Colonel James Ward Eddy (May 30, 1832 – April 12, 1916) was the builder of

Angels Flight Angels Flight is a landmark and historic narrow-gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named ''Olivet'' and ''Sinai'', that run in opposite directions on a shared ...

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Eddy was born in

Java, New York Java () is an incorporated town in Wyoming County, New York. The population was 2,057 at the 2010 census. The Town of Java is on the western border of Wyoming County. History The Town of Java was founded in 1832 from part of the Town of Arcad ...

and matriculated at

Genesee College Genesee College was founded as the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, in 1831, by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The college was located in Lima, New York, and eventually relocated to Syracuse, becoming Syracuse University. Genesee Wesleyan Seminary ...

Lima, New York Lima (, the name is a shibboleth) is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,154 at the 2020 census. The town is in the northeast part of the county, south of Rochester. The village of Lima is located withi ...

. He taught school in western New York before going to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1853, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1855. He practiced in

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County, Illinois, Kane County and partly in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kan ...

, where he also served on the Board of Education and as a county supervisor. In 1866, he was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

, and in 1870 to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

. Eddy was a friend and supporter of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. He was in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

when the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out, and enlisted in Cassius M. Clay and Gen. James H. Lane's battalion which was formed for the protection of Washington during the first month of the war. Eddy spent three years in railroad construction in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, founding the Arizona Mineral Belt Railroad in 1881 to build a branch of the Santa Fe road south from the town of Flagstaff. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1895, where he settled and surveyed the first transmission line for water power from

Kern River The Kern River is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between ...

to Los Angeles, which was later obtained and used by the Pacific Electric Railroad Company of Los Angeles. In 1901 Eddy developed and built

without public financing. The

system of two counterbalanced cars traveled up and down parallel tracks and transported passengers along the steep grade between Third and Hill Streets and Bunker Hill, where Eddy lived. The ride lasted one minute and cost one cent. He sold Angels Flight in 1912 and retired to Eagle Rock. Eddy served as vice-president of the California Children's Home, president of the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital, and was a member of the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

. He was married to Isabella A. Worsley, of Batavia, Illinois, until her death in 1896. In 1900 he married Jane M. Wiswell, a native of Vermont. She died in 1913. Col. Eddy died on April 12, 1916, at his Eagle Rock home at the age of 84. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in a family plot with his first wife, Isabella, his second wife, Jane, and his children, Carrie Eddy Sheffler (1858–1927) and George Eddy (1868–1891).

External links

*http://www.you-are-here.com/location/angels_flight.html *http://www.placesearth.com/USA/California/LA/code/anglflit.htm 19th-century American architects County commissioners in Illinois 1832 births 1916 deaths People from Wyoming County, New York People from Batavia, Illinois Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Illinois state senators Genesee Wesleyan Seminary alumni 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{US-architect-19C-stub