Wikipedia

George S. Good

George Smith Good (April 10, 1844 – October 14, 1913) was a Union Army officer during the United States Civil War[1] who later became a significant railroad contractor[2][3][4][5] and industrialist in the firebrick[6] electrical,[7] and clay[8] 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.[9]

George S. Good
George S. Good circa ~1895
Born
George Smith Good

(1844-04-10)April 10, 1844
Turbotville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 14, 1913(1913-10-14) (aged 69)
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeHighland Cemetery
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater Dickinson Seminary
Occupation(s)Railroad, industrialist
TitlePresident, George S. Good & Co

President, George S. Good Firebrick Co.

President, Patton Clay Manufacturing Co.
Spouse
Catherine Angelica Baker Good
​
​
(m. 1867)​
Children9
Signature

Early life and education

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George Smith Good was born April 10, 1844,[10] in Turbotville, Pennsylvania, as the youngest son of nine children born to George Good and Mary Smith Good.[11] He received a common school education and enrolled in Dickinson Seminary[12] where his education was interrupted by the American Civil War.[12]

Career

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Military service

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Good served in Company I, 84th Pennsylvania Regiment during the civil war achieving the rank of 1st lieutenant.[13] 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.[12] 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.[14]

Good was released from military service on December 31, 1864[15] when he relocated to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and entered the grocery business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.[16][12]

Railroads

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Through his companies Good Construction Company and Pennsylvania Construction Company, Good was a contractor on the following railroads:

Business and industry

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By the early 1890s, Good had expanded his business activities into large city sewer installations,[23] banking,[24] as well as the manufacture of sewer pipe, fire brick and coal mining.[25] Good entered into the clay industry with the founding of the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company.[26]

Good also founded and served as president of the following companies:

  • George S. Good Fire Brick Company[25]
  • Clearfield Sewer Pipe Company[25]
  • The Good Clay & Coal Company[25]
  • Margaret Smokeless Coal Company[25]

Personal life

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Marriage

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In 1867, Good married Catherine Angelica Baker of Milton, Pennsylvania and together they had 9 children:[12] 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

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Good died peacefully at his home in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on October 14, 1913.[12]

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b "Beech Creek". Railroad Gazette. 24: 15. 1892.
  3. ^ a b "Clearfield & Mahoning". Railroad Gazette. 24: 483. 1892.
  4. ^ a b Myrick, David F. (1991). New Mexico's Railroads: A Historical Survey. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 76, 91.
  5. ^ a b "Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo". Railroad Gazette: 524. August 2, 1895.
  6. ^ Yearbook of the Pennsylvania Society of New York. 1914. p. 96.
  7. ^ "An illustrated Weekly Journal of Scientific and Electrical Progress". Electrical Review. 33. New York: 254. July 6, 1898.
  8. ^ "Brick and Clay Record". Brick and Clay Record. XLIII (1). Chicago: 924. November 4, 1913.
  9. ^ "About Us". Patton Borough. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  10. ^ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (1906–1968). "Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1970" (Document). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania (State).
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "George S. Good Claimed By The Grim Reaper". The Lock Haven Express. October 15, 1913. p. 4.
  13. ^ Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. November 30, 1893. p. 96.
  14. ^ a b "George S. Good, Contractor, dies". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. November 12, 1913. p. 11.
  15. ^ 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)
  16. ^ Boyd's Williamsport City Directory. 1885. p. 382.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hitchcock; Tinkler (1927). The Contractor's Story of The Moffat Tunnel. Hitchcock & Tinkler, Inc. p. 4.
  18. ^ "Beech Creek". Railroad Gazette. 24: 912. 1892.
  19. ^ "Coudersport & Port Allegheny". Railroad Gazette: 321. May 17, 1895.
  20. ^ "Surveying For The Moffat Railroad". The Colorado Magazine. XXIV. The State Historical Society of Colorado: 213. 1947.
  21. ^ "Railroad Items of Interest". Railway International Passenger and Ticket Agents Journal: 17. 1898.
  22. ^ "George S. Good Passes Away". The Clearfield Progress. Vol. VIII, no. 54. October 15, 1913. p. 1.
  23. ^ 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)
  24. ^ "Annual Election Of Bank Officers". The Patton Courier. January 18, 1893. p. 1.
  25. ^ a b c d e "Brick and Clay Record". Brick and Clay Record. 42–43. Chicago, IL: Kenfield Leach Company: 924. November 4, 1913.
  26. ^ "Destructive Fire At Patton,PA". Clay Record. VIII: 29. January 14, 1896.
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