Los Angeles-Statewide County CA Archives Biographies.....Pontius, David W. 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com July 11, 2010, 7:58 pm

Source: California and Californians, Vol. IV, Published 1932, Pages 60 - 61
Author: The Lewis Publishing Company

     DAVID W. PONTIUS, vice president and general manager of the Pacific 
Electric Railway Company at Los Angeles, has been a railroad man in California 
for more than thirty-five years, and has had as much to do with the 
development of railways in the southern part of the state as any other one man.

     He was born at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, son of Adam and Elizabeth Pontius. 
His father was in the hardware business at Upper Sandusky, and the son during 
the intervals of his schooling helped his father in the store. He was educated 
in public schools and also attended for a time Ohio Northern University at 
Ada. While employed at wages of $1 a day as clerk in the office of supervisor 
of tracks for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Upper Sandusky he utilized his 
night hours in the study of telegraphy, and his first position as a telegraph 
operator was at Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the Chicago & Great Western 
Railroad. He was at different points on that road for a year, spent another 
year as operator and agent in Oregon for the Union Pacific, and still another 
year with the Northern Pacific in Washington.

     His first service in California was at San Francisco with the Southern 
Pacific. He worked out over different lines as operator and agent, was 
promoted to trainmaster and agent at Lathrop, then became district freight and 
passenger agent for the Riverside district, including the Imperial Valley. 
With this extensive experience he was put in charge of the old Los Angeles & 
Pacific Railway Company, which formerly operated the interurban line to Santa 
Monica, before its absorption by the Pacific Electric. He was traffic manager 
for this system.

     Mr. Pontius left the Pacific Electric to become general manager of the 
San Diego & Arizona Railway during its construction, and remained until that 
famous direct transcontinental line between San Diego and the East was 
completed and put in operation at the close of 1919. Four years later he 
returned to the Pacific Electric as vice president and general manager in 
direct charge of the property of the largest electric railway system in the 
world.

     Mr. Pontius is a republican, is affiliated with the Masons and Odd 
Fellows, and has membership in various social clubs in Southern California. He 
married at Tracy, California, Miss Alice E. Banfill, daughter of R. H. and 
Alice E. Banfill.

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