George Hearst (September 3 1820 – February 28 1891) was a
wealthy American
businessman
and United States Senator, and
the father of newspaperman William Randolph
Hearst.
Biography
Hearst was
born near Sullivan,
Missouri
to William G. Hearst and Elizabeth Collins.
He attended public school and was partially home-schooled by his
mother, which later in life Mr. Hearst related as his most valuable
learning experience;. He learned most of the technical aspects of
mining from borrowing books from Doctor Silas Reed, a local
physician, as well as from a local lead mine.
When his father died in 1846, George took over the care of his
mother and his brother and sister. In addition, he did some mining
and ran a general store. He first heard of the
discovery of gold in California in
1849. Before deciding to depart, he continued to read further news
on the subject so that he could be more certain it was true.
Finally, in 1850, as a member of a party of 16, he left for
California (according to some reports, he walked the entire way).
After
arriving in 1850, he and his companions first tried placer mining in the vicinity of Sutter's Mill
on the American
River. After spending a cold winter and making meager
finds, they moved to Grass Valley on the news of a new lode. Using
his mining education and experience in Missouri, George switched to
prospecting and dealing in quartz mines.
After almost ten
years, Hearst was making a decent living as a prospector, and otherwise engaged in running a
general store, mining, stock raising and farming in Nevada County
.
As a
partner of Hearst,
Haggin, Tevis and Co., Hearst had interests in the
Comstock Lode and the Ophir mine in Nevada
, the
Ontario silver
mine in Utah
, the
Homestake gold mine in South Dakota
(his pursuit of which is dramatized in the HBO television series Deadwood), and the Anaconda Copper
Mine
in Montana
.
(He later
invested in the Cerro de Pasco
Mine in Peru
.) The
company grew to be the largest private mining firm in the United
States. Hearst acquired the reputation of being the most
expert prospector and judge of mining property on the Pacific
coast, and contributed to the development of the modern processes
of quartz and other kinds of mining. Another of his holdings, that
his son insisted on taking control of, was the
San Francisco Examiner, which
became the foundation of the
Hearst
publishing empire. He bought the newspaper as a sign of loyalty
to his friends. He did not believe it could become a profitable
entreprise but was convinced to purchase it anyhow.He returned to
Missouri in 1860 in order to care for his ailing mother and take
care of some legal disputes. During this time, he became
reacquainted with a younger neighbor, a girl of 18, whom the
40-year-old Hearst married on
June 15
1862.
In 1862 Hearst and his new bride, Phoebe Apperson, moved to San
Francisco
. Phoebe gave birth to their only child,
William Randolph Hearst,
April 29 1863. Hearst
was a member of the
California
State Assembly from 1865 until 1866, one of 12 members
representing San Francisco.
During this time (1865) he acquired the
48,000-acre (194 km²) Piedras
Blancas Ranch at San Simeon, California
. He later bought the adjoining ranches, and
this land eventually became the site of the famed Hearst Castle
. George and Phoebe's residence on the
property still exists at the base of the hill on which the castle
is built. They also maintained a home in San Francisco at the
corner of Chestnut and Leavenworth.
Hearst owned a
Thoroughbred horse racing stable. One of his better known
horses was
Jerome Handicap winner,
Tournament. Following Hearst's death, Tournament was bought by
Foxhall P. Keene when the stable was auctioned off at
a dispersal sale on May 14, 1891.
[79383]
He was an unsuccessful
Democratic candidate for
Governor of California in
1882.
He was appointed as a Democrat to the
United States Senate to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of
John F. Miller,
and served from
March 23 1886 to
August 4 1886, when a successor was elected. In 1887 he was
elected to the Senate as a Democrat and served from
March 4 1887 until his death.
During his time as Senator, he accomplished very little but
nonetheless was a very well respected man. He commanded every ear
the few times he would speak up. His experience in the Western
frontier was well respected , and his opinion was asked when
dealing with matters about the West.
Death
Hearst
died, aged 70, in Washington, D.C.
February 28
1891. The San Francisco legislature left early
to attend George’s funeral.
He is
buried with his wife and son in Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma,
California
. The Hearst Memorial Mining
Building on the Berkeley
campus is dedicated to his memory.
Depictions in television and film
George Hearst was portrayed by
Gerald
McRaney on the
HBO television series
Deadwood. On the show,
Hearst was depicted as a
sociopath
robber baron who was
willing to do anything to acquire gold (or "the color," as he calls
it). Among other crimes, he murders several
Cornish miners in order to prevent them from
unionizing. He also uses the
Pinkerton Detective Agency to
terrorize and assassinate the owners of gold mines who are
reluctant to sell to him.
After a feud with Seth Bullock and Al
Swearengen, he moves his mining operations in the Black Hills
out of the Deadwood
camp.
External links
References
- Watson, Margaret: "Greenwood County Sketches", p. 254. Attic
Press, 1970
- "Press Reference Library", vol. 2, p. 33. International News
Service, 1915
- Nasaw, David (2000). "The Chief", p. 4. Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2000, (ISBN 0-395-82759-0).
- "Press Reference Library", vol. 2, p. 34. International News
Service, 1915
- Nasaw, David (2000). "The Chief", p. 5. Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2000, (ISBN 0-395-82759-0).
- Nasaw, David (2000). "The Chief", p. 6. Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2000, (ISBN 0-395-82759-0).
- Crawford County, Missouri Marriage Book, Volume B, page
139
- Letter by Caleb Bowles (George's first cousin), February 1 1868
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