George Rogers Maguire

The only information found about this man’s childhood was that he attended Girard College in Philadelphia. Despite the name, the school was not (and still isn’t) an institution of higher education. It was established as a free school for poor fatherless white boys in grades 1-12.

Stephan Girard was a local merchant, banker, and one of the richest men in the country in his time. His will established the endowment for the school, which opened in 1848, and George was one of the first students. After that he was a teacher there, and in his later years he served on the Alumni Association board.

He married Margaret A. Dunn in 1855, according to one source, and they eventually had eight children, five living to adulthood. Another source claimed the wedding was in 1861, just a matter of days before the firing on Fort Sumter and the outbreak of the Civil War. Men were recruited for three months, expecting the fighting to be over that soon, so George enlisted as a sergeant.

Service in the War

When he rejoined the Army in August of 1862, he was commissioned an Adjutant in the 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry, which was part of the 117th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment. His job mainly involved administration and communication. He maintained records, wrote reports, and in the field he also established camps, inspected troops, formed lines of battle, and decided what to do with deserters and prisoners.

They first went to Maryland to guard the rail line that crossed the Potomac River. While there, the 13th was constantly engaged in picket, scout, patrol, and escort duties, participating in a number of skirmishes, and losing upwards of 250 men killed, wounded, and missing.

In early 1863 they were ordered to Winchester, Virginia to provide the same cavalry support for the infantry. A major battle ensued in the Shenandoah Valley on June 12-16 that was started in Winchester and finished at Harper’s Ferry. It was a Union defeat; the 13th Cavalry started the engagement with 643 men and suffered 322 casualties.

The unit left Harper’s Ferry on June 30th and joined the Army of the Potomac after Gettysburg and pursued Lee’s Army through Virginia. In October they participated in the Battle of Bristoe Station and spent the winter there in northern Virginia.

They took part in the march to the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and then in the long Siege of Petersburg in 1864. In the middle of February, 1865 they were ordered to proceed by ship to Wilmington, North Carolina.

Meeting up with General William T. Sherman’s army they captured Raleigh on April 13th, four days after Lee surrendered at Appomattox. George was promoted to captain in June and was mustered out with his company in July with the honorary rank of Brevet Major.

Service in the Community

Returning to civilian life, George worked as a clerk at the Custom House in Philadelphia and became a police detective in 1870 before assuming his final role as a hotel keeper. He joined the veterans’ group known as the Grand Army of the Republic, was an officer in the National Guard in 1870, and played an active role in the politics of the First Ward. He also honed his talent as an eloquent after-dinner speaker, some saying he was one of the finest of his day.

On May 9, 1875 he joined Lodge #2 of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), which became a nationally known fraternal and charitable order. The first lodge was formed  in 1868 in the theater district of New York for the benefit of actors and others in show business. 

As it grew, membership was soon opened to any adult citizen who pledged to uphold the four virtues of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity. George became the Exalted Ruler of the Philadelphia Lodge, then took the highest position in the national organization as Exalted Grand Ruler of the Grand Lodge in December of 1878.

Unfortunately he could only serve a few months of his term of office, having lost his battle with stomach cancer in June of 1879, at just 41 years old. One of the largest funerals in the city took place when actors and performers from eight lodges converged on Philadelphia to attend his burial. Representing Lodge #6 in St. Louis was one of the most famous actors of the day, John McCullough, who would have his own monument erected here in a few short years.

The plot of land in Section 123 where George was buried was owned by his lodge and became known as Elks Rest. The following year a crowd of several thousand again gathered there to witness the unveiling of a bronze elk statue. The iconic figure had to be replaced in 1886. Even though it was 850 pounds and seven feet in length, it was eventually toppled by vandals a century later as the cemetery suffered financially. The monument base and a few stones are what remains today, as shown below.

Other Elks who are buried here have their own notable life stories: the famous actor, William Wallis, and a well-known minstrel of that time who co-founded the Philadelphia Lodge in 1871, Bobby Newcomb.

The 1880 census shows Margaret continued in the hotel business but died of cancer six years later and was buried at Cathedral Cemetery. Their oldest child, William, was buried in the Elks Rest plot in 1914.