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

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, ...

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 among the founders of the city 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 ...

, 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 The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

, 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,

William Walker Scranton William Walker Scranton (April 4, 1844 – December 3, 1916) was an American businessman based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He became president and manager of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company after his father's death in 1872. The company ...

, became general manager of the Iron & Coal Company. W.W. Scranton managed the company during and after the Scranton General Strike of 1877, founding the

Lackawanna Steel Company The Lackawanna Steel Company was an American steel manufacturing company that existed as an independent company from 1840 to 1922, and as a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel company from 1922 to 1983. Founded by the Scranton family, it was once t ...

Early life

George Scranton was born in

Madison, Connecticut Madison is a town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, occupying a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline. The population was 17,691 at the 2020 census. Madison was first settled in 16 ...

. Among his siblings was his brother Selden T. Scranton. He attended Lee’s Academy. He moved to

Belvidere, New Jersey Belvidere is a town in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the town's population was 2,681,teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

. He and his brother both worked at

Oxford Furnace Oxford Furnace is a historic blast furnace on Washington Avenue, near the intersection with Belvidere Avenue, in Oxford, Oxford Township, Warren County, New Jersey. The furnace was built by Jonathan Robeson (c. 1695–1766) in 1741 and produced ...

, an iron manufacturing factory.

Career

Learning of extensive iron and coal deposits in northeast Pennsylvania, the two Scranton brothers became interested in potential for new industry and moved to this area of mining "hard" or

anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the high ...

. 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 Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

, and helped gain financing.Frederick Lyman Hitchcock
''History of Scranton and Its People''
Volume 1, 1914, p. 8 In 1839 Scranton started to manufacture iron, and began experimenting with the practicability of

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

ore by means of "hard" or

in Slocum Hollow (now

). This area was developing as 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 the Scranton family.Hitchcock (1914), ''History of Scranton,'' p. 9 He also constructed the Northumberland division of the

Lackawanna Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

, helping to create 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 The 36th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 ...

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,

, 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.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scranton, George W. 1811 births 1861 deaths People from Madison, Connecticut Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania American steel industry businesspeople American manufacturing businesspeople Scranton, Pennsylvania People from Belvidere, New Jersey 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American railroad executives