James Delaney (mayor)

James Delaney (1889 - 1970) was Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 1929 to 1932.

Biography

James J. Delaney, Sr. was born in Ireland in 1889. [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~coleen/anchorage_census.html] He came to Anchorage, Alaska in 1911 to work on the railroad for the Alaska Engineering Commission (known after its 1923 completion as the Alaska Railroad). In 1927, he married Nancy Marie Dillon, also of Ireland. The Delaneys had three children: Nancy, James, Jr., and Loretta.

In 1929, Delaney was elected to the first of three consecutive terms as Mayor. His first year in office, he successfully petitioned the General Land Office for the title to the land that would become Merrill Field. [http://www.muni.org/merrill1/av8history.cfm] The field abutting downtown which was serving as an airstrip at that time was later renamed the Delaney Park Strip.

Delaney died in 1970 and was buried in Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

* [http://www.muni.org/cemetery1/honored.cfm James Delaney at Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery]