George Washington Toland (February 8, 1796 – January 30, 1869) was an American politician who served as a Whig member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1837 to 1843. He served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1832 to 1833, and as a Whig member in 1844. He served as a National Republican member of the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

for the 1st district from 1834 to 1835 and as a Democrat from 1835 to 1837.

Early life and education

Toland was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

. His father was Henry Toland of Germantown. He attended the common schools, and graduated from Princeton College in 1816. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1819.

Career

He worked in the insurance business. He served as school director in Philadelphia from 1826 to 1830, as a member and treasurer of the Pennsylvania Institute of the Deaf and Dumb in 1828, as director of the Mechanic's Bank of Philadelphia from 1831 to 1832, and as director of the Philadelphia Board of Trade. He served as a Democratic member of the

in 1832 and 1833. He was elected to the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for the 1st district and served as a National Republican from 1833 to 1835 and as a Democrat from 1835 to 1837. Toland was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, and Twenty-seventh Congresses. He served again as a Whig member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1844. He worked as a director of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company from 1847 to 1849. He died on January 30, 1869, in Philadelphia and was interred at

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

Citations Sources
The Political Graveyard
, - 1796 births 1869 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century people from Pennsylvania American bankers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Lawyers from Philadelphia Pennsylvania National Republicans Pennsylvania Railroad people Politicians from Philadelphia Princeton University alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub