Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....Tiedeman, George W. 7 June 1850 - living in 1913
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 12, 2004, 11:40 pm

Author: William Harden
p.552-554

   HON. GEORGE W. TIEDEMAN. Savannah for three elections chose the same man for
her chief executive. Such confidence is sufficient proof of the worth of the
Hon. George W. Tiedeman, ex-mayor of Savannah. Before becoming identified with
4he civic affairs of the city, Mr. Tiedeman had won prominence as an able and
energetic business man, and he has carried his methods of doing business into
the direction of the city's affairs. His administration was productive of many
public improvements, and was particularly diligent in measures for the
protection of the public health and the proper sanitation of the city, and for
its freedom from bribery and misuse of funds, such as most American cities of
today have to, endure. The movement for a "Greater Savannah" received the most
enthusiastic support from the administration, and the great stride forward that
Savannah has taken in recent years is due in no small part to the personal
influence of Mr. Tiedeman. His whole administration not only thought for the
present but made preparation for the future. In the optimistic mind of Mr.
Tiedeman, there has never been the least doubt but that Savannah would have a
prominent place among the greater American cities and in his plans for her
welfare he looked far ahead and attempted to meet the demands of such a city as
it now seems certain Savannah will become. In short, to quote the words of
William Harden, the administration of Mr. Tiedeman "has been essentially a
constructive administration."

   Mr. Tiedeman was born on the llth of September, 1861, in Charleston, South
Carolina. Here he was reared and educated, imbibing with the lessons he learned
at school, the fine ideals and courtesy of bearing for which the men of this old
city are noted. Growing up during the years following the Civil war he of
necessity saw the courage with which a defeated people took up their burdens and
set out to bring order out of chaos. He was only a boy during the greatest
period of suffering, but his impressionable mind was impressed by the love that
the people of the South bore for their country, and by the way in which they set
to work to repair the ravages of war. He determined at this time that when he
grew to manhood he would do everything in his power to make his country as
prosperous as she was before the war. He was educated in private schools and in
Charleston College, and in 1887 he came to Savannah.

   He went into the wholesale grocery business on his arrival in the city and
since that time he has been successfully engaged in this line of business. In
addition to his political activities he has been prominent in the world of
finance and in society. He is president of the Georgia State Savings
Association. He is a member of the Board of Trade and of the Chamber of
Commerce. In the world of sport and of society he is much sought after, and is a
member of the Oglethorpe Club, the Yacht Club, the Automobile Club and the Golf
Club.

   Mr. Tiedeman received considerable preparatory training for his present
position through his service as an alderman, for he was brought to a clear
realization of the great necessity for improvement in many branches of the
public affairs through this close connection with them. He was elected mayor in
January, 1907, for a term of two years, was re-elected in January, 1909, and
again in January, 1911. Savannah has never passed through a more prosperous
period. She has held her proud position of being the largest market in the world
for naval stores; her business, both in exports and imports, has been greatly
increased and indeed she has advanced to the rank of fifth city in the United
States in amount and value of exports. Many new industries have found a location
in the city, and trade in all branches has received an impetus. The city limits
have been extended, and during the season of 1911-12, the record for handling
and exporting cotton was broken.

   It is not possible to mention all of the beneficial results of Mayor
Tiedeman's administration, and only the more important and those which will have
the most far reaching results can be mentioned. Among these is the part that the
city has had in the improvement of that beautiful southern section which is now
the site of some of the finest homes in the city. This tract of land is owned by
the Chatham Land & Hotel Company and the Ardsley Park Land Corporation, and this
land has been brought within the city limits on a lot basis, thus increasing the
taxable values of the municipality, and aiding in the rapid development of the
section. A large amount of street paving has been done, greater in extent than
has been completed during any previous period of the same duration. Some of this
paving had been agitated for years but things seemed to stand still until Mr.
Tiedeman appeared on the scene. For a city as dependent as is Savannah upon her
harbor, it had been allowed to fall into a shameful state of disrepair and one
of the most necessary deeds of the administration was the repair of all the
slips and public docks. The water system and the storm sewerage system were
extended to meet the needs of the growing city, and the street lighting system
was practically made over by the installation of a new type of more brilliant
lights in every section of the city. Bona-venture cemetery was developed and put
in its present beautiful condition, and Damn Park was also improved and thrown
open to the public. The fine statue of General Oglethorpe, upon which work had
ceased to be done for lack of funds, was now completed, the necessary money
being appropriated for the purpose from the public treasury. Several thousands
of dollars were spent in the laying of concrete and stone sidewalks, and an
ordinance that was of especial importance to people of all classes was passed.
This was a milk ordinance, and the officers of the administration have been
extremely careful that this law should be enforced.

   The achievement which stands out above all the others, and which brought to
Mr. Tiedeman the thanks of a devoted city was the successful culmination of the
bond election on December 6, 1911, by which the city is given the authority to
spend $600,000 for the extension and completion of the sewerage and drainage
system. This is one of the most beneficent measures ever passed in Savannah, for
situated as the city is, drainage is a question of supreme importance to the
health of the people. The work is to be carried on under the direction of a
drainage commission composed of a number of the leading citizens. Mr. Tiedeman
had long ago seen the necessity of such a measure, but he had not been able to
make the city feel the necessity of it. In the election in which this was the
issue Mr. Tiedeman took personal charge of the campaign, and carried it to a
successful termination. He did not spare either his time or energy in placing
before the public the necessity of this measure, and he set forth the advantages
of the ordinance in so clear and sincere a manner that it was passed by an
overwhelming majority. He has received full credit for his work in the
formulation of the ordinance when it was as yet on paper, and the people have
appreciated to the full his careful and painstaking selection of men of ability
for members of the commission, who might be trusted with the administration of
so large a sum of money. Mr. Tiedeman is very anxious to have some form of civil
service regulation for all civil service employees, thus abolishing the old
cries of favoritism, and securing more skilled service. He has strongly
recommended this in his messages to the city council, and he is also a sincere
advocate of a commission form of government.

   Mr. Tiedeman was married in 1890 to Miss Floride Shivers of Savannah. In
addition to their beautiful summer home at the Isle of Hope, they have a
handsome city residence, and wherever they may be, their friends are always sure
of a welcome. They are the parents of two children, Miss Inez Tiedeman and
Carsten Tiedeman. Savannah is fortunate in having had such a mayor, for in the
wave of progress and the new life that has swept over the South in the last few
years, a strong hand is needed at the helm of those cities that will eventually
become the great southern centers of trade. Some southern cities have suffered
under the rule of a demagogue, and some from one who was too weak to rule and
lacked the power of initiative, therefore Savannah should be proud that the man
who for six years was at the head of her affairs was strong, conscientious,
eager to do what will benefit the people and the city, and possessed of the
brain and the wisdom to plan and carry out the necessary measures.


Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME I
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913


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