James A. Connolly

James A. Connolly (1896)

James Austin Connolly (born March 8, 1843 in Newark , New Jersey , †  December 15, 1914 in Springfield , Illinois ) was an American politician . Between 1895 and 1899 he represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In 1850, James Connolly moved with his parents to Chesterville , Ohio , where he attended public schools and the Selby Academy . Between 1858 and 1859 he worked for the Ohio Senate administration . After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1859, he began to practice this profession in Mount Gilead . In 1861 he moved to Charleston , Illinois. Connolly served in the Union Army during the Civil War . He rose from the simple soldier to the brevet lieutenant colonel. After the war he embarked on a political career as a member of the Republican Party . Between 1872 and 1876 he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives . From 1876 to 1885 and again between 1889 and 1893 he was federal prosecutor for the southern district of his state. In 1886 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress . Two years later he was re-elected by his party for the congressional elections; he refused this nomination.

In the congressional election of 1894 , Connolly was elected to the 17th  constituency of Illinois in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Democrat Edward Lane on March 4, 1895 . After re-election, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1899. During this time the Spanish-American War of 1898 fell . In the same 1898 he renounced another candidacy.

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, James Connolly returned to practice as a lawyer. He died in Springfield on December 15, 1914.

Web links

• James A. Connolly in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• James A. Connolly in the database of Find a Grave (English)