Galusha Aaron GROW, Congress, PA (1823-1907)

GROW Galusha Aaron , a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Ashford (now Eastford), Windham County, Conn., August 31, 1823; moved to Glenwood, Susquehanna County, Pa., in May 1834; attended the common schools and Franklin Academy, Susquehanna County; graduated from Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., in 1844; studied law; was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna County in 1847 and practiced; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second, Thirty-third, and Thirty-fourth Congresses and as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and Thirty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1863); chairman, Committee on Territories (Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth Congresses); unsuccessful Republican nominee for Speaker in 1857; Speaker of the House of Representatives (Thirty-seventh Congress); delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1864, 1884, and 1892; president of the Houston & Great Northern Railroad Co. of Texas 1871-1876; returned to Pennsylvania and engaged in lumber, oil, and soft-coal pursuits; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William Lilly; reelected to the Fifty-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from February 26, 1894, to March 3, 1903; chairman, Committee on Education (Fifty-fourth through Fifty-seventh Congresses); declined a renomination in 1902; died in Glenwood, near Scranton, Pa., March 31, 1907; interment in Harford Cemetery, Harford, Pa.

Bibliography

Ilisevich, Robert D. Galusha A. Grow: The People's Candidate. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present