Sacramento
County
Biographies
GEORGE
BLOOM KATZENSTEIN
There is no man in this State occupying a more
prominent position in fraternal and beneficiary Orders than the subject of our
sketch. He has been closely identified with the Knights of Pythias,
and is a Past Grand Chancellor.
He is also a member of the I. O. O.
F., Improved O. R. M., A. O. U. W., and the I. O. G. T., having promptly
“passed the chairs” in each. He is a member of the several Grand Lodges, and
has been a representative to the Grand Lodge in each Order. He is chairman of
one of the most important committees of the Grand Lodge, A.O.U.W., and is a
past Great Sachem of the Improved O. R. M.
His chief fraternal labors, however,
have been in behalf of the I. O. G. T., with which he has been connected for
more than twenty years, and in which he rose to the proud distinction of R. W.
G. T.---the presiding officer of the Supreme Lodge of
the world---and to which he was thrice elected at Topeka, Kansas, Charleston,
S. C., and Chicago, Ill., declining a re-election last year at Washington, D.
C.
At present he is the Grand Secretary
of the I. O. G. T. of this State, and his influence on that order can never be
fully appreciated and comprehended, under his guidance the Order having nearly
tripled in membership and quadrupled in finances.
He has a fine address, martial
bearing, and is an eloquent and brilliant speaker. His scholastic attainments,
social standing and ripe experience in a number of our leading fraternal
societies give him great influence and prominence. He is courteous to everyone
with whom he comes in contact, and is possessed of that clear intellect and
coolness of judgment and self-reliance that make him a safe leader in times of
great excitement. He makes up his mind what course is right, and neither
friends nor foes can change him from it. Perseverance and tenacity are leading
traits in his character, and to this he owes his successful career in Society
affairs. Happy in his marital relations, honored and esteemed among his
associates, he has blessed humanity.
W. W.
TURNBULL
The following sketch is taken from the Rescue, the official organ of the I. O.
G.T.: “Bro. Turnbull was born April 29, 1841, at Jedburg,
the county seat of Roxburgshire, on the northern
sides of the borders of England and Scotland, a part of the country which for
many years was in constant turmoil. He received the rudiments of a serviceable
education at the Nest Academy in his native town. Leaving school when but 13
years of age, he spent two years or more in a country lawyer’s office. In 1856
he removed to Edinburgh and entered the office of one of the railways, in which
he found promotion from time to time, and in which service he remained for 17
years.
During his early manhood, Bro.
Turnbull was a member of the Total Abstinence Society and attended regularly
their ‘four-penny Saturday evening soirees,’ besides being connected with a
Temperance Choral Union, and in this way he kept abreast of the temperance
movement.
In 1871 he attended the Grand Lodge
of Scotland as a representative from his Lodge, and was elected as Grand
Assistant Secretary. In 1873 he was elected Grand Secretary, but during the
first year did not devote his whole time to the work, as he still resided in
Edinburgh, while the Grand Lodge office was located in Glasgow. He later on
removed to Glasgow, where he has since resided, and devoted himself wholly to
the service of the Order. He was not a member of the R. W. G. L. prior to the
disruption, but the following year---1877---he attended the Glasgow session of
the R. W. G. L. of the world, and attended every subsequent session.
He was a prominent member of the
Boston Union Conference, and consistently labored thereafter to bring about the
union of the Order, and did signal service to bring about the union in his
branch of the Order. His selection, therefore, to the second highest place on
the accomplishment of reunion was but a fitting recognition of his services, as
also a compliment to a deserving brother. The death of Bro. Finch and Bro.
Turnbull’s succession is too well known to need repetition. On the assembling
of the R. W. G. L. in Chicago in May last the universal expression was, ‘Well
done!’ and the feeling, that having borne the burdens of official care and so
faithfully discharged them by succession only, he should now receive the
recognition of the Body by an undisputed election to the highest office in the
gift of the Order, and he was accordingly elected R. W. G. Templar by a
unanimous vote.”
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: “Illustrated
Fraternal Directory Including Educational Institutions on the Pacific Coast”,
Page 326, Publ. Bancroft Co., San Francisco. Cal. 1889.
© 2012 Cecelia
M. Setty.