John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald
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- For the American author John Fitzgerald, see John D. Fitzgerald. For others, see John Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863 – October 2, 1950) was a politician and the maternal grandfather of President John F. Kennedy.
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[edit] Birth
Fitzgerald was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants, Thomas Fitzgerald and Rosanna Cox. He was educated at Boston Latin School. He enrolled at Harvard Medical School for one year, but withdrew following the death of his father in 1885. Fitzgerald later became a clerk at the Customs House in Boston and was active in the local Democratic Party.
[edit] Marriage
In September 18, 1889, Fitzgerald married Mary Josephine Hannon.
[edit] Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald | July 22, 1890 | January 22, 1995 | Married on October 7, 1914 to Joseph P. Kennedy; had issue. |
| Mary Agnes Fitzgerald | November 1, 1892 | September 17, 1936 | Married on April 29, 1929 to Joseph F. Gargan; had issue. |
| Thomas Acton Fitzgerald | April 19, 1895 | 1968 | Married on September 7, 1921 to Marion D. Reardon (died February 7, 1925). Married again on October 11, 1930 to Margaret B. Fitzpatrick. |
| John Francis Fitzgerald | December 7, 1897 | 1979 | Married on April 28, 1928 to Catherine O'Hearn. |
| Eunice Fitzgerald | January 26, 1900 | September 25, 1923 | |
| Frederick Harold Fitzgerald | December 3, 1904 | February 1935 | Married on October 26, 1929 to Rosalind Miller. |
[edit] Political Life
He was elected to Boston's Common Council in 1891. In 1892, he became a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and in 1894, he was elected to Congress for the 9th district, serving from 1895 to 1901. In 1906 Fitzgerald was elected Mayor of Boston, becoming the first American born Irish-Catholic to be elected to that office. Fitzgerald served as mayor of Boston from 1906 to 1907, was defeated for re-election, but returned to the office again from 1910 to 1914.
Of his style, Robert Dallek wrote: "He was a natural politician—a charming, impish, affable lover of people...His warmth of character earned him yet another nickname, "Honey Fitz," and he gained a reputation as the only politician who could sing "Sweet Adeline" sober and get away with it. A pixielike character with florid face, bright eyes, and sandy hair, he was a showman who could have had a career in vaudeville. But politics, with all the brokering that went into arranging alliances and the hoopla that went into campaigning, was his calling. A verse of the day ran: 'Honey Fitz can talk you blind / on any subject you can find / Fish and fishing, motor boats / Railroads, streetcars, getting votes.' His gift of gab became known as Fitzblarney, and his followers as "dearos," a shortened version of his description of his district as 'the dear old North End.'" [1]
He was for years the most prominent political figure in the city of Boston, where Patrick J. Kennedy was a more behind-the-scenes Democratic Party figure. P.J. Kennedy opposed Fitzgerald when the latter first ran for mayor, but they later became allies. In 1914, these two powerful political families (Kennedy and Fitzgerald) were united when Patrick Kennedy's son Joe married Fitzgerald's daughter Rose.
From 1919 to 1921 he again served as a Congressman, now for the 10th district. Fitzgerald was an unsuccessful candidate for the offices of Senate in 1916 and Governor in 1922.
[edit] External link
| Preceded by: Joseph H. O'Neil |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th congressional district 1895 – 1901 |
Succeeded by: Joseph A. Conry |
| Preceded by: Daniel A. Whelton |
Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts 1906 - 1908 |
Succeeded by: George A. Hibbard |
| Preceded by: George A. Hibbard |
Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts 1910 - 1914 |
Succeeded by: James Michael Curley |
| Preceded by: Peter F. Tague |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 10th congressional district March 14, 1919 – October 23, 1919 |
Succeeded by: Peter F. Tague |
