Los Angeles County
Biographies
JOHN
BISHOP COULSTON
COULSTON,
JOHN BISHOP, President, Crown City National Bank, Pasadena Cal., was born at Ellisburg, Pa., May
22, 1869, the son of John Coulston and Stella
Charlotte (Bishop) Coulston. He married Nora V. Seibert at Austin,
Pennsylvania, November 10, 1891, and to them there have been born two sons,
John T. and George S. Coulston, and a daughter,
Lillian M. Coulston.
Mr. Coulston
had only a common school education and worked on his father's farm until he was
seventeen years of age. In 1887 he went
to Austin, Pa., and there became Assistant Postmaster, a position he held until
1890. He then entered the employ of the
F. H. & C .W. Goodyear Lumber Company and was engaged in the drug business
for several years, until he moved to Coudersport, Pa., in 1894.
At that time he became interested in
the natural gas business and served as Secretary and Treasurer of several gas
companies in Northwestern Pennsylvania and Southwestern New York, representing
the T.N. Barnsdall interests. He also
turned his attention to banking and organized the Coudersport Trust Company and
several affiliated banks in that section of the country. From that time forward Mr. Coulston has been actively engaged in the banking business
and until he transferred his residence to Southern California was one of the
leading financiers in Northwestern Pennsylvania.
In 1905 Mr. Coulston
made a visit to Pasadena, California, as a tourist seeking relief from asthma,
and the following year, after disposing of his interests in Pennsylvania,
transferred his home to the Crown City.
Shortly after his arrival Mr. Coulston
organized the Covina National Bank, at Covina, California, adjacent to
Pasadena, and the Colton National Bank of Colton, California, in both of which
institutions he filled the office of President.
These organizations marked the beginning of Mr. Coulston's
career in the banking affairs of Southern California and in the years that have
followed he has figured in numerous others. He was one of the organizers of the National
Bank of Riverside, California, and also of the Traders Bank of Los Angeles, in
which he holds the office of Vice President.
In 1907 he purchased the Crown City
Bank, then a small State institution located at East Pasadena, and two years
later caused it to be Nationalized. The history of this bank, since Mr. Coulston took over its management, has been most
remarkable. In 1907 it had deposits of
only $41,000, and in 1912, a period of about five years, had more than a
million and a quarter dollars on deposit and ranked among the strongest
monetary institutions of California and the West.
Mr. Coulston's
success in the upbuilding of this bank has been
characteristic of his work in behalf of various others with which he has been
connected, and in addition to the institutions mentioned, he has been a factor
in the growth of the following:
Crown City Savings & Trust Company,
of which he is President; the First National Bank of San Pedro, Cal., of which
he is a Director; the First National Bank of South Pasadena, in which he is a
Director, and the South Pasadena Savings Bank, in which he is also a Director.
Aside from his banking connection, Mr. Coulston is largely interested in the citrus industry, with
extensive orange ranches at Covina and Glendora, Cal. His Wildwood ranch at the latter place is one
of the show places of Southern California.
He is also actively engaged in the development of water for irrigation purposes
in Southern California, and has been a Director of several large irrigation
companies.
Mr. Coulston's
diversified interests command a large part of his time, but nevertheless he
takes an active interest in civic affairs of Pasadena, although he is not in
politics. For four years he has been a
Director of the Tournament of Roses Association, and has been one of the men
responsible for the success of the organization in recent years. This association's chief object is the
promotion of the world-famous "Tournament of Roses," the beautiful
carnival held on New Year's Day at Pasadena each year, to which thousands of
tourists are attracted.
Mr. Coulston
has a beautiful home at Altadena, surrounded by a grove of choice tropical and
subtropical fruit trees. He is President
of the Altadena Country Club and belongs to the Annandale Country Club, the
Overland Club of Pasadena, and the Jonathan Club of Los Angeles. He is a Thirty-second degree Mason, member,
Mystic Shrine.
Transcribed
by Rhonda Ruick O'Brien.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Pages 463-465,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2010 Rhonda
Ruick O'Brien.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPIES