Emil Ganz

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Emil Ganz (August 18, 1838 – August 6, 1922) was a German-born American businessman and two-time mayor of Phoenix, Arizona.

Early life

Ganz was born on August 18, 1838, in the German town of Walldorf, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, to Jewish parents Meyer and Hannah Ganz.Template:Sfn He was educated in his home country before being apprenticed to a tailor at age 14.Template:Sfn Ganz immigrated to the United States in 1858, working as a journeyman tailor in New York City and Philadelphia before settling in Cedartown, Georgia.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn Toward the end of the war, he was captured and spent seven months as a prisoner of war at Elmira Prison.

Career

Becoming 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. In 1872, Ganz moved to Las Animas, Colorado, where he continued to work as a tailor.Template:Sfn There he married a Catholic woman named Elizabeth. Two years later he relocated to Prescott, Arizona Territory and become manager of a hotel.Template:Sfn In May 1876, he was granted a divorce from his wife. Ganz moved to Phoenix in 1879 and became proprietor for the Bank Exchange hotel.Template:Sfn The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1885, after which Ganz went into the wholesale liquor business.Template:Sfn Ganz married Bertha Angleman of Kansas City, Missouri in 1883.Template:Sfn The union produced four children: Sylvan C., Julian, Aileen, and Helen.Template:Sfn

Politically, Ganz was a member of the Democratic party.Template:Sfn He was elected Mayor of Phoenix in 1885.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

In 1894, Ganz sold his liquor business.Template:Fact The next year he purchased an interest in the National Bank of Arizona and was elected the bank president.Template:Sfn 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.

Personal life

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, 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, a television producer who co-created the PBS children's series Sesame Street.

External links

• Template:PAGENAMEBASE at Find a GraveTemplate:EditAtWikidata