Martin Ambrose Foran (November 11, 1844 – June 28, 1921) was an American lawyer, jurist, politician, and

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

veteran who served as a

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

for three terms from 1883 to 1889.

Early life and education

Foran was born in

Choconut Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Choconut Township is a township in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 684 at the 2020 census. It is named for the native tribe of Choconut, or ''Ochugnut'' people, who settled the area prior to European/American ...

. He lived on his father's farm and learned the art of

coopering A cooper is a person trained to make wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made ...

. Foran attended the public schools and St. Joseph's College. He taught school three years and also spent two years in Ireland.

Civil War

He served as a private in the Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, from April 1864 to July 1865.

Career

After the war, he taught for a few months. He found work as a cooper at

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The city is within of Erie and within of Pittsburgh. It was the first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The population was 13,388 at the 2010 cen ...

, and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, March 11, 1868. He was prominent in his trade and was president of the

Coopers' International Union The Coopers' International Union of North America (CIUNA) was a labor union representing coopers in the United States and Canada. The origins of the union lay in the Coopers of North America union, founded in 1870. It was a founding affiliate of t ...

, and editor of the ''Coopers Journal'' from 1870 to 1874. He served as a member of the State constitutional convention of Ohio in 1873. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1874 and commenced practice in Cleveland. He served as prosecuting attorney for the city of Cleveland 1875–1877.

Congress

Foran was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1883 – March 4, 1889). He was not a candidate for reelection.

Later career and death

He resumed the practice of law in Cleveland, Ohio. He served as judge of the court of common pleas from January 1911 until his death in Cleveland, Ohio, June 28, 1921. He was interred in

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

Family life

On December 29, 1868, Foran married Kate Kavanaugh. They had daughters named Gertrude M. and Margaret O. After Kate died, Foran married Emma Kennedy, December 1893. He was member of the

B.P.O.E. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, I ...

, and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foran, Martin Ambrose 1844 births 1921 deaths Politicians from Cleveland Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Ohio Constitutional Convention (1873) Saint Joseph's University alumni Ohio lawyers People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 19th-century American lawyers