George Sanderson (February 25, 1810 – April 1, 1886) was an American politician who served as a Whig member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 17th district from 1851 to 1854 and as the tenth

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

from 1859 to 1868.Mayors of the City of Lancaster, PA
. Retrieved on 2009-10-25.

Early life

Sanderson was born in Boston, Massachusetts and received his education at the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

. He worked in merchandising in New York City, New York and moved to Geneva, New York. He married Marion Kingsbury and moved to

Towanda, Pennsylvania Towanda is a borough and the county seat of Bradford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located northwest of Wilkes-Barre, on the Susquehanna River. The name means "burial ground" in the Algon ...

. He studied law and served as District Attorney for six years before quitting to work in private business.

Career

He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 17th district and served from 1851 to 1854. He befriended Colonel

George W. Scranton George Whitfield Scranton (May 11, 1811 – March 24, 1861) was an American 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 to Penns ...

in 1853 and became one of the founders of

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. As mayor of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Sanderson formed the Lancaster City Police force in 1865. He died at his home in Green Ridge, Scranton on April 1, 1886 and was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

* , - 1810 births 1886 deaths 19th-century American politicians Boston Latin School alumni Burials in Pennsylvania County district attorneys in Pennsylvania Mayors of Lancaster, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania state senators Pennsylvania Whigs Politicians from Boston 19th-century American lawyers {{Pennsylvania-PASenate-stub