William Connell (Pennsylvania politician)

William Connell (September 10, 1827 – March 21, 1909) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

William Connell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
In office
February 10, 1904 – March 3, 1905
Preceded byGeorge Howell
Succeeded byThomas Henry Dale
Constituency10th district
In office
March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903
Preceded byJoseph A. Scranton
Succeeded byHenry Wilbur Palmer
Constituency11th district
Personal details
Born(1827-09-10)September 10, 1827
Sydney, Nova Scotia colony, British Canada
DiedMarch 21, 1909(1909-03-21) (aged 81)
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Signature

Early life

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Mrs William Connell

Connell was born in Sydney in the Nova Scotia colony of British Canada, and moved with his parents to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1844. He worked in the coal mines, and in 1856 he was appointed superintendent of the mines of the Susquehanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad & Coal Company, with offices in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Career

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Upon the expiration of that company's charter in 1870 he purchased its property and became one of the largest independent coal operators in the Wyoming Valley region. He was one of the founders of the Third National Bank of Scranton in 1872, and in 1879 he was chosen its president. He was also identified with many other industries and commercial enterprises of Scranton, including the Scranton Button Company, one of the largest manufacturers of buttons in the United States, which branched out into the manufacture of telephone parts and phonograph records. He was a delegate to the 1896 Republican National Convention, and a member of the Pennsylvania Republican committee.

Connell was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses. He successfully contested the election of George Howell to the Fifty-eighth Congress. The father of Charles Robert Connell, Connell died in Scranton in 1909.

Legacy

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His summer estate, Lacawac, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

Sources

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district

1897–1903
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district

1904–1905
Succeeded by