Harry Elsworth Narey (May 15, 1885 – August 18, 1962) was a Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the 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: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

for several weeks between the 1942 general election and the commencement of the 1943-44 (78th) Congress. He was the last Congressman to serve in

Iowa's 9th congressional district Iowa's 9th congressional district existed from 1873 to 1943. The district was configured four times, first as part of a nine-district plan, then twice in eleven-district plans, then again in a nine-district plan. In the nine-district plans, th ...

. He completed his career as a state trial court judge. Born in

Spirit Lake, Iowa Spirit Lake is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County. The town is located along the western shore of East Okoboji Lake, in the Iowa Great Lakes reg ...

, Narey attended the public schools and

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-st ...

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who were ...

. He graduated from the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or U ...

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

in 1907. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Spirit Lake. He served as County Attorney of

Dickinson County, Iowa Dickinson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,703. The county seat is Spirit Lake. The county was organized in 1857 and is named in honor of Daniel S. Dickinson, a U.S. Senator f ...

from 1914 to 1920, and as City Attorney of Spirit Lake from 1918 to 1943. He served as delegate to the Republican State conventions from 1916 to 1960, and as chairman of the Dickson County Republican Central Committee from 1918 to 1943. In 1942, Iowa Congressman Vincent F. Harrington enlisted in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, and initially took a leave of absence from his seat in Congress. However, President Roosevelt ordered all military officers holding dual positions in Congress to resign from one position or the other, which prompted Harrington to remain in the Air Forces and therefore resign from Congress, in September 1942. His resignation prompted Governor

George A. Wilson George Allison Wilson (April 1, 1884 – September 8, 1953) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a United States Senate, United States Senator and List of Governors of Iowa, 28th Governor of Iowa. Personal background Born on a farm near ...

to add a ballot item to the November 1942 to elect a successor to fill Harrington's seat from the last few months of the Seventy-seventh Congress. Narey won that position, defeating Democratic candidate Otto J. Reimers. He was sworn in on November 16, 1942,"Narey Sworn in by Speaker Rayburn to Succeed Harrington," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1942-11-16, at 2. and served to January 3, 1943. The district in which he had been elected had already been eliminated due to reapportionment, effective January 1, 1943, and he did not run for any other seat in any other election. Returning from Washington, he again practiced law and served as Dickinson County Attorney. He was appointed judge of the fourteenth judicial district of Iowa in 1944 and served on the bench until his resignation in 1959. He lived in Spirit Lake, until his death on August 18, 1962. He was interred in Lakeview Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narey, Harry Elsworth 1885 births 1962 deaths University of Iowa College of Law alumni Grinnell College alumni Iowa state court judges Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Spirit Lake, Iowa 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges District attorneys in Iowa Iowa city attorneys