John B. Tays is one of the early settlers and enterprising and progressive citizens of Ontario. He is the owner of forty acres of land in that colony and has for years been building up the horticultural industries of his section. His place is located on the south side of Thirteenth Street, east of Euclid […]
Among the prominent and well-known horticulturists of Riverside is the subject of this sketch. A brief resume of his life is as follows: Mr. Finch dates his birth in Rensselaer County, New York, in 1821. He was reared and schooled at his native place near the city of Albany, and followed the occupation of his
Miss E. C. Dyer, Cashier Riverside Banking Company, was born in Illinois, taught school before engaging in the banking business, about fifteen years ago, first in that State and for the past twelve years in Riverside. She is a lady of culture, possesses remarkable force of character and extraordinary business powers.
Harry G. Crafts, one of Redlands most enterprising horticulturists, was born in Jackson, Michigan, in 1853. His father, Myron H. Crafts, was the first settler in Crafton, California, which place was named after him. The subject of this sketch is extensively engaged in farming and fruit raising, and lives four miles west of Redlands.
Orrin Backus, a horticulturist and businessman of Riverside, was born in Columbus, Ohio, March 16, 1822. His father, Andrew Backus, and mother, Bathsheba (King) Backus, were natives of Massachusetts, and representatives of old colonial families. Andrew Backus was a soldier of the war of 1812-’14; he enlisted twice, first under Captain Chase, again under Captain
Andrew Lytle, deceased, was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, in 1812. His parents moved to Akron, Ohio, when he was a small boy. At the age of twenty-one years he went back to Pennsylvania and married Hannah Hull. This lady was the daughter of Abner and Martha (Skinner) Hull, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
La Grande, Oregon Dr. Bryce J. Young, 73, of College Place, Wash., a former La Grande resident, died Feb. 4, 2004, in an accident while bicycling in Argentina. There was a service for him on Feb. 15 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in La Grande. Dr. Young was born June 3, 1930, to Bryce L.
Peter J. Filano, residing three miles south of San Bernardino, is one of the oldest and most prosperous pioneers in the valley. He was born in the southern part of France, November 4, 1820, the oldest of a family of three children. When a young man he went to Africa, and for nine years engaged
John Calvin Dixon, proprietor of the C. O. D. Grocery, San Bernardino, was born in 1840, in Reynoldsburg, Franklin County, Ohio, and there spent the first eighteen years of his life. In 1858 he moved with his father’s family to Jasper County, Iowa, and there his father, who was a brick-mason by trade, and had
Joseph K. Shields, of Riverside, was born in Cook County, Illinois, in 1853. His parents were James and Honore (Ward) Shields. His father was a native of Indiana and his mother of New York. In 1855 his father came with his family to California and located in Sierra County. He was a civil engineer by
Henry Goodcell, Jr., attorney at law, and secretary of the San Bernardino Bar Association, was born in Dover, England, and was forty years of age in November 1888. When a child of four years he emigrated with his parents to the United States, and came to San Bernardino when nine years old; hence he has
Jacob Polhemus, deceased, was one of the pioneers of Colton, who located in that thriving city when the only buildings in the place were a saloon and eating-house, and the Pioneer Lumber Yard office. This was in 1875. He was a carpenter and builder by occupation, and was employed in the erection of the pioneer
Truman Reeves, late proprietor of the oldest jewelry store in San Bernardino, and probably the only one-armed watchmaker in the world, established the business in that city in 1874. In 1857, when a youth of sixteen years, he commenced learning the watchmaker’s and jeweler’s trade with Julius King, in Warren, Ohio. He worked on his
Hon. Frederic W. Gregg, of the law firm of Harris & Gregg, is a Green Mountain boy, born in Vermont, thirty-two years ago; was educated in Dartmouth College, celebrated as the alma mater of eminent men of action, men who have led in the fields of law and politics and commerce, where a combination of
E. J. Waite is a native of Walworth County, Wisconsin, and came to California in 1876, locating at Riverside, where he remained until 1879. In March 1882, he came to Redlands and worked as foreman for Judson S. Brown. It was he who planted the first orange trees in Redlands, and he has planted and
Isaac Newton Hoag, a prominent citizen of Redlands, was born in Macedon, Wayne County, New York, March 3, 1822. His paternal ancestors belonged to the Society of Friends for generations back, and had uniformly been farmers. He lived and worked on a farm until he was eighteen years of age and had the advantages of
H. H. Sinclair, Redlands, was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1858. He attended the public schools of that city, and afterward went to Cornell University, and was a member of the class of 1880. Subsequent to this he practiced law in New York City for two years. Then he engaged in the shipping business
Hon. John M. James, a native of Cannon County, Tennessee, born in 1816. His father, William James, was a native of North Carolina, and died May 20, 1840. His mother, Clara (Smith) James, was born in Suffolk, Virginia. His great-grandfather was one of Lord Baltimore’s colonists in Maryland, and his grandfather emigrated to North Carolina.
John Bessant, one of the enterprising farmers on Base Line, three miles east of San Bernardino city, has a fine ranch and a neat residence in Warm Spring district, where, with his family, he is enjoying the pleasures of life as much, perhaps, as any man in the valley. By birth he is an Englishman.
A. D. S. Alkire is the well-known and popular City Clerk and Assessor of Riverside, a position he ably fills with credit to himself and honor to that enterprising city. Mr. Alkire is a native of Pickaway County, Ohio, born at Mount Sterling in 1837. His father, William A. Alkire, was a native of Kentucky
