Butte County
Biographies
MRS. MARGARET E. GEIGER
MRS. MARGARET E. GEIGER.--One of the
cogent influences in the development of Butte
County has been her pioneers, among
whom we number the kindly and genial person of Margaret E. Geiger. She was born
in Knox County, Ill., in 1841, a
daughter of Edward W. and Margaret (Vaughn) Fuqua, natives of Virginia
and Kentucky, respectively. Mr.
Fuqua was of French descent, and he married his wife in Illinois,
where she had lived until her marriage and up to the time her daughter was a
girl of eleven years of age, after which she came to California.
Mr. Fuqua first came to California in 1849, crossing the
plains, and after his arrival he mined, but on account of ill health returned
home, in 1850, to Illinois. But
the lure of the West was too strong and he once more crossed the plains, in
1851. He finally went to Illinois and spent some time in buying up cattle which
he brought back to California in 1853, this time accompanied by his family,
consisting of his wife, two sons, Thomas and Jacob (a son, Edward, was born on
the plains); and five girls, Mary, Martha, Eliza, Ellen and Margaret. He
brought three wagons and one team of horses which he sold for $500 each in California,
and four yoke of oxen, and upon his arrival here
settled at Forbestown, where he ran a hotel, and
also, in 1855, he ran a hotel on Hopkins Creek. Both himself
and his wife died in California
at the ages of sixty and sixty-five respectively.
Margaret
E. Fuqua was a very beautiful girl, and at the age of fourteen, in 1855, she
was married to J. L. Geiger. He was born in Jefferson County,
Mo., in 1831, and had crossed
the plains in 1849 and mined with good success in California.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Geiger lived at Forbestown
the greater part of his lifetime; after his early experiences here he lived for
a time in Chico, where he served as
city marshal, and as a deputy sheriff. He was in the state at the time the
election was held to admit her to statehood, and cast his vote in favor of that
movement. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Geiger: Edward, who died at
the age of seventeen months; John B., a drayman in Stirling
City, who married Mary Wilson and who have had ten children (of whom seven are
living, namely, Latta W. of Stirling City,
August L. of Chico, Anita L. (the wife of John Craddock, and the mother of two
children, Mary and Mildred), Newton B. of Stirling
City who is in the United States Army, and Ella, Bert and Pearl, all in Stirling City); William H. Geiger, who died at the age of
thirty-two years, and who married Minnie R. Wilson, and had two children
(Jessie P., the wife of H. B. Scott and the mother of two children, George and
Harriet; and Clytie, who married Leland Stanford
Lewis, of Fresno); Cora Geiger died when thirteen years old. Mr. Geiger died in
1908.
After
Mr. Geiger lost his health, Mrs. Geiger has worked as a nurse, and her wide
experience, active sympathy, and temperament have made her exceptionally well
qualified for that work. She is a member of the Baptist Church of Chico; is a
prominent member of the W. C. T.
U., of which she is one of the Chico
organization's charter members. She is a valued member of the Rebekahs, and was a charter member of the Good Templars at Forbestown, later
transferring her membership to Chico.
Mrs.
Geiger stands out prominently among the old settlers of Butte
County, and both she and her
husband enjoyed a well deserved popularity wherever they were known.
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Page 520, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2007 Sande Beach.
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