Résumé

Arthur L. Haley likely trained in his father's architectural office in Minneapolis, MN, and moved to Los Angeles, CA, to practice during the 1890s. Relocating fairly frequently, he seems to have resided in apartment buildings for most of his adult life. It is not surprising that he would become adept at designing multi-family dwellings.

Principal, A. Leonard Haley, Architect, Minneapolis, MN, 1885. Haley worked in Room #65 at 327 Hennepin Street in Downtown Minneapolis in 1885. (See Minneapolis, Minnesota, City Directory, 1885, p. 338.) In 1888, he made his office in Room #57 of the Stillman Block in Minneapolis. (See Minneapolis, Minnesota, City Directory, 1888, p. 617.)

Draftsman, San Francisco, CA, 1900. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Roll: 101; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 0053, accessed 04/15/2025.)

Partner, Merithew and Haley, Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1896. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1896, p. 644.) In 1896, Merithew and Haley operated in Room #248 of the Wilson Building in Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1896, p. 1670.)

Principal, Arthur L. Haley, Architect, Los Angeles, CA. 1897- . The Los Angeles City Directory, 1897, (p. 413), indicated that Haley was an architect and "mgr. Guarantee Building Co." with his office at 207 South Broadway. In 1903, Haley had a healthy practice that could afford three rooms in the new and presitgious Henne Building (#204-206). (See Los Angeles Classified Business Directory, 1903, p. 1705.) By 1913, he worked at 108 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles." (See "Haley, A.L.," Who's Who on the Pacific Coast, 1913, Franklin Harper, ed., [Los Angeles: Harper Publishing Company, 1913], p. 242.)

Professional Activities

According to Who's Who on the Pacific Coast (1913), Haley "invented and patented sanitary concealed metal wall bed." (See "Haley, A.L.," Who's Who on the Pacific Coast, 1913, Franklin Harper, ed., [Los Angeles: Harper Publishing Company, 1913], p. 242.)

Relocation

Born in Malone, NY, Arthur Leonard Haley lived in this small, northeast NY town for only a very few years.

By 1870, he resided on the family farm in Otsego, MN, with his parents--Joseph and Tryphena--four siblings and a boarder, Elvina Leonard (born c. 1846 in NY), who worked as a school teacher. (Elvina was likely Tryphena's younger sister.) (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Otsego, Wright, Minnesota; Roll: M593_719; Page: 604B, accessed 04/15/2025.) This MN town was named for Otsego, ME, the hometown of an early Euro-American settler, David Look Ingersoll (1814-1888). New residents from the East platted the 400-acre Otsego, MN, townsite in 1857. Many early settlers had traveled from the logged-out state of ME (and other New England towns) to farm in the more fertile soil of MN. Otsego's first years of existence were slowed by the Panic of 1857, an economic downturn resulting in a string of corporate bankruptcies triggered by the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company's New York branch. The Civil War actually lifted the country out of the effects of the Panic of 1857, and farm settlement and agricultural production began to ramp up in MN during the 1861 through 1865 period. The study, "Developmental Period in the Historic Context 'Euro-American Farms in Minnesota, 1820-1960," from the State of Minnesota's Department of Transportation, said of the state's agriculture of this period: "In the political arena, the Civil War period brought three ground-breaking laws that advanced Minnesota agriculture. In 1861, when Southern states seceded from the Union, the balance of power tipped in Congress, allowing passage of key agrarian reforms long-blocked by Southern senators. In 1862--almost simultaneously--Congress established the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), gave free farmland to settlers via the Homestead Act, and granted land for the creation of agricultural colleges through the Morrill Land Grant College Act. All three measures were supported by state- and county-level agricultural societies, including those formed in Minnesota in the 1850s." (See State of Minnesota Department of Transportation.gov, "Developmental Period in the Historic Context 'Euro-American Farms in Minnesota, 1820-1960," accessed 04/15/2025, p. 3.7.) Wheat production in MN became very productive during the Civil War and by 1870, helping to make Minneapollis a grain milling center in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Nearby to Arthur's home, the family of John and Sylvia Haley, dwelled on another farm. John was Joseph's older brother. In general, the farmers in this vicinity did not own land with high values, between $800 and $2,000 worth, suggesting, that the area had only recently begun focusing on farming and that many farmers were starting their operations.

On 05/01/1875, the MN State Census found Arthur and his family living in Hennepin County, MN. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 04/15/2025.)

By 1880, his parents were working on a farm near Walden, MN, with the US Census taker mistakenly listing Arthur as "Aston." The census listed him as working as a farm laborer. The household included six children and a lodger, Tryphena's sister Maureen Leonard (born c. 1852 in NY).

In 1888, Haley resided at 1121 4th Avenue South in Minneapolis, MN. (See Minneapolis, Minnesota, City Directory, 1888, p. 617.)

Haley moved to California during the mid-1890s, either in late 1895 or early 1896. In 1896, Haley lived for some of the year at 11 Colonial Flats, 8th and Broadway, in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1896; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 21; FHL Roll Number: 976930, accessed 04/15/2025.) The Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1896, (p. 644) indicated that he resided at the Hotel Jackson. He relocated to 1941 Lovelace Avenue by 1897. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1897, p. 413.)

Voter registration records indicated he lived in San Francisco, CA, in 1900, at 1421a Howard Street. Unit #2. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900, accessed 04/15/2025.) The 1900 US Census corroborated this, documenting that Arthur and his second wife Blanche resided at 1421 Howard Street. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Roll: 101; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 0053, accessed 04/15/2025.)

He resided in Los Angeles, CA, in 1901. He dwelled at 1247 West 8th Street in Los Angeles, as noted in Who's Who on the Pacific Coast, 1913. bed." (See "Haley, A.L.," Who's Who on the Pacific Coast, 1913, Franklin Harper, ed., [Los Angeles: Harper Publishing Company, 1913], p. 242.)

Haley relocated to Portland, OR, by 1920, where he dwelled in an apartment building at 295 Washington Street. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Portland, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T625_1498; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 7, accessed 04/15/2025.)

Haley passed away in Los Angeles, CA, on 10/16/1925. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, accessed 04/10/2025.)

Parents

His father Joseph Haley (born 05/15/1834 in Bangor, NY-d. 08/09/1904 in Minneapolis, MN) performed multiple jobs, including as a farmer and an architect. He worked as a draftsman in NY and designed buildings in Northfield, MN, and elsewhere.

Joseph wed Tryphena Leonard (born 12/30/1835 in NY-d. 07/15/1905 in Minneapolis, MN) in the late 1850s in Malone, NY. She was the eldest daughter of farmers Moses Leonard (born 1806 in MA-d. 08/07/1889 in NY) and his wife Julia Shaw (born 1816 in NY -d. 04/21/1874 in NY). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Malone, Franklin, New York; Roll: 505; Page: 14b, accessed 04/15/2025.)

By 1895, Joseph was listed in the MN Census as an architect practicing in Minneapolis. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 04/15/2025.)

The 1900 US Census indicated that Tryphena had had nine children and that six remained alive in that year. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Minneapolis Ward 7, Hennepin, Minnesota; Roll: 768; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0074, accessed 04/15/2025.) Known siblings of Arthur included Ella Haley Crittenden (born 04/25/1859 in NY-d. 02/22/1919 in Hennepin County, MN), Frederic Eugene Haley (born c. 1860 in NY-d. 10/19/1939 in Los Angeles, CA), Ernest C. Haley (born 1867 in Malone, NY-d. 07/02/1854 in Minneapolis, MN), George L. Haley (born 08/28/1868 in Malone, NY-d. 09/29/1942 in Seattle, WA), Edgar W. Haley (born 07/1872 in MN-d. 07/23/1930 in Minneapolis, MN), and Herbert C. Haley (born 1877 in MN-d. 11/14/1892 in Minneapolis, MN). Both Arthur and his brother Ernest both became architects like their father. Ernest continued Joseph's practice and he worked in Minneapolis during his whole career.

Joseph and Tryphena lived next door to Ella Crittenden in 1900, where Joseph worked as an architect. Ella lived at 2533 12th Avenue with her husband John, a cooper, while her parents lived at 2529. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Minneapolis Ward 7, Hennepin, Minnesota; Roll: 768; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0074, accessed 04/15/2025.)

Spouse

Arthur L. Haley married at least twice. He first wed Elizabeth "Lizzie" Layman Parker (born c. 1866 in MN) in Minneapolis, MN, on 06/04/1885. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Minnesota, U.S., Marriages Index, 1849-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 04/15/2025.) This marriage failed before 04/20/1895, as Lizzie remarried to insurance agent Angelo Sprague (1866-1925) in that year. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Wisconsin Historical Society; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Marriage Records Pre-1907, accessed 04/15/2025.) She married at least one time after this, to Silas Wright Vanderworker (born c. 1846) 01/17/1906. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Iowa Department of Public Health; Des Moines, Iowa; Iowa Marriage Records, 1880–1922; Record Type: Marriage, accessed 04/15/2025.)

At age 30, Haley married Blanche Elizabeth Carter (born 08/09/1873 in Randolph County, IL-d. 03/25/1938 in Azusa, CA) on 12/19/1896 in Azusa, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 04/15/2025.) This marriage also ended in divorce after 1900 and before 01/1910, when Blanche had remarried private detective George Walsh (born c. 1863 in CT). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 73, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_83; Page: 10b; Enumeration District: 0166; FHL microfilm: 1374096, accessed 04/15/2025.)

Children

Arthur and Blanche had at least one child Fern Josephine Haley Bell (born 12/31/1901 in Los Angeles County, CA-d. 06/09/1987 in Glendora, CA).

Biographical Notes

In 1896, Los Angeles voter records identified Haley, at age 32, as being Caucasian with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1896; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 21; FHL Roll Number: 976930, accessed 04/15/2025.)