Sonoma County Biography
George Henry Eades
In retrospect Mr. Eades looks back on a life of seventy-six years, which began in Sherborne, England, October 24, 1834. His experience in his native land was limited, for when he was still a youth he set sail for the United States, and therefore on this side of the Atlantic the best years of his life have been passed and his greatest achievements wrought. He was among the passengers who landed on our shores during the year 1846, and for a time thereafter he remained in and around the port of landing, New York. In 1852, however, he re-embarked on a sailing vessel bound for the Pacific coast by way of Cape Horn, and after a voyage of five months cast anchor in the harbor of San Francisco, reaching that city on the last day of the year 1852.
Interest in the mines was paramount to all other attractions at this time, and although Mr. Eades was offered employment in San Francisco the very day he landed (unloading ship cargo at $1 an hour or $5 a day) he did not consider the proposition, but instead made his way as rapidly as possible to the Yuba river, where he found employment with the Excelsior Mining Company. The latter were running two shifts of men in their mill, the day hands receiving $5 and the night hands $6 for ten hours work. Mr. Eades continued in the employ of this company for nineteen months, during which time he accumulated $1,350. Leaving the Yuba river district at the end of this time he accepted a position as driver of a team at $75 a month. Subsequently he bought a team and outfit and began teaming on his own account, continuing this until 1856, when he began ranching on what was then known as the old Stewart place near Petaluma. The following year he purchased one hundred acres of the property and continued its cultivation until 1905, when he leased the land to his son-in-law, Perry Kuhnle. Mr. Eades made the improvements, built the residence, barns, etc., set out the orchard and cypress hedge, and now has a fine home place.
Mr. Eades was married to Miss Mary Casey, who was born in Ireland in 1836, but who was brought to this country by her parents at an early age. Five children were born of this marriage, but only one, Nellie E., lived to attain maturity. She became the wife of Perry Kuhnle, and they with their three children, Marie, Irene and Alice, make their home on the old Eades ranch. Politically Mr. Eades is a believer in Republican principles, and his first vote was cast for the martyred president, Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. He lives retired on his ranch, making his home with his only child, Mrs. Nellie E. Kuhnle. He is a member of the Catholic Church in Petaluma.
History of Sonoma County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
August 2008
Pages 401-402
Sonoma County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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