Representative George Washington Rauch

George Washington Rauch (February 22, 1876 – November 4, 1940) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served five terms as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1907 to 1917. His decade in the House of Representatives coincided with a significant period in American history, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Indiana constituents.

Rauch was born on a farm near Warren in Salamonie Township, Huntington County, Indiana. He attended the local common schools and then pursued further education at Valparaiso (Indiana) Normal School, now Valparaiso University. Intending to enter the legal profession, he enrolled in the Northern Indiana Law School at Valparaiso, from which he was graduated in 1902. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Marion, Grant County, Indiana, establishing the professional base from which he would later enter public life.

Building on his legal career and local standing, Rauch became active in Democratic Party politics in Indiana. A member of the Democratic Party throughout his public life, he sought federal office in the early twentieth century, a time of shifting political alignments and progressive-era reforms. His legal background and ties to the community in Marion helped position him as a viable candidate to represent his district in Congress.

Rauch was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1907, to March 3, 1917. During these five consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process at the national level and contributed to the legislative work of Congress as the country confronted issues of industrialization, regulation, and an emerging role on the world stage. He represented his Indiana constituents through this transformative decade, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1916 to the Sixty-fifth Congress, bringing his continuous congressional service to a close in March 1917.

After leaving Congress, Rauch resumed the practice of law in Marion, Indiana. He expanded his activities beyond the courtroom into business and civic affairs. He served on the board of directors of the Motor Securities Corporation and held executive positions as president and treasurer of the Davis Records Co., reflecting his involvement in the developing corporate and financial sectors of the interwar period. In addition to his professional and business pursuits, he remained engaged in local public service.

Rauch played a notable role in education and banking oversight in his community. He served as a member of the Marion city school board from 1927 to 1933, contributing to the governance of the local public school system. In the wake of financial difficulties affecting many institutions during the Great Depression, he was appointed a federal bank receiver for banks in Swayzee, Sheridan, and Marion, Indiana, serving in that capacity from 1930 to 1939. In this role he was responsible for overseeing the affairs of troubled banks and managing their assets under federal authority.

In his personal life, Rauch was married to Emma, and the couple had two sons and a daughter: George W. Rauch Jr., Martha Ellen Rauch, and Richard A. Rauch. The name George W. Rauch has been passed down through the family for five generations as of 2022. His son George W. Rauch Jr. (1919–2011) became a prominent attorney in Chicago and had three children—Jane, Lynn, and George W. Rauch III—and three stepdaughters, Alison Farlow, Juliet Farlow, and Lesley Farlow. George W. Rauch III (born 1944), who has resided on the Gulf Coast of Florida, is the father of four children, three sons and one daughter. His second son, George W. Rauch IV (born 1980), and his daughter Ellis are both married. George W. Rauch IV has three children—George W. Rauch V, born in 2009, Molly, and Patrick—while Ellis has two sons, Hayne Richard Falck (born 2009) and Andrew Katzenbach Falck (born 2010).

George Washington Rauch died in Marion, Indiana, on November 4, 1940. He was interred in Masonic Cemetery in Warren, Indiana, returning in death to the community near where he had been born. His career encompassed law, national legislative service, business leadership, and local civic responsibility, and his family line has continued his name and professional legacy into subsequent generations.