Sacramento Valley Biographies

George R. Eckart

Transcribed by Sally Kaleta, March 2009.

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm


           A man of energetic activity and of strong force
of character, G. R. Eckart, of Marysville, as cashier of the Northern
California Bank of Savings, occupies an assured position among the leading
business men of Yuba county. A native of Ohio, he was born June 11, 1845, in
Cleveland, of English ancestry. His father, W. R. Eckart, moved from Quebec,
where his birth occurred to Ohio when a young man, settling in Cleveland,
where he was engaged in business as a miller and a commission merchant until
his death. He married Eleanor Carlisle, who was born in Chillicothe, Ohio,
where her father, John Carlisle, was a pioneer resident, settling there in
1798. Mr. Carlisle was a merchant of prominence, a man of influence in
public matters, and a Republican in politics. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs.
W. R. Eckart, three sons were born, of whom two survive, namely: William R.,
of San Francisco, a prominent civil and mechanical engineer, and George R.
          Brought up in Ohio, George R. Eckart received his rudimentary
education in the public schools of Cleveland and Chillicothe, and while
living in Putnam, a suburb of Zanesville, where his father had a mill, he
was graduated from the Zanesville high school. Coming to California in 1872,
he located in Marysville, and the following year entered the bank of Rideout
& Smith as bookkeeper and accountant. Going with the firm to Oroville, he
was there in the employ of the Bank of Rideout, Smith & Co. for a while. He
was subsequently an accountant in the Bank of Butte County, in Chico, after
which he was cashier in the Bank of Rideout & Smith at Gridley, and at a
still later time was teller in the California State Bank at Sacramento.
Organizing the Northern California Bank of Savings in 1889, Mr. Eckart was
made cashier, secretary and treasurer, while J. U. Hofstetter was chosen
president. The bank was opened for business in Marysville in February, 1890,
with a capital of $200,000. This bank is located at the corner of D and
Fourth streets, and is carrying on a very substantial business, its deposits
amounting to $1,200,000.
          In Marysville, Cal., Mr. Eckart married Miss Josephine Bilhartz, a
native of this city. Mr. Eckart is very prominent in Masonic circles. While
living in Gridley, he was made a Mason in North Butte Lodge, and is now a
member of Corinthian Lodge No. 9, F. & A. M. of Marysville; In Oroville he
joined Franklin Chapter, and is now a member of Washington Chapter No. 13,
R. A. M. of Marysville; he was made a Knight Templar in Oroville, and is
past eminent commander of Marysville Commandery No. 7, K. T.; and belongs to
Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of San Francisco. He takes an active
interest in politics, and invariably supports the principles of the
Republican party. For four years Mr. Eckart was city treasurer, and for a
number of terms served as a member of the city board of education. In 1904
he was the Republican nominee for mayor of Marysville and was elected in
March of that year. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and of the
California Bankers' Association.

"History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the
Sacramento Valley, California," J. M. Guinn, The Chapman Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1906, Pages 297-298.