San Diego County, California
Biographies
JUDGE M. A. LUCE.
One of the best-known and most prominent men in every movement to advance
the best interests of San Diego, is Judge M. A. Luce. He comes of good New
England stock, and is of a right possessed of those attributes which are
strongly characteristic of the better type of the American
character,—energy, ability, and probity. His father is a native of Maine, is
a preacher in the Baptist Church, and now, at the age of seventy-eight
years, is living in POway Valley, a hale and hearts' old man. His mother was
born in New Hampshire.
The subject of this brief sketch first saw the light in Quincy, Illinois, in the year 1842. He lived with his parents in Central Illinois until he was fourteen years of age, when he left home to prepare for college at Hillsdale, Mich. Here he spent a part of each year in advancing his own education, and the residue of the time in educating others, that is, in teaching school. Thus passed nearly four years of his boyhood. Then came that eventful April day in 186 r when the call " to arms" resounded through the land. The response that came forth from the loyal North was something unparalleled in the history of mankind. -The ink was scarcely dry with which the President's proclamation for volunteers was written when the tramp of battalions was heard throughout the land. From no section of the North.. was the patriotic response more immediate and hearty than from the great States of the West. Foremost among them was the commonwealth of Michigan. Young Luce, brimming over with loyalty, dropped his school books, and enlisted in the Fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. During the war he took part in the following engagements: Bull Run, New Bridge, Hanover, Court House, Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Savage Station, Turkey Bend, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, U. S. F; rd, Chancellorsville, Kelly's Ford, Ashby Gap, Brandy Station, Middleburg, Gettysburg, Williamsport, Wapping Heights, Culpeper, Bristol Station, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Tolopotomy Creek, Jericho Mills, Bethseda Church, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. He was wounded slightly at Spottsylvania, while with the forlorn hope in the assault of May 12.
At the close of the war Luce, now a bronzed young veteran, after paying a brief visit to his parents, returned to Hillsdale and resumed his collegiate studies, which had been so rudely interrupted four years before. He graduated in 1866, and having decided to devote himself to the legal profession, attended the Law University at Albany, where he graduated a year later. With his diploma in his pocket he returned to his native State, and began practice in Bushnell, of which he was the first City Attorney. He was afterward Attorney of the First National Bank of Bushnell and local Attorney of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy R. R. Co. , and in 1872 was the candidate of his party for the State Senate. In 1873 the first of Southern California's booms began to be heard of. In these days it would be called a very small boom, a kind of a " Northern Citrus Belt" affair; but then it made quite a stir, not only on the Pacific Coast but was felt all over the East. That was the time when Col. Tom Scott was building his Texas Pacific (on paper) across the continent, to have its terminus on the shores of San Diego Bay. One result of this agitation was to direct attention to the harbor, which had lain neglected and unthought of since the day the great empire of California became a part of the Republic. Tidings of the promising future of this Pacific Coast city came to Luce in his Illinois home, and as at that time his health was apparently failing, he decided to emigrate. He arrived in San Diego in May, 1873, and immediately opened a law office, and engaged in the practice of his profession. In the fall of 1875 he was elected Judge of the county court, and held the office until the new constitution went into effect and terminated the jurisdiction of that court in 1880. Judge Luce took an active part in the movement to bring the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road to San Diego, and was a member of, and acted as counsel for, the Citizens' Committee. In the fill of 188o the California Southern Railroad Co. was organized and he was elected Vice-President. He was also appointed Attorney of the road and has continued so up to the present time. He is still a member of the Board of Directors. Judge Luce's law practice has been very large, he having acted as Attorney for a majority of the heaviest local corporations, while the Pacific Steamship Co. and other important organizations have entrusted their legal business to his care. Judge Luce is now preparing to retire from the active practice of his profession, his private business interests having become so numerous and important as to require his entire time and attention. Ever since the day of his arrival in San Diego Judge Luce has had an abiding faith in the future of the city. Firm in his convictions on that point lie has from the first, as opportunity offered, invested in real estate, and he is now one of the heaviest holders of real property. Unlike some other men of like business instincts the aggregation of property has not served to lessen his interest in the growth of the city, but he is to-day as keenly alive to everything that tends to develop and enlarge its importance as he was ten years ago. He has been identified with every public improvement, and is willing at all times to give freely of his means towards the material advancement of San Diego. He has been interested in the mining development. of the county, and is a principal shareholder in the Shenandoah mine at Mesa Grande, in this county. He is of the opinion that the future wealth and importance of San Diego will be largely due to the development of its mines. In the past profitable operations have been retarded by the crude machinery employed in working the ore and insufficient means of transportation. With the completion of a railroad to the mining center, and the introduction of new and approved machinery, all this will be changed, however.
Judge Luce is one of the executors of the trust of the late James M. Pierce, donating $150,000 to the establishment of the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society. He has been President of the Unitarian Church Society ever since its organization. In December, 187o, he was married, at Bushnell, to Miss Adelaide Mantania, of Avon, Illinois, who was at the time Assistant Principal of the public schools at Bushnell, Illinois. Uniting personal attractions and all the female accomplishments to a richly stored mind, Mrs. Luce has proven a worthy helpmate to her husband in the battle of life. Six children have blessed their union, of which four, two boys and two girls, are living; two have died, and are buried in the cemetery here.
Judge Luce is six feet in height,
slight figure, and a face that has more the look of a student than a
professional man, or one immersed in business. He has a strong taste for
literature, and possesses a well-appointed library. Now that lie is getting
rid of some of his professional cares he will probably find solace from the
demands of business in the society of his books.
GEORGE A. COWLES.
George A Cowles, who died last fall at the Florence Hotel, in this city, was
one of the thorough13, representative men of San Diego County. Mr. Cowles
was born in Hartford, Connecticut, April 5, 1836. His early clays were spent
upon a farm near Hartford. His father was engaged in manufacturing, and was
the first man to make broadcloth in this country. 'When he was fourteen
years old he entered the dry goods store of B. & W. Hudson, in Hartford, as
errand boy. Five years later he had become' first salesman of the
establishment. During these years, however, he had not neglected his
education, but attended night school faithfully, and took a course in the
Commercial College. He remained with the Hudsons until he was twenty-one,
and then engaged in the business of manufacturing cotton goods, on his own
account. He was burned out, however, soon afterward. At the age of
twenty-five we find him in the city of New York, carrying on a cornmission
business and holding an interest in the manufacture of cotton goods at
several places. When thirty years of age he was elected President of the New
York Cotton Goods Exchange. He retired from the cotton business in I S69,
and in I S72 became interested in Government contracts, in which he
continued for three years. For several winters he visited this coast on
account of his wife's health, and one winter he spent in Florida. This was
unfortunate for him, as he contracted malarial fever, which nearly broke him
down. He first came to San Diego in 1873. He had journeyed between this city
and &Al Francisco a number of times by stage and by private conveyance,
stopping in the different valleys and making himself familiar with the
various localities. In 1877 he concluded to locate in San Diego County
permanently. At that time the outlook for communication with the outside
world was very poor. Mr. Cowles, however, had strong faith in the natural
resources of the county and believed firmly in the future commercial
importance of the city of San Diego.
Having decided to make this his home he went, in the spring of 1878, to El Cajon and began firming operations. He then owned between six and seven hundred acres of land in the heart of the valley, but he acquired more, from time to time, until he had between three and four thousand acres. The first year he planted about everything in the shape of tree and vine, in order to test what could be grown to the best advantage. When his grapes matured he found that the finest Muscats could be grown in El Cajon that were to he found in the State, and when his olive trees began to bear, the fruit rivaled any that he had, ever seen. He therefore decided to devote himself especially to these two products. The result proved the wisdom of his choice, for to-day the raisins produced on the Cowles Ranch are sent all over the United States, and they are without doubt superior to any grown either in this country or Europe. In one of his vineyards Mr. Cowles raised the largest quantity of Muscat grapes on record on one acre. This season there were shipped from eight to ten thousand boxes of raisins from this vineyard, which is but five years old. It is situated in the center of the valley. Besides grapes, and olives, and other fruits, there are about one thousand acres in grain, while the ranch is stocked with one hundred head of fine horses, and about three hundred head of choice graded cattle.
It is conceded that in placing upon the market the finest raisins grown on American soil. Mr. Cowles perhaps did more than any one man in directing attention to the wonderful fertility and productiveness of San Diego soil. By his individual efforts in another direction, he finally accomplished a task that will result in untold benefit to the Cajon Valley. Reference is made to the extension of the Atchison system from San Diego into the valley. He personally guaranteed to the Chief Engineer of the company the free right of way from Twenty-second Street Station in San Diego to the north end of the Cajon Valley. This offer was accepted, and the road is now well under way, and will be completed in a short time. From the Cajon the line will be extended to Poway, Bernardo, Escondido, San Marcos, and Oceanside, connecting at the latter point with the California Southern. In this undertaking Mr. Cowles gave another evidence of his indomitable push and energy—the same qualities that made him successful as a merchant. Indeed, his great success as an agriculturist was largely due to the fact that he always conducted his farm matters on strict business principles. He was as much in earnest in curing raisins as he formerly was in manufacturing cotton goods.
Mr. Cowles was one of the organizers of
the Consolidated National Bank, and continued a Director up to the time of
his death. He was also a Director in the old Commercial Bank, and was
Vice-President of the San Diego County Savings Bank. He was the organizer of
the San Diego Marine Ways and Dry Dock Company, of which he was
Vice-President, having declined to accept the Presidency. He raised a
subscription of 550,000 in six and one-half hours for this enterprise. He
was a Director in the California Southern Railway Company, and such
confidence had the railroad people in his judgment that they left the
direction of the construction of the Cajon branch entirely to him. He was
married in 1861 to the second daughter of Hon. Roswell Blodgett, of
Hartford, a gentleman who has done as much for the advancement of
educational interests in Connecticut as any other man. Mr. Cowles
demonstrated, in a practical way, that San Diego had something more to boast
of than bay and climate, and the work that he did for the advancement of the
county will be more and more appreciated as the years roll by.
DR. P. C. REMONDINO.
Few citizens of San Diego have had a career more replete with incidents than
Dr. P. C. Remondino. Born in Turin, Italy. on the l0 th of February, 1846,
he was sent as a child to a Catholic seminary, where he remained until nine
years of age. In 1854 he left Italy with his father, and crossing the
Atlantic landed in New York City. From the latter city father and son
journeyed westward until they came to Minnesota. At Wabeshaw, a thriving
town in that State, the father engaged in mercantile business, and young
Remondino attended the public schools. At sixteen years of age he entered
Jefferson College, at Philadelphia, and began the study of his chosen
profession, medicine. During the summer of 1864, while still attending
college, the Battle of the Wilderness occurred, and there was such a call
for army surgeons that Remondino, with several other students, volunteered
his services. They were accepted, and for some time he continued doing
hospital duty at Annapolis and City Point. In March, 1865, he graduated at
Jefferson College. The very evening of his graduation he left the reception
party tendered his class, for Fortress Monroe, having received his
commission as Acting Assistant Surgeon attached to the Third Pennsylvania
Heavy Artillery. He served in that capacity up to the time the regiment was
mustered out in November, 1865. He then returned to Minnesota, and entered
upon the practice of his profession with his former preceptor, Dr. Milligan.
At the breaking out of the Franco-German war Dr. Remondino was enjoying a
lucrative practice in his adopted town but his fondness for adventure, and
desire to become skilled in his profession, induced him to seek employment
in the French service. Accordingly, being- provided with flattering
credentials, both from the Governor of the State and from officials in
Washington, he sailed for Brest. He arrived in safety and at once started
for Tours, which was then the seat of government. Here he presented his
credentials and was cordially received by Leon Gambetta, who provided for
his appointment as an arms-surgeon. He was attached to a regiment just
formed, called ''Franc Tireurs du Nord," Colonel Rondeaw Commander, which
was recruited in the French departments bordering on Belgium. He served with
this regiment during the campaign in the north of France against the First
Prussian Arms- Corps under the command of General Manteufel, until the
dissolution of all the volunteer corps in the French arms-. He was then
detailed for service with the Artillery Legion of Havre, and was Post
Surgeon of Fort Saint Adresse, the principal fort on the heights of Havre,
overlooking both the city and harbor. He remained there until peace was
concluded. After the discharge of the troops, Dr. Remondino traveled through
Italy and Switzerland, for pleasure and instruction, and afterwards extended
his journeying to England. He then returned to Minnesota and resumed the
practice of his profession in 1871.
The winter of 1871-72 was an unusually severe one in Minnesota, and his health, which had been somewhat undermined because of the exposure he had undergone in the French service, warned him that he should seek a more genial climate. He accordingly started for San Diego, reaching California in December, 1873, and arriving here in January following. He had intended engaging in the cattle business, but on looking the ground over the prospects did not strike him favorably, and meeting an old classmate, Dr. R. J. Gregg, he opened an office adjoining his, and once more settled down to active practice. He was City Physician in 1875-76; County Physician for several consecutive terms; Surgeon for the California Southern Railroad Company up to the time of his retirement from practice; Surgeon of the Marine Hospital, and did all the surgical work for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. In 1879 he built a large hospital here in conjunction with Dr. T. C. Stockton. They had accommodations for fifty patients, but owing to the light charges of charitable institutions they found it impossible to compete with them and the experiment was abandoned. In the spring of 1887, finding that his private business affairs were interfering with his professional duties, he retired from the active practice of his profession.
Recognizing the great want of hotel accommodations in San Diego he built the St. James Hotel, which was opened for business in February, 1886. Since that time it has received some additions, and the entire cost will aggregate $250,000. Besides this fine building he owns considerable real estate in the city and county, and has invested liberally in every enterprise that he believed tended to advance the material interests of San Diego. Dr. Remondino returned in October from an extended Eastern tour, during which he attended, as a delegate, the International Medical Congress, at Washington, where he took a leading 'part in the proceedings, and read a paper on San Diego's climate, which attracted wide attention.
Dr. Remondino is Major and Surgeon of
the Third Regiment Uniformed Rank Knights of Pythias of the State of
California; a member of the Blue Lodge of Masons, San Diego Lodge; and a
member of California Consistory F. and A. M., Thirty-third degree. He was
United States Pension Surgeon for nine years, up to last year. Although
retired from practice as an active member of the San Diego County-Medical
Society, he still takes an active interest in everything pertaining to its
prosperity. He was married, in 1877, to Miss Sophie Earle, in San Diego, and
has four children, two girls and two boys, all living here. He is looked
upon as one of the most public-spirited and progressive citizens in a
community where push and enterprise are the leading elements of popularity.
N. H. CONKLIN.
ONE of the leading members of the San Diego Bar is N. H. Conklin. Although
yet a comparatively young man, his life has been a busy one. In turn a
soldier, journalist, and lawyer, he has achieved prominence in every
profession with which his fortunes have been identified. Mr. Conklin was
born in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1839. His father, a native of
New York, was a member of the famous Conklin family, whose members have
added luster to the annals of jurisprudence and occupy a high place on the
roll of forensic fame. His mother came from the State of Connecticut. His
boyhood was passed with his parents in the town of Tunkhannock, on the
Susquehanna, where he acquired such an education as was to be had in the
public schools. In 1859 he began the study of the law in the office of Judge
Peckham, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was stil immersed in his
studies at the time of the breaking out of the war. Those who are not yet
arrived at middle age have little idea of the scenes that followed the
firing upon Sumter,—the ebullitions of patriotic fervor, the mustering to
arms, the hurried march to the field. Throughout the loyal States the
response to President Lincoln's proclamation for troops was
instantaneous—there was no hesitating then. Young Conklin heard the summons,
and throwing aside his law books, began raising a company of volunteers.
Within less than a week from the time of the issuing of the proclamation,
his company was full and he made a tender of it to the Governor. But the
quota of the State was filled and the offer was declined. The Government and
many of the people then believed with Senator Seward that the whole "affair"
would be over in ninety days. Suffering under his disappointment, young
Conklin went to Cincinnati to visit some friends. He could not, however,
resist the impulse to give his services to his country, and within a week
after his proffer had been rejected by the Governor of Pennsylvania, he
enlisted in Cincinnati in Company D, Second Kentucky Volunteers. He had been
walking along the street when the beating of a drum again roused the fires
of patriotism within his breast; he went upstairs, where a war meeting was
being held, and enlisted as a private, not knowing at the time what the
regiment was or where it was going; he only knew that his country needed his
services, and right freely he proffered them. He was sent with his regiment
to the Kanawa, in Western Virginia, and remained there until the spring of
1862. His regiment was then ordered to Kentucky, and then into Tennessee. He
participated in the terrible battle of Shiloh, and was at the siege of
Corinth. He then went back to Kentucky, and was in that State at the time of
Bragg's raid. At Louisville he was discharged for promotion, having been
commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Eighty-third Ohio.
When he reached Cincinnati, he found that his regiment had been ordered into
the field. This was in November, 1862. He then returned to his home in
Pennsylvania, where he remained until the following spring, reading the
neglected law books. But he could not be content in such a peaceful
avocation, and having a strong taste for the navy, he applied for and was
appointed Master's Mate. He was immediately ordered to report on board the
Kenwood, attached to the Mississippi squadron. He took part in the siege of
Vicksburg, and saw much active service while on the Xe1174'00d , which was
One of the fastest steamers on the river and was generally used as a
dispatch boat. In the spring of 1865 he was ordered to the Chilicathe, an
iron-clad. As soon as he was mustered out of service at the close of the
war, he again returned to Pennsylvania and once more renewed his law
studies. He had two brothers in the Union army, both of whom are now living,
one residing in Northern California and one in Missouri.
As soon as he had been admitted to the bar, he started west and located at Warrensburg, Missouri, where he began the practice of his profession. He remained at Warrensburg until the fall of 1874. During this time he was engaged in publishing the Johnston Democrat, a weekly newspaper. In October, 1874, Mr. Conklin started for San Diego. Upon his arrival here, he assumed editorial control of the San Diego World, a daily, in connection with Mr. Julian, at present one of the proprietors of the San Diegan. In 1877 he was elected District Attorney of the county, and held the office two years. Since then he has been engaged in the practice of the law. Mr. Conklin has the largest general law practice of any attorney in San Diego. He is the legal adviser of most of the large corporations here; is a stockholder in and attorney for the San Diego and Cuyamaca Railroad Co., and is one of the principal stockholders of the Mission Valley Water Co. He is a Past Post Commander of Heintzleman Post G. A. R., and is at present Commander of San Diego Commandery Knight Templars. He was instrumental in bringing the railroad here and has been interested in all public improvements. He has a handsome residence lately completed in Florence Heights, on the corner of Fifth and Ivy Streets.
Mr. Conklin was married in 1867, to
Miss Myra T. Reese. of Warrensburg, Missouri, in Pleasant Hill, a short
distance from the former place. Their union has been blessed with eight
children, three of whom are living.
R. A. THOMAS.
In considering the phenomenal progress that has attended San Diego during
the past two or three years, the most important factor in her development
will be found to have been the class of business men who have invested their
capital in the various enterprises that have lifted her from a quiet town
into a bustling, thriving city. It is to the progressive spirit of these
citizens that she is indebted for the handsome buildings that are
ornamenting her streets, and the motor lines that make rapid communication
with her charming suburbs a pleasure. They are, as a rule, men who have come
from the young States of the West, and they have brought with them the
vigorous spirit, the prompt and accurate judgment that seem characteristic
of that portion of the Union. The subject of this sketch is an excellent
type of this class of San Diego's citizens.
R. A. Thomas was born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, July 1817. His early boyhood was spent on his father's farm in Fun du Lac County. The first rudiments of education he acquired in the district school. At the age of sixteen he entered the high school in the city of Fon du Lac, and remained there four years. After this he went to Kansas and taught school for about three years in Atchison. For two years following, he was engaged in a Government survey in Western Kansas, and after that he went into the lumber business in Atchison County. In 1S76 he went to New Mexico and engaged in the raising of cattle. This, however, was not to his liking and he returned to Kansas. and went to dealing in lumber and hardware in Onaga. A year afterward he, in company with his brothers, opened a private bank known as Thomas Brothers' Bank. In 1882, contemplating a change, they turned their thoughts to San Diego, and Mr. R. A. Thomas came hither to "spy out the land." Although the San Diego of that day was not apparently a very promising place for the investment of capital, yet Mr. Thomas' keen judgment foresaw the future possibilities and he decided upon locating here. He accordingly wrote to his brothers to close up their business in Kansas and come out here.
In the following year they arrived here, and in June purchased the ground on which the First National Bank now stands, and organized and opened a bank there. Since that time Mr. Thomas has been one of the most active and public-spirited of San Diego's citizens He has been the leading spirit in most of the important enterprises that have been organized here. He was one of the original incorporators of the San Diego Street Railroad Co., of the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Co., of the San Diego Lumber Co., of the West Coast Lumber Co., and of the San Diego and Old Town Railroad Co. He has also been largely interested in a great many land companies, including Escondido Land Co., the San Marcos Land Co., the Cottage Hill Land Association, and the Pacific Beach Co. He still owns stock in these corporations, but has dropped out of the management, and now devotes himself exclusively to his duties as President of the First National Bank. He held the position of cashier of that institution until last June, when he was elected President.
In a short time he will erect a
six-story brick building in connection with Mr. I. A. Sheriff, on the
southeast corner of Fifth and E Streets, which will cover one hundred feet
square. This will be one of the finest buildings in the city and will cost
not less than $120,000. He will also erect another building in connection
with 0. S. Hubbell, a five or six-story brick, covering 125 x 100, that will
cost about $150,000, on the corner of Sixth and D Streets.
Mr. Thomas was married in March, 1875, to Miss Mary Beven, of Atchison,
Kansas. He has two children, both daughters daughters.
JUDGE JOHN D. WORKS
A Son of Indiana who has won for himself a proud position in the young
metropolis of the Pacific Coast is Judge John D. Works. He was born in Ohio
County in that State, in the year 1847. His father was a lawyer by
profession, and had for many years practiced in Ohio and Switzerland
Counties. Young Works lived on a farm till he was seventeen years of age,
availing himself of such educational advantages as were afforded by the
district schools of the neighborhood. In the spring of 1861 came the attack
upon Sumter, the call for volunteers, and the mustering of troops. Like the
other 'Western States, Indiana sent regiment after regiment to the front,
and her troops were seen on every battle-field from Donelson to Vicksburg
and from Atlanta to Savannah. The fire of patriotism in those stirring days
burned not only in the bosoms of men of mature years, but it stirred the
youth of the country; they left their tasks unfinished, their farm-work
undone.
John Works felt the infection that was in the air and longed to shoulder a
musket and march to the war. But he was yet too tender in years to be
mustered by the recruiting sergeant, and he had to curb his longing for
military service. Finally, however, when he had reached the age of
seventeen, he enlisted in the Tenth Indiana Cavalry, and from that time on
until the the close of the war he was in active service. He was most of the
time with his regiment attached to the Army of the Cumberland. He took part
in the battle of Nashville, in December, 1861, when Hood, who had raised a
new army in northern Alabama, and penetrated into middle Tennessee, was
signally defeated by General Thomas. Immediately after this, Works went with
his regiment down the river to New Orleans, and thence across to Mobile,
where he participated in the siege of that place. During most of this time
he was engaged in outpost and scout duty.
When the city capitulated to the Union forces under General Canby, his regiment rode across the country from Mobile to Vicksburg, a distance of one thousand six hundred miles. The bridges had all been destroyed and the country pretty well laid waste by General Wilson on his last raid, and Works and his fellow-troopers had to do some pretty- lively foraging to get enough feed for their horses and themselves, as their rations were very short. After being mustered out he returned home, and for a time attended school, but he had decided to become a lawyer, and he was soon devoting all his energies to the study of his chosen profession in the office of Hon. A. C. Downey-, formerly one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Indiana. As soon as he was admitted, he began the active practice of his profession without intermission, except that he served one term as a member of the State Legislature in 1879, until 1883, when he came to San Diego. Here he opened an office and began practice. He served one term as City Attorney, and in October, 1886, was appointed by Governor Stoneman to the Superior bench to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge W. T. McNealy. At the general election, Judge Works was nominated for the unexpired term of Judge McNealy, and elected without opposition. In September of the last year, owing to the laborious duties of the position, and the inadequate compensation allowed by law, Judge Works tendered his resignation to the Governor and was succeeded by Hon. Edwin Parker. He then at once formed a partnership with ex-Congressman Olin Wellborn and John R. Jones, and is now engaged in the active practice of his profession.
If anything was wanting to show the high opinion entertained of Judge Works by his legal associates, it could be found in the resolutions adopted by the members of the bar, on the occasion of his retirement from the bench. During nearly all the time that Judge Works has been engaged in the practice of his profession, and while he was discharging the arduous duties of a judicial office, he has found time to engage in legal literature, and has produced a number of very valuable law books, His " Indiana Practice and Pleading," in three volumes, is a thorough and exhaustive work on code practice and pleading. A volume published some months since on the " Removal of Causes from the State to the Federal Courts," gives, in a convenient form, the law and practice relating to methods necessary to be adopted in such cases. He is now engaged in the preparation of a work entitled, " The Principles of Pleading and Practice," which will aim to give, in a clear and practical form, the general principles of pleading and practice as they exist, as effected by the rules of pleading at common law, and in equity and the codes and statutes of the several States.
Although judge Works came to San Diego
on account of a bronchial affection, he is now in the enjoyment of excellent
health. He is a laborious student, and as a Counsellor stands in the very
front rank of his profession. Personally, he is one of the most genial of
men and is deservedly popular with all. He has a fine residence on Fifth
Street and has invested some of his means in real estate. He has unbounded
faith in the future of San Diego and expects to see it a great and thriving
commercial city. Judge Works was married in Bevay, Indiana, in November,
1868, to Miss Alice Banta. The fruit of this union has been six children,
all living with their parents, and making one of the happiest family circles
one can wish to see.
L. S. McLURE.
One of the best-known citizens of San Diego, on account of his public
spirit, wealth, and social position, is L. S. McLure. He was born in
Marshall, Saline County, Missouri, September 23, 1848. Mr. McLure's father
was born in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, but was raised in
Pennsylvania. His mother, who was a Miss Parkison, was born in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, .and is still living. When he was three years of age his
parents removed to the city of St. Louis. He attended the public schools
there until he was twelve years old, and afterwards went to Pleasant Ridge
College. The war was raging at this time, and young McLure's ardent
temperament drew him, as might be expected from his birth and early
training, to espouse the cause of the South. So pronounced was he in the
utterance of his sentiments, that he was, in the summer of 1863, banished
from St. Louis. He immediately went into the Confederate lines and enlisted
in the First Missouri Brigade, in which he served till the close of the war,
in 1865. He then returned to St Louis, where he remained until 1869, when he
started for Montana. There he was engaged in mining until 1875, when he went
to Puget Sound, locating at Seattle. He resided in Seattle for six years,
devoting himself to the insurance business, representing twenty-one
companies, and doing the largest business of anyone north of San Francisco.
During this time he was elected City Treasurer, and was appointed a Trustee
of the Hospital for the Insane, at Steilacoom. In 1882 Mr. McLure decided to
remove to San Diego. Here he engaged in the business of insurance and was
the representative of a number of companies of fire, life, marine and
accident insurance.
He has invested considerably in city property, but still retains his interests in mines in Montana. He has retired from active business, and now devotes himself entirely to the management of his property interests here and in the North. He finds time, however, to take part in every enterprise that has for its object the advancement of his adopted city, and is a most liberal contributor to every worthy public object. He is a thorough San Diegan in his sentiments, and says he would not live anywhere else.
Mr. McLure was married in July, 1880,
while living in Seattle, to Miss Ella Tibbits, who is a native of Minnesota.
Mr. McLure's ancestors were Scotch, and although recognizing no aristocracy
but that of merit he is justly proud of his own lineage. He can trace his
descent on his father's side in an unbroken line to the time of William the
Conqueror.
GOVERNOR ROBERT W. WATERMAN.
Among those who have largely aided in the wonderful development of San Diego
County during the past three years is the present Governor of the State,
Robert W. Waterman. Governor Waterman's career has been in some respects a
peculiar one. Although always active in the councils of his party and
earnest in the performance of those duties that pertain to good citizenship,
unlike most men who have risen to prominence in public affairs, he never
held a political office until after he was fifty years of age.
He was born in Fairfield, Herkimer County, New York, in 1826, but when very young removed with his parents to Illinois. There he remained until 1850. Gold had been discovered in California and the new El Dorado was attracting the most adventurous and progressive spirits of the country. Waterman was then twenty-four years old, and as might be expected his sanguine temperament was easily affected by the stories of fortunes to be acquired on the shores of the far-away Pacific. He joined a party of emigrants and made the journey across the plains. He did not remain long in the gold fields, and finally returned to his home in Illinois. Just at this time the Western States were in a red glow of excitement caused by the border warfare in Kansas. The "dough-face" policy of President Pierce, largely moulded and directed by his Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, had permitted affairs to assume such a condition that the anti-slavery element in the new Territory was thoroughly terrorized and overawed. The feeling in the State of Illinois finally took shape, in the spring of 1856, in the calling together of a convention of the " Anti-Nebraska Party,." that was destined to be a memorable one in the history of American politics. The convention assembled at Bloomington on the 29th of May, adopted the Republican name, formulated strong Republican resolutions, appointed delegates to the coming Republican convention, and nominated a full ticket of presidential electors, with Abraham Lincoln at their head. To this remarkable deliberative body Robert W. Waterman was sent as a delegate. There he found himself surrounded by men of all shades of political belief,—Whigs, Democrats, Free-soilers, Know-nothings, Abolitionists,—all willing to pool their issues, and unite in the formation ola new party having for its cardinal principles liberty of conscience and equality of rights to all. That grand convention was practically the birthplace of the Republican party, and he stood with Abraham Lincoln, Lyman Trumbull, Richard Yates, David Davis, Owen Lovejoy, and Richard Oglesby as sponsors to the political imam which was thenceforth to prove itself so stalwart a guardian of the liberties of the nation. Having assisted at the baptism of the Republican party he has ever since faithfully fulfilled the vows he then assumed.
In 1873 Mr. 'Waterman returned to California and purchased a ranch near San Bernardino. His experience in firming at that time, however, does not appear to have proved remunerative, for in the following year we find him prospecting in the great Mojave Desert. He felt certain that the section toward which he bent his steps Was rich in mineral deposits, and to find it he bent all the energies of his determined nature. After a long and wears' search, and surmounting- obstacles beneath which a man of less resolute nature would have succumbed, he located a silver-bearing ledge, which was subsequently developed into the Calico Mining District. The 'kV-merman mine, on the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, he owns in conjunction with Mr. J. L. Porter. Feeling strung faith in the richness of the Julian District in this county, Mr. Waterman in the fall of 1886 paid a visit to the Stonewall mine .and was SO forcibly impressed with what he Saw that he purchased it, paying the sum of S45,000 therefor. He at once began a system of extensive improvements, expending over $50,000 in the Construction of a mill, shafts, etc., and soon had the mine on a paying basis. Finding necessity for a saw-mill he built and equipped one of first-class capacity, which supplies lumber for the use of his mine and the neighboring community. The revenue received from his mining vultures is quite large, and the major portion of this is invested in lands in Southern California. His home ranch, situated in a canon sonic five miles east of San Bernardino and within sight of the famous Arrowhead Hot Springs, is one of the most beautiful places in California. Sheltered from the winds, at an altitude of over two thousand feet above the sea, the air is pure and delicious. The soil is rich, water is abundant, and everything that goes to make farm life agreeable is at hand. On this ranch he has a fine herd of cattle, and the product of his dairy is famous throughout all Southern California. It is not to the development of mines, the tilling of the soil, and raising of choice cattle, however, that Governor Waterman has confined his energies and his capital, but lie is identified with every movement tending to advance the material interests of his section. He was one of the projectors and is largely interested financially in the magnificent structure known as the Stewart Hotel, now completed at San Bernardino, and is a heavy stockholder in the proposed motor railroad line to be built from San Bernardino to Arrowhead Springs.. He is, also, heavily interested in San Diego County. Besides the mine and saw-mill near Julian, to which reference has been already made, he has recently purchased twenty thousand acres of land in that vicinity, which, by the opening of railroad communication, is bound to become very valuable. For the purpose getting the ore from the Stonewall mine to market and developing the rich agricultural section of the Cuyamaca, Governor Waterman has interested himself in the San Diego and Cuyamaca narrow-gauge railroad line, the construction of which has been already commenced. The completion of this road will mark another era in the development of this county, opening up, as it will, a section rich in agricultural and mineral resources which has heretofore lain dormant. A few months since Governor Waterman purchased four fine residence lots in the vicinity of Florence Heights, San Diego. As a member of the committee appointed to secure the erection of a monument to the gifted patriot and eloquent preacher, Thomas Starr King, he has taken a warm interest and has contributed liberally from his own purse.
As previously stated Governor Waterman has ever since the formation of the Republican Party, been one of its most earnest followers, and, while he had not the inclination to seek political preferment, and his business cares debarred him from accepting official position, he has always taken a lively interest in its welfare. During the last presidential campaign he, in company with Richard Gird, a former miner and now a large land-owner, built a Republican wigwam at San Bernardino and equipped three companies of plumed knights.
On the 27th of August, 1886, the Republican State convention assembled at Los Angeles. It was felt that the nomination of a strong ticket was necessary if California was to be kept in the Republican column. While to the northern part of the State was generally conceded the honor of nominating the head of the ticket, it was decided that the candidate for Lieutenant-Governor ought to come from Southern California. Numerous names were placed before the convention, but when George A. Knight, of San Francisco, sitting as a delegate for Mendocino County, nominated Robert NV. Waterman in a speech as brilliant as it was convincing, the first ballot showed him to be a prime favorite, he receiving two hundred and twenty-nine votes, within ten and one-half of the number necessary to a choice. His speedy nomination followed. At the polls he ran far ahead of his ticket—as was shown by the election of a Democratic Governor—defeating his rival, M. F. Tarpey, by a vote of ninety-four thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine, to ninety-two thousand four hundred and seventy-six. This was the first political office he ever held. By the death of Washington Bartlett, which occurred on the 12th of October last, the duties of Chief Magistrate devolved upon Mr. Waterman. The manner in which he has thus far discharged the duties of his high position indicate that his administration will be one of the most successful that California has ever experienced. His enlarged views, unswerving integrity and high-minded strength of purpose, give ample promise to the people that the man who now fills the guber-natorial chair will zealously guard their interests, and fulfill the duties of his position with credit to himself and honor to the State.
Among his first 'appointments, illustrating his knowledge of men and his desire to cut loose from all entangling alliances, was the selection of Hon. Marcus D. Boruck, of San Francisco, to be his private Secretary. Perhaps no better choice than this could have been made. Mr. Boruck is a firm adherent of Republican principles and has a large acquaintance with men and affairs. It was during his long service as Secretary of the State Central Committee that the Republican Party achieved its greatest triumphs in California, and it is not improper to say that those successes were largely due to Mr. Boruck's sound judgment and sage advice.
Personally, Governor Waterman is one of the most genial of men; simple in manners, he is easily approached, and has a kind word and a happy salutation for all. He is generous to a fault and his many excellent qualities of head and heart have, during his career in California, raised up for him an army of friends who are not confined to party lines, but are as numerous among his opponents as among those of his own political sect.
Governor Waterman was married in
Belvidere, Illinois, September, 1847, to Miss Jane Gardner. The fruit of
their union was seven Children. The eldest son is dead, but two sons and
four daughters are 110W living.
COLONEL W H HOLABIRD.
According to 'Webster, one of the definitions of boom is, "to make a loud
noise:'' another, '' to move rapidly.- If San Diego's boom was started with
a loud noise, it has certainly moved rapidly, and gathered stability and
strength as it progressed. The boom, then, has been a good thing for San
Diego; all will admit that. It is not with the boom itself, however, that we
have to deal, but with the man who started it—the "Father of the Boom,'' as
he has been termed. W. H. Holabird. Colonel Holabird is a native of the
Green Mountain State, having been born in Chittenden County, in 145. Just
after having graduated at the Williston Academy he went with his father to
Atchison, Kansas, where the latter had been appointed agent of the Hannibal
and St. Joseph Railroad, then just completed to the Missouri River. He
entered the office of the company with his father, where his active mind
soon found time, while attending to his clerical duties, to devise a system
for supplying the train on the road with periodical literature. This was the
beginning of the newspaper and periodical train service now in operation on
the railroads of the country. During the exciting contest in Kansas that
raged between the Lecompton and Free State parties, that preceded the great
Civil War, young Holabird was an earnest and active opponent of slavery. On
the occasion of the visit of William H. Seward to Atchison he was one of the
most prominent of a company of young men who erected a triumphal arch ill
honor of the advent of "the defender of Kansas.- He was agent of the C. 0.
C. and P. P. Express Company that carried the mails across the plains and
the Sierras to the Pacific in much less time than had ever been known
before. At the outbreak of the war lie returned to Vermont and enlisted in
the Twelfth Vermont Volunteer Infantry. In the same regiment was H. L.
Story, the well-known capitalist of San Diego. They served together during
the first three years of the war. After the battle of Gettysburg, Holabird
was transferred to the navy, and ordered to service on board the monitor
Monadnock. After the bombardment of Fort Fisher, in which his vessel took
part, he was promoted to be Paymaster. In the winter of 1865-66 he made the
eventful voyage in the Monadnock around the Horn. On the way the coast the
vessel came into San Diego Bay, and anchored for a few days off La Playa.
After being mustered out of service at Mare Island Navy Yard, Colonel
Holabird returned East, locating in Chicago, where he was engaged a short
time in commercial pursuits. He soon tired of this quiet life, however, and
went back to railroading. For seven years he was in the service of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe as general traveling agent.
When Babcock & Story became interested
in the Coronado Beach property, and began to lay plans for improving it,
they looked about to find a man whom they could rely upon to take immediate
charge and assist in its development. At this juncture Mr. Story bethought
him of his old comrade-in-arms, W. H. Holabird. He sent for him and engaged
his services as general went of the company. In two weeks' time Colonel
Holabird had copies of a map of the property and a descriptive pamphlet in
every city and town in the United States and Canada. At the great sale, in
November, iss6, he acted as auctioneer and as an incentive to the bidders he
unrolled a plan of the Hotel del Coronado that was to be and is. Many
thought his descriptions too glowing, his picture of the future too highly
colored. Those persons now wish they had invested more heavily in the lots
then offered by the auctioneer to the highest bidder. This was the beginning
of the San Diego boom, and for his services on that occasion. Colonel
Holabird has been known as the Father of the Boom. After this Colonel
Holabird laid out and boomed all the towns along the line of the California
Southern Railroad, and for a time made his headquarters at Los Angeles. The
superior advantages of San Diego, however brought him back, and List year he
located here again, this time, as he says, for good.
COLONEL JOHN A. HELPHINGSTINE.
Although not an old-time resident of San Diego, there is no citizen more
highly appreciated for his enterprise and public spirit than Col. John A.
Helphingstine. Colonel Helphingstine was born in Crawford County, Illinois,
October 12, 1844. His father was a farmer, and his boyhood was passed on the
farm until he was seventeen years of age. Then came the War of the
Rebellion: Sumter was fired on, and the North, rising like a giant in his
might, flew to arms. The loyal citizens of the country responded with
alacrity to President Lincoln's call for volunteers, but from no section was
the response more general than from the broad prairies of his own State. Men
past the prime of life took their places in the ranks, and school-boys
dropped their books to enlist in the service of the Union. Young
Helphingstine bade his parents farewell, left the farm, and enlisted as a
private in the Sixty-second Illinois Volunteers. He served through the war
in the. Army of the Cumberland for two years and then was transferred to the
West, and was mustered out as Ouartermaster of his regiment. During his
spare moments while in the army, Helphingstine had studied law, and at the
close of the war he attended the high school in Crawford County. Haying
graduated, he resumed his law studies under Judge Harrison, in Independence,
Kansas. In 187o he was admitted to the Kansas bar and successfully practiced
his profession for ten years in Independence. He served one term as Police
Judge of the town, and for five years was County Clerk of Montgornery
County.
In I880 he went to New Mexico, where he engaged in mining, continuing in
that calling- for three years. He then turned his attention to journalism,
and established a daily newspaper, the Chieftain, at Socorro. He conducted
this paper fir three years, with ability and energy, and in that time made
it a power in the community. I le was largely instrumental in securing the
appointment of E. G. Ross as Governor of the Territory. The circumstances
attending his connection with this appointment are so strongly
characteristic of the man—of his loyalty to friends and his indomitable
perseverance—that it is worth recounting. Ross was an old Kansas man, and at
one time, during Andy Johnson's administration, had represented the State in
the United States Senate. His candid views openly expressed, and his
independent conduct, however, during those stirring times, injured him with
his party (the Republican), and upon his return home from the Senate, he was
politically ostracized. Disappointed at the treatment he had received at the
hands of his party, and reduced in means, he left Kansas and went to New
Mexico. There Helphingstine found him working- at a case in a newspaper
office. The two men, had formed a friendship in other days, and
Helphingstine came to his assistance now. Knowing his thorough executive
ability and his stubborn honesty, he boldly advocated Ross' appointment as
Territorial Governor in the columns of the Chkfiain. This endorsement proved
of eminent service, and Ross was mile Governor. During his administration,
Helphingstine served as Inspector-General on his staff with the rank of
Colonel.
On the twentieth of October, iSS6, Colonel Helphingstine came to San Diego. He had intended resuming his law practice here, but was wooed from his profession by the brighter opening he found in real estate. He took charge of the lands of the Coronado Beach Company as their general agent, February 18S7, and remained in that position until the 1st of September last. During this time his sales of real estate amounted to about one million dollars. While connected with the Coronado Company, he formed a syndicate and purchased a large tract of land within the city limits, which he has placed on the market, under the name of Helphingstine's Addition. He also has the agency of the El Cajon Valley Company. Colonel Helphingstine some months since, secured the premises formerly occupied by the Commercial Bank of San Diego, and has there fitted up the finest set of offices to be found in San Diego. On the tenth of October last, he was presented, by Mr. E. S. Babcock, Jr., on behalf of the Coronado Beach Company, with an elegant gold watch, as a token of their appreciation of his efforts in their behalf when general agent of the company. Colonel Helphingstine is interested quite largely in city real estate, and, besides, has a valuable ranch property. Colonel Helphingstine Was married, in Fredonia, Kansas, in February, 182-2, to Miss L. E. Lowe daughter of Rev. Boyd Lowe. Their union has been blessed with one son, now- twelve years of age and in their beautiful residence on Florence Heights, Colonel and Mrs. Helphingstine have an ideal home.
San Diego has no citizen more devoted
to her interests, or whose faith in her future greatness is stronger, than
Colonel Helphingstine. He is popular with all classes of people, and his
friends are 1'2:4-ion.
WILLARD N. FOS.
As has been stated in the introduction to this work, the publishers have
sought to confine the biographical portion of it to the older residents of
the city and county, those who have been identified with San Diego in its
clays of patient waiting, and those who have aided in starting it upon its
wonderful career of progress. There are, however, citizens who, though their
residence has been comparatively short, are to-day as thoroughly identified
with the growing city, and through their active energy and public-spirited
enterprise are helping to develop its great advantages as though they had
been many years residents within its gates. Prominent among this class is
Willard N. Fos. It for no other reason, he is deserving of a place in this
work as an example of what youth, combined with energy, pluck, and brain has
accomplished in San Diego. Mr. Fos is a native of Ohio, having been born in
Berlin, February 25, 1863. When he was eight years old his parents removed
to South Lincoln, Massachusetts, and there Willard obtained the first
rudiments of his education. Three years later he went to Manchester, New
Hampshire, where he entered the public schools, and continued until he
graduated at the high school, in 1883. He then entered Gaskell's Commercial
College, where he remained as a student fi .1- a year. Then so apt a scholar
he proven himself, so thoroughly had he mastered the details of all that was
taught in the institution, that at the age of twenty-one he was selected as
Principal. He had now thoroughly acquired the theory of business, and was
soon to make a practical test of his qualifications. The Page Belting
Company, of Concord, New Hampshire, offered him a handsome salary to engage
as a traveling salesman for them. He was very successful and brought to the
firm a large increase in custom. Not content with being an employee,
however, he started in the same business on his own account at Manchester.
In 1886 Mr. Fos had his attention directed to Southern California, and
noting the superior geographical position of San Diego, its fine harbor, and
its great climatic advantages, he pressed his inquiries further. He learned
of the great progress that was being made by the means of capital and energy
to develop these advantages, and he decided that he would come hither and
lend the aid of his youth and push toward building- up this young city. He
came and has prospered, probably even beyond his most sanguine expectations.
He opened a banking office, and bought a large tract of land along the
shores of the bay, between
the present city and Old Town. A steam motor line is now running through the
property, and it is being rapidly covered with tasteful dwellings. From the
upper portion of the tract a most magnificent view can be obtained, and it
is bound to become one of the most attractive portions of the city. Mr. Fos'
reputation for business sagacity and probity, which he acquired in his New
England home, served him in good stead when he came to locate on the Pacific
Coast, as he has been called upon to invest large sums for his acquaintances
in the East, they trusting implicitly to his judgment.
Mr. Fos is a member of the Masonic
Order, is an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and belongs to several other
fraternal societies. He has a fine residence on Florence Heights, and owns
considerable city as well as suburban property outside of his addition. He
was married in Manchester, New Hampshire, February 2, 1885, to Miss
Charlotte Maud Whittier, a cousin of the poet, John G. Whittier. He has one
child, a daughter. Mr. Fos owns property at Kendle Green, just outside of
Boston where his parents reside, but he says there is no place like San
Diego, and here he intends to make his home for life.
THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO.
San Diego, CAL. Leberthon & Taylor 1888
Transcribed by: Martha A Crosley Graham - Pages 181-210
Site Created: 06 August 2006
