Category Archives: Swan

Ontario History: Railroads, Water, Land, Orchards, Electricity and the Contributions of Earl Richardson

Let’s step back and review what we’ve learned about the history of Ontario, California. Here is a summary… Date Event 1876 Southern Pacific Railroad is built through future Ontario region Late 1870s-Early 1880s George and William Chaffey arrive from Canada and engineer irrigation system for Ontario 1879 Thomas Edison develops a reliable light bulb 1880sContinue reading “Ontario History: Railroads, Water, Land, Orchards, Electricity and the Contributions of Earl Richardson”

Linked Memories: Who Was “Cousin Mary”?

As kids in the mid-late 1960s, during visits to Ontario, California, our grandmother Margaret would sometimes send us to visit Cousin Mary. A short walk down the alley, left on Flora Street and down a couple of houses, these visits were win-win-win propositions–the elderly Cousin Mary got company for 45 minutes or so, grandma gotContinue reading “Linked Memories: Who Was “Cousin Mary”?”

An Early Crossing of Paths Between The Swan and Sechler Families

Our mother recalls that her first planned meeting with the Sandford family at the Ontario homestead had to be postponed because of the death of our father’s grandmother. Our great grandmother Mabel Tuttle Swan died in October 1951 at age 85. Had our mother met Mattie Swan, there is a small possibility that they couldContinue reading “An Early Crossing of Paths Between The Swan and Sechler Families”

Linked Memories: Irrigation Day

Memories of the citrus grove at our grandparents’ home at 501 North Vine Ave in Ontario, California shed light on our ancestry. One evening during a visit in the mid 1960s a tractor came down the alleyway and proceeded to plow trenches along the length of the grove. The entire process took perhaps an hour.Continue reading “Linked Memories: Irrigation Day”

The Flight of The Southern Cross and a Memorial to the Founder of Ontario

Two of our grandfather Joe’s favorite stories were… his role in arranging the funeral and burial of George Chaffey, the founder of Ontario, California, on behalf of the Chaffey family, as well as his contributions to the George Chaffey biography, and… his contribution to organizing the first airplane flight from the United States to AustraliaContinue reading “The Flight of The Southern Cross and a Memorial to the Founder of Ontario”

The Sandford and Swan Families Unite in Ontario

By early summer 1919, grandfather Joe Sandford had safely returned to his home in Ontario, California from the war in France . The Sandford and the Swan families had known of each other since 1910 when the Sandfords moved to Ontario and Henry Swan gave Joe a job in his Ontario bank to save himContinue reading “The Sandford and Swan Families Unite in Ontario”

Close Ties with the Richardson Family of Ontario

In the early 20th century, the Hotpoint Company became one of the first companies to locate in Ontario, California, beginning its transformation from a purely agricultural town to a sizable Southern California city. Hotpoint, which later merged into General Electric, would remain a cornerstone of the Ontario economy for the next 80 years. The companyContinue reading “Close Ties with the Richardson Family of Ontario”