James Archbald (1793–1870) was a Scottish-American railroad executive and politician. After immigrating to the United States with his family in 1805, he later was elected as Pennsylvania state representative and as the first mayor of Carbondale, Pennsylvania.

Early life and family

Archbald was born March 3, 1793, on Little Cumbrae island, off the Ayrshire coast of Scotland, to a family of

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

s. His family was one of many displaced by the

Lowland Clearances The Lowland Clearances were one of the results of the Scottish Agricultural Revolution, which changed the traditional system of agriculture which had existed in Lowland Scotland in the seventeenth century. Thousands of cottars and tenant farmers ...

; they emigrated to the United States when he was 12. They purchased a farm in the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...

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. In 1832 he married Sarah Augusta Frothingham (born 1805), the daughter of Major Thomas and Elizabeth Frost Frothingham of Sand Lake, New York. They had seven children: James, Mary, Augusta, Thomas, Robert, a son who died in infancy, and a daughter Elizabeth, who died at age 12.

Railroad career

From his location in the Mohawk Valley, Archbald had become familiar with the Erie Canal, which was completed through the Mohawk Valley in 1824. He went into the canal and railroad industry, which was displacing canals as the transportation of choice. Succeeding John B. Jervis, Archbald served as the general superintendent of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company (D&H) from 1829 to 1854. He helped plan the construction of the Pennsylvania Coal Company's railroad from

Pittston Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal ...

Hawley Hawley may refer to: * Hawley (surname) Titles * Baron Hawley * Hawley baronets Places named Hawley ;In Australia * Hawley Beach, Tasmania ;In the United Kingdom * Hawley, Hampshire * Hawley, Kent ;In the United States * Hawley, Colorado * ...

in 1847. He left D&H to become the vice president of Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad in 1854. Two years later in 1856, he became the general manager and chief engineer of 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 ...

and relocated to Scranton, where it had its headquarters. He lived there until his death in 1870.

Political career

In 1851 Archbald was elected as the first mayor of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. He was reelected three times and served four terms. His last year of office was 1855. He was nominated at the Lackawanna County Convention held at Wilkes-Barre September 4, 1866, to represent the 133rd district in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

. He had no partisan affiliation.

Legacy and honors

* Archbald borough is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archbald, James 1793 births 1870 deaths Scottish emigrants to the United States People from North Ayrshire 19th-century American railroad executives Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives American railway civil engineers Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Mayors of places in Pennsylvania People from Carbondale, Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians People associated with Scottish islands