Shryock, James J., 1821-1898

James J. Shryock was a merchant of Meadville, Crawford County, Pa.

The Atlantic & Great Western Rail Road Company was organized in Pennsylvania in 1858 and in New York and Ohio in 1860. Initially projected as a local road in the Meadville area, it soon grew into a major trunk line leading from the New York & Erie RR toward Cincinnati. In 1859, just as construction was begun, petroleum was discovered on a commercial scale on Oil Creek. By chance, the A&GW became the closest railroad to the oil fields. The railroad's foreign financiers, the Anglo-Irish promoter James McHenry, and the Spanish banker, Don Jose de Salamanca, moved to exploit the oil traffic.

James and George Shryock made the first shipment of 12 barrels of oil to McHenry in January 1861. The oil had to be carted to the railhead at Jamestown, N.Y. McHenry pressed for further shipments, which were circulated to chemists and industrialists in Europe to publicize the potential of the railroad. During the winter of 1861-1862 Shryock made extensive shipments to McHenry and others via the A&GW. Smaller amounts were exported to Philadelphia over the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad. The A&GW became a major hauler of crude oil in the 1860s and 70s.