Los Angeles County
Biographies
WILLIAM JAMES HOGAN
HOGAN, WILLIAM JAMES,
Retired, Pasadena, California, was born in Louisville, Kentucky,
March 12, 1845, the son of David Francis Hogan and Mary Buley (Vogdes) Hogan. He married
Emma Clara Alter at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
June 5, 1872, and they had one son, Francis Griffiths Hogan, now one
of the leading real estate operators of Pasadena. Mr. Hogan’s parents were
both natives of Philadelphia, but his paternal grandfather, Patrick Hogan, was
a native of County Cork, Ireland, who came over to this country and was engaged
as a commission merchant in Philadelphia for many years. His maternal
grandfather, also a merchant of Philadelphia, and his great uncle, General Vogdes, was an officer in the
Colonial Army.
Mr. Hogan, who is well known as a lover of fine horses,
and in financial circles, attended public and private schools of Louisville,
Kentucky, in his boyhood and later attended a college at Norristown,
Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, known at that time as the Arrin
Male College.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Mr. Hogan was
at his home in Louisville, but was too young to bear arms. He entered the
service of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago
Railroad about the middle of 1862, but in the early part of 1863 gave up his
position and entered the Commissary Department of the United States Government
service. He served in this capacity during the continuance of the war and for
about six or eight months following the close of hostilities.
Upon leaving the Government service, Mr. Hogan was out of
employment for a short time and next went to work for a cotton and tobacco
buyer of Louisville. He remained in that position for about a year and then
entered the banking business as clerk in a large brokerage house of Louisville.
From the brokerage office he entered the employ of the State bank known as the
Falls City Bank, Louisville, and worked in various capacities for the next five
years, but at the end of that time decided it was too confining and so left the
business to enter commercial life.
Going to Philadelphia, Pa., he accepted employment with a
wholesale house as a traveling salesman and was thus engaged for the next five
years. Returning to his native city of Louisville, Mr. Hogan embarked in
business for himself, owning a store in which he made a specialty of fancy
goods. He began in a modest way, but through his careful management of the
house, it was gradually increased and when he retired from the business, after
twenty-one years, it was one of the important commercial houses of Louisville.
Since selling out his business in Louisville, Mr. Hogan
has not been active in commercial pursuits. He devotes time, however, to
looking after his investments in real estate, stocks and bonds.
During his long residence in Louisville, Mr. Hogan took
an energetic interest in civic and social affairs and while he was not active
in politics always took a keen interest in the city
government.
From his boyhood, Mr. Hogan was interestel
(sic) in good horses and for many years has been identified with the
Louisville Horse Show Association and other kindred bodies. The Louisville
Horse Show Association, which is celebrated for the splendid annual exhibit
held in that city under its auspices, is one of the oldest organizations of the
kind in America and Mr. Hogan served a term as its President, a
distinction conferred upon those men who are deemed to be the most active in
the breeding and protection of fine animals.
Following his removal to Pasadena, Mr. Hogan not only
maintained his interest in fine horses, but interested the people of that
section in them and as a result organized the first horse show ever held in the
Crown City. He also was the prime mover in the formation of the Southern
California Horse Show Association and served as its Vice President for some
time. Under its auspices the horse show was made one of the annual features of
the winter season at Pasadena and Mr. Hogan, as a friend of the horse,
worked indefatigably for the improvement of the breed. Being a horse owner
himself, he has continued to be identified with all movements for the benefit
of the animals and was one of the strong advocates of a constitutional
amendment submitted to the voters in 1912 for the restoration of racing in
California. The sport was legislated out of existence because of the evils it
bred, but Mr. Hogan, with several hundred other well known men of
California who love good horses, sought to reintroduce it in order to encourage
breeding. They so framed their plan as to eliminate the obnoxious features and
to conduct racing on a clean basis, but the opposition to the sport was so
great that the amendment was defeated.
In addition to his labors for the success of the Pasadena
Horse Show, Mr. Hogan is interested in the Polo matches which
form a part of the social life of Southern California each year and is also an
active factor in the world-famous Tournament of Roses Association, which
conducts the annual carnival of flowers at Pasadena on New Year’s Day. This
celebration, which has for its sponsors the leading citizens of Pasadena, has
come to be regarded as one of the most beautiful public affairs in the United
States and attracts thousands of viistors (sic)
to Pasadena each year. Mr. Hogan was elected an honorary member of the
Association and is one of the enthusiastic workers for its success.
Mr. Hogan has been interested in various other civic
movements in Pasadena and because of his unselfish work for the advancement of
his adopted city was elected an honorary member of the Pasadena Board of Trade.
He is a member of the Pendennis
Club, Louisville, Ky.; Annandale Country Club, Overland Club, Midwick Country Club and Polo Club, Pasadena.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
22 August 2011.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 727,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2011 Marie Hassard.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPIES