George W. Scranton - Misplaced Pages

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George Whitfield Scranton


Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 12th district
In office March 4, 1859 – March 24, 1861
Preceded by	Paul Leidy
Succeeded by	Hendrick Bradley Wright

Personal details
Born	(1811-05-11)May 11, 1811 Madison, Connecticut, US
Died	March 24, 1861(1861-03-24) (aged 49) Scranton, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Relations	Joseph A. Scranton (second-cousin)

George Whitfield Scranton (May 11, 1811 – March 24, 1861) was an industrialist and politician, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1859, until his death in 1861. Moving from Connecticut to Pennsylvania in the late 1830s, he was the founder of the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he established the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company. He became a major industrialist, leading two railroad companies.

After his death, his cousin's son, William Walker Scranton, became general manager of the Iron & Coal Company, serving during the Scranton General Strike of 1877.

Early life

George Scranton was born in Madison, Connecticut. Among his siblings was his brother Selden T. Scranton. He attended Lee’s Academy. He moved to Belvidere, New Jersey, in 1828 and became a teamster.

Career

From 1835 to 1839, Scranton was interested in agricultural pursuits.

He and his brother Selden became interested in new developments in industry and moved to northeast Pennsylvania, in an area of mining of anthracite coal. Together with Sanford Grant and Philip H. Mattes, they formed the firm of Scrantons, Grant & Company. Mattes was head of a branch of a bank in Easton, Pennsylvania.

In 1839 Scranton started manufacture of iron, and began experimenting with the practicability of smelting ore by means of "hard" or anthracite coal in Slocum (now Scranton, Pennsylvania). This area became the center of extensive mining of anthracite coal.

Scranton was the founder of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company, named after the river. He and his brother Selden, together with Grant and Mattes, are considered founders of the city of Scranton, named after him. He constructed the Northumberland division of the Lackawanna Railroad. He was the president of two railroad companies.

Politics

Scranton was elected to Congress from Pennsylvania as a Republican in 1858 to the 36th Congress and served from March 4, 1859, until his death in Scranton on March 24, 1861.

Personal life

In 1847, his cousin Joseph a. Scranton moved with his second wife and young family to this corner of Pennsylvania. One of his sons, William Walker Scranton, went to Yale in the family tradition, later becoming general manager of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal company. He led the company during the extensive protests and action in the city in 1877 during the Scranton General Strike.

Sources

United States Congress. "George W. Scranton (id: S000191)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

George W. Scranton at Find a Grave

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byPaul Leidy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district 1859–1861	Succeeded byHendrick B. Wright

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Frederick Lyman Hitchcock, History of Scranton and Its People, Volume 1, 1914, p. 8
Hitchcock (1914), History of Scranton, p. 9

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