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William Connell (Pennsylvania politician)

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(Redirected from William Connell (Pennsylvania)) American politician (1827–1909)

William Connell
Connell in a 1903 publication
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
In office
February 10, 1904 – March 3, 1905
Preceded byGeorge Howell
Succeeded byThomas Henry Dale
Constituency10th district
In office
March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903
Preceded byJoseph A. Scranton
Succeeded byHenry Wilbur Palmer
Constituency11th district
Personal details
Born(1827-09-10)September 10, 1827
Sydney, Nova Scotia colony, British Canada
DiedMarch 21, 1909(1909-03-21) (aged 81)
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Spouse Annie Lawrence ​(died 1902)​
Children11, including Charles
Signature

William Connell (September 10, 1827 – March 21, 1909) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Early life

William Connell was born on September 10, 1827, in Sydney in the Nova Scotia colony of British Canada. His parents were of Scotch-Irish descent. He moved with his parents to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1844. He worked in the coal mines, and in 1856 he was appointed superintendent of the mines of the Susquehanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad & Coal Company, with offices in Scranton.

Career

Upon the expiration of that company's charter in 1870, he purchased its property and became one of the largest independent coal operators in the Wyoming Valley region under the firm name William Connell & Co. He later sold the company to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company. He was a founder of the Third National Bank of Scranton in 1872. In 1879 he became its president. He worked at the Scranton Button Company, one of the largest manufacturers of buttons in the United States, which branched out into the manufacture of telephone parts and phonograph records. He was president of the Lackawanna Mills and director of the Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company. He owned the Connell Building, the largest office in Scranton. He founded the Scranton Tribune'. He was appointed sole arbitrator for the Mud Run disaster in October 1888.

Connell was a delegate to the 1896 and 1908 Republican National Conventions, and a member of the Pennsylvania Republican committee. He was a large property owner in Scranton. He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses. He served from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1903. He successfully contested the election of George Howell to the Fifty-eighth Congress and served from February 10, 1904, to March 3, 1905.

Personal life

Mrs William Connell

Connell married Annie Lawrence around 1851. They had 11 children, including Mrs. James S. McAnulty, Mrs. Charles W. Fulton, Charles Robert, Ezra H., Alfred E., Theodore E. and James L. His wife died in 1902. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Connell died on March 21, 1909, in Scranton. He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.

Legacy

His summer estate, Lacawac, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Sources

  1. ^ "Connell, William". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  2. ^ Slauson, Allan B., ed. (1903). A History of the City of Washington: Its Men and Institutions. The Washington Post. pp. 475–476. Retrieved November 23, 2024 – via Archive.org.Open access icon
  3. ^ "William Connell is Claimed by Death". The Pittsburgh Gazette Times. March 22, 1909. p. 6. Retrieved November 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ "William Connell Died at Scranton". Times Leader. March 22, 1909. p. 13. Retrieved November 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ "Death of Mrs. Connell". The Scranton Times. June 25, 1902. p. 8. Retrieved November 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byJoseph A. Scranton Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district
1897–1903 		Succeeded byHenry Wilbur Palmer
Preceded byGeorge Howell Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
1904–1905 		Succeeded byThomas Henry Dale
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