Augustus McCloskey (September 23, 1878 – July 21, 1950) 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

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, McCloskey attended Atascosa (Texas) School, St. Joseph's Academy,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, and St. Mary's College,

. He was employed as a stenographer 1903–1907. He studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1907, and commenced practice in

. He served as judge of

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...

from 1920–1928, and as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, in 1928. McCloskey presented credentials 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 ...

ic Member-elect to the

Seventy-first Congress The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to Ma ...

and served from March 4, 1929, to February 10, 1930, when he was succeeded by Harry M. Wurzbach who successfully contested his election. Wurzbach had made allegations of gross fraud in Bexar County and when the House committee investigating that claim demanded to see the election records and to recount sundry ballots, McCloskey instead appeared before the committee and conceded stating that "I am satisfied that I was not elected and that Mr. Wurzbach was elected, and I am contending no further in this matter.’’ Vote totals were revised and instead of winning by 319 votes, he was found to have lost by 61 votes. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1930. He resumed the practice of law. He served as judge of the corporation court of

, from January 1943 to July 1947. He practiced law until his death in

on July 21, 1950. He was interred in San Fernando Cemetery.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloskey, Augustus 1878 births 1950 deaths Texas state court judges People from San Antonio Texas lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest