William J. Hosey

Infobox Officeholder
name = William J. Hosey


caption =
order = 20th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana
term_start = 1905 – 1909
1913 – 1917
1921 – 1925
1929
term_end = 1934
predecessor = 1st Term:
Henry C. Berghoff
2nd Term:
Jesse Grice
3rd Term:
Sherman Cutshall
4th Term:
William C. Geake
successor = 1st Term:
Jesse Grice
2nd Term:
Sherman Cutshall
3rd Term:
William C. Geake
4th Term:
Harry W. Baals
birth_date = birth date|1854|5|5|mf=y
birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana
death_date = death date and age|1937|9|10|1854|5|5|mf=y
death_place = Fort Wayne, Indiana
constituency =
party = Democratic
spouse = Mary (McCarthy) Hosey
profession =
religion =


footnotes =
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term_start2 =
term_end2 =
president =
predecessor2 =
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order3 =
term_start3 =
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William J. Hosey (May 5, 1854 - September 10, 1937) was an American politician and the 20th mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Between 1905 and 1934 he served four non-consecutive terms of office.

History

He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana a year after his parents, Michael and Jean Frayne Hosey, immigrated to the United States from County Wexford in Ireland. In 1858, the four-year-old Hosey moved with his family to Mount Vernon, Ohio, where his father took a job as a gardener on the estate of Colonel Jesse P. Buckingham.Liley, Arthur, et al. "The Quest for Fort Wayne" (Chapter: "William J. Hosey"), presented December 19, 1986, BookCrafters, Chelsea, Mich., ISBN 1-199-17329-0 ]

At age 13, three years after his father died from malaria, extreme poverty forced William Hosey to drop out of a Catholic grammar school to work at Mount Vernon-based C & C Cooper Company machine shop. Five year later, William, his mother and older brother Lawrence moved to Fort Wayne, were William took a job as a machinist for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Lawrence died of pneumonia two year later. William worked at the railroad for 34 years.

During this time, William attended night classes to finish his education. He studied literature and philosophy.

References