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 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

, 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, Ball ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusett ...

. He worked for the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970 ...

until 1904. In 1905, he moved to

Seward, Alaska Seward (Alutiiq: ; 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 on Alaska's southern coast, approximat ...

to work on the

Alaska Central Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U. ...

. 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 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 Governo ...

. He served as United States Commissioner in the Seward-

Kenai Kenai (, ) ( Dena'ina: ; russian: Кенай, ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one hundred and fifty-eight miles by road southwest from Anchorage. The population was 7,424 as of the 2020 cen ...

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

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

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,

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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. A ...

visited

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

, 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 an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

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 Sydney Mortimer Laurence (1865–1940) was an American Romantic landscape painter and is widely considered one of Alaska's most important historical artists. Early life Sydney Mortimer Laurence was born in Brooklyn, New York and studied at the A ...

oil painting of

Mount McKinley Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...

. 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 esta ...

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