GEORGE THOMAS MARYE -----or as he usually signs his name, Geo. T. Marye was born on the twenty-seventh of November 1817, near the little town of Luray, Page County, Virginia. This is one of the most lovely sections of the Shenandoah Valley and has become famous for its romantic scenery and wonderful caverns.

The family of the Maryes is of Huguenot origin, and is one of the oldest in the State of Virginia.  The first of the name, and the founder of the family in America, was James Marye, a clergyman of the Reformed Church of France, in the Province of Normandy, he, like most of his co-religionists, was driven from France by the persecutions following the ; revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. His departure from his native country was attended with many dangers and narrow escapes, and his adventures, and those of other Huguenots who subsequently came with him to this country, form the basis of a very interesting story called " The Huguenot's Sword," published in the April number of Harper's Magazine for 1857. He was fortunate in avoiding arrest, and found refuge in London, where he remained for several years. While there he married Miss Letitia Staige, an English, lady, who was his faithful companion throughout life, and who accompanied him on his voyage to his new home in what was then the distant Colony of Virginia.  In 1691 or 1692 the British Crown made a grant of lands on the James River to a number of French Huguenot refugees who had fled to England. One of the grantees was James Marye, and among them were the Meanx, the Fontaines, the Flourneys, the Maurys, the d'Aubignes (or, as the name is now written, the Dabneys), and others whose descendants are still among the prominent citizens of Virginia.  They came to this country in a body and founded the town, or settlement, of Monacan in Powhatan County. 

James Marye came with them as the minister of the band of colonists, and continued to reside at Monacan in that capacity for many years. Bishop Meade in his work on the "Old Families and Churches of Virginia" gives an interesting account of the establishment of the church at Monacan, and of James Marye's ministry there, and also of the subsequent ministry of himself and son, also called James, at Fredericksburg in Spottsylvania. James the elder, as we read in the Rev. Philip Slaughter's full and complete history of St. George's Parish, removed from Monacan to Fredericksburg in 1709, at the call of the vestry of St. George's Parish, which at that time embraced all of Spotsylvania County. He continued to reside at Fredericksburg as Rector of St.  George's until his death, which occurred in 1730 at the old family homestead in the outskirts of the town, on one of the hills overlooking it and the neighboring river. The hill, with the house that crowns it, is called Marye's Heights, and was the scene of some of the bloodiest engagements of the war of secession, when the National forces under Burnside and Hooker, undertook to capture Fredericksburg.  It still belongs to the Fredericksburg branch of the Marye family. One of the sons of the younger James, who succeeded his father as Rector of St. George's, named Pierre, left Fredericksburg, and settled at Culpeper Court House, where he married Miss Eleanor Green, daughter of Col. William Green, of Culpeper, on the sixth of December, 1773. He had several children, and among them William Staige, the father of the subject of this sketch.

William Staige Marye was born on the fifteenth of February, 1775, and while still a youth left his father's home and crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains into that portion of the Shenandoah Valley which has since been made Page County, and became one of the early pioneers of that portion of the country. On the sixth, of May, 1802, he married Mary Ruffner, the daughter of Peter Ruffner, whose family were the original grantees from the Colonial Government of all the lands along the Hawksbill, between the Massanettan range of mountains and the Blue Ridge. Some time after his marriage, William Staige Marye founded and laid out the town of Luray, at a point on the Hawksbill, which is a small tributary of the Shenandoah River, on the direct road from the gap through the Massanettan Mountains to the gap through the Blue Ridge. Here he established himself with his family and engaged in a general merchandise business, for a long time being the only merchant, and afterwards the principal one in that portion of the country. He was a man of broad and progressive views, and was the recognized leader among his neighbors in all matters of public concern: and when in the course of time, the valley became somewhat more populous, and Luray had grown to the dimensions of a respectable little village, he procured the passage of an Act of the Legislature of the State segregating the valley between the Massenattan and Blue Ridge from the remainder of Shenandoah County, to which it had previously belonged and from which it had always been divided by natural barriers, and creating a new county, which, in honor of his friend Mr. Page, then Governor of the State, he called Page County; and he also had Luray made the county seat, the Federal Government having, some time before, at his solicitation, established a post-office there. After accumulating a competency, Mr. Marye withdrew from active business and resided altogether on his farm, called the Hillside Farm, on the banks of the Hawksbill in the neighborhood of Luray.

Here the subject of this sketch and most of his other children, of whom he had fifteen, were born, and here he spent the last years of his life in the midst of literary pleasures and in the enjoyment of the respect of his fellow-citizens, for although he never held or sought for political office, his influence in shaping the course of public events in his county was paramount, and his memory is held in affectionate esteem by his neighbors of Page Valley, and their children down to this day. From here, too, he carried on a correspondence with his son George after the latter had gone to Baltimore, which, while it could not fail to be of the utmost benefit in the intellectual and moral development of his son, does honor to his own qualities of head and heart, and is an evidence of his rare and extensive attainments as a scholar and philosopher.

Mr. Marye attended the school of Mr. Thomas at Luray until the age of fourteen or fifteen years, when, at his own request, his father placed him in the store of Messrs. Thomas Allmand & Co., who were his successors in his former business at Luray.  Here Mr. Marye received a thorough business training, and he attributes much of his success in after life to the habits of industry and sobriety that he acquired during this period. He remained with Allmand & Co., several years, but approaching manhood brought with it a desire for a wider field, and leaving his native valley, he went to Baltimore which was then, as now, a great place for ambitious young Virginians.

Mr. Marye's eminently legal cast of mind, his clear, sound judgment and powers of close, logical reasoning, would have admirably fitted him for the practice of the law, and it has often been a subject of comment and surprise among his friends that he did not adopt that profession. But his father's numerous family made it difficult for him to give his son any pecuniary assistance, and his own disinclination to receive any aid and his energetic disposition led him to prefer the more active pursuits of commercial life.  He first found employment in Baltimore as clerk in the dry goods house of Hart & Co., beginning as junior, but his industry and business capacity soon caused his promotion, and at the time of his marriage and before leaving his employers he had the responsible position of head clerk in the house. On the thirteenth of July, 1839, he married Miss Helen Tucker, daughter of William A. Tucker, Esq., President of the Baltimore Fire Insurance Company, a Director in several of the banks of the city, and one of the original stockholders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  After his marriage he formed a co-partnership with Messrs. Marriot and Hardesty, and under the firm name of Marriot, Hardesty & Marye, he carried on a large dry goods business, having an extensive connection in the South and West.

In 1849, Marshall's famous discovery was attracting the attention of the world to the far off shores of the Pacific, and Mr. Marye, who had inherited, in an increased degree, the pioneer energy of his father, was one of the first to join the adventurous band who were every where starting out from the older States in quest of the riches of the new El Dorado.  He left Baltimore in the early summer, and arrived in San Francisco on the steamer Panama, in August, 1849.

Rather an amusing incident is told as occurring on the way out. It was at a time when the first vigorous attacks were beginning to be made on the institution of negro slavery in the South, and the discussion of the subject aroused the strongest passions and prejudices of men. Mr. Marye, not unnaturally, entertained the same feelings as were well nigh universal throughout the Southern States, and they were shared by nearly all the passengers on the steamer, but not by all. Among the few who held opposite opinions, and perhaps the only one who had the hardihood to express them freely, was William Sherman, who has since become a prominent citizen of San Francisco. At that time he was quite a young man, fresh from the New England States, and had not yet learned the necessity of keeping a guard upon himself in discussing this exciting topic. The ardor of his convictions, and the freedom with which he gave expression to them, led to frequent discussions, and the boldness of his utterances gave grave offense to some of the more extreme and intolerant of the pro-slavery men, and some of them even muttered threats of personal violence against the Abolitionist. Mr. Marye, between whom and Mr. Sherman a warm friendship had sprung up, and who had heard some of these angry expressions, drew Mr. Sherman aside and told him that it would be well to use greater moderation in discussing the slavery question, as many of the passengers had never heard such sentiments before, and were much exasperated by them. 'Why," said he, "some of those fellows may throw you overboard." Mr. Sherman thanked him, and recognized the soundness of the advice, and the voyage came to an end without any further incident.

But a number of years afterwards, when the war had broken out between the States, and Mr. Marye, although always a true patriot and lover of his country, was inclined to think that the attempt to coerce the South was unconstitutional and wrong, he several times gave expression to his views in his usual vigorous and unequivocal manner. On one such occasion, Mr. Sherman, who happened to be present, took him aside, and said: "Marye, whatever you may think, it would be prudent to use greater moderation in the expression of your sentiments or some of these fellows may hang you to a lamp post." Mr. Marye, who has a good memory, recognized the advice, and readily acknowledged its point.  After his arrival in San Francisco, Mr. Marye at once engaged in a variety of pioneer work. He dealt largely in real estate, and built the first house to the east of Davis Street. It was built at the southeast corner of Davis and Sacramento Streets, on piles, in twenty feet of water. It was occupied as a ship chandler's, and the ships used to come right up alongside of the building for their supplies.  When Mr. Marye arrived in San Francisco there were no wharves in the city, and the steamer that he was on cast anchor in the bay off Clark's Point, and the passengers went ashore in boats. His attention, therefore, was early drawn to the necessity of wharf accommodations for the shipping in the harbor, and, during the year of 1850, he built the Sacramento Street wharf, which ran from the intersection of Davis and Sacramento Streets, following in the line of Sacramento Street, a distance of 800 feet, into the deep waters of the bay. This was for a long time one of the principal wharves of the city, and was a very lucrative piece of property; but after the sale of the city slip property its utility as a wharf was destroyed, and with it its value; and now, where the largest sea-going vessels used to come and load and unload, it is all dry land, covered with well paved streets and large brick and iron structures.

After he had built the Sacramento Street Wharf, Mr. Marye went to Stockton, and built the first wharf in that city. It was built under contract with the municipal authorities, that he should pay himself out of the first tolls to be collected, and then turn it over to the city. The arrangement was mutually satisfactory and profitable, and after he had received payment he delivered it to the municipal Government, who still hold it.

When he first started for California he sent at the same time, around the Horn, a number of articles, in the selection of which he displayed much good judgment of the wants of a new country-, and, several of which, among them a circular saw, were the first of their kind to be brought to the Pacific Coast.  The profits of the venture were of course proportionate to the sagacity shown in the selection of the articles, and the saw and appurtenances, which had cost him some $2,500, were sold for upwards of $13,000. The other things were disposed of to almost equal advantage.

During all this time he took an active part in the life and progress of San Francisco. Though never in any sense a politician, he took much interest in public affairs, and was very influential as a strong and consistent Democrat. His partner in business, Caleb Smith, was the first Judge of the Superior Court of San Francisco, and his brother, S. Bolivar Marye, was the first Judge of the County Court.  In 1856 he made a trip to the Atlantic States, partly to enjoy a period of well-earned rest and recreation, but mainly for the purpose of putting his eldest son, for whom he had received an appointment from his friend, General Denver, Member of Congress at that time from California, at the Military Academy at West Point. After his return to San Francisco the following year he was urged by many of his friends to become a candidate for the United States Senate, but his partner in business had died in the meanwhile, and the necessity of giving his entire attention to his own private affairs impelled him to decline.  About this time he built the house at the northwest corner of East and Market Streets, and in front of the house a large wharf running out into the bay. The house still stands as he built it, but the wharf has long since disappeared, and its site is now occupied by a portion of East Street, the seawall and the ferry slips at the foot of Market Street.  In 1859 he again went East, leaving a power of attorney with the brother of his former partner, who was at that time Navy Agent of the port of San Francisco, and who also represented the heirs-at-law of his deceased brother. Mr. Marye, after staying sometime in the Atlantic States, went with his family to Europe. He traveled through England, France and Italy, and then, leaving his family abroad, returned to America and arrived in California in 1860.  On his return he found that his agent had seriously compromised all his interests and had gravely involved his entire estate. The situation was one to try the nerves and the fortitude of any man and if there had been a weak spot in his armor so unexpected and heavy a blow would have reached it.  But he showed no signs of discouragement. Whatever may have been his feelings, he gave expression to few words of complaint, he fully recognized th.it the fault was largely his own in leaving his business and in trusting too much to the hands of another, and he at once set about with redoubled energy and vigor to repair what had been done, to extricate his property from its incumbrances and to unravel the legal meshes that had been woven around it. The work was a long and tedious one, but he never paused or stayed his hand until he had brought it to a successful end.

When he came back from Europe in 1860, Mr.  Marye wrote an eloquent letter to the Legislature then in session at Sacramento, urging the purchase by the Slate of Hiram Powers beautiful statue of "California," which he had seen in the sculptors studio at Florence. The suggestion was well received and would probably have been acted upon, but it was made at a time when the shadow of the great struggle impending between the States was already resting upon the land, and in the hush that precedes the battle, as in the clash of arms, the art of peace are forgotten. The statue was afterwards bought by a citizen of California, was taken to the State, and is believed to be still there.

After Mr. Marye had restored order to his affairs and placed himself again securely in the possession of his own, he made another trip to Europe to join his family. He traveled extensively with his wife and daughter during the years 1863-64, and returned to California at the close of the latter year, after leaving his younger son at the University of Cambridge, in England. For the next few years he was principally engaged in settling old matters connected with his former business, and in the accomplishment of this he made several trips to the Atlantic States.  In 1869 he went to Virginia City, Nevada, to engage in banking and the brokerage business, and the step proved to have been well-timed, for not very long afterward came the great excitement in the stock market attendant upon the Crown Point and Belcher discovery, and still later the unprecedented upheaval of the bonanza period. The story of those great discoveries has been too often told to need to be repeated here, but, as may be readily supposed, they were like the floods of Pactolus to those whose business it was to handle the stocks of the Washoe mines. Mr. Marye's business, which had been very large during the Crown Point and Belcher excitement, became enormous during the era of wild speculation following upon the Consolidated Virginia and California development. The rush was so great that his office in Virginia was never closed day or night.  It used to be kept open for customers from eight o'clock in the morning to eight in the evening, then the day clerks left and a night shift, as the^- say in Virginia, went to work, that is, a set of clerks who wrote up the books during the night. The mental and nervous strain of such a business was very considerable, but Mr. Marye kept it well in hand, and it is worthy of remark as illustrative of the independence of his character and his strength of will, that during this whole period while he was right in the midst of the excitement, and living, as one might say, in an atmosphere of stocks, in constant intercourse with men who were dealing largely and growing rich through their ventures, he never bought or sold a single share of stock on his own account. He was to say that the profits of his business, if he would keep them, were enough for him.  In November, 1865, he opened his own office in San Francisco, his younger son, George T. Marye, Jr., who some time before had given up the practice of the law to join him in business, taking charge of it.  Before this time Mr. Marye had carried on such portions of his business as required to be executed in San Francisco through correspondents. but his transactions had now assumed such proportions that it became necessary for him to have his own office there. This arrangement, too, was desirable as a means of saving money, for during the last two years that he did business through others, he paid his San Francisco correspondent over a hundred and eleven thousand dollars commissions. (The exact sum was $111,474.41.) Since the establishment of the house in San Francisco the tendency has been to make it the main office, and it has now become so, Mr. Marye giving it much of his own time and attention. During the Sierra Nevada and Union excitement in 1878, the two offices, especially the one in San Francisco, did as much business as in bonanza times, but the profits were not so great, as the prices of stocks were not so high. In 1879, he gave his nephew, Orrick W. Marye, an interest in the business in Virginia, so that now he is able to devote his time to the two offices without finding it necessary to give his personal attention as closely as formerly to the details of either.

Since his residence in Virginia he has been hardly less of a builder than in early days in California.  One of the most noticeable buildings in Virginia was built by him in 1874. It is called Marye's Building, and still belongs to him. He is, it is believed, the largest individual owner of real estate in the town, and although it is not now a very desirable class of property, he has no cause to complain, for it paid him for a number of years two and three and even four percent, a month.

Mr. Marye, since he became a citizen of Nevada, has continued to show the same interest in public affairs that he has always displayed. Though neither holding nor caring for office he has furnished a shining example to that numerous body of good citizens who, because they are engaged in the active pursuits of an engrossing business, think that they are relieved from the duty of giving any attention to public matters. He has been prominently connected with the Democratic party in his State and has worked hard to promote its interests and those of good government. To the combined efforts of himself and those of the gentlemen of the State Central Committee is due in no small measure the brilliant success of the Democracy in carrying the State in the Garfield-Hancock campaign.  Mr. Marye, as may be seen from the engraving accompanying this sketch, is a man of striking appearance.  In stature he is above the medium height, with a well proportioned muscular frame. He has gray hair (formerly auburn), a broad, massive forehead, bright, searching eyes, an aquiline nose, and a firm, positive mouth, with well-shaped regular teeth.  His face is a correct oval and clean shaven, excepting the mustache. His hand is small and well-shaped, white as a woman's and strong as a vice. The general expression of the face is that of decision and energy. If family mottoes are any indication of their dominant traits, the motto of the Marye's, that "persistent effort overcomes all obstacles" is singularly appropriate, at least to the member of the family who forms the subject of this sketch. He is constitutionally unable to give up what he has undertaken, or to abandon what he has once set his mind upon. Persistent endeavor is no effort to him, it is his nature. A good master of human nature, and endowed with a sound, cool judgment, he is able to make up his mind promptly, without much fear of mistake, and these qualities, which are supplemented by an easy, graceful handwriting, a power of rapid calculation, and a complete knowledge of book-keeping, make him a thorough business man, and give him great facilities in the dispatch of business. He is a best friend, and benefits and injuries seem to be alike incredibly impressed upon his memory. Incidents of his boyhood, of his early manhood, and of his riper years are apparently as vivid in his recollection as if they had occurred but yesterday. He is generous and liberal to a surprising degree, and it is a good proof of the strength of his character, that the impulses of his heart are just as warm when he is exposed to the chilling blasts of adversity as when enjoying the genial glow of prosperity. During a long career he has been often tried but never found wanting.  Mr. Marye has three children, two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, William A. Marye, holds the commission of Major in the United States Army, and is now in command of the Arsenal at Augusta, Georgia; his daughter Ada is married to Dr. Joseph C.  Baily, Surgeon in the United States Army, and now stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco; and his second son, George T. Marye, Jr., is his partner in business, and President of the Stock Exchange, and Chairman of the Democratic County Committee of San Francisco.