Richard Joseph Welch (February 13, 1869 – September 10, 1949) was an American

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

and politician. He sat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for 12 terms from 1926 to 1949, serving a district in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Before this, Welch had been a state senator. As of 2024, 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 U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is ...

, 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 An ironworker is a tradesman who works in the iron-working industry. Ironworkers assemble the structural framework in accordance with engineered drawings and install the metal support pieces for new buildings. They also repair and renovate o ...

, which led to his becoming trained as a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

. 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 Superior Courts of California, state superior court with jurisdiction over the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. History Courthouse functions were incorporate ...

. 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 Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

and Garret A. Hobart 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. N ...

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 board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...

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. 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, September 10, 1949. He was succeeded by John F. Shelley and was the last Republican to hold this seat. During his tenure, Welch served as chairman of the Committee on Labor ( Seventy-first Congress), and the Committee on Public Lands ( Eightieth Congress). He introduced legislation to exclude

Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

from immigrating to the United States. He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

References

External links

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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 members of the California State Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

Congress

See also

References

External links