John White Geary

John White Geary

Public Domain

Quick Facts

Significance:

Superintendent of the Allegheny Portage Railroad and later Major General in the Union Army and Governor of Pennsylvania.

Place of Birth:

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Date of Birth:

December 30, 1819

Place of Death:

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Date of Death:

February 8, 1873

Place of Burial:

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Cemetery Name:

Harrisburg Cemetery

John White Geary was a representative "Official" of the Allegheny Portage Railroad and Pennsylvania Main Line Canal. Geary only worked for the railroad for a few years, but was one of its biggest success stories. In the early 1840s he was Assistant Superintendent, and then Superintendent of Motive Power in charge of day-to-day operation.

At the same time he formed a militia unit, the American Highlanders, and many workers from the railroad, canal, and associated area businesses joined the unit. He was the unit's first captain and became Lt. Colonel and later Colonel of the 2nd Pennsylvania Volunteers, the regiment that the American Highlanders were attached to during the Mexican-American War.

After the war, he was appointed Postmaster of San Francisco by President James K. Polk. When California became a state in 1850, he was chosen as the first American Mayor of San Francisco. In 1856 he was appointed Governor of the Kansas Territory by President Franklin Pierce. During the Civil War he attained the rank of Major General in the Union Army. After the Civil War, he was elected to two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania. Geary died just a few weeks after leaving office.