Los
Angeles County
Biographies
HENRY LEE PILLSBURY
For nineteen years a resident of Long Beach,
Henry Lee Pillsbury was a factor of importance in its business circles and
public life and although a decade has elapsed since his death, his memory
remains fresh in the hearts of those who knew him, for his demeanor was ever
marked by the courtesy, consideration and kindliness which characterize the
gentle man.
Born on a farm near Lynn, in Henry County, Illinois, May
14, 1868, Mr. Pillsbury represented one of the early colonial families of
America for he was a descendant of William Pillsbury, who settled in
Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1632. To
this family also belonged Charles Pillsbury, the manufacturer of “Pillsbury’s
Best Flour” at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a business man of national
repute. The parents of Henry L.
Pillsbury were George B. and Elizabeth Jane (Greeley) Pillsbury, the latter a
relative of Horace Greeley, one of the most distinguished journalists that the
country has produced.
Reared on the farm, Henry L. Pillsbury obtained his
elementary instruction in rural schools of that locality and after his
graduation from the high school at Monmouth, Illinois, attended a business
college of Burlington, Iowa. For a time
he followed agricultural pursuits, abandoning that line of work to engage in
the sale of hardware and farm implements in association with his brother,
George B. Pillsbury, and brother-in-law, William A. Sawyer, and in that
connection figured in mercantile circles of Monmouth for nine years. On the expiration of that period he turned his
attention to the sale of real estate and insurance, thus becoming identified
with development work in Monmouth, and prospered in business. While residing there he was active in
politics, in church and temperance work and in community affairs. He served on the board of Trustees of
Monmouth College and was a director of the Young Men’s Christian Association.
Mr. Pillsbury came to Long Beach, February 22, 1903, and
here made his home until death terminated his earthly activities on December
11, 1922, at the age of fifty-four years.
Following his arrival he opened a real estate and insurance office,
which he maintained for five years and during that time had established a
profitable business, due to his sagacity and enterprise. He was also one of the directors and the
first depositor of the Marine Commercial Trust and Savings Bank. In 1908 he became a deputy city assessor and
received two reappointments for one year each.
He was made tax and license collector in June, 1910, and in the same
year was elected to that office, in which reelection continued him until
1914. In 1915, when Long Beach adopted
its present form of municipal government, he was appointed tax and license
collector and in 1916 was named city treasurer.
He devoted his best efforts to the discharge of his public duties and was
strongly commended for his faithful, efficient service.
While living in the middle west Mr. Pillsbury was married
June 12, 1893 to Miss Anna Gainer, who was born and reared in Monmouth,
Illinois. Her father, J. F. Gainer, was
born in Springfield Ohio, and the mother, who bore the
maiden name of Elizabeth Ann Gainer, was a native of Logansport, Indiana. Mrs. Gainer was a niece of the Rev. Harrison
Jones, who early preached the gospel in Ohio, and during the Civil war he
served as chaplain of the regiment commanded by General James. A. Garfield,
whose friendship he enjoyed and who later became the twentieth president of the
United States. Mrs. Gainer’s grandmother
crossed the plains in a covered wagon in 1852 and was one of the pioneer
settlers of The Dalles, Oregon. Mr. and
Mrs. Pillsbury became the parents of three children. The eldest, Stirling Gainer Pillsbury, born
July 5, 1898, was one of eight undergraduates chosen from Stanford University
for active Red Cross service in connection with an ambulance unit. Enlisting at San Francisco on the 8th
of May, 1918, he sailed from New York on the 26th of that month,
landed in England, June 7, and by way of Paris proceeded to Milan, where he
arrived June 15. He was one of the
first, if not the first, of the Long Beach boys to land in Italy. Detailed for duty as an ambulance driver, he
was commissioned a second lieutenant and was attached to the Italian Army until
the signing of the armistice, at which time he was stationed in Austria. Following his return to the United States he
resumed his studies at Stanford University, which awarded him the A.B. degree
in 1920, and three years later he received the degree of M.D. from Harvard
University. After five years’ experience
in Lane Hospital and the Boston Lying-In Hospital he opened an office in Long
Beach, where he has since practiced successfully as a gynecologist and
obstetrician. Henry Lee Pillsbury, Jr.,
the second son, was born on January 17, 1907, and died November 15, 1911. The daughter, Elizabeth, was born January 24,
1910, as is at home residing with her mother at 10 Atlantic avenue, Long Beach. Mrs. Pillsbury has long figured prominently
in club and social circles of the city.
She is a past regent of Gaviota Chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution and a member of the Ebell Club and the P.E.O.
A devout member of the Christian Church, Mr. Pillsbury
served as its treasurer for a number of years and always maintained a deep
interest in movements for the advancement of his city along both material and
moral lines. In Masonry his affiliations
were with Palos Verde Lodge, F. and A. M.;
Long Beach Commandery, No. 40, K. T.;
and Al Malaikah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also belonged to the Eastern Star, the Ad
Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Realty Board and the Young Men’s
Christian Association. Mr. Pillsbury was
a broad-gauged man who played well his part in life. He was held in high esteem because of his
recognition of the rights of others, his integrity, his progressive spirit, his
capability and fidelity in public office, and his appreciation of all those
forces which make life richer and better for the individual. His passing brought deep sorrow to his many
friends, but most of all he is missed in his home, where his relation was
largely that of an ideal husband and father.
Transcribed by
Mary Ellen Frazier.
Source:
California of the South Vol. V, by John Steven McGroarty,
Pages 736 -738, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2013 Mary Ellen Frazier.
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LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES