Colusa County
Biographies
GEORGE NOBLE FARNSWORTH
No family has been more intimately
associated with the material development of Grand Island and none more highly
respected by acquaintances than that which is represented by George Noble
Farnsworth, son of an honored and resourceful pioneer and himself a leading
farmer of Colusa county. Mention of the family will be
found elsewhere in this volume in the sketch of his father, Joseph, and his
older brother, Fred William. In this connection therefore it will be
unnecessary to give in detail facts embodied in those sketches; suffice it to
say that his father was one of the pioneers of 1849 and an early settler of
Grand Island, where fortune favored his efforts to such an extent that he
accumulated about two thousand acres in one body, and eleven hundred acres
north of Colusa. On the Colusa road he erected an elegant country home in 1890
and there his death occurred five years later.
In the family of eight children four
are now living and George N. was the youngest of these, his birth having occurred
on the old homestead in Colusa county February 1, 1877. Excellent educational
advantages were his privilege to enjoy. After having completed the studies of
the country schools he took a course in Washington College at Irvington, this
state, and later was a student under Prof. Ira G. Hoyt of Oak Grove school,
Burlingame, San Mateo county, returning home shortly
before the death of his father. On starting out independently, at the of
attaining his majority, he took up farm pursuits on the old home ranch, where
he now resides, his property comprising eight hundred and thirty acres ten
miles south of Colusa. About seven hundred acres of the ranch are sown in grain each year and the balance furnishes
pasturage for stock. Various improvements have been made since he came into
possession of the property and those previously made have been kept in
excellent repair. In addition to the management of the ranch he is financially
interested in the Grimes-Rochdale Company and acts as
auditor of the same.
The marriage of Mr. Farnsworth was
solemnized in Butte City and united him with Miss Verne M. Miller, who was born
in Pennsylvania and came to California with her father, Isaac Miller, one of
the pioneers of Butte City. The only child living of this union is a son,
Robinson M.; the first born, George N., died at the age of seventeen months.
The family are identified with the Dry Slough
Christian Church and contribute to its maintenance, as well as to the various
philanthropies under its supervision. For recreation they have a Rambler
automobile, in which they have made many tours through this part of the
country. The Masonic fraternity has in Mr. Farnsworth an enthusiastic disciple.
He is a member of Colusa Lodge No. 240, F. & A. M.; Colusa Chapter No. 60,
R. A. M.; Colusa Commandery No. 24, K. T., of which he is serving (1905) as
eminent commander, and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of San Francisco.
Though not a partisan in his views, he keeps himself posted concerning all the
problems confronting our nation and in his sympathies is a pronounced
Republican. To the record of an honored ancestry he is adding that of his own
useful and forceful life, and deservedly ranks among the leading citizens and
enterprising agriculturists of Colusa county.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: "History of the State of
California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento
Valley, Cal.," J. M. Guinn, Pages
358-359.
The Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, 1906.
© 2017 Cecelia M. Setty.
Golden Nugget Library's Colusa County Biographies