George W. Scranton

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George Whitfield Scranton
Hendrick Bradley Wright
Personal details
Born(1811-05-11)May 11, 1811
second-cousin
)
OccupationIndustrialist

George Whitfield Scranton (May 11, 1811 – March 24, 1861) was an American industrialist and politician, a

U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1859, until his death in 1861. Moving to Pennsylvania in the late 1830s to establish an iron furnace, he and his brother Selden T. Scranton are considered the founders of the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania
, named for their family. They and two partners established what became known as the Iron & Coal Company. They developed a method of producing T-rails for constructing railroad track, which previously had been imported from England. The innovation led to a boom in production of track and construction of railroads.

Scranton became a major industrialist, also leading the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, which depended on the iron industry.

After his death, his cousin Joseph H. Scranton, an early investor who had moved to this city, became president and the cousin's son,

Scranton General Strike of 1877, founding the Lackawanna Steel Company
.

Early life

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. He and his brother both worked at Oxford Furnace, an iron manufacturing factory.

Career

Skyline of downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, named for George W. Scranton and his family

Learning of extensive

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, and helped gain financing.[1]

In 1839 Scranton started to manufacture iron, and began experimenting with the practicability of

). This area was developing as the center of extensive mining of anthracite coal.

Scranton was the founder of the

. He was the president of two railroad companies.

In 1858 Selden Scranton returned to Oxford Furnace in New Jersey.

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,

Scranton General Strike
.

See also

References

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

Sources

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

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district

1859–1861
Succeeded by
Hendrick Bradley Wright