George Deardorff McCreary (September 28, 1846 – July 26, 1915) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district 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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

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 a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

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 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 A tea set or tea service is a collection of matching teaware and related utensils used in the preparation and serving of tea. The traditional components of a tea set may vary between societies and cultures. History China The accepted his ...

at the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

, the Red Bank Sanatorium, the Whosoever Will Mission and the Pennsylvania Humane Society. He was also the treasurer of the Philadelphia Sketch Club 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, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

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 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

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