John Joseph "Jack" Foley

Notes:

From Patrick Foley (citation details below):

Oldest child of John Foley and Honora Fleming Foley, John Joseph ("Jack") Foley lived in San Jose most of his life. He was baptized John Foley at St. Joseph's Church on July 29, 1871, with William Foley and Bridget Dempsey as his godparents. He attended Catholic schools--a convent school at San Fernando and San Pedro streets and "St Joseph's College," apparently a high school in Santa Clara.

In 1889, at age 18, he was no longer in school, but worked as a teamster and lived at home. The following year he was listed in the city directory as a "laborer." He apparently found this style of life unsatisfactory, for he moved to Oakland, where in 1892 he lived at 567 Eighth Street and worked as a clerk with P. J. Flynn. In 1893 he was a salesman with T. M. O'Halloran & Co., and in 1894 he was a clerk with James A. Joyce. By 1897 he had moved to a building at 855 Washington known as the "Clarendon." He remained at this address, and at his employment with Joyce, until 1899. In that year or the next he left Oakland.

He was married to a Miss Jewett during this period, but for unknown reasons the marriage terminated. He returned to San Jose where, in 1898, he went to work for Leopold Hart, owner of a "corner cash store" at Market and Santa Clara streets--an association which was to be lifelong. He married Bessie Yagle.

John married Elizabeth Lee "Bessie" Yagle after 16 Oct 1900 in San Jose, Santa Clara, California. Elizabeth (daughter of Charles Henry Yagle, Sr. and Eliza Ellen Boggs) was born on 5 Jun 1878 in Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; was christened on 13 Sep 1879 in North Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; died on 31 May 1952 in San Jose, Santa Clara, California; was buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery, San Jose, Santa Clara, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 11 Aug 1902

Howard married Wanda Smith Theresa Derr on 18 Aug 1937 in Carson City, Nevada. Wanda (daughter of William Samuel Toms Derr and Edith May Smith) was born on 16 Aug 1914 in Vancouver, Clark, Washington; died on 30 Apr 2004 in Alpine, Brewster, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara University Law School in 1932.

In 1936, he ran as a Democrat to represent district 31 in the California State Assembly; he was defeated, 51.3% to 48.7%, by incumbent C. C. Cottrell, who (according to the Oakland Tribune, 5 Nov 1936, p. 8), had the evident advantage of running on both the Republican and the Democratic lines.

In 1938, again running as a Democrat, he ran for the California State Senate, district 18. According to the 31 Aug 1938 San Francisco Examiner (p. 3), Palo Alto attorney Adron A. Beene beat him for the Republican nomination, and he beat Beene for the Democratic nomination. He went on to defeat Beene in the general election, 51.6% to 45.8%. (2.6% of the vote went to Progressive Party candidate Rolf B. Vinmont.) Accord to Patrick Foley, he was, at 30 years old, the youngest attorney ever elected to the California State Senate as of then. (Source for all of the preceding election numbers: JoinCalifornia, Election History for the State of California.)

JoinCalifornia's listings omit the 1940 election for State Senate district 18, but the record of state senators at the official site of the California State Senate says that John D. Foley was re-elected in 1940. We have been unable to find any details of this election on Newspapers.com save for an Oakland Tribune line-listing that says he was re-elected. It does not name his opponent. Possibly he was unopposed.

JoinCalifornia says that he was a judge of the Santa Cruz County Municipal Court from 1941 to 1961, then judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 1961 to 1963. But this appears to be completely wrong. According to Patrick Foley's notes, in 1941 John D. Foley was appointed judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court and held that position for the rest of his life.

Patrick Foley is correct; JoinCalifornia is mistaken. On 17 Jul 1941, the Oakland Tribune, page 15, calls John D. Foley "Superior Judge-designate". On 27 Jul 1941, the same newspaper, page 4, refers to the evidently recent "appointment of State Senator John D. Foley to the superior bench in Santa Clara County," and local newspapers for the rest of 1941 consistently refer to John D. Foley as "Superior Court Judge". And while we have yet to find an obituary covering John D. Foley's death in 1975, on 12 Dec 1975 the Escondido Times-Advocate, page B6, reports that Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Municipal Court Justice Sidney Feinberg of Palo Alto "to replace the late Judge John D. Foley on the Santa Clara County Superior Court." So it would appear that, just as Patrick Foley reports, John D. Foley served on the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 1941 to his death in 1975.

JoinCalifornia also states that, as a state senator, he and Frank W. Mixter, Republican state senator from SD-32, co-authored SB 657 which established the California Streets and Highways Code.

John married Zoe J. Hames before 1940. Zoe (daughter of John Cuthbert Hames and Mabel Elizabeth Anderson) was born on 3 Nov 1909 in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, California; died on 2 Apr 1995 in San Jose, Santa Clara, California; was buried in Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, Santa Clara, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Patrick married Susan Linda Evans on 11 Sep 1966 in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California. Susan (daughter of Lynn Van Evans and Anna Margaret "Lucille" Kopsho) was born on 7 Jun 1945 in Anaheim, Orange, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In 1990, she added Ruth as her baptismal name, following Susan as a second middle name.

Family/Spouse: (Private). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]