San Bernardino County
Biographies
S. M. GODDARD,
one of the leading business men of the city of Colton, is at the head, and is the general manager, of the well-known house of James Lee & Company, wholesale dealers in flour, provisions, grain, etc. It is one of the largest business enterprises of Colton, occupying a large brick store and warehouse west of the railroad depot in that city. The building is 160 x 50 feet in dimensions and is the largest warehouse in the county. The firm of James Lee & Company was established in 1885, composed of James Lee and the subject of this sketch as partners. They, in addition to the present business, were engaged also in banking. The death of Mr. Lee occurred in October, 1886, but the business was continued under the same name, with Mr. Goddard as senior, and M. A. Hebbard as junior partner. The banking house was sold soon after Mr. Lee's death and incorporated as the First National Bank of Colton.
Mr. Goddard has taken an important part in the business enterprises that have tended to build up Colton. He is the City Treasurer and has held that office since the incorporation of the city, and is a stockholder in many of the enterprises that have made public improvements in the city. He is the president of the Hermosa Cemetery Association, and has taken a prominent and leading part in political affairs. He is a first-class business man of enterprise and public spirit.
Mr. Goddard was born in New York in 1854. His father, William M. Goddard, was a native of that State, a carpenter by occupation, but during the childhood of the subject of this sketch he moved to Knox County, Illinois, and there engaged in farming. Mr. Goddard was educated in the public schools until seventeen years of age. He then started in life for himself, and first became a telegraph operator, and was for some four years in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, after which he established himself in mercantile pursuits, and conducted a large grocery business, until 1882. In that year he came to California, locating in Riverside, and was there engaged by J. R. Newberry & Co. in their grocery and commission business.
In 1875 Mr. Goddard was united in marriage with Miss Margaret A. Lee, the daughter of his late partner, James Lee. Bessie L. is their only child.
SOURCE: An Illustrated History of Southern California: Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California… Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1890. p.- 668
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
FRANK T. NELSON.
Among the enterprising and progressive citizens, and successful horticulturists that are doing so much toward building up and placing before the world the horticultural interests and industries of Riverside and San Bernardino County, mention should be made of the above named gentleman. Mr. Nelson came to San Bernardino County in 1863, and located at Redlands. There he purchased a twenty-acre tract of uncultivated land and commenced its improvement. He planted the tract with orange trees, and made one of the representative groves of that section. He sold the tract at a good price in 1887, and in the same year came to Riverside and invested in lands. He is the owner of thirty acres of land on the west side of Bandini avenue, upon which he has his residence; six acres of the land is in orange trees, five or six years old; the balance is bottom land, which is principally devoted to alfalfa. This bottom land has a water-right of some twenty-five inches from Spring Brook. He has also a ten-acre tract on the west side of Cypress avenue, which is one of the finest orange groves in the section. There are six acres of seedling oranges upon that tract, the trees are sixteen years old, and under his skillful care and cultivation are giving good returns, giving a yield that net him $500 per acre. Four acres are in budded fruit that are varying age and not in full bearing. He is a thoroughly practical man, and in his orange growing spares no labor or expense in cultivation and fertilization, that his experience and business principles teaches him will give a good return.
Mr. Nelson was born in Iroquois County, Illinois, in 1861. His parents were Olaf P. and Frederika Nelson, natives of Sweden. At the age of seven years Mr. Nelson went to Newton County, Indiana, and there entered the family of William Russell, a well-known resident of Riverside. He was reared to the occupation of a farmer and stock-grower, receiving the advantages of a good common-school education. He became well versed in his calling, and remained in that county until he came to Redlands in 1883. Although he had been a resident of Riverside but a comparatively short time, he is well known in his neighborhood, and has gained the respect of his associates. He is a consistent member of the Methodist Church. In political matters he is a supporter of the Prohibition party.
In 1888 Mr. Nelson was united in marriage with Miss Nellie Mills, a native of New York. There is one child from this union—Annie Laura. Mrs. Nelson's parents are William and Cordelia (Warren) Mills. Her father is a native of New Hampshire, and her mother was born in New York. They are now residents of Riverside. Mr. Nelson's mother, brother, Charles V., and sister, Melvina, now Mrs. William E. White, are also residents of Riverside. His sister Mary, who married Mr. John Wilson, and Louisa, now Mrs. John Peterson, are residents of Indiana.
SOURCE: An Illustrated History of Southern California: Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California… Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1890. p.- 668-669
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler