Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives 
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

 
WILLIAM B. CULLEN .
 
        Among the early settlers and representative citizens of what is now the 
populous town of Glendora is the above-named gentleman. Mr. Cullen is a native 
of Loudoun County, Virginia, and dates his birth in 1841. His father, Dr. John 
Cullen, was a prominent dentist in that county. He was a native of Virginia, as 
was also Mr. Cullen's mother, nee Harriet Furr.  The subject of this sketch was 
reared in his native county until eighteen years of age. He then went to Oxford, 
Mississippi, and joined his father, who had preceded him to that place.  There 
he entered upon a course of study in the Mississippi State University, in the 
preparatory department, which he continued until the breaking out of the civil 
war in 1861. Upon the first commencement of hostilities he entered the 
Confederate army as a member of the Lamar Rifles. Early in 1861 his command was 
assigned to the army of Virginia, and he participated in the first battles of 
the war. He was with that army at the battle of Manassas and also at the siege 
of Yorktown and battles of Williamsburg, West Point and Seven Pines, or Fair 
Oaks. In the latter engagement Mr. Cullen was severely wounded, necessitating 
the amputation of his right arm. After the loss of his arm he was retired from 
active service in the ranks, but remained with the armies of the Confederacy 
throughout the war as a dispatch bearer and in other positions of confidence and 
trust. At the close of the war he located at Memphis, Tennessee, where for many 
years he was engaged in mercantile business and other enterprises. He was for a 
long time connected with the Cotton Compress Association, and was also for 
several years the license collector of the city of Memphis. In 1874 he came to 
California and located in Los Angeles County. Shortly afterward he purchased a 
squatter's right to 160 acres of Government land at the Azusa, where now stands 
the town of Glendora. This land was wild and uncultivated and was among that 
claimed by the Azusa grant holders. Mr. Cullen took up his residence upon this 
land and commenced its improvement and cultivation, and for years stubbornly 
resisted the claims of the grant holders, and finally, in 1883, secured a 
Government patent. A portion of his original 160 acres is now part of the town 
site of Glendora, but he still owns seventy acres, upon fifty acres of which he 
is conducting horticultural and viticultural pursuits. His fine vineyards 
comprise thirty-five acres, twenty-seven of which are producing wine grapes of 
the Zinfandel, Matero and Trousseau varieties. Eight acres are devoted to table 
grapes, principally of the Muscat and Black Malvoise varieties. He has ten acres 
of citrus and deciduous fruits. Among his improvements is a winery of sufficient 
capacity to manufacture and care for the products of his vineyard. Such water as 
is needed for irrigation has been developed by him near the Dalton Ca�on, and is 
piped to his reservoir of some 150,000 gallons capacity, and from thence piped 
all over his lands. His well-ordered cottage residence is beautifully located, 
affording a pleasant view of the valley. With the exception of three years,�from 
1879 to 1882,�when Mr. Cullen's official position as tax collector of Los 
Angeles County required his presence in Los Angeles, he has been a resident of 
this part of the county since 1874. He is well known as an energetic and 
progressive citizen, taking an interest in the success of the community in which 
he resides. In political matters he is Democratic, and may always be found 
allied with the best elements of his party. He has served as a delegate in many 
of the county conventions. In 1876 he was elected justice of the peace in his 
township, and in 1879 was elected tax collector and served three years. In 1884, 
upon the establishment of the Glendora postoffice, he was appointed postmaster, 
and held the position until resigning in 1888. It may be truthfully said that in 
whatever position of trust Mr. Cullen has been placed, he has filled the same 
with honor to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. In 1870 Mr. Cullen 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary Fitzgerald. From this marriage there are 
seven children living: Maud M., Walter J., Ettie M., Margaret, Clara, Wm. Gerald 
and Agnes.
 
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California �  Chicago, The Lewis 
Publishing Company, 1889   Page 422
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler