Orange
County
Biographies
ARTHUR W. CLEAVER
Arthur W. Cleaver is a prominent
representative of business interests in Orange County as owner and manager of
the Sanitary Laundry at Fullerton, which he established in 1920. He was born in Cook County, Illinois, March
31, 1860, his parents being William and Sophia (Zimmerman) Cleaver. He is descended from one of the oldest
English families, tracing his ancestry back to William of the Cleavers,
commander with William the Conqueror. In
the maternal line he is descended from a German family of high rank; his
maternal grandfather was an educator of note.
William Cleaver, the father of Arthur W. Cleaver, was born in London,
England, in 1815, and in later life was numbered among the able businessmen and
influential citizens of Chicago, locating there in 1833. A contemporary writer said: “There are but few who have contributed more
to the greatness of Chicago than the family of Cleavers.” They were famous in the soap making industry
throughout a period covering two centuries.
It was in the year 1831 that Charles Cleaver, an attorney of London and
paternal grandfather of Arthur W. Cleaver, came to America with a family of
sixteen children and with fifty thousand dollars in cash. For a short time he resided in Toronto,
Canada. In 1833 his eldest son, Charles
Cleaver, went to Chicago, Illinois, where he established a manufactory for the
making of soap and candles, the first of that kind in Chicago. In 1834 he was joined by his brother William,
in association with whom he opened a store on what is now South Water Street in
Chicago. Soon afterwards they moved the
soap works to Division Street and the river, which section of the present great
metropolis was at that time considered in the extreme west. In 1854 they moved onto property along the
lake shore, purchasing the land bounded by what is now Cottage Grove Avenue on
the west, Forty-third Street on the south and Thirty-fifth
Street on the north. They erected a
large soap shop on the shore of Lake Michigan at the foot of Pier Street, now Thirty-eighth Street.
Lake Avenue was at that time the main highway and stage coach road
between Detroit and Chicago, and on this thoroughfare was transacted the
business of “Cleaverville,” which was laid out and
platted within the boundaries above named.
The two Cleaver brothers erected a pier which extended out into Lake
Michigan. They conducted a general
merchandise store and a post office and also carried on other interests at the
corner of Lake Avenue and Pier Street.
William Cleaver built nearby the commodious residence in which his son,
Arthur W., and his daughters were born.
The great financial panic of 1857 practically destroyed the business of
the brothers, causing them to discontinue their soap-making operations. William Cleaver took over the management of
the general store and Charles Cleaver, Sr., turned his attention to real estate
activities. A few years later their
father settled near Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, where he became the owner
of a large tract of land. William
Cleaver was reared in the faith of the Church of England and was a man of
strong personality who died as he lived—true to himself and true to all men. His love of adventure led him to join the
gold rush in 1850, crossing the plains by ox-team, and after many narrow
escapes from death he returned to New York by way of the Isthmus of
Panama. He passed away November 13,
1896. He was twice married, his first
wife being Mary (Barker) Cleaver, who died leaving three children, namely: William H., who became a resident of Terre
Haute, Indiana; Josephine, the widow of Thomas Swan, of Chicago; and Frank C.,
who became superintendent of motive power for the Vandalia Railroad at
Princeton, Indiana. The second wife of William
Cleaver was in her maidenhood Sophia Zimmerman, daughter of Professor Charles
Zimmerman, who was president of Basel College in Switzerland. Miss Zimmerman was on a visit to the United
States when she formed the acquaintance of William Cleaver. She was a young lady who had enjoyed splendid
educational advantages and spoke the English, French, German and Italian
languages. Her brother, Oscar Zimmerman,
who succeeded his father in the presidency of Basel College, was one of
Europe’s greatest scholars and linguists.
His son, Rev. Gustav A. Zimmerman, became superintendent of German in
the public schools of Chicago. At her
death, which occurred January 1, 1896, Mrs. Sophia (Zimmerman) Cleaver was
survived by her three children: Arthur
W., the immediate subject of this review; Charlotte, who is the wife of George
H. Brown, a member of the Lawton Cutlery Company of Chicago; and Herbert, who
married Miss Lenore Randall, of Chicago, and who became a partner in the
laundry firm of A. W. Cleaver & Company.
Arthur W. Cleaver acquired his early
education in the public schools of Chicago and subsequently became a student at
the old University of Chicago on Cottage Grove Avenue, between Thirty-fourth
and Thirty-fifth streets. Keenly interested in athletic sports, he became one
of the fastest bicycle riders in America.
He was also skilled in the art of music, which he loved. He played the violin in the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and was one of the musicians in both the First and Second Regiment
Bands of the Illinois National Guard. It
was in the year 1878 that he began his career as a laundryman, being one of the
first to reduce to a science the cleaning of wearing apparel. His father and uncle had erected a
substantial building at the corner of Lake Avenue and Thirty-eighth
Street equipped with the correct appliances of the day (1866) for use in
washing, and for a nominal fee the public was allowed to come and wash
clothing. The enterprise was conducted
on a cooperative plan, but it was not a success, and the structure was later
fitted up and equipped as a modern laundry by Arthur W. and his father. When eventually the building proved
inadequate for the rapidly increasing business, Arthur W. Cleaver and his
father built in 1888 the largest and best equipped laundry in Chicago, having
numerous branches in all parts of the city.
Later, when the father retired, Herbert Cleaver became associated with
his brother. In 1894 Arthur W. Cleaver
came to Los Angeles, California, where in 1900 he established Cleaver’s Laundry
which he subsequently sold. He then
traveled over Europe, and in later years visited Asia, Australia and the South
Sea Islands. On his return to the United
States from his first voyage he opened another laundry and formed the Los
Angeles Laundry Company continuing its operation until disposing of the
business in 1912. In 1911, he had also
established the Excelsior Laundry Company in San Diego. In 1920, he established in Fullerton,
California, the Sanitary Laundry, which he has since conducted very
successfully and which is owned by himself and his wife. He is also the president of the Orange County
Ice Company and co-owner of the Cleaver Lease Seal Beach oil field.
Arthur W. Cleaver has been twice
married, his first union being with Miss Helene E. Shaw, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. D. S. Shaw, of Long Beach, California.
She passed away leaving a son, Arthur W., Jr. The second wife of Mr. Cleaver was in her
maidenhood Kathryn M. Carls, of Montana, and they
reside at 519 Fern Drive, Fullerton, theirs being one of the finest homes in
Orange County.
A veteran of the World War, Mr.
Cleaver served as laundry expert in the Quartermasters Corps at Washington, D.
C., and supervised the construction of laundries at training camps. He is a member of the Fullerton Chamber of
Commerce, the Rotary Club and the Hacienda Country Club. Fraternally he is a Mason having membership
in Fullerton Lodge, No. 339, F. & A. M.; Fullerton Chapter, No. 90, R. A.
M.; Fullerton Commandery, No. 55, K. T.; Valley of Long Beach Consistory,
Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite and Al Malaikah Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. in
Los Angeles. He belongs to the Eastern
Star and White Shrine and is also affiliated with Los Angeles Lodge, No. 99, B.
P. O. E. Mrs. Cleaver has membership in
the Eastern Star and the White Shrine and takes an active part in civic work
and in the affairs of women’s clubs. She
and her husband are well known and highly esteemed throughout Fullerton and
this part of the state, and the circle of their friends is almost coextensive
with the circle of their acquaintances.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 65-69, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S ORANGE COUNTY BIOGRAPIES