George Dexter Whitcomb
| George Dexter Whitcomb | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 13, 1834 Brandon, Vermont, United States |
| Died | June 21, 1914 (aged 80) Glendora, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
George Dexter Whitcomb (May 13, 1834 – June 21, 1914) an American manufacturer and founder of the town of Glendora, California.
Born in Brandon, Vermont to Dexter and Emily (née Tilton) Whitcomb, George Dexter Whitcomb was the second of eight children. The family relocated to Franklin Mills, Ohio (now known as Kent, Ohio), where Dexter worked as a shoemaker and mechanic. Young Whitcomb attended public schools and later worked as a ticketing agent and telegraphist for the Panhandle Railroad to pay his tuition while at business college in Akron, Ohio. This was the beginning of a lifelong career and association with railroading.
In 1856, he moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, to manage a company that was trading with Indians on the frontier. There, in 1857, he met and began courting Leadora Bennett. Leadora was the daughter of Captain Abraham and Elizabeth (Barney) Bennett. Leadora's father was a well known pioneer steamboat captain and owner on the upper Mississippi River. She was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, and had graduated from the Young Ladies Seminary there.
Shortly after their marriage, in 1859, the Whitcombs moved to Chicago, where Whitcomb returned to railroading and became a purchasing agent for the Chicago and Alton Railroad. When the American Civil War broke out, he volunteered for duty with the Union Army, and his service assignment was production of ties and supplies for use on Union railroads. While assigned to the war construction supply, he and Leadora lost their infant son Henry, in January 1864.
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