George Guess (Geese)
Corp. George Geese
Corp. George Geese, born January 11, 1876, died at Manila, (Philippine Islands) August 31, 1899. According to the obituary of William Guess, the brother of George, George died of typhoid fever.
Joseph H. Schaefer in his Random Reminiscences of Liverpool in the Nineties writes about George Guess and the Spanish-American War.
“At the end of the decade ranks of veterans were filled in by Spanish-American War men. Liverpool was particularly proud of these. Most were members of the “Fighting Ninth Infantry” which saw service in Cuba and the Philippines and later in the Boxer Rebellion in China.
The hero of the village was George Guess who died in the Philippines on November 27, 1899. He was a member of Co 1 of the Ninth Infantry. His father was William Guess, a veteran of the Civil War. The funeral was held on a Sunday afternoon. Streets were crowded with military organizations and fellow members of the Foresters of America. Never had so many live people been assembled in the cemetery. The military ceremonies overshadowed all previous observances and the saloons did a record-breaking business.
There are two gravestones for George Guess. A smaller military stone (Guess- died November 27, 1899) and a larger family stone (Geese- died August 31, 1899) The article by John Schaefer uses the spelling and date of death from the smaller stone.
Transcribed by: Rose K, Conor C, Michael M, Sahpreme B.
Biographical Sketch
When George Guess was 7 years old, the Brooklyn Bridge opened. P.T. Barnum led a parade of 21 elephants back and forth across the bridge, to prove its sturdiness to skeptics. When George was 10 years old, The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, was given to the United States. It was given to the United States in honor of the 100th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was put in the New York Harbor. When he was 14 years old, a large amount of immigrants started coming through Ellis Island. When he was 23, during the year of his death, The State Capitol Albany was completed. George Guess died at the age of 23 in the year of 1899.