George Deardorff McCreary (September 28, 1846 – July 26, 1915) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as 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 ...

for

Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district is a district in the state of Pennsylvania. It includes all of Chester County, the city of Reading, and Reading's southeastern suburbs in Berks County. The district is represented by Democrat Chrissy Ho ...

from 1903 to 1913. Prior to his tenure in Congress, he was the city treasurer of Philadelphia from 1891 to 1895. He also worked in the coal and banking industries.

Early life, education and business career

McCreary was born on September 28, 1846, at York Springs, Pennsylvania to John B. McCreary and Rachel Deardorff. He moved with his parents to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and graduated from the Saunders Military Institute in 1864. He entered the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1864 but left in 1867 during his junior year to join the Honey Brook Coal Company of which his father was president. He worked at the Whitney, McCreary & Kemmerer wholesale

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

merchant company from 1870 to 1879. After his father's death, he became a director in the Upper Lehigh Coal Company and the Nescopec Coal Company. He also worked in banking, including as vice-president of the Market Street National Bank.

Political career

McCreary was elected

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

of the city and county of Philadelphia in November 1891, and served until 1895. He was then elected as a Republican to the Fifty-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Ventilation and Acoustics The United States House Committee on Ventilation and Acoustics is a former standing committee of the United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the ...

during the Sixty-first Congress and on the Banking and Currency Commission. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1912.

Personal life

On June 18, 1878, McCreary married Kate R. Howell. McCreary supported several charities including the sponsorship of a tea service at the

Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday i ...

homeless shelter, the Red Bank Sanatorium, the Whosoever Will Mission and the Pennsylvania Humane Society. He was also the treasurer of the

Philadelphia Sketch Club The Philadelphia Sketch Club, founded on November 20, 1860, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of America's oldest artists' clubs. The club's own web page proclaims it ''the'' oldest. Prominent members have included Joseph Pennell, Thomas Eaki ...

and vice president of the Franklin Reformatory School.

Death and interment

McCreary died on July 26, 1915, in Philadelphia and was interred in

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

References

External links

George Deardorff McCreary entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCreary, George Deardorff 1846 births 1915 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American politicians American bankers American businesspeople in the coal industry Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) City and town treasurers in the United States People from Adams County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania alumni