Emil Ganz (August 18, 1838 – August 6, 1922) was an American businessman and two-time mayor of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Background

Ganz was born on August 18, 1838 in the German town of

Walldorf, Thuringia Walldorf is a village and a former municipality the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Meiningen. Its most notable sight is a fortress church A fortress church (german: Kirche ...

in the then

Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...

, to Jewish parents Meyer and Hannah Ganz. He was educated in his home country before being apprenticed to a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

at age 14. Ganz immigrated to the United States in 1858, working as a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

tailor in New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

before settling in

Cedartown, Georgia Cedartown is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,190. Cedartown is the principal city of and is included in the Cedartown, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is i ...

. At the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Ganz enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. As a soldier, he saw action at the battles of

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and well as being assigned to the defense of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Toward the end of the war, he was captured and spent seven months as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Elmira Prison Elmira Prison was originally a barracks for "Camp Rathbun" or "Camp Chemung", a key muster and training point for the Union Army during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1864. The site was selected partially due to its proximity to the E ...

. Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1866, Ganz moved to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. He joined other cousins who operated a clothing and dry goods company and made alterations to ready made clothing. In 1872, Ganz moved to Las Animas, Colorado where he continued to work as a tailor. There he married a Catholic woman named Elizabeth. Two years later he relocated to Prescott, Arizona Territory and become manager of a hotel. In May 1876, he was granted a divorce from his wife. Ganz moved to

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

in 1879 and became proprietor for the Bank Exchange hotel. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1885, after which Ganz went into the wholesale liquor business. Ganz married Bertha Angleman of Kansas City, Missouri in 1883. The union produced four children: Sylvan C., Julian, Aileen, and Helen. Politically, Ganz was a member of the Democratic party. He was elected Mayor of Phoenix in 1885. 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. In 1894, Ganz sold his liquor business. The next year he purchased an interest in the National Bank of Arizona and was elected the bank president. He returned to politics in 1896 and was unanimously elected to represent the second ward on the city council. In 1899, Ganz was elected to his first of two consecutive terms as city mayor. He was the Democratic nominee for mayor in 1903 but failed to win reelection. Ganz's wife, Bertha, died on March 20, 1905. Ganz married Elsie Bryson on September 12, 1907. He stepped down as president of the National Bank of Arizona in January 1920 and became Chairman of the bank's board. Ganz died in a

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

hospital on August 6, 1922. 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 Joan Ganz Cooney (born Joan Ganz; November 30, 1929) is an American television writer and producer. She is one of the founders of Sesame Workshop (formerly ''Children's Television Workshop'' or CTW), the organization famous for the creation of ...

, a

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

who co-created the PBS children's series ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

.''

References

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganz, Emil 1838 births 1922 deaths American people of German-Jewish descent Confederate States Army soldiers German emigrants to the United States Foreign Confederate military personnel Jewish Confederates Mayors of Phoenix, Arizona People from Cedartown, Georgia People from Las Animas, Colorado