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 99
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A. B. GAZZOLI, of San Bernardino, is a native of Toronto, Canada, born August 18, 1876, the son of P. D. Gazzoli. He came to San Bernardino with his family in 1890. Here he graduated from the city high school in the class of 1897 and then learned the hardware business. He is now salesman for the George M. Cooley Co. He is an enthusiastic member of Co. K, and followed the vicissitudes of his company during the Spanish- American war, serving at that time as captain of his company. He has recently been apointed as aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Pardee, with rank of Major.
In 1894 he married Miss Maud Naylor, of this city.
WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD, of Upland, was born in Nottinghamshire, England, April 11, 1846, the son of Samuel Littlewood, a brickmaker. In 1872 he came to America and first located in Quebec, but soon removed to Kansas. In 1879 he came to California, and when the colony of Ontario was organized he purchased thirty acres of land on the north side, on Euclid avenue. He has since made this his home, and is one of the most successful orange growers of the colony.
CHRIS JENSEN, of San Bernardino, is a native of Germany, born in Schleswig- Holstein, January 23, 1857. He came to the United States in 1873 and remained in New York and Ohio until 1886, when he came to California. He spent seven years in Los Angeles, and since 1895 he has been located in San Bernardino. In 1884 Mr. Jensen married Miss Amie Alltholl in Kansas. She was of Dutch descent. They have two children-John, born in Atchison, Kans., in 1885, and Ida, born in San Bernardino in 1898. Mr. Jansen is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of Morrison Encampment, San Bernardino, and Germania Turnverein Society, Los Angeles. He is a successful business man and owns valuable San Bernardino residence and business property.
ARCHIE D. LETTS. of Bloomington, was born near Scranton, Penn., January 22, 1858, the son of Horace Letts, a native of the same state and a farmer. The family removed to 'Abilene, Kans., in 1868, when this was the western frontier, and the father still lives at Brookfield.
Archie D. Letts grew up in the vicinity of Abilene and attended school in the old log school house of his day. In 1886 he came to California and located in Los Angeles, where he teamed for the Los Angeles Construction Company. Later he spent some time in Bakers- field in the employ of the Kern Land Co. Poor health necessitated a change and he located at Bloomington in 1890 and became one of the first settlers on the tract. He has served as a member of the school board since the organization of Bloomington district, most of the time acting as clerk. Heis a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Fraternal Brotherhood of Rialto. In 1893 he married Miss Bertha Reibinger, a native of Pennsylvania, and later a resident of Abilene, Kans. They have two daughters-Beaufort and Winnifred.
GEORGE SHEPARD, of Barstow, Cal., was born in Adams county, Ill., May 16, 1836. He was the son of Reuben and Sarah Shepard, one of a family of six children. His
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father was an early Illinois pioneer, emigrating from North Carolina in 1819.
George Shepard is the only member of the family living in the west. He came to California in 1852, starting on his journey from Adams county, January 26th. He took passage on a river boat from Alton, Ill., to New Orleans, thence to Cuba and Panama, crossing the Isthmus and by boat to Stockton, Cal., arriving April 1, 1852. He went at once into the mountains back of Sonora and lived there a time; then to Big Oak Flats, where he engaged in mining, owned a ranch and sold milk. He remained there ten years. In 1861 he went to Tulare county, near Visalia, and bought a farm, and went into the cattle business, which he continued until 1883. Mr. Shepard was the owner of the Page and Morton ranch, five miles west of Tulare, and sold that firm the four thousand acres of land which constituted that property. After selling this land, in 1883, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where Mrs. Shepard still resides. Mr. Shepard came to Barstow June, 1884, and engaged ni cattle raising. Eleven years afterwards he sold his herd for $15,000, having in the meantime disposed of numbers of cattle. He has also interested himself in mining in that section of the country, having owned and sold several claims, and is still the owner of good placer mines, and also lead, gold and silver mining interests.
Mr. Shepard married Miss Julia Bacon at Visalia, Cal., January 26, 1865. They have had a family of four children-Helen Homer; Charles Shepard; Clara, Mrs. Uphill (de- ceased) ; Edna resides with the mother at the home in Los Angeles.
GEORGE F. MECHAM, of San Bernardino, was born in San Bernardino, January 19, 1855. He is the son of Lafayette Mecham, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. G. F. Mecham received his education in the public schools of San Bernardino. In 1863 when the discovery of gold was made in Lytle canyon, he engaged in mining, in company with his father, and has followed that business ever since that date. He was one of the first owners of the "Calico mine," and in partnership with Ramsey Cox, also owner of the "Goler mine." He has been largely interested in desert mining for many years.
Mr. Mecham married Miss Louise Gilbert, daughter of Joseph Gilbert of San Ber- nardino. They are the parents of three children-Harry M., Gilbert and Harold. Mr. and Mrs. Mecham reside in their own home near San Bernardino, between Base Line and Highland avenue.
AUGUSTUS MECHAM, of Chino, is a native of San Bernardino county, born in San Bernardino, December 25, 1867, the son of Lafayette Mecham. As a boy he learned the trade of blacksmith and followed it for several years in San Bernardino. He then learned boilermaking and worked for the Santa Fe Company at Barstow for six years. He then en- gaged in farming seven miles south of Santa Ana and also engaged in business as a mer- chant in Chino.
F. P. MORRISON, of Redlands, is a son of the Golden West, born in San Francisco in 1859. Mr. Morrison graduated from the scientific course, Yale University, in 1878. In 1882 he came to Redlands and has since that time been closely identified with the business interests of this section. He was one of the first to plant out orange trees here and to build a home, his residence being completed in 1885. He has always been an extensive land cwner and largely interested in the orange growing business. He was one of the original stockholders in the Bear Valley dam project. In 1887 when the First National Bank of Redlands, then known as the Bank of East San Bernardino Valley, was established, he was made its president, a position he still holds. He is also president of the Redlands Savings Bank. He has been city treasurer since the incorporation of the city of Redlands.
DR. J. D. B. STILLMAN, one of the early settlers of Lugonia, was born in Schenec- tady, N. Y., in 1819, the son of Joseph and Eliza Ward Stillman (nee Maxon). He received the degree of A. B. from Union College and studied medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, reeciving his degree from that institution. He at first practiced in New York, and was at one time a surgeon in Bellevue Hospital. He was married to Miss Caroline B. Maxon in New York city, and at once started for California in a sailing vessel, the Pacific, around Cape Horn. He went to Sacramento, and in connection with Dr. John F. Morse he established the first hospital in that city. In his book, published in 1877. "Seeking the Golden Fleece," Dr. Stillman has left a graphic description of his early California experiences.
In 1850 he returned to New York and resumed his practice in that city. After the death of his wife he spent some months in Europe, and in 1854 was married to Miss Mary J Wells, of Westerly, Rhode Island. In 1855 Dr. Stillman went to Texas to consider
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that country as a place of residence, and his adventures here are told in a series of letters, "Wanderings in the Southwest," published in the "Crayon," a magazine then edited by his brother, Wm. J. Stillman. In 1856 Dr. Stillman returned with his wife to California and practiced medicine at Sacramento until the flood year of 1861-2, when he removed to San Francisco, where he lived until he gave up practice to establish his home at Lugonia. Dur- ing his residence of nearly twenty years in San Francisco he occupied many positions of honor and trust, among which was the coronership of the city, memebr of the board of education, and trustee of the Lick school; appointed member of the faculty of the medical department of the University of California, a position he declined.
In 1879-80 Dr. Stillman made an elaborate study of the anatomy and physiology of the horse, in order to elucidate the results of the instantaneous photographs of the horse in motion, taken by Mr. E. Muybridge, at the suggestion and expense of Senator Leland Stanford. This elaborate monograph is included in the "Horse in Motion" published by Senator Stanford in 1882.
Upon taking up his residence at Lugonia, Dr. Stillman devoted himself to study and experiments with raisins, dates and wines, having previously made careful observations of the production of these articles in Southern Europe. Dr. Stillman died at Lugonia in 1888, leaving his widow and six children to survive him. The children are Prof. J. M. Stillman of Stanford University ; Howard Stillman, engineer of tests, Southern Pacific Company; Dr. Stanley Stillman, professor of surgery, Cooper Medical College, San Francisco; Leland S. Stillman, a lawyer of New York; Mrs. Edward H. Mulligan, of Chicago, and Mrs. F. P. . Morrison, of Redlands.
Throughout his career Dr. Stillman, through the force of his character, exerted a strong influence. His interest in and familiarity with botany made his name prominent in the development of the systematic botany of the coast, and his interest in literature and current topics is illustrated by the various articles published during the earlier years of the Overland Monthly.
JOHN S. MARTIN, of San Bernardino, was born in Detroit, Mich., September 17, 1847. He is the son of John S. and Jane Martin. Of his father's family, beside himself. there was one brother and six sisters, all of whom are living in Detroit. His early school days were passed in Detroit, and there he learned the printer's trade. From Detroit he went to New York city, remaining in that city eighteen years, and was employed on the leading metropolitan daily papers, the "New York Sun" and "Tribune," under Horace Greely, from whom he received $6 per night as typesetter. From New York he came to San Diego, Cal., and worked three years for the "San Diego Union;" then to San Ber- nardino, where he has been employed by the city street department; for the last eight years he was superintendent of streets, and as such assisted in the laying of water mains and other public improvements undertaken by the city up to 1899, when he severed his connection with that department. Owing to ill health he has not engaged in any business since that date. He is the owner of a pleasant cottage with one acre of land on C street, San Bernardino, where he makes his home.
On July 12, 1864, he married Miss Louisa Lucions, of Detroit, Mich. They have two sons-Harry Martin, who married Miss Ida Rockoff of San Bernardino, and Fred Martin, unmarried, employed in the Santa Fe railway shops. Mr. Martin is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters.
CHARLES C. ABBEY, of Redlands, is a native of Claremont, Iowa, born July 22, 1864, the son of Alonzo Abbey, a millwright. In 1873 the family came to California and located at Livermore, where the father died in 1879. Mr. Abbey was educated in the public schools of Alameda county and at Livermore academy. He attended the school of pharmacy at Michigan State University, Ann Arbor, graduating in 1889. He engaged in the drug business at Livermore for about three years, then located as a druggist at Fort Worth, Texas, where he remained five years. He came to Redlands in 1894 and has established a thriving drug business in this place. He was married at Fort Worth to Miss Emma Morrison.
W. H. GOODRICH, of Redlands, was born near Elyria, Ohio, March 21, 1859, the son of William Goodrich, a farmer by occupation. In 1869 the family removed to Marshal- town, Iowa, where they remained until 1883, when they removed to California and located at Pomona. Here the father lived in retirement until his death in Angust, 1898, at the age of seventy-six. Of the family, C. S. Goodrich lives in Los Angeles and a daughter, Mrs. H. L. Rubell, in Redondo.
Mr. Goodrich engaged in the furniture business in Pomona, from 1885 to 1898, when
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he removed to Redlands and located on Citrus avenue. Under the name of W. H. Good- rich & Co. he now carries on one of the largest and most complete furniture establishments in this section of the state, the stock embracing everything required to furnish and equip a modern home.
Mr. Goodrich married Miss Cora E. Rollins in Marshaltown, Iowa. They have an adopted daughter, Dorothy R.
ISAAC C. GIRARD, formerly public administrator of San Bernardino county, was born in the district of Maskinonge, Lower Canada, March 30, 1842. He was the son of Martin and Mary Louise (Carifell) Girard, and of French-Canadian descent. His father removed to St. Joseph, Mo., in 1848, and there his boyhood and school days were passed. He learned his trade of harness marker, and remained in St. Joseph until 1862. He then went to work for Ben. Holliday on the Overland stage line, following the Old Cherokee trail from Atchi- son to Salt Lake, via Fort Bridger. He remained with him for about a year and then started for California by the southern route, arriving in San Bernardino the latter part of December, 1863. Later he went to Los Angeles. There his first employer was W. H. Work- man, the present city treasurer of Los Angeles. Two years later he was employed by John M. Foy, the pioneer harness maker of San Bernardino, and came to San Bernardino with him in 1866. In November of that year he went to Visalia and then to Moore Flats. From 1871 to 1886 he was employed at his trade, dividing his time between San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Phoenix, Ariz., working repeatedly for Herman Heinsch, John M. Foy and Jesus Moreno. Then he went to Los Angeles and opened a little shop of his own on Sixth street, near Olive. In 1890 he sold out and returned to San Bernardino, and was again employed by J. M. Foy, remaining with him until ISAAC C. GIRARD the death of the latter. He then opened a small har- ness repair shop and commission store on D street, in San Bernardino, where he is at present.
In 1873 in Los Angeles he married Miss Mary McCann, a native of California. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are living. These are: C. Leon, Maggie M., William M., Frances E., and Howard W. Girard. Mr. Girard is a member of the St. Paul's M. E. church south, of San Bernardino. On January 1, 1899, he assumed the duties of public administrator of San Bernardino county. His term of office expired January 1, 1903 ..
CHARLES L. FRAZER, of Highland, a native of Wilmington, Will county, Ill., was born December 19, 1851. He was educated in the common schools and at Wesleyan University, Bloomington. In 1875 he located at Shenandoah, Iowa, and engaged in the lumber business, remaining here for twelve years. In 1887 he came to California and purchased twenty-three acres of land at Highland, which is a fine orange grove.
He was married in 1873 at Wilmington, Ill., to Miss Caroline S., daughter of James L. Young, one of the first settlers of Wilmington. He was for many years a justice of the peace and fined the Prince of Wales when he was in this country, for shooting quail out of season. A son, John R. Young, was for thirty years clerk of the Superior Court of the District of Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Frazer have had three children.
GUY L. FRAZER was born in Wilmington, Ill., October 5, 1874. He came to California with his parents in 1887 and was in the public schools and at the high schools of San Bernardino and Pomona. In 1898 he went to Montana and was connected with the civil engineering department of the Butte Water Works for a time. He returned to Highland and became a member of the firm of Frazer & Bowers, absorbing the business of Seeley & Sons.
W. H. LOGSDEN, of San Bernardino, was born in Macoupin county, Ill., the son of Harden and Mary McGinnis Logsden, one of a family of eight children. His father was a farmer. The family located in Texas in 1846; the parents both died and the
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children lived on various farms in different sections of Texas, until 1860, when W. H. with three brothers started for California with an ox team. They arrived in October and located in Tulare county, where Mr. Logsdon remained until 1881, when he came south, and after a stay in Santa Ana settled in San Bernardino. May 24, 1864, he en- listed in the regular army service, Co. E, 2nd U. S. Vol. Cav., and saw some service in fighting Indians. He was mustered out June 2, 1866.
October 7, 1866, he married Miss Clarence Gertrude Limebarger, at Visalia. Their living children are Minnie, Eva, Ella, May, Ray and Ralph. Mr. Logsdon and his family are connected with the Salvation Army.
THOMAS R. JENNINGS, of Chino, was born at Brady's Bend, Armstrong county, Penn., September 2, 1864. He was the son of Edward and Catherine Miller Jennings. His father was a native of Cornwall, England. For forty years he filled the position of Superior Judge in Pennsyl- vania. He was also engaged in the oil business. Thomas R. grew up in the Pennsylvania oil fields and is thoroughly experienced in every detail of the oil business. He started in as a pumper and had experience as a tool dresser and driller. In 1885 he came to Los Angeles and then spent a year in British Columbia. He returned to California and has since resided in Orange and San Bernardino coun- ties. He has done much work in the various oil fields on the coast, and is now superintendent of the Chino Land and Water Co. and of the Jennings Oil Co. The latter is operating in Chino Hills and has several producing wells. The Jennings Oil Co. was organized in 1892, with George A. Rankin, president; Thos. R. Jennings, vice- president ; Oscar Wolf, secretary, and Charles Jennings and Jacob B. Rhinestein, directors.
Mr. Jennings was married August 16, 1893, to Miss Roberta B., daughter of Captain Newton Stilwell, of Dow- ney. They have one son, Earle Edward, born in Fuller- ton, April 28, 1894.
FRANK PIERCE MESERVE, of Redlands, was born in Rochester, New Hampshire, November 30, 1852. He received an excellent education in the schools of New THOMAS R. JENNINGS Hampshire and Maine, and at the age of nineteen com- menced his career in the clothing business in Newport, N. H., where he conducted a successful business until 1888, when he removed to Redlands. He opened the first clothing store in this locality. His business has made rapid strides to keep up with the growth of the city, and is now one of the corporations of the state, and one of the largest of the kind in the San Ber- nardino valley.
Mr. Meserve was elected to the board of city trustees in 1890, and served a term of four years. He was again elected to serve the city as trustee in 1902, and served one year, when he resignd the office and made a tour of the world. On his return in the fall of 1904, he was again appointed a member of the board to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. H. L. Graham, and is now one of the active members of the city council. He was one of the originators of the public library, and a member for three years of the first board of library trustees. He was a director of the Union Bank of Redlands from its early history until the change of that institution to a national bank ; a promoter, director and stockholder in the Redlands Electric Light and Power Company and in the Redlands Realty Co. He was one of the building committee of five who supervised the construction of the Casa Loma Hotel and the expenditure of the $20,000 bonus raised by the citizens of Redlands. Mr. Meserve was elected to and served in the California state assembly for the regular session of 1899, and the special session of 1900.
May 15, 1878, he married Minnie A. Harvey of Newport, N. H., who died at Sac- ramento during the session of the state legislature, in March, 1899. December 25, 1904, he married Helen M. Crossman of Los Angeles.
PETER SHOLANDER, of Chino, is a native of Sweden, born May 16, 1862. His father was Nels John and his mother Carrie B. Sholander. The family came to this
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country in 1881, landing at New York, and going almost immediately to Iowa, where they settled to Boone county and purchased 160 acres of well improved land.
Peter later went to Des Moines, where he was employed as a coal miner. The family came to California in 1887 and his father purchased twenty acres of land at Chino and raised alfalfa and put out an orchard. He also rented land and planted sugar beets. The son remained in Des Moines until 1891, when he came to this state and was first employed at Pomona. He bought the five acres now occupied as a home place in 1892 and later purchased ten acres.
He was married June 14, 1889, in Des Moines to Miss Jennie, daughter of C. A. Anderson. Her father was a blacksmith who came to America in 1880, settled in Boone county, Iowa, where he was a hardware dealer, and later moved to Des Moines, where he still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Sholander have one son, Jesner, born in Des Moines May 16, 1890.
ROYAL M. ARMSTRONG, of San Bernardino, was born in Topeka, Kansas, De- cember 7, 1877, the son of James A. and Mary Ragland Armstrong. He attended the public schools and the high school and took a course in the Topeka business college. In 1893 he entered the employ of the A. T. & S. F. Ry. in the mechan- ical department. He was transferred to the office of the division master mechanic, at Ottawa, and later returned to another position at Topeka. . In July, 1899, he came to San Bernardino as private secretary for the superintendent of machinery, and continued on the clerical force of the railway com- pany until December, 1902, when he was appointed deputy county clerk. He was married in December, 1898, to Miss Nettie B. Shepp and has two sons, Harry M. and Jack M. Mr. Armstrong is a member of the San Bernardino Lodge, F. & A. M., and is secretary of the order of Elks, San Bernardino.
LEWIS VAN LEUVEN, formerly of Old San Bernardino, was born near Kingston, Canada, April 30, 1826. He was the son of Benjamin Van Leuven. The family emigrated to Illinois and then to Mis- souri, and arrived in San Bernardino in 1854. In 1855 Lewis Van Leuven lived in the Yucaipe Val- ley. He married Mrs. Patience Druper, a daughter of Frederick Van Leuven, and soon afterward they went to Visalia, Tulare county, and lived there for ROYAL M. ARMSTRONG three years. After this Mr. Van Leuven settled in Old San Bernardino and resided here until his death, September 28, 1888. The widow and four children still survive. Lewis R. : Lorane, Mrs. Alonzo Frink; Etta, Mrs. Abner Mccrary; and Dewane, who lives on the home place and is married.
WILLIAM B. STEWART, of Ontario, was born July 30, 1860, in the village of Cherry Tree, Venango county, Penn., the son of William R. and Jane Irwin Stewart. Both his father and his grandfather, Elijah Stewart, were natives of Pennsylvania and well known and successful business men, having been extensively engaged in the leather trade. Mr. Stewart's mother died in 1863, and about this time his father removed to Ohio and there carried on a mercantile business until about the time of his death, in 1878, at the age of sixty-six.
William B. Stewart engaged in the oil business in Bradford, Mckean county, Penn., and in 1887 came to California, going first to Santa Paula. In 1888 he located at Ontario, where he has since lived. He owns considerable property here and is a successful orange grower.
In 1891 he married Miss May, daughter of Parks Smith, of Santa Paula. They have three children-Milton, Harold and Agnes. They are members of the Presbyterian church.
JAMES B. WATSON, of Del Rosa, was a native of Lafayette county, Mo., born July 31, 1859, the son of James Watson, a farmer, who was of English birth. He came
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to America while a young man and lived in Tennessee, and later in Kentucky. He married in the latter state Rebecca A. Riggins.
Mr. Watson grew up on a farm at his birthplace. In 1880 he came to California and worked on fruit ranches in Riverside. Later he went into the nursery business. In 1893 he purchased land in West Highland and. now has an orchard in orange, lemon and grape fruit. He was married in San Bernardino to Miss Elsie, daughter of William Hill. They have three children living-lola, James B. and Lois Tury.
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