Joseph Homan Manley (October 13, 1842MANLEY, Joseph Homan
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'' (1901-02 edition), via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

–1905) was an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

official (chairman of the party's National Executive Committee 1894–96) and close associate of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Republican politician and presidential candidate

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative ...

Biography

Born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, Manley first attended school in

Farmington, Maine Farmington is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,592. Farmington is home to the University of Maine at Farmington, Nordica Memorial Auditorium, the Nordica Homestea ...

, and subsequently studied law in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and graduated from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...

in 1863. In 1866 he was president of the Augusta, Maine City Council, where he first became associated with Blaine. From 1869 to 1876, he was an agent of the Internal Revenue Service, posted in various cities around the northeast, and in 1876-78 was an agent of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

in its tax dealings with the Federal government. Manley then returned to Maine and, purchasing a half-interest in the newspaper ''The Maine Farmer'' (formally edited by his father), made it into a major voice for Blaine-style Republicanism. Blaine subsequently secured Manley's appointment as Augusta's U.S. postmaster (an important federal post under the then-existing

spoils system In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward ...

). The large

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

U.S. Post Office Building in Augusta is one of his legacies. Manley subsequently became Blaine's right-hand man on the Maine Republican State Committee, on which he served 1881–1900, and which he chaired for 15 of those years.''New York Times'', Feb. 8, 1905, p.
Obituary

(Portland, 1893) Manley was the Maine delegate on

National Republican Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fund ...

(1887–1900), and often served on the Republican National Executive Committee (a nine-member steering committee appointed by the Chairman of the NRC). In 1894, then-NRC Chairman Thomas Henry Carter resigned the Executive Committee Chairmanship in favor of Manley, while retaining nominal control of the NRC. This set the stage for Manley to personally manage the 1896 presidential candidacy of

Thomas Brackett Reed Thomas Brackett Reed (October 18, 1839 – December 7, 1902) was an American politician from the state of Maine. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives 12 times, first in 1876, and serve ...

, who was defeated for the Republican nomination by

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. McKinley's victory in the convention gave

Mark Hanna Marcus Alonzo Hanna (September 24, 1837 – February 15, 1904) was an American businessman and Republican politician who served as a United States Senator from Ohio as well as chairman of the Republican National Committee. A friend and pol ...

control of the NRC, though Manley stayed on to run the party's New York headquarters, serving as Secretary of the National Committee and chairing various sub-committees until 1900. Manley also held a variety of state offices, serving in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

(1899–1901, and as its Speaker in 1901), and the

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

(1903–04). His wife was the daughter of a former Maine governor, and his son also became a Republican politico in New York City. Manley's ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' obituary describes him as "a national politician who was identified with vast corporate interests". Manley married the daughter of former Maine governor

Samuel Cony Samuel Cony (February 27, 1811 – October 5, 1870) was an American politician, who most notably served as the 31st Governor of Maine from 1864 to 1867. Early years Cony was born in Augusta (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts ...

and was a driving force behind the building of

Cony High School Cony High School is a public school located in Augusta, Maine, United States that educates students from Grades 9 to 12. Cony draws its students from Augusta, as well as the surrounding communities of Chelsea, China, Jefferson, Palermo, Somervil ...

in Augusta.''Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the 19th Century'' (Boston: 1885), p. 338

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manley, Joseph Homan 1842 births 1905 deaths Albany Law School alumni Politicians from Bangor, Maine Augusta, Maine City Council members Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives Republican Party Maine state senators People from Farmington, Maine 19th-century American politicians