| |
George A. Goss was born March
3, 1834 in Pittsford, the eldest of Ephraim and Margaret (Porter) Goss’
five children. Instead of following in his father’s footsteps as a lawyer,
George went into the coal, lumber and produce businesses in Fairport before turning
to public service as a career.
The first known connection between George and the Erie Canal is found in
1860, when the Rochester Express newspaper noted his resignation as Assistant
Weighmaster of Rochester. As such, George’s duties included opening the weighlock for boats
and recording the weights of the cargo vessels to assess tolls. The 1860 federal
census record shows George living in Rochester with lock tender Sidney Crane and Sidney’s wife,
Lucy. George’s occupation was listed as “weigh lock”. It is unknown how long
George held the position prior to his resignation.
By 1875, George had been elected Pittsford Town Supervisor
and began his first of several terms in that capacity (1875-1877, 1880, 1888-1898).
In 1896, George was appointed Superintendent of Erie Canal Section 9, taking
over
from James K. Burlingame of Fairport, who resigned due to ill health. Section
9 encompassed the canal
path for all of Monroe County, a total of 43 miles.
The Superintendent was responsible for the repair and maintenance of the canal,
hiring personnel and overseeing the budget. It was not
uncommon for the Superintendent to be called out in the middle of the night to
visit the site of a canal break or to oversee the removal of a large tree that
had
fallen into the water and was
blocking canal traffic.
One of George’s duties as Superintendent was to prepare an Erie Canal Expenditure
Report each month, which was then published in the Rochester Democrat
and
Chronicle newspaper.
These
reports detailed the names and hometowns of the laborers who were paid for canal
maintenance and the locations of the work being done, in addition to the expenses
for that month. Thanks to George’s meticulous efforts, we know the names of some
of the Pittsford
people who were employed on the Erie Canal. We also can see when work was done
on
the canal in our community.
He resigned as Erie Canal Superintendent in 1909 after more than
13 years of
service.
George died February 14, 1913 at his home in Pittsford, age 78. He was survived
by his wife of 31 years, Kate (Billinghurst), and his brother, Chauncey. George
was buried at Pittsford Cemetery in the family plot beside his parents
and his siblings,
Mary and John. |