Clarence Woodman Mesmer

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1870, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1880, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1900, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1910, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1920, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1930, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Head
• Residence: 1935, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1940, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Head

Notes:

Joseph Mesmer deserves the everlasting good will of the City of Los Angeles, which has been his home for seventy years. It has been well said that “the index of his entire career has been one of public spirit and public service.” No where has this leadership been more in evidence than in his efforts to secure adequate street widening and the opening of public spaces in the midst of the masses of structures that mark the modern city. His constructive effort has entered into every other phase of Los Angeles' progress during the past fifty years. Mr. Mesmer assisted in maintaining the annual feature of the district agricultural and industrial fairs. He has been a contributor to the building of many churches, irrespective of race, color or creed, of various denominations, and to the practical work of charity and charitable institutions.

In 1876 Mr. Mesmer accepted employment in a general merchandising store and later in a shoe store. With money advanced by his father in 1878 he established The Queen Shoe Store. This business he sold in 1906, and he with his family made a thirteen months' tour through the United States, Canada and Europe.

Mr. Mesmer is president of the Los Angeles County Pioneer Society, he having come to Los Angeles County in August, 1859, when less than four years of age. He was born at Tippecanoe City, Miami County, Ohio, November 3, 1855, son of Louis and Catherine (Forst) Mesmer. He came with his parents to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in San Francisco in April, 1859, and the following August came down the coast on a steamer to San Pedro, landed at Wilmington and traveled by stage coach to Los Angeles. Joseph Mesmer was educated in the early public schools of Los Angeles. He completed his education in the college of Strassbourg, France. In 1907 Mr. Mesmer became identified with the Saint Louis Fire Brick and Clay Company of Los Angeles, and has for many years been its active head.

Mr. Mesmer married, April 22, 1879, Miss Rose Elizabeth Bushard, of Los Angeles. [p.67] Their children were Louis Francis, Marie Josephine Perier, Clarence Woodman, Junietta Lucille, Beatrice Evalynn and Aloysius Joseph Mesmer. Two of his sons volunteered for service during the World war, Louis and Aloysius. Louis was given the rank of major of engineers in the army and Aloysius as ensign in the navy.

Joseph married Rose Elizabeth Bushard on 22 Apr 1877 in Anaheim, Orange, California, USA. Rose was born on 13 Jun 1854 in Champlain, Clinton, New York, USA; died on 27 Feb 1946 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; was buried in East Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1880, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1920, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1930, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Wife
• Residence: 1935, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1940, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Wife

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1870, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1880, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1888, , Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1890, , Los Angeles, California, USA

Notes:

From California and Californians, Vol.4http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3341

Louis Mesmer,who took a leading part in the history of Los Angeles, was born at Surbourg, Canton Sulz, Alsace, France, February 20, 1829, and died at Los Angeles, California, August 18, 1900. He was the son of Joseph and Barbara Merkel Mesmer and was one of a family of eleven children. At the age of fourteen he began an apprenticeship at the baker's trade at Hagenau, and after four years established a bakery at Strassburg, thence to Colmar, thence to Paris and thence to Havre. His success stimulated a desire to see a little more of the world. He sold his business, and traveling in a sailing vessel, landed at New York three months later. He worked at his trade at Syracuse, at Buffalo, at Cincinnati and Dayton, and later established a business of his own at Tippecanoe City, Ohio.

While there he married Miss Catherine Forst in December, 1854, and four years later he left Ohio for California. After some experience without special reward in the gold fields of California and British Columbia, he became post baker for the British troops stationed at Fort Esquimalt, but returned to Los Angeles in August, 1859, where he first purchased the Ulyard Bakery and later the New York Bakery. During the Civil war he had a Government contract to supply bread to the troops stationed at Camp Leighton, southwest of and near Culver City.

Mr. Mesmer had the real spirit of the western pioneer, rugged, strong physically, an indomitable will, always ready for adventure and some new line of enterprise. When these undertakings took him from his business it was Mrs. Mesmer who took up the reins and successfully carried on—rearing her growing family mid the hardships of those early pueblo days. She was responsible for the family making their permanent home in Los Angeles, and to her is due much for the husband's success.

In 1863 Mr. Mesmer sold his business and purchased the United States Hotel.
In 1869, after leasing the hotel, Mr. Mesmer and his family made an extended tour through Europe, and in 1871 he bought the Dr. R. T. Hayes home, which continued to be the family residence for over twenty-five years.

His realty operations were largely in what is now the uptown business district of Los Angeles. He not only exercised good judgment in the purchase of real estate, but the value of these investments was greatly enhanced by the close supervision he gave to every phase of building construction. In 1880 he contracted for the first piece of concrete sidewalk laid in Los Angeles, in front of his Fort Street residence.

His business ability and integrity made his service sought in many directions. In 1874 Rt. Rev. Bishop Thadeus Amat asked him to take full charge of the erection of St. Vibiana's Cathedral. Hardly any public enterprise was launched during the last thirty years of the previous century at Los Angeles in which Louis Mesmer was not interested to the extent of financial contributions.

He was ever loyal to his home community, generous to the call of the poor and those early charitable institutions caring for the orphans and the homeless. Modern Los Angeles owes to him the debt that represents the obligation of the present day generation to the strong and resourceful pioneers of the past.

Mr. Mesmer lost the much beloved and highly respected companion of his early struggles and the mother of his children on October 2, 1891. On July 15, 1893, he married Mrs. Jennie E. Swan, to which union no children were born. Mr. Mesmer's family comprised three sons and two daughters, three of whom are living at Los Angeles, Joseph, Mary Christina Griffith and Lucile A. Whipple, widow of Charles Lee Whipple. Louis Anthony died November 7, 1907. Alphonse J. died September 7, 1925.



History of the Ulyard Bakery

Mr. Ulyard rented an adobe and set up a bakery business, using yeast that his wife brought across the Great Plains to their new home. Ulyard "soon sought a new location on the outskirts of the pueblo, at First and Main Street," later he moved to the southwest corner of Fifth and Main, site of the Alexander Hotel.

Ulyard was the first American-born baker in Los Angeles, naming his shop the American Bakery. He was in competition with Jospeh LeLong who was running his Jenny Lind Bakery and baking French bread. Ulyard made "German and American bread and cake, which soon found favor with many; later he added freshly-baked crakers," which he advertised as "baked in Los Angeles, and superior to those half spoiled by the sea voyage" from San Francisco.

The bakery was taken over by Louis Mesmer and then by James Rowan and his son, Thomas E. Rowan. The building was damaged by fire in December 1869, an event that led to the establishment of Los Angeles's first organized fire company.



Harris Newmark remembers Louis Mesmer

"Louis Mesmer arrived here [California] in 1858, then went to Fraser River [BC, Canada] and there, in eight months, he made twenty thousand dollars by baking for the Hudson Bay Company's troops. A year later he was back in Los Angeles; and on Main Street, somewhere near Requena, he started a bakery. In time he controlled the local bread trade, supplying among others the Government troops here. In 1864, Mesmer bought out the United States Hotel, previously run by Webber & Haas, and finally purchased from Don Juan N. Padilla the land on which the building stood. This property, costing three thousand dollars, extended one hundred and forty feet on Main Street and ran through to Los Angeles, on which street it had a frontage of about sixty feet. Mesmer's son Joseph is still living and is active in civic affairs."

"Judge Walter Van Dyke was here in the early fifties, although it was some years before I knew him; and I am told that at that time he almost concluded a partnership with Judge Hayes for the practice of law. He was Judge of the Superior Court when the City of Los Angeles claimed title—while I was President of the Temple Block Company—to about nine feet of the north end of Temple Block. The instigator of this suit was Louis Mesmer, who saw the advantage that would accrue to his property, at the corner of Main and Requena streets, if the square should be enlarged; but we won the case. A principal witness for us was José Mascarel, and our attorneys were Stephen M. White and Houghton, Silent & Campbell."

Title: Sixty Years in Southern California 1853-1913 Containing the Reminiscences of Harris NewmarkAuthor: Harris Newmark Editor: Maurice H.Newmark & Marco R. NewmarkRelease Date: May 10, 2013



Rancho Ballona and Port Ballona
Port Ballona was situated, from circa 1859 to 1903, near the center of Santa Monica Bay in coastal Los Angeles County, where currently Plaua Del Rey and Del Rey Lagoon is located. The name comes from the Mexican La Ballona land grant. Port Ballona consisted of the current Del Rey Lagoon Park but conceptually embraced including the current Ballona Wetlands State Ecological Reserve. The estuarine river, Ballona Creek flows into the marsh and alongside the marsh within earthen levees that are soft-bottomed wetland soil.

In 1839, the Mexican government granted the Machados and Talamantes families title to Rancho La Ballona In 1857, Benjamin D. Wilson, the first Maryor of Los Angleles, through foreclosure received title to 1/4 of Rancho La Ballona. Later, in 1859, Wilson, for $5000, sold 3,480 acres (1,410 ha) of Rancho La Ballona to George A. Sanford and John D. Young. During the Civil War, US General George Wright ordered troops to secure Port Ballona against any Confederate invasion and by 1862, a large force of 6,000 US troops were at and near Port Ballona. The troop camp was called Camp Latham.

In 1863, Louis Mesmer sold his Los Angeles bakery and purchased extensive land holdings from the Machados, including Port Ballona. In 1887, Louis Mesmer and Moye Wicks made a small port harborr at Port Ballona. Moye Wicks starts the Ballona Harbor and Improvement Company. in 1887, with plans to make the port a major sea port. August 21, 1887, the Town of Port Ballona was developed by Louis Mesmer and Moye Wicks. By 1889, Ballona Harbor and Improvement Company was out of funds to complete the maintain and expand the port, they could not keep the Port open. Louis Mesmer and Moye Wicks sold the port and land around the port to Moses Sherman. Sherman purchased 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land around the Ballona lagoon and the Port Ballona in 1902 under the name, Beach Land Company.

Port Ballona rail depot was built at the port and serviced by the California Cental Railroad opening in September 1887; this line later became the Santa Fe Railway.

Sherman and Clark renamed the port and land around the port to "Del Rey" in 1903. Port Ballona, in 1903, was renamed Playa Del Rey by Sherman and Clark.

In the 1880s and 1890s, parts of Venice, Playa Vista, Culver City, and Mar Vista were also part of Port Ballona.

Louis married Catherine Forst in Dec 1854 in Tippecanoe, Harrison, Ohio, USA. Catherine (daughter of Joseph Andre Forst and Salomé Schumpp) was born on 28 Oct 1833 in Dieffenbach-lès-Woerth, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 2 Oct 1891 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; was buried in East Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1860, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1870, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Residence: 1880, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

Joseph married Barbe Merkel on 23 Jan 1810 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Barbe (daughter of Ignace Jean François Merkel and Marie Anne Mosser) was born on 8 Jun 1792 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 9 Nov 1857 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
https://archives.bas-rhin.fr/detail-document/ETAT-CIVIL-C483-P1-R67404#visio/page:ETAT-CIVIL-C483-P1-R67404-1807407

Joseph married Salomé Schumpp in 1831 in Dieffenbach-lès-Woerth, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Salomé was born on 6 Dec 1803 in Lobsann, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 16 Oct 1855 in Dieffenbach-lès-Woerth, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gaspard married Marie Eve Stulb on 5 Sep 1785 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Marie (daughter of Jean Gaspard Stulb and Dorothée Marie Daentzler) was born on 4 Nov 1762 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 13 Aug 1838 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ignace married Marie Anne Mosser on 27 Apr 1789 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Marie was born on 16 Mar 1763 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 8 Dec 1813 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Michel married Marie Elisabeth Kuhn on 21 Feb 1757 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Marie was born in 1730 in Woerth, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 2 Feb 1807 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jean married Dorothée Marie Daentzler. Dorothée was born on 3 Jul 1735 in Wingen, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Andreas married Susanna Jobst on 26 Apr 1717 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Susanna was born on 28 Apr 1694 in Kutzenhausen, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 24 Jul 1765 in Surbourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]