MAJOR LEVI CHASE

Major Levi Chase was born in Calias, Maine in the year of 1823. His early life was spent in New York State as a railroad contractor. He was married to Elizabeth Wheeler. They had two children, Charlotte and Charles. Mrs. Chase and daughter Charlotte died of typhoid fever in 1848. He then moved to Wapello, Iowa. He studied and practiced law in Iowa. He was remarried in 1853 to Cornelia King.

When the Civil War broke out he organized a group of men and offered to fight. He was appointed Captain. Before the Civil War ended he was made a Major. Following the war he returned to Iowa to practice law.

Levi and his family moved to San Francisco where he worked with the Lankershims. Then he came to San Diego in 1868 to work as a lawyer for the Lankershims. He purchased the Rancho El Cajon from the Pedrorena family for the Lankershims. It took Mr. Chase several years to clear the land deeds. This did not happen until 1876 when the President of the United States, U.S. Grant, signed a paper which made the Pedrorena family the rightful owner in the United States. This sale ended the Mexican ownership of El Cajon.

One of the big jobs Mr. Chase had was to keep the squatters out of El Cajon Valley. These squatters tried to settle and farm the land without paying for it.

For some of his labor, he was given 7,000 acres of the rocky side of the valley known to us a Calavo Gardens. It was called the Chase Rancho then. Later Chase Avenue, Chase Hill, Chase Meadows, and Chase Ave. School were named after Mr. Chase.

The W.D. Halls had seven children. Their names where Rexford Luther Hall, Julian Erwin Hall, Grant Wilson Hall, Valeria Winifred Hall (Almon), Majarie Eleanor Hall (Roether), Nellie Grant Hall (Fansher) and Lola Florence Hall (Roether) Rexford Hall was President of the W.D. Hall Lumber Co.


Typed by Alex @ Hillsdale  

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