George Crawford

Career

George Crawford was the son of Eben Crawford, a farmer from Emlenton, Venango County, Pennsylvania. By this time he was the chairman of the board of Columbia Gas & Electric, owner of Lone Star Gas Company in Texas and a major investor in significant oil and gas reserves in Mexico. The family had two homes, one in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh and a second home (previously his father"s residence) at 304 Hill Street, Emlenton, Pennsylvania. When George Crawford died in 1935, he left his four-year-old daughter a fortune valued then (1935) at more than United States$100 million (United Kingdom£75 million).

Achievements

• A senior figure in the energy supply industry, Crawford was the founder and chairman of Columbia Gas & Electric, one of the leading American utilities companies of the 20th century. Eben and his brothers reportedly tried a variety of business ventures and a local Emlenton history records that they had "returned home penniless" from the California gold rush, but the family made a fortune after reserves of oil and natural gas were discovered on Eben"s farm in 1901.