San
Bernardino County
Biographies
JOHN PERRY ENSLEY
The late John Perry Ensley
accomplished the work of a pioneer in the development of Ontario’s
horticultural interests, and first and last performed a great deal of
conscientious, valuable service for the community from a civic standpoint. He had been a resident of Ontario for more
than four decades when he passed away November 15, 1930, at the age of
seventy-seven years. He was born near
Auburn, Indiana, October 9, 1853, his parents being George and Lydia (Noel)
Ensley, natives of Pennsylvania. The
Ensley’s are of original German stock, though the family has been represented
in America for a number of generations.
George Ensley was born in 1815 and died in California in 1888. The death of his wife occurred in Indiana in
1884. They were the parents of nine
children, John Perry being the seventh in order of birth. George Ensley removed westward to California
in the fall of 1886, acquiring property in Ontario, where he spent the remainder
of his life. He had been in earlier
years a farmer but possessed the all-around mechanical genius that enabled him
to succeed in almost every occupation.
At one time he operated a sawmill of his own
construction, and after coming to California he turned his attention to orange
growing.
John Perry Ensley was a thoroughly
well-educated gentleman. He graduated
from the Auburn high school in Indiana and attended the Indiana State
University. He taught eight winter terms
of school, and refused the office of principal of the Auburn schools. While he did well as a teacher, it was not an
occupation altogether to his liking, and his preference was for the practical
side of farming.
In 1884 he married Miss Clara B.
Clark, a native of Indiana, and in 1886 for the benefit of her health, he came
to Ontario and bought twenty acres of wild land at the northeast corner of
Eighteenth Street and Euclid Avenue.
This he cleared and planted to citrus fruits during 1887. His father in the meantime had purchased five
acres of oranges on West Fourth Street and also ten acres of unimproved land on
West G Street. After his father’s death
Mr. Ensley bought out the interests of the heirs and developed the unimproved
tract to citrus fruits. All of this land
he actually improved by his own labors and efforts, and in addition to his
thirty-five acres of producing groves he had other valuable investments,
including his modern residence, which was constructed a number of years
ago. His prosperity was the result of
his indefatigable industry and well directed energy.
By his first marriage Mr. Ensley had
two children, one dying in infancy. His
son, Oliver P. Ensley, born in Indiana, May 6, 1886, graduated from the Chaffey
high school at Ontario and from the University of Southern California, where he
pursued both classical and law courses.
He was admitted to the bar in 1912 and during that year pursued a
commercial course in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New
York. He is a successful practicing
attorney of Hemet, California, and fraternally is affiliated with the Masons
and the Odd Fellows. Oliver Ensley
married Miss Catherine Todd, of Indiana, in June, 1919, and they have three
sons: Edward Clark, born March 23, 1921;
Harold, born May 9, 1922; and George, born December 9, 1927.
John P. Ensley lost his first wife
at Ontario, August 1, 1888, and his father died on the 26th of the
same month. On the 25th of
July, 1894, Mr. Ensley married Elizabeth Borthwick,
who was born in Liverpool, England, October 23, 1865, her parents being John P.
and Margaret (Dunn) Borthwick, natives of Scotland
and Ireland, respectively. John P. Borthwick crossed the Atlantic to the United States with
his family in 1869, locating first at Scranton, Pennsylvania, whence in April,
1884, he came west to Ontario, California, where he was a pioneer jeweler. He died April 9, 1908, and his wife passed
away in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Their daughter Elizabeth was educated in the public schools of the
Keystone state. She was one of the first
young ladies to live in Ontario, and by her marriage to John P. Ensley she
became the mother of five children, three of whom survive. Laura Isabelle, born April 2, 1899, is a
graduate of the Chaffey Union High School and the University of Southern California. She is the wife of Fred Smith, of Riverside,
and the mother of a son, Richard. Gladys
Theresa, born December 24, 1901, is a graduate of the Chaffey Union High School,
the Chaffey Junior College and the University of Southern California. She married John Poyet
of Anaheim. Elizabeth Borthwick born August 7, 1906, is the wife of Lyle P. Rathbun, a successful dentist of Ontario. She was graduated from Chaffey Union High
School and the University of Southern California.
Long a prominent Democrat, John P.
Ensley was a member of the Democratic Central Committee for a number of
years. He always worked for good, clean
government and decent citizenship. He
served as trustee of Ontario for fifteen years, having been elected a member of
the first board at the incorporation of Ontario and serving for nine
years. Later he acceded to the insistent
demand of his fellow citizens and became a candidate for trustee, serving this
second time a total of six years and being largely instrumental in the building
of good roads. For three years he was a
director of the San Antonio Water Company, and at all times he manifested an
active interest in movements for the benefit of citrus growers as well as in
measures instituted to promote the general welfare of the community He was a director of the A Street Citrus
Association. It is our duty to mark our
appreciation of such a man – a man true in every relation of life, faithful to
every trust. Mrs. Ensley still resides
in the old family home at 126 West D Street in Ontario, where she has a host of
friends. She is affiliated with the
Rebekah lodge and also has membership in the Pioneers Society of San Bernardino
County.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. III, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages
53-56, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN
NUGGET'S SAN BERNARDINO
BIOGRAPIES