George Esmay (railroad agent/banker/mechanic)

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

George Esmay was born in Jackson County, Iowa in 1859. As a young man he worked as a carpenter, then became a railroad operator.

In 1883, he married Ettie May Garlick, whose father James had been active in organizing the underground railroad.

George and Ettie had five children.

In 1907 he moved out west and became cashier of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in Fullerton.

In 1913 he accepted a position at the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Fullerton.

In the 1920s he also worked as a foreman/mechanic for Lillian Yeager, who owned a car dealership/mechanic business in Fullerton.

Esmay was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, a Republican, and a bugler of the Home Guards at Fullerton from 1916 to 1919.

Source:

History of Orange County, California: with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present by Samuel Armor. Los Angeles Historic Record Co, 1921.