James Delaney (August 26, 1896 – April 20, 1970) was the

Mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964 ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

from 1929 to 1932.

Biography

James J. Delaney, Sr. was born in

Castlerea Castlerea (; ) is the third largest town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 1,992 at the 2016 Census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled ca ...

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

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 ...

on August 26, 1896. He came to Anchorage, Alaska in 1916 to work on the railroad for the Alaskan Engineering Commission (known after its 1923 completion as the

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

). In 1929, he married Nancy Marie Dillon (born March 5, 1896, in Aghamore, County Mayo, Ireland). The Delaneys had three children: Nancy, James, Jr., and Loretta. In 1929, Delaney was elected to the first of three consecutive terms as Mayor. His first year in office, he successfully petitioned the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

for the title to the land that would become

Merrill Field Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage. It opened in 1930 as Anchorage Aviation Field and w ...

. The field abutting downtown which was serving as an airstrip at that time was later renamed the

Delaney Park Strip The Delaney Park Strip is an 11-City block, block park in the Consolidated city-county, Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska. Originally a firebreak, the Park Strip would become Anchorage's first airfield. History Known to the Anchorage community as ...

. Delaney died April 20, 1970, and was buried in

Anchorage Memorial Park The Anchorage Memorial Park, also known as Anchorage Cemetery, is a cemetery located in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Covering nine city blocks, the cemetery separates the city's downtown and Fairview neighborhoods. The cemetery was e ...

; Nancy would survive him by 16 years, dying in Anchorage on December 29, 1986.

References

James Delaney at Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery
1896 births 1970 deaths Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska Irish emigrants (before 1923) to the United States 20th-century American politicians {{Alaska-mayor-stub