San
Joaquin County
Biographies
GEORGE W. HEMPHILL
A representative of the agricultural
interests of San Joaquin County, who is also a native son of California, is
George W. Hemphill, who was born and reared on the old Hemphill ranch west of Lodi
on the Sargent Road. His birth occurred
April 6, 1891, and he is a son of Edward H. and Lena (Walkmeister)
Hemphill, natives of Iowa and Switzerland, respectively. Originally the Hemphill’s came from Ireland
to the United States and settled in Ohio.
Grandfather John Hemphill was a veteran of the Civil War, and was with
General Sherman on the famous march to the sea.
Grandfather Hemphill came to California in 1866 in search of a milder
climate than that of Iowa, and the following year brought his family to San
Joaquin County, where he had bought 160 acres.
He added to this until he owned 640 acres, a portion of which is still
owned by Edward H. Hemphill, father of our subject. Two of his daughters also own their
portions. The mother passed away in
January, 1911, while the father resides at the present time in Lodi. They had three children, of whom two grew
up. George W. Hemphill is the youngest
of them. He received his early education
at the Lafayette public school, then entered the Lodi
high school. After his school days were
over he assisted his father on the home ranch.
He leased the home place of 185 acres and for eight years ran it, doing
general farming. Since 1921 his brother,
John Lester, is operating half of it, and our subject is farming the balance.
The marriage of Mr. Hemphill
occurred on November 11, 1914, at Stockton and united him with Miss Ethel Geirmann, a native of Walnut Grove, California, daughter of
Charles and Amanda (Kelly) Geirmann. Her mother was born at Michigan Bar,
California, and came to San Joaquin County with her father, where she was
reared and educated in the Henderson district school. Her parents are living at Woodbridge, where
Mr. Geirmann conducts the blacksmith shop. In politics Mr. Hemphill is a Republican, and
fraternally he is affiliated with Woodbridge Lodge, No. 131, F. & A. M.,
with the Sciots, No. 5, of Stockton, and with his
wife is a member of Woodbridge Chapter, No. 118, O. E. S. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias of Lodi. The
Hemphill name is a highly honored one in this part of California, and its
bearers have proved themselves worthy of esteem in every relation in life.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1549. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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