John A. McMahon (February 19, 1833 – March 8, 1923) was a three-term

United States 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 ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

from 1875 to 1881. He was the nephew of

Clement Vallandigham Clement Laird Vallandigham ( ; July 29, 1820 – June 17, 1871) was an American politician and leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms for Ohio's 3rd congressional district in t ...

, another Representative from Ohio.

Biography

McMahon was born in Frederick County, Maryland, and graduated from St.

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

in 1849. He taught at Xavier for a year, and settled in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, in 1852. He studied law with his uncle, Vallandigham, and 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 1854, forming a partnership with his uncle. In 1861 he formed a partnership with George W. Houk, which lasted 19 years. He was elected to the Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, and

Forty-sixth United States Congress The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch 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, 1879, ...

es, from 1875 until 1881. McMahon was appointed by the House of Representatives as a manager to conduct impeachment proceedings against

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

William W. Belknap. He was unsuccessful for re-election in 1880 and returned to private law practice in Dayton. He served as the president of the

Ohio State Bar Association The Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Ohio. History OSBA was founded on March 6, 1880 when the Cleveland Bar Association issued a call other Ohio local bar associations to meet at Case Hall in Cle ...

in 1886, and was a losing candidate for the Senate in 1889. He died in Dayton and was buried in

Woodland Cemetery Woodland Cemetery may refer to: * Woodland cemetery, a type of cemetery or it may refer to specific places: in Sweden * Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) in Stockholm, Sweden in the United States (by state) * Woodland Cemetery (Quincy, I ...

. McMahon was married January 23, 1861, to Mollie R. Sprigg, of

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

. They had a son, J. Sprigg McMahon, and daughter, Louise McMahon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, John A. 1833 births 1923 deaths People from Frederick County, Maryland Politicians from Dayton, Ohio Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum Xavier University alumni Sprigg family Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio