George Albert Castor (August 6, 1855 – February 19, 1906) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

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, ...

. George A. Castor was born in the

Holmesburg Holmesburg began as a Village within Lower Dublin Township, Pennsylvania. It is now a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holmesburg was named in Honor of Surveyor General of Pennsylvania Thomas Holme, who was a ca ...

section of the city of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He entered a cloth house early in life and subsequently became a

merchant tailor In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ext ...

with large establishments in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and Philadelphia. He retired from active business pursuits in 1875. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1876. Castor built an eighteen bedroom mansion, "Stoneyhurst", on Solly Avenue overlooking the

Pennypack Creek Pennypack Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 creek in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs southeast through lower Bucks County ...

in Holmesburg. As of 2018, the site was occupied by the motherhouse of the sisters of the

Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, a Roman Catholic women's congregation, that relocated there in 1931.Baldwin, Lou. "Phila.-based Trinitarian sisters continue work for poor, immigrants", ''Catholic Philly'', September 20, 2018
/ref> He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination of Congressman at Large in 1892. He was a member of the Republican city committee for fifteen years. He was married Elizabeth Paul Pitcairn (1852-1900) from 1876 to 1900. They had 3 children: *Norman Castor, (1876-1964), diplomat and lawyer *William Castor, (1878-1938), president of American Coffee *George Castor II, (1887-1979), lawyer Castor's son William (1878-1938) was the President of American Coffee, the largest coffee trading firm in North America. His son William Stanley Castor (1901-1971) succeeded him as President of American Coffee. His other son, Paul Martin Castor (1914-1969) was the Chief of Staff for Senators

Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...

, and

Hiram Bingham III Hiram Bingham III (November 19, 1875 – June 6, 1956) was an American academic, explorer and politician. He made public the existence of the Inca Empire, Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers. Late ...

. He ran for the House of Representatives for

California's 52nd congressional district California's 52nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . The district currently includes south western portions of San Diego County. Cities in the distri ...

as a Republican, but died before the election took place. Through his son William, Castor is the great-grandfather of both Pennsylvania Attorney General

Bruce Castor Bruce Lee Castor Jr. (born October 24, 1961) is an American lawyer and retired Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was appointed as the first Solicitor General of Pennsylvania in March ...

and US Representative

Kathy Castor Katherine Anne Castor (born August 20, 1966) is an American politician and lawyer currently representing in the United States House of Representatives, serving since 2007. The district, numbered as the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, is based ...

. Castor was elected as a Republican to the 58th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Burk. He was reelected to the 59th Congress and served from February 16, 1904, until his death in Philadelphia.

Sources

*
The Political Graveyard

George A. Castor, late a representative from Pennsylvania, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives frontispiece 1907

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castor, George A. 1855 births 1906 deaths Politicians from Philadelphia 19th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American Episcopalians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians

See also

Sources

References