BURTON E. GREEN

Los Angeles County

Biographies

BURTON E. GREEN

GREEN, BURTON E., President, Amalgamated Oil Co. of Los Angeles, Cal., was born in Wisconsin, Sept. 6, 1868, his parents being Richard Green and Amanda Hill (Bush) Green. On January 14, 1905, Mr. Green married Miss Lilian Wellborn, a daughter of Judge Olin Wellborn, U. S. Dist. Judge. They have two little daughters, Dorothy and Liliore.

As a boy he attended the public schools of Wisconsin and the Beaver Dam Academy of the same State. In 1886 his parents moved to California, and in 1889 he graduated from the High School of Los Angeles.

Soon after his graduation he went to Redlands and became interested in orange culture, which he pursued successfully for five years. This occupation did not afford sufficient activity and he returned to Los Angeles to seek a larger field of business possibilities.

At this time the oil industry seemed to offer the greatest opportunities, and associating himself with M. H. Whittier they entered the oil business under the firm name of Green & Whittier. Mr. Whittier, as a practical oil operator, looked after the drilling operations, while Mr. Green attended to the administrative and financial portion of the business. The first operations confined to the Los Angeles field were undertaken with excellent judgment and satisfactory results.

After drilling one of the first wells in the Coalinga district, because of greater activity in the Kern River district they transferred their operations to the vicinity of Bakersfield, and soon had a splendid production. The Green & Whittier Oil Co. was one of the three original companies which were combined to form the Associated Oil Co. Mr. Green was elected director and member of the executive committee, and is still one of its board of directors. The Associated oil Co. probably does the largest volume of business of any oil company on the Pacific Coast.

In 1905 the Amalgamated Oil Co. was formed, with activities confined principally to Southern California, where it does the bulk of the oil business. Soon after its formation Mr. Green was elected president, and still fills this position. He is also largely interested in and president of the Belridge Oil Co., one of the newer oil companies, which, on account of its tremendous holdings of 32,000 acres in the rich Lost Hills district, promises to be an important factor in the oil business of the State.

Aside from his oil interests he is largely interested in the Booth-Kelly Lumber Co., a corporation owning approximately 200,000 acres of excellent timber land in Oregon and a number of large mills, near several of which it has been instrumental in building up towns. Mr. Green is also the largest stockholder in the Rodeo Land & Water Co., a corporation owning a valuable tract of about 3000 acres of land near Los Angeles. A portion of it has been subdivided and, as Beverly Hills, is known as one of the most exclusive subdivisions in Southern California.

Outdoor life appeals strongly to Mr. Green, and whenever his business affairs permit he indulges in hunting, fishing, golf and motoring. As a member of the Bolsa Chica Gun Club, the Flatrock Club (whose grounds are in Idaho) and the San Ysidro Rancho Co. of Mexico, he has ample opportunity to gratify his shooting and fishing proclivities, which his membership in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Country cubs give him access to the best links to test out his prowess as a golfer.

His enjoyment of club life is further evidenced by his membership in the California Club, the Jonathan Club and Crags Country Club of Los Angeles, and the Pacific Union Club and the Bohemian Club of San Francisco.

In all of his clubs he has a large circle of friends and acquaintances among whom he is most pleasantly and favorably known.

Transcribed 7-18-08 Marilyn R. Pankey.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 112, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.

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