Emil Ganz (August 18, 1838 – August 6, 1922) was a German-born American businessman and two-time mayor of Phoenix, Arizona.
Emil Ganz | |
|---|---|
 Ganz in 1915 | |
| 5th and 19th Mayor of Phoenix | |
| In office 1885–1886 | |
| Preceded by | George F. Coats |
| Succeeded by | DeForest Porter |
| In office 1899–1901 | |
| Preceded by | Czar James Dyer |
| Succeeded by | Walter Talbot |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 18, 1838 Walldorf, Thuringia |
| Died | August 6, 1922 (aged 83) San Diego, California, US |
| Nationality | Sachsen-Meiningen, American |
| Occupation | businessman and mayor of Phoenix, Arizona |
Early life
editGanz was born on August 18, 1838, in the German town of Walldorf, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, to Jewish parents Meyer and Hannah Ganz.[1][2] He was educated in his home country before being apprenticed to a tailor at age 14.[3] Ganz immigrated to the United States in 1858, working as a journeyman tailor in New York City and Philadelphia before settling in Cedartown, Georgia.[4]
At the beginning of the American Civil War, Ganz enlisted in the Confederate States Army. As a soldier, he saw action at the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and well as being assigned to the defense of Richmond, Virginia.[4] Toward the end of the war, he was captured and spent seven months as a prisoner of war at Elmira Prison.[1]
Career
editBecoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1866, Ganz moved to Kansas City, Missouri. He joined other cousins who operated a clothing and dry goods company and made alterations to ready made clothing.[1] In 1872, Ganz moved to Las Animas, Colorado, where he continued to work as a tailor.[5] There he married a Catholic woman named Elizabeth.[1] Two years later he relocated to Prescott, Arizona Territory and become manager of a hotel.[4] In May 1876, he was granted a divorce from his wife.[6] Ganz moved to Phoenix in 1879 and became proprietor for the Bank Exchange hotel.[7] The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1885, after which Ganz went into the wholesale liquor business.[4] Ganz married Bertha Angleman of Kansas City, Missouri in 1883.[8] The union produced four children: Sylvan C., Julian, Aileen, and Helen.[9]
Politically, Ganz was a member of the Democratic party.[5] He was elected Mayor of Phoenix in 1885.[7] As mayor, he lobbied for creation of a city fire department. He was initially unsuccessful but a fire in August 1886 convinced the voters to pass a bond issue to improve water supply and purchase fire fighting equipment.[10]
In 1894, Ganz sold his liquor business.[citation needed] The next year he purchased an interest in the National Bank of Arizona and was elected the bank president.[4] He returned to politics in 1896 and was unanimously elected to represent the second ward on the city council.[11] In 1899, Ganz was elected to his first of two consecutive terms as city mayor.[12] He was the Democratic nominee for mayor in 1903 but failed to win reelection.[13][14]
Personal life
editGanz's wife, Bertha, died on March 20, 1905.[15] Ganz married Elsie Bryson on September 12, 1907.[16] He stepped down as president of the National Bank of Arizona in January 1920 and became Chairman of the bank's board.[17] Ganz died in a San Diego, California, hospital on August 6, 1922.[18][19]
In 2001, Mark Pry wrote a biography of Ganz, Immigrant Banker: The Life of Emil Ganz. The book was commissioned by granddaughter Joan Ganz Cooney, a television producer who co-created the PBS children's series Sesame Street.
References
edit- ^ a b c d Yost, Barbara (March 23, 2001). "Right place, right time". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012.
- ^ McClintock 1916, p. 214.
- ^ Conners 1913, p. 233.
- ^ a b c d e Chapman Publishing Co. 1901, p. 222.
- ^ a b Conners 1913, p. 235.
- ^ "District Court". Arizona Weekly Miner. Prescott, Arizona Territory. May 19, 1876. p. 2.
- ^ a b Garcia 2008, p. 56.
- ^ McClintock 1916, p. 217.
- ^ Chapman Publishing Co. 1901, p. 225.
- ^ Garcia 2008, p. 57.
- ^ "It's Monihan". Arizona Republican. Phoenix, Arizona Territory. June 3, 1896. p. 1.
- ^ "A Democratic Tinge". Arizona Republican. Phoenix, Arizona Territory. May 3, 1899. p. 4.
- ^ "Smaller News Items". Bisbee Daily Review. Bisbee, Arizona Territory. April 28, 1903. p. 8.
- ^ "Phoenix City is Redeemed". Arizona Republican. Phoenix, Arizona Territory. May 6, 1903. p. 1.
- ^ "Suffering Ends in Death". Arizona Republican. Phoenix, Arizona. March 21, 1905. p. 3.
- ^ "Ganz-Bryson". Los Angeles Herald. September 15, 1907. pp. 2 Part II.
- ^ "Charles F. Solomon is New President of Nat. Bank of Arizona". Arizona Republican. Phoenix, Arizona. January 14, 1920. p. 4.
- ^ "Emil Ganz, Arizona Pioneer, Dies in San Diego, Calif". The Coconino Sun. Flagstaff, Arizona. August 11, 1922. p. 3.
- ^ "Emil Ganz, Pioneer Arizona Resident, Dies in Dan Diego". Bisbee Daily Review. August 8, 1922. p. 6.
- Portrait and biographical record of Arizona. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co. 1901. p. 222. OCLC 247520194.
- Conners, Jo, ed. (1913). Who's who in Arizona. Vol. I. Tucson. OCLC 8862523.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Garcia, Kathleen (2008). Early Phoenix. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-0-7385-4839-5.
- McClintock, James H. (1916). Arizona, prehistoric, aboriginal, pioneer, modern. Vol. III. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. OCLC 5398889.
