Dennis Aloysius Mahony (January 20, 1821 in

Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns ar ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

– November 6, 1879) was one of the founders of the Dubuque ''Herald'' (now the ''

Telegraph Herald The ''Telegraph Herald'', locally referred to as the ''TH'', is a daily newspaper published in Dubuque, Iowa, for the population of Dubuque and surrounding areas in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midw ...

''), a newspaper in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Biography

Mahony was born in

. At the age of 9, he emigrated with his family to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

in 1831. He studied theology and law before moving to

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

in 1843, but initially held several other jobs (teaching, postmaster, justice of the peace) before being admitted to the bar in 1847. He was elected to the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, forme ...

from Jackson County in 1848 and in 1858.Iowa General Assembly-Dennis Mahony
/ref> In 1849 he became editor of ''The Miner's Express''; and in 1852 he co-founded the ''Dubuque Herald'', the first daily paper in Iowa. Mahony was also active in regional politics. He was a highly partisan Northern Democrat of Copperhead sympathies and wrote articles that negatively criticized

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and the conduct of the Civil War. He was arrested on August 14, 1862 by U.S. Marshal H.M. Hoxie for publishing an editorial article that was allegedly disloyal to the government. He was transported from Dubuque to Washington D.C, and held at the

Old Capitol Prison The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., served as the temporary Capitol of the United States from 1815 to 1819. The building was a private school, a boarding house, and, during the American Civil War, a prison known as the Old Capitol Pris ...

. He was released from prison on November 10, but only after signing a document stating that he would "form an allegiance to the United States, and would not bring any charges against those who had arrested and confined him." During his captivity, he was the Democratic nominee for Congress; he was defeated by William B. Allison. He would later serve two terms as sheriff of

Dubuque County Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first Eur ...

. Mahony wrote a book about his experience entitled ''Prisoner of State'' which was published in 1863. He, Stilson Hutchins, and John Hodnett established the ''St. Louis Star'' newspaper in 1866, but Mahony sold his share and returned to Dubuque, where he edited the ''Dubuque Telegraph'' until his death. He is buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Garryowen, Iowa in the northwest corner of Jackson County, a few miles south of

Bernard, Iowa Bernard is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. The population was 114 in the 2020 census, an increase from the 97 population in 2000. Bernard is part of the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Bernard's longitude a ...

References

*Constance R. Cherba and Edward E. Deckert, "Mahoney: Political Dissident, Prisoner of State", ''Civil War Times'', June 2007, pp. 59–63

External links

Dennis Mahony information at CelticCousins.net

Downloadable copy of ''Prisoner of State''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahony, Dennis 1821 births 1879 deaths People of Iowa in the American Civil War Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Editors of Iowa newspapers Writers from Dubuque, Iowa Politicians from Philadelphia Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives 19th-century American newspaper founders Iowa sheriffs 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Journalists from Pennsylvania People from Rosscarbery Catholics from Pennsylvania Catholics from Iowa 19th-century American politicians

Biography

See also

References

External links