John J. McGrath

John Joseph McGrath (born July 23, 1872 in County Limerick , Ireland , †  August 25, 1951 in San Mateo , California ) was an American politician . Between 1933 and 1939 he represented the state of California in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John McGrath attended public schools in his Irish homeland. At the age of 17, he emigrated to the United States, where he settled in Chicago . He studied law for two years, but apparently never worked as a lawyer. For the next 20 years, McGrath was in commerce. In 1896 he became an American citizen. Between 1916 and 1925 he was a postman in San Mateo, where he had meanwhile moved. He then served as a justice of the peace in San Mateo County from 1928 to 1932 . He was also President of the local Tri-City Chamber of Commerce for four years . At the same time he began a political career as a member of the Democratic Party .

In the 1932 congressional election , McGrath was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the eighth constituency of California , where he succeeded Arthur M. Free on March 4, 1933 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by January 3, 1939 . During this time, most of the federal government's New Deal laws were passed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1938 he lost to Republican Jack Z. Anderson .

In 1939 and 1940, John McGrath was State Commissioner for Immigration and Naturalization. He died on August 25, 1951 in San Mateo, where he was also buried.

Web links

• John J. McGrath in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John J. McGrath in the database of Find a Grave (English)