George R. Danenhower

George R. Danenhower was born in Willow Grove, PA, on June 27, 1835. He first came to Camden in 1857 and enlisted as a private with Company C, 12th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers in 1862. He was promoted to corporal on October 1, 1864, and to sergeant on February 1, 1865. He served alongside his brother-in-law, Sergeant Virgil Willett, another Camden resident who later entered the grocery business after the Civil War.

After the war, George Danenhower returned to Camden and opened a grocery store at 428 Kaighn Avenue in 1866. He soon expanded to a larger store at 1201-1203-1205 Broadway and entered the wholesale grocery business in 1880, achieving significant success. In 1893, he moved from Camden to Beverly, NJ, but continued his business in the city. From 1897 to 1900, Thomas S. Pancoast was employed by him. After 65 years in the retail and wholesale trade, the George R. Danenhower & Son Company closed its doors in September of 1921.

Among his many church and civic activities, George R. Danenhower was one of the original trustees of The Home for the Aged and Infirm of the Methodist Episcopal Church.