Jardine, John E. (John Earle), 1871-1956

Businessman, of Pasadena, Calif.; president of William R. Staats Company, a real estate and brokerage firm, which was also involved in large-scale citrus growing.

Businessman, of Pasadena, Calif.; president of William R. Staats Company, a real estate and brokerage firm, which was also involved in large-scale citrus growing. His son, John E. Jardine III, became president of Shoreline Real Estate Company (MS 1122).

Biography

The Jardine family can be traced to mid-seventeenth century England. Certain documented letters indicate that John Jardine I's ancestors, by 1900, had dispersed to four continents in at least one hundred different cities.

John Jardine I, a notable New York architect, was born in Scotland. Jardine I designed at least a hundred buildings including four Carnegie libraries located in Easton, Pennsylvania, East Orange, New Jersey, Tacoma, Washington and Mankah, Minnesota. Jardine's architectural partners were David Jardine (1830-1892) from 1865 to 1893, and between 1893 and 1911, he was in partnership with his brother George E. Jardine (-1903) and William W. Kent (1860?-1955). In a letter to his son in 1903, Jardine I mentioned that Kent was a "talented" architect and that their ten year partnership had been "pleasant." Jardine I entered into his third partnership in 1912 with Hill and Murdock. Their office was located in New York, 3 West 29th Street.

Jardine I owned farmland in Florida on which citrus fruits were grown and lemons were sold for $1.00 a box in 1903. Even though Jardine I hired farm laborers to harvest the fruit, he took an active role in selling his goods, including travelling to Cuba in 1906 to open an American market. Jardine I was also elected honorary first Vice President of the U.S. Savings Bank in New York in 1901.

John E. Jardine II was born in New York in 1869. Jardine II was a contented father of four children and an accomplished businessman. He was a leader in the development of Pasadena's business ventures. Jardine II was President of the William Staats Real Estate and Brokerage Company. He also served on the Pasadena Orange Growers Association, the Euclid Water Company, the Sierra Madre-La Manda Association and the Peninsula Farm Company. Jardine II served as Vice President of the Peninsula Lemon Growers Association and was a member of the Pasadena Board of Trade in 1907.

Jardine II invested in citrus farmland in California. It appears that Jardine II, in conjunction with his father, controlled a substantial part of the Southern California citrus market. Throughout their letters, Jardine II and his father discussed the effects of foul weather on their harvest and the price differentials between the east and west coasts.

Jardine II settled in California and married Mary G. Peck in 1895. Her father, George Peck, was President of the Bank of San Pedro and was a large real estate holder. Mary Peck Jardine was a socialite who corresponded regularly with numerous acquaintances. Her letters reveal that she was a polite and reliable friend.

Jardine II and Mary had four children: three sons, John E. III (1899-), Vincent and Douglas and one daughter, Catherine.

Catherine was born in July, 1901, and married Andrew Post of Connecticut. Catherine settled in Connecticut where she kept in close contact with her grandfather in New York and with her father in California. Catherine, in her letters, always referred to herself as "your little daughter."

Vincent, a broker for the William Staats Company, married Margaret S. in 1947.

Douglas married Saphonia in 1939. He became Vice President of the California Consumers Corporation in 1955.

John E. Jardine III (called Earle) was born in Pasadena on July 31, 1899. Jardine III entered Army Company K and was stationed at Fort Monroe, Virginia from 1918 to 1919. Upon returning from the army, Jardine III attended college at U.C. Berkeley. After completing his education, Jardine III married Laura and had a son, John IV, in 1950.

Like his father, Jardine III began his career as a salesman for the William Staats Brokerage Company in 1925. In 1931, Jardine III became Department Manager and then Vice President of William Staats Brokerage Company in 1941. Eventually, Jardine III went on to become Chairman of the William Staats Company in 1949.

Jardine III's interests also led him to become President of the Shoreline Real Estate Company in 1947 (See MS 1122.) As one of the chief sellers of real estate in San Mateo County in the 1940's, Shoreline sold land which was used for California's Ocean Shore Highway #1, between San Francisco and Carmel. By 1950, Jardine III had become a private broker.