Shawnee County KS Archives Biographies.....Gage, Guilford G. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com September 27, 2006, 1:18 am Author: James L. King (1905) GUILFORD G. GAGE. Topeka, Kansas, can never forget or fail to honor the late Guilford G. Gage, capitalist and philanthropist. In years to come citizens will point out to their children the granite monument which stands on the crest of a hill in Topeka's sacred "God's Acre," and, while telling them that it was erected to commemorate the death of comrades in battle, they will also urge them to emulate the virtues and profit by the life of the noble man, who in this way testified to the love and honor he felt for those who had fallen by his side while in the path of duty. Guilford G. Gage was born in Ohio and was 21 years of age when he came to Topeka, beginning a life of unusual business success as a workman in a brick-kiln. This was hard but honorable work and of this beginning, at the bottom of the ladder, Mr. Gage continued to be proud all his life. The thoroughness with which he in after life handled great enterprises was no more marked than the carefulness with which he learned all the practical •details of this business. Within two years he had a brick-kiln of his own and when the Civil War broke out he was the proprietor of a flourishing business. In 1863 he enlisted for service in the Second Regiment, Kansas Artillery, under Capt. Ross Burns, and participated in the famous battle of the Blue. He remained at his gun with several of his comrades until they were captured by the force under General Price. Afterwards he managed to escape but not until he had endured terrible suffering from hunger and thirst. In a local history the dreadful sufferings endured by these brave Kansans are set forth with a vividness which calls for all the control years of peace have brought to enable their fellow-citizens to forgive the treatment accorded them by the Confederates. The noble monument in the Topeka Cemetery was erected by Mr. Gage as a tribute to the men who fell in the battle of the Blue, and Mr. Gage himself wrote a history of the event which stands out in Kansas history to the honor and glory of the citizenship of the State. The cost of this monument was $10,000. It was unveiled on Memorial Day, 1896, and General Caldwell, now United States consul at Vera Cruz, delivered the principal address. The press all over the country made extended mention of this unusual proof of loyalty and brotherly love, but no region could truly appreciate the gift as did Topeka, where Mr. Gage had been so long known and so universally honored and beloved. For 15 years Mr. Gage continued in the brick business, during which time he acquired much property in the city, which subsequently brought him large returns. At the opening of the Pottawatomie reservation, he secured a valuable farm of 160 acres, and later another valuable farm on which is situated Gage's Lake, both of which he held until his death. The latter proved very valuable on account of the discovery of bituminous coal in large quantities. He owned several business blocks on Kansas avenue and was the largest taxpayer in the county, during his latter years occupying his time mainly in looking after his investments. In all his dealings he proved his honorable, upright character and a man was never found to question his word. He died on May 19, 1899. Guilford G. Gage was united in marriage January 9, 1868, with Louisa Ives, who was born in Allegheny County, New York, and is a daughter of Henry and Sarah (Nicholas) Ives, her father having been a native of Pennsylvania. One child, a daughter, was born of this union, but died at the age of one year. Mrs. Gage resides alone in her handsome home at No. 409 Van Buren street. Mr. Gage was a prominent member of the Masonic order and of Lincoln Post, No. 1, G. A. R. Topeka and its citizens individually have much reason to recall this honorable, estimable and useful citizen. All his life he was simple in his tastes and unostentatious in manner. When wealth came to him, he soon found avenues for its judicious distribution and civic movements for improvement, and charitable and philanthropic enterprises of all kinds felt his guiding hand and profited by his benevolent impulses. He was chairman of the board of trustees of Christ's Hospital, contributing liberally to its support during his life, and at his death willed it the sum of $1,000. He gave to the city what is known as Gage Park, covering 80 acres. He had planned to give to The Jane C. Stormont Hospital a sum of money to aid it in its great work, and after his death Mrs. Gage in 1899 caused to be erected what is now known as the Gage annex, at a cost of $15,000. Mr. Gage was a self-made man and was proud of the fact, proud of having been able to grasp opportunities and to be indebted to no one but himself for his life's success. With his noble battle comrades, this soldier, too, sleeps under the granite shaft he built. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF SHAWNEE COUNTY, KANSAS AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS EDITED AND COMPILED BY JAMES L. KING TOPEKA, KANSAS "History is Philosophy Teaching by Examples" PUBLISHED BY RICHMOND & ARNOLD, GEORGE RICHMOND; C. R. ARNOLD. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 1905. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/shawnee/bios/gage74nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ksfiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb