Nevada Genealogy Trails Washoe County George W. Mapes Biography

GEORGE W. MAPES. History is no longer a record of wars and conquests nor the account of the subjugation of one nation by another, but is formed of business annals and is a representative of what has been accomplished in commercial, agricultural and mining circles. The men who are therefore prominent in town, county or state are they who are managing the important business affairs which largely affect the interests of state. In such connection George W. Mapes is well known, being the president of the Washoe County Bank. He came to Nevada in 1863, and through his own unaided efforts in the stock business has risen to a position prominent among the wealthy men of the state.

A native of New York. Mr. Mapes was born in Hartland, Niagara county, on the 21st of March, 1833, His parents were likewise natives of the Empire state, but in 1847 his father, Ira Mapes, removed with his family to Michigan, settling on a farm in Eaton county, near the town of Bellevue. There he cultivated and improved a good tract of land, making a valuable farm property. Industrious and honorable in all his business dealings, he met with good success and acquired a comfortable competence for old age. He departed this life in the seventy-fourth year of his age, while his wife attained the age of seventy-three years. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter.

George W. Mapes, who is the only representative of the family in Nevada, was a youth of fourteen years at the time of the removal of his parents to Michigan. The family home was in a district which was then largely wild and unimproved, and pioneer onditions existed to a considerable extent. He worked upon the home farm during the summer months and attended school through the winter seasons, completing his education in the Congregational College in Olivet, Michigan. The great west, with its broad opportunities, then attracted him, and in 1854 he proceeded by steamer to California. He was engaged in placer mining in Sierra and Nevada counties for four years, but met with only moderate success in that work. In 1858 he engaged in the stock business in Sonoma county, California, and since that time has been actively connected with that department of business activity. He prefers high-grade Durham cattle, and is now engaged in raising stock of that kind. His success has been such that he is now proprietor of large stock ranches in California, in Oregon and Nevada, having many thousand acres of land. He removed to Plumas county, California, in 1863, and resided in the Sierra valley for seventeen years, during which time he did business in Virginia City and later in Reno, furnishing the towns with beef cattle. During the forty-four years of his connection with stock-raising interests he has placed upon the marked many thousands of cattle, his sales reaching a large annual figure, and today he is justly numbered among the leading representatives of the business on the Pacific coast. He has a thorough knowledge of the needs of stock, and in all his work is particularly capable and progressive.

In 1866 occurred the marriage of Mr. Mapes and Miss Josephine Whitcraft, a daughter of John Whitcraft and Alluna (Shaw) Whitcraft, who crossed the plains in 1852. Mrs. Mapes' father was a native of New York, and in early days was a school teacher and afterward an attorney. Mr. and Mrs. Mapes have three children: George L., who is connected with his father in stock-raising interests; Charles W., who is receiving teller in the bank; and Echo, who is now a student in San Francisco.

In 1880 Mr. Mapes removed with his family to Reno and now has one of the most attractive and beautiful homes of the city. He has invested a large amount of money in realty here, and owing to the rapid growth of the city this has greatly advanced in value. He owns the large block in which the Reno Mercantile Company is now doing business, the block in which the Levy store is located and also the block in which the Frank clothing house is located. He is likewise proprietor of the telephone building, and is associated with the conduct of various business enterprises of Reno, all of which are being capably conducted, his advice and wise counsel being important factors in their successful management. Mr. Mapes is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with which he is identified in all its branches. He was a Democrat in early life, but is now a believer in the principles of the Republican party, and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he has never been a seeker for public office. He is a large stockholder in the Washoe County Bank, is now serving as its president and takes an active and deep interest in promoting its success. He has been connected with the bank since it organized with fifty thousand dollars capital, and has been one of its principal stockholders to the present time. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is today his. His course demonstrates the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius but the outcome of clear judgment and experience.

Source:
A History of the State of Nevada: Its Resources and People
By Thomas Wren, Lewis Publishing Company
Published by The Lewis publishing company, 1904