An Illustrated History of Southern California Collections

Officials of the County of San Bernardino

State Senator, W. W. Bowers, of San Diego; Assemblyman, E. W. Holmes, of Riverside; Judges of the Superior Court, C. W. C. Rowell and John L. Campbell; Sheriff, E. C. Seymour; County Clerk, George L. Filson; Recorder, A. S. Davidson; Auditor, W. L. G. Soule; Treasurer, W. H. Beattie; Tax Collector, R. H. Stetson; District Attorney, Henry Connor; School Superintendent, H. C. Brooke; Surveyor, W. C. Chamblin; Coroner, C. C. Wainwright; Public Administrator, James E. Mack; Court Commissioner, J. C. Christy; Supervisors, J. A. Johnson, Thomas Holmes, G. W. Garcelon, George Cooley, W. H. Glass; Board of Education, J. E. … Read more

County School Superintendents, San Bernardino County, California

1867 – W. L. Ragsdale 1868 – W. S. Clark 1869 – W. S. Clark 1870 – H. C. Brooke 1871 – H. C. Brooke 1872 – John Brown, Jr 1S73 – John Brown, Jr 1874 – Henry Goodcell, Jr 1875 – Henry Goodcell, Jr 1876 – No Incumbent 1877 – Chas. R. Paine 1878 – Dr. J. A. Rousseau 1879 – Dr. J. A. Rousseau 1889 – Dr. J. A. Rousseau 1881 – Dr. J. A. Rousseau 1882 – Dr. Rousseau and D. B. Sturges 1883 – H. C. Brooke 1884 – H. C. Brooke 1885 – H. C. … Read more

City Officials of Riverside, San Bernardino, California

The following are the present officers of the city: Board of Trustees E. W. Holmes, president M. Hoover, W. P. Russell, W. A. Hayt, H. E. Allatt Library Trustees Rev. Dr. George H. Deere, Prof. N. C. Twining, E. W. Holmes, A. S. White, C. J. Gill. Board of Health E. W. Holmes, president C. C. Sherman, secretary W. J. McIntyre, Bradford Morse, J. W. Johnson City Clerk and Assessor, Ad. S. Alkire Marshal, Bradford Morse Treasurer, J. M. Drake Recorder, W. W. Noland City Attorney, W. J. McIntyre Superintendent of Streets, C. W. Finch City Engineer, J. W. Johnson … Read more

Biography of Y. H. Scott, M. D.

Y H. Scott, M. D., of Riverside, is one of those successful men to be found in the various walks of life who may be truthfully said to be self-made-men who from boyhood start in life with a fixed object in view; and with strong determination to reach the goal, they develop those valuable characteristics-energy, perseverance, and a determined mind, that enable them to overcome all obstacles and render them intelligent, quick to conceive, and prompt to act-characteristics especially valuable to the skilled physician and surgeon. The subject of this sketch was born in Ontario, Oxford County, Canada West, in … Read more

Biography of William Studabecker

William Studabecker was born in Allen County, Indiana, in 1851; he is the son of David and Elizabeth (Wilt) Studabecker. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Maine. When Mr. Studabecker was two years of age his father moved the family to Van Wert County, Ohio, and there engaged in farming until his death in 1858. The subject of this sketch was reared to the labor attending a life upon a farm, and after the age of ten years was deprived of any schooling facilities; at twenty years of age he learned the shoemaker’s trade and … Read more

Biography of William R. Russell

William R. Russell, one of the earliest settlers of Riverside and for many years a leading horticulturist of the colony, is a native of Holt County, Missouri, born in 1840, son of John and Margaret (Oiler) Russell, the former a descendant of a prominent Southern family and a native of Kentucky, who early in life settled in Ohio and was there married, his wife being a native of Virginia. In 1840 he moved to Missouri and settled in the county where the subject of this sketch was born. When William was fourteen years of age, his father crossed the plains … Read more

Biography of William P. Russell

This well known pioneer of Riverside is one of the leading horticulturists of the colony, and has for the past eighteen years been identified with the growth and progress of the city, and has held a prominent position in her municipal government since the incorporation in 1884. He is a native of White County, Indiana, dating his birth in 1849. His father, William Russell, was also a native of that State. Mr. Russell was reared as a farmer, and educated in the public schools of his native county. In 1869, when twenty years of age, he struck out in life … Read more

Biography of William M. Higgins, Dr.

Dr. William M. Higgins, pharmacist on Central avenue, Anaheim, was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, June 18, 1826. He was educated at Princeton College, at which he was graduated in 1845, with the degree of A. B. He read medicine for a period of two years, and February 22, 1849, started for California on the bark St. Mary. He remained in Rio Janeiro ten months, then went aboard the ship William Brandt, bound for San Francisco, at which place he arrived in July, 1850, having been ship’s doctor during the voyage. After his arrival in San Francisco he was … Read more

Biography of William Lloyd Garrison Soule

William Lloyd Garrison Soule, Auditor of San Bernardino County, and founder of the mining town of Calico, is a lineal descendant from Puritan stock, and was born in the State of Maine, in July, 1836. He was reared from early childhood in Massachusetts, and started to learn the printer’s trade in Boston at the age of fourteen. He came with his parents to Kansas in 1854, and set the first stickful of type ever set within the boundary of that State, on the Herald of Freedom, established at that time in Lawrence. Being like his illustrious namesake, an uncompromising enemy … Read more

Biography of William Jesse Curtis

William Jesse Curtis, attorney at law in San Bernardino, is the oldest son of Hon. I. C. Curtis and Mrs. Lucy M. Curtis. His father was for many years a prominent member of the bar of Marion County, Iowa, and represented that county for several terms in the State Legislature. His mother is the daughter of Jesse L. Holman, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana, and a sister of Hon. William S. Holman, now a distinguished member of Congress from that State. Mr. Curtis was born at Aurora, Indiana, on the 2d day … Read more

Biography of William Francis Holcomb

William Francis Holcomb, a member of the Society of California Pioneers of San Bernardino County, and the discoverer of gold in the valley which bears his name, was born in Indiana in 1831, but his parents moved to Will County, Illinois, in his infancy, where they lived till he was eight years old. They then went, in 1839, to Iowa and located in Portland, Van Buren County Iowa. His father having died, his mother moved with her family in 1845 up into Wapello County and took up a piece of Government land. The same year his oldest brother, Stephen Holcomb, … Read more

Biography of William Finch

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 father, which was that of a farmer. His parents, Cyrenius and Minerva (North) Finch, were both natives of New York. In 1850 Mr. Finch started for the great West, and was among the pioneer settlers of Minnesota. He first located in Ramsay County; thence went … Read more

Biography of William Dresser

William Dresser the proprietor of extensive farms and a resident of Santa Ana, was born in East Smithfield, London, England, August 20, 1813. His parents, Christopher and Mary Dresser, came to America in 1824, landing at Montreal. Subsequently they settled in northern New York, in 1833 in Ohio, and in 1836 in Boone County, Illinois, They had four children. His father was born January 1, 1769, and died June 13, 1841; and his mother, born June 25, 1772, died November 9, 1845. By trade his father was a “linen draper,” which in England corresponds with a dry-goods merchant in the … Read more

Biography of William Craig, M. D.

William Craig, M. D., Redlands, was born in Pennsylvania, January 2, 1818. His father, Samuel Craig, was a tanner and farmer, and moved to Clark County, Ohio, in 1819. Our subject attended the common schools of Clark County, and in 1848 graduated at the Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio. He then practiced medicine in Shelby County three years, and in Auglaize County three years. The five years following this he practiced in Winchester, Indiana, where he also carried on a drug business. Then he went to Muncie, Indiana, where he engaged in the drug business and practiced medicine for … Read more

Biography of William B. Sawyer, M. D.

William B. Sawyer, M. D., occupies a prominent position in the medical circles of Riverside, and has for many years been well known in the business and social circles of the city. Dr. Sawyer is a native of New England, born in Hampshire County, Massachusetts in 1854. His father, Edmund H. Sawyer, was a descendant of an old colonial family whose first advent in the New world was in the days of the Puritans; he was a manufacturer and prominent citizen of Hampshire County, a member of the Assembly and Senate of his State, at the head of banking institutions, … Read more

Biography of William A. Hayt

There is no man more deserving of mention among the representative citizens of Riverside than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch; nor is there a man in the community who has done more to promote the growth of the city than he. He is always alive to its interests, and his name is generally the first among the subscribers to any enterprise that is conducive to the welfare and prosperity of the community. Such facts as have been gathered regarding his life are of interest. Mr. Hayt was born in Putnam County, New York, in 1832. His father, Harry … Read more

Biography of William A. Harris

William A. Harris, attorney-at-law and a member of the firm of Harris & Gregg, was born in 1854, in Tennessee. He was educated in the schools of that State; studied law in Memphis with Colonel George Gantt and W. W. McDowell, both distinguished members of the Tennessee bar, and was admitted to practice at the remarkably early age of nineteen. On attaining his majority, after two years of practice in his own state, he came to California, and located in San Bernardino in 1875, and has practiced his profession here ever since, excepting two years spent in Leadville, Colorado, where … Read more

Biography of Wellsford E. West

Among the horticultural industries well worthy of mention is that of Mr. West, conducted upon a twenty-acre tract, located on the west side of Magnolia avenue, between Jackson and Van Buren, about six miles south of Riverside. Mr. West came to this place in 1884, and in July of the next year purchased his present home, and entered upon horticultural pursuits. The place was planted with trees and vines and partially improved in buildings. He commenced a thorough cultivation and fertilization, and added to that a vigorous pruning systematically applied, that has produced wonderful results, and today his groves and … Read more

Biography of Walter Fremont Grow

Walter Fremont Grow, one of the young and enterprising horticulturists of San Bernardino County, living on Base Line, six miles east of the city, was born in Maine, July 19, 1856, the son of Lorenzo and Harriet (Currier) Grow. His father was born in Hartland, Windsor County, Vermont, March 11, 1806. His parents were Samuel and Jerusha (Stowell) Grow; the former was a native of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, and the latter of Pomfret, Connecticut. Their ancestors were owners of large tracts of land and were of English origin. Lorenzo Grow was the third of a family of seven children. He … Read more

Biography of W. M. McFadden

W. M. McFadden a public-spirited business man and rancher at Anaheim, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1840, and is a son of John and Rachel (McCormac) McFadden, being the oldest of eight children. He was educated at the public schools, the People’s Academy at West Pitts, the Curry Normal Institute at Pitts, the Beaver (Pennsylvania) Academy in 1860, and at Bryant & Stratton’s Commercial, at Louisville, in 1861. After this he kept books for a year in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and taught school in Aberdeen, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. He came to California in 1864, by way of the Isthmus, … Read more