Richard Joseph Welch (February 13, 1869 – September 10, 1949) was an American
county clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
and politician. He sat 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 ...
for 12 terms from 1926 to 1949, serving a district in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. Before this, Welch had been a state senator. As of 2022, he is the last Republican to represent San Francisco in the House.
Biography
Born in
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county in the Finger Lakes region of the State of New York. The county is along Lake Ontario's southern shore. At the 2020 census, Monroe County's population was 759,443, an increase since the 2010 census. Its county seat ...
, Welch was educated in the public schools. He moved to California in early boyhood and settled in San Francisco. He worked on a farm in
Freeport, and then was apprenticed as an
ironworker, which led to his becoming trained as a
machinist
A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...
. He later served as clerk of the
San Francisco County Superior Court
The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the state superior court with jurisdiction over the City and County of San Francisco.
History
In 1976 the Court helped to create the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, a ...
. Welch became active in politics as a
Republican, including serving as treasurer of his local Republican Club, helping organize campaign events for the ticket of
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...
and
Garret A. Hobart
Garret Augustus Hobart (June 3, 1844 – November 21, 1899) was the 24th Vice President of the United States, serving from 1897 until his death in 1899. He was the sixth American vice president to die in office. Prior to serving as vice pre ...
during the
1896 presidential campaign, and organizing San Francisco's
Dewey Republican Club in 1898. He served in the
California Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
D ...
from 1901 to 1913.
Welch was the harbormaster for the port of San Francisco from 1903 to 1907. He served on the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco.
Government and politics
The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...
from 1916 until September 30, 1926, when he resigned, having been elected to Congress.
Congress
Welch was elected to the
Sixty-ninth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
Lawrence J. Flaherty
Lawrence James Flaherty (July 4, 1878 – June 13, 1926) was an American politician who served part of one term as a U.S. Representative from California from 1925 until his death in 1926.
Biography
Born in San Mateo, California, Flaherty move ...
. He was re-elected to the
Seventieth and to the eleven succeeding Congresses and served from August 31, 1926, until his death in a hospital in
Needles, California
Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the Californian border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is ...
, September 10, 1949. He was succeeded by
John F. Shelley
John Francis Shelley (September 3, 1905 – September 1, 1974) was a U.S. politician. He served as the 35th mayor of San Francisco, from 1964 to 1968, the first Democrat elected to the office in 50 years, and the first in an unbroken lin ...
and was the last Republican to hold this seat.
He served as chairman of the Committee on Labor (
Seventy-first Congress), and the Committee on Public Lands (
Eightieth Congress).
He was interred at
Holy Cross Cemetery Holy Cross Cemetery may refer to:
United States
California
* Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California)
*Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
* Holy Cross Cemetery (Menlo Park, California)
* Holy Cross Cemetery (Pomona, California)
*Holy ...
in
Colma, California
Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924.
...
.
See also
*
External links
*
*
Join California Richard J. Welch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Richard Joseph
1869 births
1949 deaths
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California)
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Republican Party California state senators
20th-century American politicians