William Connell

William Connell

William Connell (born September 10, 1827 in Sydney , Nova Scotia , †  March 21, 1909 in Scranton , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician . Between 1897 and 1905 he twice represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Connell received a limited education and came to Hazleton , Pennsylvania from his Canadian homeland in 1844 . There he first worked in the mines. He then headed the Susquehanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad & Coal Company , based in Scranton. When it was dissolved in 1870, Connell acquired the property, making it one of the largest private coal mine operators in the area. In 1872 he co-founded the Third National Bank of Scranton , of which he became president in 1879. He has also been involved in various other commercial companies in the Scranton area. Politically, he became a member of the Republican Party . In June 1896 he took part as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in St. Louis , at which William McKinley was nominated as a candidate for president. He was also a member of his party's state executive.

In the congressional election of 1896 Connell was elected to the Eleventh constituency of Pennsylvania to the House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Joseph A. Scranton on March 4, 1897 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1903 . During this time the Spanish-American War of 1898 fell . In 1902 he ran in the tenth district of his state for membership in Congress. He was defeated by the Democrat George Howell . Connell appealed against the election result. When this was complied with, he was able to take over Howell's mandate on February 10, 1904, and to end the current legislative period by March 3, 1905.

After the end of his time in the US House of Representatives, William Connell was no longer politically active. He died in Scranton on March 21, 1909. His son Charles (1864-1922) was also a member of Congress.

Web links

• William Connell in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• William Connell in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Joseph A. Scranton	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (11th constituency) March 4, 1897 - March 3, 1903	Henry Wilbur Palmer
George Howell	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (10th Constituency) February 10, 1904 - March 3, 1905	Thomas Henry Dale