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Permanent LinkRepresentative Frederick O’Donnell View All Years
FREDERICK O’DONNELL was born in Illinois in 1846, and died in Dubuque, Iowa, September 10, 1925. But little is known of his early life excepting that his mother was a widow and he was raised by Dr. J. C. Ware, a physician of Fairfield, Iowa. In 1861 he ran off to Missouri and enlisted in the Union Army. He was with Mulligan’s Brigade when it was captured by Price at Lexington, Missouri, September 20, 1861, and was paroled and returned home. He read law with Slagle & Acheson of Fairfield and in about 1866 located in Dubuque and entered practice, becoming a member of the firm of Wilson, Mulkern & O’Donnell. In 1869 he was elected representative, was re-elected in 1871, and elected again in 1879, serving in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Seventeenth general assemblies. In 1882 he was elected mayor of Dubuque, and was re-elected in 1883. He attained success as a lawyer and was elected a judge of the District Court and served for sixteen years, from 1891 to 1906. He was a man of culture, was eloquent, and courteous in manner. The last few years of his life he lived in retirement. He was a Democrat in politics.