Butte County
Biographies
GEORGE MEAD
GEORGE MEAD.—George Mead comes from good old English stock. He was born in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England, January 6, 1866. His parents were both born in England, where his father died. His mother is still living. His father, Thomas Mead, for many years held an important position with the London and Northwestern Railroad. His mother, Lucy (Oliver) Mead, had seven children, of whom five grew to maturity, George being the youngest. During his early life he lived on a farm near Northampton, England, where he worked and attended the public school, afterwards working for three and one-half years for the London and Northwestern Railroad under the supervision of his father. In the spring of 1889 he came to Ontario, Canada, working nearly eighteen months for the Canadian Pacific Railroad, when he became foreman. In 1890 he left the service of the Canadian Pacific Railroad and came to California, buying a ticket to San Francisco; but he stopped off at Sacramento, remaining there a week, when he came to Marysville. Not finding employment there, he came to Chico, where he has since lived.
Mr. Mead was married in Chico to Miss Anna Cheesebrough, a native of Missouri, and they have nine children; Thomas, now in high school; Elsie, Irene, William, Harry, Mathew, Joseph, Robert and Roy, twins.
After his arrival in Chico Mr. Mead began working on the J. F. Entler ranch. He followed ranch work for a time and then entered the employ of the Sierra Lumber Company when Barney Cussick was a contractor. He was with them at the time their mill was moved to West Branch, remaining four years in their employ. He then began mining, working for the Golden Gate mining Company at the Pete Wood mine until it was closed down, when he began prospecting and mining for himself, having claims in Butte, Tehama, Shasta, Calaveras and Siskiyou Counties. He had a valuable copper mine in Shasta County which he sold for a good price. Previous to this he had purchased sixty acres in the Reynolds tract, raising grain on it for several years. In 1904 he bought an additional twenty-seven acres of unimproved land on Kennedy Avenue, and afterwards sold the sixty. He built the first house on the south side of Kennedy Avenue and planted ten acres to almonds, five to peaches, two and one half acres to prunes, the remainder being used for nursery and garden truck, and melons. He also owns a fine ten-acre almond orchard in the Hobart tract, and residence property in Chico. He is a member of the Almond Growers’ Association, the Peach Growers’ Association, the Prune and Apricot Growers’ Association, and also a member of the Lodge of Knights of Pythias.
Transcribed
by Sharon Walford Yost.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1151-1152, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Sharon
Walford Yost.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies