John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald

How are you related to John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald?

Connect to the World Family Tree to find out

John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald's Geni Profile

Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love

  • Build your family tree online
  • Share photos and videos
  • Smart Matching™ technology
  • Free!

John Francis Fitzgerald, Sr.

Also Known As: "Honey Fitz"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Death: October 03, 1950 (87)
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Place of Burial: West Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Thomas FitzGerald and Rosanna Fitzgerald
Husband of Josie Fitzgerald (Hannon)
Father of Rose Elizabeth Kennedy; Mary Agnes Fitzgerald; Thomas Acton Fitzgerald; John Francis Fitzgerald, Jr.; Eunice Fitzgerald and 1 other
Brother of James T. Fitzgerald; Thomas J. Fitzgerald; William S. Fitzgerald; Joseph Andrew Fitzgerald; Mary Ellen Fitzgerald and 3 others

Occupation: Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Massachusetts State Senate, Boston, Massachusetts Common Council, Mayor
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald

John Francis Fitzgerald, Sr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Fitzgerald

Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of US President John F. Kennedy.

Fitzgerald was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants, Thomas Fitzgerald of County Limerick and Rosanna Cox of County Cavan. He was the fourth of twelve children; of his siblings, both sisters died in infancy, as did his eldest brother. Joseph, the ninth brother, had severe brain damage from malaria and barely functioned. Only three survived in good health and after John's mother died when he was sixteen, his father wished for him to become a doctor to help prevent future tragedies of the sort that had marred the Fitzgerald family.

Accordingly, after being educated at Boston Latin School, he enrolled at Harvard Medical School for one year, but withdrew following the death of his father in 1885.[1] Fitzgerald later became a clerk at the Customs House in Boston and was active in the local Democratic Party.

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 1908, was defeated for re-election, but returned to the office again from 1910 to 1914.

Of his stylish manner, 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 pixie-like 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.'"



John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863–October 2, 1950) was an Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of US President John F. Kennedy.

Fitzgerald was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants, Thomas Fitzgerald of County Limerick and Rosanna Cox of County Cavan. He was the fourth of twelve children; of his siblings, both sisters died in infancy, as did his eldest brother. Joseph, the ninth brother, had severe brain damage from malaria and barely functioned. Only three survived in good health and after John's mother died when he was sixteen, his father wished for him to become a doctor to help prevent future tragedies of the sort that had marred the Fitzgerald family.

Accordingly, after being educated at Boston Latin School, he enrolled at Harvard Medical School for one year, but withdrew following the death of his father in 1885.[1] Fitzgerald later became a clerk at the Customs House in Boston and was active in the local Democratic Party.

On September 18, 1889, Fitzgerald married Mary Josephine Hannon.

view all 23

John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald's Timeline

1863
February 11, 1863
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
February 12, 1863
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
1890
July 22, 1890
Garden Street, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
1892
November 1, 1892
4 Garden Court Street, Boston, MA, United States
1892
Age 28
City of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
1893
1893
Age 29
Massachusetts State Senate
1895
April 19, 1895
1897
December 7, 1897
Boston, United States
1900
January 26, 1900