William Connell (Pennsylvania)

This article is about the Pennsylvania Congressman. For the Nebraska Congressman, see William James Connell. For the historian, see William J. Connell (historian).
William Connell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 10th district
In office
February 10, 1904  March 3, 1905
Preceded by George Howell
Succeeded by Thomas H. Dale
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 11th district
In office
March 4, 1897  March 3, 1903
Preceded by Joseph A. Scranton
Succeeded by Henry W. Palmer
Personal details
Born September 10, 1827
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Died March 21, 1909 (aged 81)
Political party Republican

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

Connell was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia 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.

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.

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

Sources

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joseph A. Scranton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district

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

1904–1905
Succeeded by
Thomas H. Dale