Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies

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HON. JOSEPH E. McCOMAS.
 
        Among the representative men of Los Angeles County and prominent 
residents of Pomona is the subject of this sketch. A review of his life and 
association with the history of Los Angeles County is of interest. Mr. McComas 
was born in Cabell County, Virginia, May 15, 1834. His parents, Hiram and 
Rebecca (Hatfield) McComas, were both natives of that county. In 1841 Mr. 
McComas's parents emigrated to Missouri and located in Platte County near the 
present site of Platte City. The county was new and unsettled, and the subject 
of this sketch had but few advantages in the way of schooling, but was reared to 
the labors and hardships attending pioneer farming. The death of his father 
occurred in 1849, leaving the care of eight children to the mother, and Mr. 
McComas was called upon for increased efforts in helping to support the family. 
The only schooling he was able to obtain was some three months in the year when 
he attended a subscription school. He was of an ambitions and energetic 
disposition, and his zeal and sturdy application enabled him to equal, if not 
excel, many of his more favored competitors. Reared under such circumstances, 
his manhood and self‑reliant qualities were early developed, and at the age of 
nineteen years, in 1853, he decided to
seek his fortune in the El Dorado of the West. With $10 in his pocket and an 
extra suit of brown jean clothing, he felt rich in this world's goods. He joined 
an emigrant train destined for California and worked his passage across the 
plains, deserts and mountains, cheerfully enduring the labors and hardships 
attending the driving of a herd of cattle, and receiving the food he ate for his 
pay. After nearly five months of this toil and exposure he arrived in Sacramento 
Valley. Soon after his arrival he engaged in mining, and for the next five years 
was engaged in that precarious calling in various portions of the northern 
counties. In 1858 he found himself with about $2,000 ahead. He then returned to 
his old home and engaged in the lumber business, running a steam saw-mill in his 
operations. He conducted that business until the breaking out of the war of the 
Rebellion, when he promptly decided to enter the ranks of the Nation's 
defenders. He raised a portion of a company and was commissioned a First 
Lieutenant of Company G, Fifth Kansas Cavalry. He served with his regiment until 
November, 1862, when his failing health necessitated his leaving the military 
service. He therefore resigned his commission and returned home. In the spring 
of 1863 he again crossed the plains to California, and located in Santa Clara 
County, where he spent about a year in farming. In 1864 he settled in the San 
Joaquin Valley, near Stockton, and engaged in wheat raising with good success 
until 1871. In that year he came to Los Angeles County and settled on a farm 
near Compton. He remained there until 1875, when he established his residence in 
Pomona. From his first arrival in Pomona, Mr. McComas has taken an active part 
in the building up of the city. He has seen a city of 5,000 inhabitants spring 
up upon the almost uninhabited sheep range upon which he first settled. During 
his residence he has been principally engaged as a real-estate dealer, but he 
has also been largely interested in building up the business portion of the 
city. The McComas Block, on the corner of Main and Second streets, was erected 
by him in 1885 and was the second brick building put up in the city. In 1887�'88 
he built the large brick livery stable on First street. This building is 165 x 
100 feet. He has also a fine two-story residence at the head of Main street. The 
four and one-half acres of ground upon which his residence stands abounds in 
ornamental trees and rich floral productions. He is a stockholder and director 
of the First National Bank of Pomona, and was one of the original incorporators 
and the first vice-president of the same. He has been a strong supporter of such 
enterprises as have tended to develop the resources of the San Jose Valley and 
increase the .prosperity of his chosen city. He is a stanch Republican, joining 
that party in 1856, and in 1860 was one of the only two men who voted for 
Abraham Lincoln in Platte County, Missouri. He has always taken a deep interest 
in the political questions of the day, and been an earnest worker in the ranks 
of his party. In 1888 he received the nomination for the office of State Senator 
for the Thirty-ninth Senatorial District, from the Republican Convention, and 
was elected by a majority of 1,430. He is the first Republican ever elected to 
that office from his district, and the majority he received is a splendid 
tribute to his popularity. He is a man of intelligence and sound sense, and at 
once took a leading part in the proceedings of the State Senate, serving upon 
some of the most important committees. His career was one of marked success, but 
he probably was best known to his constituents from his successful management of 
the bill creating the county of Orange. Mr. McComas has held many positions of 
trust and honor in his various places of residence. At Compton he was twice 
elected justice of the peace, holding that position four years. In 1882 he was 
appointed notary public, which office he held for two years. He was again 
appointed in 1886 and held the office until he resigned to take his seat in the 
State Senate. He has for twenty-five years been a consistent member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and a liberal supporter of the same. He is a member 
of Pomona Lodge, No. 246, I. O. O. F.; Pomona Lodge, No. 225, A. O. U. W., and 
Vicksburg Post, No. 61, G. A. R., of Pomona. In 1860 Mr. McComas wedded Miss 
Rebecca Yount, the daughter of Henry and Deborah (Doherty) Yount. They were 
natives of Pennsylvania. She died in 1865, leaving one child, J. Lane, who is at 
this writing (1889) associated with his father in the real-estate business in 
Pomona. In 1867, in San Joaquin County, Mr. McComas married Miss Lizzie Adams. 
She died in 1876, leaving no children. His third marriage was in 1878, when he 
wedded Miss Emma Loughery, the daughter of William and Eliza (Steele) Loughery, 
natives of Virginia. From this marriage there are three children, viz.: Rush, 
Maud and Ethel.
 
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California �  Chicago, The Lewis 
Publishing Company, 1889   Page 780
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler