain buyer on the Chicago Board of Trade, for W. N. Sturgis, commonly known as "King Jack." He subsequently engaged in the same line of business on his own account, establishing agencies along the differert railroads centering at Keobuk, Iowa. In October, 1898, Mr. Brookings came to California, and with an experience of twenty years gained in the manufacturing and selling of lumber in Michigan, he at once organized the Brookings Lumber & Box Company in conjunction with his son W. DuB. Brookings, and Robert S. Brookings of St. Louis. They purchased the Highland Lumber Co's property, consisting of five thousand acres of heavily timbered land and a large saw mill in the San Bernardino mountains; the City Creek Toll Road and the Box Factory at Highlands. They are the owners of large tracts of timber in the vi- cinity of Fredalba Park, near the city of Redlands. Activity has always pervaded every branch of business conducted by the Brookings Lumher & Box Company and their invest- ments are most important features in the industries of San Bernardino county. It is proper
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
to state that they are the most extensive manufacturers of box lumber in Southern Califor- nia and their mills the most complete in equipment of any in this section of the state.
In 1869 Mr. Brookings married Miss Emma E. duBois, of Covington, Indiana. They have two children : Walter duBois Brookings, and Miss Georgia Brookings, both at pres- ent residing at the family home in Redlands.
WALTER duBOIS BROOKINGS, of Redlands, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, February 28, 1873. He is the son of John Emory Brookings, born in Cecil county, Maryland, whose ancestors were of English descent, and of Emma Du Bois, of Covington, Indiana, whose parents were of French Huguenot stock.
Walter D. Brookings attended the Grand Rapids, Michigan, high school and gradu- ated in 1890. He then entered Philips Exeter Academy and went from there to Harvard University where he graduated in 1895. He completed the course of Harvard Law School in 1898 and was soon afterward admitted to practice at the bar in the state of Illinois.
In June, 1900, the Brookings family removed to California and the young man was ac- tively engaged with his father in the organization of the Brookings Lumber and Box Co., of which he is secretary and treasurer.
While a student of the Harvard Law School, Mr. Brookings compiled and published the well-known text book, "Briefs for Debate." Although many years a student, he de- voted considerable attention to his father's lumber enterprises and gained a knowledge of the lumber business which has proved valuable in his present occupation.
FRANK H. COLE, of Highalnd, was born in Waukegan, Lake county, Illinois, Novem- ber 17, 1872, the son of W. S. Cole, also a native of Illinois, and a farmer. He came to California in 1894. In 1897 he purchased a six acre orange grove in Highland. This is now in the center of town. He purchased the drug and stationery business of A. A. True and J. H. Poage, which business he still carries on.
He was married in 1897 to Miss Edna, daughter of W. H. Wilmot, of Highlands.
ASA DAY is one of the venerable and esteemed citizens of Chino, born January 31st, 1824, in the town of Depeyster, St. Lawrence county, New York. His father, David Day. married Betsey Bristol, a daughter of Samuel Bristol who was a pioneer of St. Lawrence county, having located in Depeyster as early as 1802. They had twelve children. Mr. Day has ever led the life of an industrious farmer. He married in the town of Depeyster, Miss Edna Bristol, a native of that town. In 1862, they located in McHenry county, Illinois. near the town of Woodstock where they lived until 1895 when they settled in their present home on the Chino Grant. They have six children, Liticia, widow of Chas. Dumdass of Po- mona : David C., Edwin and Chas. of Chino; Stella, Mrs. Jas. Brown, of Oklahoma, and Emma, Mrs. Geo. Perkins, of Chino.
EDWIN M. DAY, of Chino, was born January 30th, 1851, in the town of Depeyster, St. Lawrence county, New York. He was the son of Asa and Edna (Bristol) Day. The earlier years of his life were spent on a farm in Nebraska where the family lived for many years. In 1891, he came to California, where he purchased thirty five acres of the Chino Grant, which he has developed into a productive walnut grove and apricot orchard.
He married Eliza Wagner, who died in 1900 leaving three children, Albert C., Blanche E. and Claud. Afterward, Mr. Day married Mrs. Hattie Bristol, widow of the late Frank Bristol; she has two daughters, Bertha and Gertie. Mr. Day is a member of the I. O. O. F .. the D. of R. and F. A.
LEONARD GOODING, of Barstow, was born in Bristol, Ontario county, New York, November 10, 1832. He was the son of Ephraim and Corinthia Spencer Gooding. The fam- ily are descendants of early Puritan colonists. Mr. Gooding received his education in the public schools of Bristol, finishing with one year at Lyman Seminary, Lyman, New York After leaving school he was employed on a farm during the summer season and teaching school winters, an occupation which he followed many years. Later, removing to Canandai- gua, New York, he engaged in business as coal merchant; and from thence went to Sagi- naw, Michigan, where he lived five years.
Mr. Gooding came to Barstow, March 31, 1887. His son, George E. Gooding, had pre- ceded him and was employed as station agent for the California Southern Railway at Bar- stow. The hotel, having burned they operated a lunch counter until the new hotel was built. Mr. Gooding then purchased the general mercantile business of John H. Beatty, and receiving the appointment of postmaster has maintained the two ever since, having been postmastr continuously sinc 1887.
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Mr. Gooding has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Cornelia Reed, who died September 20, 1864, leaving three children, two daughters still living at Bristol, and a son, George R. Gooding, now agent for the Santa Fe railway at Kingman, Arizona. He after- ward married Miss Annie Raines, of Onondaga, New York. They have a family of two sons, Joseph E., who is in business with his father at Barstow; and Guy, now employed in the freight office of the Southern Pacific railway at Barstow. Mr. Good- ing is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, a Royal Arch Mason and charter member of the Needles Masonic lodge.
VINCENT DES NOYERS, of Chino, was born at Montreal, Canada, October 20, 1854. His parents were Vincent and Francois Des Jardins Des Noyers. The father lived on a farm near Montreal and here young Vincent grew up, and attended the public schools of the city and spent two years in a local academy. Being of an adventurous disposition, after a considerable experience as a dry goods salesman, he went to New York City and in 1875. embarked for California via the Isthmus, and after visiting San Francisco, came south and spent a couple of years working on ranches in the vicinity of Los Angeles. He spent some time in Washington Territory and then went to the mining regions of Alaska and re- turned to Cal. After two years in the mining districts of Arizona, he spent six years in mining at Calico and other points. In 1891, he purchased sixteen acres on the Chino Grant which he has planted to walnuts and where he has made his permanent home.
In 1882, Mr. Des Noyers visited his native place and there married Evangeline, daughter of Hermengild Fortier, of Montreal. She was educated at the convent of Notre Dame in Montreal and is an accomplished musician and pianist. They have three chil- dren, Josephine C., Maurice J., and Adrienne L. Mr. and Mrs. Des Noyers are members of the Catholic church.
MILTON L. CARSON, of Ontario, was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, June 26, 1849, the son of John T. and Martha Lupton Carson. His mother was a daughter of Mar- tin Lupton, a native of Massachusetts and a pioneer of Mahoning county. His grand- father, John Carson, was of Irish descent. Milton L. was the only son and lived at home on his father's farm until the family removed to Cedar county, Iowa when he was about fourteen and became early settlers of Springdale. They lived here for twenty-five years and developed a valuable property, then rmoved to Guthrie county, where Mr. Carson re- mained until he came to California in 1887. He spent some time in Pasadena. Later he was one of the first settlers at Rialto and took an active part in developing that colony. He kept a livery stable there and was the first man to open up the Bloomington ditch. In 1893 he settled at Chino. He also has property and lives in Ontario.
Mr. Carlson married Miss Edna Tabor, a native of Canada and daughter of Zeno C. Tabor, in Springfield, Iowa. Her father was a native of Vermont and has resided in Pasa- dena for the past fifteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Carson have four children, Ethel, wife of Clark C. Bailey, of Chino Grant ; John M., Earl Z. and Mary M.
GEORGE BOALICH, of Colton, was horn in Center county, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1833. He grew up here and learned his trade of shoemaker. In 1878, he with John Hametly, Daniel Schwartz and F. P. Furey, started from Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania, for California and located in Colton, then a new town just started. Mr. Boalich purchased and improved a home and remained until 1893 when he moved to Ontario and resided there, following his trade, until 1902, when he returned to Colton.
In 1854. Mr. Boalich married Anna, daughter of Rev. Joshua Mitchell, of the Advent church of Christ, and a relative, by marriage, of Henry Ward Beecher. Mr. and Mrs. Boalich have one daughter, Mary, now Mrs. Wm. Hoagland, of Urbita, and a son, Benja- min F., in the east. Mr. Boalich is a member of Ashler Lodge, F. & A. M., Colton and of St. Bernard Commandery, San Bernardino.
PORTER BRIMMER, of Rialto, was born in Jefferson county, New York, March 4. 1830. He was raised on a farm in the "Empire state" and in 1851, emigrated to Wis- consin where he engaged in farming. In 1884, Mr. Brimmer sold his farm in Wisconsin and moved to Humeston, Wayne county, Iowa. In 1894, preceded by a daughter, Mrs. Kendall, and two sons, Fred, since deceased, and Merton, Mr. and Mrs. Brimmer came to California and purchased an orange grove near Rialto. Mr. Brimmer married Miss Elizabeth Ann Wadsworth, of Wayne county, New York, January 13, 1853. The surviv- ing children of their marriage are: Mrs. Amelia Kendall, Arthur, Merton and Harry. The three sons each own orchards of citrus fruits in the vicinity of the father's property. Mr. and Mrs. Brimmer have long been members of the Christian church and are prominent among the supporters of that denomination in San Bernardino city.
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HISTORY OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.
DAVID J. CUSHING, of Del Rosa, is a native of Illinois, born near Rockford, Oc- tober, 15, 1861, the son of Joseph and Nancy Cushing, the father born in Keene, New Hamp- shire, the mother on Long Island, New York. His grandfather was a shipbuilder in New York and the family at one time owned Plumb Island, a small island off the coast of Long Island.
Mr. Cushing learned the carpenter trade with his father but on going to Nebraska he took up land and farmed until he came to California in 1893. Here he purchased twenty acres, five of which is set to oranges.
He was married in Nebraska to Miss Eliza, daughter of George Montgomery. They have three children, Irving, John and George. Mr. Cushing is a member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church and was also trustee for the school district.
. OTIS DEAN, of Ontario, was born in Bristol, Baynham county, Massachusetts, March I, 1821. He was the son of Chandler Robbins and Abigail Bessie Dean, both natives of Massachusetts and descending from families dating back to the days of the pilgrims.
Otis Dean worked on a farm when a boy and then engaged in the manufacture of hat and shoe boxes at East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Later he learned the trade of boot and shoe maker, which he followed for thirty years, or until machine work came into vogue.
December 30, 1863, he enlisted in the 56th Massachusetts Volunteers which regiment was engaged in the battles of the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Fairfax C. H .. Petersburg and others. Mr. Dean was wounded in the left forearm and taken prisoner at Plegram farm. Later he was exchanged and returned to the front again. At Petersburg he was wounded in the leg and reported killed.
After the war he returned to Massachusetts and in 1879 removed to Iowa where he lived twelve years. In 1890 he came to California and located at Ontario, where he has since resided. He owns a ten acre ranch at the corner of San Antonio avenue and Sixth street.
He was married January 4, 1848, to Miss Augusta, daughter of Ebenezer Dunbar, of Sharon, Norfolk county, Massachusetts. They lived for thirty years at Foxborough. Massachusetts. They have one daughter, Mary Augusta, and five sons living, Frederic Elmer, of San Francisco; Arthur Leander, Edwin Percy, William Edgar, living in On- tario, and Harry Adelbert, of Elburn, Illinois.
J. B. BREED, late a resident of Redlands, was born in Stamford, Connecticut, De- cember 28, 1821. The family removed to New Hope, Pennsylvania, and later to New York. Here Mr. Breed engaged in the manufacture of wall papers and later was inter- ested in the same business in Philadelphia. He came to Redlands in 1887 to look after the estate of his wife's father, Isaac N. Judson, who was one of the early investors in the place. After making several trips to California he located permanently in Redlands in 1891 and purchased the Prospect Hill property; he moved the house and made many im- provements. He at once took an active part in the business and civic life of his new home. being president of the Redlands Orange Grove and Water Co., of the Humane Society and of the Anti-Saloon League; he was vice-president of the Smiley Library board from its formation up to the time of his death, and was a director in many other local organiza- tions. He was always an active member of the Presbyterian church and was connected with the Redlands church as elder from its establishment, his interest never fluctuating up to the day of his death. Mr. Breed died February II, 1903.
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