John Lesinski Sr. (January 3, 1885 – May 27, 1950) was a politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was the father of John Lesinski Jr., who succeeded him in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

Early life

Lesinski was born in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

on January 3, 1885, and his parents moved their family to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

three months later. He attended the school of St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church,

SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary is a four-year private Polish seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, United States. The seminary, taking its name from Saints Cyril and Methodius, was founded in 1885 in Detroit, Michigan, to prepare candidates for ...

in Orchard Lake, and Detroit Business University.

Start of career

He engaged extensively in the building and real estate business in Detroit; established lumber and supply companies in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

and Dearborn areas of Detroit. He was president of the Polish Citizens' Committee of Detroit from 1919 to 1932, and was credited with recruiting thousands of Polish-Americans and Polish-Canadians to join the military and fight against the Axis during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In addition, he was state commissioner in charge of the sale of bonds which raised funds for rebuilding Poland when the country was re-formed following

, for which he was awarded the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

by the Polish Government. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

, and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. He was also a delegate to the Democratic State conventions in 1936, 1940, and 1944.

Congress

In 1932, Lesinski was elected 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 ...

and the first person to represent Michigan's 16th congressional district to the

73rd United States Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

, and was reelected to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving in the

U.S. House 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 March 4, 1933, until his death. He served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions in the 74th through 79th Congresses; of the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization in the 79th Congress, and of the

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

in the 81st Congress. Lesinski died in Dearborn, Michigan on May 27, 1950, and was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.

Family

Lesinski was married three times. His first wife, Stella died in 1919, and his second wife, Barbara, died in 1937. His third wife Estelle Geisinger, survived him. Lesinski was the father of nine children, seven of whom survived to adulthood—Joan, John, Maxine, Delphine, Raymond, Beverly, and Edwin.

References

Sources

Books

Newspapers

External links

John Lesinski
at The Political Graveyard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesinski, John Sr. 1885 births 1950 deaths Detroit Business Institute alumni SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary alumni Politicians from Detroit American politicians of Polish descent Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Catholics from Pennsylvania Catholics from Michigan