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Samuel Woods Luitwieler (1847-1931) son of Jacob Gerard Luitwieler and Matilda Sarah Woods. He married Sophia Charlotte Maurer. Image Courtesy of Denise Bartholome.
He enlisted in the First New York Veteran Cavalry, and was at one time an orderly for General Sheridan during his campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.
From "California and Californians, Volume 3" Rockwell Dennis Hunt. Page 266-267
Samuel Woods Luitwieler---Prominent on the roster of successful business men of Los Angeles County appears the name of Samuel Woods Luitwieler , founder of the Luitwieler Pumping Engine Company of Rochester , York , and a man to whose wide vision and sound invest ments much of the development in this region is due . He was born at Rochester, New York , April 9, 1847, a son of Jacob G. and Martha (Woods ) Luitwieler , early settlers of Rochester . Samuel Woods Luit wieler attended school at Rochester, and at the age of fourteen years he entered the banking house of Rochester Brothers . When war broke
out between the North and the South, he desired to enter the service as a drummer boy, but his parents objecting, he was forced to wait until 1863, when , leaving the bank , he enlisted in the First New York Veteran Cavalry. A portion of his service he was orderly to General Sheridan, and was with that distinguished officer in his campaign in the Shenandoah
Valley . After the close of the war he became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1877 Mr. Luitwieler came to California and traveled through the northern and central portions of the state, but finally decided to locate in Los Angeles. There he became a dealer in Studebaker farm wagons, carriages and agricultural implements at 160 Los Angeles Street, this being the largest establishment of its kind in the city. In addition to the Studebaker products he also dealt in Moline plows, Champion mowing machines, Thomas rakes, Planet Junior cultivators, Monitor windmills, and other standard makes of machinery, and built up a large and wellestablished trade. At the same time he became connected with several land and water companies, and was president of the Los Angeles and Santa Monica Land and Water Companies, and vice president of the Los Angeles & Pacific Railroad Company, now the Pacific Electric Railway, of which he was one of the original owners in conjunction with Gen. M. H. Sherman and E. P. Clark. It was largely through his efforts that the Soldiers' Home was located in Southern California, and in Los Angeles County. He was identified with all measures of public interest in the city and county. In the meanwhile he had founded the Luitweiler Pumping Engine Company, in 1890, and this enterprise assumed such large proportions that he left the Studebaker Company to develop the patents on a deep water pump he had invented. The factory is now located at Rochester, New York. Of a very inventive mind he has always been working at inventions which the world at large can profit by. His company has been continuously connected with the development of pumping from drilled and bored wells. The basic principle of the non-pulsating pumping system has been the perfect balance of the moving parts and the water discharges in constant volume and pressure. The balanced mechanism, uniform application of power, insuring uniform and constant water delivery without jar or vibration, are combined in the Luitwieler system, which is of highest mechanical efficiency in design. The factory at Rochester is a thriving one and plans are being made for the building of another plant at Los Angeles.
Mr. Luitwieler was at one time one of the heaviest landowners of Los Angeles. He was a member of the old San Fernando Land Company, which owned 20,000 acres of land, the old Mission Ranch, and when this property was divided his share was 200 acres. In addition he had 150 acres in the MacDonald tract; 250 acres in the Santa Gertrude Ranch in East Whittier, and was a member of the syndicate that owned 2,200 acres, on a portion of which is located the Old Soldiers' Home. He also owned twenty acres in the manufacturing district of Vernon, and property on Hollywood Boulevard, but all of this property has been sold with the exception of 250 acres in East Whittier. The family home at the southwest corner of Figueroa and Washington Boulevard, was long one of the handsome ones of Los Angeles. Among other public spirited enterprises accomplished by Mr. Luitwieler was the bringing, in 1888, the first gas engine to Los Angeles. In 1869 Mr. Luitwieler was married to Miss Sophia C. Maurer, a native of Rochester. Six children were born of this marriage namely: Jesse, George and Mabel, both of whom are deceased; Walter, Adelaide and Ethelyn, the latter being Mrs. Robert G. Schroeder. Mrs. Luitwieler has been an invalid for a number of years, but she is carefully attended by her devoted Miss Adelaide, a carefully educated lady, who attended the University of Southern California. She is a useful member of the Woman's City Club.