Representative Denis Joseph Driscoll

Denis Joseph Driscoll (March 27, 1871 – January 18, 1958) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania for one term from 1935 to 1937. A member of the Democratic Party, he contributed to the legislative process during this single term in office, representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history marked by the New Deal and the continuing effects of the Great Depression.

Driscoll was born on March 27, 1871, in North Lawrence, New York. He attended Lawrenceville Academy and later the State Teachers’ College in Potsdam, New York, institutions that prepared him for an early career in education. His formative years in upstate New York, spent in both secondary and teacher-training environments, laid the groundwork for his lifelong engagement with public education and civic affairs.

Beginning his professional life as an educator, Driscoll taught school in Potsdam, New York, in 1888 and 1889. He moved to Pennsylvania by 1890, teaching in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, in 1890 and 1891. Demonstrating early leadership in local education, he served as principal of the public schools in St. Marys from 1892 to 1897. These roles established his reputation in the community and fostered his interest in public service and local governance.

While engaged in educational work, Driscoll studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1898. On the same day that he was admitted, he enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, which had been called into service for the Spanish–American War. Following his military service, he commenced the practice of law in St. Marys, Pennsylvania. His legal career, combined with his experience as an educator and veteran, positioned him as a prominent figure in the civic life of his community.

Driscoll became active in Democratic Party politics at the state level, serving as a member of the Democratic State committee from 1899 to 1922 and as its chairman in 1905. Locally, he served as chief burgess of St. Marys from 1903 to 1906, reflecting his growing influence in municipal affairs. He was president of the St. Marys School Board from 1911 to 1936, a tenure of twenty-five years that underscored his long-standing commitment to public education. On the national political stage, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1916 and 1920. He also held federal office as United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1920 to 1921, further broadening his experience in public law and administration.

Building on decades of legal practice and political involvement, Driscoll was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fourth Congress, serving as a Representative from Pennsylvania in the United States Congress from 1935 to 1937. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as the federal government expanded its role in economic recovery and social welfare. As a member of the House of Representatives, Denis Joseph Driscoll participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents during this transformative era. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1936, concluding his single term in the national legislature.

After leaving Congress, Driscoll continued to hold important public and regulatory positions. In 1937 he was appointed chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for a ten-year term, placing him at the center of state oversight of public utilities during a period of expanding infrastructure and regulation. He resigned from this position in 1940 to accept an appointment by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as one of two trustees in the reorganization of the bankrupt Associated Gas and Electric Corporation. In this capacity he served from 1940 until August 1946, helping to oversee the complex restructuring of one of the major utility holding companies of the era.

Denis Joseph Driscoll died on January 18, 1958, in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, the community where he had spent most of his professional life as an educator, lawyer, local official, and public servant. He was buried in St. Marys Catholic Cemetery. His career spanned education, law, municipal leadership, state and national party politics, federal prosecution, congressional service, and utility regulation, reflecting a long and varied record of service to Pennsylvania and the United States.