Orange
County
Biographies
GEORGE HENRY AMERIGE
George Henry Amerige, prominent
upbuilder of Fullerton, Orange County, was born in Malden, Massachusetts, March
22, 1855, a son of Henry and Harriette Elizabeth Giles (Russell) Amerige. The Amerige family is of ancient Italian
origin, being one of the oldest Protestant families of Italy. Because of religious persecution, they were
forced to leave their native land and settled in Germany, later going to
England. Morris Amerige, the progenitor
of the family in the New World, was born and reared in England and came to
America in company with two brothers, with whom he settled in Boston,
Massachusetts. Morris Amerige was a
dealer in horses, conducted a livery business and later had a sugar refinery. The Amerige’s
became recognized as one of the prominent colonial families of New
England. Morris Amerige married Miss
Sarah Brown, daughter of Solomon Brown, one of the early shoe manufacturers of
Lynn, Massachusetts. George H. Amerige,
an uncle of George Henry Amerige of this review, came to California by way of
the Isthmus of Panama in 1849 and in the following year established in San
Francisco the first steam power printing press in California. Later he and Charles Steadman founded the
well known newspaper, Alta California, in that city. Henry Amerige, the father of George Henry
Amerige, was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and went to sea in young
manhood, later becoming widely known as a manufacturer and as an outfitter of
sailing vessels. He helped to develop
the western part of Malden, Massachusetts, filled city offices and made a
commendable record as a leading citizen.
Amerige Park, named in his honor, and used as a playground, was donated
to the city of Malden by his heirs. He
was elected a representative to the Massachusetts legislature, but refused to
serve owing to private business; was on the board of assessors of Malden;
served as state highway commissioner and superintendent of streets for many
years and stood high in the ranks of the influential and public-spirited men of
his community. In early manhood he
married Miss Harriette Elizabeth Giles Russell, who was born in the old
Benjamin Franklin home in Boston, Massachusetts, and was a daughter of Benjamin
Russell, a native of Salem, that state.
Benjamin Russell married Miss Giles, whose father, Benjamin Giles, was a
soldier of the Revolutionary War and married Miss Endicott, a cousin of
Governor Endicott of Massachusetts. They
were all of English descent and of old Puritan stock. Benjamin Giles gave the sounding board to Old
South Church in Boston. Benjamin Russell
owned several vessels and engaged in the merchant marine trade. He brought the first colored boys from Africa
to Salem and educated them until they were able to make their own way. He also brought the first rubber from South America
to Massachusetts. One of the
great-grandfathers of George Henry Amerige in the maternal line participated in
one of the old French wars and was so severely wounded in battle that the
amputation of one of his legs was necessary.
Fraternally he was affiliated with the Masons. The children of Henry and Harriette Elizabeth
Giles (Russell) Amerige were five in number, as follows: Edward R., who died May 3, 1915; George Henry,
of this review; Hattie Alice; Mary Ella, whose death occurred in 1922; and Albert
B., a resident of Everett, Massachusetts.
Of the above named, Hattie Alice is the wife of Albert B. Morgan, of
Malden, Massachusetts, and the mother of three sons: Henry A. and Russell B., veterans of the
World War, who are associated with their father in the drug business in Malden,
Massachusetts; and Alva B., who attended the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, was associated with the National Electric Corporation in New York
for years and is now assistant engineer for the Edison Company in New York.
George H. Amerige was reared in
Malden, Massachusetts, and acquired his education in the public schools, Chauncy Hall, a private school, and took a business course
at Bryant & Stratton. Early in life
he formed a business association with his brother, Edward R., a relation which
was maintained until the death of the latter in 1915. They became wholesale and retail dealers in
grain and hay in Boston, beginning operations on a modest scale, but within a short
time success attended their undertakings and they made shipments in car-load
lots, also operating a grist mill. They
owned four stores in Massachusetts and also erected warehouses in that state. Early in May, 1886, the brothers came to
California. From an interesting and
valuable historical paper prepared some years ago by George H. Amerige the
following facts relative to his early business activities are gleaned: He and his brother made a thorough inspection
of what is now known as the Fullerton district, with the result that they
decided that this was an admirable location for a new town, not only because of
its splendid natural site, but also because of its proximity to the well
developed Placentia district. In the
spring of 1887 they bought found hundred thirty acres of land, a part of the
old Miles estate, and soon afterwards negotiated with and induced the Santa Fe
Railroad Company, which was about to build a line through Orange County, to
change its route so as to run through the new tract. The townsite was surveyed and platted and the
first stake was driven in this survey, at what is now the corner of Spadra Street and East Commonwealth Avenue, by Edward
Amerige on July 5, 1887. The land was
soon cleared of the wild mustard which covered it, streets laid out and various
buildings erected, one of the first of which was built by the Amerige Brothers
and used by them as an office. Mr. Amerige
donated this building to the Women’s Club of Fullerton and moved it to the city
park on West Commonwealth where it is used as a restroom and museum. If this building could talk, many interesting
historical facts would become known.
Soon after these preliminary steps had been taken the boom began to
subside and the railroad company failed for a year to complete its line as
agreed upon to Fullerton. The town was
seriously handicapped by a lack of transportation facilities to and from Los
Angeles, but the future of the new town seemed so promising that Wilshire
Brothers prevailed upon the Amerige’s to sell them an
interest in the venture. To better
facilitate the development of the new town, all interests were merged into the
Pacific Land and Improvement Company.
The place was named Fullerton in honor of George H. Fullerton, then
president of the Pacific Land and Improvement Company, which was really a
subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad Company.
At a subsequent date Wilshire Brothers and C. C. Carpenter purchased the
Pacific Land and Improvement Company’s interest and the Fullerton Land and
Trust Company came into existence. The
Wilshire’s failed to carry out their contract with the Pacific Land and
Improvement Company and their holdings were taken over by the land company. Then the interests of Amerige Brothers and
the Pacific Land and Improvement Company dissolved, Amerige Brothers staying
with the new town. Fullerton really
received no natural benefits from the boom, which subsided before the railroad
came in. The first train reached the
town in the fall of 1888, and the first building of any importance to be
erected was the St. George Hotel, costing over fifty thousand dollars and named
for George Amerige. This building was
wrecked in 1918 to make room for a modern business block, erected by George H.
Amerige. The Wilshire Block, at the
corner of Spadra Street and Commonwealth Avenue, was also
built in 1888. The first bank to be
established was the First National and the Fullerton Savings Bank, affiliated,
which came into existence largely through the efforts of Amerige Brothers. They named most of the streets of the town
after the streets in or near their native town.
Thus Commonwealth Avenue derived its name from the famous thoroughfare
of Boston; Malden Street and Highland Avenue were named for the city and street
where the founders formerly lived, and Amerige Avenue perpetuates their family
name. Amerige Brothers also planted and
developed a sixty-acre walnut orchard and sent walnuts to the east in carload
lots. They erected a number of business
blocks in the town and George H. Amerige individually built and still owns some
of the best structures in the city. He
still owns property also in Malden, Massachusetts, and has other business
interests in that state. Through the
years he has devoted his attention closely to the welfare of Fullerton, and
among the improvements initiated by him were the installation of the first
water-works and the planting of the first trees along the avenues of the
city. He has a large collection of
photographs showing the development of Fullerton.
On the 12th of September,
1894, in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Amerige was married to Miss Annette
Jackson, who was born in North Searsport, Maine, but was reared in Boston. She comes of a very old and prominent New
England family, the ancestors of which served in the colonial and Revolutionary
wars. Her father, Joseph Jackson, was a
shipbuilder in Searsport, Maine, and later in Boston. He also came to St. Louis and built boats to
ply on the Mississippi River, where he continued in business until his retirement. The mother, Mrs. Eliza Thorndyke (Sawyer)
Jackson, was born in Thorndyke, Maine, and was a daughter of Rev. John and
Elizabeth (Gilman) Sawyer, the former a well known Baptist minister. They were closely related to Ex-Governor Sawyer
of New Hampshire and the Chabborn’s and Hamlin’s of
Maine. The Gilman family is of English
lineage. When the
great-great-grandfather, John Gilman, and three of his sons sailed in their own
ship from England to Beverly, Massachusetts, they were given a grant at Ipswich,
Massachusetts, which they developed.
Later the oldest son, Edward, went to New Hampshire and proceeded to
colonize land, was thus it was that Gilmanton, New Hampshire, was named for
them. Mrs. Annette (Jackson) Amerige,
the youngest of a family of six children, was reared and educated in Boston,
where she resided until her marriage.
She is a member of the Order of the Eastern star and the P. E. O. She has always been greatly interested in
Fullerton, taking a leading part in its civic and social activities, and is
highly esteemed throughout the community.
Mr. Amerige gives his political support to the Republican Party and has
always manifested a keen interest in public affairs. He is a member of the Board of Trade, also
belongs to the Fullerton Club and fraternally is identified with Fullerton
Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he was one of the five
charter members. The period of his
residence in Orange County now covers forty-seven years and he has long been
numbered among the leading and influential citizens here.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 311-316, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S
ORANGE COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES