Gen Dodge b. April 12, 1831 son of Sylvanus Dodge and Julia Theresa Phillips Dodge. From the time of his birth until he was 13 years old, Dodge moved frequently while his father tried various occupations. In 1844, Sylvanus Dodge became postmaster of the South Danvers office and opened a bookstore. While working at a neighboring farm, the 14-year-old Grenville met the owner's son, Frederick W. Lander, and helped him survey a railroad. Lander was to become "one the ablest surveyors of the exploration of the West," according to Charles Edgar Ames in Pioneering the Union Pacific. Lander was impressed with Dodge and encouraged him to go to his alma mater, Norwich University (in Vermont). Dodge prepared for college by attending Durham Academy in New Hampshire
In 1851, he graduated from Norwich University with a degree in civil engineering, then moved to Iowa, where he settled in the Missouri River city of Council Bluffs. For the next decade, he was involved in surveying for railroads, including the Union Pacific. He married Ruth Anne Browne on May 29, 1854. He was also a partner in the Baldwin & Dodge banking firm, and in 1860 served on the Council Bluffs City Council.
Ruth Anne Dodge, wife of General Grenville Dodge, had a dream or vision shortly before she died in 1916. This vision had an angel at the prow of a boat carrying a small bowl and extending her other arm toward Mrs. Dodge. The daughters of the Dodges commissioned a sculptor, Daniel Chester French, to design a monument based on this vision. French is best known as the designer of the seated Lincoln in the Memorial in Washington D. C. The bronze statue is known as the Black Angel. It is adjacent to Fairview Cemetery on Lafayette Avenue.
Grenville Dodge (1831-1916) by David Lotter
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