George McCully Laughlin (Pittsburg, PA)
George McCully Laughlin (Oct. 21, 1842 – Dec. 11, 1908)
Biography
- Name: George McCully Laughlin
- Birth: October 21, 1842
- Death: December 11, 1908
Early life and family
George McCully Laughlin, the son of James and Ann (Irwin) Laughlin, was born in Pittsburgh, October 21, 1842. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish and his family had long been one of the most prominent, connected with the industries of Pittsburgh. He was educated in private schools of Pittsburgh, and Washington and Jefferson College. He was a member of the class that completed the course in 1863, but at the close of his Junior year he left college to enlist as a volunteer in the Union Army. The call to patriotic service in preserving the honor and integrity of the Nation was to him a duty paramount to the pleasure and self-advantage of pursuing his studies and graduating with his class. He mustered in as a private, but immediately received from the governor a commission as second lieutenant of Company B, 155th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. This military service was begun in August 1862, and continued without interruption until the surrender of Lee and close of the war.
He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and on the death of Captain Sackett succeeded the latter in command of the company and was promoted to captain. He participated in every engagement of the Army of the Potomac, from Antietam to Appomattox. His last year of service was on detached duty as member of the staff of Major General Charles Griffin, who was the commander of the Fifth Army Corps, placed there by General Sheridan during the battle of Five Forks. He continued on staff duty to the close of the war. General Griffin was one of the three commanders designated by General Grant to arrange the details of the surrender of Lee's army, and Captain Laughlin accompanied him as personal aide. He was therefore present and witnessed the meeting between Generals Grant and Lee at the McLean house at Appomattox, where the terms of surrender were agreed upon. Captain Laughlin was brevetted major by the war department "for distinguished services at the battle of Quaker Road, Virginia," and was mustered out with his regiment at Harrisburg in June, 1865. Without delay he engaged with the firm of Jones & Laughlin in the iron and steel industry and maintained this connection as an active member of the company. In recognition of his patriotic service and business ability, the trustees of Washington and Jefferson college conferred on him the degree of master of arts, the same as though he had completed the course of study and graduated with his class.
Major Laughlin was married November 16, 1865, to Isabel B. McKennan, daughter of Judge William McKennan of Washington, Pa., of the United States Circuit Court, Ninth Circuit. The children born to this union were: Irwin B. Laughlin; George M. Laughlin, Jr., superintendent of the Soho department of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company; and Thomas K. Laughlin, assistant treasurer Jones & Laughlin Steel Company. In 1904 Irwin B. Laughlin was appointed secretary to United States Minister to Japan, Lloyd Griscomb, subsequently was transferred and made charge d'affaires at the American Embassy in Athens, Greece. Mrs. Laughlin died December 5, 1891. Major Laughlin was survived by two brothers and one sister, Henry A. Laughlin, eldest brother and James Laughlin, Jr., directors of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, and Mrs. D. C. Phillips, of Washington, District of Columbia. Major Laughlin was a member of the Duquesne, Pittsburgh, and Union Clubs and the Pittsburgh Golf club, and also had membership in the National Arts club of New York, and the Strollers' club of the same city, and of the Manufacturers' club of Philadelphia. He was also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Loyal Legion, and Sons of the Revolution. He was a member of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church.
Banking career
Major Laughlin was a director of the Keystone bank from its incorporation in 1883 as a state bank until its conversion to a national bank in 1905. He was the president at the time it organized as The Keystone National Bank and continued in that position until his death. He was a director and member of the executive committee of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company. Major Laughlin's last active connection with the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company was as vice chairman of the board in 1900. He was a director of the Pittsburgh Trust Company.
Other career highlights
His early life as a soldier and his quiet, philanthropic nature were quite as striking as his career as a captain of industry. He served his country with distinction in the Civil war; was an aide to General Griffin, one of the three commanders who negotiated the peace overtures with General Lee at Appomattox; he witnessed the surrender of the Confederate leader and at the close of the struggle he returned to Pittsburgh and began to work for his own future, the work which he abandoned when the call for volunteers came. Always active in the veterans' organizations in this section, Major Laughlin endeared himself to the old soldiers. In the long period since the close of the Civil War, he retained his intimate acquaintance with famous commanders. Charitable organizations and Institutions benefited through the quiet and unostentatious endeavors and generosity of Major Laughlin. He gave liberally to the poor through the many agencies of charitable work and was a patron of public institutions, societies and organizations. One of these was Washington and Jefferson College, the institution which he left as a young man to go to the front as a soldier, and which afterward conferred upon him the degree of master of arts. He was a director of the Patriotic League of Pittsburgh and the Monongahela Connecting Railroad Company. Interest In church work also occupied much of Major Laughlin's time, particularly in his later years since he limited his business activities. He was a member of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church and was at one time a trustee.
Later life and death
On December 11, 1908, Major George McCully Laughlin, one of the leading men in Pittsburgh's industrial and banking pursuits, died at 5:35 o'clock Friday evening at his residence on Woodland Road. At the bedside of Major Laughlin when death came were members of his family, including two of his sons, Thomas K. and George M. Laughlin. His third son, Irwin B. Laughlin, charge d'affaires at the American embassy in Athens, Greece, was notified by telegram of his father's death. Major Laughlin had been failing in health for about a year. Early the previous month he was seized with a severe cold while in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but he returned to Pittsburgh somewhat improved. Later his condition became aggravated and on Wednesday he was found to be suffering from pneumonia. Since Thursday night Major Laughlin continued to sink and all day yesterday the end was momentarily expected. The funeral was held Monday, December 14th from his late residence with interment in the Laughlin family plot in the Allegheny cemetery.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, G. M. Laughlin was involved with the following banks:
- Keystone Bank of Pittsburgh, PA (state bank): President 1905, Director 1883...1905
- Keystone National Bank of Pittsburg, PA (Charter 7560): President 1905-1908
- Pittsburgh Trust Company, Pittsburgh, PA: Director 1896...1908
Sources
- George McCully Laughlin on Findagrave.com.
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- Under the Maltese Cross: Antietam to Appomattox: Campaigns 155th Pennsylvania Volunteers published by the 155th Regimental Association, Pittsburgh, PA 1910.
- The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, Sat., May 23, 1908.
- Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, PA, Sat., Dec. 12, 1908.