Representative John Matthew O’Connell

John Matthew O’Connell (August 10, 1872 – December 6, 1941) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Rhode Island who served three terms in the United States Congress from 1933 to 1939. Born in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, he was raised in the local community and attended the public schools there. His early life was rooted in the educational system of his hometown, which would later shape his initial professional pursuits and his understanding of local civic needs.

After completing his own schooling, O’Connell remained in Westerly and taught in the local schools from 1892 to 1902. This decade of service as a teacher reflected an early commitment to public service and community development. His experience in education provided him with firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing working families and young people in Rhode Island at the turn of the twentieth century, and it established him as a familiar figure in the town’s public life.

Seeking professional advancement, O’Connell pursued higher education in dentistry. He enrolled in the Philadelphia Dental College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an institution that later became part of Temple University. He graduated in 1905 and, in the same year, commenced the practice of dentistry in his native Westerly. As a practicing dentist, he built a career in the health professions, combining technical training with close contact with the residents of his community, and he continued in this vocation for many years alongside his later political activities.

During World War I, O’Connell extended his professional skills into military service. He served for sixteen months with Headquarters Sanitary Train, Twelfth Division, where he was involved in the medical and sanitary support operations essential to the health and readiness of the troops. He later held the rank of major in the United States Dental Reserve, reflecting both his professional expertise and his contribution to the wartime medical services of the United States. This period of military-related service added a national dimension to his previously local and state-focused career.

O’Connell’s formal political career began at the state level. He was a member of the Rhode Island State House of Representatives from 1929 to 1932, participating in legislative deliberations during a period that overlapped with the onset of the Great Depression. In the state legislature, he gained experience in lawmaking and public policy, positioning himself for higher office and strengthening his ties to the Democratic Party in Rhode Island.

Building on his state legislative experience, O’Connell was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third, Seventy-fourth, and Seventy-fifth Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1939. His tenure in Congress coincided with a significant period in American history, encompassing the early and middle years of the New Deal era under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process during a time of economic crisis and recovery, representing the interests of his Rhode Island constituents and contributing to the legislative work of Congress over three consecutive terms. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1938, bringing his congressional service to a close at the end of the Seventy-fifth Congress.

After leaving Congress in 1939, O’Connell returned to private life in Westerly, where he had long been established as a professional and public figure. He remained part of the community in which he had been born, educated, and had built his career. John Matthew O’Connell died in Westerly, Rhode Island, on December 6, 1941. He was interred in St. Sebastian Cemetery, leaving a record of service that spanned education, dentistry, military-related medical service, state legislation, and three terms in the United States House of Representatives.