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James McClurg Guffey (January 19, 1839,Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania – March 20, 1930,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1][2]) was an American pioneer in the petroleum industry in Pennsylvania and elsewhere and a longtime Democratic politician in his home state.[1]
He was born the fifth of six children in Westmoreland County and grew up on the family farm.[3]
At 18, he found work as a clerk for theLouisville and Nashville Railroad inLouisville, Kentucky, before landing a better-paying job with the Adams Southern Express Company inNashville, Tennessee. In 1872, he returned to his home state to become a salesman in the burgeoning oil industry (seePennsylvania oil rush), learning the business and starting to work for himself.[3][4]
Guffey made a fortune "amounting to millions as an oil producer".[5] He was involved in developing oil and gas fields in Ohio and West Virginia.[3]
He and John H. Galey established theGuffey and Galey Company in 1880[4] or 1886.[6] At one time, it was the largest oil producer in the world, outputting 40,000 barrels per day.[4]
The pair arranged the financing needed to drill for oil in theSpindletop oil field. When oil was found on January 10, 1901, it started theTexas oil boom. Guffey had a five-eighths interest in it, Galey one-quarter, andAnthony Francis Lucas one-eighth.[4] Guffey established the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company in May of that year; the firm bought Galey and Lucas's shares.[4] In 1907, it and other companies merged to form theGulf Oil Corporation; Guffey sold his seven-fifteens interest for $3 million.[7]
In late August 1897, Guffey was named the Pennsylvania representative to the Democratic National Committee, replacingWilliam F. Harrity.[8] In 1912 he was again elected to the Democratic National Committee following the death of James Kerr.
In the1901 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania, he came second to RepublicanMatthew Quay, with 22% of the vote. In the1903 Senate election, he lost to RepublicanBoies Penrose.
In 1910, his properties were placed inreceivership because he did not have the ready cash to cover his liabilities of about $7,00,000, but the receiver stated that Guffey had assets of over $15,000,000.[5]
USS J. M. Guffey (ID-1279) was a tanker renamed after him after it was purchased by the Gulf Oil Corporation.[9] It was chartered on behalf of the British Ministry of War Transport for World War I.
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