< Gouverneur Benefactors — Gerrit S. Conger
Gerrit S. Conger, Gouverneur attorney
active in the establishment of the Gouverneur
E,H. Barnes Post, G.A.R.
Conger, born in Canandaigua in 1847, was a private in Battery D, 1st N. Y. Light Artillery (Winslow's Battery) and participated in many Civil War Battles, including Appomatox.
Winslow's Battery, 1st New York Artillery, Battery B, was the only artillery in the the Wheatfield, which was part of the Battle of Gettysburg. All other artillery was positioned in the outside areas of The Wheatfield. Conger received a shell wound in the left knee at Bethel Church. His father and three brothers were also in the service; together they participated in 50 battles.
Mr. Conger was a member of the G. A.R. and was repeatedly elected Commander of Barnes Post. Jane Parker, in her book Gouverneur, A History 1805-1890, says that "the Erwin H. Barnes Post established through the indefatigable labors of our townsman, G. S. Conger, who may well be termed the sponsor of the movement." He was Junior Vice Commandant of the Department of NY in 1884. He was also attorney for the Legislative Committee that investigated Expenditures of Armories & Arsenals of the State.
After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, Conger studied Law in the offices of Charles Anthony and later practiced in the firm of Conger, Orvis, & McLear. He was a Special County Judge from 1880 to 1897.
Gerrit's son, Alger, married Kathleen Noble, daughter of H.H. Noble and sister of Robert and Edward J. Noble.