Los Angeles County
Biographies
WILLIAM STANTON
STANTON, WILLIAM, Retired Attorney, Capitalist, Pasadena, California, was born at Salem, Ohio, August 28, 1832, the son of Dr. Benjamin Stanton and Martha (Townsend) Stanton. He has been twice married, his first wife having been Ellen K. Irish, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, whom he wed in 1870. She died in 1897, leaving him a daughter, Emily Stanton, now Mrs. Oliver S. Picher, wife of the General Manager of the Picher Lead Works, Joplin, Missouri. He married a second time in 1903, his wife being Mrs. Sophronia (Harbaugh) Nevin.
Mr. Stanton attended the primary schools near his home until he was sixteen years of age and for the next three years attended a select school. At the age of nineteen he determined upon civil engineering as a profession and took a position as rodman in a corps engaged in surveying what is now the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, through Ohio and Indiana. He gave this up at the end of three years, however, and turned his attention to the study of law in the Cincinnati Law School.
Admitted to the bar of Ohio in 1859, immediately following his graduation, Mr. Stanton opened offices in Cincinnati for the practice of his profession, and during the sixteen years he remained in practice was one of the prominent attorneys of Cincinnati. He allied himself with the Republican party early in his career and two years after he entered professional ranks was elected to the State Legislature as the representative of his district. Mr. Stanton served three terms in the Ohio House, from 1861 to 1867, and during that time took a leading part in the handling of various important legislative acts. He was a member of the Judiciary Committee and was Chairman of the Committee on Public Schools of the House. The period during which he served in the Legislature was one of the most important in its history. He figured in two notable Senatorial contests, casting his vote for Benjamin F. Wade on one occasion and for John Sherman on another in their contests for seats in the United States Senate.
In 1867, upon his retirement from public life, Mr. Stanton resumed the active practice of his profession in Cincinnati and continued it until 1875, when, on account of failing health, he closed his office and moved to New Brighton, Pennsylvania. After three years there he moved to Sewickley, near Pittsburg. He lived there for several years and took an active interest in the welfare of the town, serving two terms as Burgess. The improvements he made to his home place in Sewickley furnished the inspiration to other property owners and resulted in the establishment of a beautiful residence district. In Pittsburg, Mr. Stanton erected the Stanton Building, then one of the large and substantial office buildings of that city.
During a visit to Southern California in 1889, Mr. Stanton spent some time at Pasadena and became so charmed with the country that he purchased Grace Hill, the site of his present home, comprising thirteen acres of land. He erected his resident there in 1890 and since that time has made it his home. When he first saw the place the possibilities of it appealed to him, but the property had only been slightly improved. During the twenty-two years that have elapsed, however, he has improved it each year with the result that Grace Hill is one of the beautiful private residence parks of the country. It consists of a splendid sweep of land, rising to an elevation, which gives a commanding view of the picturesque country surrounding it.
When he first took possession of Grace Hill, Mr. Stanton planted rows of ornamental and fruit trees and through the careful handling of a corps of gardeners the homestead has been transformed into a place of beauty with acres of green lawn, orchards and many varieties of flora.
From the time he located in Pasadena, Mr. Stanton took an active interest in the affairs of the town and has been one of its ardent upbuilders, having seen it change from a village into a modern city, noted for the number and magnificence of its mansions, and become the winter rendevous of wealthy tourists from all parts of the world.
Mr. Stanton had faith in the future of the city from the day he first saw it and during the years that have intervened was one of the active operators in real estate, with the result that he is a heavy landowner. He bought and still owns the Stanton Building, in the business center of Pasadena, and also has other interests.
Of recent years, Mr. Stanton has led a retired life, but formerly was active in various lines. Among his affiliations was the Pasadena National Bank, of which he was Vice President and Director for many years.
From the time when he, as Chairman of the Committee on Public Schools in the Legislature of Ohio, led in the inauguration of improvements in the school system of that State, Mr. Stanton has been an advocate of educational advancement and he had only been in Pasadena a few years when he was elected to the Board of Trustees of Throop Polytechnic Institute, an educational institution located there. He served for more than ten years, resigning in 1908 when he have up his other public duties. Mr. Stanton is esteemed by the people of Pasadena as one of the city’s strongest and most public-spirited citizens and, having followed the precepts of his Quaker ancestors, is noted among his fellowmen for his fair dealing and sense of justice.
He has splendid business and social standing, and is a member of the Valley Hunt Club, of Pasadena, and affiliated with the Masonic fraternity as a member of Corona Lodge, No. 324, F. & A. M.
Transcribed 4-10-09
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 227,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2009 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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