John Joseph McGrath (July 23, 1872 – August 25, 1951) was a

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

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

for three terms from 1933 to 1939.

Biography

Born in Limerick, Ireland, he immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen, living initially in

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

. He studied law briefly and worked as a salesman and sales manager for many years, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1896. In California he served as postmaster of San Mateo from 1916 to 1925, and as a justice of the peace in

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...

from 1928 to 1932.

Congress

In 1932 he was elected to Congress as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, defeating incumbent

Arthur M. Free Arthur Monroe Free (January 15, 1879 – April 1, 1953) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a United States representative from California from 1921 to 1933. Biography He was born in San Jose, California and graduated ...

in the 8th district, which ran from San Mateo County south across Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

Counties. He served three full terms from 1933 to 1939, but was defeated for reelection in 1938 by Republican

Jack Z. Anderson John Zuinglius Anderson (March 22, 1904 – February 9, 1981) was an American farmer and politician who served seven terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1939 to 1953. Early life and career Born in Oakland, California, Anderson ...

Later career and death

Subsequently, he served as commissioner for immigration and naturalization in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

from 1939 to 1940 before retiring. He died in 1951 in San Mateo.

References

1872 births 1951 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) San Francisco Bay Area politicians {{California-Representative-stub