USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 21
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In 1902 Mr. Lawler was united in marriage to Miss Marion Lawler and unto them have been born a son, Eugene, now nine years of age. Mr. Lawler is not actively connected in political, social or fraternal organizations, preferring to concentrate his energies upon the business which is claiming his attention and which under his capable supervision and direction has gained gratifying propor- tions. He quickly discriminates between the essential and non-essential, discard- ing the latter and utilizing the former, with the result that he never stops short of success, nor does he regard any position as final for each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities which he eagerly utilizes and improves.
HENRY LORD GAY.
Henry Lord Gay is a prominent architect now residing in San Diego. He has given evidences of his superior skill in various sections of America, and is not unknown to the profession abroad, having taken the second place in an inter- national competition for the King Victor Emanuel monument at Rome, Italy. He is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and entered upon active preparation for his professional career by devoting four years to the study of architecture in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1863 he went to Chicago where he was employed as a draftsman for five years, and he then became a practicing architect in that city. Holding to high ideals and seeking ever the advancement of the profes- sion, he initiated and promoted the organization of the Western Association of Architects at Chicago, which body was later merged into the American Institute of Architects. He has been prominent in both organizations and is today one of
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the warm adherents of the higher practice of his profession in the United States. In 1883 he established in Chicago the Permanent Exhibit of Building Materials, and when in successful operation he presented it to the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects. For eight years he was the publisher and editor of a monthly architectural paper in Chicago. He was about twenty-four years of age when, in 1868, he designed and superintended the construction of the first auditorium church in this country. This church is still standing at the corner of Ann and Washington streets in Chicago. Studying the business from every possible phase and standpoint, and seeking ever advancement and improve- ment for the individual and for the guild at large, he was instrumental in creat- ing the Builders and Traders Association of Chicago. He erected many im- portant buildings in that city during a practice of over thirty years. He also designed many of the beautiful mansions which adorn the shores of Lake Geneva and while in Europe in 1881-2 sojourning in Rome, Italy, he created a design for the King Victor Emanuel Memorial, receiving from the Italian government, in recognition thereof, a medal and a diploma. He was the first and only American architect that has been awarded such an honor. He entered into the international competition and stood second in selection in two hundred and ninety-three com- petitors.
Mr. Gay came to San Diego in 1906 and has carried out the designing and construction of some of its substantial buildings, including the Western Metal Supply Company's building and others of like character. He is a firm believer in a great future for San Diego, and anticipates that not only this city will hold a position of immense commercial importance, but also with its increasing wealth, will some day become one of the most beautiful and artistic cities of the world, owing to its beautiful. environments, its climate, and its geographical location.
WILLIAM M. RUMSEY.
William M. Rumsey, city engineer of San Diego and one of the most able men in his profession in the city, was born at State Center, Iowa, December 21, 1869, and is a son of Theodore B. and Mary E. Rumsey, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Massachusetts. After completing his education in the public schools of Iowa he farmed until he was nineteen years of age and afterward learned the building trade, which he followed until he was twenty-two. He then began the study of engineering and is entirely self-educated in his profession. When he had mastered its details he served for five years as assistant in an engineer's office and then was for eight months in the land reclamation service, during which time he became connected with important irrigation projects and did some preliminary work on the canals connected with the Yuma project. He worked in a private capacity for a number of years and built up a patronage of gratifying proportions. All over San Diego county his reputation as a careful, systematic and scientific worker spread and he became known as one of the most efficient civil engineers in the district. On January 1, 1912, his ability was re- warded by his appointment to the position of city engineer and in this broader field his work has been still more valuable and important.
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In San Diego, July 9, 1902, Mr. Rumsey married Miss Sadie I. Walker, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah Walker, of La Mosa, California. They have three children, Mary W., William J. and Sarah E. Mr. Rumsey gives a gen- eral allegiance to the democratic party but never allows political lines to influence his convictions. He is an active member of San Diego Lodge, No. 28, Knights of Pythias. Through well directed activity and enterprise he has worked his way upward to a gratifying degree of prosperity. Moreover, he has borne his full share in the general development and improvement, for his work has been of the progressive and constructive kind which has benefited the condition of the land in this section of the state and consequently promoted its fertility and productiveness.
MATHIAS F. HELLER.
Since 1889 Mathias F. Heller has been engaged in the grocery and bakery business in San Diego and each year of his activity has increased his pros- perity and added to his prominence. His business has expanded along sys- tematic and progressive lines from a comparatively small undertaking to one of the largest grocery enterprises in San Diego and with it Mr. Heller has extended his interests to include the conduct of a modern bakery and deli- catessen store. He was born in Fulton, Missouri, September 16, 1859, and is a son of Mathias and Anna (Brown) Heller.
Mr. Heller of this review is truly a self-made man for he left the public schools of Sedalia, Missouri, at the age of thirteen and since that time has been dependent upon his own resources. He began his business career as a bundle carrier in a dry-goods store and gradually worked his way up to the position of general manager. This in itself is conclusive proof of the prac- tical business ability which has influenced the activities of his entire career and brought him prominence and prosperity. In 1889 he resigned his position and came to San Diego, accepting employment under his father-in-law, J. G. Beck, a retail grocer, as clerk. Again his ability, industry and keen judg- ment carried him forward to success. In 1892 he was able to buy out his employer and for some time carried on the business in the original location, at Tenth and F streets. Afterward he moved to the corner of Eleventh and F streets and there remained until 1895, when he established his business at Eighth and F streets, whence, in 1899, he removed to Sixth and E streets. The rapid expansion of his enterprise soon made larger quarters necessary and accordingly, in 1905, he made an arrangement with Mr. S. T. Fox whereby together they erected the fine two-story Fox-Heller building at the corner of Fifth and E streets, one-half of which Mr. Heller occupies and Mr. Fox, the other. He moved into this store in 1905 and has there built up a flourishing and constantly increasing patronage. His customers know that they can rely upon the quality of goods furnished by Mr. Heller and upon his upright and straightforward business methods and consequently his business has expanded rapidly into one of the largest of its kind in the city. Mr. Heller is a man of progressive tendencies and is alive to the value of business innovations. He
MATHIAS F. HELLER
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recently installed a fine new soda fountain in his grocery, which has already materially added to his income, and he has erected a modern bakery at Eighteenth and E streets, which gives employment to seven people, and has added a fine line of delicatessen goods. Everything about his store is in excel- lent condition, sanitary rules are strictly observed and the stock kept taste- fully arranged. Mr. Heller recognizes the importance of detail and neglects nothing which will benefit his customers or add to the attractive appearance of his place. He is largely the owner of two other enterprises, The Modern Basket Grocery Company and the Eighteenth and E Street Grocery.
In Sedalia, Missouri, on November 24, 1884, Mr. Heller married Miss Lulu A. Beck, a daughter of Dr. John G. and Henrietta (Schinke) Beck. Dr. Beck was one of San Diego's pioneer physicians and highly honored citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Heller have four children: Lenora, now Mrs. James D. Forward, of San Diego; Milton F., who is eighteen years of age, a graduate of the San Diego high school, and is employed in his father's store; Hattie Marie, who is attending the Bishop school; and Elwyn M., who is a student in the San Diego public schools. The family are devout adherents of the Congregational church.
Mr. Heller gives his allegiance to the republican party and is actively interested in the affairs of the city although he never seeks public office. The important position he occupies in the mercantile life of the city is indicated by the high office he holds as president of the Merchants Association, while he is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Golden Hill Improvement Club and as such vitally interested in the upbuilding and beautifying of the city and as director of the San Diego Savings Bank has gained an important place in financial circles. He is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and belongs to the Royal Arcanum.
The business man of today whatever may be his special line of activity must not be content with a narrow knowledge; he must study general busi- ness conditions and the effect which they have upon trade relations and must make practical application of the results of his observation. Mr. Heller owes his success to the fact that he grasps the modern business idea and has steadily adhered to it during his twenty-three years of activity in San Diego. His methods are always progressive and new and his standards are based on broad principles of honor and fair dealing and they have brought him a pros- perity which places him among the successful merchants of the city.
PERLE M. JOHNSON.
Perle M. Johnson, senior partner in the undertaking firm of Johnson, Con- nell & Saum and one of the active, enterprising and successful business men of San Diego, was born in Pacheco, California, February 8, 1864, and is a son of Sampson W. and Ann Eliza Johnson. His early education was received in the public schools, which he attended until he was sixteen years of age, and this was supplemented by two years in St. Mary's College. When he laid aside his books he returned to Contra Costa county and there drove stage for two years Vol. II-11
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before he went to Colusa, where he worked in a general merchandise store. From Colusa he went to Martinez and until 1886 served with ability and efficiency as deputy county recorder. In the latter year he came to San Diego and for one year conducted a large livery business, which he sold out and in partnership with Mr. Connell established the undertaking firm of Johnson & Connell. This business was conducted under its original name until January, 1912, when Mr. Saum was admitted to partnership and the title was changed to Johnson, Con- nell & Saum. Mr. Johnson has been identified with the management of this enterprise since its organization and his high standards of integrity have influ- enced its policy and have been factors in its establishment among the representa- tive business houses of the city.
Mr. Johnson married, in San Diego, in February, 1887, Miss Martha Pyle, and they are among the most prominent and well known residents of the city. His fraternal connections include membership in the Masonic order, the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Native Sons. He is a devout adherent of the Episcopal church. Politically Mr. Johnson is a republican but has never desired public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs, which are capably conducted, so that he is justly classed with the progressive and able men of San Diego.
SAM FERRY SMITH.
Sam Ferry Smith, long recognized as one of the strong and able members of the San Diego bar, is accorded a large and distinctively representative clientage that connects him with much important litigation tried in the courts of this dis- trict. It is a well known fact that advancement at the bar' is slow and that progress is gained only through individual effort and merit. Assiduously culti- vating the talents with which nature endowed him, reading and studying along constantly broadening lines, Sam Ferry Smith has reached an enviable position as a member of the bar and his success is gratifying. At a recent date, however, he has retired from general law practice to concentrate his energies upon the real-estate branch of the profession and is meeting with equal success in this field. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in the city of Pittsburg, June 8, 1863, his parents being John Quincy Adams and Anna (Ferry) Smith. During his youth his parents lived in various cities, so that his education was pursued consecutively in the schools of Pittsburg, Colorado Springs, Denver and San Francisco. By those steps the family eventually came to the coast and, having supplemented his more specifically literary course by the study of law, Sam F. Smith was admitted to the bar in 1889 and opened an office in San Diego, where he entered into partnership relations whereby the firm of Aitken & Smith was formed. This existed until 1896, after which Mr. Smith practiced alone until 1900. He afterward became a member of the firm of Collier & Smith, prac- ticing in that connection until 1909, when the rapid rise in land values in this district decided him to specialize in real-estate law and he is one of the fore- most authorities on any points of issue arising from this source.
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In 1885 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Hammond, who has since passed away, and in 1905 he wedded Miss Helen Frost. He is well known in club circles, being a member of the Cuyamaca Club of San Diego, while the Jonathan Club of Los Angeles also numbers him among its representatives. He has attained high rank in the Masonic order, being a Scottish Rite Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He takes a commendable and active interest in education and from 1898 until 1904 served on the school board, while from 1907 until 1910 he was president of the board of library trustees. He is inter- ested in everything that pertains to the welfare and progress of the city and his influence and efforts have ever been on the side of general advancement and improvement, constituting resultant factors in the attainment of desired ends.
A. J. ELLIOTT, M. D.
While the art and science of medicine is one of the oldest professions, enjoy- ing great prestige from time immemorial, it is assuredly one of the noblest of occupations in its endeavor to help suffering humanity and allay illness and dis- ease. Undoubtedly it has become the most important in its relationship to our existence. The practice of surgery had already been born in the minds of such men as Vesalius in the middle ages but it has made decided progress only the last few decades and today, aided by discoveries and improvement of methods, it is a means of saving hundreds, even thousands of lives daily. Prominent among surgeons of San Diego who have brought about remarkable recoveries by timely operation is Dr. A. J. Elliott, who for eight years has practiced his profession in this city and whose work has found approval among his fellow practitioners and recognition by the general public. Inspired by the noble thought to aid where aid is needed most and always ready to help, Dr. Elliott brings an enthusiasm to his tasks which makes him successful in his difficult work, and he has become more than a doctor to his many patients-he has become their best friend.
Dr. A. J. Elliott is a native of New England, born in Boston, Massachusetts, December 13, 1872. His fundamental education upon which he later built the superstructure of higher professional learning was acquired in St. Francis Col- lege, of Canada. He attended the University of Michigan, from which he obtained his degree of M.D., and after graduation remained in that institution as instructor, not only giving out of his store of learning to the students but himself. widening his experience and gaining proficiency. Casting about for a suitable location he selected California as a likely place and about 1902 went to San Francisco where he engaged for two years in practice. On the expiration of that time he came to San Diego where he has now been located for eight years, during which time he has built up a large and gratifying practice, special- izing during the later years in the branch of surgery. He is careful in his diag- nosis and whenever he has recognized the needs of a case decides quickly upon the method of precedure. He is steady of hand, is cool-headed and warm-hearted and these qualities have brought him success and have made his patients his friends. Dr. Elliott is thoroughly absorbed in his profession, to which he devotes all of his time. He is a deep student and a keen observer and keeps in touch
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with all of the latest discoveries made in the world of medical science. He meets the brethren of the profession through the medium of the American Med- ical Association and is also a member of the state and county medical societies. Although his activities have brought him prosperity and financial independence his work has been of even greater importance to the people of the city in which he makes his home than to himself, to hundreds of whom he has given back health and happiness.
HENRY PARKER NEWMAN, A. M., M. D.
Prominently known to the profession throughout the country, and with acquaintance among its distinguished representatives in foreign lands, Dr. Henry Parker Newman is acccounted one of the most able and honored physicians and surgeons upon the Pacific coast. A native of New England and a descendant of the Everett and Fairbanks families, so prominent in anti-slavery days, he obtained his early education in the grammar schools of his native state, in the New Lon- don Institute, and in Dartmouth College, which institution honored him in later years with the degree of Master of Arts for distinguished services to his profes- sion. After two years' study in eastern medical schools (including Dartmouth College) he removed to Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from the Detroit Col- lege of Medicine in 1878. While a senior student, he held the position of house physician at St. Luke's Hospital.
The two years following his graduation were spent in post-graduate study in the leading universities of Germany. He was fortunate in receiving instruction from some of the most celebrated scientists and clinicians of the day and enjoyed special privileges in the private laboratory of Professor Cohnheim, of Leipzig, through the friendly courtesy of that eminent pathologist and teacher. During his stay abroad Dr. Newman visited the more noted hospitals and universities of Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain.
He returned to this country in 1880 and located in Chicago. In the same year he took up active work at the South Side dispensary, under the medical depart- ment of the Northwestern University.
The following year he helped organize the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, now the medical department of the University of Illinois. In this institu- tion he taught diseases of children, obstetrics and gynaecology, and succeeded to the chair of the dean, Dr. A. Reeves Jackson, on his decease sharing it with Dr. Henry T. Byford. He continued as professor of gynaecology and clinical gynaecology for many years, and on his removal to California was made emeritus professor of these branches. He was, during the same years, a director and the treasurer of the college.
In post-graduate work he was a pioneer in Chicago, being a founder, director, and the first president of the Post-Graduate School, and professor of gynaecology until he was called to the same chair in the Chicago Policlinic, succeeding the late Dr. James H. Etheridge. This institution also honored him with an emeritus professorship in gynaecology. He was president of the Laboratory of Experi- mental Research while this was a department of the Chicago Post-Graduate Med- ical School.
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His activities in medical society work brought him early into prominence, and he held many offices of trust and responsibility in the best known organiza- tions. He was for many years secretary of the Chicago Gynaecological Society (one of the earliest of the exclusive societies of specialists), and afterward its president. In the American Medical Association, Dr. Newman distinguished himself by long and noteworthy service. Besides contributing many papers and taking part in the scientific work of the sections on gynaecology, obstetrics and surgery, and acting as chairman and executive officer of the former section, he was for ten years treasurer of the American Medical Association and to his unre- mitting efforts, much of the later development and efficiency of this organization is due. During the years of his incumbency, it devolved upon the treasurer not only to receive and safeguard the funds of the association, but to supervise the registration of members in attendance upon the annual meetings. Dr. Newman was always at his post in the various cities of meeting throughout the states until 1905, when he declined further election to this office.
He revisited medical Europe in 1890, as a delegate to the Tenth International Medical Congress, in Berlin; again in 1898; and also in 1899, on the occasion of the nieeting of the Congres Periodique de Gynecologie et d'Obstetrique, of which society he is a founder and a life member. He was secretary of the depart- ment of abdominal surgery and gynaecology in the Pan-American Congress at Havana, Cuba, in 1901; at Panama (Canal Zone), in 1904; and at Guatemala City, Guatemala, in 1908.
Dr. Newman's early associations and training gave him a particular aptitude for clinical and hospital work and he has always been connected with institutions of note in his own city and, as consultant, with the staff of various outside insti- tutions. In 1894, he established the Marion-Siins Hospital, of which he was president and surgeon-in-charge during its nearly fifteen years of unprecedented success as a private institution for the care of surgical and gynaecological cases. This admirable organization, including the Marion-Sims Training School for Nurses, was incorporated with the Henrotin Memorial Hospital, Chicago, on Dr. Newman's removal to California. He is a fellow of the Western Surgical and Gynaecological Society, and the American Gynaecological Society and is a member of the American Medical Association, The American Academy of Medi- cine, a life member of the Chicago Medical Society, and of the Illinois State Med- ical Society. He is also a member of the California State Medical Society, the Southern California Medical Society and the San Diego Medical Society. .
Dr. Newman came to San Diego in 1907, and in addition to a large private practice, is now attending surgeon at Agnew Hospital and Sanitarium of this city. He is medical referee and examiner for the Berkshire Life Insurance Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and medical examiner for the Mutual Life Insur- ance Company of New York, the Pennsylvania Mutual Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia, and the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of Springfield, Massachusetts.
At the Clinical Congress of Surgeons of North America organized in 1910. Dr. Newman was appointed by the organization in Philadelphia, 1911, represent- ing member for the Pacific coast and chairman of nominating and organization committees.
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Besides collaborating with others in the authorship of popular text-books of the day, an extensive list of papers and brochures are among Dr. Newman's contributions to medical literature. His activities along professional lines have constituted a valuable contribution to the world's work in the field of medical and surgical practice, and the profession and the public accord him the high honor which is his due.
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