Shasta County
Biographies
GEORGE ANDREW DARRAH LENA GAMBACH
1856‑1938 1869‑1944
George Andrew Darrah was born December 6,
1866, in Shingletown, California, of parents, Simon and Arzilla Shipton Darrah.
Soon thereafter, Simon and Arzilla moved to Battle Creek where the Indians
robbed them and burned everything they owned. The area where the Darrahs settled
on Battle Creek was later named Darrah Springs after them. Then Simon and
Arzilla moved to South Cow Creek and from there back to Shingletown.
As a young man, George worked with his father and hauled logs with his oxen team
to the Sidney Charles Mill.
George met Lena Gambach in Shingletown and they married January 9, 1887, in Old
Shasta. They lived in Shingletown for several years. Three of their daughters
were born there. They were:
Catherine A. b. 1887
Anna M. b. 1890
Pearl I. b. 1892
Then George and Lena moved to Bear Creek near Millville where they homesteaded
their ranch and where their other four children were born. They were:
Louis B. b. 1895
George H. b. 1898
Gladys V. b. 1901
Henrietta L. b. 1911
George raised goats for several years but later sold them. He then raised sheep
and hogs. He was also Supervisor for District # 3 for eight years.
Two of George and Lena's Houses at Bear Creek burned. After the last house
burned August 15, 1930, they moved to Cow Creek where they built a new house and
lived there until George died on October 14, 1938. Lena died November 27, 1944.
They are both buried in the Millville Masonic Cemetery.
Source: Shasta Historical Society