Los
Angeles County
Biographies
HENRY LEONARD WILLIAMS
A pioneer citizen of 1884, the late
Henry Leonard Williams was closely connected with early real estate activities
and land development in Southern California for many years, or until his
retirement to private life in 1912. He
was a native of New York, born at Troy on February 16, 1840, a son of John
Leonard and Maria Nancy (Lindsley) Williams. The father was a native of England, from
which country he came with his parents in 1820 and located in Troy, New
York. Here he became one of the leading
men of his generation in the tanning industry.
At one time he was associated with Russell Sage in various undertakings
at Troy and met with success until the great panic of 1846 practically wiped
out his savings of years. Nothing
daunted, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to try his fortune but remained only a
short time. From here he moved farther
west, locating at La Crosse, Wisconsin.
He continued here for several years, becoming the owner of a large mill
at the time when the lumber industry was at its height. However, when the Mississippi River rose and
flooded the district, Mr. Williams was wiped out financially. His next move was to the Pacific coast and in
1868 he settled in San Francisco, California, where he retired from business
and established a home. His death
occurred about 1887.
While in La Crosse, his son, Henry
L. had been associated with his father and on Mr. John L. Williams’ retirement
in San Francisco, his second son, Chester joined the firm, which was
established under the name of Williams Brothers, dealing in wholesale leather
and findings. The trade was based upon
the many shoe factories in California which were at that time operated by
Chinese labor. Therefore the enforcement
of the Chinese Exclusion Act forced the Williams Brothers to change their
business to wholesale boots and shoes.
They continued along this line for many years.
On account of his health, Henry
Leonard sold his interest to his brother in 1884 and came to Southern
California, settling in Los Angeles just prior to the boom. He had previously traveled over this section
on horseback many times and with his wife he had spent two winters in Southern
California. He foresaw the wonderful
possibilities of this part of the state and became interested in real estate
and orange culture, purchasing two thousand acres in the vicinity of Redlands
and at once began to develop the land into small ranches. In the early days of the oil industry, Mr.
Williams bought and sold oil from the Los Angeles field. He built a storage tank near the railroad,
believed to be the first one here, having men come from St. Louis to do the
work. Oil was piped from the wells to
this tank where it was loaded on the cars.
In all these activities he was very successful. However, in 1912 he suffered a stroke of
paralysis and was forced to retire to private life. The original family home was two and one-half
acres of orange orchard on Seventh Street, west of Figueroa Street.
Henry Leonard Williams was married
to Alice G. Whitney in 1876. She was
born in San Francisco and represented a family of pioneers on the Pacific
coast, the name of Whitney being prominent in the annals of the Bay section. There were three daughters born of this
marriage: Florence A., Gladys W., and
Alice W. Gladys W. died in 1924 and
Alice W. in 1921. The latter graduated
from Stanford University in 1919.
Florence A. also attended Stanford University, and received her A. B.
degree in 1911 and her M. A. degree in 1912.
At the time of her father’s illness she was studying for a Ph. D. degree
but gave up her studies to look after the management of the family
holdings. She gave orange growing
intensive study and successfully managed their large grove. She was the pioneer to introduce modern
machinery in the cultivation of her ranch and had the first tractor in the
locality. She was a good orchardist, but
sold the original holdings although she continues to operate a fine grove of
oranges near Tustin.
Henry Leonard Williams died May 6,
1931, at the advanced age of ninety-one years.
Mrs. Williams died August 14, 1933.
Her daughter resides in their family home at 401 South Westlake
Avenue. For several years Florence A.
Williams has been a member and director of the Women’s Athletic Club of Los Angeles. Mr. Williams was always interested in the
development of the southland and was especially devoted to the progress of
California. At his passing the city of
Los Angeles and Southern California lost one of their representative citizens.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 265-267, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES