Riverside
County
Biographies
WILLIAM IRVING
One of the chief factors in the
upbuilding of Riverside and a leader in reclamation work in Southern
California, William Irving ever directed his efforts into those channels
through which flows the greatest and most permanent good to the largest
number. Judged from the standpoint of
service, his was a notably successful life.
Born near Annandale, in the county of Dumfries, Scotland, in 1833, a son
of William and Elizabeth (Browe) Irving, he acquired
his early instruction in the excellent schools of that country. At the age of twelve he came with the family
to the new world. At Kingston, Canada,
he took a course of study which qualified him for the work of a civil
engineer. Until his father’s death in
1874 he was associated with him in the designing and construction of many of
the collegiate and public buildings which distinguish Kingston among Canadian
cities. In 1881 he established the
Kingston Car Works and as president and manager made this an industry of
importance to the city in which it was operated.
In 1887 at the invitation of Mr.
Matthew Gage, Mr. Irving came to Riverside to act as engineer of the Gage canal
system. Under his direction the Gage
canal was construed from the Terquisite Arroyo to its
present terminus, and Arlington Heights was laid out in its present form. Later, upon the formation of the Riverside
Trust Company, Limited, in 1890, he was made engineer of the new organization,
which acquired Mr. Gage’s interest in Arlington Heights and the Gage
canal. Immediately following the
organization of the Riverside Trust Company, Limited, the horticultural
development of Arlington Heights was begun and continued until upwards of five
thousand acres of desert were converted into prolific citrus groves. Mr. Irving became manager of the company in
1894, retaining the title for seven years, and in 1901 assumed the duties of
consulting manager, which he efficiently discharged until the close of his
career. In 1901 he was requested by the
United States government to make an investigation of and report on irrigation
practice in southern California and was engaged in that work until his death,
which occurred September 23, 1904, at the age of seventy-one years. His labors were manifestly resultant,
and among those with whom business or social relations brought him in contact
he was held in the highest esteem, for he possessed that strong sense of honor
which is the vital essence of the gentleman.
Of him it was said: “Mr. Irving was
widely read in all branches of literature.
His chief pleasure, however, was found in philosophical and scientific
studies, and in the discussion of such subjects. Of a clear and logical mind, he followed the
course of reason with relentless precision, regardless of the results to
generally accepted dogma. The solution
of the problems of life in the light of truth was everything to him, and no
demand of expediency could cause him to hesitate in putting his decisions into
action.”
In 1867 Mr. Irving was married at
Kingston, Canada, to Eliza Gage, who was born in Coleraine,
Ireland, in 1839, a daughter of James and Margaret (Orr) Gage. To Mr. and Mrs. Irving were born six
children, all of whom are living. In
1897 their eldest daughter, Lilla, became the wife of
John M. Mylne, who succeeded Mr. Irving as engineer
of the Gage canal system. The second
daughter, Margaret Eva, was married to Stewart E. Malloch
of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and the youngest daughter, Kathleen, to Edward W.
Trevelyan of Riverside, California. The
three sons of the family are: William G.
Irving, a prominent lawyer of Riverside, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this
work; Robert M. Irving, an orange grower; and J. Norman Irving, a civil
engineer.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. III, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages
85-86, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S RIVERSIDE BIOGRAPIES