Gaston, Joseph. "The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912." Vol. 4. Chicago, Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. p. 20. CAPTAIN GEORGE GANS The enduring gratitude of all lovers of liberty is due such soldiers as have upheld the stars and stripes at the time the union of the states was threatened, and by their sacrifices and sufferings the men who served in the Civil war not only set free three million slaves but they established the American republic on a safe and enduring foundation so it is today the greatest nation over which the sun shines. Among the men who fought and suffered in the Civil war may be named Captain George Gans, who, in his earlier years, was called upon to endure the troubles and trials of the hard laborer but who at last has established himself in comfortable circumstances and in a pleasant home. He was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 3d of August, 1840, a son of Joseph and Phebe (Rogers) Gans. The father was a tanner by trade and operated a tannery in Fayette county where he resided until early in the ' 40s. At that time he removed to Green county, Wisconsin, where he farmed and in the ' 80s he came to Shenandoah, Iowa, where his death occurred when he was eighty years of age. George Gans remained under the parental roof until he enlisted for service in the Civil war. He was educated in the public schools of Fayette county and assisted his father in the latter's business undertakings, but when President Lincoln needed volunteers to assist those already in the field Mr. Gans, then almost twenty-one years of age, enlisted in Company C, Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. On the 24th of April, 1861, leaving his coat and plow in the field be set out to give his services for the Union cause. He served in the Army of the Potomac, and was wounded in the leg at Cedar Mountain on the 9th of August, 1862, and was discharged. When he recovered he reenlisted in Company D, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. At the time of his second enlistment he was made sergeant of his company. After the battle of the Wilderness the first lieutenant had lost his voice, the second lieutenant had recently died of typhoid fever and the captain had become ill, and Mr. Gans was placed in command of the company. From that time until he suffered the loss of a hand in front of Petersburg in June, 1864, he commanded the company. After this accident he was sent to the Camden Street Hospital at Baltimore and then to Annapolis for six weeks. In the battle of Cold Harbor he sustained two injuries, one in the shoulder and one in the head. Upon leaving the hospital he was sent to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was given command of four hundred men and where be remained until hostilities ceased. He was discharged on the 22d of June, 1865, and immediately afterward returned home where he engaged in the mercantile business in Juda, Wisconsin. In 1876 he left Wisconsin for Nebraska and five years later went to New Mexico where he was connected with the Mescalero Apache Indian Agency. His position was that of issue clerk and he retained it for five years before accepting the position of assistant live-stock agent for the Santa Fe railroad. After remaining with that company for three years, with headquarters at Las Cruces, he discontinued clerical positions. In 1892 he came to Oregon and located in Salem where he has since resided. Two years later he was given the position of bailiff of the circuit court and is still occupying that office. Late in the ' 60s Captain Gans was married to Miss Anna Llewellyn of Tabor, Iowa. To their union six children were born, five of whom survive, namely: George G., who is a bookkeeper in San Francisco, California; Hope, who is married to Fred Lockley, manager of the Pacific monthly of Portland; D., a daughter who was a student in Willamette University for seven years and is married to Dr. Arthur Gale, a prominent physician of Madras, Oregon; Bonnie, who is living at home, and was stenographer in the weather bureau at Washington but was compelled to resign on account of ill health; and Reba, who is graduate of the Normal department of Willamette University and now the wife of Thomas Mountain, an implement dealer of Walla Walla, Washington. The three daughters were teachers in the Salem schools. In politics Captain Gans is a warm supporter of the republican party. He was commander of the Nebraska Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. In religious faith he is affiliated with the Episcopal church. He holds membership in the Chemeketa Lodge, No.10, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having joined the same in January, 1866. By his genial disposition and public spirit Captain Gans has attracted many friends who hold him in high esteem as a worthy worker in the cause of humanity. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.