USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 38
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Mr. Reed married, in Cowden, Illinois, Miss Lily A. Williams, and they have one son, Carroll William, fifteen years of age, who is attending the San Diego high school. Mr. Reed is well known in the Masonic order and holds membership in the Knights of Pythias. He always votes the republican ticket and is public-spirited in his citizenship, although he never seeks public office. He is an able lawyer and a progressive business man, capable of commanding and using opportunities. Through legitimate lines of expansion he is building up a growing clientele, which is indicative of his spirit of enterprise and deter- mination.
JOSEPH L. STRAWN.
Joseph L. Strawn, manager of the National City Building Company and by virtue of this position and the force of his ability one of the foremost business men of the city, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1885.
In the acquirement of an education Joseph L. Strawn attended the public schools and the Eastburn Academy in Philadelphia and later entered the Missouri
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University at Columbia, Missouri. After his graduation he spent two years in the employ of the Philadelphia Electric Company and then five years in raising thoroughbred Jersey cattle five miles from Doylestown, in the same state. He remained in his native state until December 31, 1911 when he came to National City as manager of the National City Building Company, one of the most important enterprises of its kind in this section of the county and an important influence upon business activity of the community. Mr. Strawn has also impor- tant insurance interests in this city, where he is agent for the Citizens Insurance Company and the Royal and Norwich Union Insurance Companies.
In 1902 Mr. Strawn was united in marriage to Miss Alice E. Strawn, a native of Missouri, and they have three children, Joseph L., Jr., Alice E. and J. Spencer. The family are well known in social circles of San Diego, where their many charming and genial qualities have gained them a wide acquaintance. Mr. Strawn is an enterprising and energetic business man and, being still very young, the progressive spirit which he shows and which has brought him success will no doubt make him a still more influential factor in the commercial development of San Diego county.
JESS KNIGHT.
Jess Knight has been closely associated with construction work through- out southern California, and for a number of years was at the head of the Knight & Hyde Construction Company, from which he retired, however, in 1912. A native of Provo, Utah, he was educated at the Brigham Young Academy and in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His father, Newell Knight, had crossed the plains in 1847 and was one of the pioneer settlers of Utah. It was thus that our subject was born and reared in that state. Com- pleting his education in Michigan, he entered upon the practice of law in his native city where for a short time he filled the office of city attorney. He came to California in 1896 and was the pioneer miner at Randsburg, Kern county, being one of the first men to discover gold in that district. He has devoted many years of his life to mining and has had many experiences incident to the frontier while thus engaged in the mining regions of Nevada, Utah and California. He still owns valuable mining properties in Nevada but in recent years has left their development to others. In 1906 he located in Los Angeles and the following year came to San Diego, where he engaged in road and bridge building. For five years be continued his operations at Point Loma, near San Diego, building the government road. He also built twenty miles of boulevard in Point Loma and was the builder of all the bridges on the main highway to Los Angeles. He had one contract of forty thousand dollars for bridge construction and he built the steel swinging suspension bridge near San Diego, the longest of its kind in the world, having a span of four hundred feet across the canyon. It was he who introduced the granite surfacing for road building in San Diego, constructing several miles of road of that character for the United States government. His labors have constituted an important element in the work of general improve- ment and progress and have been of far-reaching effect and benefit. To carry on
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his operations he organized the Knight & Hyde Construction Company of which he was the president until he withdrew in 1912. He and his brother, Don Knight, still own a cattle ranch near San Pedro, and his other investments are well placed, bringing him a substantial financial return.
Mr. Knight was married in 1887 to Miss Lilly Milner, a native of Utah, and they have two children, Dollie and Goodwin J. The daughter is very musical and is the composer of a number of very creditable selections. The son early displayed literary talent and when but twelve years of age wrote two stories which were published in book form, one called "The Adventures of an American Boy," while the other was entitled "Bob." At that time he was the youngest author in America.
Mr. Knight gives his political allegiance to the republican party and while in the mines he served as justice of the peace and as school trustee. His fra- ternal interests are with the Masons and the Elks. His has been an event- ful life, full of varied experiences, sometimes of an exciting and dangerous character. Although he has withdrawn from the presidency of the Knight & Hyde Construction Company, he prefers to continue active and is now engaged in organizing a number of companies and starting young men in business enter- prises, developing and improving the country. His motto and pleasure is to keep busy and thereby be happy. His duties have always been faithfully per- formed and his intelligently directed labors have brought him to a position where success is his reward. ,
JOHN B. OSBORN.
John B. Osborn needs no introduction to the people of San Diego, for he is numbered among the greatest of the many forces which helped to upbuild the city. A man of broad education, extensive knowledge and considerable wealth, he has made himself a prominent factor in the community through the quiet, yet forceful influence which he exerts in behalf of public progress, through his generous support of measures for the public good and by the, timely assistance which he renders when material aid is needed.
Mr. Osborn was born in Paris Hill, New York, February 24, 1875, and is a son of John and Mary (Miller) Osborn of that state. He received a liberal education, taking his academic course in the old Clinton grammar school at Clinton, New York, made famous by the attendance of Grover Cleveland, Elihu Root and other noted citizens of the Empire state. In recent years the building has been torn down and the stone used in the construction of Carnegie Hall at Hamilton College. After leaving the grammar school Mr. Osborn attended St. Mathew's Military School and went from there to Leland Stanford Univer- sity in California, where he spent two years, being obliged at the end of that time to curtail his studies on account of ill health. Influenced by the reputation which San Diego had acquired as a health resort, he located in this city and for the past fifteen years has given his time, energies and ability to projects which directly effect the material, political and moral growth of the community. During one of the most trying periods in the city's history, when the question of water
JohnB Osborn
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supply was under discussion and consideration, Mr. Osborn was president of the city council and was in a large measure responsible for the amicable solving of the problem and for the installation of a water system second to none in the United States. The San Diego water comes from high places in the mountains and before passing into the city's reservoir is filtered through a modern filtra- tion plant. The system of mechanical filtration in use insures the removal of ninety-seven per cent of the bacteria and all microscopic organisms, all odor, color and offensive matter being held in suspension. It is one of the most modern purification systems known to science and by its use clear, sparkling and trans- parent water is always assured, for the filter automatically cleans itself every twenty-four hours.
In 1898 Mr. Osborn was united in marriage to Miss Kathryn Ware, and they have one daughter, Katharine Mary. Mrs. Osborn is a daughter of K. J. and Mary (Gillis) Ware. Mr. Osborn takes a deep interest in the development of fraternal organizations, in San Diego and is one of the leading men in fraternal circles. His affiliations while not extensive, are representative. He is a thirty- second degree Mason, a Knight Templar, and is past master of San Diego Lodge No. 35, F. & A. M. At the present writing he is inspector for the sixty-fifth Masonic district, comprising San Diego county. He is also a Past Exalted Ruler of San Diego Lodge No. 168, B. P. O. E., and a member of Sunset Lodge, I. O. O. F. He belongs to the Cuyamaca Club and to St. Paul's Episcopal church, indicating something of the nature of his interests and the principles which govern his life. His service in public connections has been beneficial. His work along lines of development in San Diego, his broad views and progres- sive public spirit make him a leader in all work of civic advancement or reform. San Diego is proud to number him among her citizens and he in turn is proud of the achievements of the city with which he has allied his interests for so many years.
E. C. RUBENDALL.
E. C. Rubendall, prominent in the concrete and cement contracting busi- ness in San Diego, was born in Ogle county, Illinois, November 16, 1875. He was reared and educated in his native section and when he laid aside his books learned telegraphy but soon abandoned it in favor of the concrete and cement business, which he has followed in various parts of the country since that time. He spent three years in Illinois, where he aided in the construction of a large reservoir and tank and thus got his first start in his chosen work. For some time he had important business interests in Oklahoma and went from that state to Spokane, Washington, and thence to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he remained until he came to San Diego in 1910. In two years he has built up in this city a patronage which has already attained enviable proportions. He did some excellent work in the South Park district, where he laid many of the cement walks and also many miles of cement curbing. He worked also along similar lines in the Pearl Heights subdivision and has been extensively identified with the work of city expansion. His success has not come as the result of
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chance but by reason of his hard and persevering work along lines of progress and advancement. He is a self-made man for his prosperity has been attained entirely by his own efforts and has placed him among the representative busi- ness men of San Diego.
EUGENE E. CAPPS.
Eugene E. Capps is recognized as one of the able members of the San Diego bar and also as a man of notable public spirit which has carried him into important relations with democratic politics in California. San Diego recog- nizes in him one of the most able and forceful factors in the public life of the city, his efforts in its behalf having been of far-reaching importance. For twenty-six years he has made his home here and few residents of San Diego are as widely known.
Kentucky numbers Mr. Capps among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Richmond on February 10, 1864, his parents being Thomas J. and Caroline Cynthia Capps. His early education was acquired in the public schools of Kentucky and Illinois and later he attended the high school of Denver, Colorado, from which he was graduated in 1882, the family home having in the mean- time been established in that city. He afterward read law in his father's office in Denver until 1884, when he left Colorado for the coast, traveling on horse- back to Los Angeles, where he arrived after a journey that covered eighty-four days. He remained in that city for only four months, after which he and his father went on horseback to Shasta county, whence they removed a year later to San Diego. They were associated in the general practice of law until the death of the father in 1902, since which time Eugene E. Capps has practiced alone. The firm had secured a large clientage as the result of their ability in handling involved legal problems. Eugene E. Capps has ever been most careful in the preparation of his cases, while his presentation of his cause has ever been clear, forceful and logical. He is well versed in the various branches of his profession and has continued in general practice, gaining a clientele that has connected him with much of the important litigation before the courts of the district.
During the twenty-six years of his residence in San Diego, Eugene E. Capps has also become one of the important forces in public affairs, and his influence has gradually extended until he is well known in political circles throughout the state. He was a delegate from California to the democratic national convention of 1908, and was made a member of its committee on rules and order. His opinions carry weight in state and local councils of the party and he has done not a little toward guiding its policy. From May, 1909, until May, 1910, Mr. Capps served as chairman of the ways, means and salaries committee of the San Diego city board of education and at a later date was elected president of the board, in which capacity he served until May, 1912. His election to the board continues him as one of its members until May, 1915.
On the Ist of January, 1900, Mr. Capps was married in San Diego to Miss Mary J. Hudson and they have three children, Florence N., Arthur M. and Catherine E. The parents are members of the Baptist church and Mr. Capps
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belongs also to the Masonic and Knights of Pythias fraternities, the Loyal Legion, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Sons of Veterans. Along strictly professional lines he holds membership in the San Diego and the State Bar Asso- ciations. In his public relations he gives to the people of California the serv- ices of an expert, thoroughly efficient and unquestionably honest man, whose political work is emphasized and made broadly effective by his loyalty and abil- ity. A spirit of enterprise and progress actuates him in all that he does, whether in behalf of his clients or in support of measures of public welfare. His labors, based upon intelligent understanding of the questions at issue, have been wisely directed in the line of the greatest good to the greatest number.
HON. J. H. McCULLOCH.
No man has achieved more prominence in the general, business, public and religious life of Chula Vista than has Judge J. H. McCulloch, who owns one of the most profitable and productive fruit ranches in the city and by his success in its conduct has become important in establishing standards and promoting progressive methods of operation. His activities, however, have a much wider scope than this for they have been closely connected with the development of Chula Vista along all lines and are therefore factors in general expansion and progress. Judge McCulloch was born in Peoria, Illinois, December 31, 1853, and remained in that city until he was ten years of age. At that time his family moved to Monmouth, Illinois, and there he attended the public schools and sup- plemented the usual course of studies by a course in Monmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1876. For five years afterward he taught school and at the same time studied law and was admitted to the bar of Illinois in 1881, and in the same year he moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he established him- self in practice. He was rapidly successful and as a natural result of his promi- nence became identified with public life along lines of his profession. In 1884 he was elected county judge in Nebraska and served with ability and distinction until 1888. He was also active in the promotion of his private practice and as a member of the law firm of Thurston, Hall & McCulloch soon achieved an impor- tant place in legal circles. This firm afterward became Hall & McCulloch.
Judge McCulloch settled in Chula Vista in 1907 and bought a lemon ranch of five acres, to which he has steadily added since that time, having now twenty- six acres of lemon trees, sixteen acres of which are bearing fruit. Modern machin- ery and equipment is found upon the place and the property is developed and improved along the most systematic and practical lines. Judge McCulloch also owns fifteen acres planted in deciduous fruit at Banning, Riverside county.
Necessarily a man of Judge McCulloch's ability and force of character has become connected with the enterprises in Chula Vista which are the most impor- tant factors in its public life, for his tendencies, interests and identifications are all of the progressive and expanding kind. His public spirit has drawn him into close relations with civic affairs and as president of the Chula Vista Improvement Club he has promoted many movements for the general welfare. He was instru- mental in securing for the city gas and electricity and was one of the most able
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workers in the incorporation of the town in October, 1911. When the Chula Vista Lemon Growers Association was first discussed Judge McCulloch was a forceful advocate of the movement and was one of the first directors of the organization. His work along this line has been interesting and important for it has affected the development of a representative industry of southern Cali- fornia.
In 1876 Judge McCulloch was united in marriage to Miss Josie M. McCague, a native of Iowa, and they have two sons: James H., Jr., twenty-four years of age, who is a graduate of Monmouth College and of the Harvard Law School; and William L., twenty-one years old, a junior in Monmouth College. Judge McCulloch is a devout adherent of the United Presbyterian church and is also interested in the affairs of the Congregational church at Chula Vista. His religion is a vital force in his life, leavening and inspiring his daily activities, and its influence has made a forceful character kindly, upright and genial. Judge ' McCulloch has many friends in Chula Vista, who honor him for the work he has done in the general interests and who respect the worthy and high-minded principles for which he stands.
LOUIS BURGOYNE MATHEWS.
For twenty-five years Louis Burgoyne Mathews has lived in San Diego and is today numbered among the most able and progressive business men of the city, as well as one of its most loyal and public-spirited citizens. He is a forceful and enterprising man, with varied interests, and naturally in the course of years his ability has carried him forward into important business, social and fraternal relations. Indeed, there is scarcely a phase of life in San Diego in which he is not active and prominent and in which his progressive work has not made him a power and a vital force. A native of England, Mr. Mathews was born in Bayswater, West, London, England, August 28, 1870, a son of Charles James and Myra Ann (Sears) Mathews. The father was a native of England and fol- lowed the contracting trade in that country for some time but later came to America and located in Illinois. He was a prominent and active member of Illinois Central Lodge, No. 178, A. F. & A. M.
In the acquirement of an education Louis B. Mathews attended private col- lege in London and about 1887 crossed the Atlantic to America, coming imme- diately to San Diego. He was at this time only seventeen years of age-a mere boy with his way to make in the world, but possessing in his reliable and upright character the foundation for quick success. At first he secured employment in a hardware store and through successive stages of progress and advancement worked his way upward from a humble position to a place of importance. He soon became recognized in business circles of San Diego as a straightforward, dependable and resourceful business man and he was, therefore, offered many positions of trust. For some time he was cashier of the San Diego Water Com- pany and later was made clerk of the city water department, being appointed to this position after the city acquired control of the water system from the for- mer owners. In 1906 he was made secretary of the San Diego Flume Company.
Lown . Mathews
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On June 1, 1910, this company sold its interests in the water system to the present owners, James A. Murray and Ed Fletcher, and now operate the concern under the name of the Cuyamaca Water Company. Mr. Mathews retained his position as secretary under the new management and has become a force in the develop- ment of the enterprise. The men who are associated with him in any way are eager in their praise of him, for they recognize in him a man of sterling integrity, sound principles and sincerity of purpose. The affairs of the many important positions which he has held have been administered carefully, capably and con- scientiously, for he has never been known to shirk any of the duties entrusted to him. . San Diego is fortunate in numbering him among her citizens, for his work has been important in the development which has taken place during the last quarter of a century, and his principles have done much to raise the average standard of business integrity.
In May, 1896, Mr. Mathews married, in San Diego, Miss Stella Genevieve Schmedes, of Osage, Iowa, and they became the parents of three children: Louis Sidney, who was born April 22, 1897, and who is now attending high school; Claude Gilbert, who was born January II, 1906, and who died on Feb- ruary roth of the same year ; and Elsie Emily, whose birth occurred September 20, 1910, and who died November 14, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews are devout adherents of the Congregational church and are also well known socially in the city. Mr. Mathews belongs to the San Diego Rowing Club, the San Diego Cricket Club, the Floral Association and the Men's Club of the First Congrega- tional church, and he has also important fraternal affiliations. He is a member of San Diego Lodge, No. 168, B. P. O. E .; Red Star Lodge, No. 153, K. P .; Miramar Camp, No. 54, W. O. W .; and San Diego Council, No. 1214, Royal Arcanum .. On all national questions he votes the republican ticket, believing the principles for which that party stands to be the best for the general interests of the country. In local affairs, however, he votes according to his personal convictions and judgment without regard to party lines. Although he has been for twenty-five years closely connected with the business development of San Diego in a way which could not fail to make him one of the prominent men of the city, yet he is essentially quiet and unostentatious, never desirous of political preferment or for personal distinction in a public way. Yet his labors have had a deep effect upon general development, for he has adhered to high stand- ards and worked along worthy lines and has given an enthusiastic and able sup- port to any movement which would in any way benefit the material, political or moral advancement of San Diego.
GEORGE H. ROGERS.
Through the years of an active and progressive business career George H. Rogers has won success and prominence and in the evening of his days honorable retirement. In every relation of his life he has commanded the respect and enjoyed the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, his life measuring up to the full standard of worthy manhood in all things. His wife is an attractive,
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charming and cultured woman and today Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are numbered among the most highly respected and honored people in San Diego.
George H. Rogers was born in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1838 and is a son of Aaron and Elizabeth N. Rogers. In the acquirement of an education he attended the public schools of his native section and subsequently took up the study of chemistry and pharmacy. He became an expert in this line and worked as a pharmacist for twenty-five years in Waltham, Massachusetts, serving in the navy from 1861 to 1864 as a druggist and doing much loyal and able work in his country's cause. Since coming to San Diego he has become well known in busi- ness and social circles of the city. His comfortable competence, acquired by hon- orable labor in the past, enables him to enjoy all the comforts of life and a well earned rest. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and thus keeps in touch with his comrades of fifty years ago.
Mr. Rogers has been twice married. His first union was with Miss Grace I .. Gibson, whom he married in Boston in 1864. They became the parents of two children, H. C. and Katherine. In 1909 Mr. Rogers married Mrs. George N. Hitchcock of San Diego, who was born in Boston in 1844, a daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Monroe. Her father was well known in business circles of Boston as a successful broker and in politics he gave loyal support to the republican party. Mrs. Rogers acquired a thorough education in the schools of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. She is a gracious, charming and hospitable woman, well known in San Diego, where she has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of her acquaintances.
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