William McAdoo (October 25, 1853 – June 7, 1930) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

's 7th congressional district in the

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for four terms from 1883 to 1891. He also served as

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...

in 1904 and 1905.

Early life and career

McAdoo was born in

Ramelton Ramelton (; ), also Rathmelton, is a town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. , its population was 1,266. History Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km south of Milford, on th ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, Ireland on October 25, 1853. He immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1865, where he attended public school. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1874 and commenced practice in Jersey City. He was employed as a newspaper reporter from 1870 to 1875. He was a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1882.

Tenure in Congress

McAdoo was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth and to the three following Congresses, serving in office from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1891. He was chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee and chairman of the Committee on the Militia in the Fiftieth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1890. McAdoo was a staunch environmentalist. While in Congress in the 1880s, he expressed these sentiments and argued for the preservation of wilderness. In a statement to the floor he once said, "In the great West here areinspiring sights and mysteries of nature that elevate mankind and bring it closer to communion with omniscience.... It should be preserved on this if no other ground."Nash, Roderick. ''Wilderness and the American Mind'', 3rd ed. (New Haven: Yale University, 1982), 115

Later career

After leaving Congress, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1892 and resumed the practice of law. He was appointed by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

and served from March 20, 1893, to April 18, 1897, when he resigned. He was appointed to serve as

in 1904 and 1905. Later he resumed the practice of law and also engaged in literary pursuits. He was appointed by Mayor

William Jay Gaynor William Jay Gaynor (February 2, 1849 – September 10, 1913) was an American politician from New York City, associated with the Tammany Hall political machine. He served as the 94th mayor of the City of New York from 1910 to 1913, and previously ...

as chief magistrate of the city magistrates' courts, first division, City of New York on July 1, 1910, in which capacity he served until his death.

Death

He died in at his home at 1192

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

in Manhattan, New York City on June 7, 1930, from

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis, which ...

and

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

References

External links

William McAdoo
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McAdoo, William 1853 births 1930 deaths New York City Police Commissioners Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey lawyers Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey People from Ramelton Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Politicians from County Donegal Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy