George S. Good | |
---|---|
George S. Good circa ~1895 | |
Born | George Smith Good (1844-04-10)April 10, 1844 Turbotville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | October 14, 1913(1913-10-14) (aged 69) Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Resting place | Highland Cemetery Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Alma mater | Dickinson Seminary |
Occupation(s) | Railroad, industrialist |
Title | President, George S. Good & Co President, George S. Good Firebrick Co. |
Spouse |
Catherine Angelica Baker Good
(m. 1867) |
Children | 9 |
Signature | |
George Smith Good (April 10, 1844 – October 14, 1913) was a Union Army officer during the United States Civil War who later became a significant railroad contractor and industrialist in the firebrick electrical, and clay industries in late 19th and early 20th century America. Good was also one of the founders of the town of Patton, Pennsylvania, along with James Kerr and Senator John Patton.
Early life and education
George Smith Good was born April 10, 1844, in Turbotville, Pennsylvania, as the youngest son of nine children born to George Good and Mary Smith Good. He received a common school education and enrolled in Dickinson Seminary where his education was interrupted by the American Civil War.
Career
Military service
Good served in Company I, 84th Pennsylvania Regiment during the civil war achieving the rank of 1st lieutenant. He participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville & Mile Run. At the battle of Chancellorsville, he received a gunshot wound in the right hand, and was taken prisoner and confined to Libby prison for three weeks. In 1863 he was taken prisoner again at the battle of Mine Run and was one of the prisoners who escaped during the Libby Prison escape.
Good was released from military service on December 31, 1864 when he relocated to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and entered the grocery business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Railroads
Through his companies Good Construction Company and Pennsylvania Construction Company, Good was a contractor on the following railroads:
- Allegheny Railroad
- Arizona and New Mexico Railway
- Beech Creek Railroad
- Buffalo and Rochester Railroad
- Chihuahua-Pacific Railway
- Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf_Railroad]
- Clearfield and Mahoning Railway
- Coudersport and Port Allegany Railroad
- Denver, Northwestern and Pacific (DN&P) Railway
- Frisco Railroad
- El Paso and Northeastern Railroad
- El Paso and Southwestern Railroad
- New York Central Railroad
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway among others
Business and industry
By the early 1890s, Good had expanded his business activities into large city sewer installations, banking, as well as the manufacture of sewer pipe, fire brick and coal mining. Good entered into the clay industry with the founding of the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company.
Good also founded and served as president of the following companies:
- George S. Good Fire Brick Company
- Clearfield Sewer Pipe Company
- The Good Clay & Coal Company
- Margaret Smokeless Coal Company
Personal life
Marriage
In 1867, Good married Catherine Angelica Baker of Milton, Pennsylvania and together they had 9 children: Sarah Baker "Sally" Good Church, Mary Worth Good, Georgeanna "Georgie" Good, Catherine A "Katie" Good, Edward M. Good, Blanche Beatrice Good Lark, Henry F. Good, Ralph E. Good, and George S. Good II.
Death
Good died peacefully at his home in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on October 14, 1913.
References
- Reports of the Departments, Transmitted To The Governor of Pennsylvania in Pursuance of Law, Year for the Ending November 30, 1863. State of Pennsylvania. 1863. p. 96.
- ^ "Beech Creek". Railroad Gazette. 24: 15. 1892.
- ^ "Clearfield & Mahoning". Railroad Gazette. 24: 483. 1892.
- ^ Myrick, David F. (1991). New Mexico's Railroads: A Historical Survey. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 76, 91.
- ^ "Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo". Railroad Gazette: 524. August 2, 1895.
- Yearbook of the Pennsylvania Society of New York. 1914. p. 96.
- "An illustrated Weekly Journal of Scientific and Electrical Progress". Electrical Review. 33. New York: 254. July 6, 1898.
- "Brick and Clay Record". Brick and Clay Record. XLIII (1). Chicago: 924. November 4, 1913.
- "About Us". Patton Borough. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (1906–1968). "Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1970" (Document). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania (State).
- Records of the Bureau of the Census (2009). "1850 United States Federal Census". Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census. Provo, UT, USA: National Archives in Washington D.C.; Ancestry.com Operations. p. 52b. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "George S. Good Claimed By The Grim Reaper". The Lock Haven Express. October 15, 1913. p. 4.
- Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. November 30, 1893. p. 96.
- ^ "George S. Good, Contractor, dies". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. November 12, 1913. p. 11.
- Swoope, Roland D., Jr. Twentieth Century History of Clearfield County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens. Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co. p. 63.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Boyd's Williamsport City Directory. 1885. p. 382.
- ^ Hitchcock; Tinkler (1927). The Contractor's Story of The Moffat Tunnel. Hitchcock & Tinkler, Inc. p. 4.
- "Beech Creek". Railroad Gazette. 24: 912. 1892.
- "Coudersport & Port Allegheny". Railroad Gazette: 321. May 17, 1895.
- "Surveying For The Moffat Railroad". The Colorado Magazine. XXIV. The State Historical Society of Colorado: 213. 1947.
- "Railroad Items of Interest". Railway International Passenger and Ticket Agents Journal: 17. 1898.
- "George S. Good Passes Away". The Clearfield Progress. Vol. VIII, no. 54. October 15, 1913. p. 1.
- Ordinances and Joint Resolutions of the Select and Common Councils of the Consolidated City of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Pa. October 25, 1893. p. 1.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Annual Election Of Bank Officers". The Patton Courier. January 18, 1893. p. 1.
- ^ "Brick and Clay Record". Brick and Clay Record. 42–43. Chicago, IL: Kenfield Leach Company: 924. November 4, 1913.
- "Destructive Fire At Patton,PA". Clay Record. VIII: 29. January 14, 1896.