Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 624.
J. B. Kelsey [Editor inserted: Joseph Barnett Kelsey]
J. B. Kelsey, a rancher near Ventura, is one of the pioneers and extensive farmers of Ventura County. He was born in Morris County, New Jersey, November 8, 1838; his father, J. B. Kelsey, Sr., was a native of the same State; his ancestry were from Scotland. Mr. Kelsey's mother was Delia (Conyer) Kelsey; her ancestors were of French extraction. J. B. Kelsey was the eleventh of a family of fifteen children. after his early schooling, at the age of fourteen years, he went to work in a grocery store in Rockaway, and continued there five years, when he came to California, in 1858. He remained one year in San Francisco, and then removed to Alameda County, where he rented lands and engaged in farming market produce. He continued that business until 1868, when he came to Ventura and rented land two years, and then bought and improved 182 acres of land near Ventura. He still owns the property, and has planted trees and built a fruit-dryer. He moved upon the place in 1876, and is now raising corn and beans on a very large scale, - 1,500 pounds of Lima beans, and about the same quantity of small white beans to the acre. His average crop of shelled corn is from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds per acre.
Mr. Kelsey was married, in 1861, to Miss Mary Fichter, a native of New York city, but was raised in New Jersey; her parents were of German extraction. They have had eight children, three of them born in Alameda County, and the others in Ventura, viz: Sarah, who is now attending the Normal School in Los Angeles; Agnes, Victor, Mary (who is also at the Normal School), Della, Helen, Fred, and Olive. They have a large stock ranch, of which Victor has charge, and Agnes is keeping house for him. On this ranch he is breeding horses, both Norman and Clydesdale stock. Mrs. Kelsey died September 24, 1884; they had been married twenty-three years, and the loss was most deeply felt by them all. Mr. Kelsey is a member of the I. O. O. F., and also of the Masonic fraternity; in his political views he is a Republican. He was again married, to Mrs. Redwin, widow of the late Mr. Lewis Redwin, of Ventura. She is a native of Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey and several of the family are members of the Presbyterian Church.
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Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 328.
Josiah Keene
Josiah Keene was born in the State of Maine, December 19, 1828. His father, Jeremiah Keene, was also born in the "Pine Tree State," and his grandfather, Isaac Keene, was a native of Massachusetts, wand served in both the Revolution and the war of 1812. The Keenes were of Scotch-English descent. Josiah Keene's mother, nee Rebecca Kendall, was born in Maine, a daughter of Colonel David Kendall, who was also a native of Maine and a soldier in the war of 1812. They were of Welsh ancestry, who came to America in the early Colonial times. Mr. Keene's grandmother, on the maternal side, was a Cobourne, a cousin of Governor Cobourne of Maine, and a member of one of the oldest families of the state. The subject of this sketch was the fifth of a family of fourteen childre. All but two are still living. There were three pairs of twins in the family. In 1888 a reunion of the family was held in Minnesota, and members of the family from all parts of the country assembled there, ten grey-haired men and women being present.
Mr. Keene was reared and received a good education in tthe public schools of his native State. At the commencement of the great civil war, he enlisted, in April, 1861, as a private soldier. He served nearly three years, or until the time of losing his left arm at the battle of Chattanooga. He participated in twenty-two hard0fought battles, first at Mills Springs, then at Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Stone River, Perryville, Franklin, and all the engagements of his regiment. After he was wounded he was taken prisoner, and his arm was treated in the Rebel lines. Twelve days later he was exchanged. Mr. Keene considers it one of Mr. Lincoln's best acts when he exchanged 10,000 able Confederate prisoners for 10,000 maimed men, of whom he was one. It was a year before he was able to work, and then he obtained a clerkship in the Treasury Department at Washington and served ten years in that capacity. The close confinement was injurious to his health, and, in September, 1874, he came to California, and spent months in looking over the coast before he finally settled. He purchased three acres of land at San Buenaventura, on which he built a small house. After the boom he erected a very fine residence on that beautiful street, Ventura Avenue, where the family now reside. In the fall of 1875 he took a Government claim of 160 acres of land and also a timber culture of 160 more. This is located six miles due east of Santa Paula. He has planted seventy-five acres to trees and vines. Twenty-five acres are in olives, forty acres in raising grapes, two acres in a variety of fruit and the rest in Eucalyptus trees.
Mr. Keene was married, January 1, 1874, to Miss Lucy E. Monroe, a native of Massachusetts, and a daughter of Rev. Calvin H. Monroe, of that State, a minister of the Baptist church. Their union has been blessed with five children. Kendall C. was born in the city of Washington. The following were born in Ventura, California; Allen H., Herman B., Robo-Vesta and Helen L. Mr. and Mrs. Keene are members of the Methodist Church. He is a Republican and an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
***
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 328.
Josiah Keene
Josiah Keene was born in the State of Maine, December 19, 1828. His father, Jeremiah Keene, was also born in the "Pine Tree State," and his grandfather, Isaac Keene, was a native of Massachusetts, wand served in both the Revolution and the war of 1812. The Keenes were of Scotch-English descent. Josiah Keene's mother, nee Rebecca Kendall, was born in Maine, a daughter of Colonel David Kendall, who was also a native of Maine and a soldier in the war of 1812. They were of Welsh ancestry, who came to America in the early Colonial times. Mr. Keene's grandmother, on the maternal side, was a Cobourne, a cousin of Governor Cobourne of Maine, and a member of one of the oldest families of the state. The subject of this sketch was the fifth of a family of fourteen childre. All but two are still living. There were three pairs of twins in the family. In 1888 a reunion of the family was held in Minnesota, and members of the family from all parts of the country assembled there, ten grey-haired men and women being present.
Mr. Keene was reared and received a good education in tthe public schools of his native State. At the commencement of the great civil war, he enlisted, in April, 1861, as a private soldier. He served nearly three years, or until the time of losing his left arm at the battle of Chattanooga. He participated in twenty-two hard0fought battles, first at Mills Springs, then at Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Stone River, Perryville, Franklin, and all the engagements of his regiment. After he was wounded he was taken prisoner, and his arm was treated in the Rebel lines. Twelve days later he was exchanged. Mr. Keene considers it one of Mr. Lincoln's best acts when he exchanged 10,000 able Confederate prisoners for 10,000 maimed men, of whom he was one. It was a year before he was able to work, and then he obtained a clerkship in the Treasury Department at Washington and served ten years in that capacity. The close confinement was injurious to his health, and, in September, 1874, he came to California, and spent months in looking over the coast before he finally settled. He purchased three acres of land at San Buenaventura, on which he built a small house. After the boom he erected a very fine residence on that beautiful street, Ventura Avenue, where the family now reside. In the fall of 1875 he took a Government claim of 160 acres of land and also a timber culture of 160 more. This is located six miles due east of Santa Paula. He has planted seventy-five acres to trees and vines. Twenty-five acres are in olives, forty acres in raising grapes, two acres in a variety of fruit and the rest in Eucalyptus trees.
Mr. Keene was married, January 1, 1874, to Miss Lucy E. Monroe, a native of Massachusetts, and a daughter of Rev. Calvin H. Monroe, of that State, a minister of the Baptist church. Their union has been blessed with five children. Kendall C. was born in the city of Washington. The following were born in Ventura, California; Allen H., Herman B., Robo-Vesta and Helen L. Mr. and Mrs. Keene are members of the Methodist Church. He is a Republican and an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
***
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 577.
G. E. Kaltmeyer [Editor inserted: Gottholdt E. Kaltmeyer]
G. E. Kaltmeyer is one of the thrifty and enterprising self-made men of Ventura County. He was born in Germany, of well-to-do German parents in 1842, and received his education in his native country. A spirit of independence and a desire to do for himself prompted him to start for the United States, here to earn a living and ultimately to establish a home for himself. He came in 1856, and settled at St. Louis, Missouri, where he learned the trade of a confectioner and cook, and was engaged in that business there for ten years; he then went to Tennessee, where he opened a restaurant. From there he went to the Paris World's Fair, and also visited his parents, returning to America three months later. At this time he engaged in the cotton and wool business, and met with reverses, losing all he had made. On his way to New York his ship was caught in a severe storm, and he came so near losing his life that the other things did not seem of much importance.
In 1861 Mr. Kaltmeyer enlisted in a Missouri volunteer regiment, and served three months, during that time participating the battle of Springfield, Missouri. Some time after being mustered out of service, he again located in St. Louis, Missouri, and was engaged in business there until 1866. While in that city, in 1863, he married Miss Josephine Young, a native of Germany. To them were born two lovely children. During the fearful cholera epidemic in St. Louis, they were all taken with the disease, and both wife and children died, he along of the little family being left. At this time he was broken in spirit and also met with financial reverses. With what money he had left he came to California in 1868, via Panama. In San Francisco he worked at his trade, and in the fall he went to Napa County, where he heard there was choice government land in Southern California, and that it was a fine country. He came to Ventura County in December, 1869, and settled on 160 acres of land, which, after a while, he learned was not Government land. He bought eighty acres of it at $16.50 per acre; four years later he bought the other eighty; and still two years later he purchased sixty-seven acres more that adjoined it. Nearly all this time he was unmarried and did his own cooking. After remaining single nearly ten years, he wedded Miss Pauline Ruoff, a native of Germany. This union has been blessed with five children: the first, a son, died; the other children are Matilda, Emelia, Bertha and Hulda, all born in Ventura County.
Mr. Kaltmeyer has greatly improved and beautified his ranch; the house, a very comfortable and attractive one, he built in 1883; and the whole property speaks in unmistakable terms of the taste, refinement and enterprise of the owner. After being broken up twice, he has, by the power of his will and close application to business, become independent and affluent. Notwithstanding his various experiences, he still looks young, and, no doubt, has before him a long and successful career. He was inexperienced in ranch life when he came to his present location, and many were the difficulties he encountered, but he overcame them all, and now ranks among the leading ranchers of his district. Politically, he is a Republican.
***
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 577.
G. E. Kaltmeyer [Editor inserted: Gottholdt E. Kaltmeyer]
G. E. Kaltmeyer is one of the thrifty and enterprising self-made men of Ventura County. He was born in Germany, of well-to-do German parents in 1842, and received his education in his native country. A spirit of independence and a desire to do for himself prompted him to start for the United States, here to earn a living and ultimately to establish a home for himself. He came in 1856, and settled at St. Louis, Missouri, where he learned the trade of a confectioner and cook, and was engaged in that business there for ten years; he then went to Tennessee, where he opened a restaurant. From there he went to the Paris World's Fair, and also visited his parents, returning to America three months later. At this time he engaged in the cotton and wool business, and met with reverses, losing all he had made. On his way to New York his ship was caught in a severe storm, and he came so near losing his life that the other things did not seem of much importance.
In 1861 Mr. Kaltmeyer enlisted in a Missouri volunteer regiment, and served three months, during that time participating the battle of Springfield, Missouri. Some time after being mustered out of service, he again located in St. Louis, Missouri, and was engaged in business there until 1866. While in that city, in 1863, he married Miss Josephine Young, a native of Germany. To them were born two lovely children. During the fearful cholera epidemic in St. Louis, they were all taken with the disease, and both wife and children died, he along of the little family being left. At this time he was broken in spirit and also met with financial reverses. With what money he had left he came to California in 1868, via Panama. In San Francisco he worked at his trade, and in the fall he went to Napa County, where he heard there was choice government land in Southern California, and that it was a fine country. He came to Ventura County in December, 1869, and settled on 160 acres of land, which, after a while, he learned was not Government land. He bought eighty acres of it at $16.50 per acre; four years later he bought the other eighty; and still two years later he purchased sixty-seven acres more that adjoined it. Nearly all this time he was unmarried and did his own cooking. After remaining single nearly ten years, he wedded Miss Pauline Ruoff, a native of Germany. This union has been blessed with five children: the first, a son, died; the other children are Matilda, Emelia, Bertha and Hulda, all born in Ventura County.
Mr. Kaltmeyer has greatly improved and beautified his ranch; the house, a very comfortable and attractive one, he built in 1883; and the whole property speaks in unmistakable terms of the taste, refinement and enterprise of the owner. After being broken up twice, he has, by the power of his will and close application to business, become independent and affluent. Notwithstanding his various experiences, he still looks young, and, no doubt, has before him a long and successful career. He was inexperienced in ranch life when he came to his present location, and many were the difficulties he encountered, but he overcame them all, and now ranks among the leading ranchers of his district. Politically, he is a Republican.
***
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 638.
G. W. F. Johnson [Editor inserted: George W. F. Johnson]
G. W. F. Johnson, Proprietor of the Petrolia Hotel, Santa Paula, California, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, April 22, 1853. His father, George W. Johnson, was born and reared in Indianapolis. While attending school, he spent three years of his life in the family of Henry Ward Beecher. For a long time he was employed on the Daily Sentinel, now a leading paper of Indianapolis. Mr. Johnson's grandfather, Collin P. Johnson, was a pioneer of Indianapolis. He was a native of Winchester, West Virginia. Mr. Johnson's mother, nee Mary E. Kittlemen, was born in Indianapolis, and her father, James Kittlemen, was a pioneer there. Her grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and lived to be 104 years old.
The subject of this sketch was the oldest of a family of three children. He received his early education in Iowa, Kentucky and Oregon, completing his studies at Plymouth College, Oregon. The first work he did was to help Mr. Ben Hodely construct a telegraph line. After that he was engaged for ten years in the hotel business. In 1883 he purchased the Calistoga Hot Springs, together with 148 acres of land known as the old Sam Brannan property, and conducted it a year a half, after which he solt it to Governor Stanford, who now owns it. In Sonoma County, he bought 500 acres of land and for two years carried on general farming and stock-raising. On account of his wife's failing health, her physician ordered them South, and they traveled for nearly two years, seeking health for Mrs. Johnson, but without success; and finally located at Phoenix, Arizona, on a farm of 640 reres. There Mr. Johnson established the Calistoga breeding farm, importing and breeding fine stock of all kinds. After conducting this two years, he sold out and engaged in business in Phoenix, forming the firm of Hiller & Johnson, dealers in investments, bonds, warrants, etc. While in that business they purchased 150 acres of land, joining the city of Phoenix, which city is now the capital of Arizona, and laid out the Hiller and Johnson addition. During the last year he spent in Phoenix, Mr. Johnson conducted the Lemon Hotel - then the leading hotel of the Territory.
March 1, 1888, Mr. Johnson sold his interest to his partner, Mr. E. Hiller (now the cashier and manager of the Hartford Banking Company of Phoenix), and came to Santa Paula. He purchased the lease of the old Union Hotel, and conducted the house successfully for ten months, when it caught fire and burned down. Three months later he bought the ground and commenced the erection of the Petrolia Hotel, which he completed and furnished in a very satisfactory manner. It is 50 x 110 feet, with two stories and a half and a basement, containing forty rooms, and having a central location on Main street. The house is lit with gas, does a good business, and is well managed. It is the regular eating-house for passengers on South Pacific trains, and it is the leading hotel of the place.
Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Booth, a daughter of Mr. James R. Booth. She was born in Oregon in 1857. Their union was blessed with two sons and one daughter, namely: Chester, born in Napa County, September 1, 1877; Carl, in the same place, February 2, 1879; and Pearl E., in Adin, Modoc County. Notwithstanding the efforts put forth to save the life of Mrs. Johnson, she died, of consumption, in 1884. In August, 1885, Mr. Johnson married Miss Mary F. Fornia, a native of Nebraska City, born in 1869. She is the daughter of Mr. Milton Fornia, a merchant of Leadville, Colorado. They have two interesting children: George N., born in Phoenix, May 30, 1887, and Eleanora Cecelia, born September 13, 1889, in Santa Paula.
For the last five years Mr. Johnson has been a contractor for the Government posts in Southern California and Arizona. While in Arizona, Governor F. A. Tritle appointed him Secretary of the Territorial Fair Association, at a salary of $1,200 per year. He was a stockholder in the Valley Bank, and in the Hartford Bank. Mr. Johnson has obtained every degree in the I. O. O. F., and has passed all its chairs. He is a K. of P., and a member of the military order of the Loyal League of the United States. In politics he is a Republican, but is not radical. He is a prominent business man and a very obliging hotel-keeper.
***
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 638.
G. W. F. Johnson [Editor inserted: George W. F. Johnson]
G. W. F. Johnson, Proprietor of the Petrolia Hotel, Santa Paula, California, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, April 22, 1853. His father, George W. Johnson, was born and reared in Indianapolis. While attending school, he spent three years of his life in the family of Henry Ward Beecher. For a long time he was employed on the Daily Sentinel, now a leading paper of Indianapolis. Mr. Johnson's grandfather, Collin P. Johnson, was a pioneer of Indianapolis. He was a native of Winchester, West Virginia. Mr. Johnson's mother, nee Mary E. Kittlemen, was born in Indianapolis, and her father, James Kittlemen, was a pioneer there. Her grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and lived to be 104 years old.
The subject of this sketch was the oldest of a family of three children. He received his early education in Iowa, Kentucky and Oregon, completing his studies at Plymouth College, Oregon. The first work he did was to help Mr. Ben Hodely construct a telegraph line. After that he was engaged for ten years in the hotel business. In 1883 he purchased the Calistoga Hot Springs, together with 148 acres of land known as the old Sam Brannan property, and conducted it a year a half, after which he solt it to Governor Stanford, who now owns it. In Sonoma County, he bought 500 acres of land and for two years carried on general farming and stock-raising. On account of his wife's failing health, her physician ordered them South, and they traveled for nearly two years, seeking health for Mrs. Johnson, but without success; and finally located at Phoenix, Arizona, on a farm of 640 reres. There Mr. Johnson established the Calistoga breeding farm, importing and breeding fine stock of all kinds. After conducting this two years, he sold out and engaged in business in Phoenix, forming the firm of Hiller & Johnson, dealers in investments, bonds, warrants, etc. While in that business they purchased 150 acres of land, joining the city of Phoenix, which city is now the capital of Arizona, and laid out the Hiller and Johnson addition. During the last year he spent in Phoenix, Mr. Johnson conducted the Lemon Hotel - then the leading hotel of the Territory.
March 1, 1888, Mr. Johnson sold his interest to his partner, Mr. E. Hiller (now the cashier and manager of the Hartford Banking Company of Phoenix), and came to Santa Paula. He purchased the lease of the old Union Hotel, and conducted the house successfully for ten months, when it caught fire and burned down. Three months later he bought the ground and commenced the erection of the Petrolia Hotel, which he completed and furnished in a very satisfactory manner. It is 50 x 110 feet, with two stories and a half and a basement, containing forty rooms, and having a central location on Main street. The house is lit with gas, does a good business, and is well managed. It is the regular eating-house for passengers on South Pacific trains, and it is the leading hotel of the place.
Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Booth, a daughter of Mr. James R. Booth. She was born in Oregon in 1857. Their union was blessed with two sons and one daughter, namely: Chester, born in Napa County, September 1, 1877; Carl, in the same place, February 2, 1879; and Pearl E., in Adin, Modoc County. Notwithstanding the efforts put forth to save the life of Mrs. Johnson, she died, of consumption, in 1884. In August, 1885, Mr. Johnson married Miss Mary F. Fornia, a native of Nebraska City, born in 1869. She is the daughter of Mr. Milton Fornia, a merchant of Leadville, Colorado. They have two interesting children: George N., born in Phoenix, May 30, 1887, and Eleanora Cecelia, born September 13, 1889, in Santa Paula.
For the last five years Mr. Johnson has been a contractor for the Government posts in Southern California and Arizona. While in Arizona, Governor F. A. Tritle appointed him Secretary of the Territorial Fair Association, at a salary of $1,200 per year. He was a stockholder in the Valley Bank, and in the Hartford Bank. Mr. Johnson has obtained every degree in the I. O. O. F., and has passed all its chairs. He is a K. of P., and a member of the military order of the Loyal League of the United States. In politics he is a Republican, but is not radical. He is a prominent business man and a very obliging hotel-keeper.
***
Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.
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