George S. Good Explained

George S. Good
Birth Name:George Smith Good
Birth Date:April 10, 1844
Birth Place:Turbotville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting Place:Highland Cemetery
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma Mater:Dickinson Seminary
Occupation:Railroad, industrialist
President, George S. Good & Co
President, George S. Good Firebrick Co.
President, Patton Clay Manufacturing Co.
Children:9
Signature:File:Photo 1890 George-s-good signature.jpg

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] and industrialist in the firebrick[4] electrical,[5] and clay[6] 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.[7]

Early life and education

George Smith Good was born April 10, 1844,[8] in Turbotville, Pennsylvania, as the youngest son of nine children born to George Good and Mary Smith Good.[9] He received a common school education and enrolled in Dickinson Seminary[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

Good was released from military service on December 31, 1864[13] when he relocated to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and entered the grocery business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.[14]

Railroads

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

Business and industry

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:

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.

Notes and References

  1. Book: 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 . 96.
  2. Railroad Gazette . Beech Creek. 1892 . 24 . 15.
  3. Railroad Gazette . Clearfield & Mahoning . 1892 . 24 . 483.
  4. Book: Yearbook of the Pennsylvania Society of New York . 1914 . 96.
  5. An illustrated Weekly Journal of Scientific and Electrical Progress . Electrical Review . 33 . July 6, 1898 . 254 . New York .
  6. Brick and Clay Record . Brick and Clay Record . XLIII . 1 . November 4, 1913 . 924 . Chicago .
  7. Web site: About Us . Patton Borough . May 14, 2024.
  8. Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1970 . Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission . Pennsylvania (State) . Harrisburg, PA . 1906–1968 . certificate number range 099381-102680.
  9. Web site: 1850 United States Federal Census . 52b . Records of the Bureau of the Census . National Archives in Washington D.C.; Ancestry.com Operations . 2009 . Provo, UT, USA . Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census. 2024-05-15.
  10. News: George S. Good Claimed By The Grim Reaper . The Lock Haven Express . October 15, 1913 . 4.
  11. Book: Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania . November 30, 1893 . 96.
  12. News: George S. Good, Contractor, dies . El Paso Herald . November 12, 1913 . 11 . El Paso, Texas.
  13. Book: Swoope, Roland D., Jr. . Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co. . Twentieth Century History of Clearfield County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens . 63.
  14. Book: Boyd's Williamsport City Directory . 1885 . 382.
  15. Book: The Contractor's Story of The Moffat Tunnel . Hitchcock . Tinkler . Hitchcock & Tinkler, Inc . 1927 . 4 .
  16. Railroad Gazette . Beech Creek. 1892 . 24 . 912.
  17. Railroad Gazette . Coudersport & Port Allegheny. May 17, 1895. 321 .
  18. The Colorado Magazine. The State Historical Society of Colorado. Surveying For The Moffat Railroad. 1947 . XXIV. 213.
  19. Book: Myrick, David F. . New Mexico's Railroads: A Historical Survey . 1991 . 76, 91 . University of New Mexico Press . Albuquerque .
  20. Railroad Items of Interest . Railway International Passenger and Ticket Agents Journal . 1898 . 17 .
  21. News: George S. Good Passes Away . The Clearfield Progress . October 15, 1913 . VIII . 54 . 1.
  22. Railroad Gazette . Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo . August 2, 1895 . 524.
  23. Book: Ordinances and Joint Resolutions of the Select and Common Councils of the Consolidated City of Philadelphia . October 25, 1893 . 1 . Philadelphia, Pa..
  24. News: Annual Election Of Bank Officers . The Patton Courier . January 18, 1893 . 1.
  25. Brick and Clay Record. Brick and Clay Record . 42-43 . November 4, 1913 . 924 . Kenfield Leach Company . Chicago, IL.
  26. Clay Record. Destructive Fire At Patton,PA . VIII . January 14, 1896 . 29.

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