Nevada
County
Biographies
GEORGE OPEL
George Opel was born in Germany,
July 20, 1831, of German parents, John and Margaret (Keslevey)
Opel, and one of a family of seven children.
In 1849 the Opel family immigrated to America, locating at St. Louis,
Missouri. Subsequently the father died
of cholera, while on his way from St. Louis to New Orleans. The mother resided there with her children in
Jefferson County, Missouri, and reached a good old age, being ninety at the
time of her death. Of the children only
two are now living.
George Opel, at the time he came to
this country, was eighteen years of age.
He remained with the other members of the family until 1853, when with
four other young men he came to California.
Their journey was made overland in a “prairie schooner” drawn by oxen,
and it was six months before they reached their destination. The leader of the little party had been to California
before and it was at his suggestion that they traveled leisurely, his idea
being to reach the mines about the time the fall rains set in. Their first stop in California was at Grass
Valley. There they mined during the
winter, but with little success, however.
Subsequently they were more fortunate on the north fork of the American
River, where Mr. Opel had a claim of his own, in which he worked from 1858
until 1894, and during that time took out a great deal of gold. He sold his claim in 1894. Since then he has been more or less
interested in mining, and still owns a good drift mine, but for the past ten
years he has not been engaged in any active business, on account of ill health,
being troubled with bronchial asthma.
Mr. Opel was married in 1885 to Mrs.
Drusilla Barber, the widow of William Barber.
By Mr. Barber she had ten children, five of whom are living, and in the
support and education of this family Mr. Opel has shown as much interest as if
they were his own. The eldest, Amelia,
is the wife of Charles Kellogg, of New Castle, California; Maria H. is the
widow of E. Towle; Jennie is now Mrs. Val Curran; Louise is the wife of James
W. Jameson, postmaster and merchant of Dutch Flat; and the only son is Charles
E. Mrs. Opel has been a resident of
California since 1861. She was born in
England, a daughter of James Sherrin, and in her
girlhood was brought to the United States by her parents, their settlement
being in Pennsylvania, where she was reared.
At the time he came to California
Mr. Opel was a poor young man, with nothing but his pluck and energy and his
willing hands for capital, and as a result of his industry and good management
he has acquired a sufficient amount of this world’s goods to make him and his
family comfortable; they occupy one of the best homes of Dutch Flat and are
held in high esteem by the people of the community. The only fraternal organization with which
Mr. Opel is connected is the I. O. O. F., and with this he has been identified
for a number of years.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 369-370. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Nevada County Biographies