Amador
County
Biographies
GEORGE WITHINGTON
George Withington,
deceased, who for many years was a leading resident of Ione, was one of the
most highly respected pioneers of California.
The town of Shingle Spring, El Dorado County, stands as a monument to
his memory, for he was its founder and to it he gave its name. He was born in the state of New York, at the
foot of Lake Geneva, Seneca County, on the 10th of May, 1821, and
when two years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Monroe,
Michigan, which state was then under territorial government and was situated
almost upon the border of civilization.
There he grew to manhood amid the scenes of pioneer life, and on the 3rd
of December, 1845, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Kirby. Their union was blessed with three children,
but Mrs. Augusta Welsh is now the only survivor of the family.
In the spring of 1849, attracted by
the discovery of gold in California, Mr. Withington
crossed the plains, arriving at Sacramento on the 15th of August
that year. He made his way to the
present site of Shingle Spring and there he built a shingle mill in September,
1849. In the following month he erected
the first shingled house in the town and in upper
California. His home formed the nucleus
around which sprang the village, and he called the place Shingle Spring, but
the post office is simply known by the first name, Shingle. In 1851 he sold his
property there and removed to Ione Valley, in Amador County, settling on a farm
on Dry Creek, between the Sift and Perkry
places. This property was afterwards
declared by the court to be a part of the Arroyo Seco
grant, and with many others he was dispossessed of his farm. In 1855 he removed to Muletown
and built the first shingled house in that place. Two years later he took up his abode in Ione
and in 1857 erected a good brick residence on the banks of the creek, just
below the town.
In 1877 Mr. Withington
was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife.
They were charter members of the Presbyterian Church at Ione, which was
erected in 1862, and in its work they took an active part, Mr. Withington long serving as one of its officers. Seven years passed and on the 3rd
of December, 1884, he was united in marriage to Mrs. S. J. Maddux, the widow of
James Maddux, an early settler of Sacramento, who was widely and favorably
known as a businessman and citizen. She
had four children by her first marriage.
Mr. Withington attained the ripe old age of
seventy-eight years, and was known among his friends as “Uncle” George Withington. He was
one of the first elders in the Presbyterian Church at Ione and was an exemplary
man, enjoying the unqualified confidence of his fellow citizens by reason of
his honorable career. Mrs. Withington, a most estimable lady, still survives him and
enjoys the warm friendship of many of the leading people of the county.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 294-295. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Amador County Biographies