George William ("G.W.") Fisher (March 28, 1840 – October 8, 1919) was the founder of the Fisher Lumber Company. He had previously been manager of the Oakland branch of the Puget Sound Land and Lumber Company.
Fisher was born March 28, 1840 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, to Nehemiah Fisher, a mariner, and Susan C. Folder (Fisher). He married Abbie Blake Holmes (Fisher) (1840 – March 10, 1917) in Maine, and they had two children, Clarence Coy Fisher (1865 – 1866) who died in infancy, and Frank Holmes Fisher (July 6, 1868 – March 13, 1900). By the 1870 census the family had moved to Oakland. The 1880 census lists George as a mining secretary. Abbie was a member of the Ebell Club.
Maude Berri Fisher
Frank graduated from UC Berkeley's dental school in 1891 and set up practice in Oakland. He married Maude Lillian Berry (Fisher), known by her stage name, Maude Berri Fisher. She was an opera singer of note, and she and Frank had a daughter, Berrita Maybelle Fisher (Cox). To further Maude's career, they moved to New York City, but Berrita was often with Frank's parents in Oakland or visiting with Maude's parents in Fresno. Sadly, Frank died in 1900 at age 31, following an operation for appendicitis. 2 Maude later remarried.
Abbie died in 1917. George was a patient at the Hillside Sanitarium for an unspecified ailment. After his daughter-in-law was a no-show for a planned visit, he shot himself and died a a few minutes later. 1 George, Abbie, and Frank are all buried in Mountain View Cemetery.
Links and References
- G.W. Fisher, Pioneer, Ends Own Life Oakland Tribune October 9, 1919
- Sudden Death of Dr. Frank H. Fisher San Francisco Call March 14, 1900
