Santa Ana California

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 John Shirley

John Shirley, one of Santa Ana’s most respected citizens, is a native of Hancock County, Ohio, born in 1835, and his parents were Daniel and Annie (Crow) Shirley, natives of Virginia. His father, a farmer and blacksmith, moved to Jackson County, Iowa, in 1850, and died there in 1872. When a lad the subject of this sketch drove an ox team across the plains to this State, and for the first several years here he followed mining at Placerville and other places till 1864, when he came with the soldiers to Southern California and Arizona. He enlisted in Company K, … Read more

Biography of Prof. C. N. Andrews

Prof. C. N. Andrews, of Redlands, was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, in 1852. His father, Robert Andrews, crossed the plains to California with an ox team in 1857. They were on the plains at the time of the Mountain Meadow massacre, and were five months and ten days from Boonville to Sacramento. He purchased a farm in Sonoma County, in 1859, and is still living on it. He had a family of four sons and one daughter. The subject of this sketch received his early training in the common schools of Sonoma County, is a graduate of several prominent … 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

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

Biographical Sketch of J. E. Sharp

J. E. Sharp a retired capitalist of Santa Ana, was born in East Tennessee, November 17, 1809, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Lamb) Sharp, who had but two children: the subject of this sketch and a boy named Prophet, who died in 1850. The parents died in 1828, the father one day and the mother the next. In 1830 Mr. Sharp went to Illinois, where for several years he followed farming in Madison County; after this he went into the mercantile business at Bunker Hill, Illinois, and subsequently he moved to Litchfield, that State. In 1864 he came to … Read more

Walker, Harriet Hortense Ward Mrs. – Obituary

Harriet Walker, 98, died on April 11, 2006, at Arcadia, Calif. With the help of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, Harriet is now resting next to her parents at Cloverdale Cemetery in Boise. Harriet Hortense Walker, or “Aunt Horty” as she was affectionately known, was born at home in Nampa, Idaho, on Aug. 8, 1908, to Kate Share Ward and Henry B. Ward. She lost her hearing at the age of 9 months, the result of scarlet fever and whooping cough. At age 7, Harriet and her mother boarded a train at Nampa on their way to the Idaho State … Read more

Biography of James W. Layman

James W. Layman deceased, late of Santa Ana, was born in Peoria, Illinois, January 24, 1846. His parents, Martin and Elizabeth Layman, were from the State of New York, and had thirteen children, of whom James was the eighth. He was educated at Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his father had moved when the son was seven years old. He followed farming with his father in Minnesota until 1871, when he came to California. His first purchase here was a ranch near Newport, where he lived four years. He then purchased property on Main Street in Santa Ana, which he improved and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. J. Howe, M. D.,

A. J. Howe M. D., of Santa Ana, was born in Vermont in January, 1850. His father, Philip Howe, M. D., is still living in this city. He moved to Illinois when the subject of this sketch was only four years old, locating in Macoupin County, where he remained until 1863. He then made a three months’ trip across the plains to this State. Dr. Howe graduated at the State Normal School in San Francisco in 1870, and subsequently taught school in several different counties in this State, and at the same time prosecuted medical studies. In 1873 he graduated … Read more

Fagenstrom, Ottilie Brummer Mrs. – Obituary

Ottilie Fagenstrom, 85, a former Baker City resident, died March 31, 2006, at Life Care Center of the Treasure Valley in Boise. Her memorial service will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 17th Street and Pocahontas Road. Ottilie Fagenstrom was born on Sept. 21, 1920, at Oslo, Norway, to Walter and Catherine Pattenhausen-Brummer. Ottilie moved with her parents to the United States in 1924. Her father, Walter, continued his import-export business. When Ottilie was 14, her mother, Catherine, died. Ottilie moved with her father to California. She was a 1939 graduate of Santa Ana High School. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of R. Q. Wickham

R. Q. Wickham, the first County Clerk of the new county of Orange, was born in a Hancock County, Ohio, January 31, 1855. He is by trade a printer, and by profession a teacher, and followed said avocations alternately in Iowa, Dakota and Nebraska, from 1872 to 1887, when he came to California and engaged in the real-estate business at Santa Ana, and resided at Garden Grove. When the movement was revived for the organization of a new county, he joined in with zeal and pushed the matter along. He was appointed by Governor Waterman one of the commissioners on … Read more

Biography of Julias A. Crane, M. D.

Julias A. Crane M. D., of Santa Ana, is of New England parentage, and was born in Portage County, Ohio, January 21, 1846. His father, Rev. Eber Crane, was a clergyman of the Baptist denomination, born in Clinton, Connecticut (on Long Island Sound), May 3, 1808, and died at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, April 4, 1884. He was educated at the academy in South Reading, Massachusetts, and pursued his professional studies at the Newton Theological Institute, in the outskirts of Boston, at which time-honored institution he was graduated August 20, 1834. He was a zealous and life-long Abolitionist, a coadjutor and … Read more

Biography of George Ridgeley Broadbere

George Ridgeley Broadbere editor of the Santa Ana Free Press, was born in New York city and educated at Cambridge University, England. He began the newspaper business as war correspondent while serving in the naval brigade in the Zulu war in Africa, and while there he was severely wounded. In China he did war correspondence for the London Daily News. Returning to America, he was employed on the New Orleans Picayune as reporter and traveling correspondent in Louisiana and Texas; next he was a traveling agent and correspondent for the States of the great southwest for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat; … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. R. Dresser

A. R. Dresser one of the pioneers of Santa Ana, and a successful businessman, was born in De Kalb County, Illinois, in 1839. For his parentage see sketch of William Dresser. He started out life for himself at the age of twenty-one as a farmer. In 1861 he came to California, located first in Sutter County, where he “held down a squatter’s claim” until 1870, when he Came to Southern California and located in Santa Ana, where he has since resided; and here he devotes his attention mostly to agricultural pursuits. His first purchase was that of 140 acres in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. R. F. Burgess

Dr. R. F. Burgess of Santa Ana, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1834, and when he was quite young the family removed to New York State, and three years afterward to Michigan, locating in Washtenaw County, where they remained about twelve years. The father died in Montcalm County, that State, when the subject of this sketch was seventeen years of age, and the latter therefore had to look after the welfare of the family. He served three years in Company A, Twenty-first Michigan Infantry, during the last war, going out as a wagoner and having charge of an ordnance … Read more

Monroe, Martha Ann Rafn Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Martha R. Monroe, 72, of Baker City, former co-owner of the Monroe Mortuary, died Oct. 26, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Susan Barnes of the First Presbyterian Church will officiate. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at the funeral home. Martha Ann Rafn was born Aug. 26, 1930, at Houston. She was the only child of Harold J. and Pearl Padgett Rafn. Her father was in the military and they lived … Read more

Biography of John Hartley Smith

John Hartley Smith, the founder and president of the First National Bank of San Bernardino, and one of the most thorough business men and experienced bankers in Southern California, was born in Jackson County, Virginia, in 1835. He came to Ohio at the age of fifteen, and in 1853 he came to California and spent two years in the gold mines, chiefly in Mariposa County. He was quite successful, and in 1855 returned to Ohio with considerable money and a fund of experience which has proved of great value to him in his subsequent business career, as well as fraught … 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

Biographical Sketch of Josiah Ross

Josiah Ross, one of the first settlers of Santa Ana, was born in Clinton County, Indiana, in 1844. His parents were Jacob and Elizabeth (Thompson) Ross, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. For a number of years the subject of this sketch has been a quiet but successful tiller of the soil on his fine farm one mile west of Santa Ana. Most of his attention has been given to horticulture, and his well kept orchards show many varieties of deciduous and semi-tropical fruits. He has not cared to take an active part in political matters, but … Read more