Athelston Gaston (April 24, 1838 – September 23, 1907) was a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

Athelston Gaston was born in

Castile, New York Castile is an incorporated town in Wyoming County, New York. The population was 2,873 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the historical region of Castile in Spain. The Town of Castile is on the east border of the county. The town conta ...

. He moved with his parents to

Crawford County, Pennsylvania Crawford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,938. Its county seat is Meadville. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Colonel Wi ...

, in 1854. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1873, when he became a dealer in and manufacturer of

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

. He served as mayor of

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The city is within of Erie and within of Pittsburgh. It was the first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The population was 13,388 at the 2010 censu ...

, from 1891 to 1895. Gaston was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-sixth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1900. He resumed the lumber business. Gaston was killed while on a hunting trip along

Lake Edward Lake Edward (locally Rwitanzigye or Rweru) is one of the smaller African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, w ...

in northern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, in 1907. There was no ceremony. Interment in Greendale Cemetery in

Sources

The Political Graveyard
1838 births 1907 deaths Mayors of places in Pennsylvania People from Castile, New York People from Meadville, Pennsylvania Accidental deaths in Quebec Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Hunting accident deaths 19th-century American politicians Burials at Greendale Cemetery {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub