George Scott Railton

George Scott Railton (6 July 1849 – 19 July 1913) was a Scottish-born Christian missioner who was the first Commissioner of The Salvation Army.

Early life

Born in the manse of St. John's Methodist Church at Arbroath in Scotland, he was the son of Methodist missionaries Lancelot Railton and his wife, Margaret Scott. Railton was educated at Woodhouse Grove School in Leeds, which was established to provide an education for the sons of itinerant ministers of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. His father and mother both died on 8 November 1864 at Peel, Isle of Man, probably of cholera.

The death of his parents left the 15-year-old Railton homeless and unemployed. His older brother, the Rev. Launcelot Railton, a Methodist minister, found him work in London with a shipping company, but not finding it to his liking Railton decided to go to Morocco in 1869 as a Christian missionary. However, this being unsuccessful and finding himself stranded in Morocco, he had to work his passage back to Britain as a steward. In 1870 he began to work in Stockton-on-Tees for an uncle who owned a shipping business, but preached the Gospel at every available opportunity. ), and for some years he lived in the Booth household as William Booth's secretary. He became the acting editor of 'The Christian Mission Magazine' and in September 1873 was appointed General Secretary to The Christian Mission.

By 1880, Booth's son Bramwell Booth had matured and became his father's secretary. Railton, who since his youth had had a wish to be a missionary, persuaded Booth to send him to New York to begin the Army's work there. He was well suited to such work, being a skilled linguist, dedicated, and hard-working, and both he and his superiors felt more comfortable with him on the frontier than at headquarters. For example, at the celebration to mark the launch of the Salvation Army Assurance Society he sat on the platform barefoot and in sackcloth to register his disapproval of this worldly turn.

On 10 March 1880 Railton arrived at Castle Garden, New York with his seven 'Hallelujah Lassies' and immediately set about preaching to the New Yorkers and joining with the unofficial work already begun by the Shirley family in Philadelphia. He also began the work in Newark, New Jersey, leaving two young women in charge there, while he himself set off for St. Louis, Missouri to begin preaching there, but here he was unsuccessful.

Publications 'The Authoritative Life of General William Booth', Hodder and Stoughton, (1912) 'Forward against Misery. Being an illustrated review of part of the social operations of the Salvation Army, etc.' The Salvation Army, London, (1912–13) 'Gideon Ouseley, an Oldtime Irish Salvationist' (1904) 'The History of our South African War' (1902) 'Lieut.-Col. Jacob Junker of Germany ... With a chapter contributed by Commissioner W. E. Oliphant' (1903) 'Peter Cartwright, God's Rough-rider' (1902) 'Some Prophecies Fulfilled. Being a brief account of Salvation Army work in various countries, etc.' Salvation Army, London, (1913) (Editor), 'The Truth about the Armstrong Case and the Salvation Army: being the Editor of the "Pall Mall Gazette’s" Statement in full... the defence of W. Bramwell Booth and Madame Combe by S. D. Waddy... the defence of Rebecca Jarrett by Charles Russell... and letters from Mrs. Booth and the Chief-of-Staff' Salvation Army Book Stores, London, (1885)