Mr. Gates raised grapes on his ranch half a mile to the south of Anaheim. He next bought forty acres of land five miles southwest of Anaheim, where he lived many years and raised corn. He had one of the early artesian wells on his property, with a seven-inch pipe and giving three inches of water, which was used for irrigation purposes. He was a pioneer in experimenting with the date, which he planted from the seed, and was one of the first in America to cultivate that fruit. He sent his product to the World's Fair in Chicago, and such was their quality that they readily took the first prize. Mr. and Mrs. Gates are now both deceased, but three children represent them worthily. The subject of this sketch lives at Anaheim; a daughter is Mrs. William Huff of Long Beach; and there is another son, James L., at Anaheim.
For a while Frank S. Gates worked on the home ranch with his father, and then he learned the brick and stonemason's trade at Anaheim. His first employment was with the Santa Fe Railroad Company, when he helped to build the road then being constructed from San Bernardino to San Diego. He had two teams and looked after the grading; and while working near Perris, he had an interesting experience. The men were camping out in tents when a heavy snowstorm came on, the temperature dropped to ten degrees below zero, and snow piled up in drifts eighteen inches over the tops of the tents, frozen so hard he could walk over them. Often, too, the Santa Ana River was full of water, and fording was difficult and dangerous. The country between Anaheim and Santa Ana was a thick tangle of willows, many feet high. When he first came to Anaheim, there were two stores, ten saloons, and a few houses.
Mr. Gates followed brick and stonemason contracting for thirty years, and many of the old landmarks he built are still standing. These include the Rossmore Hotel in Santa Ana and the Hotel Rochester and the Dobner Block in Orange. He also built the old Spurgeon Block where the first postoffice was located, and the Lacey Block on Main Street, Santa Ana. He built and owns the modern brick block on North Lemon Street, Anaheim, occupied by the Romaine Garage. His son Irving was associated with him for eight years and now carries on the business and makes and installs artificial cement blocks. He specialized in porch and mantel construction in fine cottages and bungalows, and a very able workman he has proven to be.
When Mr. Gates married, he took for his wife Miss Cornelia R. Ryder, a native of Boston, who died in Anaheim, on September 8, 1918, leaving behind her a very enviable record for usefulness to society. She established the Floral Nursery at 119 South Illinois Street, now being carried on by her son, Howard E. Gates--the only nursery in Anaheim, and known throughout the county for its large variety of flowers. Four children blessed this fortunate union of Mr. and Mrs. Gates. Howard E., is married and has one child, Morgan Gates. Adalaid is the wife of Merle G. Anlauf of Santa Paula, and has three children: Helen, Glenn and Virginia. Irving, the successor of his father's business; and Inez, the wife of Roy Ivins, of Santa Ana, and the mother of one daughter, Blanche. Frank S. Gates served for six years as a trustee of the City of Anaheim; he is an Odd Fellow, belonging to Anaheim Lodge No. 199, and to the Encampment, the Canton and the Rebekahs, Lodge No. 268; and he is a member of Company No. 10236, Modern Woodmen of America. For three years he served in the National Guard of California, Company E and in Company G four years as quartermaster sergeant. He was a member of the volunteer fire department in Santa Ana three years, and lived in that city for six years. Mr. Gates has lived many years in Orange County, has been successful and is now practically retired from active business.
James L. Gates, already referred to as the brother of our subject, was born on his father's ranch, near Anaheim, on March 5, 1875, attended the Alamitos school, and the Central school at Anaheim, after which he took a thorough course at the Los Angeles Business College. In the spring of 1898 he went to Alaska, and for seven years he remained there in the Dawson district, mining and hunting. When he returned to Anaheim, he took a course in assaying, and then he went to Clark County, Nev., where he spent two years. His next removal was to Acton, Cal., where he mined for two and a half years. About seven years ago Mr. Gates returned to Anaheim, and since then he has been engaged in selling new and second-hand furniture. He married Miss Bessie Stewart, of Nevada, and has one son, Stuart. He belongs to the Odd Fellows and attends the Catholic Church.
