Edward McGarry (July 5, 1817May 17, 1899) was an Irish American immigrant, house painter, and Democratic politician, and a pioneer settler of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He served as the 4th Wisconsin prison commissioner (at that time an elected position), and represented Milwaukee County for five years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

and State Assembly.

Background

McGarry was born in County Down,

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 July 5, 1817. He received what his official biography would describe vaguely as "a good education," and went into business in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

as an inspector of cargo ships. He emigrated to the United States in 1841, coming to Milwaukee in 1847 where he worked with his brother in the housepainting business.

Legislative and other public service

McGarry served as a member of the Assembly in 1850 and 1853 and spent two years (1854-1855) in the Senate representing the 6th Senate district as successor to fellow Democrat Duncan Reed. He served a year as deputy warden of the

state prison This is a list of U.S. state prisons (2010) (not including federal prisons or county jails in the United States or prisons in U.S. territories): * Alabama * Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware ...

at Waupun, and was elected state prison commissioner, which was also warden of the State Prison (at that time a partisan elected position) in 1855 on the Democratic

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

, serving from January 7, 1856, to January 4, 1858, in that position. His Senate seat was taken by fellow Democrat Edward O'Neill. He returned for a one-year Assembly term in 1864 from the 8th Milwaukee Assembly district (

Wauwatosa Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a pa ...

and Greenfield), succeeding Edward Collins (also a native of Ireland). He was not re-elected, and was succeeded by John Weiler, who (like Collins and McGarry) was a Democrat.

Milwaukee County House of Correction

Because of his experience gained in the prison he was called to organize the Milwaukee County

House of Correction The house of correction was a type of establishment built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), places where those who were "unwilling to work", including vagrants and beggars, were set to work. The building of houses of correctio ...

(he had been interested in getting the law passed that organized the institution, and was instrumental in framing the rules for its management) and served as its "Inspector" (chief jailer) for about a year and a half. He quoted Dr. Johnson as saying, "Knock a man down and reason with him afterwards."Giles, H. H., et al. "The Mlilwaukee House of Correction Investigation" in ''Public document no. 13: ninth annual report of the state board of charities and reform of the state of Wisconsin'' p. 118-119, pt. of ''Governor's message and accompanying documents'' Volume II Madison: David Atwood, 1880 (Covers 1878/1879)
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Death

He died May 17, 1899, in Milwaukee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGarry, Edward 1817 births 1899 deaths Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from County Down People from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin American prison wardens Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators 19th-century American politicians Irish emigrants to the United States House painters