John Wren Owen (1822-1877) - Union Veteran and County Treasurer

 

PCA Archives

John Wren Owen was born December 16, 1822, in Franklin County, Illinois, the son of Thomas Harvey Owen and Mary Paine Wren, hence his middle name. 

In 1850, shortly after the beginning of the California Gold Rush, his parents moved their family to Solano County, California, where they engaged in farming.  By 1860, John Wren Owen was working as a real estate speculator at Suisun, Solano County.  

On November 30, 1864, Owen enlisted in the Union Army at the Presidio in San Francisco, California.  He was commissioned a captain and given command of Company F, 7th California Infantry, on December 15, 1864.  He transferred to Camp McDowell in Arizona Territory on August 2, 1865, after the Civil War had ended, and mustered out with his company at the Presidio on April 18, 1866.

Apparently, Owen’s time in Arizona had made an impression on him for he returned to Pima County. He was elected to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1868. The 1870 federal census shows him working as a clerk at Camp Crittenden in Pima County.

In 1874, Owen was elected treasurer of Maricopa County and reelected in 1876.  As treasurer, he was responsible for paying certain bills out of the county taxes; however, he seems to have exercised those responsibilities loosely.  He made no quarterly report of the funds in his possession to the territorial treasurer on June 30 or on September 30, 1877.

When Owen requested money for the public schools, the territorial treasurer authorized him to use the funds already in his possession, promising that he would be compensated later.  On October 11, 1877, Owen replied that he did not have the money to hand but would have it by the end of the month.  He then fell ill and died on November 4th.  When his body was prepared for burial in the first City Cemetery, he had only $2 in his pocket.

His fellow veterans turned out for his funeral and he was eulogized as "a man of few faults and many virtues."  It appears that John Wren Owen never married, and his obituaries did not mention any next of kin.

Following his death, a thorough search of his dwelling did not turn up any of the county's money.  His friends speculated that perhaps Owen had loaned the money to someone and that that individual was keeping mum about it.  A less charitable speculation was that he had spent it himself.  At any rate, no money was ever recovered.

Notwithstanding the missing County funds, the late Captain Owen seems to have enjoyed a good enough reputation that, when Union veterans established a post of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in Phoenix in September 1885, it was named in his honor.

 - by Donna L. Carr

 

The Toilet Parlor: From Discreet Luxury to Modern Beauty Salon

 

Women Believed to be Martha Matilda Harper

Library of Congress

The other day, I was researching a wife of one of the pioneers buried in our cemetery.  I came across an ad in 1897 that she had placed in the newspaper.  She had a business in her home called a "toilet parlor", and of course, I was surprised!

In late 19th-century America, the phrase “toilet parlor” did not refer to a bathroom, but to a discreet and fashionable space for women’s grooming, hairdressing, and beauty treatments. The word “toilet” derived from toilette—the French term for the rituals of dressing and personal care—while “parlor” suggested refinement and privacy.

For much of the 19th century, women’s beauty culture carried a social stigma. Cosmetics were associated with actresses or “painted women,” and many respectable women avoided overt grooming outside the home. A toilet parlor solved this dilemma. By providing a female-centered, parlor-like atmosphere, these establishments offered:

• Privacy: women could have their hair styled or receive treatments away from the male-dominated barber shop.
• Respectability: the word “parlor” softened the act of professional grooming, presenting it as genteel rather than vain.
• Social comfort: toilet parlors often doubled as gathering spots, where women could converse in safe, female-only environments.

One of the most influential figures in legitimizing women’s beauty spaces was Martha Matilda Harper, a Canadian immigrant who opened her first public hair salon in Rochester, New York, in 1888. Harper introduced innovations such as the reclining shampoo chair and emphasized cleanliness, health, and moral uplift alongside beauty. She also pioneered one of the earliest franchise systems, spreading “Harper Method” salons across the U.S. and abroad, helping to transform hairdressing into a respected profession for women.

At the same time, trade publications like The American Hairdresser (founded in 1877 and later renamed American Salon) chronicled the rise of professional beauty culture. These journals helped standardize techniques, advertised new products, and promoted the idea of the beauty parlor as a legitimate business rather than a questionable indulgence.

In practice, a toilet parlor was the forerunner of the modern beauty salon. Inside, women might find:

• Hairdressing and wig services
• Facial massages, skin treatments, and “toilet waters” (light perfumes)
• Manicures and nail buffing
• A parlor furnished with chairs, mirrors, and draped curtains—designed to feel more like a sitting room than a shop

By the 1890s, toilet parlors reflected a broader cultural shift. What once might have branded a woman as frivolous or “wayward” was increasingly recast as a mark of modern refinement and self-care. Thanks to pioneers like Martha Harper and the professionalization of the trade, the toilet parlor laid the foundation for today’s beauty salons.

 - by Val

Grace Curns (1877-1894) - Beloved by All

 

AI Bing

Grace was born in 1877 in Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas.   She was the second child of John Wesley Curns and his wife, Frances Virginia Hulse.  In 1880, John Wesley was a real estate agent. Grace’s older brother, John Frank, had been born in 1871, and a younger brother, Edison Speed Curns, was born in 1879.  Edison died at the age of seven and was buried in Winfield, Kansas. 

The Curns family moved to Phoenix sometime between 1887 and April 1893.  Though newcomers, they evidently moved in the best circles and were considered relatively cultured.   The Curnses were members of the Presbyterian Church whose pastor, Rev. Preston McKinney, they had previously known in Kansas. 

As a member of the Phoenix high school class of 1895, Grace belonged to the Ionian Literary Society and Philomathean (musical) Society.  Both societies often performed at community events.   In August 1894, she joined several others in a trip to Mogollons to escape the summer heat.

Grace fell ill early in November and died on November 21, 1894, of cerebritis or a swelling of the brain resulting in severe headaches and seizures.  It is often found in persons with lupus although it may also have been caused by a bacterial infection. 

Her obituary describes her as a dutiful daughter, kind sister, affectionate friend and a young lady of high intellect and industry.  Schoolmates draped her desk in black and covered it with flowers.  At the Presbyterian church, a thirty-six string harp with one broken string symbolized the loss of a favorite Sunday School student.   Rev. Preston McKinney conducted the funeral service, after which the remains were borne to Porter Cemetery.  Grace’s coffin was deposited upon a carpet of flowers that lined the grave in the east half of Block 18.

A few years after Grace’s death, Mr. and Mrs. Curns moved to Willow Creek in Yavapai County. The federal census of 1900 records Mr. Curns as a farmer.  Grace’s surviving brother was a bookkeeper.

- by Donna Carr