Orange County CA

Biographical Sketch of David Brush

David Brush a farmer of Orange County, was born in Fulton County, Illinois, October 12, 1848, a son of John and Martha (Faucet) Brush, both natives of Pennsylvania. His father was one of the pioneers of San Bernardino County in 1855, where he lived for over twenty years. He crossed the plains to California in 1854, with an ox team, being on the road six months. He stopped at Salt Lake eight months, to recruit stock and obtain supplies. David, our subject, came to what is now Orange County, fifteen years ago, and bought forty acres of land at Newport, … Read more

Courtney, Pinkney L. – Obituary

Mrs. B.T. Long received word Thursday evening of the death of her father, P. L. Courtney at Payette, Idaho and left for that place Friday. M. O. Courtney of Lostine accompanied her. P. L. Courtney was one of the earliest settlers of the valley and lived here until recent years when he was compelled to try a different climate to relieve asthma from which he was a sufferer. He spent the past year in California from there going to Payette only two weeks ago and on the trip contracted the influenza to which he succumbed. Pinkney L. Courtney was born … Read more

Collins, Patrick Howard – Obituary

Union, Oregon Patrick Howard Collins, 48, of Seaside and formerly of La Grande and Union, died Nov. 19 in Seaside. A memorial service is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Coastline Christian Fellowship Church in Olney. Prior to the service, visitation will take place from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary in Astoria. Mr. Collins, known as Pat, was born Sept. 11, 1958, in Waterbury, Conn., to Theodore M. and Mary E. Brooks Collins. He grew up and was educated in Anaheim, Calif. In 1974 he moved to Clatsop County and began a career in the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Tim Carroll

Tim Carroll proprietor of the Anaheim 4, Evergreen Nursery, was born in County Cork, Ireland, March 25, 1840, the second in a family of nine children, of Patrick and Mary (Scandlan) Carroll, who moved to Australia in 1855. He came to Santa Cruz, California, in 1866, and worked at shipping lumber two years. In 1868 he came to Anaheim and bought fifty acres of land, his purchase being the first outside of the town limits. He then started the nursery business on a small scale, and today he has the largest nursery in Southern California if not in the State. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Illiam A. Firebaugh

Illiam A. Firebaugh farmer and and stock-raiser near Newport, was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, November 24, 1848, a son of David and Margaret (Hull) Firebaugh, both of Virginia. William, the fourth in a family of eight children, received but a limited education. In 1870 he went to Cedar County, Virginia, and began business for himself by renting land for two years. In 1872 he came to California and bought land, which he subsequently improved and finally sold, when he bought a ranch a half mile southwest of Newport, and here he has been successfully engaged in general farming and … Read more

Biography of Leopold Goepper

Leopold Goepper proprietor of the Brunswick Dining Parlors, Santa Ana, is a native of the Buckeye State, and was born October 10, 1856. His parents, Herman and Magdalena, were both natives of Germany, and came to America with their parents when quite young. The subject of this sketch, the eldest of their six children, left the common schools at the age of thirteen years. He was brought up on a farm and came with his father to California in 1870, locating in Santa Clara County, where they followed agricultural pursuits for six years. Then they came to Santa Ana. At … Read more

Biography of Judge Nathan Baker

Judge Nathan Baker, of Santa Ana, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, March 10, 1817. His parents, Nathan and Mary (Blizzard) Baker, both natives of Virginia, had three sons and two daughters. The subject of this sketch, the youngest and only one living, started west at the age of eighteen years, stopping first in Washington County, Iowa, and then in Lee County, same State, where he followed farming until 1849. In 1850 he was elected to the State Senate by that county, and at the close of his first term he resigned in order to come to California. He came … Read more

Biography of Judge C. W. Humphreys

Judge C. W. Humphreys of Santa Ana, was born in Mason County, Kentucky, and is a son of Robert Humphreys. Following is a history of the family as furnished to the subject of this sketch by his father at the age of eighty-eight years: “Shortly after the close of the Revolutionary War, four brothers, by the name of Humphreys, with their families emigrated from Tyrone County, Ireland, to Virginia, to either Greenbriar or Monroe County. Their names were Richard, John, Robert and Samuel. My grandfather was Robert. His sons were James, John, Robert; daughters, Mollie, Nancy and Jane. John Humphreys … Read more

Bell, Jean Gardner – Obituary

Imnaha, Oregon Jean Gardner Bell, 84, of Carlsbad, Calif., died May 13, 2004, at home. She was born Feb. 29, 1920, in Los Angeles, Calif. After graduating from John Marshall High School, she attended Glendale Junior College and University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) before marrying Franklin Bell II, a union that lasted 50 years until his death in 1992. They founded Bell Pipe and Supply Company in Anaheim, Calif., and raised their family in Tustin, Calif. In 1975 the couple bought a ranch on the upper Imnaha River where they spent springs and summers and Mrs. Bell worked … Read more

Genealogy of Daniel Baker

Qa161 DANIEL BAKER: b. in England; m. Sarah Chase, 1740. Col. Jacob: reported to have served on General Washington’s staff, and at his death left an estate now reported to be worth about $800,000,000. Samuel: M.D.; b. 1742; m. Roda (Silliman) Weed, 1773. Isaac: M.D.; b. 1783, at Fairfield, Conn.; m. Susan Morgan Dodge (d. 1833); in 1804 Dr. Isaac surveyed, laid out and named the townsite of Bloomington, Ill.; was county surveyor, clerk of the court (held this office for fifteen years) ; served as postmaster for a great many years and was a much respected citizen; died at … Read more

Bishop, Myrtle W. Mrs. – Obituary

Myrtle W. Bishop, 92, was born on Feb. 16, 1917 in St. Augustine, Fla., and passed away peacefully at her home in Laguna Niguel, Calif. on June 6, 2009 after a very short illness. She and her husband, Ernest W. “Red” Bishop, who predeceased her in 1992 after 57 years of marriage, moved to Inglewood, Calif., in 1941. During World War II she was employed as a riveter at North American Aviation. She subsequently worked as a seamstress at Virtue Brothers Mfg. in Inglewood, Calif. In 1964, she and her husband moved to Laguna Niguel as one of its first … 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

Biographical Sketch of W. W. Halesworth

W. W. Halesworth, has been a resident of Santa Ana since March, 1872, enjoying signal success in business affairs. At first he was employed in Los Angeles city, and in the fall of 1873 purchased twenty acres of land where the city of Santa Ana now stands, which he devoted to grapevines and fruit-trees, until in 1884 he began to cut it up into city lots. ” Halesworth’s Addition” is bounded on the north by Washington avenue, east by West street, south by Hales-worth street, and west by Ross Street. The second addition which bears his name is bounded on … Read more

Biography of Jesse H. Arnold

Jesse H. Arnold, Prominent among those who have been most active in advancing the interests of Orange County, stands the gentleman whose name heads this sketch – the pioneer merchant of Orange. He is a native of Howard County, Missouri, born July 15, 1842, and son of John and Margaret (Heard) Arnold. His father died in Howard County, Missouri, January 30, 1870, aged about seventy-four years; his mother died at his residence in Orange, September 19, 1889, aged eighty-seven years, three months and twenty days. At the time of his mother’s death, Mr. Arnold wrote the following obituary, which not … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. Moses Spencer Jones

Dr. Moses Spencer Jones, the oldest resident physician in Orange County, was born in Clinton County, Illinois, in 1842, a son of Charles Lee and Elizabeth Leek (Spencer) Jones. His father, a native of Buckingham County, Virginia, moved to Christian County, Kentucky, in 1824, and thence in 1830 to Illinois, where he died August 2, 1860. Dr. Jones was educated at McKendree College, at Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois, and completed his education under private instruction in St. Louis. He took a special course under the celebrated Dr. William Niehaus, in ophthalmology and aural surgery, and subsequently a special course … Read more

Biography of Jacob Ross

Jacob Ross a prominent business man of Orange County, was born in Clinton County, Indiana, August 7, 1846. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Ross, moved to Illinois in 1851, where the father engaged in the milling business and in farming until 1865, when they with their family came overland to California, being six months on the road. They unloaded at Watsonville, November 25, 1865. Mr. Ross, the father, prospected for a home in Salinas valley till 1868, when he moved to Southern California. He purchased the undivided interest in the Spanish grant of 1,860 acres, which, however, was afterward cut … Read more

Biography of Henry Babel

Henry Babel, deceased, formerly proprietor of the celebrated springs which bear his name, and which are now the property of his widow, was born near Hanover, Germany, on August 2, 1826. In 1845 he immigrated with his parents to America, and settled in Lebanon, Illinois, where his father and mother both died within a year. After their decease Henry went to St. Louis, Missouri, and on October 8, 1849, he married Miss Elizabeth Holadway, a native of Tennessee, a descendant of Scotch ancestry on her father’s side, and English on her mother’s. Early in May, 1850, Mr. Babel and his … Read more

Biography of Theodore Reiser

Theodore Reiser President of the City Council of Anaheim, was born in the city of Lahr, Baden, Germany, September 7, 1829, and after receiving a good education he began at the age of fourteen years to learn the art of wine-making on the Rhine, and served three years. He traveled and worked at his trade in Switzerland, and at the age of nineteen years he came to New York and worked at the cooper’s trade four years. In the spring of 1854 he came to San Francisco by steamer, and was employed in a brewery three years. Next he went … Read more

Coffee, Alice Wiles – Obituary

Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon Alice Wiles Coffee, mother of Bob Coffee of Enterprise, died Aug. 30, 1989, at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. She was born Dec. 9.1915, at Santa Ana, Calif., the daughter of Scott and Mary Wiles. On Dec.22, 1945, she married George L. Coffee at Long Beach, Calif. He preceded her in death on March 3, 1989. She worked as a parachute rigger in Long Beach, Calif., during World War II where she met her husband. She was a homemaker. After the death of her husband, she moved to Enterprise. Survivors include her son, Bob Coffee, Enterprise, daughter, Kathy … Read more

Taylor, Emma Augusta Abraham – Obituary

Funeral services for Mrs. Frank (Emma Augusta) Taylor, Sr., will be held Thursday, December 28, at the Evanson Funeral Home. A well-known resident of Ellensburg for more than 60 years, she died Sunday, December 24 [1967], at the Kittitas Valley Memorial Hospital. Born in West Bloomfield, Wisconsin, she was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Augusta Abraham. At the age of 6 months, her parents moved to Orange, California, where she was reared. She attended schools in Orange and Santa Rosa. She moved with the family to a ranch in the Teanaway valley just before the turn of … Read more