San
Joaquin County
Biographies
GEORGE MARION MARKHAM
A successful businessman and one of
the leading citizens of Ripon, San Joaquin County, is George Marion Markham,
who for the past thirty-eight years has been a resident of this thriving
town. He was born in the rural district
near Dycusburg, Kentucky, a son of George Washington and Nancy (Kelly) Markham,
of English and Irish descent, but natives of old Virginia, both now deceased. George Marion Markham had little opportunity
for an education, and at the age of thirteen began to make his own way,
selecting farming as his vocation, which he followed until he was twenty-two
years old. His half brother, Prof. J. W.
Wells, had come from Dycusburg, Kentucky, to Ripon, where he was engaged to
teach in the public school. He was
accompanied by his half-sister, Helen Markham, who now resides in Ripon. J. W. Wells was a Baptist minister as well as
a school teacher. Mary E. Markham,
sister of Helen, arrived in Ripon on May 10, 1883; their younger brother,
George Marion Markham, joined them in 1884.
Arriving at Ripon Mr. Markham found
employment on the William H. Crow ranch in the harvest field, and in the
warehouse in Ripon, which occupied him for three years. At that time, the town of Ripon consisted of
a blacksmith shop, a small schoolhouse, and two saloons. There was no bridge across the Stanislaus
River, Murphys Ferry being used until 1887, when the county bridge was built. Mr. Markham was employed as a ranch hand on
farms throughout the county until 1901.
With his sister Mary, he then started farming, Mary acting as
housekeeper. They purchased their first
acquisition of California real estate from their half-brother, J. W. Wells, and
Mr. Markham invested in fifty acres in the Whitmore subdivision near
Ceres. In 1912 they erected the Markham
Hotel. On November 1 of that year it was
ready for occupancy and was opened to the public. This is one of the best hostelries in San
Joaquin County. The ground floor is
devoted to stores, the hotel being on the second floor. Mr. Markham used one of the storerooms as a
restaurant, which he operated for five years, while his sister managed the
hotel, considered one of the most comfortable and sanitary houses in the
city. At the same time they developed
the Ceres property, which was sold in 1914 to good advantage. They are also the joint owners of the
building occupied by the First National Bank, which was completed in 1921. The building where the post office is
located, and other stores connecting, was completed in 1922. They are the owners of choice ranch property
in the Ripon district, and have been active in the development of irrigation in
their locality, and in the organization of the First National Bank of Ripon.
Both Mr. Markham and his sister have
manifested in all their undertakings, whether in private or in public affairs,
a spirit of progressiveness and enterprise which has brought them success and
the confidence of all with whom they have had dealings. Mary Markham is a person of exceptional
diligence and excellent business ability, and works in perfect harmony with her
brother, whose judgment in regard to finance, land values, and business matters
at Ripon, is regarded as being very accurate.
They are very kind, and considerate of others. At the death of their half-brother’s wife,
they helped to bring up and put through school his three children: Ellen, Ernest and Winnie Wells, who are all
married and doing well at the present time.
They have also helped a great many unfortunate children, among whom was Charles Woods, an orphan boy, whom they brought up
from the time he was five years old. He
is now married, and resides with his family at Madera, California, where he is
in the employ of the American Express Company.
They have also reared Alvin Hensen, an orphan
boy, since he was five years old. He has
resided in their home for nineteen years and has received a high school
education and encouragement to develop his voice and musical talents. Mary Markham is a member of the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union and the First Congregational Church in Ripon.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
919-920. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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