John Comiskey (1826 – January 8, 1900) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He was the father of

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

Life

John Comiskey was born in

Crosserlough Crosserlough, historically known as ''Cros Ar Loch'', is a large civil parish in southern County Cavan, in the province of Ulster, Ireland. It is located between Ballyjamesduff and Lough Sheelin. The parish consists of three areas. Kilnaleck, w ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, Ireland, in 1826, and in 1848 he came to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, United States. There he interested himself in the lumber business. In 1853 he came to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and took charge of the incoming freight on the

Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

until 1863 when he engaged his services to Shufeldt & Croskey, the prominent distillers. He then became connected with the

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

cattle yards as superintendent of shipments. His first political experience, may be said was in the Internal Revenue Service under Gen Wallace, acting under the administration of

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

. On the election of

Ulysses Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, Comiskey being a Democrat was removed. In 1870, he was employed as a bookkeeper by Henry Greenebaum, the successful banker of that period. In 1875, he was appointed Clerk of the Board of Cook County Commissioners. In 1878, on the expiration of his term of office, he entered the book trade. He then entered the service of the city and was a bookkeeper in the city treasurer's office. Comiskey served eleven years in the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

. He was first elected in the spring of 1859 to represent the tenth ward. At that time, there were only ten wards in the city. A subdivision of the wards complicated aldermanic politics forthwith. In 1861, he was elected to represent the seventh ward, also in 1863 and 64 in 66 to represent the eighth ward, and in 68 to represent the ninth ward. In the last year of his term in the Council, he was elected as President the first time the office was created. For a quarter of a century, Comiskey figured prominently before the public. His voice was always being heard on the side of reform. His independence of character was well known. Among the most notable of his recent achievements was his introduction of the

John F. Finerty John Frederick Finerty (September 10, 1846 – June 10, 1908) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Illinois. Biography Born in Galway, Ireland, Finerty completed preparatory studies. He immigrated to the Unit ...

to the people of the second district which, although overwhelmingly Democratic, elected Finerty to congress independently. He died at his home in Chicago on January 8, 1900, and was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.

References

;Attribution *This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: ''Political History of Chicago (covering the Period from 1837 to 1887)''. 1886 {{DEFAULTSORT:Comiskey, John 1826 births 1900 deaths People from County Cavan Politicians from Chicago Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Chicago City Council members Illinois Democrats Comiskey family 19th-century American politicians Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Evanston, Illinois)