Bernard J. McKenna explained

Bernard J. McKenna
Birth Date:16 February 1842
Office:36th Mayor of Pittsburgh
Term Start:1893
Term End:1896
Predecessor:Henry I. Gourley
Successor:Henry P. Ford
Spouse:Mary McShane (m. 1872)
Children:Kate (McKenna) McNulty, Frank McKenna, William B. McKenna

Bernard J. McKenna (February 16, 1842  - June 18, 1903) was the Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1893 to 1896.[1] [2] [3] His nickname was "Barney."[4]

Early life

Born on February 16, 1842, on Penn Avenue near Ninth Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the building in which he would later conduct his duties as a city alderman during his adult years, McKenna was a son of labor activist and politician James McKenna and grandson of Hugh McKenna, who had emigrated from Tyrone, Ireland to Quebec, Canada, and then on foot to Pittsburgh during the early 1800s.[5] [6]

Educated in Pittsburgh's third and fourth ward public schools, as well as the school at St. Paul's Cathedral, he was subsequently hired as an apprentice by John C. Parry & Co., where he learned the iron molding trade.[7] [8]

Sometime around 1862, while just twenty years old, he was elected to the post of captain of the Allegheny Volunteer Fire Company; he would go on to become one of the first volunteers to be given a paid job with the company.[9] McKenna reportedly also served on a gunboat during the American Civil War.[10]

After returning home to Pittsburgh, he worked in the iron industry, eventually organizing and becoming treasurer of the Iron Molders' Union, No. 11.[11]

In 1872, he married Mary McShane.[12]

Pittsburgh politics and later life

A member of the Democratic Party, McKenna was elected to the Pittsburgh city council in 1875, and served as an alderman for the city's Fourth Ward.[13] [14] In 1888, he was appointed as a police magistrate.[15] [16]

In 1893, he launched a successful bid to become mayor.[17] [18] [19] His administration oversaw the completion of the Highland Park Zoo; the Carnegie Library's main branch was also completed during his time in office.[20] [21]

On September 12, 1894, he addressed a crowd of former Union Army soldiers, in his capacity as Pittsburgh's mayor, during the opening of the twenty-eighth National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, which was held at Pittsburgh's Grand Opera House.[22] [23] On December 29, 1895, he delivered a welcome address to the members of the Pennsylvania State Music Teachers Association during the opening of their annual convention, which was held that year at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall.[24] On New Year's Day in 1896, Andrew Carnegie announced that he was appointing McKenna to serve as one of the thirty-six members of the newly created board of trustees of the Carnegie Art Gallery Fund. Also named to the first board were prominent Pittsburgh civic leaders William Jacob Holland and the Rev. Dr. Andrew Arnold Lambing.[25]

Following his tenure as mayor, he was appointed and re-appointed as police magistrate of the city's First Ward by his immediate successors, Mayors Henry P. Ford, William J. Diehl, Adam M. Brown, and Joseph O. Brown, serving in that capacity from 1896 to 1903.[26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

In 1893, McKenna and his wife moved to a home on Howe Street in Pittsburgh's Twentieth Ward.[32]

Death, funeral and interment

Following a long period of illness,[33] [34] [35] McKenna died from heart and stomach-related complications at his Marchand Street home in Pittsburgh on June 18, 1903. Friends were invited to pay their respects at a viewing of the body at his home on June 18. According to The Pittsburgh Post, "The body was placed before a bank of palms, on a couch in the library." His pallbearers were his friends William J. Brennen, Michael Feeney, John S. Flannery, Charles E. Flinn, Joseph F. Joyce, John Kearns, John J. Sweeney, and S.J. Toole. Three former Pittsburgh mayors were among those chosen to be honorary pallbearers. Thousands of mourners reportedly paid their respects during the viewing at his former home.[36] The funeral was held at Sacred Heart Church on Saturday, June 20, and interment took place at St. Mary's Cemetery in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Lawrenceville.[37]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mayors of Pittsburgh 1878 1903. Senator John Heinz History Center in association with the Smithsonian Institution. 2020-03-18. 2018-01-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20180115070704/http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/mayors-of-pittsburgh/1878-1903. dead.
  2. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903, p. 6 (subscription required).
  3. "Death of Bernard M'Kenna: Former Mayor of Pittsburgh Dies After Long Illness." Canonsburg, Pennsylvania: The Daily Notes, June 19, 1903, p. 2 (subscription required).
  4. "Will Run for Mayor: Bernard McKenna." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 1, 1893, p. 2 (subscription required).
  5. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  6. "Death of Bernard M'Kenna: Former Mayor of Pittsburgh Dies After Long Illness," The Daily Notes, June 19, 1903.
  7. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  8. "Will Run for Mayor: Bernard McKenna," The Pittsburgh Press, January 1, 1893.
  9. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  10. Lyons, Kim. "O'Connor takes office today with the luck of the Irish on his side." Tarentum, Pennsylvania: TribLive, January 3, 2006 (retrieved online March 15, 2023).
  11. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  12. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  13. "Alderman McKenna Complimented." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Commercial, April 7, 1875, p. 4 (subscription required).
  14. "Will Run for Mayor: Bernard McKenna," The Pittsburgh Press, January 1, 1893.
  15. "Death of Bernard M'Kenna: Former Mayor of Pittsburgh Dies After Long Illness," The Daily Notes, June 19, 1903.
  16. "Soft Snaps Disposed of: The Mayor's Police Magistrates All Confirmed." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, January 31, 1888, p. 2 (subscription required).
  17. "Will Run for Mayor: Bernard McKenna," The Pittsburgh Press, January 1, 1893.
  18. "McKenna and Gourley Elected." Indiana, Pennsylvania: The Indiana Democrat, February 23, 1893, p. 2 (subscription required).
  19. "South Side Charity Ball." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, February 1, 1894, p. 4 (subscription required).
  20. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  21. "Carnegie Library Trustees: They Had Their First Meeting in the New Building." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, November 5, 1895, p. 1 (subscription required).
  22. "Men at the Helm: How the Preparations for the Encampment Were Made." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, September 9, 1894, p. 24 (subscription required).
  23. "The Boys in Blue: Opening the Annual Encampment." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: The New Era, September 15, 1894, p. 5 (subscription required).
  24. "State Music Convention." Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Pottsville Republican, December 31, 1895, p. 1 (subscription required).
  25. "Board of Trustees Named: Those Who Will Have Charge of the Carnegie Art Gallery Fund. Williamsport, Pennsylvania: Daily Gazette and Bulletin, January 2, 1896, p. 1 (subscription required).
  26. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  27. "Alleged Crook Held for Court." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 8, 1903, p. 1 (subscription required).
  28. "Valentine Buyers Arrested." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, February 14, 1903, p. 1 (subscription required).
  29. "Police Take Whole Firm." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Gazette, March 8, 1903, p. 1 (subscription required).
  30. "Runaway Boys Are Returned." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, March 15, 1903, p. 12 (subscription required).
  31. "Death of Bernard M'Kenna: Former Mayor of Pittsburgh Dies After Long Illness," The Daily Notes, June 19, 1903.
  32. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.
  33. "Judge Is Near Death's Door: Former Police Magistrate Bernard McKenna in a Critical Condition." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, June 7, 1903, p. 1 (subscription required).
  34. "Under Shadow of Death: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna Expected to Die at Any Moment." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, June 12, 1903, p. 1 (subscription required).
  35. "Death of Bernard M'Kenna: Former Mayor of Pittsburgh Dies After Long Illness," The Daily Notes, June 19, 1903.
  36. "Friends Pay Last Respects: Home of Late Bernard McKenna Visited by Thousands." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, June 29, 1903, p. 2 (subscription required).
  37. "Necrological Record: Ex-Mayor Bernard McKenna, The Pittsburgh Post, June 19, 1903.

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