My Family Tree

Another entrepreneur who got his start in San Diego in 1886 was Michael Hall, father of Edward C. Hall, who became a San Diego Federal director in 1953. Young Ed Hall joined his father's real estate investment firm, M. Hall Company, after graduating from San Diego High School in 1916. (http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/85winter/100.htm)

"San Diego’s Old Money differs from the Old Money of the East in other ways, according to Ross Porter. “The key is that there never was much money around here. As my grandfather used to say, it was a town of slow notes. Except for the occasional millionaire philanthropist like Spreckels, Scripps, or Timken, the money that came to town was from people who were retiring here. Money was tied up in real estate, so there was wealth but not much cash.”

Edward Hall, the grandfather to whom Ross refers, was a prominent real estate and civic leader, as was Roscoe Porter, the grandfather after whom Ross was named. (“As a land developer and auto accessory manufacturer, he made his first million dollars before he was 30,” Roscoe’s 1957 obituary declared.) Ross’s parents, David and Kay (Hall) Porter, have been lifelong patrons of the local arts. (from http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2001/oct/04/youre-worth-over-800-million-dollars-it-enough-be-/?page=2#)"

Interview with David Potter:
DP: The house that we built in Mission Beach in 1960 is on a lot that the M. Hall Co., my father-in-law [Edward Hall], gave to my wife, Kay, upon the distribution of the M. Hall Co. We took that and built a house on it. Then we acquired a house one lot away and bought an existing house that is still there. We have extensively remodeled, but it stays in the family and is a wonderful summer place.

http://libraries.ucsd.edu/ark:/20775/bb7748647f/1-1.html
San Diego Historical