San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 919-920
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 4/11/2010
GEORGE MARION MARKHAM
A successful business man 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, Ky., 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, Ky., 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 at 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 postoffice is located, and other stores connecting, were 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, Cal., 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.
History of
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
With A
Biographical Review
of
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been
Identified with Its Growth and Development
from the Early Days to the Present
HISTORY BY
George H. Tinkham
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1923
San Joaquin County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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