John Foley

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Jun 1829, Ireland
• Alternate birth: Abt 1836
• Alternate birth: Abt 1838, Ireland
• Alternate death: Aft 1912, San Jose, Santa Clara, California
• Alternate death: Dec 1916, Santa Clara County, California

Notes:

According to California records, he was naturalized on 1 Oct 1857 in Moniteau County, Missouri.

"Another interesting bit of information about the original John Foley was that, once he got to America, he paid for the passage of some of his siblings to emigrate. I believe there were at least two sisters who came to America that way, because there are two characters who appear in some family stories that were referred to as John J’s cousins. One was named Jim Hickey, and he came from back East (for some reason I think Bridgeport, CT), and another was named Sullivan and was a stone carver who lived right next to the Foley house at 50 S. 9th St., San Jose.' [Correspondence with Foley descendant Teri Smith, 2020]

"John Foley […] came to the United States from Ireland in 1850, and for a while lived at New Orleans and worked on the steamboats plying on the Mississippi. Then he joined the U.S. Cavalry and saw service on the great plains for five years. After that, for two years, he was a pony express rider from Box Elder to Salt Lake City, and finally, in 1860, he came to California. Until 1863 he was at Virginia City, and on his return to San Jose, he sailed in steamer service from San Francisco to Panama. He married Miss Honora Fleming, an accomplished lady, the mother of our subject. John Foley died in December, 1916, but his devoted widow is still living. They had two boys and two girls, and one of the latter died in 1894. A brother and sister are living on the old home place with their mother, the lot of which was purchased by the wide-awake father in early days in the trade of a saddle horse." [History of Santa Clara, California, citation details below]

John married Anne before 1864. Anne was born in of Colerain, Derry, Northern Ireland; died in Sep 1865; was buried in Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, Santa Clara, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Brigette Tully on 21 Apr 1867 in St. Joseph's, San Jose, Santa Clara, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Honora Fleming on 19 Sep 1870 in Santa Clara County, California. Honora (daughter of Jacob Fleming and Sabina Caveny) was born in 1839 in Ireland; died on 25 Nov 1935 in San Jose, Santa Clara, California; was buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery, San Jose, Santa Clara, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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]

Notes:

She graduated from San Jose Normal School, but died of Bright's Disease, a kidney ailment, shortly thereafter.

Notes:

She never married, and lived about 80 years in the family home in San Jose. She was an expert needleworker. She lost a leg to diabetes; it was buried in the family plot at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in advance of the rest of her.

Notes:

He attended the University of San Jose and practiced law in that city.

William married Alma E. Brelle in 1910. Alma was born on 23 Nov 1889; died on 26 Apr 1976 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]