Representative Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany

Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany served as a Representative from New York in the United States Congress from 1895 to 1899. A member of the Republican Party, Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany contributed to the legislative process during 2 terms in office.

Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany (September 28, 1864 – May 2, 1937) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Buffalo, New York, Mahany attended the public schools, Hobart College, Geneva, New York, and Union College, Schenectady, New York. He graduated from Harvard University in 1888. He studied law in Buffalo, New York. He served as associate editor of the Buffalo Express in 1888. Instructor in Buffalo High School in 1889 and 1890. He declined the appointment as secretary of the legation to Chile in 1890. He was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Ecuador on February 24, 1892, and served until his resignation on June 12, 1893. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress. He returned to Ecuador in 1893 and concluded the Santos Convention. Mahany was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1898. He was admitted to the bar in 1899 and engaged in the practice of law in Buffalo. He served as harbor commissioner of Buffalo 1899-1906. He was editor of the Buffalo Enquirer in 1910 and 1911. He served as commissioner of conciliation, Labor Department, in 1914 and 1915. He served as assistant to the Secretary of Labor in 1918 and 1919. He served as member of the Foreign Trades Relation Committee of the State Department in 1919. He was appointed by Woodrow Wilson as one of the ten Federal umpires for the War Labor Board in 1919. He served as a member of the United States Housing Corporation in 1919. He was appointed representative of the United States to the International Commission on Immigration and Emigration at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1920. He served as solicitor and Acting Secretary of Labor in 1920 and 1921. He resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C., retaining his residence in Buffalo. He served as a delegate to the 1924 and 1928 Democratic National Conventions. He died in Washington, D.C., May 2, 1937, and was interred in the Congressional Cemetery.