Los Angeles County
Biographies
JOHN BENNER,
dealer in fresh and salted meats, 36 West Second street, Los Angeles, was born in Germany, December 6, 1839, and emigrated to this country in 1855, when only sixteen years of age; went to Baltimore and lived there several years, and then made up his mind to come to the Pacific Coast. After reaching California, he lived in San Francisco a short time, and in 1860 came to Los Angeles, and after working in the market two years he engaged in the butchering business for himself on Main street, in Temple Block, and was there five or six years. Then he removed to Spring street, opposite the old court-house, and remained there ten years, and was in business on those two streets twenty-two years, until he established himself at his present location. He is the oldest American in the business in Los Angeles, and has an established trade. Being one of the pioneer business men of Los Angeles, he has hosts of friends who bear testimony to his integrity and generosity, in aiding every good work. In 1867 Mr. Benner married Miss Christiana Hepp, a native of the city of Buffalo, New York.
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California – Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1889 Page 709
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
C. W. BALDWIN,
retired, residing at 301 East Fifth street, was born in Templeton, Massachusetts, February 11, 1822. He was reared in New England, and in 1850 came to Chicago, which at that time contained 20,000 people. He was steward of the old Matteson House until 1856, and was persuaded to take the same position in the Young America, which was then the leading hotel. Remaining there several years, he accepted a good offer to go to Missouri and locate at Syracuse, the end of the Pacific Railroad, then in process of construction. He remained there until the war, when he was driven out, and he went to Jefferson City and entered the service. Was with Pope's division at New Madrid, Jefferson City, Shiloh, and Corinth, serving as Forage-master, and afterward was engaged in buying cotton. He returned to Chicago in 1865, and the following year he became associated with W. F. Tucker in the hotel business,―at the Briggs House, and the Transit House at the Stockyards, taking the active management. After several years he sold out his interest and took the Metropolitan Hotel. After remodeling and refurnishing it, he sold it. Later he became proprietor of the noted Chapin & Gore Restaurant, the largest in the city, and for five years successfully carried on the business. Mr. Baldwin has had a large experience in catering, and is one of the most successful and well-known hotel men in the country. His health being impaired by close attention to business, by the advice of physicians he came to California in 1883, and since then has resided here. His health is much improved, and, being amply provided for, he is spending his days in peace and comfort.
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California – Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1889 Page 709
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
HIRAM P. BURLINGAME,
a native of the State of Maine, was born in 1827, and is
the son of Carpenter and Rebecca (Woodman) Burlingame, natives of New York and
Maine respectively, and of Scotch origin. At the age of twenty-one Mr.
Burlingame left his native State and went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he
pre-empted 120 acres of land.
He was married in St. Anthony, in 1852, to Miss Sarah A. Bean, a native of
Maine. Her parents moved from that State to Wisconsin and later went to
Minnesota. It was Sarah Bean who was so miraculously saved from going over the
falls at St. Anthony when she was a girl. Mr. Burlingame left Minnesota,
February 9, 1870, coming to California, first to San Francisco and from there to
Los Angeles County. He purchased 140 acres of land. A part of this he sold and
has since bought 280 acres more of the best land in California. Mr. Burlingame
raises more strawberries than any other man in the State, having under
cultivation thirty-five acres. He was also interested in the development of
water supply, and sank one of the largest pipes in the world, it being fourteen
and one-half inches in diameter. He has since disposed of his interest in this
enterprise, selling out to Pomroy & Gains and to his son, Edward C. Burlingame.
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California – Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1889 Page 710
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
JUDGE G. A. BALL
was born at Ball's Bluff, Maryland, in 1839, a son of James and Nancy (Greenwood) Ball. His mother died when he was less than a year old, and his father when he was less than two. He was reared and educated by his uncle, S. Greenwood, in Georgia. He served four years in the Confederate army, being in the Fifteenth Alabama Infantry. He fought at Manassas and the first battle of the Wilderness, and many others, and was surrendered at Appomattox. After the war was over he went to Bastrop County, Texas, and taught school for awhile, and was married there, in 1870, to Miss Penelope Willett, a native of Tennessee and the daughter of John Willett. He practiced law for several years in Bastrop County, and was judge for one term. He came to Los Angeles County in 1886 and bought a small ranch three miles southeast of Norwalk, where he is practically retired from active business life. Socially he affiliates with the Masonic order.
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California – Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1889 Page 710
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler