Los Angeles County
Biographies
THE TEMPLE
FAMILY
During the late ‘30s, small
windjammers fought their stormy passage around the Horn, and covered wagons
drawn by slow-moving oxen threaded the perilous trails across the prairies and
mountains, all bound for California, the land of promise, romance and
adventure, and carrying with them men of supreme courage to the new
country. One of these men was John
Temple, more familiarity known to the first Californians as Don Juan Temple. Intrepid, hardy and stanch, he was prepared
to meet any situation or emergency. The
long journey to the west would have daunted men of less stamina, but John
Temple was one of the stalwarts who felt no trace of apprehension, and was
inspired with the zest of entering a new land, of meeting a new kind of people,
and of finding the opportunity to carve out a future in a fresh and
invigorating environment. When he
finally reached the little pueblo of Los Angeles, he was required to become a
naturalized Mexican citizen and to accept the Catholic faith as his own. Mexico held governmental sway over this land
at that time and was fearful of encroachments from other nations, some having
threatened, and was consequently strict about the newcomers of another race. John Temple and many of his friends became
known as Yankee Dons. The aristocratic
Spanish families of the settlement accepted them into their midst with
enthusiasm, and John Temple married a beautiful senorita from one of the
proudest Spanish families, became an outstanding figure in the community, and
acquired great wealth in land and livestock.
Many of his descendants now reside in Southern California.
John Temple was born in Reading,
Middlesex county, Massachusetts, in 1796, and was a son of John Temple,
Sr. When he left home is not definitely
known, but as a young man he felt strongly the wanderlust, the urge to visit
strange lands and meet with colorful experience. In 1825, record has it that he was in the
Sandwich Islands, commanding his own sailing vessel and engaging in trade with
the native islanders. In 1827, he came
to Los Angeles, about the same time Don Abel Stearns and other voyageurs
arrived. John Temple did not hesitate
long to establish himself in mercantile business in Los Angeles. He was a man of strong initiative and grimly
determined to be a winner in the contest which lay before him. He faced the future with that stern manner
and fearless attitude which had been taught him in the preceding years, when at
sea and on land he had sought to make a living under the most arduous
conditions. However, he was cognizant of
the fine type of Spanish people whom he met at the pueblo and he became a
friend of all of them, which feeling was most graciously reciprocated by them.
John Temple was destined to prosper
in business from the very first. His
first store was a small adobe structure situated at what is now the
intersection of Main and Spring streets.
Trade bounded upward, and with an optimistic eye he visualized the
future commercial benefits to be derived therefrom. With this thought in mind he built another
structure south of his store, which was known as the Don Juan Temple
block. After John Temple’s death, this
building was sold to his brother, F.P.F. Temple for ten thousand dollars. The old adobe building was then demolished
and what became known as the Temple block was erected, and has just recently
been razed. This was a historic landmark
of much interest to the present generation.
In the middle ‘50s, John Temple built a structure on the site of the new
city hall, which was called the City Market, and was also used as a meeting
hall. The architectural style was
similar to that of Faneuil Hall in Boston.
Law and court chambers occupied the second floor above the market, and
here Judge Don Ignacio Sepulveda and Judge Volney F. Howard held court. Mr. Temple had previously opened the first
store in the pueblo where the Federal building now stands, and planted pepper
trees in front of it. His wife, with her
brothers and sisters, owned the famous Los Cerritos rancho of more than
twenty-seven thousand acres, which comprised part of the land on which the city
of Long Beach, California, now stands.
Mr. Temple bought out the other heirs aside from his wife and
constructed the hacienda which now stands near the Virginia Country Club. His good friend and companion, Abel Stearns,
bought the neighboring rancho and built another hacienda, which is now known as
the Fred Bixby home, the property being owned by the Jothan Bixby heirs. Vast herds of cattle were kept by John Temple
on this extensive acreage, which extended to the ocean, comprising over four
hundred square miles. He joined with his
brother, F.P.F. Temple, who was likewise wealthy, and shipped enormous herds of
cattle to the mining district in the north, and in this venture they reaped a
most abundant profit, adding riches to those which they had already
accumulated. John Temple made another
master financial stroke when he leased the mint in Mexico, and derived
therefrom an enormous sum of money. It
is said that he refused a million dollars for his concession. It is a matter of history that he coined his
own money at one time that he controlled seven hundred miles of the west coast
of Mexico, and that he had his own boats or those he controlled sailing from
Acapulco to San Francisco. In 1865, in
company with Mr. Gibson, John Temple bought another four thousand acres on what
is now the town site of Compton, California, from the Dominquez family for
thirty-six cents per acre.
On September 17, 1830, John Temple
was married to Dona Rafaela Cota of Santa Barbara, a member of one of the most
aristocratic and wealthy Spanish families on the coast. She was a descendant of Don Manuel Nieto. To their marriage was born one daughter,
Francisca, who married Don Gregorio de Ajuria, a native of Spain, about August,
1848. They were the parents of seven
sons and two daughters. Both Mrs. Temple
and her daughter died in Paris, and John Temple passed away in San Francisco,
May 31, 1866. He was devoted to his
family and their happiness was always foremost in his thoughts. With his wife and daughter, and the latter’s
family, he visited Paris in March, 1858.
Mrs. Temple was so impressed with the French metropolis that in the
later years of her widowhood she went there to reside.
Francis Pliny Fisk Temple, brother
of John Temple, also one of the pioneers of Los Angeles, was a most interesting
character of the early days. He was of
different make-up from his brother in many ways, but like him was inspired with
the new country and here made great wealth, although in his own case misfortune
took from him practically all that he had accumulated. He was born in Reading, Middlesex county,
Massachusetts, February 12, 1822, and attended school there until he was
seventeen years of age. Reading did not
appeal to him as a community in which to make his career, so he decided to
follow the example of his brother, John, who had gone to California fourteen
years previously and made good.
Accordingly, he embarked on a sailing vessel from Boston on January 18,
1841, which after a voyage of months around the Horn reached Los Angeles in the
midst of summer. He was then nineteen
years old. Naturally, his first work
was with his older brother, who was conducting his mercantile store in Los
Angeles, and he remained in this connection until he was married, September 30,
1845, to Antonia Margarita Workman, the only daughter of William Workman,
prominent financial and business man of that generation.
After his marriage, Pliny Temple
stayed with his father-in-law at this famous Puente Rancho for about three
years. During this period, he bought the
La Merced Rancho, which extensive tract covered twenty-three hundred and
sixty-three acres, and thereon he had built a very commodious adobe building,
of old Spanish architecture, in the form of a half square, one hundred and ten
by one hundred feet. At this place he
started in the breeding of stock on a large scale, and also bought stock from
other breeders, shipping numerous large herds to the northern cities. About the year 1850, he made improvements on
his home, also planted fifty thousand vines, thirty acres of various fruits,
and laid out a garden which was the finest in the community. Blooded horses were also a hobby with him and
he became widely known as a breeder of these fine animals. As early as 1860, he paid seven thousand
dollars for Black Warrior, a prize stallion, which price was more than had been
paid before on the coast. He bred mules
also, and paid a thousand dollars for a Kentucky jack. He constructed barns for his stock which were
the height of modernity in that day, and he fenced in his estate, which latter
improvement cost him about forty thousand dollars. All the lumber for these additions was brought
the thirty miles from san Pedro by wagon.
These facts indicate vividly how the Yankee Dons prospered in Southern
California before the Civil war. Mr.
Temple became a heavy landowner. He was
a half owner of the Rancho Tejon, which comprised twenty-two leagues, and also
owned in whole or part the Chonchella, of one hundred and ten thousand acres;
the San Emedio, of thirty thousand acres; the La Merced, of two thousand three
hundred and sixty-three acres; the Otrero Grande, of four thousand four hundred
and thirty-one acres; and the Rancho Potrero de Felipe Lugo, of two thousand
and forty-two acres. He owned the Temple
block at the intersection of Main and Spring streets in Los Angeles and many
other properties between the city and the ocean.
Banking was another field in which
Mr. Temple was active. With I. W.
Hellman, and his father-in-law, William Workman, he organized the banking
association, which was dissolved, however in 1871, and was succeeded by the
banking firm of Temple and Workman, with headquarters in the Temple block. This venture proved disastrous, for the bank
failed in 1875-76 and with its loss went the fortunes of Mr. Temple and Mr.
Workman. Neither of these men long
survived the shock of this catastrophe.
Courageous as they were in pioneering in this country, the sweeping away
of the rewards of their years of work was beyond their endurance. Mr. Workman died May 17, 1876 and Mr. Temple
died at his La Merced Rancho on April 27, 1880, and now lies by the side of his
wife in the La Puente family cemetery.
Mr. Temple was not alone noted for
the wealth he acquired, but his fine generosity and charitable spirit were
attributes which those who knew him loved and admired. He was a true philanthropist, but, like other
men of this type, he was perhaps often imposed upon, with substantial loss to
himself. An instance of his generosity
occurred during the smallpox epidemic of 1863 when he employed a carpenter at
the rancho to make coffins for all the poor who needed them, absolutely without
cost to them. Friends and acquaintances
in unfortunate circumstances were always sure of receiving assistance from Mr.
Temple. A vivid picture of life and
conditions in the Los Angeles pueblo is written in a letter from Pliny Temple
to his brother on December 27, 1845, a portion of which is herewith quoted a
worthy of permanent record:
“The country is quiet at
present. How long it will continue it is
difficult to say. At all events it will
remain so until we have grass to fatten the horses, as Californians cannot
fight unless they have something to run away on. We have had no mail to speak of since
1843. The plains are now barren as the
Desert of Arabia. The cattle are dying
of hunger in many parts. However, I hope
in the course of next month we shall have some rain, if not tallow will be
scarce the coming season. Last February
the Californians with the assistance of foreigners sent General Micheltorena
with his troops out of the country. The
battle was fought about ten miles from this place. There was a great number of cannon fired but
without injury to either party, except the killing of a few horses, which is
not much consequence in this country.
Had the General gained the day the Pueblo probably would have been
plundered by his troops, as he had promised them previous to his arrival near
the place that in case of victory they should have two hours for plunder, but
they were not victorious, there were sent to San Pedro to embark on board an
American ship for San Blas.
“Don Pio Pico is now governor of
California. He resides in this place
this being the seat of government at present.
The Pueblo is increasing in population.
Quite a number of houses (or huts) were put up last season. A considerable quantity of brandy and wine
was made here this year, this section of the country being the only part where
liquors are made. Brandy is worth here
thirty dollars a barrel of eighteen gallons, wine bears different prices,
according to its quality, say from eighteen to twenty dollars a barrel.”
The death of Antonia Margarita
(Workman) Temple occurred January 24, 1882,
By her to Pliny Temple, she was the mother of eleven children whose
names and birth dates follow: Thomas
Workman Temple, November 26, 1846; Francis Workman Temple, August 5, 1848,
William Temple, May 25, 1851: David Harris Temple, December 11, 1853; John
Harrison Temple, February 27, 1856; David Harris Temple, April 4, 1858; Lucinda
Amada Temple, June 7, 1869; and Charles Parker Temple, May 10, 1872.
During his lifetime, John Temple
made frequent visits to the east to see members of his family who lived there,
and to bring back to the coast supplies of merchandise which he needed. Pliny Temple returned to see his relatives
just once, in 1870, after he had been absent for thirty years, and he found
there were only sisters and a brother living, and there had been eleven in the
family.
Both John and Pliny Temple were most
acceptable citizens in the pueblo among the Spanish. They were Dons and a part of the
community. John Temple was especially
influential among the natives, as is indicated by the fact that after the
Americans had taken Los Angeles the first time and the Stars and Stripes had
been raised over the pueblo, Commodore Stockton named Don Juan Temple as
alcalde, a most diplomatic gesture. The
Californian s were quiet under this arrangement, but Stockton’s officer,
Captain A. H. Gillespie, who was sent here with troops to cooperate with
Temple, used poor judgment and antagonized the residents. The result was that he and his troops were
expelled from the city, while John Temple retired to his Los Cerritos Ranch and
there kept and protected a company of the American troops. It is a matter of history presented elsewhere
in this work as to how the pueblo was eventually retaken by troops und Stockton
and Kearney, and with the redoubtable Kit Carson as a scout. Don Juan Temple and David W. Alexander, and
Irish settler, once carried on a forwarding business at the port, and they
brought into the pueblo the first four wheel vehicle, which was a
sensation. Descendants of the original
Temples in California ware numerous in the state, some of them fourth
generation from John and Pliny Temple.
The Temples have watched the city of Los Angeles grow from a very
unattractive collection of adobe huts, with the most of the population
consisting of expatriates from Mexico, to the metropolis I now is, the fifth
city in population in the United States.
The Temples have always been in the upper stratum of Los Angeles social
circles. John and Pliny Temple married
into the aristocratic blood of Southern California and their social circle was
that of the Dons who lived on the extensive ranchos outside of the pueblo
proper. Men and women of achievement
have borne the name, and whenever the history of Los Angeles and California is written
in the centuries to come the name of Temple will hold therein a place of
well-justified eminence.
Transcribed by Mary
Ellen Frazier.
Source:
California of the South Vol. V, by John Steven McGroarty,
Pages 779-786, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2013 Mary Ellen Frazier.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES