San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II, Part 2

Author: Black, Samuel T., 1846-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 658


USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 2


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


Mr. Smith is popular in fraternal circles and is especially promient in the Masonic order, of which he has been a member since 1861. He belongs also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has for twenty-five years been affi- liated with the Modern Woodmen of America. He gives a general allegiance to the republican party but never allows this to interfere with his independence of conviction. While a resident of Nebraska he served for several terms as justice of the peace in his district and for some time was city assessor of Grand Island, Nebraska. Having passed a great many years of his life within the borders of San Diego county, his record is well known to the residents of this locality and in the fact that he has gained widespread affection, trust and esteem lies his truest and most enviable success.


H. N. CARPENTER.


One of the most prominent men of Escondido and one whose interests directly affect the development of the city is H. N. Carpenter, secretary of the Mutual Water Company, extensively interested in the Escondido Land & Town Company and one of the large property-holders of the city. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1854, and is a son of William and Delia (Preston) Carpenter, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Vermont. Their marriage occurred in Boston and afterward they spent some years in Cincinnati, living in the latter city from 1853 to 1870. Eventually, however, they moved to St. Louis, where they resided until 1896, finally moving to Denver, Colorado, and thence one year later to Escondido, where the mother passed away in 1905. The father makes his home in Palo Alto and has reached the age of seventy-nine. He and his wife


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became the parents of five children : H. N., of this review; William, who lives in Escondido; Fares, who died in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1910; Alma, who married Romi Nowakowsky, of Chicago; and Grace, the widow of Erskine Bassett, of Palo Alto, California.


H. N. Carpenter acquired his education in the public schools of Cincinnati and went to St. Louis with his parents in 1870. There he was associated with his father in the manufacture of window shades, a line of work with which William Carpenter had at that time been identified for over sixty years. Mr. Carpenter of this review continued his connection with it until 1898 and in that year sold out his interest and came to California, settling in Escondido, where he has since resided. He here bought thirty-six acres of land which he planted in peaches, walnuts and oranges and until 1907 operated one of the finest fruit ranches in this part of the county. In the latter year he became interested in the Land & Town Company of Escondido and acted as its superintendent for some time. For the last year and a half he has been a large stockholder in the Mutual Water Company, of which he is secretary. He has large property holdings in the town, including the tract upon which his beautiful home stands, and he is also the owner of a small fruit ranch. All of his affairs are conducted ably and with fine discrimination and Mr. Carpenter has won a degree of prosperity which places him among the leading men of Escondido.


In 1884 Mr. Carpenter married Miss Flora Belman, a daughter of James and Laura (Warner) Belman and a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. She is one of two children born to her parents and is the only member of this family still surviv- ing. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have five children. Nelson was born in 1885 and is now engaged in civil engineering. He married Miss Jessie Plunkett and they reside in Escondido. Burton was born in 1888 and is well known as a horse raiser in National City. Flora, who was born in 1890, is still with her parents. The two youngest children in this family are Jessie and Grace, both of whom are at home. The family are devout adherents of the Congregational church.


Mr. Carpenter belongs to the Knights of Pythias and is well known in that organization. He gives his allegiance to the republican party and has served on the city council, standing during his entire term for right, progress and high ideals of public service. During the greater part of the time he has resided in Escondido he has been identified with enterprises which had as their prime object the development and expansion of the town and in this way his work has been as useful and as far-reaching as it has been upright and honorable.


WILLIAM P. SHEETS.


William P. Sheets, owning a fine fruit ranch of fifteen acres one mile west of San Marcos, on Grand avenue, was born in Indiana in 1857 and is a son of Lewis and Catherine (Sarff) Sheets. The father was born in Ohio and the mother was a native of Pennsylvania. In their family were five children: John H., who was formerly engaged in newspaper work but who is now operating a farm in Minnesota; Arthur W., deceased; Sophronia, who married C. W. Drill, of Yamhill, Oregon; William P., of this review; and Lou C., whose home is in


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Washington. The father of our subject farmed in Minnesota for a number of years and remained in that state until 1890, when he came to California and bought fifteen acres of land near San Marcos, which he planted in fruit trees. He built the house which still stands upon the property and made other substan- tial improvements. At one time he added seventeen acres to his holdings but this has since been sold. This property he developed and cultivated along pro- gressive lines until his death, which occurred in 1902. His wife survived him until 1910.


William P. Sheets grew up on his father's farm in Minnesota and attended the public schools of that state. At the age of twenty-two he bought one hun- dred and sixty acres of land and for ten years gave his entire attention to general agricultural pursuits. At the end of that time he began working at steam engineering and followed that occupation until 1890, when he accompanied his parents to California. He worked upon his father's ranch until after the latter's death, when he assumed ownership and control and has since carried on the work of development and cultivation in a straightforward and businesslike way.


On December 14, 1879, Mr. Sheets married Miss Flora Closson, of Minnesota, a daughter of Caleb and Tryphena (Spencer) Closson, the former a native of Canada and the latter of New York. In their family were nine children, five of whom are still living: Alma, who married Benjamin Gilbert, of Missouri; Susie, the wife of Thomas Rice, of Chicago; DeWitt, whose home is in Minne- sota ; Ella, the widow of Arthur Sheets, a brother of the subject of this review; and Flora, now Mrs. William P. Sheets. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheets have been born six children: Clyde M., of Tampa, Florida, who is married and has two children, Leora and Oscar ; Pansy A., the wife of William A. Quinn, of Redlands, California, by whom she has three children, Glen, Anna L. and Helen; Fay R., who has a national reputation as an automobile racer and whose home is in Oakland; Claire B. and Clay, both residing at home ; and Opal, who is attending school in San Marcos.


Mr. Sheets is, as was his father, a loyal democrat and, like his father, takes an active interest in community affairs, without desire for political preferment. He has resided in San Diego county for twenty-two years and is well known as a reliable and straightforward business man, fully meriting the high place which he holds in the confidence and esteem of his many friends.


ULYSSES S GRANT, JR.


Ulysses S Grant, Jr., the son and namesake of the great American soldier and statesman, has been for twenty years one of the most prominent factors in the development of San Diego, from the modest little town that it was in 1893, to the stirring and growing commercial city it is today. Removing with his family to San Diego in that year Mr. Grant at once took an active and influential part in the social and business life of the budding metropolis and his were among the largest and most important operations in real estate and finance. His crowning achievement-destined to remain a monument to his name and enterprise-is the


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magnificent U. S Grant Hotel, one of the finest in the West, which he erected opposite the famous Plaza, at a cost of over one million and a quarter of dollars.


The son of Ulysses S Grant and Julia Dent, the subject of this sketch was born in Bethel, Ohio, on July 22, 1852. Naturally, the breaking out of the Civil war, and his father's sudden leap to immortal fame, had a profound effect upon the destinies of the family. Thus it came about that young Ulysses found himself living in Washington, D. C., by the year 1868 and his preliminary schooling was completed at the Emerson Institute in that city. From there he was sent to prepare for college at the far-famed old Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and we find him entering Harvard in 1870 and graduating, in due course, four years later. Having chosen the legal profession he next entered the Law School of Columbia University, of New York city, whence he was graduated in 1876. Again the father's brilliant career had its natural effect upon that of the son, and during the years 1876 and 1877 the records show that the young lawyer filled the post of secretary to President Grant, for the second time chosen by the American people to be their chief magistrate. In the follow- ing year, 1878, it appears that a more strictly professional position appealed to the lawyer, for he became fourth assistant United States district attorney for the southern district of New York, during General Stewart L. Woodford's admin- istration as governor. For some years thereafter Mr. Grant practiced law, but finally abandoned it to enter the field of finance, in which field, especially as a real-estate operator, he has remained ever since.


On the Ist of November, 1880, Mr. Grant was united in marriage with Miss Fannie Josephine Chaffee, a daughter of Senator Jerome B. Chaffee, of Colorado. Five children came of this union. Miriam is now the wife of Lieutenant U. S. Macy, of the United States Navy, and has had two children, Fannie and Grant, only the former of whom survives. Chaffee resides in San Diego with his wife, who was Miss Ellen Wrenshall, and their little daughter, Jane. Julia Dent married Edmund C. King, of Portland, Oregon, and has one child, Fannie Chaffee. Fannie is now Mrs. I. H. Purdy, of Purdy's, New York. Ulysses S Grant, 4th, the youngest son, is a student at Harvard.


Although placed by fortune during the impressionable period of his youth and early manhood in the very heart of the nation's political activity, and thrown by circumstance into the most intimate relations with the foremost statesmen and politicians of our times, Mr. Grant has never yielded to the lure of politics nor sought its honors and offices. From the discussions and talks at which he was a privileged listener in the old Washington days-the days of national crisis and momentous reconstruction he gathered the first principles of the robust republican- ism which has been his consistent political faith. Through all the years since he cast his virgin ballot for the party of Lincoln and Grant he has supported its candidates and platforms. At two of the national conventions, namely, in 1896 and 1900, Mr. Grant sat as a delegate from California; and in those of 1904 and 1908 he appeared as an elector at large. Also, notwithstanding his long residence on the Pacific coast, he still retains his membership in that fortress of republican orthodoxy, the Union League Club of New York. In his adopted city, Mr. Grant is a member of the Cuyamaca Club and also of the Elks.


Even the briefest biographical notice of Ulysses S Grant, Jr., would be lack- ing in justice if no mention were made of the fact that his achievements and


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distinguished career have been his, not because of, but in spite of, the illustrious name he bears and his relation to one of the world's greatest men. Not merely as the son of his father, but as a strong, self-reliant, resourceful and untiring man, an American imbued with the spirit which regards each human life on its own merits, Mr. Grant has fought his way to his present position of dignity and success by the sheer force of his own will and the indefatigable energy with which he has trained his abilities toward the accomplishment of great and honor- able aims. Among his fellow-citizens he lives not in the reflected light of an immortal ancestor, but by the solid worth of a useful and distinguished life of his own making.


DAVID T. OAKS.


On the list of successful and able men who for many years have directed their efforts toward the promotion of the agricultural interests of San Diego county the name of David T. Oaks stands forth prominently by reason of the results he has accomplished and the principles and standards by which he has directed his work. Since 1905 he has transferred his interests from farming to activity in the general business life of Escondido and in this city he has gained a high place in the ranks of progressive and enterprising men. A native of California and a son of a pioneer in the state, he was born in Santa Clara county in 1858. His parents were Omar and Mary (Threadgold) Oaks, the former a native of New York and the latter of England. Both came to California in the early days, the father making the journey via the Isthmus of Panama in 1850 and the mother in 1854. Omar Oaks came west in search of gold and worked for some time in the placer mines throughout southern California, gradually accumulat- ing enough money to purchase a ranch in Santa Clara county. He there met with a gratifying degree of success and remained upon his property until his death, which occurred in 1905. He had survived his wife for many years, her death having occurred in 1890. To their union were born eleven children, nine of whom are still living: Jane C., who lives on the old homestead in Santa Clara county ; Martha A., who also resides upon the homestead; David T., of this review; Mary Z., who lives in Santa Clara county upon her father's farm; Ida L .; Emma, who married Joseph Bogarth, of Santa Clara; Ella D., who lives upon the home farm; Edith, who married William Mathewson, also of Santa Clara; and Oliver, who is a rancher in Escondido.


David T. Oaks grew up on his father's farm in Santa Clara county and acquired his education in the public schools. At an early age he had mastered the best methods of farming and was thoroughly familiar with everything con- nected with practical agriculture. He became such an able and competent farmer that when he was only sixteen years of age he was entrusted with the management of a ranch of thirty-four hundred acres, known as the San Ber- nardo grant, a tract which his father owned. He developed and improved this property along progressive lines and met with a gratifying degree of success, learning at the same time invaluable lessons in independence and resourceful- ness. He continued active in its management until 1880 and then rented his


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father's ranch in Santa Clara county, and operated this for two years while his father was in San Diego county. Later he went to Washington and purchased land near Vancouver, which he sold after two years. He returned to California, buying from his father one thousand acres of land in San Diego county. After five years 'he sold a portion of this tract but until 1905 developed and cultivated the remaining seven hundred acres. In that year he sold all of his holdings and moved to Escondido, where he has become prominent and well known in busi- ness circles. For the first three years he dealt in poultry but afterward became connected with the truck, transfer and fuel business, in which he is still engaged. He also acts as agent at Escondido for the Standard Oil Company and is a large stockholder in the Escondido Savings Bank. His home is situated on a sixteen acre tract within the city limits and is one of the most attractive dwell- ings in this part of the county.


In March, 1890, Mr. Oaks was united in marriage to Miss Sadie B. Parr, a native of Iowa, who came to California in 1889, after the death of her parents. To Mr. and Mrs. Oaks have been born three children: Elmer P., born in July, 1892, who is a graduate of the Escondido high school; Ernest L., whose birth occurred in December, 1893, and who now attends the Escondido high school; and Ethel, who died in 1903, at the age of seven years. Fraternally Mr. Oaks belongs to the Masonic order and holds membership in the Eastern Star. He is active in the affairs of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and, while he never seeks office, he is yet intelligently interested in public affairs, especially in relation to the schools of the section. He has been a member of the board of education for two years and has recently been elected for another term of three years. His public and private life have alike been above reproach and he well deserves the confidence and high regard in which he is held. His work has influenced vital and important phases of life in San Diego county and his career has from the beginning been closely connected with lasting and beneficial things.


A. R. MOON.


A. R. Moon, the oldest watchmaker in Escondido, bases his success in his work upon special efficiency in its details. Practically all of his active career has been spent at this trade and he has had the advantage also of varied experience and as a result his natural mechanical talent has been well trained so that he is regarded as an expert in his special line. A native of Indiana, Mr. Moon was born at Plainfield, February 13, 1853, a son of Asa and Nancy (Hitch) Moon, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, August 13, 1824, and the latter in Kentucky in the same year. They were married in Indiana in Decem- ber, 1847, and spent the remainder of their lives in that section. The father followed general farming and became well known in agricultural circles. He died August 26, 1889, when he was sixty-five years of age, having long sur- vived his wife, who passed away in September, 1853. To their union were born two children, the elder of whom, Sarah E., married William K. Moon, whose death occurred in 1909. His widow is now residing in Plainfield.


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A. R. Moon acquired his education in the country schools of his native sec- tion of Indiana and when he was eighteen years of age began his independent career, securing employment in a sawmill. After a short time, however, he took up the study of telegraphy and continued in this work until 1877. During this time also he engaged as a fireman on a railroad locomotive but abandoned both lines of occupation in order to learn a trade and began watchmaking in January, 1878. In 1881 he went to Iowa and later was active in his chosen trade in Ohio and Illinois, obtaining in the latter state some practically invaluable experience in the great Elgin watch factory. From Illinois he went to Nebraska and then to Missouri and Hot Springs, Arkansas, and finally to St. John, Kan- sas, where he remained for eight years. In the meantime his health failed and he was obliged to seek a more congenial climate, coming to California. In December, 1894, he arrived in San Diego, and in May of the same year estab- lished himself in the jewelry business in Escondido. By honest work and fidelity to his customers and close application to business he has built up a representa- tive patronage and has won that prosperity which his industry and ability merit, owning the place upon which his shop is located. He has become a firm believer in the future of Escondido.


Mr. Moon is well known in fraternal circles. He belongs to the Masonic lodge and has been through some of the chairs of that organization. He holds membership also in the Woodmen of the World and has filled some of the offices in that body. He gives his allegiance to the republican party but never seeks to figure prominently in political circles, preferring to concentrate his attention upon the faithful and efficient performance of the duties of his every-day life.


CAPTAIN CHARLES T. HINDE.


Captain Charles T. Hinde, for a long time closely associated with inland navigation interests on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and also a prominent figure in business circles of Kentucky and Illinois, has for the past quarter of a century made his home in San Diego, where he is today one of the foremost and influential citizens. He was the founder of the great Spreckels Brothers Com- mercial Company and is now vice president and owner of a third interest. He was born in Urbana, Ohio, July 12, 1832, and is a son of Thomas S. and Sarah D. Cavileer Hinde of Virginia. His father was a progressive and able business man and lived for many years in Mount Carmel, Illinois, a town which he founded and laid out in 1815, and in the affairs of which he took an active inter- est until his death.


Captain Charles T. Hinde acquired his early education in the Mount Carmel public schools and later attended Indiana Asbury University at Greencastle, Indiana, for one year and a half. After laying aside his books he went to Vin- cennes, Indiana, and there obtained a position as clerk in a dry-goods store. After holding this situation for one year he returned to Mount Carmel, having been called there by the death of his mother, and until 1850 he clerked in a local general merchandise store. When he left Mount Carmel for the second time


Cham Pindo


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he took a stage to St. Louis and after a few weeks pushed on to St. Paul, Min- nesota, having been forced to leave his original location on account of the ravages of cholera. In St. Paul he took charge of the territorial library for one year and spent a similar period as clerk in the Indian trading store. He became identi- fied with river navigation at the end of this time, engaging as clerk on a boat which operated between St. Louis and St. Paul, but he remained in this office only one year, resigning in order to engage with the Galena, Dubuque & St. Paul Packet Company, which later became one of the largest transportation companies in that part of the country. Mr. Hinde here made rapid advance- ment and was at length promoted to the position of captain, which he held until 1862.


In 1862 he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and took command of a steamer running from Louisville to Memphis, Tennessee. This vessel was operated on this line during the war, except when called into use by the government, until 1864. In 1864 he returned to St. Louis and became identified with the Northern Line of steamers running from St. Louis to St. Paul, serving on the steamer Davenport in his old position. He resigned that position in 1865 to organize with Halliday Brothers of Cairo, Illinois, and established a branch company in St. Louis under the name of Halliday Brothers & Company. When fully started he went to Cairo and the wharf boats of the company were turned over to him. He then secured the agency of all the steamboat lines passing through Cairo both on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries, and formed a forward- ing, commission and transfer company. He displayed great executive force and resourceful business ability in the conduct of the affairs of this great concern and most of its success was due to his influence. In 1870 on account of ill health he sold out his interest in the company and after a short rest went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became connected with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company and arranged with various grain elevators, regarding the handling of grain, and commenced shipping export grain over the continental lines. The rail- road went into a receiver's hands and the contract was cancelled when ship- ments were growing largely. At the request of C. W. Smith, vice president and general manager of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company, and under a more favorable contract he transferred all his shipments to that road using the large elevator at Newport News which had just been erected, together with the elevators in the west with which he had contracts. Later, C. W. Smith having become vice president and general manager of the Atkinson, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, E. S. Babcock, a personal friend, who was developing Coro- nado Beach, requested Captain Hinde to come to California, which he did in February, 1887.


He was appointed commercial agent and manager of the Santa Fe wharf at San Diego with the privilege of forming a commercial company for importing coal, cement and general merchandise, and shipping over the lines of the Santa Fe. He, therefore, with E. S. Babcock and J. D. Spreckels, established the Spreckels Brothers Commercial Company, of which he is still vice president and one- third owner.




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