Michael Joseph Conroy (September 20, 1874September 5, 1946) was the second

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, serving from 1923 to 1924.

Biography

Conroy was born in the village of

Ballyconneely Ballyconneely () is a village and small ribbon development in west Connemara, County Galway Ireland. Name 19th century antiquarian John O'Donovan documents a number of variants of the village, including Ballyconneely, Baile 'ic Conghaile, Bal ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, on September 20, 1874. His family emigrated to the United States in 1880, settling in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

. He worked for the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

until 1904. In 1905, he moved to

Seward, Alaska Seward (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ; Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tl'ubugh'') is an incorporated home rule city in Alaska, United States. Located on Resurrection Bay, a fjord of the Gulf of Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is situated ...

to work on the Alaska Central Railroad. He lived for a time in Cordova, Knik and Valdez, where in 1913 he was admitted to the

Alaska Bar Association The Alaska Bar Association (ABA) is a mandatory bar association responsible for the Alaska Supreme Court and for the admission and discipline process of attorneys for the state of Alaska. Governance The association is governed by a Board of ...

. He served as United States Commissioner in the Seward-

Kenai Kenai (, ; Dena'ina: ; , ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. By road, it is 158 miles southwest of Anchorage. The population was 7,424 as of the 2020 census, up from 7,100 in 2010, the fiftee ...

precinct until 1916. During this time he met and married Nellie Rushton Muscott, a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

from

Simpson, Kansas Simpson is a city in Cloud and Mitchell counties in Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 82. History Simpson was originally called Brittsville, and under the latter name had its start in 1871 when a s ...

who was working in Seward for Dr.

Joseph H. Romig Joseph Herman Romig (September 3, 1872 – November 23, 1951) was an American frontier physician and Moravian Church missionary, who served as Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, during 1937–1938. Biography Family and missionary work Joseph H. Rom ...

. In June 1916, the couple moved to Anchorage where Joe found work as a tax assessor for the not-yet incorporated city. Conroy was elected mayor in 1923, and reelected in 1924. During Conroy's first term in office,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents w ...

visited

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, becoming the first U.S. President to visit the territory. Harding, along with

Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

and others, arrived in Anchorage on the train from Seward on July 13, 1923 at 9:30 in the evening. Conroy welcomed them in a ceremony on Fourth Avenue, presenting Harding with a Sydney Laurence oil painting of

Mount McKinley Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helma ...

. Conroy resigned on October 2, 1924, with City Council member Charles Bush appointed to complete the rest of his term. Conroy died on September 5, 1946. He is buried in

Anchorage Memorial Park The Anchorage Memorial Park, also known as Anchorage Cemetery, is a cemetery located in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Covering nine city blocks, the cemetery separates the city's downtown and Fairview neighborhoods. The cemetery was est ...

Cemetery.

References

; General * ; Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Michael Joseph 1874 births 1946 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Alaska lawyers Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska Lawyers from County Galway People from Seward, Alaska People from Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska People from Valdez, Alaska Irish emigrants to the United States