Francis E. Donoghue

Francis E. Donoghue
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 2nd district
In office January 1907 – January 1909 Serving with Paul I. Zaabel, & Frank J. McNichols
Preceded by	Paul I. Zaabel, Frank J. McNichols, & Frank D. Comerford
Succeeded by	Paul I. Zaabel, Frank J. McNichols, & George L. McConnell
In office January 1903 – January 1905 Serving with Charles W. Kopf & Benjamin F. Greenebaum
Preceded by	Frank C. Farnum, & Augustus W. Nohe, & Francis J. Sullivan
Succeeded by	Paul I. Zaabel, Frank J. McNichols, & Frank D. Comerford
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 15th district
In office January 1901 – January 1903 Serving with Charles W. Kopf & William J. Moran
Preceded by	Patrick J. Meaney, Edward H. Rorig, & John Dockery
Succeeded by	James P. Cavanagh, Peter Knolla, & Ladislas J. Fligel
Personal details
Born	Francis Edmund Donoghue (1873-11-27)November 27, 1873 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	January 8, 1952(1952-01-08) (aged 78) Augustana Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting place	Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Evanston, Illinois
Spouse	Mae Anson ​ (died 1942)​
Children	Leonard Anson Donoghue (b. 1910; died 1992) Francis Edmund Donoghue (b. 1916; died 1997)
Relatives	Sheehan Donoghue (granddaughter)
Profession	Lawyer

Francis Edmund "Frank" Donoghue (November 27, 1872 – January 8, 1952) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Chicago, Illinois. He served three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, and later served 12 years as a Chicago municipal judge. He was also a co-owner of the Logan Squares Chicago City League baseball club. His brother, George Terry Donoghue, was the first general superintendent of the Chicago Park District; his granddaughter, Sheehan Donoghue, served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

Francis Donoghue was born and raised in the Irish Catholic community in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep and went on to earn his law degree from Kent College in 1896. In 1900, he was elected to his first term in the Illinois House of Representatives, serving in the 42nd Illinois General Assembly. Following a 1901 redistricting, he was elected to his second term from another district in 1902, and was elected to a third term in 1906.

After leaving the House of Representatives, Donoghue became a business partner to Nixey Callahan in the ownership of the Logan Squares baseball club in the Chicago City League. The partnership lasted about five years. Donoghue subsequently worked as an attorney and dealt real estate. In 1931, he was appointed city fire attorney, and shortly thereafter he was hired as an assistant state's attorney in the office of the Cook County State's Attorney, where he remained until his election as a Chicago municipal judge, in 1938.

He served 12 years as municipal judge, retiring in 1950. He died two years later, on January 8, 1952, after a brief illness.

Personal life and family

Francis Donoghue was one of eight children born to Irish American immigrant Michael Francis Donoghue and his wife Elizabeth Anne (née Shields). Michael Donoghue was a successful pioneer businessman in Chicago. Francis Donoghue's younger brother George Terry Donoghue, was the first general superintendent of the Chicago Park District, serving from its formation in 1934 until his retirement in 1960.

Francis Donoghue married Mae Anson, a daughter of Leonard Niles Anson, a pioneer businessman in Merrill, Wisconsin. They had at least two children together, she died in 1942. Their granddaughter, Sheehan Donoghue, went on to represent the Merrill area in the Wisconsin State Assembly for six terms in the 1970s and 1980s.