Nevada Genealogy Trails Elko County J. A. Mcbride Biography

J. A. McBRIDE was one of the incorporators and is now the manager of the Elko Lumber Company, and has been a resident of this commonwealth since 1877. He is a native son of the west, his birth having occurred near Auburn, California, in July, 1859, and in the public schools of the Golden state he received his early educational training. After reaching mature years he received the position of telegraph operator with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, remaining therewith for thirteen years, and during the last three years of the time held the important position of train master. Concluding his services with that corporation, he then served as accountant for the W. T. Smith Company for four years, while for the following three years he was manager of that large establishment.

Since reaching legal age Mr. McBride has given a firm support to the Republican party, and after severing his connection with the W. T. Smith Company he was made the representative of that party for the office of treasurer of Elko county, filling that position with honor to himself and credit to his fellow citizens. For some time past he has given his entire attention to the management of the Elko Lumber Company, at Elko, which was established in 1868 by W. J. Urton; who conducted the business for a number of years and was later succeeded by Wilsey and Earl, who were succeeded by Frank Smith. In time Payne & Fennell became the owners of this establishment, while the name and ownership was later changed to Payne & Miller, and finally, in 1895, the name was again changed, Payne & McBride assuming control of the establishment. In 1901 the business was incorporated by Messrs. John Payne, M. H. Miller and J. A. McBride, its capital stock being fifteen thousand dollars. The lumber for this concern is received from the Sierra Nevada mountains, and they now supply the country north and south of Elko for a distance of many miles, also having a large local trade. The business is conducted upon the most honorable terms, and the members of the company are men of the highest business integrity and responsibility.

In 1883 Mr. McBride was united in marriage to Miss Emily A. Bonnefield, the daughter of ex-Supreme Judge M. S. Bonnefield, of Winnemucca, Nevada. Their home is brightened and blessed with two sons, Allen G. and Bonnefield G., and the family are members of the Episcopal church, in which Mr. McBride holds the office of senior warden. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Masonic order, having received the blue lodge degrees in Winnemucca Lodge No. 19, on the 19th of November, 1883, and is now a member and past master of Elko Lodge No. 15. He is also a member of the "Old Time Telegraphers' Association," whose membership claims many of the most prominent and successful business men of our country. Mr. McBride was the promoter of the law providing for the establishment and maintenance of county high schools in this state. He was one of the first trustees and most zealous supporters of the Elko county high school, now acknowledged to be one of the best educational institutions of its character in the west.