author
John J. (John James) McLaurin
1841–1923
A Canadian-born writer and newspaper man who captured the drama of America’s early oil boom and one of its worst disasters. His books mix local history, eyewitness color, and the fast-moving energy of late 19th-century Pennsylvania.
1 Audiobook
Sketches in Crude-oil Some accidents and incidents of the petroleum development in all parts of the globe
by John J. (John James) McLaurin
About the author
John J. McLaurin, also listed as John James McLaurin, was born in 1841 and died in 1923. Library and archive records connect him especially with western Pennsylvania, where he published works such as Sketches in Crude-oil and Illustrated Franklin, Venango County, Pa.
He is best known for writing about places and events shaped by industry. The Story of Johnstown tells the history and growth of Johnstown before turning to the devastating flood of May 31, 1889, while Sketches in Crude-oil looks back on the rise of the petroleum business through anecdotes, personalities, and on-the-ground observation.
McLaurin’s work stands out for its lively, reportorial feel. Rather than writing dry summaries, he gathered stories, local detail, and human drama, making his books valuable both as history and as vivid snapshots of the communities transformed by oil and catastrophe in the late 1800s.