Sacramento County
Biographies
GEORGE MOORE TAVERNER
The president of the Bank of Elk Grove,
who also enjoys the distinction of having been one of the original promoters
and founders of this prosperous institution, claims identification with the
native Sons of the Golden West by reason of his lifelong association with
Sacramento county, where his birth occurred January 23, 1877, in the home of
Thomas Moore and Esther Ann Taverner. The
Anglo-Saxon lineage of the family is indicated by the genealogical records,
which furnish authentic proof concerning the identification of many successive
generations with England. The shire of Devon was the
native place of Thomas Taverner and April 5, 1833, the date of his birth. English schools afforded him
fair educational opportunities and prepared him for the task of
self-support. While his kindred were content to remain amid scenes
familiar to their entire lives, his own aspirations turned toward America and
in 1850 he crossed the ocean to the new world, locating first in St. Thomas,
Ontario. Only a few years had passed since the discovery of gold in California and the tide of emigration still flowed toward the Pacific
coast in great volume. Induced to join the pioneers of the west, he came
via the Horn to San
Francisco in 1852 and
thence to Sacramento county, where he settled at Elk
Grove.
The sturdy, preserving nature of the young
Englishman was displayed in his determination to acquire land. Although
he came without moneyed capital, his was the no less powerful capital represented
by a determined ambition and willing hands. The wages of his work as a
rancher were frugally saved. Little by little he accumulated a small sum
of money. This was invested in raw land. From that small beginning
he rose to a position among the largest land-owners in Sacramento county, where at the time of his
death, January
10, 1893, he held the title to
twenty-eight hundred acres. The unusual success won by his persistent
efforts proved his fine qualities of mind and his energy of character.
Throughout all of his life he adhered to the doctrines of the Church of
England, in which faith he had been reared in the home land. Politically
he voted the Republican ticket after he became a citizen of the United States. Deeply interested in Masonry, he held membership
with Elk Grove Lodge, Sacramento Chapter and Council, also the Sacramento Commandery, K. T., and for years he was a leading worker
among the Masons of Sacramento county and a generous contributor to the
philanthropies of the order.
The marriage of Thomas Taverner
took place in Sacramento in 1873 and united him with Miss Esther Ann Hirst, a native of Lancashire, England, by whom he became the father of four children. The
two daughters are Mrs. C. V. Upton, of Elk Grove, and Mrs. C. L. Bader, of Sacramento. One son, John T., is now in Nevada, while the other son, George M., has spent his entire life
in and near Elk Grove, having in early life engaged with his father in the
raising of sheep, which he followed alone after the death of that parent.
Eventually he disposed of his flocks and October 24, 1910, effected the organization of the Bank of Elk Grove with a
capital stock of $25,000, a considerable portion of which is held by himself. As a financier he is keen and capable,
progressive yet duly cautious, and the institution of which he is the head has
proved a distinct help to the commercial development of the town. Ever
since attaining his majority he has voted with the Republican party. For some years he has been prominent in Elk
Grove Parlor of Native Sons, in which now he officiates as past
president. Like his father, he is an admirer of Masonic principles and a
contributor to the philanthropies of the order, in which he ranks high among
the members of the Elk Grove Lodge, No. 173, F. & A. M., of which he is
past master, Sacramento Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., Sacramento Council No. 1,
Sacramento Commandery No. 2, K. T., Isaac Davis Lodge
of Perfection No. 4, A. & A. S. R., and is also a member of Islam Temple,
N. M. S., of San Francisco.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento
County, California, Pages 595-597. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1913.
© 2005 Sally Kaleta.