American politician
George Albert Castor (August 6, 1855 – February 19, 1906) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania.
George A. Castor was born in the Holmesburg section of the city of Philadelphia. He entered a cloth house early in life and subsequently became a merchant tailor with large establishments in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. He retired from active business pursuits in 1875. He graduated from Yale University in 1876.
Castor built an eighteen bedroom mansion, "Stoneyhurst", on Solly Avenue overlooking the Pennypack Creek in Holmesburg. As of 2018, the site was occupied by the motherhouse of the sisters of the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, a Roman Catholic women's congregation, that relocated there in 1931.[1]
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination of Congressman at Large in 1892. He was a member of the Republican city committee for fifteen years.
He was married Elizabeth Paul Pitcairn (1852-1900) from 1876 to 1900. They had 3 children:
- Norman Castor, (1876-1964), diplomat and lawyer
- William Castor, (1878-1938), president of American Coffee
- George Castor II, (1887-1979), lawyer
Castor's son William (1878-1938) was the President of American Coffee, the largest coffee trading firm in North America. His son William Stanley Castor (1901-1971) succeeded him as President of American Coffee. His other son, Paul Martin Castor (1914-1969) was the Chief of Staff for Senators Robert A. Taft, Strom Thurmond, and Hiram Bingham III. He ran for the House of Representatives for California's 52nd congressional district as a Republican, but died before the election took place.
Through his son William, Castor is the great-grandfather of both Pennsylvania Attorney General Bruce Castor and US Representative Kathy Castor.
Castor was elected as a Republican to the 58th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Burk. He was reelected to the 59th Congress and served from February 16, 1904, until his death in Philadelphia.
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